The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-07-14

I The elder generation of our read
srs who patronized the zone Ring
Circus" in their salad days. doubtless
remember the remarkable trick horse
Excelsior and his son., Blind Excel
sior, Jr., both owned, trained and ex-
hibited by Colonel Rice. The illus
tration of Blind Excelsior is Of mani
fold interest. 1t is not only a perfect
likeness Of the wonderful horse as
he appeared in his declining years,
but 1t is the last picture made by the
master hand Of the lamented Herbert
S. Kittredge. This priceless painting,
the only one now in existence, and
for which Colonel Rice offered at one
time the sum of $500, subsequently
became the property Of Mr.. Chas. T.
Harris, then on the editorial staff Of
Wallace's Monthly. The following ex-
cerpts from the diary of Colonel Rice,
concerning the characteristics of sire
and son, are of interest:
There was a. slight difference in'the
susceptibility Of the two horses, the
original Excelsior being purer bred
than his son. He was sired by the
racehorse Gray Eagle, that ran
against Wagner at Louisville, KY, in
the early sixties. His dam vas by
Envoy, imported to this country by
Judge Wilkins, of Pennsylvania, who
was Minister to Russia. Excelsior,
ST., was bred and owned by DR..
Thomas, of H~awesville, Hancock
County, KY, and in the fall of 1850
ran a two-mile race over the Lexing-
ton track in 3.51. I educated him
with less trouble than I had with his
son, but his performances were Of a
different character, being classic and
artistic in the way Of graceful move
ments and grand and imposing atti-
tudes. Excelsior, Jr., was a keystone
to the arch of the original @One-Horse
Show" for in those days he formed
the whole stud" Of that much-talked-
of institution. He was a very quin-
tessence Of quadruped grandeur. His
marvellous sagacity was only equalled
by his elegance of carriage. With a
milk-white skin, and name and tail of
remarkable length and feecy white
ness, a neck of extraordinary mould
and perfect reach of ARCH in truth,
30 powerfully and symmetrically
formed was this noble brute, there
, should be scant surprise that he was
universally regarded and enthusiast
tically conceded to be, in intelligence,
color and general conformation, with
out a rival in the equine circles of the
! circus world. So widespread was his
fame he attracted the notice of Rosa
Bonheur, who wrote the famous pho
tograhic-artist Sarony to forward her
photographs of the blind marvel.
After spending several weeks study
ing Excelsior in every possible pose, a
score Of superb specimens were sent
the great French artist, aboard the
Inflated Vile de Havre, and so never
reached their destination. The poet
Longfellow was also one of Excel
sior's most ardent admirers. One
night at the close of the performance
he accompanied Colonel Rice to the
paddock, and whilst ~caressing the
sightless wonder said: This horse
is SO human in his conduct, so beau
tiful in his presence, so patient and
%confding in his affection, that real
ly, Mr. Rice, I am almost persuaded
to believe there must be a sort of
horse heaven after ALL"
The loss of sight in Excelsior, Jr..
which occurred in his second year,
no doubt strengthened his hearing
and made him nor attentive to what
was said to him.. So keenly sensitive
was he of sound, that, speaking once
In a sibilant tone to my ringmaster
some fifty feet distant, this whispered
remark caught his ear, although not
heard by Mr.. Rosston: II must short
en- the programme-Excelsior will as
cend the stairs" Before I could adj
vance to the horse to give him his
cue he arose on his hind legs and pro-
ceeded with his forefeet to climb an
imaginary staircase. Of course this
was after many years of arduous toll
In teaching him to understand and
distinguish sounds. l took the idea