Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-26
IN HOTEL CORRIDORS

Speaking of luck In playing the ponies,"
said Mr.. Frank Bryan, the race reporter,
at the Raleigh to an interested group, re
minds me of my experience in the palmy
days of the old Alexander Island track in
the middle nineties. One day, after having
ntbbled at all the good things offered and
not caught a single bite, I was preparing
to go back to town when ] was accosted by
a ragged tout, who insisted on my playing
horse that was about to run at East st.
Louis, which he had formerly rubbed, he
said, called Jim Hogg. l tried to tear my
self away from the fellow and take the
train, but he implored me with such elo-
quence and deep feeling that 1 reluctantly
surrendered by giving him the last IS had
in my clothing. If l remember correctly
Hogg was 60 to 1: In few seconds the
telegrapher shouted, They're off! Seconds
passed by, and II seemed to me. as the
telegrapher announced the running, that
every horse stood a chance except Jim
Hogg. Sure that l had dropped my last
five. l turned to go. Just then the man at
the keys shouted in stentorian tones, Jim
Hogg wlns!' and l gaily trpped into line
and cashed. The tout? Oh, 1 fixed him so
generously that the next day when he
flashed up at the track his most intimate
friends passed him by with a stony stare
and thought he was some Irish lord over in
this country wearing out his old clothes.
'All race goers at the island, 1 imagine,
remember old McKeeVer. He was an an
nuar-that Is. he won once a year, and not
infrequently the men who were in the know
went down on him, bob, line and sinker, in
every pool room in the country. 1 did not
know as much about McKeever then as
did later on. 1t so happened that 1 was in
the ring, chalking down the odds. and, in
cidentally, looking out for good thing to
play. when l was attracted by the bold
legend, written in quite as bold letters
'McKeever, $50 to l. 1 had measly s. in
my pocket, and as the walking was bad
that day between the island and Washing
ton l thought 1t good policy to hang on to
the little wad Of long green in my possess
sion: but instantly relenting, I pulled out
a dollar from the roll, and, with a hang
dog look, slipped 1t into the hand Of the
man at the box. When I reached the re-
porters' stand I kept my counsel, for my
reputation as a picker Of winners was at
stake, and l was determined not to give
myself away. The horses were already at
the post, and noticed at every breakaway
that McKeever was well in front. This
demonstrated that the old dog was not a
lobster at least. Finally, the flag fell, with
McKeever again well in front. On the back
stretch he was running like a mad horse
and leading his field by five lengths. On
the turn for home he led by fifteen lengt his
and was a wild horse. Then the old dog
suddenly began to stop almost to nothing,
when his jock went to work at him, and by
hard riding virtually lifted him in by a
nose and saved me from one of the worst
cases of heart failure I was ever threat
ened with. When realized that had won
the coin l slipped my fingers into my vest
pocket and 1ourished my ticket under the
very noses of my fellow reporters as evil
dence Of my superior judgment in picking
winners. Out OF revenge they seized my
hat, threw 1t on the floor. executed a war
dance upon It, and did other extravagant
things to express their opinions Of my
meanness in not putting them on to the
good thing The moral Of this st DRY is that
frequently the less you know about the
horses you play in a race the more liable
you are to win"
1--WE have been having a wild dog scare
up in my section Of Warren county, said
Mr.. w. H. Walters of Linden, Va, at the
Metropolitan. For upward of week or
ten days farmers near Linden, about a
month ago, found sheep missing from their
aocks and subsequently discovered their
mangled carcasses in -of-the-way places
1t was at once suspected that the damage
had been done by dogs for although there
are number of wildcat dens in the imme-
date vicinity, no one ever yet heard Of a
Virginia wildcat attacking full-grown sheep
A council was held by some of the persons
who had lost sheep, and the decision reach
ed was to have two Of their number secrete
themselves near the carcass OF a freshly
killed mutton and watch for the dogs to re-
turn During the first nights watch three
dogs put in an appearance and two were
shot. The third dog was trailed to cave
in a rocky spur of the Blue Ridge, where
1t was found that the third dog was gyp
with litter Of pups They killed the gyp
them and they were given to any one who
wanted them. They are quite wild now and