The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-12-15
A FAST HORSE.
How Farmer scagg's Mare Made Mile
In Two Minutes and Four Seconds.

How Farmer scagg's Mare Made Mile
In Two Minutes and Four Seconds.
They were talking about horses. and
more particularly about Nancy Hanks
wonderful record of 2:05I4 Everyone
seemed to be more or less impressed
with the marvellousness of this record
except old Mr.. Scaggs. retired farmer.
She's fast, yes,' he said. tBut /
oncet owned a mare up on the farm as
:ould beat her. That mare was light
lin on legs Polly was her name
named her after Mrs Scaggs's mother,
and finer woman you never met. She
could bake all around any other woman
in the country, an when it came to me
bein' sick. she'd nurse me tenderlier
than as if | wasn't son-in-law at all,
but her own boy. My, how she could
troti"
Your mother-in-law?" asked one of
the circle.
mo; the hoss," snapped Scaggs. with
| fire in his eve I'm tai kim about the
boss | bought her when she was eight
years old from old Mrs Tompkins She
wasn't much on looks, Mrs. Tompl1ins
wasn't, but she was business all
| through. When her husband died she
took charge of the grocery, an added
millinery department to it, nd by Joe!
inside of a year she was a BILE to close up
the grocery md do nothin' but make
hats. Tompkins used to hitch her up
to the delivery wagon, you know, but
of course" q
You don't mean tosay that any man
was ever me an enough to hitch his wife
up to 4 grocery wagon, and make her
haul the packages about town?' queried
the inquisitive member of the party
| "Ain't said nothin' O. the kind" re-
torted Scaggs. Don't you get too
funny. I'm talkin' about the boss 1
was goin' on to tell We how when old
Mrs. Tompkins got maxim two-dollar
hats for the women folks nd sellin' 'em
to EN- for ten, she give up the grocery
business, nd so didn't have any use for
the boss old TompSins had used for
drivin' his delivery wagon 1t happened
l wanted a hoss bout that time, nd so
l called on old Mrs Tompllins to talk
it over. She was only eight years old
at the time, and hadn't much style
about her. though she was calculated to
be Eastern anything else in town 1
asst old Mrs. Tompkirs what she'd take.
nd she says twenty-four dollars
That's pretty high for an eight-year
old. says l. I'll give We dollar nd a
half year for the boss That's twelve
| dollars"
MAKE it two and she's yours says
old Mrs. Tompkins.
Throw in hat for my wife says
1, md it goes
| "'Done." says she.
so / bridIed her. paid the money,
nd led her home. Few days later some
o the boys KNOWN as / had sportin'
blood. came an asst me to let Polly trot
on a mile track for the record. My wife
didn't want me to at first. because she
was little off her feed, nd didn't ap-
prove of racin' anyhow, but when the
boys offered a purse of ten dollars if
she could beat 2:lO. she let up So said
| all right and we set date"
well, what was the result?" asked
the inquisitive youth
Two four FOR the mile" said Scagg2
Two four?- cried the whole circle at
once. !,
Yep" said ScaggS But it was the
track as helped her. There was some
thin in the track as had ought to
give some o the credit, for the old mare
couldn't beat more'n four minutes at
the county fair grounds"
What was the special quality of the
track, Scaggs?" asked one of the party
WAL, said Scaggs. slowly, ''as far
as | could make out mile on our track
warn't more'n half mile on any
other. -Harper's Magazine.