Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-22
A HORSE IN A BASEMENT
Excitement and Fun on Busy Part of 18th
Street.
A Nag Runs Away and Deliberately
Dives Down nm Aren, Carrying Bug
gy and Driver With Him.

A. L. Osborn, the barber. who has his
establishment in the basement at Ill 14th
street northwest. the upper portion of
which building is occupied by Mr.. James
NJ. Green, the real estate dealer had just
Tipped his towel gracefully around and
calculated "NeXtw about IL o'clock this
morning when bay horse about fifteen
and half hands high, attached to a new
buggy, in which was seated an amazed
but determined colored man, came down
the steep iron steps leading from the side
walk and through the front door of the
shop. Through the front doorway. per-
haps, would be better. as the animal
brought the doors in with him. Mr.. Os-
born did not have time to indulge in his
usual inquiry, shave or hair cut?" but
when he regained a portion of his self
possession he looked at the newcomers
with an expression of utter helplessness.
There was the horse in the shop. There
was the buggy just outside the door, sup
ported by the steps down which the out
hit had come, and it was in a pretty d.
lapidated condition. One wheel was
smashed into smithereens, the shafts
were broken the body scratched
and splintered. and the back of
the top bent out of all original shape.
The colored man in the buggy. however,
did not appear to be hurt with the ex-
ception of slight bump on his forehead.
and by the time the crowd which soon
grew to be very large. began TO gather
the horse had been unhitched down in the
barber shop and the buggy dragged up
out of the area and deposited at the edge
of the sidewalk on the concrete
Comments Of the Crowd.
Curious people were attracted from all
directions by the unusual sight of a horse
standing quietly in a barber shop down in
a basement. The animal had received
slight cut on the left breast while going
through the door, which bled quite freely,
but otherwise he was uninjured. The spec
tatorS amused themselves by wondering
whether the animal had wanted a shave or
a hair cut, a shingle or a shampoo, or had
desired to have his name and tail locked
and get in style. One young man, with
good memory for local affairs, declared that
the animal was the one that had gone into
Dave Haggerty's saloon on Pennsylvania
avenue near 18th street several years ago,
inspired evidently by the desire for
drink, and claimed that in this instance
the horse had wanted to get properly bar
bered up for the holidays before indulging
in the celebration thereof.
Too Fast for n Physician
Inquiry developed that the horse had been
offered to DR.. Babbitt as an excellent ami
NAL for a physicians purposes and that
DR.. Rabbits colored driver, James Baker,
had hitched up the animal to the doctors
fine new buggy to see what kind of horse
he really was. While ascertaining his quail
tiles on G street near 18th, the horse be-
came unmanageable, ran to 14th street at
break-neck speed, turned up 14th street,
and when in front of the barber shop
turned again at right angles and dashed
across the sidewalk and down the iron
steps into the shop. The iron ratings on
either side of the steps were broken into
little bits and the general appearance of
things made 1t evident that the horse was
little too fast for physicians purposes.
When DR.. Babbitt was asked by a Star
porter who had the horse for sale he said
he didn't care to say, because it might in
jure the horses reputation, so perhaps it
would be well for persons contemplating
jagged, fresh cut on his left breast, dark
bay in color, with two hind feet white, who
is a runaway Of the craziest sort.
blinded and Lifted Out.
The animal remained in the barber shop
for about two hours, holding a constant
reception all the time, people streaming up
and down the steps to see the wonderful
sight. At last platform was rugged up
and the animal, after being blinded v-th a
blanket, was lifted out of the barber shop.
One of the colored BARRIERS employed in
Osborns place was asleep in the rear of the
shop when the horse came in. He was
asked what his first impressions were. Il
thought Mr. Jim Green's safe had done fell
through the floor said the young man,
| who was thankful that his personal expert
ence was not any worse.
Osborn's shop was pretty badly damaged.