, 1881-03-13
:.SPORrING.

| TIE TURF.
Il. c. PATE, OF ST. LOUIS.
The recent sale by II. c. Pate, Of st. Louis, tc
G. F. Emory, Of CLEVELAND, of the famous pacing
mare Mattle Hunter, record 2:1A, is an event Of
more than ordinary Importance to lovers OF turi
sports, since 1t indicates the retirement from the
trotting turf of aaa who has for three years
buttlcd persistently and lnteiligenty against the
evils that surround aud curse trottlng, and has
finally decided that under the present system
| adopted by tracks and horscmen tho chances
| against the success Of one who always trots his
| horses to win, and declines to enter into COM
binations for robblng tho public, are so grent
that ho Is not justified in paying long prices for
| tirst-class horses with the expectation OF get"
| ting back his money in a legitimate manner.
While not without what the world regards ns
| faults, Mr.. Pate is in many respects 30 extraor-
dinary Il man TINT q sketch of his personal char
acterstics und experiences on the turf Will be ol
interest
Iu appearance, r. G. Pate Is u man who would
strike even an ordinary observer at first sight
us something a little above the ordinary
run Of whom one meets on the
| race-course. OF medium hight and solid
| build, his someyhut heavy lower jaw
and full fuce are surmounted by patr OF bright,
| keen eyes that betokcn their owner to be mnt1
whom nothing escapes, but, while his face habit
ually wears Il pleasant smile. thUse who know
| him best know that, II wrouged, the owner Of
| those bright eyes and that pleasant smile Will
leave no stono unturned to punish an enemy,
| while at the same time there Is hurdly length
| to which he will not go to assist FREUD. IN
lnupy respects Mr, Pate Is L contradiction He
! is gambler without any Of the ordinary
l. ,,o,nh,cr,s. vIcsa nr charactersttcs. he is
| '',, s"u4p!ot ''ees ~ euo.a' s -.
fcssIou attuchcd to him: be Is q horseman WhDm
Que would 10 apt to takc for 2 successful dry-
| goods merchant III St. Louis his name has long
| been Il familiar one. and his fNce is us well
known on the streets of TINT city us is that Of
Long John in Chicago. Although u successful
politician, he hns never run for office; although
IL gambcr. he is seldom seen ln tho company Of
mcn OF that ik. and in general hts desires seem
to lie wholly In tho direction Of quiet and gen.
tletnuilIy life. But no matter with whom or
what he may have hecn associat ed, Mr.. Pate has
had but one reputation among those who knew
him: that OF being absolutely. square; and it
is this trait that has made him, friends in all cir
clcs of life, from the nlu whoexpects to run for
Governor Of Missouri to tho rubber Of trotttng
m uatuf WtR agn IS o the an
and generous deeds that he bus done
aud done without ostcntaton, the half could not
4 person seeing X. C. Pate ona race-track would
never suspect that he was one OF the most
liberal buyers Of trotters in the country, and
perhaps at that moment Interested to the extent
Ut thousands Of dollars in ii race taking place.
Most men under such circutnstanccs tetray
less nervousness. NOT With Fate.
No No matter which way tho fortunes Of the dny
may bc gong. whether heavy losses or great
gains stnrc him in the fnce, he is the same quiet,
hut tho race The writer has seen him stand and
calmly discuss the merits of certuin proposed
turf legislation. never oncc looking ut tho track
was living at a 2:18 gait, with Rowdy Boy und
Serrel Dan ut her neck. AT best the result
wis in doubt. and ii mistake Of either horse
Or driver would have made 1t difference of some
thing like S;l0UJ to Mr. Pate. but not one Of tho
many who saw him standing careles1y by the
fence never s 1o95n t 5 al a. o tho
er Of the beautiful little chestnut mare who was
winning small fortune for him that day
IN 1879, when Pnte's mare Katie Middleton
stnrted in the 2:s rnce against Darby, Orange
r Belle raseid Lite Gyps Lev Scot
aud won tho first two heats In a:ls ::so: In the
third heat ka1ie Middleton acted we'll for the
rst tine d4rns The oe a athonsn % tar
,hut ut the distance stand she was on nearly
even terms with Darby, Just then the latter
stop him Mace struck the little brown
horse with the whip, and he ran under tho wire.
Many thought TINT Kutie aiiddleton had tiu-
ishcd III the front, while the friends of Darby
only hoped fora dead heat, at tho best, the gen.
crs.l impression being that Sfaces violation Of tho
rules would result in the heat being given to
judges unnoundcd that Darby had won the heat
ana ruce. Many in the crowd were inclined to
tvrtmbIC at the DECISION. IHtG St0oQ on LQB
6,,uriersfrftch looking up Mt the Judges, ana
When the decision was given smiled gritnly and
walked d! a%ay VI; ;,.t s,,r von, .s,.a frnna
..t ,.oss I'M ma e fSi wns the rnny Thern are
Y,+ many man Who couj,f lose sS.l1M that thoy
ourht r., have won and smiled nyer tht loss
Sn 1nntfer what fanit mny be found with him
otherwise us Il horseman Mr.. Pate is entitled to
nothing put pre1se Durs nls connec.lon ma.a
te aurt ne has ssn ed co sn ~ ,rc Enosn ~
thn fuct fhnt his horses always 70 to the front
when they cun that the public backs them with
the same absolute conndencc @ that tney 20 tnose nose
driven ny FSter ,iu H., e e1iom n.om @
none! VII Aetet ~ sulu uuI ~ o.u.Gu: @ ,ola
wien rho INV mare Lucille and the hay stallion
Wnodfnrd Mnmbrinu came out in his name, Both
Of them we're unusually successful, and