The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-30

tured so little that I was able to drive
him home. They carried the commodore
to the club house near by, and brought
him to. AS soon as he opened his eyes
he asked for me.
"'Oh! Fuller has driven home they told
him
What did he say?" Nothing. He was
a man of many words at any time, and he
had some hard thinking to do just then.
He never spoke about the accident to me.
Bonner and Beecher.
Mr.. Fuller is almost the sole active sur
vivor Of the famous drivers on the lane in
its palmy days. Russell Sage used to drive
, there a good deal then, and so did the Har-
pers, and Robert Bonner. But the driving
Harpers, like Commodore Vanderbilt, have
long been dead. Sage is still with us in
the flesh, but his present driving is tame
in comparison with that of the old times.
Bonner Is alive, too but he doesn't drive
much on Manhattan Island nowadays.
Bonner was one of the best drivers 1
ever knew" says Mr.. Fuller, land he
drove for pure pleasure But a more awk-
ward driver never handled the ribbons.
That was because he didn't learn 10 drive
when he was young. He never could hold
his hands gracefully. All the same, the
most impressive sight 1 remember on the
lane was Bonner driving Peerless over its
whole length one day with Henry Ward
Beecher on the seat beside him. Peerless
was in mighty fit condition that day, and
he got over the ground In record-breaking
time. Bonner was clearly intoxicated with
delight as the splendid horse came down
the road at whirlwind speed.
Beecher's face fairly glowed with
excitement. His eyes were like
stars and his long gray hair float
ed out in the breeze like the pennant of a
crack man-of-war going at full speed in
a gale of wind.
"Beecher was writing for the Independ-
ent at that time and the next weeks
issue had an article from his pen defend
ing the speeding of horses. 1t was really
a description of that drive down the lane
behind Peerless, and it was such a beauti-
full piece of writing that 1 cut it out ana
preserved it. Once in a while 1 hunt 1t
up read 1t over, and when | do l see a
mental picture in which Peerless and Bon
ner and Beecher are the central figures"
To Stop "a Runaway Team.
Mr.. Fuller has been driving over the
roads of Manhattan Island for more than
forty-five years, and computes that In
that time he has driven 475,000 miles. In
the forty-five years he has suffered six
runaways. not counting such incidents as
his collision with Commodore Vanderbilt.
The best way to stop a runaway team, Mr..
Fuller says, is to throw the horses.
II learned that trick" he explained,
when a boy. I was champion wrestler
in the county of Franklin, Vermont, from
which place hail. Collar and elbow was
my favorite hold and constant practice at
that made me strong in my arms and
| shoulders. You know how a man is thrown
in collar and elbow wrestling. All you
have TO do is to pull pretty steady for
while to the right, and then give a sud
den jerk as hard as you can to the left
If you know how to do 1t you can down
| your man nine times in ten without trip
ping him.
Il never thought of trying collar and ell
! bow tactics on a runaway team till, one
| day, l got in a pretty tight place with
pair of horses that took the bit in
their teeth, not many blocks away from
where had beaten the commodore. At
| first l thought / could hold them, but
couldn't, and began to wonder what
should do Then 1 remembered how easy
it used to be to yank a husky chap off
| his feet at collar and elbow. There was
no reason why the scheme wouldn't work
| with horses as well as men, so / pulled
| them steadily to the right, though gently
\ at first l wanted to down them where
there was a soft place to light and pres
emily when neared such a spot, 1 let