The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-10
ONE MINNESOTA WONDER.
''JOe," the Runner, Takes to Trot-
ting After Tyyenty-One Years

ting After Twenty-One Years.
The center of attraction in the stock de-
partment is that wonderful Minnesota horse,
joe now twenty years old. For years Joe
has won fame on the track and snug little
fortune for his owner in running races, and
now at his advanced age he has just been
broken to harness and taught a new gait.
G. E. De Graft, the late lamented and time
honored early breeder of Minnesota horses,
cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry bred the
phenomenal horse, Joe, more than twenty
years ago his farm near Janesville, in
this state. Joe was foaled May 20, 1877, sired
by the thoroughbred race horse Exchange"
(haf brother of the renowned 'LongfellowO,
dam Frankie P, by Cages Logan son of
Rysdale's Hambletonian 10TH founder of our
world-famed American family of light har-
ness horses. While joe is a combination
of both trotting and running ancestry, he has
been raced as a runner for more than six
teen years, and has won money on this track
every year since it was built Except last
year,. either on the fiat or over hurdles, be-
sides hundreds of races all over the West
and is today without fault blemsh show
ing what this state can produce in horse flesh
both for endurance, speed and docility when
properly bred and handled. Joe has won two
Minnesota Breeders stakes at the Jockey
club meetings on this track and has beaten
many good thoroughbreds in mile races
though his best races were ha-f-mile heats
three in five, in which race he has never
been beaten. and he has won scores of them
He has run five half-mile heats in one day
inside of so seconds each. He lowered the
half-mile record in Canada sixteen years ago
and he holds that record today, being :49.
During the time that the ladies' ten and
twenty mile running races were run in this
state by Mrs. Belle Cook and the other lady
riders, Joe was in most of the races and al
ways selected and ridden by of these
noted riders. This horse was broken to har-
ness only two years ago. and was as easily
driven the first time he was harnessed as he
is to-day. He is more than three quarters
thoroughbred and will be exhibited this after
noon on the track as a phenomenal horse with
a history unparalleled, and It is confidently be-
l1eved with little driving, he can be made
to trot better than three minutes, and if he
is alive and as good as he now is at the time
of the next state fair the owner promises the
society that he will try to drive him to that
also the sire of the horse Red Wing that ran
second in the half mile heat on Monday. two
heats in 81 seconds each, SO it can be seen
he is not only great race horse himself
but the producer of great performers.
1t is lamentable fact, however that the
horse exhibit of the past two or three years
has not been as good as it might be- either in
numbers or quality. There has not been suf-
ficient competition, consequently many of the
horse owners watch their opportunity and put
IN interior exhibits in different classes, and
carry off the prizes. This has been particu-
larly commented on in the line of the Eng
liSh shireS.
In speaking of this DR.. J. c. Curryer gave
as the explanation that very little breeding
of horses had been done during the past four
or five years The bicycle and electricity
may have had something TO do with this
but he it as it may the prices fell away to
nothing, and the discouraged breeders took
no particular pains to keep up the stock. Of
late the indications all point to a strong ad-
vance, as there is now a big demand for
good horses. Last year the state exported
50.OO0 to England, and this year the number
will reach $4,000. The cost of exporting in
cluding feeding and grooming, is only $3.50
per head and England has come to look to
America for her supply. But, in the in
terim, before the breeding recommences is
gap. and we are just entering that gap now"
continued DR.. Curryer land the result of II
is shown in the stables
There are some very good stables of horses
at the fair, though especially in the lines of
Percherons and Clydesdales of the draft
horses, and the hackneys and French coach
horses of the drivers.
1t is Interesting to note that Mai Wilcox's
three sons entered their Shetland ponies in
competition with each other and the outside
world, and the boys captured the three first
prizes.
There Is the greatest and best display of
cattle ever seen On the grounds, and some COM
petent authorities say the finest ever seen in
seys, Holsteins, Guernseys and Ayreshires
almost without number and in the line of
"beef critters there are several fine herds
of Shorthorns, Herefords, Galloways Polled
Angus and Red Polls.
The sheep pens also present a lively. ap-
pearance, and never before was there seen
such a galaxy of Shropshires Southdowns
and other favorite breeds of wool producers.
The hog pens also came in for their full at
tention yesterday, and the aggregation of
squealers ranging in size from the 600-pound
porker down to the little purblind piggies,
were duly and properly admired.