ICOLLECTIONS

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VtfelMlQr Family Library of Veterirtary Medicine

Cumrrongs School of Vetennary Medicine at

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200 Westboro Road

North Grafton, MA 01538

THE AUTHOR.

CANADIAN

TURF RECOLLECTIONS

AND

OTHER SKETCHES

BY

E. KING DODDS

Author of " Notes by a Guerilla," &c.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
1909

Entered according to the Act of Parliament of Canada In the year one

thousand nine hundred and nine, by E. King Dodds, Toronto, in

the office of the Minister of Agriculture at Ottawa.

CONTENTS.

^ The Start 9

' Future of Racing in America 11

The Duty of Canadian Turf Managers 17

The Right Hon. Earl Grey, Governor-General of Canada. 23

Horse Breeding in Canada 25

The King's Plate Winner in 1909 31

The Queen's Plate at Whitby in 1870 34

'-Military Race Meeting at Lambton Mills in the Sixties. . 38

'- A Gallant Old-Time Race at Toronto 43

\,A Memorable Race Meeting in Montreal in 1873 49

A Splendid Meeting at Carlton Park in 1874 52

The Mistress of Cruickstou Park 56

-^ A Good Performer Thirty Years Ago 62

^A Joke on Dr. Andrew Smith and David Alexander .... 64

-'A Thoroughly Honest Trainer 66

— Ye Olden Times 71

Terror 's Great Race at Ottawa 74

- — Superstition and Luck 77

The Doctor 's Practical Joke 81

The Great Steeplechaser Milesian 85

A Notable Race at London 89

The Lady Washington Race at Carlton Park 91

A Story About the Late Charles Gates 94

The Raven Dropped by the Way 99

Past and Present Province-bred Horses Compared 102

A Few Old-Time Sportsmen 105

Three Mile Heats on the Don Race Course in 1846 112

Past and Present Racing 115

Eleven Heat Running Race 120

A Merry Day Tip 121

Nettie 's Triumph at London 124

Forty and Fifty Years Ago 129

A Notable Mile Heats Race, Three in Five 133

-^A Noted Owner and Breeder of Thoroughbreds 136

-The Late William Hendrie 138

^A Welcome Addition 144

—A Well Known and Popular Turfman 146

Sir H. Montagu Allan, President Montreal Jockey Club. 148

Do You Carry a Rabbit's Foot? 151

.Jonathan Scott's 400 to 1 Shot 153

Jack the Barber Shaves His Backers 157

—The Preacher and Jack Vandal. 160

—The Late John Hendrie 163

-'A True Sportsman Every Inch of Him 165

x-A Eepresentative Railway Contractor and Turfman 170

/Angus Sinclair, a Former Noted Breeder of Trotters 173

-*How Six Hooks Reflected Seven 176

/A Day of Sensational Luck 178

^ Canada's Veteran Trainer, Charles Boyle 183

-Canadian Owners and Their Colors 186

—A Canadian Bookmaker's Experience at Saratoga. ..... 193

"' Ho ! The Gypsies 194

He Was One of the Right Sort 198

.-Riley Grannan Took a Hand In 200

-..How a Lobster Stopped a Grand Trunk Express 204

The Home of the Ontario Jockey Club 207

^ The Montreal Jockey Club 209

-The Windsor Racing Association 214

^The Hamilton Jockey Club 216

A Canadian "Guerilla" Yarn 218'

An Olcl-Time Forty-Mile Trot 220

- A Trotting Match in Montreal in the Seventies 224

A Canadian Freebooter 230

-A Notable Race on the Ice 235

—Four-Mile Trotting Spin at Owen Sound 238

Mr. Rilev's Floating Track 245

'^The Way They Found It 247

My Experience With a Puller 249

—An Eastern Equine Which Failed to Score 251

—Toronto, the Great Horse Market 255

^The Unexpected Often Happens 257

^A Favorite Dog 264

-Casting by Moonlight for Bass 268

^The Glorious Northland— The Home of the Lordly Moose 271

""Deer Hunting in Haliburton 277

A Few Suggestions and Recollections 285

A True Fishing Story 288

Did the Birds Reason It Out? 290

After a Railway Bonus 293

A Plowing Match That Did Not Come Off 296

^A Corner on Rats 300

--Thorncliffe Stock Farm 303

THE START.

''There are many good people wlio call horse racing
a sinful amusement and say hard things about those who
patronize it. There are also a large number of equally
good people who see no harm in the sport and heartily
encourage it. I am not ashamed to own that I was one
of the big crowd of sinners who attended the races on
the town moor this afternoon. I am also not ashamed
to own that I enthused over the splendid struggle be-
tween the three gallant thoroughbreds which fought out
the finish in the Wilton Plate, and it was not surprising
that deafening cheers rewarded such an exhibition of
gameness. I know many good men also who will back
their favorite horse, yet are in no way deserving of
being stigmatized as gamblers for so indulging. Racing
honestly conducted is a noble sport and many of the
most celebrated names in our national history have been
pillars of the turf. It is the favorite sport of our people
and is likely long to remain so."

The above words it was my privilege, when a mere
boy, to hear fall from the lips of one who was then a
central figure in the political historj^ of Europe ; a states-
man whose bold and fearless foreign policy had made
him the idol of his countrymen. The speaker was Lord
Palmerston, Premier of Great Britain, and the occasion,
a county dinner at a race meeting in Wiltshire.

No man in English public life ever understood his
countrymen better than Lord Palmerston. Though an
aristocrat by birth, he was eminently a man of the people.
He was equally at home in the homes of the poor and
in the palaces of the great. In a word, he was one of
those outspoken, fearless public men whose actions were
ever guided more by principle than by policy.

10 CANADIAN TUKF EECOLLECTIONS

What he said regarding the popularity of racing in
England is also true of its status in this country, and
I am proud of the fact that for forty years I published
a newspaper devoted to Canadian turf interests, ever
fighting for the right as I saw it. During those years
much interesting sport was recorded and from my mem-
ory I have here served up some recollections of the most
notable events.

Handicapped by total blindness which befell me five
years ago and suffering for many months past from a
painful illness, which for days at a time prevented con-
centration of thought, must plead my apology for many
imperfections in these pages.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 11

FUTURE OF RACING IN AMERICA.

Black is the cloud which at the present time over-
shadows the future of the thoroughbred horse in America.

The question whether racing without the privilege of
betting being allowed will prosper, is not one which I
intend discussing in these pages. There can be no doubt,
however, that the passage of an anti-betting law by the
New York Legislature, which was due entirely to the
personal efforts of Governor Hughes, has had a demoral-
izing effect upon the fortunes of the sport in the Empire
State. It reduced the value of eastern racing properties
by many millions of dollars and reduced by still more
millions the value of thoroughbred horses in the United
States. It also took out of the treasury of the Agricul-
tural Societies of New York State about $250,000 a
year, which they received from a special tax imposed
upon the racing clubs for their benefit and which was
used by the Societies in increasing the value of their
prize lists.

Whether the end sought to be accomplished will be
secured and thus justify the radical measures employed
is a problem which may only be solved by actual exper-
ience in the working of the law. So far there have been
many legal fights in the courts and many contradictory
decisions by judges. The result is a good deal of what
may be tersely described as "whipping the devil around
the post," and just what is legal and what is illegal
wagering is something that even men learned in the law
cannot agree upon. Hence a condition of affairs which
is neither satisfactory to one side or the other.

In the past the horse has played a prominent part and
occupied a high place in the affections of the people.
Some of the most glorious struggles in the history of the

12 CANADIAN TUEF RECOLLECTIONS

American turf are those which marked the contests be-
tween representative horses of the north and south, and
though the Civil War gave a mighty setback to the sport,
the recovery after the close of the war was wonderfully
xaj^id.

Breeding farms famous in equine history are now no
longer the home of the thoroughbred, and the pastures
over which once roamed the heroes and heroines of the
turf are to-day grazing lands for herds of cattle. Mc-
Grathiana, Woodburn, Elmendorf, Fairview, Belle
Meade, Rancocas, Dixiana, etc., etc., are now little more
than memories of a glorious past. Stately homes and
great estates over which the thoroughbred ruled king are
to-day tenanted by an altogether different class of ani-
mals, and beef, pork, and mutton are more familiar sub-
jects of conversation than the chances of Futurity candi-
dates and other classic races of the American turf.
Mighty is the change that has taken place and the reason
is not difficult to determine. When sport is degraded by
being conducted for the sole purpose of money making,
evils and abuses creep in and public confidence is soon
shaken. Men utterly destitute of sportsmanlike qualities
went into the racing game solely because of the chances it
offered to make big profits. Tracks were built all over
the country, a liberal proportion of them by men of
questionable reputation, in fact, many of these were
under the absolute control of professional gamblers.
The management of such places was directed solely to
extracting the largest possible amount of money out of
their patrons. Disreputable owners of horses were
shielded instead of exposed, and altogether the condition
of affairs became so deplorable that general public in-
dignation was aroused and those in authority were not
backward in introducing measures of reform. The
Legislatures in many States passed anti-betting laws and
the result has been the closing of nearly every track
in the West. Racing ]^roperties representing a cost of
millions of dollars and which, w;hen operated, paid
princely incomes to their owners, are now deserted and

HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD VII.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 15

costly grand stands and palatial club houses crumbling
to decay are stern reminders of the reckless management
which caused such ruin.

Racing, when honestly conducted, requires neither
apologj^ nor defence for its existence. It is the favorite
sport of the people in Great Britain and France, and
has the approval and patronage of the highest in those
countries. The King of England is the representative
turfman of the Empire, and some of the most important
turf events, including the Derby, the greatest of all,
have been won by horses the property of His Majesty.
The President of France is also a staunch supporter of
the turf and the Government of that country is lavish
in its expenditure for promoting the interests of the
thoroughbred. Here in Canada, the Ontario Jockey
Club is our representative turf organization and now
its meetings compare favorably with the best held in any
land. Its founder, Mr. T. C. Patteson, was a man of
wide racing experience and one of the best posted turf-
men to be found in any country. He was also possessed
of indomitable energy, and for many years acted as
manager of the Club. After he retired from that posi-
tion men of less knowledge, but of equal enthusiasm, took
up the good work and the Club's present prosperity is
substantial proof of their success. Past Presidents of
the Club were Sir Casimir Gzowski (aide-de-camp to
the Queen), Sir Frank Smith and Mr. Wm. Ilendrie. All
of these are now dead and their successor is Mr. Joseph
E. Seagram, the most extensive breeder of thorough-
breds in Canada and owner of the greatest racing stable
in this country. The Ontario Jockey Club enjoys the
confidence of the public, and though mistakes have been
made their patrons know that honorable men are in
control and that their best efforts are ever directed to
guard the interests of those who patronize the sport.

Its spring meeting, which always commences the latter
part of May and at which the King's Plate, the Blue
Ribbon of the Canadian turf, is the star racing fixture,
attracts an attendance on the day it is run of about

16 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

fifteen thousand people, and during the two weeks in
which the racing is held an average daily attendance of
from six thousand to eight thousand is the record. The
engraving published elsewhere give a fair idea of the
appearance of the lawn on ''Plate" day.

Canadian turf interests have been greatly strength-
ened by the formation of the Montreal Jockey Club,
whose famous Blue Bonnets track is to-day one of the
best racing properties in America. Its President, Sir
Montagu Allan, head of the great shipping firm of that
name, is a figure of national interest, while the other
officers of the Club are amongst the most representative
business men of the commercial metropolis. Their meet-
ings, two of which are held each year, are well supported
and the noble sport, thanks to their wise and liberal
management, is receiving generous public patronage.

In the west, the Hamilton Jockey Club, the Windsor
Racing Association and the Fort Erie Racing Associa-
tion are all prosperous clubs which hold two meetings
each year, at which liberal stakes are given. The Cana-
dian Racing Association has been formed for the pur-
pose of properly guarding and protecting the interests
of the sport in this country, and if its laws are wisely
administered much srood will be the result.

