The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-04-28

for yourself how much stronger I'd have been to pay for oats and things that year
 I'm not telling stories out of school. but Bill Scully has had his troubles at trading, too-Bill sure has. Bill bought dead mare once. Understand, I'm not saying a word renecting upon Bill Scul ly, because he's a good friend of mine but Bill certain sure did buy dead mare once, and no mistake.
 This old mare-she'd raced for five or six straight years at sprinting distances belonging to a Chicago man. She was pretty shifty, but no great performer. Her breeding lines were elegant.
 Bill Scully knew of a man with a stock farm in Kentucky who wanted her for his stud. The Kentuclslan was will ing to pay $500 for She mare. Bill went to the Chicago man who owned the mare. It was in midsummer.
 T want that old mare of yours he said to the Chicago man. The mare Is all in-she can't beat a washerwoman now, of course. Well here's the eight hundred. I'll send boy over for her
 ''The Chicago man, of course, wasn't going to be herded up into corner like that. He knew that the old mare was about In asa runner, but he was racing her around Chicago, and he figured that there was always a chance of her shoot ing out some day and grabbing purse.
 You can have her for a thousand after I've raced her a few more times. Bill said the Chicago man. She might cop one or two yet
 Bill made chaw about that differ ence between the eight hundred and the thousand, because he had it fixed for his little rakedown to be $700, the difference between what the Kentucky man would pay for the mare and what Bill offered the Chicago man for her. well, we'll talk all that over when I hand you over the mare, Bill, said the Chicago man.
 "Bnl wanted to put the thing through, and he kept showing up at the Chicago mans shed and asking for the mare. She was running every few days, and never getting anything or even piece of it, and Bill was impatient to close the trade
 "The Chicago man kept putting Bill off. Finally, at Roby, along toward the end of October, Bill bore down on the Chi cago man.
 Look here, you said he In his breezy way to the mares owner, let s get through with this. I'm going to have that mare next week, understand? You can have your blamed old thousand for her, but 1 want her dead or alive next week.
 "'Dead or alive, hey?' said the Chicago man, who was about discouraged with the mare, anyhow, and he laughed over Bil's keenness. All right. You can have her under those conditions
 Now, there wasn't a thing the matter l with the mare at that time, and, intact she raced the very day after. But a couple of days later she was down with a bad case of lung fever, and was found dead in her staff inside of the week. The day after she died the Chicago man met | Bill downtown in Chicago. Fork over that thousand, Bill, he said, and you can go out and get tho old mare. She's all in, right enough. l "'Why, blast it, I told you that months | agor commented Bill, and that day he went out to Roby for the mare. They were just loading her on the | wagon for the glue works when Bill reached the track. IIe was in horrible l lather of course and raced back to Chi- | cago. His thousand was handed right | back to him, of course-the Chicago man had never meant to keep it-but that fact l never let Bill out for buying a dead mare and the old timers have been shooting 1 that one into him ever since"