Evening star., 1898-11-19
DESERVED A BETTER FATE

stands on the top of the heap, OF course,
among living things; but I've known and
been chums with some race horses my boy,
that were possessed of qualities-well 1t
makes me feel as bad to think of some of
them being dead and gone 1t does to be
reminded of dead-square old friends that
have cashed their tickets and passed on to
the eternal grazing grounds"
The speaker was a weii-known turfman,
down here to attend the race meeting at
Benning.
And a man that'n nl-treat a horse-well,
there's nothing too hard in the way of
tough luck for him. There's no punishment
too heavy for him. A man thatll abuse
such high-strung, sensitive, earnest-heart-
ed, willing brute a race horse
Look here l want to tell you a little
story. It's about a horse-a great horse
and the way he was treated. No. I'm not
going TO tell about the great Banquet, poor
old chap, who's now hauling a cab around
London after having broken worlds rec
orCis on the race track and after having won
scores of thousands of dollars for the man
who sold him to a eabman after age had
clipped him of his usefulness. That Ban
quet job was bad enough. and the man that
put him into the shafts of cab hasn't had
days luck since. But it's another horse
I'm going to tell you about-as great
horse as Banquet was at his age-the horse
Traverser.
Il saw this colt when he was a yearling,
when a couple of young friends of mine.
racing men, bought him at a sale of year
lipgs. He was beautiful colt full of class.
with apparent willingness as one of his
strong points The two young chaps who
picked him up at the sale saw that he was
a good one, and they got him for a little
enough money-a few hundred dollars. They
stabbed him at one of the New York tracks,
and when he was ready to go in some of the
two-year-old events they put him in. Ira
verser-that was what they named the colt
+t,.ai inv n
classy lots of the highest degree of his age.
and he was right up with them in every
race, winning some of the events, and rare
ly falling out Of the money In any of them,
He was as game, willing, honest colt as
ever l saw, and as | say, I've been pals
with good many race horses, from the two
year-old divisions of a good many years
ago up to the famous aged horses. After
Traverser had run half a dozen or so of
first-rate races his owners got an offer from
the racing people on the Island of Bermuda
to bring the colt over there, and they put
Traverser on a ship and shipped him over
to be entered in the two-year-old and all
aged races at the tracks in that sporty col
ony. Well, Traverser didn't do a thing to
the British folks over there. There were Il
rot of English-bred colts and FLIES racing in
Bermuda that the Britishers thought were
the real thing until Traverser got among
them, and the army men and rich citizens Of
the island couldn't see where Traverser
cut in at ALL at all, as race horse-at first.
Traverser won races from the jump; he
made his fields look cheap; he disgraced the
best horses on the island by beating them
at all distances, from five furiongs to q mile
and half by from ten to twenty lengths,
pulled up. under heavy wraps. Traverser
was unbeatable down there: Bermuda peo-
pie went broke by betting against him. He
won every race in which he was entered in
common romp and the two young fell
lows who owned him saw that they had got
hold of a great race horse. Nevertheless,
they rather abused Traverser. They raced
him every day, and they didn't have a de-
cent trainer for the colt. When the horse
arrived back in New York he was a skeIe-
ton. and he looked like he was a broken
down colt for good. Then a western turf
man-an eccentric character with pencil
ant for grueling the horses of his string
happened along and saw Traverser. He'd
heard about TraverseTs swell record down
in Bermuda, and he named a figure-a
pretty good figure. The young men, think
ing Traverser was about to join the has
been class, snapped up the offer and the
western horse grueler got hold of Traver-
ser. The colt was turned out for a while
only very short rest. 1t was-and then put
into the hands OF the western mans trainer.
This was last summer. When he was con-
sidered to be ready the colt was entered
for some of the two-year-old events in Gin
cinnatf-at the Oakley and Latonia tracks.
Oh he won all of his races easy-easy: ii
made no difference what boy was up on
him, he won by blocks every time he ran;
he was of these colts that gets out in
front at flag fall, opens a big gap from the
first jump, and rOmps in galloplng under
the wire. They began to call Traverser the
Hamburg of the west, and to sympathize
with him because he belonged to a man
who was notorious race horse killer. For
Traversers owner was hard on the colt
He raced him every day, took advantage
OF his willingness, and was mercless
TraVerser got no rest at all. He became
lean. but he went on winning races. He
didn't win by such big distances as he had
at first. but he won. He was as game as a
pebble, and he won when he looked as If
he ought to be turned out for six months
rest. His owner entered him for the big
two-year-old event of the Cincinnati racing
year, when TraVerSer was tired and out of
shape from too much racing Traverser
won sheerly on his courage from a crack
field of his age His owner put him on a
train of cars that same night and took him
to Windsor Canada, where the colt was
entered for two-year-old stake-the big
one of the Windsor racing year-on the
very next day Traverser stepped off his
freight car on 10 the track went to the
post in his race. and won the race like the
handsome, noble. willing, over-grueled colt
he was. He had no sooner won than his
owner put him on a freight car again scut-
tied him to Chicago. where he entered
for another great twO-year-old stake Il
couple of days later Traverser again got
off his freight car, went to the post after
a short rub down, and made a crack field
of sixteen of the finest twO-year-OldS in the
west look like cheap, outlaw track selling
platers. That was three great stakes in
five days, mind yOu-and TraverSer spend
ing his nights between on trains. you un-
derstand. Was he given a rest then? Not
much. he wasn't Traverser was shipped to
New Orleans, worn he was and raced
for month in New Orleans. where he was
rarely beaten then to San Francisco
where he raced for the remainder of the
winter; and he was considered out there
enc of the greatest two-year-olds in the
history of racing in this country But
everybody saw the colt was being raced to
death. and nobody thought he would
amount to anything a three-year-old
Well, Traverser was started in early this
spring as a three-year-old. He didn't look
fit, but he started in to win again. His
owner was too hoggish to hold him for
stake events. and to train him for those
events, but entered him every day in SELL
ing races. No horse can stand that game
Traverser began to go back. He always
finished in the money, but he was often
staggering under the wire-all out to the
last ounce. Only his nerve kept him going
He never gave up. He never knew when
he was beat. Traverser had a heart in him
like
We'll, about a month ago, after the colt
had been running every racing day for the
whole season, and was tired enough to droo
in his stall, Traverser was entered in q
three-year-old handicap on a Saturday af-
teruoon at the Harlem track in Chicago
Although the racing men all knew the colt
was used up, yet they played him for the