AND OTHER SKETCHES * 17

THE DUTY OF CANADIAN TURF MANAGERS.

''Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," and it can
be truthfully said that the eternal vigilance of those who
manage our turf clubs is necessary for the proper pro-
tection of the public. It is a fact beyond dispute that
the demoralization of turf affairs in the United States
has sent into Canada a class of owners of an undesirable
kind, many of them owning a few cheap animals and
in the game solely for the purpose of making money
whether by fair means or foul. When Canadian meet-
ings were not invaded by foreigners to any noticeable
extent, the same amount of watchfulness on the part of
officials was not necessary, but at the present day it
requires the keenest supervision to properly protect the
race-going public. Whether or not the men who at the
present time are acting as judges at the leading running
meetings in this country, are quite able to successfully
deal with the matter, is a question which I do not pro-
pose to argue, but that there is a tendency to deal too
leniently with offending owners is apparent to all close
observers. It may be that some officials are afraid of
causing scandal if they hew too close to the line. Again,
I am afraid that the personal interests of track owners
are sometimes allowed to influence the judgment of those
who are expected to deal out strict justice without fear,
favor or affection being allowed to influence their deci-
sions. The ruinous results from allowing bookmakers to
do business at tracks where they own horses competing
in the races, has been illustrated at nearly every course
on the other side and the injurious combination has had
much to do with the present condition across the border.

I have no doubt it will be said by some officials that
such a state of affairs does not exist on this side and that
they have expressly taken action to prevent such a com-

18 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

bination. I do not deny their statement, but I do declare
that in many instances their orders have not been obeyed.
Bogus transfers of horses have been made by book-
makers to friends and these in many instances have been
done in such clumsy fashion that it was easy of detection
if enquired into.

Again, there are certain owners so closely mixed up
with bookmakers that grave suspicion attaches to the
combination, and it is not going too far to say that their
horses are often run in the interests of those who lay
the odds. Much of the trouble is directly traceable to the
fact that a low class of Jew gamblers have, during the
past few years, invaded the ring and may now be said
to practically control it. A liberal percentage of them
are absolutely devoid of principle and act on the belief
that their mission in life is to get money; make it hon-
estly if they can, but make it anyhow. It does not require
a Conan Doyle to detect the chief manipulators in this
line of business. Their greed invariably oversteps their
prudence, and an experienced turfman, going the rounds
of the ring during the progress of a race, can easily spot
the conspirators who have a card up their sleeve. One
of the most pressing duties which devolves upon the
managers of our race meetings is to have at their com-
mand the services of a thoroughly competent person such
as described above. The information such an official
could present to the stewards on duty, immediately
prior to each race, would be of great value and it would
often defeat any rascally schemes entered into.

Avoid scandal, is the prompting of a timid mind;
expose fraud whenever and wherever detected and spare
not the guilty ones, is the only honorable and safe course
to pursue. It is a duty which every patron of the turf
has a right to demand from those in authority and if that
duty is faithfully carried out, public confidence is secured
and the efforts of unfriendly critics are largely check-
mated.

We ought to be wise enough in Canada to steer clear
of the rocks that wrecked so manv millions of dollars'

AND OTHER SKETCHES 19

worth of racing property in the Republic. The turf
enjoys legal rights here which should be thoroughly
appreciated by those who control our racing associations.
If they act wisely and judiciously the present satisfac-
tory condition may not be altered, but any slackness on
their part would bring about a speedy repeal of the
privileges they now enjoy.

The patronage extended to the running turf just now
in Canada is of the most liberal, and those who have
money invested in such enterprises must be reaping a
return far beyond what is derivable from the profits of
any ordinary business. Under these circumstances the
Clubs can afford to adopt every means necessary to
properl}^ safeguard the interests of their patrons and
the Clubs which neglect to do their duty in this respect
are unworthy of public patronage.

Those who argue that the stoppage of racing in the
United States has been of great benefit to the Canadian
turf, are simply superficial observers whose opinions are
of little value. Instead of benefitting us, I am of the
opinion the reverse is the case. True, it has sent over a
number of owners to race here who did not previously
come north of the border line, but as a rule they have
been of a class requiring a heap of watching to check-
mate them. Their horses are in and outers according to
stable orders and the public, or at least that portion of
it who are foolish enough to speculate upon the per-
formances of animals controlled by such a class of
owners, are brightly illustrating the trite saying that
"fools and their money are soon parted."

These foreigners come here on the hunt for Canadian
coin, i^ractically driven out of their own country through
lack of employment for their horses. They welcome this
as a veritable haven of refuge. They may be sports,
they certainly are not sportsmen. They have no respect
for our turf laws and consequently make no effort to-
wards loyally supporting the rulings of those in author-
ity. So long as they think they can escape detection and
consequent personal disqualification they will take long

20 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

chances, and every independent turf official in Canada
to-day can bear testimony to the truth of my statement.
How best to remedy tlie evil which threatens to in-
crease and thus add to existing perils, demands careful
study and the most serious consideration. One thing is
certain, protracted race meetings in the United States
had much to do in bringing about the ruin that has over-
taken the sport in that country and we shall indeed
deserve no better fate than overtook them unless we
steer clear of the primary cause of destruction.

RIGHT HON. EARL GREY. GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 23

THE EIGHT HON. EAEL GREY, GOVERNOR-
GENERAL OF CANADA.

*'It was one of Dunlop's best, but I could not with-
stand the temptation to throw it aloft, thus illustrating
my feelings at the sight I had just witnessed. I am an
American citizen and am proud of it, but I am sorry to
admit that no President of my country dare show such
liberality of thought and such freedom of action as the
representative of your King has shown by coming in
state to honor the opening day of the Ontario Jockey
Club meeting."

Such was the language used by a citizen of New York
who was present at Woodbine Park on the opening day
of the May meeting, 1909, and it was caused by the arrival
in state of the Governor-General of Canada. Conspicu-
ous amongst the thousands who cheered the vice-regal
arrival were hundreds of Americans who made them-
selves particularly noticeable by their extraordinary
exhibition of enthusiasm.

Many brilliant men have been numbered amongst our
past Governor-Generals, but I doubt if any previous
holder of the high office ever popularized himself to such
an extent with all classes of our people. Earl Grey is
eminently a man of action. Brimful of dash, energy and
enthusiasm, he has used these qualities unsparingly in the
discharge of his duties. Determined to obtain a know-
ledge of the great country over which he rules, he has
journeyed from ocean to ocean and by personal investi-
gation made himself familiar with the vast resources of
the Dominion.

His speeches, delivered in the different provinces,
prove how thorough a knowledge he possesses of the
resources and future possibilities of the sections he
visited, while on those occasions when he spoke in the

24 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

United States, his speeches, by the force of their states-
manlike quality, commanded wide public attention.

Earl Grey is an absolutely fearless man. What his
judgment approves he never hesitates to support. He
believes that racing, properly managed, is a noble sport,
and in the hands of the class of men who compose the
Ontario Jockey Club he recognizes that the sport is
firmly and honestly controlled. There can be no doubt
that his attendance at the meetings of the Ontario Jockey
Club has not only greatly benefited that association, but
has also popularized the sport all over Canada.

Descended from a long line of illustrious ancestors,
conspicuous as soldiers and statesmen, he has proved
himself a worthy son of noble sires, and when the day
comes for the Governor-General to leave this country he
will carry with him the respect, affection and admiration
of all whose good opinion is worth having.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 25

HORSE BREEDING IN CANADA.

There is no industry in connection with Canadian
agriculture that has seen more ups and downs than that
of horse breeding. There used to be a big demand in
this countr}^ for tramway horses, but when electricity dis-
placed the quadruped all sorts of evil was prophesied as
a result of the change. Thousands of undesirable horses
filled Canadian barnyards. They were a common lot,
mongrel bred and fit only for the work they had been
bred for. The commonest kind of stallions had been used,
the chief consideration of the majority of owners being
c!iea})iiess of service. Fortunately a demand sprang up
in England for cheap horses for tramway purposes and
Ontario was soon cleaned out of the commoners, thou-
sands being shipped across the Atlantic. Once rid of the
mongrels Canadian farmers were urged to breed a
higher type of horse. There were lots of good mares in
Ontario at least, and by dint of hard, persistent work of
the press a change was inaugurated and the mongrel-
bred stallion was no longer the preferred sire. Next, the
war in South Africa provided the Canadian breeder with
a profitable outlet for his stock, and as the Imperial
officers were not unreasonably exacting in their demands,
thousands of horses were purchased in Ontario at prices
that paid a handsome profit to owners. The only regret-
table feature in connection with this African demand was
the large number of well-bred mares that were shipped
out of the country but, tempted by the high prices pro-
curable, farmers could not resist the temptation to sell,
and a serious drain of our broodmare stock was the
result.

When the demand for our horses for war purposes had
ceased, Canadian breeders had confidence in the future
and kept on breeding a superior type, and their confi-

26 CANADIAN TUEF KECOLLEOTIONS

dence has been amply rewarded. Stylish, well-bred
horses were never worth more money in the Canadian
market than they are at the present time. I am not
speaking of speed. That quality, when there is sufficienet
of it, commands a fancy price, but there is a lottery
about the game of breeding for speed alone that does
not pay the farmer to engage in. Stylish matched pairs,
well-bred saddle horses, high steppers, stout cobs and
sound work horses command high prices all the year
round. There is, therefore, no branch of farm industry
which promises more successful results.

The present satisfactory condition of the horse trade
in Ontario is due largely to the energy and skill of those
engaged in it. For more than a quarter of a century the
writer advocated government assistance towards the de-
velopment of the industry. Although there were many
ardent admirers of the horse in the local Parliament it
was not possible to secure official action. It was only
when the present Ontario Government came into power
that a move was made. Commissioners were appointed
who visited all parts of the province and made exhaus-
tive enquiries into existing conditions. The statistics
gathered by them have provided the Department of
Agriculture with much valuable information and strong
hopes are now entertained that this important ques-
tion will be dealt with in that progressive spirit which
characteizes the government of Sir James P. Whitney.

County Agricultural Societies should be assisted in
offering liberal cash premiums for the best specimens of
the different breed of horses. The prize lists should
recognize every class and the premium money offered
should be of sufficient value to tempt breeders to compete.
The competition in each county should be confined to
animals bred in that particular municipality so as to
prevent the possibility of one or two extra rare speci-
mens being permitted to sweep the board in other coun-
ties and thus discourage competition in those sections.
The prize lists should recognize stallions, broodmares,
yearlings, two-year-olds, three-year-olds and all ages.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 27

Such county shows, in addition to the direct encourage-
ment so offered to breeders would supply to buyers a
valuable directory, furnishing information respecting the
sections of country in which they would be most likely
to secure the class of horses they dealt in.

A short time since an official estimate placed a value
of eighty millions of dollars on the horse stock of this
province. Such a valuable interest surely deserves en-
couragement, and if the same were forthcoming to a
reasonable extent this country would soon attract the
attention of European dealers. Many foreign govern-
ments are lavish in their expenditure to secure improve-
ment in the breeding of horses, and the result has been
so satisfactory that in France in 1908 the demand from
foreign buyers became so great that the government
found it necessary to issue orders refusing to allow, for
a specified time, the further exportation of certain
breeds.

Our climate is a favorable one for the production of
a good class of equines. Canadian-bred horses have
held their own in the prize ring in competition against
the best in America. At the great horse shows held in
New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, etc.,
our representatives have won high honors and the
demand from foreign buyers for this quality of stock has
always been in excess of the supply. Even in England,
where the breeding of the saddle and hunter horse has
been brought to the highest perfection, the Hon. Adam
Beck secured first honors with several animals bred in
the counties of Elgin and Middlesex, and his victories
were the more notable from the fact that the popular
member of the Ontario Government was in the saddle and
pitted against him were a number of the crack gentlemen
riders of Europe.

