Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-06
V,HE cLANa OF THE GONG e rustlins


the clicking OF snap hooks, and the hrs COM
pany was ready. This IL what . reporter Of
THE STAR saw happen in exactly fifteen SEQ
onds as he sat in fire engine house the other
night Every one in the house wAs asleep when
the alarm came in; even the horres were
stretched out in their comfortable stalls on
bed of rye straw over two feet deep, and moth
ing stirred the stiffness save the regular CRACK,
crack, of the steam as il came from the boiler
in the rear Of the house and entered the nrs
engine. The watch had just been relieved.
when the scene changed Ii seemed quicker
than thought, and reminded one Of o panto-
mime where the harlequin waves his
magic wand. But the most won
derful part Of the change vas
that In which the horses figured.
A minute before these noble animals were sp-
ing about, eager 10 be on. IL was indeed
wonderful sight to see them jump ut the stroke
OF the gong and rush through the stall doors
on dead run, only to stop In position before
the engine and hose carriage while the sus,
pended harness pulled down and fastened
on them by snap hooks Then they were Al
impatience and watched for the street doors 20
swing open TO be of like streak. The life OF
fre horse Is full Of excitement and they seem
TO enjoy II thoroughly.
ho~ IhEf AhE
But how are they trained 70 answer alarms,
even when they are sleeping9 Chief Paris ex-
planned the matter to q STAR reporter Q few
days ago. He said:
Fire horses, like human beings, are wonder
inily peculiar, and horse must lie intellectual
To become one of u.s. You would be astonished,"
ne added, what a great difference there IL IN
horses from an intellectual standpoint Why,
We get hold OF a horse now and then 20 stupid
,hat were the same stupidity shown in q human
being the man would be act down ~ an idiot
We call these dummy horses and send them
back to the owner. Ii has been my plan ever
since assuming charge of the fire department 20
pay strict attention TO the purchase Of horses-
DO II all myself and insist upon Q thorough
trial before accepting one.
BUYING A HORSE.
For instance, man in Virgins has Q horss
he wants TO sell First of all / INQUIRE a. 20
his age, height and weight. To come mp to the
standard he must not be less than i've nor more
than eight years old, then he must rot weigh less
than 800 pounds and must cost about e25o
After he is received our veterinary surgeon
makes a thorough examination of him. and n
found sound turns him over TO me for trial.
he Is then put in charge Of the foreman Of one
OF the companies and his first lesson il given
at noon when the twelve strokes come in.
fiaclng HIM IN stall one OF the men stands
with HIM and he is led out TO the engine and
the harness adjusted several times But that
Is not all, by any means" continued the chief;
his disposition and endurance must be studied
the same as IN the case OF a race horse. After
you thoroughly know your horse and have
found out his bad points and corrected them
you can let him respond by himself A mood
horse has wonderfully retentive memory and
after he once learns his drill never forgets.
THE RULING PASSION.
"As an example of this remember SOM
years ago an old fire horse was condemned and
sold. He was bought by q milkman Several
months had elapsed since he left the service,
when an alarm struck. The horse was jogging
along the street at a car-horse pace when the
engines came by him on a dead run Up gets
the old fellow and sticking out his head made
after the lying engine. His owner tried hard
to stop him, but the old horse was in for il and
wouldn't let up until the scene Of the fre vas
reached"
CARING FOR THE HORSES.
Show many horses have you in the service,
chief" asked the reporter.
Sat present we have forty-four regulars ana
six extras. They are all sound, " he added.
and as happy as possible. But why shouldn't
they be? The best Of care and food is given
them, and they fare great deal better than the
men. When a horse returns 90 quarters from
fire he is thoroughly rubbed down and ex-
| amined carefully all over for bruises lame
ness, loose shoes, projecting nails, &c AT the
FIRST indication of a horse being out Of his nor
NAL condition the veterinarian is sent for ana
an extra horse put in his place. No matter
how late il is the men have TO groom thom be-
fore turning in for the night. When morning
comes they are again groomed aad fed regu-
larly three times day. Their food Ia carefully
cleaned of all impurities; the hard wood floors
of their stalls are bad upon their feet 10 10
keep their pedal extremities in good condition
the hoofs are packed twice a week With fanseed
meal and salt made into paste.
THE LENGTH SERVICE.
Show long does the average fire horse
serve?'
''Three years Of active service In generally
enough to make them useless. The first signs
of weakness generally come in the back You
see the heavy strain Of the apparatus soon
wears them out"
''What becomes Of them then? Why, thew ar,
turned over TO the property clerk Of the Dis-
trict and he generally sends them 20 the aims
house for use on the farm. Ii is about the sAme
with fire horses as with men. When their use
fulness is gone they go to the poor house And
they know that it's all over with, that ths
hardest work is yet to come"
THE INTELLIGENCE OF HORSES
"Do you believe horses understand what yoa
saw" queried the scribe.
THAT'S Just what I do believe" rejoined
the chief IF you we're 20 go in an engine
house and yell fire they would soon convince
YOU that they know what that word means
MlN, suppose COMES H. Innt II
an alarm over the telephone. The man who
takes the message calls turn out and the nrst
ones to respond are the horses"
How do You select names for the horses7"
ssThe horses Of the fire department have no
names, but are known by their numbers A
horse number is never used but once; IL d.
with the horse"
COURAGE or HORSES.
The records of the fire department sre FUN q
interesting stories of the courage and intslli-
gence of fire horses. The wonderful courage
and endurance Of the horse who pulled his hoof
off while running to FIRE and afterwArd ran
with the engine over q mile Is but one example
Of the bravery Of the fire horses- But Of ~
the noble horses in the fire department there ID
none, SO the chief says, that can surpass his
grand old gray Charley, 20 often seen and %
well known by the residents Of Washington.
THE CHIEFS HORSES.
Charley stands ISL hands high and weighs
about I $50 pounds. He was seven years old
when purchased and is now fourteen. On 60
count of his fiery ambition he vas almost I'M
manageable, but Chief Paris soon trained hin
and for four years he has besn drawing TIE
head of the FIRE department.
No one can imagine the Intelligence and en-
durance Of this faithful animal unlss they
could see him in the times and excitement OF
an alarm Of fre. AZ present Charley 10 taking
a much-needed rest and Broncho b doing his
duty The chiefs wagon and horse are placed