The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1882-08-05

the lew halrs IN IL streaming straight be
hind, one ear pricked forward and the other
turned sharply back, the great horse swept
grandly along at n pace that was rapidly
bringing him even with the rear line OF
the flying group. And yet, 20 little was
the pace TO him that he fairly gamboled in
playfulness as he went slashing along, till
the deacon verify feared that the honest
old chap would break through all bounds
of propriety and send his heels antically
through the treasured dashboard. Indeed
the spectacle that the huge horse presented
was so magnificent; his action so free
spirited and playful, as he came sweeping
onward, that cheers and exclamations such
as, Good heavens, see the deaconis old
horsew Just look at him ~ "What q
stride !" etc, etc, ran ahead of him, and old
Bill Sykes, n raine in his day, but now a
hanger-on at the village tavern. or that
section of it known as the bar, wiped his
watery eyes with his tremulous fist as he
saw Jack come swinging down, and, as he
swept past with his open gait, powerful
stroke and stiles playing well out. brought
his hand down with a mighty slap against
his thigh and said, "Tn be blowed if he IL
not n regular old timerP
Il was fortunate for the deacon and tn
parson hat the noise and cheering of the
r-owd drew the attention of the drivers
ahead, or there would have been more than
one collision for the old sleigh was of such
size and strength, the good deacon 80 un
skilled at the reins, and Jack, who was
adding to his momentum with every stride,
was going at so determined a pace, that,
had he struck the rear line, with no gap
for him to go through, something serious
would have happened. But, as it was, the
drivers saw the huge horse, with the cum
brous old sleigh behind him, bearing down
upon them at such n gait as made then
own speed, sharp as II was, seem slow, and
pulled out" in time to save themselves /;
and 50, without any mishap, the big horse
and heavy sleigh swept through the rear
row of racers like am autumn gust through
= clutter of leaves. -
But by this time the deacon had become
somewhat alarmed, for Jack was going
nigh to a 30 clip-a frightful pace for an
inexperienced man to ride-and began to
put a good strong pressure upon the bit,
not doubling that old Extraordinarily the
easiest horse in the world to manage
would take the hint and obediently slow
Up. out, though the huge morse took thS
hint, it was in exactly the opposite man
ner that the deacon intended he should, foi
he interpreted the little mans steady pull
as an intimation that his inexperienced
driver was getting over his furry and be
ginning to treat him as n horse ought to be
treated in n race, and that he could now,
having got settled to his work, GO ahead.
And go ahead he did. The more the dea-
con pulled the more the great horse felt
himself steadied and assisted. And so, tint
harder the good man tugged at the reins,
ehe more powerfully the machinery of the
big animal ahead of him worked, until the
deacon got alarmed and began to call upon
the horse to stop, crying whoa, Jack,
whoa, old boy, | say. Whoa, will you ROW ?
that'sa good fellow, " and many other coax
ng calls, while he pulled uway steadily al
he reins.
But the horse misunderstood the dea.
cons calls as he had his pressure on the
reins, for the crowd on either side was now
yelling and hooting and swinging their caps
so that the deacon's voice fell indistinctiy
on his ears at the best, and he interpreted hi.
calls for him to stop as only so many en-
couragements and signals for him to 20
ahead, and so, with the memory of 10t
races stirring his blood-the crowd cheer
ing him TO the echO-the s~teadying pull
and encouraging cries of his driver in hi
ears, and his only rival, the PAGER, whirl-
ing along only a few rods ahead of him
the monstrous animal, with n desperate
plunge that half lifted the old sleigh from
the snow, let out another link, and with
such q burst of speed as was never seen in
the village before, tore along after the PAGER
~ y oheh ~ NCliihC phCt tuut, WlUn1n tne dis
lance of n dozen lengths, he lay Tapped
upon him, and the two were going it nos,
and nose.
What is that feeling In human heart
which makes us sympathetic with man OF
animal who has Unexpectedly developed
courage and capacity whenlengaged in q
struggle in which the odds are against him ?
And why do we enter so spiritedly into
the contest, and lose ourselves in the ex-
element of the momentP Is it pride ? Is
it the comradeship of courage? Or is it
the rising of the indomitable in us, that
loves nothing so much rs victory, and hates
nothing so much as defeatP Be this as it
may, no sooner was old Jack fairly Tapped
on th- PAGER, whose driver was urging him
llong with reins and voice alike, and the
contest seemed doubtful, than the spirit
of old Adam himself entered into the dea-
con and the parson both, so that, carried
away by the excitement of the race, they
fairly forgot themselves, and entered as
wildly into the contes- as two ungodly
Jockeys,
Deacon Tubman,r said the parson, as he
clutched the rim of his tall hat, agains,
which the NOW chips, as the horse tore
hong, were pelting in showers, more stout
ly, Deacon Tubman, do you think the
PAGER will beat us? '
Not if / car help y! not if / can help
itw yelled the deacon in reply, as, with
something like a reinsman's skill he in
stinctively lifted Jack to another squirt
go it, old boy he shouted encourag-
ingly. Go along with you go along with
you, l say n and the parson, also, carried
away by the whirl of the moment, cried
$50 along, old boy! Go along with you, !
sayp
This was the very thing and the only
thing that the huge horse, whose blood was
now fairly atlnme, wanted to rally him for
the hnal effort and, in response 10 the
encouraging cries of the two bthind hi.t.
he gathered himself together for another
burst of speed and put forth his collected
strength with such tremendous energy and
suddenness of movement that the little
deacon, who had risen and was standinp
erect in the sleigh, fell back Into the arms
OF the parson, while Inc great horse rushed
over the line a winner by a clear length,
amid such cheers and roars of laughter as
were never heard in that village before.
Nor was the horse any more the object
I public interest and remark-we NAV
say favorable remark-than the parson.
who suddenly found himself the center of
q crowd of his own parishioners, many of
whom would scarcely be expected as par
ucipants of such a scene, but who. thawed
out of their iGness by the genial temper
of the day, and vastly excited over Jacks
contest, thronged upon the good man.
laughing as heartily as any jolly sinner in
the crowd.
So everybody shook hands with the par.
son and wished him n happy New Year.
and the parson shook hands with everybody
and wished them all many happy returns ;
and everybody praised old Jack and rallied
the deacon on his driving, and then every
| hnlv wont botna .raNIn,tu-l - -