The action of the breeding bureaus, established through
the influence of the Ontario and Montreal Jockey Clubs,
in sending thoroughbred stallions, free of cost, to many
sections all over the Dominion, cannot fail to be produc-
tive of much good in improving the quality of horses for

28 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

saddle purposes. It was the liberal use of the warm
blood in years gone by that attracted foreign attention
to the superiority of our saddle and carriage horses.
Present efforts, therefore, in supplying thoroughbred
sires to those districts where they are likely to receive
the most liberal patronage will certainly result in much
future improvement in the quality of the classes
alluded to.

What we have accomplished in the past is substantial
proof of our ability to hold our own against all comers,
and if those in authority will properly appreciate the vast
importance of this horse-breeding interest Ontario would
in a few years become a centre of attraction to European
as well as American buyers.

1

Bi^k -idv^^-^B

!

k ^•^

f ■ '

!

i

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SIR H. MONTAGU ALLAN, PRESIDENT MONTREAL JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 31

THE KING'S PLATE WINNER IN 1909.

There is a little history in connection with Shimonese,
the winner of the King's Plate in 1909, that may prove
interesting to Canadian turfmen

Some years ago Mr. Joseph E. Seagram purchased at
auction in New York the mare Spark, a full sister to
Lamplighter, one of the crack race horses of his day. If
my memory serves me right, and I was present at the
sale, the Squire of Waterloo paid $1,500 for her. A few
minutes after she had been knocked down to his bid a
prominent trainer approached Mr. Seagram and offered
him $500 on his bargain. The offer was declined. Spark
was brought to the Waterloo farm and bright hopes were
entertained that she wcnild prove a star matron of the
Waterloo stud. Her career, however, as a broodmare
while there was a dismal failure and the writer was
instructed by her owner a few years later to catalogue
her for the annual auction sale.

Her first foal was club-footed and was destroyed. Her
second foal was also deformed and shared the same fate.
Her third was ''no account," and she was reluctantly
admitted to be a failure. At the sale, which took place
at the Repository in Toronto, Spark was purchased by
Dr. Andrew Smith for the sum of $120, who in turn
passed her on to Mr. Hendrie. That gentleman bred her
to his own horse, imp. Derwentwater, and the produce
was Lyddite, with whom, in 1902, he won the first King's
Plate, being his second victory in the classic race of the
Canadian turf (his first being scored with Butterscotch,
with whom he won the Queen's Plate in 1899), although
he had persistently struggled for success every year with
horses of his own breeding.

32 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

In 1905 Lyddite was bred to Martimas, winner of the
Futurity, 1898, the champion two-year-old stake of the
American turf. He also won the Flatbush a few days
later, again defeating in decisive fashion the best young-
sters in training. This race, however, was taken from
him on the claim of a foul, although in the opinion of
many experienced turfmen who closely watched the race,
the Canadian representative was not to blame. His
daughter, Shimonese, by her brilliant victory in the Plate,
in which she hung up a new record for the race, although
she won in a gallop at the finish, is a worthy daughter of
a famous race horse.

Having yarned about her dam and grandam and sire,
I may as well spin another about Lamplighter, the
brother of her grandam Spark. On the turf he won
many important races. With one of these my story is
connected.

On the night preceding this race a party of New York
brokers had a jollification at Delmonico's at a banquet
given to a fellow operator, who was leaving on an ex-
tended European trip. One of the banqueters, a noted
high roller and all-round sportsman, drove home at an
hour in the morning not far removed from the break of
day. His residence was located on a short avenue run-
ning off another fashionable thoroughfare, and he
decided it would be impolitic to allow his cabbie to drive
to his house and thus run the risk of disturbing his
neighbors, two of whom were straight-laced Presbyterian
elders. Dismissing cabbie at the corner of the avenue he
footed the balance of the journey. As he reached his
door the lamplighter came along and turned out the gas
in the street lamp immediately opposite his residence.

The wet night brought the usual dry morning and the
broker on his way down town, decided that a hair of the
dog that had bitten him would be the best prescription he
could take. He halted at his club and over a B. and S.
glanced through a morning paper. His eye rested on the
list of entries for that day's races. In the list his atten-

AND OTHER SKETCHES 33

tion was attracted by the name of Lamplighter. ''A tip,
by George," he exclaimed, and a waiter, hearing the
familiar word, came with a rush. He was ordered to call
a cab.

Instead of going to his office the broker drove to the
railway station and was just in time to catch the ''spe-
cial" to the race track. When the prices were marked up
on the race in which Lamplighter was a starter, as good
as 10 to 1 was on tap against him. At these odds $500
was invested and when this speedy son of Spendthrift
(another great race horse) was declared the winner, the
broker pocketed $5,000.

The glorious uncertainties of the turf form its great
attraction. Mr. Hendrie had spent thousands of dollars
purchasing the best blood obtainable ; yet, after years of
skilful study of the breeding question, he was only suc-
cessful in breeding four winners of the Plate, the other
two in addition to those above mentioned being Kelvin
and Shimonese.

34 - CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

THE QUEEN'S PLATE AT WHITBY IN 1870.

No denying it, there have been a good many tame runs
for the Queen's Plate, but a race there was some years
ago for the blue ribbon of the provincial turf that was
worth a long pilgrimage to look at. Where was it, you
ask? Why, at Whitby, in Jack Bell's year. Talk about
a surprise party. There wasn't anything of the kind;
it was a regular blizzard that flopped the knowing ones
upside down, and turned their pockets inside out. It
was the year of Terror's debut, and the popular "White"
stable being then under the training control of Dick
Leary, it was generally expected that his horses would
have a little the best of it on the Score of condition.

Again, the aftei-wards distinguished brown son of
Euric and Maritana, had shown so well in his work and
Leaiy was so satisfied with him, that the followers of
the stable looked upon their chances as of the rosiest
kind. With Nettie, then in her prime, she was a good
judge b}^ which to try a youngster, and when the question
was asked. Terror answered so well, that, bar accident,
the Plate was considered as already garnisheed. For
several days before the eventful one, quite a number of
horsemen filed an appearance at Whitby, and on the even-
ing prior to the race, both the eastern and western trains
added a large delegation to the list. All the celebrities
were to the front, and the Robson House, which was
headquarters, was packed like a sardine box.

In the stables connected with the hotel were a good
many race horses, and nearly every stall around town
was occupied by a thoroughbred. No sooner had the bet-
ting men arrived than straightway, trainers and rub-
bers were interviewed and every scrap of information
seized upon. Charley Boyle's stable was then in its
infancy, he having but one string to his bow in Rapid
Roan, then and ever since unknown to fame. Leary 's

AND OTHER SKETCHES

35

was the attractive spot, and a close inspection of Terror's
form only the more strengthened the love of his admirers
and weakened the backbone of those who pinned their
faith on something else.

When the pool box, presided over by Quimby, opened
at eight o'clock in the office of the Robson House, the
place was densely crowded and speculation was brisk.
The pool-seller's card showed a large entry, it being a
certainty that the following ten horses would face the
starter: Terror, Jack on the Green, Rathowen, Highland
Maid, Gaiety, Rapid Roan, Liberty, Jack Bell, Lady May
and New Dominion. The number engaged was suffi-
ciently large to tempt the rural speculators, whose am-
bition soared no higher than five dollars' worth of any-
thing, and who were content after the picking and
choosing had been finished, to take whatever was left in
the field, so long as it didn't top the V. Terror, as ex-
pected, had the call and steadily maintained his position,
with Jack on the Green and Rathowen next in order, and
the field taking in the balance. The Guelph division
was sweet on the last named, and my old friend, the late
W. A. Bookless, ably supported by Messrs. Sharp, Dick-
son and others, snapped him up at his price as often as
the chance offered. During the whole of the evening
Jack Bell had gone in the "Field," and about nine o'clock
Charley Gates, his owner, strolled into the pool-room and
was forthwith badgered by Quimby to select his horse as
a ''Choice" at some price. Gates objected to any such
l)romotion, but Quimby, despite the objection, knocked
Bell down to him once for $5 in a $45 pool. Even at this
figure Gates fought shy and refused the ticket. From
then to the close of the evening's business the horse again
sold as a fielder, the lot bringing $5 in pools averaging
about $50 to $60.

The morning trains on the Queen's Birthday carried
large numbers to the county town of Ontario, and at the
advertised hour of commencement, several thousand peo-
ple assembled at the course. Conspicuous on the Club
stand were the Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald, Premier

36 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

of the Province; Hector Cameron, T. N. Gibbs, M.P.,
W. Lount, M.P.P., Sheriff Powell, Sheriff Reynolds, Dr.
Andrew Smith, R. Pringle, and many other prominent
turfmen from all parts of Ontario. The great race of the
day, of course, was the Queen's Plate, and as the ten
contestants which sported silk for the event filed round
to the starting post, there was a good deal of suppressed
excitement. Quimby's voice was echoing far and near,
''How much am I offered for first choice! $20 I am bid
and Terror sold," and so on till the drop of the flag
proclaimed the Queen's Plate of 1870 then under process
of settlement.

The distance was two miles, and before the half-mile
pole had been reached the field was pretty well trailed
out. On the run up the back stretch Terror got clear of
his company and turned into the home run first with two
open lengths the best of it. Nearing the stand, at the end
of the first mile. Jack on the Green let out a link and
moved into second position, and as they swept past the
judges ' stand Rathowen raced into third place, thus pass-
ing the betting box in the order in which they had been
sold. But before the next quarter had been reached, a
simultaneous shout echoed along the quarter stretch.
"Terror is beaten!" ''The favorite's gone!" and they
had guessed it aright, the colt had hung out the flag of
distress and Jack on the Green and Rathowen were fight-
ing for the lead. As they swung round the turn into the
straight run, another yell from the crowd proclaimed a
second surprise, and sure enough two of the fielders, Jack
Bell and Rapid Roan, had left the ruck, closed upon the
leaders and at the bushes the four were bunched and it
looked a guessing match to choose the winner. But as
they levelled from the turn Jack on the Green and Jack
Bell got clear, and for a few hundred yards it was a neck
and neck struggle, then the latter forged ahead, and as
they squared for home showed nearly a length to the
good. A punishing finish resulted, but it was of no avail.
Bell was full of running, and thus the Queen's Plate of

AND OTHER SKETCHES 37

'70 was captured by a rank outsider, Jack on the Green
second, Rathowen third, Rapid Roan fourth and Terror
fifth.

Great was the drop for the betting men and equally
noticeable was the rejoicing of the fielders. Very few
had selected Jack Bell as the winner, but one of the few
whose eye had taken in his form was my old friend

J E , of Hamilton, whose purse after the

fight looked as if it had the gout; bi->t, oh, what a multi-
tude of wallets were shrivelled up that memorable day.
Yokels from ''away back" had won the price of a horse
with a five-dollar note, and their breeches pockets were
double-twisted to prevent the losers from coaxing it
away from them the next day.

38 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

MILITARY RACE MEETING AT LAMBTON MILLS
IN THE SIXTIES.

Many a gray-haired grandame of to-day remembers
with pleasure the olden times when they were belles of
society in Toronto and their most attentive cavaliers
were the officers quartered here. Wholesale flirts, those
military chaps, who went in for the sweets of life, and
were never so happy as when they had half a dozen
strings to their bow. Bank clerks took a back seat, pro-
fessional chaps, either in law or medicine, were consigned
to limbo, and the gay-coated and 'broidered gallants were
cock o' the walks. The majority of them were also fond
of sport, dearly loved a horse race and never let slip an
opportunity to try conclusions with the colonists.

