The herald., 1895-11-03
Wagers Of Gentlemen of
the Old School
Down South
JOHNSON'S LUCKY LONG SHOT
Big Bets Made and Lost With Nerve
Back in the Twenties and
Thirties AMI FOrties.
Great Games

''You youngsters perhaps think you do
astonishing things in the way of sport, "
a veteran said the other day: but take
my word for it, there We're men back in
the twentles and thirties and forties that
wouldn't turn hair over laying waSers
that would stagger the nerviest OF the
present day plungers. They had true
blue sporting blood, those old fellows,
and could no more help betting than they
could help drinking good whiskey. Why
ther5 was my fathers father; he lost at n
single sitting every foot OF land he own
ed, and it was nearly half Carolina
county. He lost the bulk of his negroes,
too, fifty-odd, | think. l know he took
only ten with him when he moved across
the mountains into what was then the
western country, and is now Kentucky,
Tennessee and Mississippi. OF course ne
might have got out OF it, if he had been
cur enough to plead the gambling act,
and equally, of course, he did no such
thing.
Instead, be gathered together what
remained ana set to work with as good
will as ne had played. Not SO one of bis
friends and boon companions. AT 81 this
man came into the handsomest fortunes
In the county-5000 acres OF the rich
Roanoke river bottom lands, stock and
negroes to work it, and $50, 900 sDugly at
interest. Yet before he was so the money
was gone, and he had borrowed and
eambled away so much more that the
sheriff SOLD at one time over 200 slaves
and his life interest in the land, which
was entaIled. What the sum of his debts
int boI hoa
lost in one night of the Richmond race
week. He began by winning every race
that day, and pushed luck till she turned
and rent him. He had been drinking.
80 had not wit enough to stop when he
began to lose. 1t went on till he had
$40. 0O0 on single hand. and when he
lost that there was no stopping him
while he had a dollar. When he at last
got up from the table he staggered a bit,
and never afterward seemed the same
man. He sat alphabetically about, now
in this friends hoLse, now in that, and
though he lived to fifty odd he never did
a stroke of work or seemed to realize that
he had mans place in the world.
''He and my grandfather were types OF
class that spread all over the old slave
holding states. Naturally. racing flourish
ed, and you can judge for yourselves If
betting was not lively when owners made
matches at $40, 0Q0 side. Colonel Sin
gleton OF South Carolina and William r.
Johnson Of Virginia aid that more than
once. Singleton 5 entry was Clara Fisher,
and he thought nothing on four hoofs
had leave to beat her at four miles.
Johnson bad much the same opinion of
his horse, Bonnets O'Blue, and when
the mare beat him II was by such an eye
lash that be never rested till the match
was made over again, and in the last
race Bonnets blue came about as much
ahead. Then the two owners went at
each other again about other horses, and
got up matches to their hearts content.
johnson took every bet any man offered
if the odds were hundred to one. A
mighty good bet, even if l lose it, he
said OF such things. One day upon race
course there were but two entries for
race, a saucy, bloodlike bay mare and
big, lum bering, brown gelding that had
a turn of speed and plenty of stay. But
nobody wanted HIM at any price. 1t was
nearly a twu-mile race, only IA dash for
those days. The horse was clearly out
classed from the start; still he hung on,
and there was some derisive speculation
as to by what margin he would save his
distance. AS the pair of racers swung for
the second mile some one in the crowd
shouted:
IA hundred to one on the mare-two
hundred to one! Will anybody take even
three hundred:
I" 4 take you, Johnson said elbow,ng
his way to the other. Before the money
had been covered there was a wild. dig
mayed shout. The mare, going strong
and free, had struck the particular spot
in the course from which a small tree
had been cut years before. The stump
bad decayed, and as her foot broke
through into the ollow she plunged for
ward, breaking her neck and leaving
the unganly geldiDg to gallop hume at
his leisure.
did you ever hear of Qusrterma sters
race which Andrew Jackson called off be-
cause he knew the horse was to he run to
lose? The race was to come off over the
old Glover Bottom course, some miles out
of Nashville, and not so far from the
Hermitage. Quartermaster was the hot
test sort of favorite. The whole state. it
seemed, was wild to back him. Men put
up stock, negroes, and houses, promis-
sorry notes, anything, indeed, that bad a
market value, besides every bit of ready
cash they could BY any means lay hands
on. When the day came there was big
place in the middle of the track full of
ali sorts of goods and chattels animate
and inanimate.
"Old Hickory was a true-b blue sport.
There were many such in Tennessee then
as well as now. The state has blue grass
even more luxurlant than the famous
Kentucky growth, and early settlers
brought to it plenty Of the best Virginia
mighty strict sense OF turf honor. Almost
at the start their jockey club black balled
old Henry Clay--not the statesman, but
the Virginia turfman of that name-for
slipping in famous four miller as an
untried mountain colt, and winning
about ali the money on the track that
dav. But That Is a mere side light on
what Old Hickory did. With the rest he
had most likely put his money on Quar-
termaster, ana expected at least soul
stirring run for 1t. But the morning of
the race word came to him secretly that
the favorte had been seen grazing for
two hours in wheat field the night be-
fore. HE had horse sense enough to know
that no racer could go four miles full Of
green, sweet, watery stuff, and you may
be sure was in great rage over the trick.
lie had neither time nor inclination
for complaints, investigations and things;
he had to act al once or see his fellow
citizens begGared by low device. He
did act. Sitting stiff and straight in the
saddle, pistol in each hand and other
pistols in his hostier, he rode up and
down the throng. cursing and crying out
that there must, there should be no race.
In vain the tricksters rallied their mob
Of rough hts, in vain they hooted. threat
ened. shouted that Jackson had suddenly
gone crazy. He carried his point. There
was no race that day. and before another
came the riDgsters had though better of
st and run away. Traditions vary as to
Ouartermaster. One has it that the horse
i l. II.