The Sun and the New York herald., 1920-09-12
Mouse Horse, a Fa.
kerr Roma, Shabby
L o oking, But a
Wonderful Fuller
and All the Other,
Figure in Story Of
Final Run

like H. 30 hoped onto any sort Of Wss..
hhead or me and led them along Oncs ~
was a chicken wagon and that sort on No
fled the horheh II worried me more | dldn,
care much for the cackllng and the od,.
on that hot August day"
That Mouse horse was the nrs,,l.-.
horse you ever looked at" broke in us.
thorne with genuine affection in his vo,'.
"Homa was sort OF shabby looking. I'M, 4.
could pull, II you tried 20 hold him ~.
he'd Just kick lie wanted 20 10 all the tlr,'
Roma horse had hair on him like wire as,
] used 70 take an hour 10 curry him s".'
we had come back from fre. Lots q, n.
men used 10 think hoslng OFF was voa,
enough for a horse, but you can't keen h,1
oieah that way It's like trying TO wash
yourself without using soap
'"That Mouse horse, he was n ,.L..
though" continued the driver. "He wss
Iat as pig ana never lost any flesh. Rom,
o'd' That's because Mouse horse used |.
let Roma DO all the work Mouse was
slick animal
MANY a dpy i've come In with my arm,
core from the way that Roma would pnl
and he'd be freaher on the second run ina,
or the first. You couldn't hold him bacg
Aou just pun your arms out
How will they like farm workp" the tvo
nremen were asked.
well, l wonder7' replied McGufIoe ou.,
uoningly II live In Astoria, and when
100 horses out there grazing on little patobe,
OF green or standing under the trees often
think OF how II seems to Mouse and Roma
ond Charlie up on some big farm Whe,.
they have lot OF green 10 MUNICH and o
stand under, I've wondered what their feel.
ihgs would be and what sort OF antics they
would perform when turned loose in n bv
pasture. II must seem odd TO have a lot Of
room and nothing to do In a hurry and win
The days passing peacefully. l suppos.
they'll forget all about three alarms and
dashing through the Ice and snow or svel.
tering In the summer Do you think they1I
uver remember that once they were the bes
nre engine horses New York ever had
And do you think they'll ever miss US fcl
lows? We used TO pet them lot"
More About the Mouse.
That Mouse was the cutest thing" IN.
terJected Hawthorne "You never had IA
tell him anything, not even guide him. H,
lnew when II was ~ o'clock or 9 O'Clock
time when the men went on SHIFT A quarter
Of an hour before II was time for the change
Mouse horse would paw and Whitney, just
20 let us know II was late Never had to
look at the clock TO tell the hour while wa
had that fellow around. Guess we'll have
to get some other timekeeper now. And
Mouse would trip himself. let himself out Of
the stall and so back to get drink Of
water all by himself. He was the smart one
DO you remember that horse which was
sent up from the East Flfty-fIrst street
engine house7" he asked McGuffog. Nc.
Guffog recalled him perfectly and vouched
for his peculiar traits. why that horse
wouldn't do anything for us. He was used
to working In the middle, and the beggar
couldn't be made 20 work on the off side or
the nigh side. We tried him on the tender
and he wasn't worth hitchlng up Nov
he's with hook and ladder back with two
other horses, and he has his middle position
again. They say he Is doing fine with the
Bronx apparatus You just have to humor
horses when they'va been broke to certain
kinds OF work And you have TO pet them
AWAY. OF course you like doing II, for
horses are most like human beings"
According to Hawthorne the horse drawn
fire apparatus can get 10 places that would
stall an automobile engine or truck. That's
one OF the few advantages OF the old type
OF engine. Last winter when the city was
smothered under several feet OF snow and
any sort OF wagon or motor driven vehicle
had difficulty In getting about the fire horses
pulled the engines up on the sidewalk and
managed to reach the fire plug.
There are still 325 horses lef, In the Fire
Department service In the four other bor'
Cughs. 1856 in Brooklyn, SO In Queens, ~
in The Bronx and IS in Richmond. Grad
ually these will be replaced by motor driven
engines and trucks and they win be con-
signed TO a life Of ease on farms or as
signed to park duty. II they survive to see
this march of progress.