The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-14
HORSES FOR DELIVERY.
PRIVATE TURNOUTS RlvALLED BY
THE DRY GOODS TEAMS.
Merchants in New York Seek to Make n
Display of Horse Flesh While Serving
Their Customers - Some Fine Coack
Horses Come from Dry Goods Stores.

| Display of Horse Flesh While Serving
Their Customers Some Fine Coach
Horses Come from Dry Goods Stores.
A stylishly dressed young woman tripped
| down the stairs of brownstone house on
Madison avenue the other day and walked
| to the curb. where her brougham was await
| ing her. A footman listened TO her orders
attentively and then climbed up to the box
alongside the coachman. The handsome
! pair of bays arched their necks and started
| of on a trot with a grace which showed
| that they were team worth owning. Just
as they were starting off another team
drove up, door or two away. These two
were a well matched pair as well, and
| looked every whit as well fed and sleek as
/ the Others But instead of drawing a
brougham they were attached TO delivery
wagon of one of the big dry goods stores.
Their driver eyed the other team narrowly.
by George!' he said, turning to his as
sistant, that's the very same team which
the boss sold TO So-and-so, the banker, last
week, and a good sum he got for them too
I'd know those horses anywhere, for have
driven them myself for the last six months,
and would never forget that step. They'll
attract more attention, perhaps, than they
did in this rig, but I'll wager they won't
get any better treatment than when we
had them"
The driver of the dry goods wagon was
right, and the young woman who was
driving behind the pair of bays was all I'M
conscious that the horses Of which she was
so proud had been engaged the week before
in the plebeiaa business of delivering bun
dies around town.
VALUE OF HORSES IN BUSINESS.
They had been bought by her father for
a round 81 200, and only the coachman was
in the secret as to where they came from.
The fact that they had been work" horses
might have spoiled their beauty in her
ewes, but if she ever does find out the Sc
cret she can console herself by the fact
that hers is not the only team to be seen on
Fifth avenue which has come from the
same source.
Several of the big dry goods stores have
horses among their stock which viii chal-
lenge comparison with the better class of
carriage horses owned by wealthy indi-
viduals. In no other business is the quail
ity of horse flesh higher than in the dry
goods business. The rivalry has been so
sharp among the more pretentious estab-
bargain counter One or two of the
wealthiest of the dry goods men hit upon
plan few years ago to attract attention
TO their stores. The general delivery sys-
TEN had been in vogue for some time, and
it occurred to one of the dry goods kings
that if his goods were delivered IN style to
his fashionable customers the impression
made would be valuable one to him.
ha -
and footman in livery and bought num-
Der of fine horses at big prices. He got the
best harness that the market could afford,
and his rigs did make the impression that
he had calculated on. Other houses fol-
lowed his example, until now the store
keeper that wants to get fashionable Gus
tom expects, as matter of course, to make
his deliveries with proper amount of
style. Otherwise he knows that he stands
a good chance of being left behind in the
race The stables of these dry goods
houses form a big item of expense, for
many of them are models in their way, and
the horses are well cared for.
\ firm on Twenty-third street have al
ways taken an especial pride in the horses
they use, and the superintendent of their
big stable says that of the lis horses owned
by the firm not one has been bought for
less than $780, The head of the firm does
the buying himself. and every horse which
his superintendent picks out must be
brought around to him for approval.
EXCELLENT CARE GIVEN.
The dry goods man takes as much care
in selecting his business horses as he does
in choosing a team for his private use The
reporter went through the stables in COM
knows every one of the ninety-fve horses
in it by name, and is justly proud of the
establishment over which ne presides. The
ground floor, into which the teams are
driven from the street, is covered with
cement, which is always kept clean. On
the floor above are the stalls, and it was a
very tempting array of horsetiesh which
they contained.
"Those horses" said Mr.. Denmead
couldn't be cared for a whit better in
private stable. They are groomed just as
regularly, and we employ a veterinary
whose business it is to be on the watch for
the slightest ailment. As a general thing
we buy them in the New York market, and
frequently the dealers, when they have a
horse which they think will suit us, send
it around here on trial We pay all the
way from 500 to $3.50, and we even got a
pair once which cost $500 piece. That
was an unusual price, though. although
we have sold our horses as high as that.
1t would surprise you if should give you
the names of some of the private families
who drive out behind horses that have been
bought of us.
Every few days some one is dropping in,
trying to get one or more of our horses
from US. Sometimes we Will hit upon q
specially well matched pair, and then one
of our customers who has caught sight Of
them will try to bargain for their sale.
Here the horses are better housed than
many poor family in New York, and well
groomed and well fed as they are they can
naturally stand the work much better than
they otherwise might. Almost all of the
horses come from the west, although few
are raised in the state"
In one of the six box stalls reserved rs a
hospital for the horses that may fall i'll
stood black horse, which looked just as
young as bis companions.
THAT horse" said the superintendent,
as he patted his flank affectionately, rs "a
years old, although he don't look a day
over IS. He has served the house since
1878, and now IN his old age he Is peusioned
of. He never does any hard work, and
the orders are To care for him just as well
as any of the others until he dies. New
York sun