Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-21

valley of Four Mile run ana ShlrtS Tue
west side of the big wooded hill where,
under vines and shrubbery. lie the re-
mains of Fort Scott; intersects with the
electric railroad from Washington to
Alexandria at a small station where, on
the waiting room, is painted the WORD
Hume" II Is one of the important grade
crossings in the neighborhood of Wash
ington, and to diminish somewhat the
danger there a big bell has been Installed
which rings as trains approach either
from the north or south. 1t Is a loud bell,
electrically operated. and it begins its
warning din when approaching train
Is several hundred yards away. But the
Rambler is not going to pause long at this
little station.
Crossing the railroad tracks and pass
Ing along the road in the direction Of
Alexandria for about a hundred yards.
n weedy lane beckons the left and
YOU turn in Along the north side of the
lane which once was quite a travel
beaten road but is now little more than
a footpath, is a tall. thick and irregular
hedge of trees growing thickly together,
but casting their shade the wrong way
10 he of comfort to travellers. OF to the
right are wide fields. in which a few cows
are grazing.
The lane is leading you toward a
big barn-like structure. its greatest
length being east and west, or nearly
SO. 1t is gray. for it is weather-beaten
and storm-racked. 1t rests on stout
brick piers, quite high above the
ground which here takes on the form
of a wide depression. In front Of this
building, which you now begin to make
out as in a state of great .dilapida-
ton. tall. thin little building like
a signal tower stands. 1t is two stories
high and has sharp-peaked roof. In
the side which you are approaching
there is a small door in the first story
and two narrow windows set close
together in the upper story. At it's
front you can see that high and steep
flight of wooden steps leads from the
ground to the top story.
On your right hand you can now
make out wide and fiat runway over
grown with daisies, tall English plan
tain. in flower and white plnd red
clover with feeble wheel track run
some of the yellow clay. Between the
lane on which you are walking and
this broad runway is a weedy en-
bankment and as you climb this and
stand in the runway you know that
you are upon an old race track as
weedy and seedy as though 1t had
really backed the ponies instead Of
providing place for them to run and
dated barn-like structure was once
grandstand. where thousands Of people
gave way to intense emotion and ex-
element. The little house, like a signal
tower. was the judges stand.
Perhaps You will look up and down
the old race course though half
expecting to see the shadows or the
ghosts of the horses flash by, but all
you see of the. animal kingdom are q
few gentle old cows browsing In the
haisy-grown infield. lazily swatttng
dies with their tasseled tails. You note
the sharp turns In that course and
wonder that thoroughbreds. hugging
the rail. rushed around them safely at
full speed. Then there are long and
nearly straight stretches of the track
and the home stretch is nearly straight
The infield fence is time-stained and
broken. Rails are missing here and
there and in places whole panels of
of the course the daisies. the clover
and the weeds grow as high as the
upper rail of the fence.
The grandstand and the judges stand
are built over low land by the track
side. and in other days this was COW
cred by a long and wide platform of
stout oak timber and planking. Most
of this has disappeared. but around the
judges stand and the middle of the
grandstand the skeleton of this plat
form remains. Where planks still lie
across the posts and beams they are
warped, cracked and loosened. 1t il
easy to see that great stores Of fire.
wood have been torn from this plat
form, but it is not all gone even now.
You can step from timber to timber.
but 1t Is risky exercise and one Is ex-
tremely liable to fall into the weed
grown and timber-strewn depths once
covered by this strong oak structure.
The grandstand is a gaunt and dismal
place. The lower story has breaches
in 1T through which, standing in the
track, you can look into the shadowy
interior. The upper story, where the
crowds sat and stood, as the horses