The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-07-21

How q Nag Beat a Thunder-Sto

It Was A Fast 'Hoss."
How a Nag Beat Thunderstorm.
A prominent Waterbury "hoss' man
was expatiating upon the speeding quail
tiles Of II fine horse to prospective
buyer. the other day. In reply to an
interrogatory regarding the animals
staying" qualities. he said: '.Stay?
Well, ! guess he'll stay; and he'll keep
his gait right up as long as you want to
drive. I'll jest tell you about drive l
took from Danbury last summer. A
drummer got left by the New England
train, and come up to my stable TO get
some one to take him over. The boys
were all busy, an most o the horses
was out. John. rs we call him. had
been drove up to Bantam the day be-
fore, an hadn't let him that morning.
l knew twas rough Oh the old fellow,
but knew't he was good for it, 50 l
hitched up. an We started. Twas q
bilin' hot day, and dusty's fury; hadn't
been no rain for week, but we got to
DanbtIry all right just after noon. l
put John in the stable. an, after dinner
set out on the stOop to the Wooster
House, smOkin', and thinkin' I'd wait
till the cool o the day before drove
back. 1t seemed to git hOtter'n hotter.
an we had to git in doors. an set In the
bar-room. Wal. set there till after
four o'clock, readin' paper, an drink
in rum and ice-water, when heard 1t
thunder. l went out on the stoOp, an
see there was shower coming, so or
dered my boss brought right out. Mr..
Raymond tried his levelest to make me
stay; said I'd git soaked through. an,
like enough. git struck by lightnin'.-
But told him I'd got to git home that
night. any how, an II l started right
off I'd gf there ahead o. the shower
You oughter a. heard him an the other
fcllers laugh when l said that. OF
course didn't expect to do any thing
of the sort, but didn't know John SO
well then as do now.
"When the hostler brought John
around to the door the rain was COM
in whole water betwixt there an Mill
Plain, and we could hear the wind roar
in through the trees up back o the fair
ground. John, he knowed that suthin
unusual was up, for he stood PAWN,
and Il workin' his ears, an kinder look
in up to me, us much's to say, old
man, yer don't know how much Of boss
be when set about it, an l confess l
didn't know.
"Wal, when got in an took up them
reins the hail stones had begun to rat
tie on the kitchen roof to the hotel. an
the thunder-claps was tryin' to see
which could make the most noise. I
jest sung out to John to git. an you
may reckon he did git. Every time q
fresh thunder-clap broke loose he seemed
to take it as an argument for him to 60
faster. Ihad the buggy top up when l
started, but aforc we'd gone mile l
had to let it down flat, for the air press
ed into it so solid that l couldn't
breathe. When we got into the boiler
Jest t'other side O Newtown, ! looked
over my shoulder, an the wind was
racin' down the hill not twenty rods
behind, an the cutters was runnin' full
o. water, and when we got onto New
town green the hOller was six inches
deep with water. When we went through
the centre the houses looked rs if they
was all whirlin' round. and it sorter o.
made me dizzy.
John didn't seem to notice nothin',
but KEEP goin' faster n faster till we jus
flew down the hill through Sandy Hook.
Johns legs was in the air all the time,
an I'll bet his belly want foot from
the ground When we crossed the rub
ber-shop bridge happened to think O
the toll-gate at Benefits bridge, three
miles ahead. Invent to countin' out the
change for toll, but afore could git my
purse into my pocket agin we come in
sight OF the bridge. could see the
gate was shut, but woman was out
doors pickin' up some chips fore they
got wet. She must "a thought we was
Il runaway, for she dropped al apern
full o chips an Topped that gate open
in less'n quarter o a second, an just
i'm the nick q time to save John jump
in it. i tried to chuck the toll out, but
all but three cents stuck ON to my fing-
ers Jest by the force O. the wind-we
was goin' that fast. John slowed tritle
crossin' tho long bridge, cause he must
o seen the notice about fast drivin'
stuck up at the end. But when we got
Off n the planks we more'n made up for
it. You'd "a thought we'd bin crawl
in before by the way we went now
| Up hill an down we went flukin', with
the thunder rOarin' an hail an rain
rattlin' some O. the time not twenty feet
| behind.
jest afore we struck Southbury I
hearcd a cracklin'. and lookin' around
l see what looked like a sky-rocket on
the tellygraf wire. an l knowed twas
streak o lightnin' tryin' to ketch U.S.
Thinks l, John. old boy, you're beat
now, sure; but just give cluck, an
he doubled on his gait rite of. That
streak tagged us TO Southbury Centre,
when it got sick o the job, an flew
off onto the roof of PulfOrd's grocery.
II noticed when John struck this last
squirt that the slack o the reins kept
shortenin' up till had to get on my
| knees an reach over the dashboard to
keep hold of 'em; them air traces had
stretched nigh two feet, an the whiffie-
tree was bent up like rainbow. I'd a
had to've dropped the lines if hadn't
had a long therein in the buggy, and
spliced 'em out. We was fyin' so fast
after leaving Southbury that the tele-
graph-poles on the country road looked
like solid fence, and all I could see Of
Middlebury was the top of tho church
stecple, which was higher'n the poles.
oval, sir, when drove into this sta
BILE that thunder shower was laggin'
along over by the Breakneck four cor
ners. There was just five hailstuns in
the back of the buggy that must "a got
in when John slowed his gait on Ben
nett's bridge. What ails his name, did
you say? Same thing't ais my head;
| the friction q the mir took the hair all
off ut that time. That, sir. was drivin'.
that was, an I've got the wealth that
says John can do as well again. Wa
terbury american.
| Vandals at Mount Vernon.