The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-27

ter from jockey named Swift who told
| MIN the horse could be bought for $4,000.
Swift made this offer to the railroad king
without my knowledge or consent and L
did not put price on him even to the
commodore. 'Hows then, am to buy
him? said the, commodore. | replied that
would not put a figure on him to him.
Then | asked him if he liked the horse
and he answered, yes. Then / said
would Keep my word and never put
price on him. He replied no, ! must put
figure on him. said no, I'd take him
back home in the morning. The colt was
taken back TO the commodore's stables
and in the morningghe came out to the
stable yard and invited me into his Office
1t took him long time before he'd make
L me an offer. Finally he reached for his
check book and wrote out "a check for
$4,000 and handed it over to me, saying
There, I'll give you that for your horse.
Are you Satisfied?' said he. I'D be salts
fled with whatever you chose to give me,
j. answered. He then counted out twenty
500 bills and handed them over to me
and again asked me if / was satisfied.
reiterated my story that I'd be satisfied
with whatever he saw fit to give, Then
the commodore gave me a lot of small
things, among them a time watch that
someone had presented to him and the
first timepiece of the kind I ever saw;
and picture Of himself and his team,
Post Boy and Plough Boy, speeding at al
22O clip, which | yet have and value very
highly.
Then he says, I've get little mare
out in the stable l paid $500 for up at Sar-
atoga for your wife to drive | told him
my wife didn't ride horseback and she
had no wagon or harness to drive the
mare with. Then he said, Go out on
Broadway and buy an outfit of wagon
harness, etc, such as you want, and send
the bill to me- These 7 got, put the mare
to the new wagon, and with the seller
of the goods drove over to the commo-
dores office, where 1 got a boy to- mold
the horses while we ran in to call him
OUT to see the outfit He went to the
window, looked the rig over and thought
it very fine. Just then Mr.. DemareSt the
seller, presented the bill for the rig. 1t
amounted to $3.50, and without hesitation
the commodore drew his check for the
amount. He didn't say word, seemed
to be entirely satisfied with the entire
bargain Afterward l sold him mare
to mate Mountain Boy for $4,000 that
could trot in about 2:4l and made a very
fine team for him.
Mountain Boy died of the 'epizoo' in
the epidemic year 1872. The mare he
left to his brother, Jacob Vanderbilt,
when he, the commodore, died. She lived
to be an old mare and was by Rysdyk's
old Hambletonian. Before Mountain Boy
died he secured record of 2:20sz, which
was very fast in those days, and I be-
lieve record. The price. we received
Tor the colt Was the highest ever paid
for trotter up to that time.
The next horse CT note with which [
had to do was the Bull colt Judge Fuller
ton by Edward Everett. He was raised
by Tink Bull, of Montgomery, Orange
county. At five years or age he showed
G1ax
Stephen w. Fullerton and myself paid
$1,000 for him on June IS, 1870 Having no
7 track here then l exercised him on the
country roads hereabouts, and in Sep
TENDER OF that year, with the little horse,
Commodore, [ drove him to Fleetwood
New York, over the rougn country roads
The Fleetwood track was then new and
just opened and in three days after
reaching that course 1 drove the Judge a
half in 1:o912, wonderful time for those
carly trotting days. When it became
Known What the great horse could do
William Humphrey, of New York, a large
haberdasher, Offered US $4,000, a fabulous
price My father was aWfully anxious
to close. the bargain at once. I was much
opposed to it, for l believed we could get
$3o,O00 Tor him, besides | wanted Robert
Bonner to have him, although he had
never put eyes on the animal Judge
Fullerton was, however, persistent. He
was afraid that something might happen
to him. and flnallyI gave in and let Mr.
humphrey have the horse. 1t was per-
haps the highest price ever paid for a
horse up to that date, some five years
after we had sold Mountain Boy. Mr.
Bonner came to the stable the next morn. =
ing in great haste, and when he found
Fullerton was sold the day before to Mr.
Humphrey hefwas the most disappointed
man IN Gotham. have always believed
that Wei lost $4,000 by being too hasty,
Dan Mace afterward handled the horse
for Hr, Humphrey, and drove him to a
record of 2:1S. He won about 100000 in
prizes with him, and among the field of
trotters he lined up with in those days
We're such fast ones as Goldsmith Maid
Lady Thorne, Gloster, Sensation, Camors
and others. Mr.. Humphrey owned Fuller.
ton until he died.
The next horse [ owned was the most
wonderful long distance trotter that was.
ever IN harness. 1t was the little bay
morse Commodore. He only weighed 70o
pounds, / bought him in 1870 of Jack
Hernochan, five miles west of Montgom-
cry. He was by POST Boy. dam by Ed
ward Everett. In 1870 he was five wears
Old. l worked and trotted him four
years. [ gave him a record of 2:25 and
then sold him to Grin. Hickok, Budd Do
bic and William IL ian Humphrey, a third share
each, for S. coo. y He cost me 500. He
was small horse. While L had him |
drove him in two-mile race at Pros
pect Park against tire fast trotters, and
could have shut them all out had I
wanted to: In this race he obtained
record of 5:041a. His mile record previous
to that was 2:35. After gave him a
record of 2:2o scs3 aim. He was taken
to California, where he became sick. He
got We'll, and then made a ten-mile rec
ord which was then a worlds record,
and I believe has never yet been beaten
He was then taken to the West Indies,
and from there n another frx,.
where at twenty years of age he was
entered in a big race under another
name, Jack, I believe. His knee was
sprung and the crowd guyed the driver
and told him that if he didn't take the
horse off the track he would fall down.
But he went on and won his race, and
| then it was discovered that he was the
little horse Commodore, from Newburg,
N. Y -
THE large handsome sorre1 mare Mu-
sic, by Middleton, that Robert Bonner
| took such fancy to, then came into my
| possession. bought her when three
| years old, gave wards record of 2:24
| to her when four years old, and kept her
| and trotted her until she was eight years
! Old At four years / was offered and re-
| fused $17,500 for her. In the following
| spring she took sick and L laid her ND
| for eighteen months. She, however, was
| never as good mare after the sickness
as before. trotted her three years after
| that, and then sold her to Robert Bon
/ ner for $500 Mr.. Bonner put her in
his stud and kept her until she died, but
never raced her. She foaled three colts,
! but so far as ever knew they did not
/ turn out world DeaterS.
after disptsing of Music bought the
/ black mare Cqrnelia from J. G. Coster, or
/ New York. Her former owner was AS
semblyman W. Fl. Mase, Of FiShkill land
| ing. We paid $1,000 for her, raced her for
two years successfully, gained a record
/ of 2:211a and then sold her for $4,000
She was not a good race mare, being err