Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1890-10-09

Grice-I will call him-was an officer
in the regiment, stationed at little
town in the piney woods of North Car
DINA, and, besides having an excellent
idea of himself, was an ardent lover of
horses, although there were other men
who were better judges of horsetiesh
than he.
Along some time in 1867 the Colonel
imported horse from the North that
was rather speedy, and he talked about
that horse and its wonderful speed at
all times.
A brother officer, who had been
Major of volunteers, and was a mad
wag said to him one day in presence
of a number of officers and citizens:
"Grice, don't think that trotter of
yours is so fast, after all. I'll bet you
a hundred that 1 can take a razorback
hog, and in two weeks time Will race
!, your horse from Tarville to the Forks
} Tavern" The Forks Tavern being a
place just three miles from town, and
which was popular resort.
The guying of the crowd forced the
Colonel TO take the bet, and the race
was arranged for two weeks from that
day.
The man the Major lived with had
number of raZorbacks roaming about,
and it was not long before the Major had
long-legged, fearfully thin specimen
of that peculiar beast housed in pen
built high enough to keep him from
jumping or climbing out, as his kind
is apt to do ordinarily.
"Razor" got nothing to eat that night,
and next morning when the Major had
his man take the hog out to drive him
he 1ir-%, r. To
it was a hard Job to convince him that
he must not light out to hunt up his
missing dinner, supper. and breakfast.
Despite his loud protests, the hog
was finally driven and stoned along the
road to the tavern, and there he got
generous mess of corn, such as he had
not enjoyed for many day. When he
had loaded up, the Razor" had a good
sleep, and In the afternoon, after being
fed again, was in good-humor and was
easily taken back to his pen in town.
He got no supper, nor did he get a
bite of anything, except pine bark
from his pen, until the morning of the
third day, when he was taken again to
the tavern; going willingly enough as
soon as he found that was the road he
wanted to take. Good feeding took
place again, and again he went back to
: his pen.
Thenceforth Razor" was alternately
starved into misery and then fed to re-
pletion, and by the time the third trip
was made over the course he seemed
to have gotten the matter into. his
porcine head, and fairly dragged his
driver along at once. and then, when
released from his OBTAINING rope, lit
out on dead run for hissfeeding- place.
That settled it. He had learned his
lesson. If he was over-hungry, he
knew he would be well fed at the
Forks Tavern, and his anxiety to get
there ~to onct" increased his speed
each succeeding tlip.
Finally, when the day of the race
came, Razor" had had his starvation
training increased by the loss of two
extra meals, and he was making re-
marks In his own language that were
piercing to the ear and expressive as
well.
The animals were brought to the
Postoffice corner In Tarville, and, as
the story of the bet was known gener-
Ny, there were crowds gathered not
only at the starting point and the
Forks but the whole three miles of the
road was lined by grinning spectators.
Every one, including Colonel Grice,
thought the matter was only one of
the Majors practical jokes, and that it
would be settled by a big treat all
around. But Colonel Grice and al
hands were mistaken. The Major was
ready to back his razorbacik, and when
the crowd saw he was in earnest, he
gathered up a goodly number of bets
at excellent odds against his hog.
~ The preliminaries at last being set
tied, Colonel Grice sat in his spider
wagon holding his fast trotter, aud the
Major, with a slip-noose around his
hogs leg, held that hungry and impa-
tient beast, while a couple of colored