Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-04-14
ri0NiNs JofNsoN's BULL RACE.
Open to Evervkhlng That wore Hair anG
 Went on Four Legs.

Open to EvervthIng That wore ITaIr and
 Went on Four Legs. A Portland gentleman was discussing the breeders association and it prepara- tions with party of friends one after noon when he asked:
 Did you ever see bull race?''
 No, no one present had even seen a. bull race. So the old boy went orf to tell his story.
 "The race of which speak," he said, s'took place on little half-mile track along the Monongahela river, just above the old town of Brownsville, in Fayette county, Pa, about fifty years ago. It was a notable event, and no house-warming agathering of the old Fayette pioneers or their children, whefe the applejack and walnuts are passed around in those parts, ever recurs wit bout a repetition of all the particulars of 'Hominy Johnson's bull | race
 "In those palmy days of the olden | time, & half century ago, the horse- race and the militia-training day were | the special events for fun and amuse- ment for everybody-a sort of free-for- all. And on this particular occasion
 
 a race free-for-all that wore hair and went on four legs, never dreaming that such generous latitude might let in a representative of the bovine race. But l a co1ored brother by the name of John. son, who made his way by peddling hominy, saw in this race an opening to turn an honest penny and gather in the ten-dollar stakes. which would provide l Sally and the chiPens' with shoes for | the next winter. Johnson had a scrub | bull which he had trained to work and l ride like a horse, so that he could ride him to- town, carrying his sack of hominy, or hitch him in shafts | and sled in his winters wood or blow his crop of 'cawn and taters.' 1 So he resolved that the bull should run for this money. And while the 'bloods' used the track in the daytime to train their horses, Johnson would repair thither at the wee sma' hours to put the bull round and round, so that there would be no throw off for want of an 1 understanding of what was wanted of him on race day.
 Finally the day came and with it Johnson and his bull; but the presence of the bull tied at the fence was not noted, for Johnson rode him as other people rode their horses. The whole country side was there, and not the least noisy of the delighted gamins was
 little Jim Blaine, with his trousers sus- pended by single 'galus' and rolled
 up to his knees.
 "The free-for-all race was finally
 called, and promptly HominY Johnson bestrode his bull and appeared in front of the judges stand and demanded to be assigned place. The judges promptly ruled him out, but Johnson
 refused to go, appealing to the words
 of the advertisement. The crowd was
 not slow to see the point, and rallied to
 the support of Johnson, seeing that if the bull spoiled the race he would make
 bushels of fun. Loud cries were made to give Johnson and his bull a show, and threats were not lacking that ii there was not fair deal there would soon be a e-for-an fight. The apple. jack had got in it's work, and finally, seeing no alternative, Johnson on his bull was assigned to the outside of the D track, the word was given and away s went the motley gang of racers, guar ! ter nags, family nags, old stagers, plow horses, and Johnson's bull lickety Brin E dle down the first quarter, Johnson . hanging to the Hanks of his aristocratic S rivals.
 "But knowing that the bull could mol hold out for more than two hundred I yards Johnson had provided means tc F make up by strategy what his nag 6 lacked in speed. His saddle was + a dry cowhide. and he carried dinner-horn and wore pail ;, of revolutionary spurs, and as sooI as Brindle made signs of stacking ul . he applied his whip vigorously to th' 0 hide. plunged the spurs into the bulrl
 flank, and between the rattling of tht e hide and the believing of the bull every horse on the course flew tn, IS track, broke across the field, and nC '' efforts of the jockeys could return
 them to the race. But the bull stucl to his work, going the rounds of th
 entire track, and as he came down tn
 homestretch the bulls of Bashan' wer
 mot a patching to the believing O
 this bull. with tail waving aloft, witt Ie Johnson thrashing the cowhide an le footing his horn in triumph, while tn a. crowd broke into such roars and cheer 1t ing that pandemonium itself seemed t 1t have broken loose.
 It Johnson got the stakes, with a gen n- erous voluntary contribution of fps ts and levies' from an hilarious crowd C. which voted the bull race to be tn re greatest thing since the days of Joh 1t Gilpin's ride.-Portland Oregonian. I'd