The Washington herald., 1908-04-26
ABOUT A FIRE HORSE
Major Goes to His Death Re-
GREETED by All the Boys.
WAS AS TENDER AS A WOMAN
How He Behaved Toward the Kit
tens that Usurped His stall, for
Instance-Kids Got I'm Tenders
Path, and He Had TO BE Driven
Into an Elevated Pillar.

That Major horse killed yesterday was
good old horse. Ali of the boys down
at the house Of Engine $500 East Eley-
enth street-will tell you so. That Major
horse was so human. you know, says the
New York Sun
Of course. he wasn't one of these ad-
vertised human horses that stand on
stage and mark up numbers on a black
board while a geezer stands behind with
a whip up his sleeve. That isn't horse;
that's a poor trained machine. Nothing
Ike that kind of a horse would pick up
mother cat by the scruff Of her neck and
set her gently on the floor next TO the
kitten she had lost IN the nay down
underfoot. A horse Ike that's got heart
"a real heart like a woman; tender like.
You know the kind OF a woman who'd
go upstairs TO the fat above and bring
down one of the Riddles TO her own bed
when its mother lay on her bed with the
little new kid beside her. Well, that's
the kind of a hoTse-no. that Major horse
was just like that kind OF a woman.
Yes, he came IN the department a long
time ago; he was one of the old boys,
Yet he wasn't so old but he could drag
along his running mate on the tender Of
No % full head TO the front at every
alarm. He was that enthusiasts On the
job He knew he wasn't q car horse or
a poor skate between a night hawks
shafts. He knew that he was on the Job
with the rest Of the boys whenever the
Taper plunked out the number and the
harness dropped as the boys came sliding
down the pole. He was a horse with
honor like an outstanding man. was that
Major horse.
Told About in "a Book.
Get the book that old Al Downs wrote
about Pets of the Fire Department"
when he was secretary to the department.
You'll find that Major horse in there.
Al was once a reporter: he knew how to
write things that people like to read. He
wrote about Major because he knew that
the people who read his book would come
around 70 see Major and have him shake
hands-Major always would lift up his
| foot and wave it until you took him by
the hook, you know. and shook back. He
didn't think il was smart TO do that. he
| Just did II because he wanted affection,
| that old fool Major horse did. He want
ed affection as much as ever the poor,
strange kid sitting on the park benches
here In this town does.
That Major horse used 20 run with En-
| CINE Il, over at the Eighteenth street
! house for a long time. Then they wanted
TO match the horses on Truck q. over
here. and they switched Major over to
run with that bay there in the front stall
The bay was lazy in a half-heaTted sort
OF way and they thought Major would
/ put some ginger into him. He would
/ have II only that fool bay had been any
thing Ike a man. as Major was. But he
| Just soldiered and soldiered on the job,
and, of course Major got it yesterday
because he was in the lead. That's the
way things go with the boys in the de-
partment more often than few.
| And then when Elsie-thats the long
gray Molly cat over there-when Elsie
went and had EN- for the first time here
/ in the house she insisted on dumping all
/ the week-old bTats In Majors stall No
matter how many times we went anc
/ hauled those yowling bits Of fur bag out
of Majors hay. next minute they'd be.
/ back there. We all thought that Major
would get a crouch, because he never
] liked stray dogs, and blind kittens no
/
/ body likes.
But what did that Major horse do?
| Why, he stood for those kittens; stood
| for EN- like damn. Just ike somebody
/ had left a founding on an old bachelor S
! doorstep. He'd push the kittens over to
one side with his nose and go on eating
the hay they'd been spTawling all over,
J as much as to say, I'm a sport, I am,
( and nobody can put anything over me. "
| Honestly, he used TO laugh with his eyes
and let his tongue drop out in the most
slde-splitting way when the boys caught
him mothering those kittens.
Kicked Dog to Save Kittens.
Yep. and when a smart aleck dog
breezed in the house one day hunting for
trouble. and all the little furry boys stood
on their spindly legs and made a foolish
kissing noise out Of their toothless
mouths. what did that Major horse do?
He Just scrounched back his ears and
unlimbered his rear Siamese battery
coupling and he let that purp have it so
hazard. Then he reached over and noz-
zled the nearest kitten, and she spit at
him. not knowing what else to do Now.
would you md one man out Of FIVE who'd
make all that trouble over bunch of
fool cats?
Maybe nobody in the house had such a
fancy for that Major horse as Bob Fow-
Ter. who drove him to his death yester-
day Bob had a way of saying that there
were lots of men in this town that d
hand you the double cross and then smile,
but old Major never handed anybody the
double cross. says Bob. and he's better
than some men who wear plug hats and
ride in automobiles. What's more, Bob
said. Major had something on him. be-
cause he chewed tobacco. and Major
never had a bad habit in his life.
Well, of course. when that little alarm
for the tenement on St Marks place
came In yesterday out went the engine.
and then the tender, with old fool Major
plunging along. shaking his head and
taking the big. easy strides that seemed
to make him get over the asphalt like q
clipper ship. Bob Fowler was holding the
ribbons
Come along First avenue, where the
81" IS and the surface car tracks and all
the traffic. Major pulling a head in the
lead of the bay horse on the off side. A
bunch of kids Is standing right plumb in
the middle of the road just as Bob takes
the tender over the tracks between the
| ~ pillars.
Bob yells. The kids jump and scatter,
but there are two little dirty-faced kids
standing there In the middle of the street,
scared stiff OF course, there is only one
thing for Bob to do He drives his old
fool Major horse-that dear old fool Ma
jor horsc-into the Il pillar on the left
hand side.
Breaking It Gently.