The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-12-15
A WONDERFUL BOSTON HORSE
Was Burned the Other Day-Anecdotes
of His Intelligence.

nesday morning, persisted a horse who
might almost be called "one of East
Boston's best known citizens" He was
Ben, DR.. Edward F. OShea's chunky
white Canadian, and he was a horse
who was known to half the population
Of Noodle island. Ben came to Dr..
OShea about ten years ago in an odd
way. He was the property of a pa
tient of the doctor, and the physician
bought him with a clause in the pur-
chase, that unless he cured the patient
the sale should not go. Thus Ben, in
possession of the doctor, because liv-
ing testimonial to his masters ability.
And Ben grew famous. Not for his
speed, though he could if he would
knock several splinters off three min
utes. Not for his blue ribbons, for he
was not a show horse. He was just a
broad-chested, white, blocky gelding
with the scars of the wire fences of his
youth still discernible when his hair
was slipped short. But he was so clev-
er that the tale of his accomplishments
sounds like a dream. He understood
English perfectly. He knew the doe
tors calling places absolutely, and
when the list was done, he would in
sist on going back to the office. The
doctor was inspector of schools in East
Boston, and often drove from school to
school without taking the reins off the
whip, where he had twisted them when
he stopped first.
DR.. O'Shea does not like to talk much
about Ben. In the first place, his loss
has been real bereavement to the
doctor; in the second place, DR.. O'Shea
does not like to say things he knows
will not be believed. So he refers
questioners to an old friend of the
horse, A. H. Kelley, master of the Ly-
man school, who has, so to speak, be-
fore now "embalmed Ben in print"
That story, which is true in it's small
est detail, perhaps more than anything
else, shows Gen was worthy of the
suffrage of the ballot. For many
horse can be taught funny tricks, and
can pick out his name from the consti-
tuition of the United States, which is
the qualification for voting. But not
every horse can reason that when it is
time. for a reasonable being to take
care of the children, little thing like
a good hard welting should not count.
Ben did that.
He was left standing outside the doc
tors house in Chelsea street one day.
Dr. O'Shea has three children, and they
are up to the average, to say the least.
That means, among other things, that
they are enterprising. They being out
Of doors, and nobody by to forbid, it
follows as a matter of logic that they
climbed into the buggy. Seeing a whip
In the socket, the same reasoning shows
that the boy must infallibly have taken
it out and laid it over the horses back
in resounding cuts. He looked round
when the whip was ratified in the sock
ct, and deliberately watched the
youngster raise it on high and bring it
down ON his sensitive pet. But he
never budged from his tracks. Again
the boy struck, and Ben merely put
up with it," He said as plainly as pos
sible: "You can welt me with that
thing till you're black in the face; that's
because you don't know any better. I
can run away with you, but 7 do know
better, and that's why don't do it,"
Ben was never whipped by the doctor
except once. The merest hint of rat
tie of the whip in the socket was al
ways enough to put the horse to his
best PAGES. So Mrs. O'Shea, who was
looking from an upper window when
the incident began. expected to see
trouble as soon as the boy reached for
the whip. She screamed, but the doc
tor knew his horse well, and merely
laughed at her. He walked calmly to
the window and watched the whole
thing. In fact, it tickled him so that
on another day he repeated it for the
sake of photographing the incident
He put the boy into the buggy and
went into the house, leaving the pho
tographer to observe what happened.
The boy reached for the whip, the horse
looked round to make sure that the
proper and authorized person was NAL
treating him, and the picture man
snapped his shutter.
One of Ben's tricks was to knock at
the stable door, when he found it
closed. A little thing like going to his
stable alone, when the doctor was done
for the day. never troubled Ben. The
doctor would alight and say "All right
Ben! Go on home" and the horse
would gravely trot off to his stable.
On cold days the doors were often
closed, and Ben would knock with his
forefoot till somebody came He would
do this at the word of command, and
repeat it if he was not heard the first
time Of course there was often a we'll
meaning but ignorant citizen who but
ten in, seeing a harnessed horse going
about his own business. This always
resulted in a chase, and Ben would
turn up at the Office again to let Mr..
O'Shea know somebody had been inter-
fering with him. On one occasion he
was captured that is. the citizen who
wanted to set the affair right man
aged to get into the carriage. But af-
ter that Ben took command again, and
in spite of all pulling on the reins
brought his captive back in triumph to
his masters office.
DR.. O'Shea had a cottage at Ocean
Spray, and has sent women home to
East Boston in the care of Ben. All
they had to do was to hold the reins:
Ben would find his way stop for trains
to pass at crossings avoid electric cars,
dodge wagons, deliver his passengers
and walk off to the stable alone At
the Doctors country place in Rowley,
Ben was often invited into the house to
luncheon. He always behaved like the