Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-10-06

Yesterday afternoon at No. 2215 Main
street occurred a wonderful exhibition
of rapid horse-shoeing, and the affair
attracted a crowd Of half a hundred
b.acksmiths and horsemen. The ex-
hibition was given by john Leper, the
champion horse-shoer of the world, who
is assisted in his fast work by his wife.
Leeper is a rather stoutly built man Of
about forty-fye, and thoroughly under
stands his work. This is clearly evil
denced from the moment he makes the
first move.
Yesterday afternoon Leper held up 20
the audience four bars of rough metal
and stated that from these he would
form the horse shoes, which he was to
apply to the horse at the rate OF about
a minute each When this was COM
pleted he would place them on the
horse, the whole JOB not taking more
than ten minutes at the limit.
The bars were placed in the forge and
heated. At exactly three o'clock tue
word go was given and Leper was at
work on his first shoe He worked
with lightning rapidity. using only the
simple Dlaeksmith's tools. At the end
of seventy seconds he held up the fin
ished shoe Again the word was given
and he started the second shoe. This
was finished in SO seconds. The thlrd
was finished in the remarkable time Of
IS seconds. and the fourth was COM
p.eted in AZ seconds. This latter one
was found to contain a flaw and was
at once cast aside and another was
completed in "a seconds. Entire time
making four perfect morse Shoes min
Htes and AZ seconds.
Leper then cooled the shoes and stated
that shoe should never be applied ID
The animals foot when hot, as the hoof
was damaged and the use of the animal
impaired. When the word was given
to start on the work of placing the shoe
he seized the foot, placed one OF the
shoes he had made which was perfect
fit, and with a few sharp blows drove
the six nails home, clinched them and
smoothed all in the remarkable short
time of 1:13. The second shoe followed
in t:0S the third in 90 seconds and the
last in lib. The total time required
for placing four shoes was 1 minutes
and 40 seconds.
The entire time taken for making and
placing the shoes was minutes and y
seconds. probably the fastest time ever
made in this vicinity. This time would
have been shortened had he not dropped
the first shoe and lost several SECONDS.
When seen after the exhibition, Lepef
stated to the Register representative
that he had been horse-shoeing for u
years. and that he had attended the
University of Philadelphia, and taken
the complete course Of veterinary work
He had served seven years in the United
States army and had been plying MS
trade over the entire country. In 1897
he won the worlds championship OF
IA minutes and % seconds from Bob
Fitzsimmons at Seattle, Wash. In
speaking of the contest, he said that
though Fitz was the stronger he won
the victory by his qpickness. Since
then. however. | have reduced my own
record and have done the job in 7:40.
Mrs Leper, a small woman, also mas
a record for shoeing, and is the only
woman blacksmith in the United states.
She can make the four shoes and III
them in place in q minutes. An eX-
hibition is being arranged for her, to
occur on Thursday. and she VIII make
an effort TO lower her record