Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-01-21
Roping In Rustics.

THE Evansvill 0nd) Journal Of a re-
cent date tells the following story and
claims that the incident actually hap
pened as related:
There is a coterie of young bloods in
Mount Vernon, Ind. (and this thing is
not too personal, for we have it from one
of the number), who are given to the
sports of the field and the turf to great,
though in no very successful, degree.
There is little town called Phillipstown,
about fifteen miles west of Mount Yer
non, in Illinois, which has for a long
time "crowed over" the latter in the
possession of two rafting quarter horses
with much speed, and which was thorn
in the side Of the Mount Vernon people.
Not to be outdone the cOterie of sports
men determined to "COme it over" the
Phillipstown people, and accordingly
hired from ST. Louis a clean-limbed, fine
looking horse called Granger, whose
chief point of excellence was the
fact that there was no doubt of
his beating the Phillipstown horse.
Well, the horse came, and about
three weeks ago the race was made up,
to come off last Friday, for $500 a side,
$3.50 forfeit The St. Louis steed was
placed in training for the meeting. a
few days afterward there appeared in
BIT. Vernon couple of particularly
green and unsophisticated countrymen,
who hailed from the Kentucky shore
opposite. They were very talkative, and
it was soon discovered that the country
clodhoppers had a horse upon which
they would lay little. The question
was canvassed, and finally it was deter
mined that the Mt. Vernon men would
back PhillipstOwn horse called "Old
George" against the Kentucky "gray
mar" for four horses and $3.50 in cash
a side, the Kentuckians agreeing to
put up the four horses as forfeit. This
was done, and the verdant ones disap-
day of the race In the meantime those
four horses were distributed out in
expectation among the parties, and the
greenies from over the river were hearth
Friday, Dec. II, was the day set for the
first race, and the Mount Vernonites set
out in large numbers for Phillipstown,
taking with them the invincible
| Granger" and the stake horses in the
| race with the gray mar" When, ar
irving on the grounds, the hackers of
| Granger found all Illinois supporting the
Phillipstown horse with encouragement
| and, money, they began to weaken"
and after being fairly outbetted, out
blown and oug-bantered, they paid $3.50
and withdrew the Granger, around
whom the home curses of number of
deep and feeling hearts were clustered.
| Thus bullied out of the race, the Mount
| Vernon boys smiled in the armlets of
their King Williams and waited for the
| morrow to retrieve their modification
| and loss. The morning of the next day
dawned brighter and clear. Nothing
was to be seen of the Kentuckians, and
| as the hour set approached the forfeits
were about to be claimed, when the
greenies" rode up with the little gray
mar" an ordinary-looking scrub. Well,
the money was put up, and still nothing
was said about the preliminary arrange
| ments for the race. In fact the two
countrymen were just the greenest
sportsmen afoat. They didn't know
anything, and the Mount Vernon boys
almost died a-laughing at their verdancy
At last one of the strangers was asked
about some mode to decide the draw
| for the positions. "Oh, wal" he