The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-24
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ROBERT UOSN E'K.

Bonner afford more pleasure TO tho
admircr Of the fleet harness horse than
the celebrated turf horses gathered to.
gcthcr on amy Of the courses during
the great trotting carnivals of the
North in midsummer.
This superiority Of attraction is the
result Of both numbers and Individual
excellence. From. the catalogue
issued last season for private distri5u-
ton, he owns one hundred and five
horses, more than twelve Of which
have trottcd to harness full mile in
two minutes and twenty seconds, and
tho aggregate value of them all ap-
proachcs to nearly million dollars.
Robert Bonner is squarc'y-built
man, Of medium stature, weighing one
hundred and eighty pounds. Ills
face is broad and massive, clcanly
shavcn, terminating in Il strong chin,
and firmly compressed lips, that i'll
dicate both energy and determination.
His cycs are deep blue, and when
animated glistcn like the point of Il
polished bayonct. His forehead is
broad, yet rather low, somewhat OBJ
scurcd by his thick brown hair.
AS Il conversationnlist he is Il ,!cspot.
Like the silvcr-tongucd Colorid.sc, he
is Il monologuc talkcr, and all that he
demands Of his hcarcr is that he will
sit perfectly still, an eloquent listener
Of his rapid, energetic scntcn .cs. lis
only recreation and rclict from i'll
ccssant routine Of newspaper drudgcry
is his love Of fast trottirg horses, and
his special pride aside from owning
and driving them, is his knowledge Of
the anatomy and physiology Of the
horses foot. In the prosecution of
these studies lie hus collected the
largest library of noted authors on
the horses foot in the English lal.-
guagc. Moreover, he has collected
about him all the Carriers Of mt cllanical
skill and genius in the East, in whose
company this tirclcss man spends many
evenings far beyond midnight in con-
sultation and discussion.
His tavoritc smiths arc the ingcni-
Gus Canadian Robert Robcr9c, the
inventor Of the rolling ball shoe, and
the astute DR.. Dryden, who claims
that he can add to the arch of the
crest and the graceful curve Of the
saddlc-placc by dressing and shocing a
horses foot.
Mr.. Bonner personally supcrintcnds
the shocing ofhis own horses. In the
early morning, before business en-
crosses his attention, he can frequently
be seen in the shop of Mr.. ltobcr., e
giving minute directions to the opcrut-
ing smith just where to take of Il slice
of the hoof, just how far to for2sh ,rtcn
the wall in front, and just how much
to lower the heels behind to make the
foot have the, proper relative inclina-
ton with the slant Of the pas:crn, SO
as to balance The bones in the journals
Of the joints, and to make the foot
perfectly level in all its bearings
Corns and splints and curbs, to him,
arc trivial disorders which he can
remedy in few shocings, and he
claims to have mastered spavins by
the use Of the four calkn shoe, which
to the average horscman nrc regarded
rs incurablc rs that great dread Of the
veterinary surgeon, naYicular lun:c-
ness. All these and many more opera
tionS Of great value in pcrtcctng the
action Of the swift trotiing horse he
has carefully reduced to manuscript,
which he proposes to have published
rs his postlumous contributions to
horse literature. This is merely the
recreation Ola remarkably busy life.
ROBERT BONNER IN GENEALoGY
Is q mixture Of Scotch-Irisll, and as the
reader may we'll conclude, he is per-
feet bundle Of nervous energy. Start
ing rs a mere STRIPPING in the capacity
of swcep-out in the Office of the Hart
ford Courant, he learned to set type
and prepare the rolls by extra labor
in the early mornings, and eventually
became one of its proprictors. Having
amasscd capital Of $4,000, lie re-
moved to New York, where lie started
the story paper that is now read III
myriad households, called the New
York Ledger, and to-day, in the prime
OF his manhood, he Is not only ranked
among the millionaircs of the me.
tropoliS, but among the most cxem.
plary, intelligent and charitable OF
her citizens. He is the leading cldcl
in Tic Fifth Avenue PRESBYTERIAN
Church, presided over by DR.. John
Hall, and this accounts for his inilcxi.
bic refusal to permit any OF his horses
to trot either for premiums or charita
bio exhibitions. Ho keeps them sim
ply tor his own delight, and under nc
circumstances can Ac
BE BADGERED INTO CONTESTS
Oh the public racc-coursc. But his
spirited trots with the noted whips O.
New York City, including the late
Commodore Vanderbilt, furnish tho
subjects of many conversations ant
disputes to the lido horscmcn during
the long hours of their winter evening
gatherings. While generous to his
friends. he never left Unpublished an,
discourtcsy by habituc rival of tht
road. Commodore Vanderbilt was
his especial antagonist. That mag
nate always collected about him ,
circle Of fawning satellites, who
gmtificd the vanity Of the Commodore
by ridiculing tho horses of Mr.. Bon
ncr. On one OCCASION thoy occasionct
a dcrisive laugh at Mr.. Bonner's cx
pcnse by declaring that the Commo
dorc could drive goat md beat Mr.
Bonncr's best horse down Harlem
Lane. This pleased their chief yer,
much, and he ended the ribaldrv b;