St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-01-18
here last Friday and are stopping quiet
ly at the Arlington. They are making
no political sensation, and could hardly
arouse any enthusiasm here. w.
How They Settled for the Farmers Old
Horse.

Horse.
A horny handed old farmer entered
the Office of the big railroad companies
Saturday, and inquired for the man who
settled for horses which were killed by
the locomotives of blOated corpora
ton. They referred him to the com
pany's counsel, whom, having found, he
thus addressed:
"Mister, was driving home one eve
nIng last week." "Been drinking ?"
strenuously questioned the lawyer.
''Tm Centerpole of the local Tent OF
Rechabites," said the farmer. "That
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." "Hadn't tasted liquor
since the big food of 1896" said the old
man. $50 ahead"
~ 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
again the granger provisions, and -
whOOp! away went my off boss a scOot-
in over the telegraph wires. When |
had dug myself out in swamp some
distance off and pacifed the other crit
ter, | found that thar off boss was dead
as Perry Smith, nothin' valuable about
him but his shoes, which mOught have
brought say eight cents for old iron.
Well"
"Well, you want pay for that ERE off
horse ?" said the lawyer, with IA scarcely
repressed sneer. II kinder should, you
see," said the farmer, frankly, ''and l
don't care about suing it, Though possi-
bly, I'd get a verdict ; for juries out in
our town are mostly made up of farm
ers, and they kinder help each other as
a matter of principle i'll these cases of
stock killed by railroads." ''And this
ERE off hoss," said the counsel, mock
ingly, twas u HambletOnian colt, out
of an Abdallah mare, with seventeen
Messenger crosses, wasn't he He was
rising four years, us he had been for
several seasons past, and had shown
2.25 on a half mile track in the mud,
hadn't he ? And you had been offered
sixteen thousand and five hundred dol
lars for him the day he was killed, but
wouldn't take it because you were go
ing to win all the purses in the circuit
with him, and then going to Nevada
and buy silver mine and Senatorship
with the proceeds? ? Oh, Fve heard of
that horse before.n
Il guess there's mistake somewhere,
sonny" said the old farmer, with an air
of surprise "my hOss was got by the
old man Butts roam pacing horse, Pride
of Lemont, out'n Il wall-eyed no-ac-
count mare of my own, and now that
he's dead | may say that he's 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
youl soul, do you think I'm fool, or
any one else is ? 1t is true | was made
an offer for him the last time was in
town, and for the man looked kinder
simple, and you know how it is with
Oss-tradinS, | asked the fellow MORN
than the animal might have been worth.
| asked him siXty-iive dollars, but I'd
have taken forty dollars"
"Forty dollars" gasped the lawyer.
''forty dollars !" YES" replied the
farmer meekly and apologetieally, cit
kinder looks big sum, know, for an
old horse, but that ere off hoss could
pull a mighty big load oonsiderin'
Then | was kinder shook up and the
pole of my wagon was bustid, and
bad to get the harness fixed, and there's
my loss of time all that counts. Say
fifty, and it's about square,
The lawyer whispered to himself.
''Well, I'll he bull-dozed !" and filled
ont check for five hundred dollars.
Sir" said he, covering the old mans
hand, "YOuIe the first honest man |
have ever met in the course of legal
experience of twenty-three years, whose
dead horse was worth less than one
thousand dollars, and couldn't trot bet
ter than PA without training. Here
also is a free pass for yourself and your
male heirs in direct line for three
generations, and if you have a young
boy to spare we will teach him tele-
graphing and find him lucrative and
steady employment"
The honest old man took the check
and departed, shifting his brawny LEG
with horny hand iu triumph as he did
so, with the remark, 81 knew I'd fetch
him on the home track Last horse
got killed | swore was a trotter, and all
got was one hundred and sixty-fve
dollars with interest Honesty is the
best policy" Huntington Hawkege.