The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-07-15
A WIDOWS
OLD HORSE
BY NJ QUAD
Copyright, 1871. by Associated Lit
erary Press.
BY NJ. QUAD

One dag the Widow Saunderson
was in town. and she fornd horse
auction going on. The last OF the
bunch to be put up was an old gray
mare She was skin aud bone and
then some more. The auctioneer did
not SANDER her character when he
called her an old skate.
There was general laugh Of con.
tempt over the old mare, and then
some one bid 81. Out Of pure sym.
pathy the widow bid dollar more,
and the nag was hers. She was guyed
by the crowd, but the prize was hitch.
ed behind the wagon and reached the
farm in due time without having once
fallen by the wayside. There were
two hired men to grin and chuczIe and
talk about crow banquets, but the wo.
man silenced them with:
"Get along, you idiots! Turn that
horse out to grass and take good care
OF her If she dies her hide will DE
worth all paid for her whole body"
This was early in the spring. When
the old mare began to eli up she began
to improve. In month her ribs could
no longer be counted from the high
way, and she began to gambol bit. It
was when another horse was turned
into the lot with her of sunday that
the surprise came. One Of the men
came up TO the house and said TO Mrs.
Saunderson:
Say, you come down to the fence
and see that old mare!"
Dead, is she:"
Dead! Why. she's the liveliest old
nag you ever set eyes on. Come
down"
The two horses were h8 wing a play.
1t was a ten acre meadow, and they
were circling ii. The farm horse was
on the galIop and the old mare on
the trot. and get he could not leave
her behind.
she got that gait before sulEy for
sure said the man.
Looks like it 10 me" replied the
widow. After this you feed her
few oats every day and use the curry.
comb. and don't either one Of you boys
say word outside"
The Akron county fair. always held
late in September, yanked next to ihe
state fair. Some said the horse racing
was even better because the track
WAS better. When the opening of the
entries was announced the Widow
Saunderson said TO one OF her men:
Joe, here's The money to enter Lady
Gray. You can claim to be The owner,
You so over to Iohnsonville and Dor
row or buy sulky and get it here on
the SLY. The old mare is going into
the free for all, and you are going 10
drive her"
And few days later she said to the
other man:
Tim. here is a hundred dollars.
You 20 to town and loaf around for
two or three days. Bet the money on
our horse. Get the best odds sou can"
When day aud date came they boot
ed the widows hired man and his
equine. They had bet 3 TO before,
now they bet IL to |. The widow had
| $500 in the bank. She drew every
dollar of it out, and Tim placed 1t on
the mare.
That was race that is talked Of
yet green driver, an old sulky and
a farm horse. AS suon AZ the mare
| got on to the track her actions betray-
ed the fact that 1t was familiar
scene to her. and her driver had the
sense TO let her take her own way in
stead Of hauling her about When the
bunch got away ut last he simply held
his horse steady and prayed with all
his might She had gone some" Oh
the highway, but sne seemed 10 he dy-
ing now. She picked w horse after
horse until she had the lead, and she
came In winner by such distance
that the other horses were hooted of
| the track. Not skip. not a break
just a fast and steady pace, and a
driver who was SO scared that he had
to be helped down from his seat.
The roll of money gathered in by the
Widow Saunderson on her wagers and
by the sale Of the mare after the race
was exactly the size Of fifteen cent
tomato can. With the bundle in a pill.
lowslip she called on the minister OF
her church few days later and said:
"Parson. know you have figured
things up. How much to paint the
meeting houssT' --...i. IL. x.