The courier., 1902-03-01
To
Ola Slim ND
on the Pension list


love their horses for II Is they whose
agile leaps and bounds take their mas
ters to the seat of conflagration. They
love to tear their way to n blaze. and
distance and the burdens they bring
up behind them curb their enthusiasm
not i'm the least. Then when the horses
advance in age and the years of their
service grow In number II Is with sad
ness that the animals are relegated to
the ranks Of the superanuated. Young
horses, animals In the prime of their
vigor and speed, must stand I'm the old
stalls, ready at any time for any ser
vice. Doubtless some of the horses,
too, feel sorrow at their waning for
tune.
In the extra stables at station house
No. stands Old Slim. large. OF crinkly
black hair and dimensions in accord
with his name. He munches his hay
in a spirit OF complacency and no one
would know to look at him that he
ever possessed fiery spirit. Not so
far from the alarm bell Is he but that
he pricks up his ears with animated
interest when he hears the clatter of
the gong, but his days of vigilance and
activity are practically over. Eighteen
years ago he was a tiny colt. When
six years old, or in 1889. he entered the
department. Now he Is the Oldest
horse i'm the service of the city.
Good health has always favored him
and he Is still stanch in his long limbs
and his teeth are firm. His height Is
seventeen hands and his weight close
to !. 400 pounds though he once weighed
more than that. Sullivan, pretty
white horse, was the oldest one in the
service last summer but ii was sold
and now plods along for "a man whose
business it is to haul brick. This
horse came into service in 1856. Show
ing his spirit and nimbleness one day
last summer. Slim leaped a gate bar
about four feet high, escaping from
the barn and dashing wantonly over
TIE market square.
Slim was not his name when he came
into the fire service. Once he was the
property of "A Lancaster county farmer
but the watchful eyes of the authOri-
ties in the days of 1889 saw in him the
making of a fine fire fighter. COnse-
auently he got his diploma from the
plOw. With his mate he entered the
department and $500 for the two went
ha IN h. fa n
ago the mate went out of service but
still in a limited sense. old Slim Is on
duty. Two years ago he was dismissed
to the stables of the extras and since
that time others have dragged to fires
the wagons he was formerly proud to
whirl after him. These days when
some horse Is being treated to n new
pair of shoes or Is temporarily indis-
posed old Slim marches to the vacant
stall, salutes the boys and waits for
an alarm. When the bell rings he trots
out to the harness as readily as ever,
when the signal to go is given he
plunges forward with the old time vim
and the driver has to look out for the
former hard straining at the bits. but
the old horse finds himself at the end
of long run good and plenty In need
of wind. alas for his age.
He has held his own with every horse
in the service since he entered the de-
partment and he has served on all the
wagons in all the three fire stations.
In his thirteen years career he has
gone to scores and scores of fires and
the spirit has not perished in him If
the flesh has not the same old dura-
bility.
Lost sum mar he ,uas nffered for sa ln