The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-04-30
JoNEsEOTTHEH0RsE
ne UNLOCKED FoR seoyel rolA
NEW MEXICAN TRIAL OF SPEED.

Suspicious to Themselves.
Zone of the queerest sequels to a horse .
race that ever l saw, in New Mexico or .
anywhere, OCCURRED some years ago In the !.
little plazita of Ocatc, i'm Colfax county"
said the man from Santa Fe. "a lot of
the cattlemen and cowboys had gathered .
there after the spring round up, and as the
cattle had turned up in good shape after '
the winter the ranchmen felt good and I
sporty, ready TO take IA shy at anything
that promised excitement and fun Oh
course, as is always the case at such
time, there was more or less whisky drink
ing, card playing for those who gambled,
and horse racing free for all. The speedi'
est race horse on the ground was Bill
Jones gray Kentucky geldng, that for
two seasons had cleaned out anything that
| had been brought against 1t. Jones
| thought "A heap of his horse and what IL
| would do, and you didn't want to banter
him for "a race unless you felt mighty sure
of the speed of your nag and had money
where YOU could find it handy for round
wager
'IFeeling as he did about his horse, you |
can fancy how he took 1t when one morn |
ing, as a crowd of us were standing about
talking horse and cattle in front OF Park
er's saloon, an ornery fellow by name OF
Meechman rode up and after talking
round bit, bantered Jones for race
The horse he rode was as ornery looking
, as Meechman himself, but that oldn
, count with some of us that knew the AMI
5 nal for surprise horse. Don't know
: what n surprise horse lisp It's what out In
. | the far west we call horse that is a good
. deal better than he looks-one OF the klpd
that iockeying sportsmen take 70 races
where the animal isn't known, and when
D they have got good odds laid against MIN
II they nut him to his speed, and ne wins
II everytbing in sight. You can see where
a the surprise comes in. Meechman was
+. Tin horn Jockey and sharper, but he under-
"a stood how to work Jones up TO rearing
point about his horse, and 1t WASH iohg
y before ZONES offered to race him then ana
there for any money he would stake.
"sI haven't any money with me, said
Neechman. speaking sneeringlike ana
a looking round at the rest OF us. You
nj knew that OF you wouldn't be SO Tree
be about betting up your horse But il .ei
"a YOU what I'll do. I'll bet my horse agains
~ yours for u half mile dash, best Two II
- three. -.
he "sNIy horse against yours! said Jones
III hot under the collar at the idea why
|
'as thing. -. ,,.;+hou
nd - He ought to beat MN, trci' mlshG
Ia orv trouble. said Meechman, speakln
- more tauntingly than before. 1T loon
az to me ms II the best horse would bethe on
io. that won the race.
Ohs Clones set his teeth together-he was
ne. SQUARE iawed man and game. IL goes' :
and said. and went TO the corral Tor ms ilurs
to 7 fol,oyscd him to the corral and gave hi
, in the tin about the other mans morse.
VIZ ,a,,t hinder the race from coming o.
'"' IIno,v hut il would warn Jones to DC
his ouard and not risk losing the IA
loh tbrongb oyerconfdence. He only SIM
re- q little primly when l told him ana sal
ngs ,Thot's all right. My horse is the pesl
rlai anyway. CT ~ tho 10,
sues HWell, the race came OIL on the ie
e of prairic back of the plazita. Inc IRAN
The half mile stretch of straight 'r',ii, WIZ
40 most at each end in place Oh WIZ GU,
de- -" ,,os STATIONED mt each post, one
T or jus t,,o start and the other to call the
is OF ;sh only one man, the judge, wenb 90
rs OF 90 rho finishing post. The rest OF us 81
and ,,;th the starter. Before the race
the lied Jones took off his cartridge peit
+osy .a.rrror en- ne TO ride the lighter ana ma
/, CO oil them 10 me to hold for him. linen
80, terms of the bet were recited To 'he o'o
IL
Ia and the start was made rr,s
ORD 'A sNaecbman's horse proved a surpris
- - the crowd who didn't know III
w.. W.. uewas quarter horse, which c'
III, III ,,,, = q deer for a short distance, tho
N the ~ Nd not the bottom for long race
,oung Iones, horse had. Both men roue
wears borses for all they were worth IN ui :,
80 beat and the race was close, pun -
nn" came i'm ahead by neck. Inc seconu
'ren was n close one, too, but the sr"s
WIN ooa;n This settled the race, pu. ~,
uring " .Ia', insisted on riding out the THIRD
time. Tbis time he pulled his horse ~ oa'
doing was five or six lengths penlno VIZ" Thn
md do gray cantered across eno Wound i
. On.! a'1,o 20 look. Meechman put spurs !
erIors' s"nso dashed past the goal post ana
pllnes Avn the road full speed, as IL II
ead OF VI ,,aocment across the Texas
We and a., NO eypccted to keep that aiterho
Is the u .sTor = minute Jones sat in MS
mighty ,o,,,;ng after Meechman, as IL nov
Il COM comnrehending what he he"nu y
- I'll oonll Thep as If realizing that
apaoii inoIo real,y TO give him the slip, ne
eAei in.,,,;,,c, bncl, TO the starting posi-
MUS Is s'O ,,,ns n hit flushed, and his jaw
One OF ,nol, NJ wicked determination
merica, rode straight to me- Lac, :
airy fa, -" My pistol he said, spea Sa roul
uty and in suppressed tone as IL III ''''
ng peo- trust his voice -. aud nisto
,;i;tv to " 81 handed him his belt ana p,s' :,
An huckIed the belt about MS poaS tos !,
a. the cylinder of the revolver ana aau YES
III YEAS movement of the hammer .ncn' :,
IN draw further word, rode back down nrd a
res, but 70 the finishing post ana ohw ,are
by the direction Al that Meechman n , 'u n,,,
u ,oft ms going at slow gallop, pu '
never of cred speed as he went and peioru r mJ
res him from sight beyond swell . Oh P Pnd
les , con, i oom,d see that the gray horse nau
anu !. 90 - into his swift, long. windeu bs
10 90 ~ would unravel ten miles oil prtl, osn
lndone' vs. long as his master chose 70 .S See y
. .. We watched him out OF slenv !"
81 w. back to Parker's to res .la
1T is the Snary days diversions anu ,n .,rav
K largely on the time 1t would t"Ne '"'
in place haul Meechman. s,,d out. whel
'und oa. .tros hours later, came Looping na'
water !, . .asv mace. he was leading - m =.
aste ana t horse behind him. looking as !, ~
,er. 1t is nors s r;dden and hard used that !
G.~x nd ~ 4