Around Toronto in those days were a good many men
who had a reverence for the thoroughbred, and they were
never backward in accepting a challenge to" try con-
clusions. At the time of which I write the Fourth Dra-
goon Guards were stationed at Niagara, and the Thirtieth
and Thirty-fourth Regiments of the line at Toronto. A
race meeting was advertised to come off at the Simcoe
'Chase Course, located just at the top of the steep hill
going down to the Howland Mills at Lambton. One of
the most important races of the meeting was a hurdle
race, of 150 sovereigns, gentleman riders, and this event
the Dragoons had expressed themselves confident of
capturing, they having entered two flyers then lately
arrived from England. The other nominations were
Shillelagh, owned by Mr. Beard, of this city, and ridden
by Captain Richard Denison ; Waverly, ridden by Mr. M.
Richards; St. Charles, on whom D'Arcy Boulton had the
mount, and Ploughboy (formerly Mingo), owned and
ridden by C. E. Romaine. The distance was two miles
and a quarter and the jumps, four to the mile, were built

SIR THOMAS G. SHAUGHNESSY, PRESIDENT CAN. PAC. RY.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 41

of stiff timber five feet high. None of your modern
flimsies that when struck by a hoof fly into fifty pieces
and generally wound a horse with the splinters, but
genuine old-fashioned obstructions, composed of cedar
trees cut down in the immediate neighborhood and with
cross pieces bolted through with long wooden pins.

The starter of the race was Captain Markham, who,
afterwards as Colonel Markham, greatly distinguished
himself in the Crimean war. In fact, most of the troops
quartered here in that year were ordered to the Crimea,
and the very men who had earned from our people the
title of the '* Queen's Hard Bargains," were first to
achieve distinction on the battlefield. So much rivalry
and feeling had been engendered over this particular race
and so much money had been staked on the various
horses engaged, that on the eventful day fully six thou-
sand peoj^le were on hand to witness the struggle. A
few minutes prior to the starting bell sounding, Mr. Ro-
maine, on Ploughboy, and Captain Denison, on Shillelagh,
indulged in a preliminary canter. The latter horse was
the favorite in the betting. He was known to have the
speed of the party and the staying qualities to back it,
but he was a slovenly performer over sticks, galloping
with head down between his knees, and the hopes of his
opponents were based upon the chance that he would not
"lift" himself over five-feet stiff timber.

Taking a trial jump. Shillelagh did just what was
prophesied, viz., failed to rise high enough and struck
the cross-bar such a cracker that he came to his knees,
but was cleverly recovered by Captain Denison. The
force with which he hit caused the end pin to spring loose
and the rebound of the stick caught Mr. Romaine's horse
in the forelegs and sent him over end, his rider falling
underneath and getting badly bruised and cut up. Mr.
Romaine was picked up by the late Recorder Duggan
and Mr. Robert James, of Homer, and carried into a
neighboring tent, where a military medico proposed to
bleed him. Mr. Romaine, however, rallied without the
blood-spilling operation, and as the saddling bell had

42 CANADIAN TUKF RECOLLECTIONS

already sounded, he, assisted by his friends, hobbled out
to the weighing room and was lifted into the saddle.
Once mounted, no time was cut to waste, the flag was
dropped and the five contestants were on their way.

Nearing the end of the first mile D'Arcy Boulton, on
Sir Charles, got a tumble, one of the dragoons flop-
ping at the same time. One of Boulton 's hands was so
injured that he never afterwards had full use of it.
When these horses went down, Shillelagh was away a
hundred yards on the lead, and it looked as though the
verdict would be the Irishman first, the rest nowhere.
Entering on the second mile the positions were Shillelagh
first, one of the dragoons second, Waverly third, with
Ploughboy as rear guard. Coming to the second hurdle
on the last mile, Mr. Eomaine, who had commenced to
recover from his severe shaking, made a move on Plough-
boy, and soon joined company with the ''middle divis-
ion." Once over the jump it became racing speed to the
next one, which Shillelagh reached twenty lengths ahead
of his followers, but striking heavily he went down a
cropper and so ended his chances. There were now left
"Waverly, a dragoon and Ploughboy to fight it out. At
the fall of the favorite not half a length separated the
first and third horses. Whips and spurs were brought
into full play; the three rising to the last jump as one
horse and neck and neck racing for glory. Half way to
the winning post Ploughboy got his head in front and
after a most exciting and desperate finish captured the
verdict by a scant length from Waverly.

The victory was a nlost popular one and the fact
becoming known to the great unwashed that a military
swell had loudly expressed his disgust at a gentleman
presuming to ride a race in such dress as Mr. Romaine's
accident had compelled him to appear in, they straight-
way made for the offending officer, who, though backed
up by his company, found it prudent to beat a hasty
retreat. It is calculated that at least ten thousand dol-
lars changed hands on this race.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 43

A GALLANT OLD-TIME RACE AT TORONTO.

One day I stumbled across two or tliree old-timers and
many a yarn was unwound as to the doings on the Cana-
dian turf in the days of auld lang syne. One of the com-
pany started talking about the celebrated mile-heat race,
three in five, that eventuated in Hamilton, and certainly
that was a red-hot fight from end to end, and by the time
Bay Jack won the sixth and deciding heat of the race,
wigs lay thicker on the green than ever was seen in
Donnybrook's palmy days.

One of those present, who saw the prolonged struggle,
claimed a point better for an old-time race that he had
seen in Toronto years before down on Tinning 's race
course on the banks of the sluggish Don. It was in the
days when Mr. Parish, of Ogdensburg, came over here
in state, extended a princely hospitality to his Canadian
friends, in turn being by them feted and honored. Those
were the days when talk about the thoroughbred was a
popular theme at Chief Justice Robinson's table and
more than one match was made while the legs of the
owners were stretched under the mahogany of the popu-
lar Judge.

In the days alluded to the late Charley Gates was a
power on the turf, and it took fast horses and keen judg-
ment to get the better of him. As related, the big race
in question was at three mile heats, two in three, and
the horses entered were: Colonel, the property of Mr.
Parish; Country Maid, belonging to Charley Gates;
Phoebe Dodds, belonging to the well-known blind turfman
Phil Caswell, and Pilot, the name of whose owner is for-
gotten. In those days the pool box was an unknown
investment, and those who wished to back their fancy
walked the quarter stretch and interviewed all comers.
One of our present judges was then on the turf and, with

44 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

bank notes in hand, accommodated Mr. Parish by accept-
ing a bet of $600 against $200, the Canuck giving his
love to Country Maid against the Colonel.

The betting was heavy all round, with the Pilot a slight
favorite, the Colonel next in demand, and Country Maid
and Phoebe Dodds being looked upon as very long shots.
The track was fetlock deep in mud, and everyone looked
to see a slow, waiting race and an attempt made to win
on the post, but the blood of the Colonel and Pilot faction
was up and the racing in the first heat looked as if one
was determined right at the outset to find out the weak
spot in his adversary's armor. The struggle between
these two was a red hot one from start to stand, during
the whole journey not more than half a length separating
the two cracks. On the last quarter the two leaders were
head and head and the excitement became intense.
''Pilot has it!" ''No, Colonel wins!" "Hurrah for
Parish!" "Cheers for Pilot!" were some of the shouts
that echoed along the stretch. Three lengths from the
stand it was still a head to head struggle, but in the last
jump the Colonel stretched his neck an inch or two and
the verdict was, ' ' The Colonel wins the heat by a nose. ' '
Phoebe Dodds was a poor third and the Maid a dozen
lengths behind her. So closely matched appeared the
two leaders that it was even money on their chances, and
the champions of both stables stuck to their representa-
tives like thoroughbreds. Phoebe Dodds and Country
Maid were lost sight of. In the second heat all four got
away well bunched, but before the quarter was reached
the two favorites had left their company and again a
ding-dong race was begun. Laying side by side, each
jockey watched the other and not for a single jump dur-
ing the heat was daylight perceptible between the two
leaders. One time Pilot would lead by half a length, then
the Colonel would let out a link, and so the great struggle
was fought out. Coming into the stretch for the run
home the Colonel showed a trifle on the lead, and again
the air resounded with the mad shouting of the partizans
of each stable. At the ' ' draw-gates ' ' Pilot had again got

AND OTHER SKETCHES 45

on even terms, whip and spur were being used and every
art of jockeyship brought into play. Foot by foot, inch
by inch, the stubborn struggle was fought out. Staid
members of the church yelled like street hawkers in their
excitement and even old turfmen were shouting, all a joy
under the excitement. Twenty yards from the judges'
stand the leaders were locked as if yoked together, shoul-
der to shoulder, head to head, the two gallant thorough-
breds were straining every muscle to gain the advantage.
Within two lengths of the wire Pilot's jockey, by a last
supreme effort found out a hidden link and again the
verdict was ''won by a nose," but this time it was Pilot
that was credited with the honors.

So intensely did the two favorites usurp attention that
scarce anybody seemed to give a thought that there were
any other horses in the race. The betting again became
fast and furious between the two heat winners. Mr.
Parish, the owner of the Colonel, had over five thousand
dollars up on his horse and his friends kept betting until
nearly their last dollar was in the stakeholder's hands.
When the bell sounded for the third heat all four horses
again faced the flag, though the few who had been able
during the exciting struggle to note the whereabouts of
Phoebe Dodds and Country Maid, declared that they
were both lengths out beyond the distance flag and should
have been declared so by the judges. But both were so
little thought of that even the judges paid no attention
to them. When the piece of bunting went down for the
start in the third heat, the rider of Pilot, not thinking it
a go on account of his being some five or six lengths be-
hind, pulled up his horse and, before he discovered his
mistake, the horses were a hundred yards away and
Pilot 's owner refused to allow his boy to follow. Terrific
was the excitement over the untoward circumstance and
great was the groaning meted out to the unfortunate
holder of the flag for his miserable bungling. The race
was now shorn of its interest, for, in the opinion of nine-
tenths of those present, it was a foregone conclusion that
the Colonel would win hands down. So it looked for two

46 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

miles of the journey, as he swept along leading his field
by three lengths, but as they rushed by the stand enter-
ing on the third mile, the despised outsider, Country
Maid, moved from the rearguard and challenged for the
lead, amid the breathless excitement of the big crowd,
which for a moment was fairly paralyzed with astonish-
ment. Not only did the Maid stand the pressure of a
head to head struggle for a quarter of a mile, but actu-
ally raced to the front and led the Colonel by a length
into the home stretch. Bedlam broke loose couldn't
match the scene that then ensued. Men's hats went
whirling aloft and Tom Gillespie, of Hamilton, sent his
so far and so high that he never set eyes on it again. At
the draw-gates the Maid had the heat won, and finished
an easy winner by three lengths. The fourth heat,
though stubbornly fought out, was won by Country Maid
by three lengths, and thus ended one of the gamest and
finest heat races ever contested on any track. It was
calculated that fully ten thousand dollars went into the
pockets of the greenhorns who had backed Charley
Gates' Country Maid.

JOSEPH E. SEAGRAM, PRESIDENT ONTARIO JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES

49

A MEMOEABLE EACE MEETING IN MONTEEAL

IN 1873.

I propose here to rake up the doings at Decker Park,
Montreal, in July of 73. L. W. Decker, then proprietor
of the Albion Hotel of that city, had expended a good
deal of money in the construction of Decker Park race
course and club house, and turfmen of the commercial
metropolis were sanguine that at last the royal sport
would flourish in their neighborhood. These expectations
were, however, sadly disappointed. The track was only
a half-mile one, and the turns were so abominably sharp
that I have seen four horses go down in one day trying
to get around them, and, in addition, the management
soon lost the public confidence.

