The Portland daily press., 1893-12-20
FASTER THAN His HORSES.
Vas the Pace Made by Williams the
Independence Horsemen.
A BIG HOTEL AND RAILROAD TO
SERVE A RACE TRACK.

How Two Great Horses Made and Ruined
Green Country Boy-They Enabled
Him to Make Way Station in Iowa a
| Centre of Interest to Horsemen-Metro-
| politan Conveniences at the Way Sta
ton, However, Proved Disastrous.
| New York. December 19.-The Sun
says:
f, Private advices from Independence,
Iowa, confirm the rumor current in horse
circles for some days past respecting the
financial collapse of VIC. Williams, the
well known horse breeder, trainer, and
track manager of that town. Last week
Williams assigned his entire possessions
except his horses, to satisfy mortgage
of 100000, held by one of the local
| banks. Everything goes: kite track.
breeding farm, hotel, opera house, street
railway, newspaper, residence, and all
property representing an outlay of more
than $250,000
1t is now a little more than five years
since green looking young countryman
Iowa with two two-year-old colts that he
had raised from pair of cast.off mares
bought for $3.50 from Fl. l.. Stout of
Dubuque. The man was Williams, and
the colts were Axtell ana Allerton.
After a hard five-heat contest for purse
of S100 Allerton won his maiden race at
the Keokuk fair, trotting in 2.52, $50
and $40. Axtell created genuine SEN
sation by distancing field of three-year-
olds and taking record of q 81 IA in his
maiden race. Before the close of this
campaign of 1888 he had attracted the at
tention of all horsemen by trotting his
mile in 2.23, then the best time on re-
cord for two-year-old bred outside the
State of California. Allerton's record
stood at 2. 40 IA when he went into win
ter quarters. Williams, who was without
either experience or reputation as reins-
man, used Axtell unsparingly, and his
radical methods of training, which were
at variance with all precedent, called
forth nothing but ridicule from horse
men. He bobbed up again the following
summer, however, and silenced criticism
by making Axtell the sensation of the
season. Early in July the colt trotted in
2.15 1-2, beating the best record ever
made by three-year-old, and, as he
trained on, some fabulous offers were
made for him. Williams, however, de-
clined them all, and it was not until one
night in August, when both Axtell and
Allerton barely missed being injured or
killed in railroad accident, that the
young man concluded to part with his
wonderful colt when another favorable
opportunity should offer. 1t came on the
evening of thesSeptemb ber, day thatsA xtell
lowered the longstanding stallion record
of Maxey Cobb, 2.13 IA, by trotting in
10 at Terre Haute. In the wild en-
thusiasm of the hour, party of wealthy
horsemen offered $105, 900 for the horse
of the century," and within five minutes
the champion three-year-old had been
sold for the highest price ever paid for a
horse up to that time.
Williams took his money and the colt
that he had left and went home to Inde-
pendence the hero of the hour. His sue
cess gave him wonderful prestige and
popularity, and half a dozen or more
cities sought by tempting offers to at
tract him. He remained steadfastly loyal
to the slow-going, out-of-the-way Iowa
village, however, and there invested his
suddenly acquired fortune. This was,
his first great mistake.
He organized new bank, in which he
invested S25, 900; started a weekly paper
devoted to trotting horse interests;
he equipped in elaborate style an extern
sive horse breeding ablishment, and
constructed the first kite-shaped race
course in existence.
Failure to accept an offer of S125, 600
for Allerton was Williams's second mis-
take.
The bewildering success of the Inde-
pendence races of 1891 removed whatever
doubt Williams may have entertained
touching the feast bility of conducting a
metropolitan race meeting at way
station in northern Iowa, and the head
strong plunger projected the next
season two weeks meeting with $780,
Off i'm mud fpJy
accommodate the crowds which
had before been chiefly dependent on
Observation-Disclosures cars and private
residences about town, Williams wanted
hotel. In the erection of structure
which would bring credit to a city of
100, 900 inhabitants, and in constructing
an electric street railway, he accordingly
expended $150,00O during the spring Of
1892, giving an unrecorded blanket
mortgage on all his property-horses ex-
cepted-to secure 100000 of this amount.
This proved to be his third and fatal
blunder.
Misfortunes soon came upon him thick
and fast. Allerton, who bade fair to win
an unprecedented sum on the turf,
wrenched an ankle in his race and had
to be retired. Many of the stakes which
Williams opened during the winter sea-
son for his summer meeting of 1898 failed
to fill and were declared off for lack of
enIfies, anu Ine OUTLOOK FOR The enter
prislng Independence man became
serious. His creditors took fright, and
to make themselves secure they placed
on record their 100000 mortgage. This
move created the impression that
Williams was in financial straits and
would be unable to pay his purses at the |
approaching Augu st meeting, which |
operated to keep many horsemen away.
The meeting was consequently an almost |
total failure, but Williams did not fail to |
discharge every obligation in cash, even
at the HEIGHT of the financial nan ic.