Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1893-01-21

cd In gaining u position against the
railing which Enclosed the track, but u
few yards from the judges stand l felt
considerably nettled, / don't know
why. when l discovered by the conver-
sation of those about me that the cow
boy was the favorite in betting circles.
"Tbe gong sounded and the contest
ants came upon the track. ] tell you,
fellows, l experienced n delightful sur
prise when, instead of the coarse. sun
burned girl whom my fancy had pic
tured, behcld the prettiest little west
ern flower my eyes had ever rested
upon. Her face was of gentle, half
timid cast; her eyes u glorious, lus-
trous brown, and the luxurious growth
of almost golden hair, which fell in
loose waves over her shoulders was n
fitting crown for such lovely little
prairie queen. AS she rode her glitter
ing, nicl<led wheel slowly about duYing
the arrangement of the prelrainaries
to the race / thought had never seen
n young woman whose every move
ment was nearer the very essence of
the poetry of motion and peerless
grace. / noticed that she seemed
nervous, somewhat ratified, you know,
and as she rode slowly by the spot
where / stood / could not suppress the
words of encouragement that sprang to
my lips:
"'Do not be frightened said. You
will defeat him-I know you will
"'Thank YOU she replied, with a
smile that caused my susceptible young
heart to throb with pleasure. i hope
l may. / will do my best
"They were called to the scratch to
receive their instructions from the
| judges. The distance TO be ridden was
one mile, running start, and in u mo-
ment they We're off.
THAT great crowd leaned forward
with breathless interest as they sped
away, their wheels closely abreast, and
the interest deepened as they COM
pleted the first round and passed the
stand to enter upon the second half
mile without either having gained any
perceptible advantage. AS the quarter
pole was passed it was noticed that the
cowboy drew trihe ahead, and the
shouts of his hackers and rough com
panions were of the most encouraging
nature. ] was too far distant to be
able to see the young girls face, but
instinctively felt that it must wear a
look of pain and modification and that
her heart must have throbbed pain
fully over what seemed certain defeat.
Under the wire they flew, and the
cheers were deafening as the cowboy
passed the line fully fifteen feet in adj
vance of his fair competitor. Had l
possessed sufficient muscular power
felt that would have experienced sim
cere pleasure in springing over the
railing and administering good
thrashing to the burly braggart when
l heard him mockingly say to her, as
they came to a stop and dismounted:
"'Go home and wash your mammy's
dishes. You can't ride little bit
MY blood was fred at the haunting
remark, and hotly exclaimed:
"'She is far better rider than you
and nothing but your brute strength
defeated her. believe she could bea,
you if given another trial
"The flood of thanks the girls eyes
poured upon me warmed my heart to
the core. The bully looked at me dis
dainfully moment and sneeringly
said:
"'Boys. git onto the white-chokered
tenderfoot. Git onto the sills-harnessed
ladies' man. Eff you think the gal kin
put it onto me in another race, mebbe
you've got some spar dust that'll prop
up yer opinions?
"'Yes 1 have l angrily answered
Plenty of it, if the young woman will
run again
- 81 how ,n1 u 1,At Il
opinion at?" he asked.
"All yourself and your friends want
to throw in sight, replied.
"At this large, red-faced man, ap-
parently under the influence OF liquor,
whom l afterwards learned was the
owner of the great herd of cattle over
which the braggart presided as fore
man, stepped up and said:
"If you want to cinch the tender
foot fur bet, Dick, I'll let you have n
thousand
81 was mad, boys, and wouldn't have
weakened then if my life was to be the
forfeit of my obstinacy. Addressing
the young woman l asked:
"'Will you ride another mile against
him at five o'clock this afternoon%
after a moments hesitation she re-
piled:
"'Indeed, will, and know / will
defeat him. | felt before that every
one in the crowd was against me, and l
was nervous and very much frightened,
but your words have encouraged me
and ! feel that / can now ride much
better
"'Meet me at the Pacific hotel in an
hour and l will cover your one thou
sand doliars,' said to the cattle-owner
and his foreman.
81 fastened to the town and, boys,
l did something that l would have
scorned to do had not my anger and
stubbornness been aroused to desper-
ate point l had jewelry samples with
me valued at several thousand dollars,
and calling a wagon l went to the
hotel, loaded my sample cases, and
hauled them to the leading ieweler of