Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-07-26
A FEATHER RACER.
Bill Nyo Describes the Agile and Grace
full Ostrich.

William IL. hOOt, late Duko Vi OouN'
Gil Bluffs and project of police at Lara
mic City, in the state of Wyoming, ha;
secured, and is now training for the
track OH southern Wyoming ranch
five bright, intelligent and highly elas'
tic ostriches. Mr.. Root contemplates
taking these birds next season TO the
larger eastern cities and racing them
publicly, charging al admission price,
. of course, and has already written to
Mr.. Erastus Wiman regarding the use
of the Wild West grounds at Erastina
on Staten Island, for this purpose.
Those who have had the pleasure OF
riding OIL the back of the agile and
graceful ostrich stout de suite French
for ''immediately'O at the Jardin Ma
bille-or possibly l am mistaken In
this; it may be the Jardin dies Pie
Plants-will remember that lmmedi-
ately is a good roadster.
| A good horse h@ no business with
All ostrich. While horse is consid-
cring where he will put his hind feet,
so as not to cork himself, the ostrich,
with whole arm movement, steps of
at the rate. Of eighteen feet per step
with no danger to her extra limbs.
The ostrich also has her limbs reason
bly, far apart and therefore does not
interfere.
Abou Ben Pangborn, of Watermel-
on township, Congo county, had a
young filly ostrich which wanted to
sit in the summer of 70, and lie did
not wish to have her do so, as lie had
sold The setting of eggs to q Sunday
school for Easter. SO he tied her by
the hind leg at the kraal of neig h
Dor, 2Ss4 miles away. The chain
was attached TO her limb just below
the calf of the limb, the other end be-
ing fastened to the root OF a bambur-
rowallispus tree which grew near the
kraal.
When the desire to sit comes over
the female ostrich she cannot over
come it any more than a walking del
cgate can. She yields TO it and be-
comes its willing slave. You can play
on her with fire department or tie
red rag to her overskirt, but you can
not quench her desire to occupy sed-
entary position.
That was the way with this young
thing. Her name was Patience. She
had already sat several weeks Oh a
pineapple cheese, and, aside from
giving it rich home flavor, she could
not detect any progress toward hatch
ing out wholesale grocery store.
So one day great longing to get
back to her nest 2S24 miles away came
over her. She lost control of herself.
Her mother nature asserted itself In a
brief ejaculation such as the female
ostrich makes when suddenly con-
froEted by great mental problem.
In her minds eye she saw those SUN
day school children blowing the inte-
rior out of her large and juicy handi-
work, and then decorating the exterior
with lilies, etc, etc, and tying ribbons
to them, and Patience arose and grid
ed up her loins and gave a great kick
that busted the periphery of the kraal
and tore down the bulnburrowallispus
tree, and with the chain and prong
of the tree root, together weighing
thirty seven pounds, she trotted across
TO her home, by actual computation. in
sixteen minutes and twenty-five sec
onds, though Abou Ben Pangborn
made it little short of that with his
new stop sand glass. Patience thus
made record OF at least mile in thir-
ty-three seconds, carrying thirty seven
pounds attached to the calf OF her
limb.
Mr.. Root says that he can reduce
this record greatly, and has done so
already in several instances. He has
five birds now in hand, named and
described as follows:
Timbuctoo, large ashes of roses
bird, over ten feet high, who PAGES
without urging at thirty-seven on an
empty stomach. Give him little hot
lunch out of the cellar Of recently
burned hardware store and he can
make it in twenty-nine, so Mr.. Root
says. Timbuctoo has a powerful di-
gestion and a tspewOrm which cOaXes
ship chandlery and railroad rolling
stock. 1t will pay to get your tips
from Timbuctoo.
Overgrown Williams is a large,
soiled white gelding, with no record
as yet, though he has taken no dust
FROM any other bird in the United
States, barring those OH Mr.. Roots
ranch. lie is. young yet and awk-
ward. He also SHES some, and when
he does so is apt TO step out from un-
der his rider, leaving him in coma
tose state. He weighs 2S7 pounds, and
hopes TO do even better than that as
he fills ont by another spring.
T. DE Witt Talmage is pearl gray |
ostrich of rather slender build, who
has always led an upright life, or at
L l. l1Aw al |