The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-08-08
.
It Was A Fast "Hoss."
How a Nag Beat Thunderstorm.

1 81
interrogatory regarding the animals
staying qualities, he said: "StayP
Well, guess he'll stay; and ii keep
his gait right up rs long as YOU want to
drive, I'll jest tell you about drive |
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, as we call him, had
been drove up TO Bantam the dav be-
fore, an hadn't let him that morning.
| knew twas rough on the old fellow.
but knew't he was good for it. SO |
hitched up, an we started Twas q
bilin hot day, and duSly's fury; hadn't
been no rain for a week, but we got to
Danbury all right just after noon. |
put John in the stable an, after dinner
| set out on the Stoop to the Wooster
House, smoEin' 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 it
thunder | went out on the stoop, an
see there was shower coming, 50 ora
dered my boss brought right out. Mr..
RAYMOND tried his levelest to make me
stay; said I'd git soaked through. an,
like enough, cit struck by lightnin', 49,
But told him I'd got to git home that
night. any how. an if | started right
Off I'd Git there ahead O the shower -.
You oughter a heard him an the other
fellers laugh when | 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 q com
in whole water betwiNt there an Mill
Plain and we could hear the wind roar
I'M through the trees mp back o the fair
ground John. he kuowed that suthin
unusual was up. for he stood PAWN,
and a workin' his ears. an kinder look
in mp to me. as much'S to say. Old
man, yer don't know how much of boss
| be when ! set about it, an | confess |
didn't know.
oval, when cot in an took up them
rens the hail stones had begun to rat
tie on the kitchen roof to the hotel, an
the thunder-claps was irwin to see
which could make the most noise. |
Jest sung out to John to git. an YOU
may reckon he did Git. Every time a
fresh thunder-ciap broke loose he seemed
to take it as al argument for him to 90
faster had the buggy top up when |
started, but afore we'd gone mile |
had 10 let II down flat. for the air press
ell into 1t 50 solid that couldn
breathe. When we rot into the heller
Jest tothcr side 0 Newtown, | looked
over my shoulder, an the wind was
racin' down the Hill not twenty rods
behind. an the cutters was runnin' full
q water, and when we got onto New.
town green the boiler was six niche,
deep with water When we went through
the centre the houses looked as if they
was all whirlin round, and it sorter o
made me dizzy.
"Juhn didn't seem to notice nothin'
but KEEP goin' Eastern faster till we ia,
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. went TO countn' ont 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
a runaway. for she dropped an aperr
full o chips an Hoped that gate oper
in less'n a quarter o second, an jus
in the nick o time to save John jump
in it. tried TO chuck the toll out, bu
all but three cents stuck on to my iing
era Jest by the force o the wind-w,
: was goin that fast, John slowed trih,
croSsn' the long bridge, cause he mus
q seen the notice about fast driyin
stuck up at the end. But when we got
off n the planks we more'n made up fol
it. You'd "a thought we'd bin crawl
in before by the way we went now. -
Up hill an down wewent a Ilukin', with
the thunder roarin' an hail an rain
rattin' some o the time not twenty feet
behind
Jest afore we struck Southbury
heared a cracklin', and lookin arounC
see what looked like a sky-rocket OF
the tellygraf wire, an knowed twas {
streak o lightnin' tryin to ketch us
Thinks !, John, old boy, you're bea
now, sure; but just give a cluck, an
he doubled on his gait rite of, Tha
streak tagged us to Southbury Centre
when it got sick o the job, an flew
off onto the roof Of Pulford's grocery.
81 noticed when John struck this last
squirt that the slack o the reins KEEP
shortenin up till had to get on my
knees an reach over the dashboard t
keep hold of 'em; them mir traces haC
u stretched nigh two feet an the whiille
;. tree was bent up like a rainbow. I'd {
y had to've dropped the lines if hadn
= had long therein in the buggy, anC
= spiced 'em out. We was llyin' so fas
after leaving Southbury that the tele
graph-poles on the country road locke,
- like a solid fence and all could see o
Middebury was the top of the churcl
, steepe, which was highern the poles