, 1892-07-05
SKELETONS MARE.
How Charley Grainger's Stage
Horse Got Away With 1t.

An Entertaining story of Early
Racing in Washington Terri
tOry--SOmething That Will be
Appreciated by Olympia People.
They were in a group in a snug corner
of the Occidental, talking of the triumphs
Of Montana and Sunol, and of the recent
victories of White Hat McCarty on the Bay
District track. Story after story had been
told, and the interest had become very
strong indeed. One man said he didn't
remember time anywhere in the west
where the racing was greater than at the
recent meeting. "Oh, get out. This is
drawing it too strong. Let me tell you q
little episode about racing where there was
interest" The speaker was Wells Drury,
proprietor Of the Sacramento Evening
News. Everybody knew that Drury had
had all kinds Of experiences. He is a
veteran of the great mining camps, and
there has not been much of progress on the
coast that he is not familiar with, for he
was only small boy bound west in an
emigrant train when his parents died and
he was left to shift for himself. 'The
greatest race l ever heard Of" he said, and
the one which made more people rich and
poor than any other in the country, was
one that was run at Olympia in the early
sixties. There was owned in that town
by the Shelton brothers, a lively gelding
called the Blue Mare-rather a singular
name for a horse, but that's what they
called him. Well, he just beat
everything that was in the country.
He began with the Indian horses.
and climbed up till they brought horses
from everywhere, the finest racers they
could get, from all over, too, and he
uOWned every one, and the Shelton bows
were rolling in the wealth they got. The
Blue Mare was better than a gold mine
Well, there was running little old stage
line from Olympia to oSkOokemchuck man
named Charley Granger. He was the owner
OF many horses, some of which were fast,
but he had nothing which could get away
with the Blue Mare nor did he know OF
any. He kept his eyes peeled, however, for
he was determined to get a horse that
would somewhere near approach the
SheltOns' if it took lifetime The SheItons
had won his money, and that of many
others, and grown arrogant. Finally he
got track OF magnificent Kentucky horse
that had been brought to Oregon. The
horse was faster than a creased streak, and
Granger went to Oregon, tested him
quietly, became satisfied with him, and
tOrked over the large amount necessary for
his purchase. Then he didn't say a word.
He simply took him home and put him in
as the lead horse in his stage team.
zone day the Shelton's brought out the
Blue Mare and began to talk Of him as the
greatest racer in the world.
'Uh! he can't run at all, said Granger,
with contemptuous shrug. why, here's
Just common stage horse that can beat
him easy enough.
"If fire and lightning had blazed forth
from clear sky, the Shelton's could not
have been more astonished. They re.
garded the challenge as contemplate, yet
to teach Granger a lesson, they would bet
him. They put up everything they had,
and Granger and his few confidential
friends got in. When the day came off for
the race, there were thousands upon
thousands, from all over the territory, Ex-
citement was intense. But when the race
was won, the Blue Mare was beaten so
badly by the blooded Kentuckian that be
wasn't in it, and wreck and ruin was on
one hand while riches on the other. The
Sheltons never recovered sufficiently from
their defeat to enter the racing arena after
ward, and the Blue Mare sank from public
view torever." r."-Sam Ewing in San Fran
cisco Newsletter.