The July meeting I am going to talk about will live
long in the memory of western horsemen who were pres-
ent. Ontario wigs lay thick on the green during the
week the fun was in progress, and every effort made by
the western men to recover themselves only dropped
them the deeper in the mud. The first instalment of bad
luck was secured in the hurdle race, the opening event
of the meeting. The horses engaged were Notary Pub-
lic, Old Eye, Jack the Barber and Ivanhoe. Jack was
fresh from his western triumphs, showed in good form
and temper and was, therefore, in his present company,
booked a certainty, but like the majority of "sure
things" it wasn't pulled off, both of those old pelters,
N. P. and Old Eye finishing ahead of the favorite.

In the next race, the Ottawa Hotel Stakes, mile heats,
the starters were Mr. Barber's Carleton, Lord Byron
and Vespucius. The chaps from the West stuck to their
represenjtatives, the two latter, and were about equally
divided in opinion as to which was the better horse. The
first heat was captured by Vespucius, and he was at once

50 CANADIAN TUKF RECOLLECTIONS

installed a red-hot favorite over the field, but in the
second Ottawa's representative clouded the prospects by
galloping home an easy winner in faster time than the
first heat was run. Still the boys remained true to their
first love and loyally snapped up the offers made by the
backers of Carleton, who, in the third heat, astonished his
opponents and surprised his friends by galloping home
an easy winner in the fastest heat of the race.

Thus was received facer number two. In the third
event, the Sapling Stakes, the victory of Dr. Smith's
War Cry put back a few of the scattered shekels, but the
defeat of Mr. Stanton's Storm on the second day in the
Hochelaga Produce Stakes, by the Donnybrook filly,
struck the already weakened ones with the force of a
hurricane, and so demoralized them for the time being
that they hadn't the nerve to back Vespucius for a dollar
against his conqueror of the preceding day, when they
came together in the Merchants' Plate, which was one
of those relics of barbarism, mile heats, three in five.
Carleton was a warm first choice, but he never had a
show, the old chestnut cutting loose and capturing the
trick in three straight heats. Had this victory been
played, all previous losses could have been recouped.

Inspired and encouraged by the turn of the tide, the
western contingent again rallied to the pool box and right
royally backed War Cry against The Moor in the mile
heat contest, and again for their devotion they were
vouchsafed their third facer, Montreal's champion win-
ning the event in two straights. Sadly discomfitted, the
unfortunates retired for the time being to figure up their
losses and scheme to get even on the third day. The
opening event of it, however, proved another Waterloo.
Mitchell, who on paper figured a certainty, was warmly
supported, but only succeeded in scoring second honors,
and in the very next race the western favorite, Lord
Byron, went down before C. 0. D. and Frank Swift.
''Alas, woe is me," was the mental refrain of many an
Ontario sorehead. This last was the finishing straw that
broke the camel's back and, disgusted with the run of

AND OTHEE SKETCHES 51

luck, tliey hadn't nerve enough left to back a race horse
against a mule.

On the last day a ray of sunshine illumined the gloom
by the victory of Jack Vandal in the Montreal Hotel
Stakes, and the success of Fisher and Carson's Neptunus
in the Flash Stakes, but the long odds in their favor
choked off all speculation. Thus closed one of the most
disastrous meetings for backers of favorites I ever re-
member to have been at. The only winners were those
who bought the cheap ones, tickets not bought on judg-
ment, but purchased simply because they were cheap.
Many were the drafts drawn to make good in the box
and equally numerous were the long faces that were
drawn as the proceeds were paid out.

52 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A SPLENDID MEETING AT CARLTON PARK IN

1874.

Some writers in dealing with the career of the late
T. C. Patteson credit him with being the first person to
inaugurate racing in this city. Now, while I am desirous
of giving every possible credit to a gentleman who was
the recognized authority in this country on the history
of the thoroughbred horse and was perhaps better posted
than any man on the continent on the pedigrees of Eng-
lish horses, they are astray in their statements respecting
his being the pioneer in flat racing hereabouts.

Many years before Mr. Patteson took a hand in the
game the officers of the Thirtieth Regiment and of the
Hussars, then stationed in Toronto, promoted horse rac-
ing and several interesting meetings were hold, both on
the Bolton course and on the present Newmarket track.
Outside of what may be called the military meetings, the
writer was the first to endeavor to revive interest in the
royal sport among our people.

He gave a meeting at Carlton Park in 1874 when such
purses as these were hung up: For Dominion-bred
horses, $400, mile heats, two in three; Flash Stake, 100
pounds up, dash of one mile, $250. This was won by
Trouble, his first victory, liut he afterwards became the
recognized champion steeplechaser of America. Hotel
Keepers' Purse, open to all horses, II/4 mile heats, $500;
hurdle race, $400, two miles; Toronto Purse, one mile
heats, $450; Lambton hurdle race, $350, 21/2 miles;
Ladies' Purse, a dash of three-quarter mile, $300;
Citizens' Purse, $400, mile heats, two in three; Consola-
tion Purse, $200, a dash of 1^4 miles. This is a total of
$3,850, and considering the circumstances under which
the meeting was given, it was a more hazardous under-
taking than it would be to hang up $50,000 at Woodbine

AND OTHER SKETCHES 53

at the present day for a meeting extending over ten days.

At the time I speak of there was no fence around Carl-
ton Park. It was practically an open common. True,
there was a snake fence along some portion of it, facing
on the Dundas road, but it was in a dilapidated condition
and any person could get over it. The stand, capable
of accommodating at the most three hundred people, was
a ramshackle affair that had stood the blasts of many
winters and the warping heat of many summers. An
admission fee of twenty-five cents was charged, and pre-
tence for a gate was made in the shape of stretching a
long bar across the lane leading up from the highroad to
the track.

It was calculated that on the opening day fully eight
thousand people were in attendance, and notwithstanding
the unprotected condition of the course, over four thou-
sand people were decent enough to go the long way round
and pay their twenty-five cents to enter. The horses
when finishing had to run through a living lane for fully
two hundred yards up the stretch, running southward
from the stand, as several thousand people had gathered
and fringed the course a dozen deep on either side. It
became necessary before every finish for the mounted
clerk of the course to gallop up and down, begging the
people to fall back. They good-naturedly acquiesced, and
not a single accident marred the sport any day of the
meeting. Pools were sold in the city at the Terrapin
Restaurant, then located on King street east, imme-
diately west of where the Albany Club is now located.
Pool selling on the track was also very heavy. At the
meeting alluded to the returns were made by Messrs.
Quimby, Forbes and Page. The total amount sold fig-
ured up to $49,865.

The great betting race of the meeting was the mile and
a quarter heats, won by Lady Washington. On this race
alone over $15,000 was wagered, some of the represen-
tative men of the city standing in front of the auctioneer
and betting $200 and $300 for first choice, some of the
pools filling to $500 and $600.

54 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

''Gus" Thomas, then proprietor of the English Chop
House, now a retired capitalist, was in those days one of
the most ardent followers of the 'chase. He rode at this
meeting in one or two of the jumping events and came
mighty near passing in his cheques. His horse fell and
rolled over on top of him, and before he could be extri-
cated the animal gave him the full benefit of his weight.
Only the deep sand on the track and the sparse form of
the rider saved him from being flattened out like a pan-
cake. He was picked up in a badly damaged condition,
put into a cab and driven quickly to the city. He was
confined to his room for about a week, when he reap-
peared somewhat the worse for wear, but still game
enough to go over the sticks again.

The expenses in connection with the meeting were
heavy. The writer had a large tent erected for the
accommodation of the officials of the Club and their in-
vited guests, the members of the Toronto Hunt. About
eighty gentlemen partook of his hospitality, among them
being many of the representative men of the province.

The officials of the meeting were: Sir Cassimir
Gzowski, the Hon. D. L. McPherson (afterwards Sir
David), Mr. Hector Cameron, Captain Elwes, the Hon.
C. I. Douglas, Dr. Andrew Smith, Angus Morrison, M.P.,
Hon. John Beverley Kobinson (afterwards Lieutenant-
Governor of Ontario), and several others whose names
have escaped my memory.

Of all these enumerated, how few remain. The list
includes the names of some of the boldest front riders
that ever wore a huntsman's coat. Nearly all have rid-
den their last race, and to-day their names are but a
memory. Those of the old guard who are here cannot
recall the enjoyments of past days on the Canadian turf
without a feeling of sorrow for the many good men and
true that have dropped by the way.

Though much pleasure was taken out of racing in the
days of yore, there was not much profit. The almighty
dollar was not appreciated then quite as much as it is at
the present time. The sons of Israel had not swarmed

AND OTHER SKETCHES 55

upon the race course trying to occupy every corner where
a nimble dime could be made. Men went to the races, not
altogether to bet money, but to meet their friends and
enjoy a pleasant time. The enjoyment was great, but the
profits were small. The balance sheet at this Carlton
Park meeting, after all expenses were paid, showed a
profit of $79. Yet, strange to say, it was then considered
as satisfactory when the income balanced the expendi-
ture. Truly the times have changed. There is now a
different class of owners and the present ones are nearly
all out for the dollar.

56 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

THE MISTRESS OF CRUICKSTON PARK.

It affords me profound pleasure to present in my
''Recollections" a portrait of a lady whose name and
personality have been more discussed in Canada than
that of any other within this broad Dominion. Miss Kath-
erine L. Wilks, of Cruickston Park, Gait — a member of
the great Astor family of New York — has by birth and
wealth the entree to the most exclusive society in Amer-
ica, yet she prefers the attractions of her Canadian
estate of over one thousand acres to those of a mansion
on Madison Avenue. A woman of culture and refinement,
the social pleasures and diversions that satisfy the major-
ity of her sex, have for her few attractions, though the
doors of Cruickston Hall are ever open to a wide circle
of friends, where, as lady of the manor, she dispenses
graceful and boundless hospitality. There are noble
dames in the Motherland who have gained distinction in
the horse world; prizes in the show ring and at horse
shows attest the interest they take in the development
of the equine race, but the position occupied by Miss
Wilks is much more unique. Her taste, fortunately for
the horse-breeding interests of Canada, inclines to the
light harness horse, and in furtherance of her fancy she
has within a few years spent an enormous amount of
money. Yet, strange to say, the rock upon which eight-
tenths of the amateur horse breeders of this country have
wrecked their hopes, this lady, possessing none of their
business experience, steered a safe course and the result
has been a gratifying success.

Her principle of action has been eminently clever; aim-
ing as she did to secure the best results, she at the com-
mencement of her venture recognized the important fact
that quality begets quality and that can only be obtained
by buying the best, regardless of its cost. It was this
sound reasoning which induced her to pay $15,000 for

MISS KATHARINE L. WILKS, CRUICKSTON PARK, GALT, ONT.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 59

the lamented Sadie Mac. It was the highest price rea-
lized at the great New York sale, and it was the highest
price paid for a mare in America during 1904. Miss
Wilks' judgment was brilliantly justified early in the
summer of the following year when Mr. Smathers, of
New York — the former owner of the mare — sent an
agent who offered her $30,000 for the return of his
favorite trotter. The offer was refused, and again many
of the shrewdest horsemen on the continent thought the
Canadian owner had made a serious mistake in declining
such a princely bid. Again results proved her judgment
correct and the critics in error. Sadie Mac, until that
fatal day at Hartford when she dropped dead in her race,
was the bright meteoric equine star that outshone all
rivals on the Grand Circuit. It was with Sadie Mac a
mere question of health to annex all the great stakes in
which she was entered. The best trotters in the land had
joined issue with her, yet each and all were disposed of
with such consummate ease that every trainer and driver
on the Grand Circuit recognized and admitted that she
was in a class by herself, but now an earthen mound
within the enclosure of the Hartford track marks the
last resting place of Cruickston's famous mare.

Cruickston Park is one of the great show places of
Ontario. Situated in the heart of one of the richest
agricultural districts in the province, its fertile fields,
forest-crowned hills, lovely valleys and superb avenues
bring to the mind's eye recollections of some of Eng-
land's beautiful country seats.

