Dodge City times., 1877-06-09
How the on Horse Was Appraised.

"A nOrny-nanue0 Olu farmer entered
the offices of one of the big railroad
companies Saturday and inquired fol
the man who settled for horses which
was killed by the locomotives of a bloat-
ed corporation. They referred him to
the company's counsel, whom, having
found, he thus addressed: ..Alister, ]
was driving home one evening last week
-" 'Been drinking?" sententious-
" questioned the lawyer. "I'm Center
pole of the local Tent of Rechabites," !"
said the farmer. ssThat doesn't answer
my question:" replied the man of the
law; 81 saw a man who was boiling
drunk vote the prohibition ticket last
year" s'Hadn't tasted liquor since the
big flood of 1885," said the old man.
go ahead" 81 Will, squire. And
when came to the crossing of your
soulless monopoly, it was pretty dark,
and-zip! along came your train, no
bells rung, no whistles footed, contrary
to the statutes in such cases made and
provided, and agin the granger decis-
sions, and-whoOp! away went my of
hoss a-scootin' over the telegraph wires
When had dug myself out'n a swamp
some distance off and pacified the other
critter, l found that thar off-hoss was
dead as Perry Smith; nothing valuable
about him but his shoes, which mOughi
have brought say eight cents for old
iron. Well -'' "Well, you want
pay for that ere off horse?" said the
lawyer, with scarcely repressed sneer
al kinder should you see, :" said the farm
er frankly, s'and don't care about suing
it, though possibly I'd get a verdict
for juries out in our town is mostly made
up of farmers, and they kinder help each
other as a matter Of principle in these
cases of stock killed by railroads. y
..And this ere off-hoss," said the coun-
sci, mockingly, "was Hambletonian
colt out of an Abdallah mare, with sew
enteen Messenger crosses, wasn't he:
He was rising four years, as he had been
for several seasons past, and had shown
2 :25 on half-mile track in the mud,
hadn't he? And you had been offered
$16, 800 for him the day he was killed,
but wouldn't take it because you were
going to win all the purses in the grand
circuit with him, and then going to move
to Nevada and buy silver mine and
Senatorship with the proceeds? o, I've
heard of that horse before" guess
there's a mistake somwhere, sonny
said the old farmer, with an air of sur
prise; "my hoss was got by the old
man Butts roam pacing-hoss, Pride OF
Lemont, out'n a wall-eyed, nc account
mare of my own, and now that he's
dead, may say that he was twenty-nine
next grass. Trot? Why Fred Erby s
hoss that he was fined for furious driving
of, was old Dexter alongside of him!
Sixteen thousand dollars? Bless your
soul, do you think I'm darn fool, or
any one else is? 1t is true was made
an offer for him the last time l was in
town, and for the man looked kinder
simple, and you know how it is with
hOss-trading, l asked the fellow more'n
the animal might have been worth. l
asked him sixty-five dollars, but I'd
have taken forty dollars Forty dol
lars!" gasped the lawyer, 50 forty dol
larsl" 's Yes," replied the farmer,
meekly ard apologetically, sit kinder
looks a big sum, l know, for an old hoss,
but that ere off hoss could pull mighty
big load, considering. Then | was
kinder shook up, and the pole of my
wagon was busted, and had to get the
harness fixed, and there's my loss of
time, and all that counts. Say $50, and
it's about square, The lawyer whis-
pered softly to himself: "Well, III be
bulldozed," and filled out check for
$500. "Sir," said he, covering the old
mans hand, "you are the first honest
man have ever met in the course of a
legal experience of % years, the farmer
whose dead horse was worth less than
81 600, and couldn't trot better than 2 "a
without training. Here also is free
pass for yourself and your male heirs in