The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-03-18
Some Long. Headed Horses.

!
room L in the City Hall yesterday, with
ms chair by window and his hat by his
sue. He was comfortably posed. The
engine house at Chambers and Centre
streets was well in view, and perhaps it
was the sight of it which prompted the
eA-Alderman to say: ~ go .....-.. .t...
- Fire engine horses show amazing in
1eillgence sometimes, and do remarkable
tnings, but it seems to me that the per-
1ormance of Chief Bates horse goes
ahead of everything else on record,
What was it ?''
Last Sunday the Chief was away"
the ex-Alderman said. ''In his absence
Assistant Chief Shay was driven down
Town to the big cotton fire by Bates
driver behind the Chiefs horse. Later
tney went up again to Fire Department
headquarters, in Mercer Street, and
shay and the driver jumped out and
went into the building, leaving the horse
and wagon outside. They had just
mounted the stairs when the big gong in
the hall struck 225. The horse heard it
and started on dead run down Mercer
Street, without any driver, at his regu-
lar gait. No. 225 is the alarm box on
the corner of Stanton and Attorney
Streets, way over on the east side. The
horse rushed down Mercer Street to
canal, swinging out of the way for
trucks and carts exactly as though
steered by his driver, and galloped along
Canal eastward to the Bowery. He
turned up the Bowery toward Stanton
Street. and cleared the vehicles until, in
swervng one side, he collided with a
big freight car going up from the old
depot, and the little red wagon was
caught. The horse got free, however,
and Went bounding along alone until he
had neary reached Stanton Street, when
Battalion Chief Breslin came down the
Bowery ard turned into Stanton Street
The Chief shorse followed Breslin to the
fire, where heswas known and taken
care Of" H Hn o..
Had the horse been in that direction
to fire that lay?'' ..r.-...
"No; he had Just returned from down
town. He didn't run away, and the only
solution is that he knew the location of
No. 225." ...
elbow long. has the Chief had him?''
Two years. He has two horses. He
goes to all fires south of Fourteenth
Street, and all third alarms north, so it
requires lots of work of the horses.
Horses learn their duties just as boy
learns his trade. Some years ago Thirty
three engine had horse named Buck
skin, on account of his color, that had to
be sold because he was soft-footed. You
see, their feet can t stand the terrific
work at the engine forever, and they re
sold at auction when they've outlived
their usefulness on the engine, though
they re perfectly good for other pur.
poses. Well, Buckskinwas bought by q
Seventh Avenue feed store man. He
found him a good horse and used him
well. One day he was on Seventh
Avenue with heavy load of feed, and
was just above Twentieth Street when
there was an alarm of fire from Thirty
seventh Street. Twelve truck came
sweeping out of Twentieth Street anG
went bowling up the Avenue with hel
gong ringing. Buckskin was alone; he
had a big load, and he was out of prac
tice; but he went to that fire in first-clas
style, jerking the load of feed up tn,
Avenue in way that made people look
After that they tied him when there wa.
any fire under way.
THAT reminds me of Engine Thirty
old team. They were bought by a truck
man. One day he was carting heav,
load of goods from a North River steam
err, when he had occasion to pass thu
teams old engine house in Spring Street
When an engine team returns from fire
the horses walk right Up on the sidewalk
are unhitched, and the engine is backed
in. When Thirty's old team came t.
the house they walked right up, too. TIL,
driver might as well have tried to jum}
over house as to stop them. There they
stood, waiting to be unhitched, and they
they wouldn't move. Finally one of thu
firemen told the driver to get up to hi
seat and get a good hold of the reins
Then he went in and struck the alarm
The horses thought it was fire, ant
away they went like shot, load and all
The truckman avoids Spring Street now.
Very intelligent"
I" should say so. 1t reminds me o.
Thirty-three's tender horse Bill. Yol
know the horses have to be hitched VI
many times day without leaving tn,
house. Along the side of the engine i
rope that the engineer rings the gon.
with when going to fire. When they
have hitch up at Thirty-three and don
90 out, Bill waits till he's released iron
the tender and then goes to the engine
SEXES the rope, and rings the gong lik'
a pirate That's his idea of fun. H
learned the trick himself. They've som
good horses up in Thirty-three. They'r
fed four times day--at 8, ~, and
o'clock, and exactly fifteen minutes be
fore feeding time one of the engin
horses, Jim, begins to pound the irol
column at the head of his stall with hi
off forefoot. That foot just falls ther,
with the force and regularity of a tril
hammer until Jim gets his feed.
Talking about intelligent animals re
minds me of Thirty-one's Thomas-cat
which goes to every fire. In pleasan
weather he jumps on the coil of hose o.
the tender, and in chilly weather h
crawls into the ashpan of the engine
He never gets left, however cold it is.
"Are the cats as intelligent as tn
horsesp" r1 I ~ .l H
II can't say; but just happen t
think of Truck No. 5. They had a do
named Ginger that would go up an,
down q ladder three stories tall as easil