The question will naturally arise in the minds of
many people: Does Miss Wilks take much personal in-
terest in her horses ? My reply is that she is apparently
acquainted with every one of the seventy-five to one
hundred, young and old, that own her as mistress. She
is a rarely good judge of conformation, has a keen, quick
eye to detect faulty action, and is a clever, fearless
driver ; whether holding the reins over her favorite mare.
Lady Cresceus, or sitting behind her world's champion
team, Rhea W. and Easter Bell, driving at a four-minute

60 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

or a two-twenty clip, there is the same easy poise, the
same steady hand and the quiet self-possession that not
only perfectly controls the animal she is driving, but
imparts that spirit of confidence without which, between
driver and horse, there can be no perfect action.

Cruickston Park is a beautiful place at any time of the
year. In summer, when its towering elms and beautiful
maples are in full dress, its avenues and spacious tree-
shaded lawns are lovely rambling grounds, but on that
autumnal day, when I both walked and drove about the
estate, it had a charm equal to its summer splendor. The
magic wand of King Frost had painted the leaves in
colors more exquisite than the hand of painter ever
wrought or poet ever dreamed of. Purple and gold,
jasper and emerald hues blended the whole landscape in
a glowing, brilliant scene of surpassing splendor.

Standing on the lawn close to the residence my eyes
took in a scene than which there is none fairer in Ontario.
Over one hundred feet below lies the valley of the Grand
River which, like a silver ribbon, winds its tortuous
course lakeward. There, it is a broad, deep river which,
if properly guarded, would afford splendid sport; the
gamey bass once flourished in its waters, but the despoiler
has worked his way unchecked, and these attractive
stretches have been nearly fished out. Eastward three
miles the lofty chimneys of Preston's many flourishing
mills and factories mark the sky, while to the southward
the town of Gait bounds the vision. Meadow lands along
the river bank, gently rising upland, a rich agricultural
district pleasant to look upon and one of the most pros-
perous in the Dominion. Here and there belts of timber
resplendent in their autumnal robes brighten the whole
landscape under the sun's rays with magic beauty.
The estate includes about 1,100 acres, and though a
goodly portion is under cultivation, the forest has been
carefully preserved so that a nobly wooded park sur-
rounds the residence. Black squirrels and partridges are
fairly numerous, but nothing in comparison with what
might be if the poachers would but respect the efforts

AND OTHEK SKETCHES 61

of the owner whose desire it is to protect them for a
few years that they may multiply and spread over the
whole neighborhood, but so little encouragement is forth-
coming that one wonders Miss Wilks has not long ago
abandoned all efforts in the direction of game preserva-
tion.

62 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A GOOD PERFORMER THIRTY YEARS AGO.

I was asked one day which horse I thought was the
best general performer on the Canadian turf thirty years
ago, and the name Lord Byron by Kentucky — Lady
Blessington, came to my mind as the one I thought had
a shade the best of it, but my friend, though he remem-
bered the horse named, scarcely considered him to be
as good as one or two others that were running at the
same time. Since the time that I answered the question
off hand I have thought the matter over and am still
more satisfied that my first impression was correct. I
remember back in 1873 seeing Lord Byron start at the
London June meeting and win a good race, a dash of
one and a half miles, carrying 115 pounds, and beating
Neptunus, Judge Durell, Harper, Lottie B. and Puss
Harris. Twenty minutes later his owner, James O'Neil,
started him in a two-mile dash and won that also, beat-
ing Kelso, Longueil and Judge Durell in the order
named. On the following day he was again started in
a dash of two and a half miles, which he also won, beat-
ing Longueil and Judge Durell. This was three races in
two days, or a total distance of six miles, and I fail to
remember any other horse in the earlier history of the
Canadian turf who could show such a creditable record
for speed and gameness. He won numerous other good
races the same season and finally broke down, if I mistake
not, at Carlton.

As a proof that the old clubs in Ontario were very
liberal, considering their means, thirty years ago, I will
just quote a programme drafted by the writer for the
Barrie Turf Club in May of that year: Hurdle race,
$250; Ladies' Purse, $700; Hotel Keepers' Purse, $400;
Northern Railway Purse, $500; Canadian Derby, $400
added; The Kempenfelt Stake, $500; Lumbermen's

AND OTHER SKETCHES 63

Purse for Dominion breds, $400. Certainly this bill of
fare thirty years old compares favorably with the pro-
grammes of the present day, and the revenue derived in
those days at a meeting was insignificant in comparison
with what is obtainable now. At the meeting alluded to
my old friend Roddy Pringle won the Queen's Plate with
Mignonette; Charley Boyle running second with Nor-
lander. Dr. Andrew Smith scooped in the Kempenfelt
Stakes with Edenton and the Canadian Derby with War
Cry. Clem Alloway, one of the very best gentlemen
riders that Canada ever produced, won the Hotel Keep-
ers' Purse with Rainbow. Dear old Joe Grand landed
the Northern Railway Purse with Jack the Barber, and
O'Neil won two races with Lord Byron. It was a thor-
oughly pleasant meeting, and the Toronto contingent,
numbering several score of good sportsmen, all gathered
at Barrie the evening before the meeting started. Each
hotel in the place was crowded with visitors and every-
body seemed to enjoy the sport.

64 CANADIAN" TUEF RECOLLECTIONS

JOKE ON DR. ANDREW SMITH AND DAVID
ALEXANDER.

I have chatted elsewhere about the fun a few of us
had with "Major" Quimby at Whitby over his appoint-
ment as official pool seller at Saratoga, and I'll now tell
a little story about what happened in the same town the
following year at the expense of two of the present mem-
bers of the Ontario Jockey Club. A big party of turf-
men were seated on the verandah of the Robson House,
passing the time away after dinner before starting for
the track. Dr. Andrew Smith, then Principal of the On-
tario Veterinary College, David Alexander, Roddy Prin-
gle and the writer were sizing up some of the afternoon
candidates when suddenly the whole party were startled
by a couple of newsboys who, with a Chiffney rush, land-
ed in our midst shouting: *' Gazette extra. Great fire in
Toronto on Temperance street. The Veterinary College
in ruins and a lot of race horses burned." Dave Alex-
ander, who had just made his first investment in the race
horse line, by buying of Dr. Smith a half interest in the
steeplechase mare Helen Bennet, jumped to his feet and,
thoroughly excited, urged the Doctor to order out the
horses and start at once for home. Friends on all sides
commenced to tender their sympathy and express the
hope that everything was insured. Finally, after every-
body had worked themselves up over the fire and several
telegrams were being prepared asking for further par-
ticulars as to the disaster, we let the cat out of the bag
by owning up that we thought a little shock would do both
the Doctor and Alexander good after the loafing they had
indulged in for forty-eight hours, waiting for fair weather
to bring on the races, and in consequence had set up the
job, got the special despatches printed and hired a couple

AND OTHER SKETCHES 65

of smart boys to play the act out. It cost the couple
many a dollar to drown out the recollection of that fire,
as the kidders were as numerous in those days as now,
and one posting another a never-ending procession of
enquirers were going up all afternoon at the track and
asking for information as to the extent of the disaster.
In those days the ordinary cost of setting them up in the
country was four for a Yorker (twelve cents) and the
whole bar for a quarter, and even with a due regard for
the truth, I 'm forced to express the opinion that if all the
people my two friends treated that day had been drawn
up in line, they would have made a procession many lea-
gues in length.

66 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A THOROUGHLY HONEST TRAINER.

Poor old Frank Owens, who trained for the late Mr.
J. P. Dawes for so many years, was called a crank, and
he certainly was built a little on the cross-grained order,
but I very much doubt whether any of us would be any
sweeter dispositioned than he if we labored under as
many physical disabilities as afflicted him all his life.

It was at times very painful for him to hobble around,
and a man handicapped in such severe fashion has, in
my opinion, a legitimate right to grumble and kick at the
weight of affliction imposed upon him. True, the goody-
goody doctrine is that no matter how much you suffer,
it might be worse, therefore, bear the affliction you have
without grumbling. That's very well in theory, but it
does not pan out in practice, and it's human nature pure
and simple for a man to get short-tempered and use an
occasional strong word if every bone in his body is ach-
ing and he is unable to take a single step without feeling
that a few gimlets and bradawls are working within him.

But I didn't start out with the intention of furnishing
a chapter on Frank Owen's physical disadvantages. I
merely desired to direct attention to it, thus, I think,
ampl}^ justifying any crabbedness of temper that he may
have displayed at times to those who read these pages.
Poor Owens trained many a winner, but he finally
weighed out himself, and though many a more pious
individual has answered the last roll call, I would just
as soon stand by the chances of old Frank in the Kingdom
Come as some of the more pretentious psalm-singing
crowd who love to toot their horns in the market places,
for I know Frank Owens, with all his faults of temper,
was an honest man, and there's a goodly proportion of
those professional Christians who would stand a mighty

AND OTHER SKETCHES 67

poor show if the guardian at the gate is sternly strict on
that qualification.

I have said that old Frank was thoroughly honest, and
in proof of that declaration I am going to spin a little
turf yarn that is known to but very few. Even my friend
Dawes knew nothing of it until nearly a year after it
occurred. It was back in 1885, when the stable's two
crack jumpers, Rose by Helmbold, dam by Niagara, and
Charlemagne by Pat Malloy, out of Alice Burford, were
carrying everything before them. There was a gang of
pirates then, as now, connected with the jumpers, but the
great stumbling block in their way was the Canadian
stable, whose horses were always trying for the money.

At the Monmouth Park meeting a very prominent
gambler who plaj^ed the jumpers heavily, made up his
mind to interview Owens and see if he couldn't fix him.
Early on the morning of race day he sauntered round
to the Dawes stable and, watching his chance, finally
secured an audience with the old man. He did not beat
about the bush at all. He was one of the kind that be-
lieved the almighty dollar a more potent argument than
any amount of special pleading; so as soon as Owens sat
down his visitor drew ten one hundred dollar notes from
his pocket, and laying them on his knee, said: ''Frank,
I've brought this thousand over for you."

''Brought them over for me," replied the old man.
"Well, you are a mighty liberal man with your money.
Why do you want to make me such a big present ? ' '

"I'm not wanting much, Frank," was the answer. "I
merely want the privilege of putting up a jockey on
Charlemagne to-day."

The old man hung back for a second or two, then
quietly said, "It isn't much of a privilege you are asking
for so much money, but perhaps if I let you pick out a
rider for the chestnut horse to-day you'd be wanting to
give the boy your orders how to ride the race, too?"

"Oh, certainly," was the answer, "I'm offering you the
thousand dollars just for that privilege, nothing more."

' ' Then you d d scoundrel, you get away from here.

68 CANADIAN TUEF KECOLLECTIONS

If I was to take your money I'd be ashamed ever to look
the boss in the face again. ' '

And the gambler knowing now that it was impossible
to corrupt the old cripple, went out, fixed the other horses
starting against Charlemagne and played the Canadian
horse down to 5 to 2 to win, thus raking in sure money.

There is no doubt that Mr. Dawes occasionally won
races through that sort of work being played by the
gambling fraternity. The gang, finding that Owens was
incorruptible, often laid their plans to make a sure thing
by "stopping" other horses and playing their bank roll
on the Lachine stable. In this connection a very good
story is credited to Meany, the well-known cross-country
rider. He was riding one of Mr. Dawes' jumpers in a
steeplechase, winning with consummate ease, and when
asked by Owens after he weighed out how he got along,
he chuckled out the following:

' ' Get along, Frank, why divil a nicer ride I iver had in
all my life. Such nice plisint gintlemen, I never met
before. When I'd come to a lep, they'd all pull to one
side as much as to say, 'we wish you safely over, Meany,*
and be me soul I think they did. They just shoo'd me
along, as it were. ' '

Meany sized the situation correctly. They were all
backing his mount.

