Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1891-08-14

d
apprehensive that had crowded her
little bit too hard and caused the lame
ness Then recalled the soulful
chuckle from George Washington, her
darby groom, when he rubbed her
down and gave her her feed. 'Dey
amt no horse dat kin beat 20, honey,
ness dey got wings, hs had murmured
as he stroked her clean legs. | felt
that there mus be false impression
out some way and l was about to en-
press myself to that effect when | got a
wink from the governor that Under
stood meant that should emulate the
example of the clam, shut up and
think. went over to tho stable to see
the invalid. There she was her legs
AL wrapped up in flannel bandages, and
a strong odor OF linimept permeated
the atmosphere; she must be lame.
Several sympathetic natives called and
offered their condolences. They said it
was really too Bad that we had come so
far to have to walk back, it would be so
much further.
Il was questioned by many as to the
extent of her injury. admitted In my
innocent, childish way that she must
be lame. The governor had an inter-
view with Mr.. Orr, Bobs owner, and
intimated that he would like to have a
show for his white alley. That gentle
man said he knew he had eipch'
from the start, and he Would stick to
terms OF the race as laid down by the
governor. Soon after the conference
the boss began to hedge, or try to-
Odds were offered by Bob's hackers,
and it seemed as if their money would
go begging, until the day of the raec,
when money was taken at odds on the
mare until quite a pot of it was up. In
the excitement nobody seemed to notice
that takers were coming rather anxious
to get all the bets that could be pro-
cured at any odds offered. The time
drew near for the race, and the town
was evacuated. Everybody went out to
the fair grounds TO see it. There was
no regulation costume for that day.
There was the soldier in blue, farmer
in jeans, and the citizen in broadcloth.
''The track was half mile and In
tolerably good condition. There was
no grand stand and the crowd iostled
and stood as near the track as possible
The first horse to come ON the track
was Bob. of course he received an
ovation. Then the mare followed
The flannel bandages were still on her
legs and bound SO tight that she
stepped almost stiff legged. Bob's
rider, boy about my own age, was up
and eager for the start Well, they
took the blanket off of the mare. She
stood with her head we'll up, eyes
bright, coat sleek, and ears forward
Put the saddle on her. said the
governor, and then, taking me by the
arfA and stepping aside, he whispered;
My son, there is a heap of money on
this race; force the mare from start to
finish; make him run that first mile as
fast as he can These were my instruc-
tions,
"'Get ready said the starter.
Take the bandages off, said the
governor. Then | mounted her and
the horses were headed in the opposite
direction to which they were going to
run, as was the custom in that country
at that time.
Ready. We leaned forward and
took good hold on the reins, clinched
our teeth, and waited
Bang, and off we went after wheeling
our horses about. Bob got the advan-
tage on the start by three good lengths,
steadied my mare and then began
giving her the whip from the go, and
soon drew up alongside of the horse,
/ forced him; made him strain every
muscle. He did run nobly for three
quarters of a mile, but could see he
was weakening just trihe as we came
down the headstretch on the second
turn. drew to his nose and he was
pumping hard for all the wind ne
could get. The mare seemed to be
getting better. AS we passed the
crowd | began to draw away, and how
they did yell with chagrin. was only
kid and didn't have sense enough to
get scared, but l realized that that
crowd was mad by large majority
and might make trouble for me, as !
had to pass them twice more before
could win their money. could hear
Bob blowing behind me and made the
pace little hotter. When we got just
past the quarter on the second mile
he quit. His head went down and his
tail went up and he was beat. AS |
came past the crowd the third time |
knew they were red-hot, and something
was liable to happen at any minute.
gave the mare her full head and then
the whip and spur. AS we rounded the
turn for the finish that human mass
began to writhe and surge on to the
track. 1t seemed to be their intention
to block me and make my horse fly the
track. She headed right for them as
il she was blind. The air seemed to
be full of hats, arms, umbrellas and
strong language. There was just a
little opening left just about wide
enough to squeeze through. AS the
brave little mare dashed through that
enraged throng hands clutched at her
bride and my legs, but they never
touched us, 81 saw the governor wav.
ing his hand and reckoning me to run
through the gate and | did. We gal
Hoped two miles and half into town
and then two miles further until we
got to rendezvous in the brush, where
the governor had sent our stock fol
safety. The mare had run six mile:
and a half, and did not seem to be any
the worse for it, either
After we got everything safe we
went back to town and collected our
bets. William Hikcock protected us
He got the right tip before the race
you see. Wild Bill, as he was more
Familiarity called, made Springfield his
headquarters about that time. We left
that night | don't know what theil