Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-10-15

to England, at the age OF ~, he
WAS dressed "in corduroy trousers, 8
hunting shirt with fringes, moccasln
shoes, and cup made from coons
skin, with the tail hanging down be-
hind" What a figure he must have
made in Birmingham, where he went
into business 1t probably did not
take him long to change his DRESS
however, for we learn that he was very
successful in pleasing his employers,
and in time he became the head OF
business of his own, and realized q
large fortune.
On going from the free life Of our
Western plains to the crowded streets
of English cities, one of the first things
Mr.. Flower noticed was the cruelty
shown in the treatment of animals.
Every overdriven cab horse, every un-
happy-looking dog, every mule or goat
compelled to work hard and suffer
blows from unfeeling men and boys,
appealed to his heart. He resolved to
do everything he could to help the
poor creatures who could not speak to
tell their own wrongs.
The way in which carriage-horses
are harnessed, and especially what is
called the bearing -rein," aroused Mr..
Flowers Indignation. He issued a pam
phlet entitled Horses and Harness"
in which he says, "a tight bearing-rein
is used to pull the horses heads up, a
fixed martingalc to pull them down,
and close blinkers to prevent them from
seeing their way" He maintained that
no horse could have his head so
strapped up without suffering the great
est misery. Yet it is done by people
who claim to be thoughtful and consid-
crate. He even tells about going to a
meeting Of the Society for the Proven
ton of Cruelty to Animals, and finding
dozen carriages at the door with the
horses suffering in this way. He tried
to call the attention of the meeting to
the subject, and they ordered him to
be put out of the room.
But the more difficulties Mr.. Flower
met with, the harder he worked
Everywhere he went, particularly in
southern countries, like France, Italy,
and Egypt, he saw animals overworked
and overladen. He did all he could in
the way of talking and writing, and
interesting influential people in the
cause. In conjunction with Sir Arthur
Helps he issued book on the subject,
entitled animals and their Masters. /"
When he was rs years old he prepared,
with the help Of his wife, a volume
called "The Stones of London" This
was to call attention to the various
methods of paving city streets. Bit
terly he denounces the terrible cobble-
stones over which the poor cart-horses
are compelled to drag their heavy
loads. Their disappearance from the
main thoroughfares of nearly all our
great cities is the direct results of his
efforts
Few men have worked more faith
fully in good cause than Mr. Flower.
The story of his life in the West, and
the incidents Of his long and faithful
struggle to tighten the troubles of ami
mails, read like romance. No man
was ever more interested or enthusi-
astic in any work he had undertaken.
OF the terrible "bearing-rein" which
troubles horses so much, he has been
heard to say, Though I am old I do
not despair Of living long enough to
have it engraved upon my tombstone,
He was one Of those men who caused
the bearing-rein to be abolished. %
Haape,'s Young People.