LIEUT.-COL. HON. J. S. HENDRIE, HAMILTON.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 71

YE OLDEN TIMES.

A visit from Secretary Eraser of the Ontario Jockey
Club one day, who wished to refer to the files of The
Sportsman to fortify his mind respecting the antiquity of
some of the fixtures of the Club he so ably represents,
started my memory jogging back twenty years or so to
the days he desired to refer to. Some of the first names
that caught my eye were those of John Forbes, John L.
Quimby, Sam D. Page, Ras and Lean Burgess, Charley
Boyle, Pat Farrell, George Forbes (champion 150 yards
runner of America), nearly all of whom were residents
of Woodstock — then the Newmarket of Canada, now only
a sleepy hollow in connection with racing matters.

There was a very warm bunch at Woodstock in those
days and there was no game from pitch and toss to par-
lor croquet that they wouldn't play and bet on. Wood-
stock could a little more than hold its own with any other
burg in Canada at pigeon shooting, foot racing, trotting,
running or any other game that might be proposed.
Judge Finkle was then interested in the thoroughbred
game. He owned a few real good ones and was never
so happy as when watching one of his own breeding
perform. Mr. Millman, another resident of the Oxford
county town, also owned a few good horses.

When I think of some of the owners and turfmen who
used to foregather in the seventies, they'd pan out with
the best of the present-day lot : Joe Grand, John Hendrie,
C. L Douglas, Major Peel, Jack Munro, W. A. Bookless,
Jos. E. Seagram, Dr. Andrew Smith, Dr. Morton, Roddy
Pringle, James White, John Stanton, Archie Fisher, John
Shedden, and so I might go on at great length, but the
retrospect is a sad one, because of those I have named
nearly all lie under the turf they loved so well. John
Forbes, the first named, though a man of robust consti-

72 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

tution and of that stocky, sturdy mould that would make
one willing to wager odds that he would easily pass the
scriptural three score years and ten, was cut down in his
prime, and Lean Burgess also dropped by the way. Poor
Sam Page is also a memory, and Quimby was found dead
in bed at Saginaw, Mich. Charles Boyle is still alive,
and he, I am pleased to hear, is fresh as paint and looks
tough as a knot of second growth hickory.

Eeally there has not been much growth in the Cana-
dian running turf during the past quarter century. I do
not believe there are as many Canadian owners of
thoroughbreds now as there was then, and I am quite
sure that for genuine love of sport the old timers could
give cards and spades to the modern dollar-worshipping
owner. Whether there has been as much improvement
in the quality of the horses as some latter-day people
would have you think is an open question. Modern ways
of training and faster tracks are responsible for a good
deal of the so-called improvement, but such old-time per-
formers as Nettie, Terror, Disturbance, Jack Vandal,
Emily, Bonnie Ino, Lady D'Arcy, Jack Bell, Jack on
the Green, Bay Jack and lots of others would be in the
money to-day under the present circumstances. Mile
heats over bad half-mile tracks in 1.48, 1.49, was smart
work, and I would back the timber-toppers of that time
to carry pound for pound and hold their own with the
best of the present day, and I think a few I could name
would be top-notchers now.

What about Milesian, winner of the double event over
McDougall's farm, back of the mountain at Montreal;
it was a good day's sport. The son of Mickey Free beat
a field of twelve in the Club steeplechase, three miles, and
forty minutes later with 174 pounds on his back, gal-
loped away with the open steeplechase, four miles, beat-
ing thirteen others, the nearest horse not being within
two hundred yards of him, and there was some real good
material among his followers. There were some rasping
good timber- toppers then: Jack the Barber, Pilot,
Mitchell, Grey Cloud, Kelso, Viley, Cataract, Tradewind,

AND OTHER SKETOliiS 73

Rose and Charlemagne were a powerful combination that
could pack the weight and go any distance within reason.
Horses were thoroughly schooled in those days. Owners
did not try to make a steeplechaser in two weeks, and the
result was a lot of horses that could jump stiff timber
and do it in a clean-cut, workmanlike fashion.

Some of the present-day ''know it alls" will tell you
that the quality of the old-time sport was away down;
don't believe them. They prattle of something they
know nothing about. They pretend to think that jobbery
then ruled supreme, but there was less temptation to go
crooked in those days than now, and the racing in the
seventies and eighties will bear favorable comparison
with the strictest-managed meeting of the present time.
There was a little more sentiment then and less of the
almighty dollar combination. Men did not pronounce
judgment on the success of a meeting by the amount of
money they won and turfmen were ready to gather to-
gether and enjoy a pleasant social time, open a cold bottle
and not shout ** thief, thief," when beaten.

74 CANADIAN TUKF KECOLLECTIONS

TEEROR'S GREAT RACE AT OTTAWA.

When one's memory travels back early in the '70 's
and calls to mind the many successful running meetings
that were held at Ottawa, it seems strange that the sport
should have so completely died out at the Capital. In
those days the races at the eastern city ranked amongst
the best, and large numbers of sportsmen were wont to
assemble from all over Canada to take a hand in. The
rich lumber magnates from \\p tJie Ottawa would meet
there and when they had a fancy they would back it with
a persistency that generally beat down all opposition, and
though they lost perhaps oftener than they won, they
always came up smiling for the next roujid.

I have seen a local race there, one open to the counties
of Leeds, Russell and Pontiac, create as much excitement
as a meeting of the cracks in stakes worth thousands,
and on one of these races I have known over six thou-
sand dollars go into the pool box, and I also call to mind
a bad case of pulling. I once saw a Queen's Plate
awarded to a horse, when to allow him to win it was
necessary to pull another horse all over the track, and
though the pulling and yanking was done all down the
stretch, everything went and the Governor General, who
was present, was asked to award Her Majesty's guineas
to the chap who got there first. I have seen some strong
arm work in my racing days, but I never yet saw any-
thing quite so barefaced as that Ottawa Plate, and I have
often wondered whether the three judges on duty had
condensed goggles on, that only covered the radius in
which the leading horse was travelling,
deep in the hole, it was only good sense to try a change.

At the last moment permission was given to do it and
at once we hunted up Mat Williams, and after a bit of
hard work induced him to take the mount. He had a

AND OTHEK SKETCHES '/5

very tired horse to deal with, and though he possessed
more speed than any horse in the race, he had been made
so much use of that it was a question whether he could be
nursed along within striking distance and then trust to
his gameness and speed at the finish. Williams rode that
heat with his head; he let the other horses do the break-
ing away. He kept still, and when the flag did go down
he laid liack in about fourth place and let the leaders
fight between themselves. At one time going up the back
stretch he looked to be out of it, but he was patiently l)id-
ing his time, and no statue ever rested on its granite base
steadier than he on Terror. At the head of the stretch
he improved his position a little, but it was not until
within two hundred yards from the finish that he cut
loose in earnest. Terror was a horse that cared but little
for the spur, but with a man able to make him feel the
whip, he would respond every time with the courage of a
bulldog. Williams knew this, and never in his career as
a jockey did he work as in that finish. Concentrating all
his strength and energj'^ for the rush, he called upon his
horse with both whip and spur and gained at every jump.
Every man and every woman was on his or her feet, and
a yell worthy to rank with that of the old Kentucky cry,
bespoke the excitement of the people. Twenty yards
from home he had a full neck the worst of it and his
horse looked to be done, but at this critical moment he
called upon his mount for a final effort, and even as the
sharp swish of his whip cleaving the air sounded upon
the ear they swept past the stand, and not one man in
that great throng could tell who had gained the verdict,
but when the judge announced: '* Terror by a nose,"
The best race that the well-known provincial ' ' Terror ' '
ever ran was over the Ottawa track. It was one of those
old killers, mile heats, best three in five, and there was
quite a large field of contestants, though I only recollect
Terror, Rathowen, Storm, Ruby and Ivanhoe. Every
horse was out for the money and it was one of those races
often won more by the headwork of the jockey than by
the speed of his mount. Terror was the hot favorite.

76 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

In fact, prior to the start he ranked very nearly even
against the field, and after he had won the first heat it
was any odds on him with very few takers of the other
end. The boy on the favorite was, however, a poor jock
and quite unable to ride to his orders, which were to take
it easy the second heat and not distress his horse racing
against the whole field for the lead. He, however, did
the reverse of what he was ordered, and though he man-
aged to win the heat, the favorite was very much dis-
tressed.

His owner, Mr. John White, then M. P. for Halton
county, was present, and a few who had backed Terror
heavily at good odds were anxious to have him change
jockeys, but he was a particularly stubborn man and
positively refused. In the third heat the young fool took
the favorite off on the lead and again raced his head off,
with the result that he finished either third or fourth.
Again a strong deputation urged Mr. White to put up
another rider, but he was adamant as before and the dis-
appointed ones immediately rushed for the pool box and
tumbled over one another trying to hedge out their money
regardless of the odds they had to pay to do it. The
writer had backed the favorite, but before doing as the
others, he and a friend tried their hand on the stubborn
M. P. We did not hesitate to tell him that he had not
one chance in a thousand to win with his own boy up,
and as the first money was $300, and his friends were all
then the pent-up feelings of the crowd found vent in
cheers, and as the tired favorite returned the scale, horse
and rider received an ovation. It was one of the most
brilliant bits of riding ever seen on a Canadian race
course.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 77

SUPEESTITION AND LUCK.

At different times I have written about luck and
superstitious belief, citing cases of well-known turfmen
who, on race days, were ever ready to be impressed by
circumstances which at another time would not for a
moment arrest their attention. Poor Doctor Coleman, a
few of whose doings I have chronicled elsewhere, would
never, even by those who knew him most intimately, have
been called a superstitious man; yet I remember on one
occasion when passing with him through the gates of
Mutchmore Park on race day, meeting a squint-eyed
citizen face to face. That settled it in the Doctor's mind.
He declared he could not win a bet that day, and though
he tried it in four out of the five events that colored the
card, he never selected a winner.

Uncle Joe Grand, whose jolly, bluff, hearty manner
and mirthful mind was not streaked to any preceptible
extent with superstitious belief, would go two blocks out
of his way on race day to avoid meeting a cross-eyed man
or woman. Major Peel, at one time known to nearly
every racing man in Canada, would not bet a cent on a
race if he happened to hear a cock crow late the night
before. Here's a question for you that you can all
answer: How many of your acquaintances will walk
under a leaning ladder without flinching? It does not
require a race meeting to make them shy of that deal. I
stood one day at the corner of a street in Toronto for
fully fifteen minutes to settle a wager I had made with a
friend on the same subject.

I bet him a ''bottle," never mind what was to be in it,
that two out of every four men who passed down Yonge
street would dodge the ladder leaning against a build-
ing. The bottom of the ladder reached to within three
feet of the outer edge of the sidewalk, so that it was a
deliberate shirk if a fellow selected the narrow path

78 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

around. The first pedestrian to pass by was a well-
known, self-made man — one of the kind who worships
his creator. My old friend had scarce time to remark,
''there goes an old duffer that never dodged anything in
his life but a beggar or a subscription sheet, see him go
under," but old moneybags didn't go under. With a
quick glance upward he slipped to the curbstone and
passed around, glancing about at the same time to see if
his shirk had been noticed. The occurrence rather dis-
heartened my friend, and when five out of the next six
passing did the same thing he called "enough" and
straightway settled the wager.

That rare good pattern of an all-round sportsman, the
late William Bookless, of Guelph, would stand anything
on earth but a black cat. Great Scott ! if one of that kind
crossed his path about racing time, he had not a particle
of confidence in his ability to guess anything right. Poor
Jack Munro had a holy horror of being passed by a red-
haired woman when he was bound for the races, and I
remember once when driving with him from the Russell
House, Ottawa, to the track, Jack suddenly called to the
driver to pull up, but before the order could be obeyed he
had the cab door open, jumped out and ran into the hotel
we happened to be passing, all, as he admitted, to save
being passed by the red-haired girl who was driving
towards us. The late John Forbes had a prejudice
against yellow dogs, while his partner, John Quimby,
would rather walk a mile out of his way than meet a
colored girl on his way to the track. All of which goes to
show that ridiculous ideas will sometimes influence the
human mind.

