Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1879-07-01
Birdsall's soft Thing.
HOW He EUCRED THE BOYS AT A
HORSE RACE.
Virginia, New, Chronicle.

"Speakin' of horse racin'," said Jai.
Ter Birdsall las: evening to a select
cOtorie in The City Jail, the tricks Of
the turf being under discussion, II
had my dose once an I'm a horse
thief II | haven't kept it dark for
eighteen years. ] was keepln' big
stable on b street in 60. and there was
"A sight o. racin' goiu' on in them times
aud | wanted my fin in everything o
that kind. l was younger aud iresher
| than | am now. TWO boise-, a ulg,k
and gray, were bruug up from Geuo,
to run for 81 600 side at the track
near Long Valley. The race was to
came off on Saturday, and there Was
some heavy bettin' on the thing. ]
was holding back for points before
putting up any coin. Bill Harness
comes to NE a-Thursday an' put up
the prettiest Job ever heard tell Of.
You don't remember Bill, l s'posc?
Well, he was lynched over to Phoebe
In III, poor Teller. We took Rough
Hardy In an it was agreed thAt the
swag was to be- divided equal II was
q pretty job, and the chief beauty Of il
was that 1t was 30 almighty easy an
simple. 1t was for Hardy an me to
take the horses out the night afOre the
race an speed 'em round the track tilI
we found their pace. 1t wouldn't be
no trick, then, at all, for us to haul In
all the pools and clean up handsome.
The Dags was in my stable, which
made the business just too easy. FrI-
day night he au' Haejy set to work
and got the jockies blind. stavn'
drunk, an by midnight they was as
limp an senseless as pair o'lines.-
Hardy an me, when we'd got 'em so
they couldn't tell a stlrrup from dis
lance pole, laid 'em out In the straw
in an empty stall, an took the black
and gray out for practice. 1t was q
pretty moonlight night, clear as day,
an eveiythin' worked slick. rode
the black an It beat the gray easy,
although they was both powerful good
goers. Then | took The gray an Har-
dy took the black so there couldn't be
no suspicion OF roots ugin one another,
and still the blnck n most dlstanced
the gray. We Jest laughed til the
teals rolled down our jaws, when we
lead them horses back to their stalls,
to think Of the soft thing we had on
the boys, an Hardy an me was quite
willin to put IN about two houra rub.
bin down them flyers, 80 as to remove
all the signs % the work they'd been
through. The race was mile hehts,
best two In three, an me an Hardy
was on the track good an early next
day takin' evetylhin' that was offered
ngIn' the black. We both had scads
In them times, an when the start was
made we'd about SO 900 on tho black
between US. We let up beltn' lest
out of pity for the poor devils that
took us up 10 innocent and eager.
Every now an then Harness an Har.
ny an mo would meet an 40 an take
drink an roar out laughln' 40 you
could hear w mile. when the
horses started Hardy an me felt big.
germ old Grant Itkind o. surprised
US to see the way the gray lifted his
feet though, an when he come In
length ahead o. the black & kind o. !
made ~ feel uneasy about the sllls. |
or cOuree We knowed II WA the durn-
oil Jockeys fault, an managed to glt
to him an slip hve twentles | 1to his fin.
Let her out this time seq. III the |
black wins you'll get two hundred
more. He gave n wink an nodded.
Boys, you kin fOept me II that Id