The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-10-26

Fred Gerken in the side lines! 1t can't
be he's going 10 quit the game!"
There comes Claus Bohlingl Now
look out, somebody. He told my cou-
sins uncle yesterday he had the heels
of everything likely to show to-day"
Albert Bostwick's trainer has got
knee boots on Johnny Agan. Yes.
BOstwick is autompbile-crazy, still he
has not quite given up horses"
A lean, brownish bay, with fair head,
good legs and light middle piece flashes
past. One spectator grins at the sight,
saying sagely: David B. looks as
though he'd run jest about to match
his namesake this mornin'." Instantly
somebody retorts: wait till you see
him finish! It's my belief he has never
been quite all out here-no more than
the man he's named for"
Maybe So" says a judicial third per-
son. but. say, did you hear about old
Cobwebs? One day a while back
Straus got two friends to hold watches
on the old fellow while he stepped a
quarter after he got going for all he
was worth. and he made IL in 20 sec
onds fiat What do you think of that
A I:56 gait for a horse Is years old
and a faster quarter than ever Cres-
ceus. trotted in a race!"
He's a wonder-no mistake" say the
onlookers: then hubble to the curb,
saying all together in a breath: And
here he comes nowl Hurrahi He's
having it out with Dave Lamar and
Sally Simpson"
Down the course two little
dust clouds have resolved them
selves into flying harnessed racers.
with drivers sitting low and
close behind. The wagons look
cobweby-hardly stout enough to
endure the impact of rapid air. But
nobody thinks of that; all hang breath
less on the race. The man in front has
a strong, Hebraic face. bearded
shrewd-eyed, kindly. The lips are set
power to claim and keep. The whip
is held upright. the refns tightly
clutched-now and again he speaks a
low word, too low to be heard by the
sidewalk throng, though evidently
reaching the ears of the horse. Cob
webs may know intuitively what his
master asks-he goes, goes, with the
mighty stroke of a machine. His stride
is low and stealing. his ears are flat
against his beautiful chestnut head. his
eyeballs flare, but not with temperate
has the stay and the spirit which
joined with speed, makes the horse
which does or dies. On, on, he thun-
ders, his head nodding the least BIZ
in fine, faultless rhythm, his quick
ening hoof- beats sounding a march OF
triumph as his white nose goes past
the post half a length to the good.
The battle is not won. Dave Lamar
wheels as soon as he can pull up. asks
a question mainly with his eyes, is an
swered with a nod, then, almost wing
and wing, the pair race away to the
back stretch, and again set sail. This
time the mare lies at Cobwebs' wheel
in the first brush she fought for each
foot of the way. She is a bay, big anC
shiny, in the very pink of condition, g
credit alike to her trainer and her sire
the world famous Electioneer. She
goes high, so high 1t almost seems she
scorns the earth, but her reaching
plungers devour space incredibly. Bu
| for keeping in place so steadily a cas-.
ual onlooker would say the horse went
ten yards to her nine, and covered
| ground with much more ease to him.
| self. But do what he will, stretch
| strain. quicken, he can not shake hel
| off She hangs like a bulldog till fifty
| yards from the wire: then the man IL
! the white hat. who has been sitting
statue-like, leans far forward, swishei
his whip nightly, calls in shrill, whis
| Ting tones, let's out the least bit of {
| WEdp, anu lHe TdCt 10 ONeT-NSOOWcU,
| has lost, though by a narrow margin
A third heat is, of course, inevitable
| People forget to gossip, and stand still
save when they crowd for better see
! ing places. This time the flyers COM
| in view neck and neck. each doing
desperate best from start to finish
| How the big gallant chestnut strains
| His motion is so swift no eye can fol
| low it, the sulky wheels show only a!
| motionless shining rims magically i'm
| PEELED along the course. And camel!
| the bulldog bay mare keeps at hi
| throat latch, lurching so high sh'
seems to be fencing all the way. Necl
| and neck stride for stride, they keeI
it up until the very last; but the bay
will not be denied: she gets her nost
| in front by at least six inches. There
| is applause all UP and down the line
| as she joys back toward the starting
point, but not so loud, nor so hearty
as the clapping which follows Cobwebs
all the way to the cooling-out sheds.
The brushes have been typical-every
Sunday, every matinee. with SOUND
footing, sees them duplicated a hun.
dred times over. Even the least con-
siderate horse master hesitates to risk
his flyers upon slippery or sloppy go
ing, or in stiff. holding mud. Not q
few horse owners have stables close
at hand E. H. Hartman, who owns
the famous John r. Gentry, for ex-
ample, has, right at the Speedway
gates, what is said to be the best ap-
pointed stable for harness horses any
where in the world. A dozen Others
might be named. Indeed, no man can
hope for fame upon the Speedway
without a considerable string which in
cludes both blood and speed. A few
of them keep only trotters; the most
part have at least one PAGER, and in
not a few Instances the PAGERS are
the true stars. Brushes between trot-
are matches between double teams to
road wagons with two persons instead
of the ordinary trotting rig.
j. r. Cockeril, now president of the
Road Drivers Association, has a fancy
for driving double often holding UP
such fancy performers as Swift and
Phoebe Childress or Honor Bright. II.
E. Smathers has a big string, whose
bright particular star is Queen Wilkes,
at her best the admitted queen of the
Speedway.
The famous Monk was last years
Speedway champion. The King, an ex-
star of the Grand Circuit, owned by
David Lamar, along with at least a
dozen others. Mr.. Lamar himself is
among the most constant Speedway
ties, ready for any sort of going, and
never willing to admit himself beaten
until he has tried again and again.
Possibly the most picturesque and
certainly the most interesting Speed
way personality is Frank Work, the
sole survivor of the old time road brig
ade that included Robert Bonner, w.
H. Vanderbilt and their compeers. AL
though living az far down as Madison