Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-26
THEY RELY ON HOBO

well. well have TO ask Hobo about
word OF the enAbloyd Of Frank Farrelrs
stable Of horses. trained by Frank Weir.
now quarteredlat Bepning.
And they all Ssolemhiy look to Hobo for
the last word In all things.
Hobo Is a large handsome cat. He runs
the stable and Is tho Dos of the layout.
No sacred cat of the ancient Egyptians
was ever treated with half the civility
nor regarded with half the veneration
that are blandfy ACCEPTED by Hobo Of the
Farrell string as his due and proper
need. His beginning with the stable was
humble, but now he'sthe accepted tyrant
OF the plant. His actions are taken as
augurfes whether for success or failure.
Foreknowledge. prescience and the gift
Of prophecy are attributed to Hobo by
the stable hands
Hobo joined the Farrell string at Sleeps
head Bay three years ago. He was then
kitten, and castaway kitten, at that.
He made his appearance at the stable
after. dark one night. dragging a broken
foreleg after him. That broken leg was
enough Tor the stablemen. bullock-heart-
ed chaps that most of them are. Besides.
the kitten was as thin as rail, starved
almost to the point Of dissolution The
cleanly built, pleasant-faced young fore
man OF the Farrell string found the kit
Ten licking his broken leg in the stall
with the great horse 'Brigadier, that then
nao the worlds record for a mile. The
Kitten meowed family, and the foreman
picked him up.
Well. you're bum, all right enough"
sald the foreman; addressing the kitten.
out i guess we'll have to keep you until
that dicky prop is fixed up"
so the kitten was formally taken on as
an aItache OF the stable. They named
MIN Hobo because he had been one when
he Joined.
Hobo's broken leg was all right inside
OF couple of weeks-the foreman had
put II IN sp!ints-and Hobo was getting
rat ana Kind Of chesty, besides. He was
beginning to assume a somewhat SUI
perior air as he made the rounds of the
racers, stalls and looked them over criti-
G ai y; win ms head cooked to one side.
All the men and boys around the Farrell
s parh We're humoring Hobo and letting
MN nave MS own way as to things with
M when ne concerned himself connected
Mrs. Weir, the wife Of the stables train.
er. saw the kitten and set the seal of her
approval on him. and that settled it.
s s0no Started to boss the stable around
horses. but all the attaches of f-and he's
oeen bossing it something scandalous
ever since. 0"iouS
In In talking with the attaches of the Far
,ulcusly while they tell YOU that Hobo
Knows IN advance whether one of the horses
OF the lot is going to win a race for which
"a ne Is entered or not. They wouldn't like
the Farrell horses Is going to win his race
HOBO fnfallibly climbs into that horses
stai: on the preceding night and spends the
m risa win the thoroughbred that Is sched-
uIea 10 WIN When Hobo does that the
stable stands tap on the horse that
the cat has thus indicated as a sure win
ner. II. however. on the night before the
rec aopo makes his way to the entered
ana then sniffs and walks away refusing to
mop into the stall. there's nothing doing in
the Dettfng line on that one so far as the
stable hands are concerned
Hobos passed him along" the word pats
around. and he hasn't got a chance in fine
world to be one.two-three"
II may be thought that the horses don't
care whether Hobo approves of them and
their conduct or not ibut this would ha
most egregious error. according to the Far
iell stable hands. They say that all of the
horses are acutely jealous OF Hobo's ard
and favor, and that they sulk and worry
and become. actually low in spirits ana
health II Hobos grudge against them is
such that he gives them the go-by alto
Eeener, When afternthey have redeemed
them back to his bosom. they chirk I'D and
act as happy as yeaflings in a bluegrass
pa.cn until once again they fall down in
own lazinesS Or lack OF courage and the
cat refuses to give them his countenance
Just now. when the reason is lust begin
hang: ana al Ct the horses are fresh and
Hobo is on good. II somewhat patronizing,
terms with all OF them. and he spends q
little while each day with each horse. SO
s saal none or them has any chance to kick
ms stan down in jealous rage over the
partianty OF Hobo's attentions-a thing
which. the stablemen claim has frequently
happened -
That Hobo has some instinct which fora
leliG Tor him what Ia 70 I>a
come OF each race in which the stable par.
ticlpates Is clearly shown, the stabIen- IN
say, by the way Hobo treated old Orig
adler. Now. during his three-year-old wear
Brigadier was one of the fastest and most
courageous horses in training. He downed
the pest that stood on iron. Then his legs
gave way and he couldn't do anything.
Hobo. Well knowing that the giving way of
his legs wasn't Brigadiers fault didn't go
back on the horse at all. but spent at least
one night a week in Brigader's STALL
Ihen. the next year. after Brigadier's legs
mad been patched up the horse looking as
good as ever. was Started in two or three
races and failed miserably Hobo made
up his mind that Brigadier was sulking and
more to do with him. Mr. Farrell decided
that Brigadier wouldn't do for the east
any more and sent him to Chicago and St.
Louis to see what he could do on the
tracks out there. AS soon as that decision
was made Hobo raced for Brfgadier,s stall
and jumped in with the old horse and
started to talk to him. That cinched 1t
with the stable hands that Brigadier would
be a winner in the west. The old horse
was taken west and Hobo insisted upon de-
taching himself from the main stable and
accompanying Brigader on that journey.
The first time Brigadier started in the west
he was at 10 to l. and the Farrell stable.
quartered a a New York track, stood to 90
broke on him. Brigadier walked home.
Then he won four more races in a row be-
fore he was brought back east, The stable
hands all made fortunes out of the five
western victories. and they swear in their
teeth yet that it was all on account of
Hobo