Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-09-06
AFoRrUNE IN A HORSE.
Henry Graves One Hundred-Doiiar
Trotter that Won Him a Million.

From the Chicago Herald.
''Do you see that old man there with big
cane, SLOUGH hat and two CLASSY looking
eyes-the one who is just now trying to buy
an auction poolp That man made more
money out of trotting horse than any other
man ever made, and he did it right here in
Chicago, too. How much? Almost mil
lion. Yes, sir; pretty nigh clean million
dollars. And he made it all off one horse, TOO
The old mans name is Graves-Henry
Graves Way back in the fortles ne Kept q
public house out on the Cottage Grove road.
His place was quiet resort for horsemen,
and Graves was a horse sharp himself. III
had as keen an eye for horsefesh-I mean
trotting horses, for. like all the old time
horse men. he wouldn't go across the ROAD 10
see running horse or running race-as any
man ever knew. One day he bought horse
right out OF a farm wagon, in front OF his tay-
ern, for 500. He had sized her up for trot-
ter, and he made no mistake. The mare
turned out to be trotter OF the first water
for those days, and with her Graves won
scores of good races.
"At that time W. F. Myrick had public
house not far from Graves, and he was al so
trottiDg horse man. He owned Jack Rossiter,
crack flyer, and great rivalry sprang up
between the two landlords as to which had
the faster animal. They were not long in
making up race, which was won by Lady
Jane. Graves mare. Myrick wasn't satisfied,
ndtrled 1t again, only to be beaten the second
time. But he wouldn't give up. He made
another match and lost, and still another and
another, never stopping until he had lost
eleven straight races. And he wouldn't have
stopped then If he hadn't run out OF money
to back his horse with. Those were great
races, l tell you-two- mile heats. most OF
them-and lots of excitement and heavy bet
ting. 1t seems to me we never have any such
races nowadays.
About Graves million dollars? oh, yes.
Though he backed his mare with all he could
rake and scrape, he didn't win million in
money. Of course. But I'll tell you what he
dlu-he won fifty eight acres of land lying
just west of Cottage Grove avenue, and be-
tween what Is now Thirty first and Thirty
NTH streets. One story is that Myrick used
TO own this land, and that he bet 1t against
$4,000 with Graves on the eleventh and last
race, and lost. Graves denies this, but says
that he purchased the land on time before he
purchased the mare, and that the mare
earned him the money to pay for 1t with.
HOW thai Is | don't know, but 10 Is certain
that Graves made the land with that mare.
He held to the property until the CITY had
grown all AROUND him. and o few years ago
sold it out, excepting his own home. for sum
ranging between $500, GOO and 5000. 0C0.
strange as 1t may seem Myrick got rich
out Of those races, too. The eleven defeats
was fnAlly compelled to sell his horse. The
selling purse was 81 SOC, and most of this he
invested in land. and the rise in the value of
the land made him a wealthy man. 1t was
on the site of Myrck's tavern that John B.
sherman, coming from the Bulls Head,
started the first South Side Chicago Stock
ards, and on Graves land Camp Douglas
was esta blIshed. Each track is now covered
over with hundreds of handsome dwellings"