The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1911-02-11
THE OLD GRAY AND THE OAT-
MAN.
BY The Onlooker.

BY The Onlooker.
The Rubberneck club was out In
force last Tuesday afternoon to see
horse led into the Thatcher livery
stable. A small boy with red muf
fler round his neck, unconcernedly
led a big gray horse up to the great
black hole that leads into the livery
stable, not thinking for moment but
what the critter would just walk right
up to the black place and go on into
bis stall. The beast baked, however,
at going into the thing with his eyes
open, backed up bit with his ears
pointed straight south. Some one
stopped to see how things were NOV
ing, suggesting that the livery stable
ought to get crow-bar and pry the
animal in. A little skinflint of man,
overhearlng the remark, said that he
knew better may.
Get team and drag him in," was
his remedy. The fellow was going to
help hitch the team up when another
man and a boy stopped. They suggest
Ell that block and tackle, together
with the jackson fork hooked around
his neck, could easily coax him in. BY
this time quite q crowd had gathered
about the horse to see how it would
get out Of going in.
Run de street car behind him,
suggested an expire fighter.
The owner of the horse came upon
the scene just then, and objected TO
the use Of any such means, walking
up to his equine and looking. him
| squarely in the eye. The crowd stood
still. watching with abated breath
the interesting sight, and so did the
horse.
Just then a tall man with rel
moustache and long neck came
along who said he had seen horses
led into places that they didn't like,
by blindfolding them. So big fat
man tok off his coat and loaned 1t to
the owner for this experiment to be
tried. The owner wouldn't try tn,
coat so the fat man wrapped it around
the horses head and sort OF muffled
il up to the critters ears. Then the
critter. began to back He circled
around. once or twice with the fat
man clinging to his neck, and putting
| to. beat the band to hold on; but Just
as he circled around the third time
and was pretty close to the door Of
the livery stable, the fat man couldn't
stand it any longer so he. let loose,
and the coat slid off, showing the
whole game to the bewildercd horse.
OF course, the horse looked awfully
disgusted with the crowd and began
to back away from the black hole.
Then the crowd jumped back onto
each others toes, until there was a
lot of GUESSING, which brought whole
lot more people to see what the 9TH
ers were looking at; and of course all
of them together blocked up the
door way and sort of shut off a view
of the black interior with the yellow
straw at the back in the sunlight.
The burly man who feeds the oats
to the horses just got through as the
door was blocked up, so he came run
nng to see what the excitement was
i all about Everybody was trying t
give some advise about how to ge
the horse into the notion of going in
to the barn, and each man walked vi
to lead the STUBBORN beast to the doc
in some new way. But every effort t
get the horse through that door wa
failure. The beast backed andbaake,
and backed, always the crowd stand
: ing there in the entrance looking on
: just rubbernecking.
But the powerful oatman walke
out to the old gray and grabbed tn
halter strap.
q Come on here, id YOU" he SAID
u Jerking down on the strap for all h
was worth.
{ The old gray horse fell back on hi
/ launches, peering at the oatma
d through a half closed eye and wit
v greatly added interest.
Come on, cried the strong GA
J. man again, jerking the strap in a
d awful manner,
/, BY this time, the horse understood
If that the oatman had been doing a
e this jerking, and his mouth didn't fee
e very good But that oatman just jerl
a ed and jerked, until the horse feI
lie that he was being imposed upon. H
ID sGuirmed around to get a better view
Is But the oatman jerked again to Sc
u If the horse wanted to back into tn