The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-31
A LEAD PIPE CINCH.
rcopYR1eHr. 1881

ICOPfHl0HT, 1901
A dozen years ago, when l kept in
Adrian, said the livery stable man,
had an experience which it gives me a
pain even yet, to think of. a fellow
rode up to my door one afternoon aud
asked if l cared to buy the horse he
was on. The animal was a seven-year-
old. dark bay, with no blaze and only one
stocking, in pretty fair condition, but
rough-his tail and name full of bura
| found him sound. he seemed gentle
and the chep only wanted one hundred
and twenty-five dollars for him; not
dear for such likely looking horse for
livery work, as prices were then There
was nothing suspicious about the man.
He said he had been teaching school
back in the country. and locked it.
The horse was taken for debt and he
had regular bill of sale for him. But
the animal was no more good to him,
because ne had had the shakes, was
sick Of the west and was going back
home to Massachusetts, by the cars,
from Adrian. To cut it short, / got the
horse for one hundred dollars, with
good saddle and bride thrown in, and
he went off on the next train east. as he
said he would.
The next morning, two men who
named themselves Sutherland and
Hutchinson, got off the train from De-
troit at Adrian. to sell county rights
for new patent cllurn. They wanted
horse to take them around among
the farmers and let them have my
new roadster. When they came back
in the evening they engaged him for
the next day and was glad to see he
had not been driven very hard. So it
went on three or four days. Every
morning they drove him out and in the
evening engaged him for the next day.
But they didn't seem to have much
luck in selling thei.. churn and talked
sbout giving up and going away dis
suggested they had bet
ter stay over to the county fair,
which was to open the next week,
when they could show their churn to
everybody in that part of Michigan
and would be likely to do well. After
a little talk the idea seemed to please
them and they agreed to stay. l post
ed them on where to get their license
and space, and hire tent and so on,
for all of which they thanked me
Then they concluded they
would have to hire a horse to take
them out to the grounds and back,
and maybe drive around a bit,
and they would engage the one they
had been using. They would pay for
him for every day, whether they used
him or not, only they stipulated that
was not, under any circumstances, to
let anyone else work him during the
fair week
At our county fair, the same as it is
nowadays at pretty much all coun-
~ fairs, the fat hogs, and blooded cat
lie, and patchwork quilts and such
ike were just good excuse for horse
only near home chance
he deacons had in the whole year to
10 little quiet betting on trot. And
Is our managers gave liberal purses,
hey used to draw good stock and have
aces. SO they seemed to the public,
anyway. but the fact was that there
vas regular ring of racing men who
lad it all fixed up among themselves
o divide the purses and milk the pub
ic's pockets by throwing the races.
They had one mare, of the "Gold
Dust" strain-''Sultana," they called
ler-that could have won in every
vent she was entered for, if allowed. |
nut that was not their game. and there |
5 no doubt she was pulled in the two
nile trot, best two in three, on the
bird day, letting black horse named
Iabob come under the wire, winning
y head.
That evening Mr.. Sutherland, who |
ad bet on Sultana and solaced him
elf afterward with hard cider, ac-
qyite jag and, when in
ood mood for freeing his mind, met
-ith the chap named Carter, who
wned Sultana. To Mr.. Carter he con-
ded, in a voice like a fog horn, his
rivate impression that the mare was
. good: that she was COW: that it
as q dead skin on an innocent public
} match her against real horse like
"a bob. and so on in such an aggravat-
lg way that finally he got Sultana's