Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-04-22
RAN A RINGER IN THE RACE

| California, the only dog ringer case that
ever heard of was cut loose out my way.
| Ihey used to have dog races on Saturday
| afternoons in Vallejo, an hours trip up
into Solano county from San Francisco,
! when hung out there back in the eighties.
| The mechanics from the Mare Island navy
| yard across the Napa creek got these dog
| races up and bet them. There was a
| book made on 'em in every booze empor-
| ium in Vallejo, and if you've ever seen
| Vallejo you'll know that there were quite
| some books writing chances on these
| sprints. They were free-for-all affairs, over
| circular half mile of level road back of
Vallejo. and any man that had dog could
| enter the mutt. AS many as forty fifty
| dogs of all breeds or no breed at all often
! went TO the pump for these sprints, with
| ABOUT 1000 to L about the chances of all Of
/ them except two three practced
/ ners that We're held at prohibitve odds
| one OF the machinistS over al the yard had
| an italian greyhound that had walked away
| with all of the $50 purses the boys could
| get together. Well. rank outsider came
! along one day and just stood this swift
| running mutt on his head The dog show
ed up with Paddy Magee, saloon keeper
| one Tuesday afternoon Paddy had been
| on trip down to San Francisco, but no.
! body considered that fact in connection
| with Magees dog. Magee said the dog
| had hoboed into his place just before clos
! lng-up time the night before, and he had
|
| ly was the commonest dog that ever hit
! up dirt road-tall, iank and gallery black,
| with long moth-eaten tail, ears all over
| its head, and big, clumsy. spraddlinS paws
! Magee took his bum find in the way Of
| dog out for a walk on the day following
| the night he said the dog drifted to his
| place, and he got the boot all over town,
| the dog SO communicating. Paddy
! had never had a dog before and he
| just shouted at when a couple of days
later he announced that he was going to
enter his mutt in the handicap race for
| dogs on the following Saturday. The fell
| lows that he told this to just lay back and
| hollered. Paddy took their merriment
| good naturally. though. saying that he
| didn't suppose he had ghost of a chance
| to get the purse, but, the dog had come
his way without being invited, and he in
| tended to have some fun out of it.
| 'Twenty-three good running dogs went
| to the post for the handicap which was a
| big betting event. most of the Mare Island
| mechanics taking the usual halliday off to
| take the races in. There was howl when
| Paddy Magee. hanging on to his mutt with
| a piece of wash-line turned up. Paddy
| had previously gone around to five of the
| books in the Vallejo rum mills and put
| down a dollar in each of EN- on his dog,
| the rank outsider at $50 to l, to win. He
| was bantered and guyed so much at all
! these places that he had to treat the whole
| bunch standing around
| THE Italian greyhound was the fayorite
! in the betting, and there We're four or five
| foxhounds that were well played for place
| and to show. Each man held his dog at
| the start, and the italian greyhound was
| to let all the rest of the bunch get a start
| of about a block before being turned loose.
| well, the crowd had to conclude, when
| the race was over that Magee's dog had
| the dope in him, or something, for the
Magee mutt never headed. In tact,
| none of the others were within a block of
| him at the finish. The Magee cur just lay
| back his ears, ate up the ground, and walk
| ed in all alone. 1t was the biggest dump
| that had ever nit the dog-racng game in
| Vallejo, and you never saw such an as
| tonished and crestfalen lot of dog-racers
| in your life that bunch. Magee chewed
| the end of his cigar and quietly remarked
that he knew a thing or Swo about dogs
| himself. and that it had been perfectly
| plain to him right along that that cur OF
| his had it in him. He collected his win
| nings on the spot, and then the owner of
the Italian greyhound began beefng about
| the big handicap that had been put on his
| dog, anyhow.
"'All- right said Magee III go you 500
even that my mutt can put it all over yours
from the scratch.
| THE owner of the greyhound just ate this
up instanter and when the two dogs were
cooled out they were sent to the post again.
Magee's dog just laid his common old yal-
ler-and-lemon ears back and raced the
greyhound off its feet from the first jump.
The greyhound shot its bolt in the first fur
long, going like quarter horse, and Ma
gees mutt laying right alongside, with
pounds left. When the greyhound began
! to back up the cur had so much in re-
| serve that he just passed the crackerjack
as if it was tied, and won prancing. with
his head up and mouth wide open, on the
| Bit as we say, by twenty lengths. Masee
collected his $500 and went back to town
| with his much-chewed cigar working con.
tentedly in his mouth. Somebody sprung
the ringer cry Paddys back
| was turned but he was hooted down
That won't do the gang said. Ringer
nothing. II he'd sprung bred dog that
| looked like something on us, it 'ud have
| hna n lint hat iy,-t III,
he's just a natural four-legged cyclone, and
| all dog
strangely enough, Magee's dog disap-
peared the very next day. Magee made
big show of offering a $500 reward for the
| return of the Splinter, and small boys
secured the woods for miles around in
! hopes Of finding the dog. all to no avail.
The dog seemed just to have been swal-
lowed up l saw the dog couple of months
| later, but didn't say anything about it to
| the boys in Vallejo, for l hadn't been
mixed up in the dog races and it wasn't
anything to me. There was a fire on kear-
ney street in San Francisco. and | stood on
the sidewalk to watch the passing of the
fire department. Magee's dog was in ad-
vance of the chief fire marshals buggy
with his head down, and going like blue
blazes The fire marshalS horse was gal
Looping like "a thoroughbred under the whip
but he couldn't wear down that dogs lead.
| After the fire was put out L dropped around
| to the fire marshaFs office. l knew him.
| Say | remarked to him, that dog
| out in front of your rig today looked to me
like a soer, all right. How long have you
| had him.
| Bout four years. said the fire chief
| There's not dog in this state, or on the
| whole coast, for the matter of that that
| can beat that cur on the go. I've stacked
| him up against every swift proposition in
the way of a dog that could dig out for
| bet, and he's just chewed them all up when
| it came to running. He's as common as
| dishwater when it gets UP to breeding, at
! that, but | wouldn't part with him for any
| money. I've loaned him out several times
| to fellows that wanted to enter him in dog
| races, but I'm going to stop doing that. |
| always worry over that dog when he's
| away from my sight
| Il amt sand-bagger to any particularly
| large extent, but when got off the boat at
| Vallejo that night l walked into Paddy
| Magee'S place He was alone.
| " Paddy. said l to him. just pass up
a quart of the gold label It's on the house,
| too
| He looked at me wonderingly
| g I'm next about that mutt of yours /
| said But | don't pass it around