, 1878-02-02
The Race at Left Bower.

come out Yer to Californy and so ASSN about
| the country tryin' to strike the trail o the
mines you've salted down yer ioose carpital
/ IN, said Colonel Jachhigh. setting his empty
/ glass upcn the counter and wipmg his lips
with his coat sleeve; ''but " en- it comes to
/ hoSs racia, wy I've got a cayuse ken lay
over all the thurrerbreds yer little man tie
ornyment of island ever panned out-yer
! bet Yer britches l have, Talk about yer
Derby wmners-w'y this pisen little beast O
mine II take the biz IN her teeth and show
/ EN- the way to the horison, like she was ak
in her mornin' stroll and they was tryin' to
keep an eye on her TO see she didn't do her.
! self an injrry-that's wat she would And
( she haiat never run race with anyt hing
! spryern an Iniun in all her life; she's =
green amatoor-sie is
80. very well," SAID the Englishman with
quiet smile: - 1t Is easy enough TO settle
the matter My animal is in tolerably good
condition, aad If YOURS Is III town We can
have the race tomorrow tor any stake you
like up 10 i hundred ounces"
That's Just the tiggcr. said the colonel:
/ dot it down, bar-keep. Eat it's like starter
In the innoccnts, he added, half-remor Sc
! fully. as he turned IL leave it's bettIn on
dead sure thing that's what 1t is If my
cayuse knew W at | was about she'd 20 and
! break a leg to make the race even one.
/ SOFT was arranged that the race was to come
| off at three o'clock next day, On the alha;i
plain, some distance from town As soon As
! the news got abroad, the whole population
of Left Bower and vicinity knocked of work
and assembled in the various bars to discuss
it. The Englishman AMI his horse Were
| general favortes, and aside from the un-
popularity of the colonel. nobody had ever
seen his "cayusc" Still the element OF
patriotism came in, making the betting very
nearly even.
\ race-cuurse was marked off on the plain,
and at the appointed hour every one was on
the SPOT except the colonel 1t was arrang-
ell that each man should rlle his own horse.
and the Enslishman, who had acquired
something oi the free -and-easy bearing that
distinguishes the mining sharp, was al
ready atop of his magnificent animal, with
one leg thrown carelessly across abe ponimel
of his Mexican saddle, rs he pulled hls cigar
with calm confidence in the result of the
race He was conscious, too, that he pos
sessed the secret sympathy of all, even OF
those who hadf felt 1t their duty to bet against
him The Judge, with watch IN hand, was
growing impatient, when the colonel putin
an appearance mile away, and bore down
upon the crowd. Everyone was eager to
inspect his mount and such mount as 1T
proved to be was never before seen even In
! Left Bower,
| You have seen perfect skeletons OF
horses often enough, no doubt, but this
animal was not even perfect skeleton;
there were homes missing here and there
which you would not have believed the
! beast could have spared Little the
colonel hal called her She WAS not IN inch
less than eighteen hands high, and long out
of all reasonable proportion She was SO
hollow III the back that she seemed to have
been bent In a machine. She had neither
tail nor name, and her neck, as long as a
man, stucl; straight up into tie arr, suppor-
ing head without ears. Her eyes hat an
expression in them OF downright insanity,
and the muscles of her face were afflicted
with periodical commissions that drew back
the corners of the mouth AID wrnkled the
uppar lip so Is to produce dismal grIn
every two or three seconds. In color she
was ..cay-bank," with great blotches OF
white, as If she had been pelted with small
bags Of flour The crookedness OF her legs
was beyond all comparison, and for her gait
it was that Of a blind camel crossing dag
onaly over innumeraile deep bitches
Altogether she looked like the frghtful
result OF Natures first experiment IN equi-
faction, carelessly left alive afterthe produe-
ton of the more satisfactory beast
As this outrageous libel on all horses
shanbied up to the starting post there was
a general shout; the sympathies Of the
crowd changed III The twInkllng OF an eye.
Everrone wanted TO bet on her, and the
Enuiishman himself was only restrained
from dong so by sense of honor. 1t was
growing late however, and the judge insisted
on starting them They got off very well to-
cether, ami seeing the mare was nnconsci0n-
ably slow the Enelishnsan soon pulled his
animal in and permitted the ugly thing to
pass. so as to enjoy back view OF her. That
sealed his fate. The course had been mark
ed of In 4 circle OF two mies iii clrcumfer-
ence and some twenty feet wide, the limits
MAINLY defined by little burrows. Before the
animals had gone a half mile both had been
permittcd to settle down into comfortable
walk. In which they continued three-fourthS
of the wav round the ring Then the Eng
Tshmanthought it time to whip up and canter
in-
Ru. he didn't 10 Il IS lie came up along.
side the 20 Californy Lightnin' Express, as
the crowd had begun to call her, that erea,
ture turned her head diagonaily backward
and let fail smile The encroachIlg beast
stopped as ii he had been shot, HIS rider
plIsd whip. and forced him again forward
upon the the track OF the equine hag, bus
with the same result
The Eagiishman was raw tEroushly al
armed he struggled marfuly with rem
and whip and sLOat, amidst the tremendous
cheering and inextiugu;shable laughter OF
the crowd, 20 force his animal past, now on
this side. now on that, but 1t would not do,
Prompted BY the iieni III the concavlty of
her back. the preposterous quadruped drop
ned his nyius right and left with such season.
Able accuracy that again and again the COM
na,inn heest was strnk all Of a heap Juss
~ tbp moment Of seeming success. And,
finally. when. by tremendous sPur', ms
rider entIe.yored to thrust h.m by, within
half dozen lengths Of the winning post, the
incaruate nightmare turned squarely about
and fixed upon HIM portentous stare-de-
Evariipe, at the same time, a grimzce OF sucn
,,rof;igiors rhastliness that the poor through
I'll Nth aualnost human scream OF terror,
wheeled about, and tore away to the rear
with the speed OF the wind, leaving the col
one, an easy winner In fifteen minutes and
ten seconds
COOKING parties are among the means
bv which society In Paris amuses itself