HON. ADAM BECK, LONDON.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 81

THE DOCTOR'S PRACTICAL JOKE.

The late Doctor Coleman, V.S., of Ottawa, generally-
had something in his stable that could go a little, and no
man enjoj^ed a bit of sport better than he. I remember
one win of the Doctor's over in Ogdensburg that netted
him quite a few dollars, and if his friends did not have
their share of the good thing it was not his fault, for
no owner was ever more liberal in telling what he knew
of his horses than he, but in this particular case, though
the vet thought he had a good fighting chance, it was
really an extraordinary chapter of accidents that gave
him the victory.

It was a steeplechase for horses four times around the
field inside of the half-mile track at the Burg, and out
of the sixteen entries there were thirteen starters. Jack
the Barber, then the property of the late Mr. Joe Grand,
was one of the starters, so also was Blackbird, Viley, N.
P., Barebones, Rathowen. Coleman had a big brown horse
whose name I have forgotten for the time, and in the pool
selling the night before the race and up to the hour of
starting on the track he never brought more than a dollar
in $25 pools. At this odds his owner gathered in about
a score or so. Early in the race Jack the Barber fell at
the water jump. Viley went down at the same place.
The second tinie around Barebones ran out, and on the
fourth round, when the contestants should have swung
out on to the track, they all, with the exception of the
young fellow on Coleman's horse, kept on in the field.
The big brown chap was a very tired horse, but he was
fully sixty yards ahead on the home stretch before any
of the others left the field, and though dying away at
every jump, he lasted long enough to secure the verdict
by a length, putting over five centuries in his owner's
pocket by his lucky pool buying.

82 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

I have often told how awfully fond poor Coleman was
of playing practical jokes, and one of his that I remember
is good enough to bear repetition. While on a visit to
Toronto he dropped in one morning about eleven o 'clock
at Kerby's saloon in the Romaine Buildings on King
street. This was then quite a resort for theatrical peo-
ple, and at different times my old friend had been intro-
duced to members of the ' ' prof esh. ' ' One of those he had
met was poor old Spackman, the leading man at the
Royal Lyceum. On this particular morning there was a
rehearsal of some kind of a melodrama in which the
ballet dancers were a prominent feature, and as it was
only a few steps from the back door of the saloon, Kerby
suggested that Coleman should go to the greenroom and
see ' ' Spack. ' ' Doc considered for a bit, and then, asking
his friend to wait for him a moment, hurried out to a
nearby tailor shop, almost immediately returning dressed
in a long black clerical coat, with a white choker strictly
churchy in its style and a clerical black felt hat. Even
Kerby, who knew him so well, was staggered when he first
saw him, so thoroughly did he look the part. Introduc-
ing himself as the Reverend Mr. Cole, a clerical who was
anxious to learn a little about the theatre and theatrical
people, that he might not do either an injustice in ser-
mons he proposed to preach on the modern drama, he
put himself under Kerby's charge and was taken to the
theatre, brought round behind the curtain and there
introduced to ' ' Spack. " as a minister, anxious to see for
himself the people he had heard so many naughty things
about.

Poor Spack, who was the soul of good nature, often
told me of the nervous half hour he had of it. A couple
of the girls, the high kickers of the ballet party, he said
were particularly larky that morning, one of these having
kicked his hat off while he was adjusting the ducal robes
around his portly person, and the way the same little
flirt was eyeing the parson he was satisfied she was only
waiting a chance to dust his eyebrows for him. Hur-
riedly excusing himself for a moment, he called the girls

AND OTHER SKETCHES 83

into the green room and begged of them for his sake, and
the reputation of the profession, not to kick too high, and
above all not to wink at the parson. Full of fear the
rehearsal progressed, and old Spack's heart rejoiced to
hear the Reverend Mr. Cole express himself: "Mr. Spack-
man, I am gratified. Sir, greatly gratified, at what I am
seeing now for the first time. The behavior of the whole
party. Sir, is most polite, and while the young ladies, Sir,
kick higher than I ever thought it possible to accomplish,
yet, Sir, they do it so modestly, if I may be allowed the
expression, that I cannot take exception to it. I am
pleased to have been here."

These remarks fairly captured old Spack, who straight-
way introduced all the members of the company present
to the "Eev." Mr. Cole, and begged his clerical friend to
honor them all by allowing them to drink his health. The
clergyman was willing to take something soft as an evi-
dence of his good will, and a call-boy was immediately
despatched to Kerby's for liquid refreshments. As soon
as they were brought in Spack filled up the glasses, and
in a clever little speech proposed the health of the "Rev.
Mr. Cole, a gentleman whose broad, liberal views hon-
ored the profession he belonged to." The toast was
heartily honored by all, and in reply the clerical guest
spoke as follows :

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be here and
listen to all the sweet words you have served up to the
parson, and if any of you folks ever strike Ottawa, I
want you to call around and interview the grave and
reverend Doc. Coleman. It won't be his fault if you
don't all have a rousing good time of it. Spack, old boy,
this is the first of April. You owe me one." As the
Doc threw off the clerical sombrero and cut loose with
an artistic bit of heel and toe work, poor old Spack
fairly choked with laughter at the joke that had been
played upon him, but earnestly begged the company to
keep it quiet or the cost of setting it up for the boys
would be his ruin.

84 CANADIAN TUEF RECOLLECTIONS

For Kerby's kindness in giving him the introduction
Coleman promised to send him a pug dog as soon as he
reached home, and true to his word he sent it. It came
in a box three fe^t square, with innumerable holes bored
in it, per express, $1.50 charges. It was paid, and as
Kerby's friends, a half dozen of whom were present,
crowded around to see the well-bred dog, there, firmly
wired in the centre of the box, was a china pug, weight
about four pounds. Poor Coleman ! It is hard to realize
that a man so full of jollity and mirth and in the prime
of life has run his race and weighed in for the last time.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 85

THE GREAT STEEPLECHASER MILESIAN.

There never was a timber-topper in Canada that could
pile up the weight and stay with Milesian across four
miles of stiff country.

I remember the day when over the McDougall farm,
back of the mountain at Montreal, he landed the double
event and carried confusion and dismay into the ranks
of the westerners whose wigs lay thicker on the green
than ever ornamented the sod of Donnybrook after its
liveliest ruction. At three o'clock he started in the open-
ing event, a light welter race, twenty-eight pounds added
to weight for age, the distance, three miles across coun-
try. He was ridden by his owner, and though no one
doubted his pluck, nobody had any faith in his riding
ability, and certainly it was only an extra good horse that
could have beaten the dozen good ones that started
against him, driven, as Milesian was, from start to finish,
his jockey riding with a. loose rein and unable to give him
the slightest assistance. The country raced over was a
very difficult one, over stone walls and stiff fences and
the last quarter of a mile through swampy ground suffi-
cient to stop any but the pluckiest of performers.

Milesian won by over three hundred yards. Thirty
minutes after the winner of the light welter race had
been announced from the judges ' stand, the bell rang for
the starters in the Open Steeplechase, distance four miles,
and imagine the surprise of the crowd to see Mr. Banna-
tyne canter out on Milesian, though he had another rare
good one, Duffy, entered in the race, a horse which the
talent thought quite able to land the trick. Bannatyne,
however, was deaf to all his friends' entreaties and ex-
postulations; he was determined to try and beat the
record by winning the double event, and he was equally
determined to do the riding himself. As soon as Pool-

86 CANADIAN TUEF RECOLLECTIONS

seller Quimby opened the box, the westerners to a man
plunged against Milesian, confident, as they expressed
themselves, that no horse ever foaled could go the double
journey, especially when handicapped by an indifferent
rider, whereas the best cross-country jockeys in Canada
were up on the other horses, some eleven in number, that
started against him. If my memory serves me right,
Milesian carried the top weight, 174 pounds, the nearest
to him being Viley, with 162 pounds, and so on down to
135 pounds. At the drop of the flag Bannatyne rushed
his horse to the front at the first obstacle, a "double" in
the shape of a four-foot stone wall, into a lane and over
another three foot and a half fence out of it, he had a
clear length the best of his followers. When they passed
from view behind the first belt of timber the gallant son
of Mickey Free was striding along playing pathfinder by
six clear lengths. When next they swung into view it was
literally a case of Milesian first, the rest nowhere, and as
he came on with untiring stride through the swampy
home stretch two hundred yards in the lead one of the
heartiest cheers I ever heard at a race meeting welcomed
the winner. It was the greatest feat ever performed by
a steeplechaser this side or any other side of the water,
and though Milesian did not prove a brilliant success in
the stud, his record on the turf will forever keep his
memory green in the minds of Canadian turfmen.

ROBERT DAVIES, OWNER OF THE FAMOUS
THORNCLIFFE STOCK FARM.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 89

A NOTABLE EACE AT LONDON.

Sitting in the smoking room of the Tecumseh House,
London, some time ago, in conversation with a well-
known western horseman, the talk wandered away back
to the time when that still famous hostelry used to be
crowded with outside turfmen. Thirty-five years ago
there was a rare gathering present from far and near;
conspicuous amongst them were Dr. Andrew Smith, Hon.
C. I. Douglas, Major Peel, C. F. Elwes, Duncan (now
Judge) MacMillan, Dr. Woodruff, J. E. Seagram, P. D.
McKellar, T. Simpson, W. G. Henderson, John Davis,
George Forbes, Charles Boyle, P. Farrell, etc. Many
other good men were present who have since joined the
silent majority, but a sufficient number of genuine sports-
men have been named to show how pleasant such gather-
ings must have been.

The old meetings at Newmarket track, London, were
generally most enjoyable events, but that night as we
talked of memorable bygone races, memory served up one
noted contest on the old track that left much hard feeling
and which created no small amount of scandal at the
time. I allude to the race between King Tom and Archie
Fisher's Sir Archibald. There was a lot of feeling on
both sides, and the betting ran high. The cockneys pin-
ned their faith to the first named, while the Toronto dele-
gation, strong in numbers and purse, stuck to the game
brown stallion, and thousands of dollars were wagered on
the result.

Not only in the Tecumseh House over night, but on the
track just prior to the race, the auctioneers, Quimby,
Forbes and Page, were kept busy selling pools, and when
the bell sounded for the horses to come out I have no
doubt that there was as much money at stake as was ever
before wagered on a race in Western Ontario. The race
was a dash of a mile and a half and was a gallantly con-

90 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

tested struggle throughout, but Archie's horse was train-
ed to the hour and beat the "King" home by a clear
length. So near and yet so far, however, fairly described
the position of Sir Archibald's backers. The race was so
clearly won by Sir Archibald that it was impossible for
the judges to juggle over it, but to the surprise of every-
body, outside of a select few, they, while awarding the
race to him, declared all pools and bets on the event off.
To say that the decision raised a row would be put-
ting it altogether too mild. The crowd jeered and hooted,
hissed and yelled, and at one time it looked exceedingly
dangerous for the weak-backed men on the stand who
had allowed themselves to be persuaded into doing a rank
injustice. It was difficult to understand why they had
so ruled. No complaint of foul riding had been made by
the jockey on King Tom, and had such been done and
proven, it would have demanded the punishment of the
winner, but no such objection was raised; they awarded
the race as the horses finished, yet without stating any
reason, declared the bets off. Afterwards evidence was
forthcoming which showed the reason why. A certain
London merchant, now dead, had been wining rather
freely over night, and being a strong King Tom man,
backed his favorite for about $2,000. The result of the
race staggered him and he straightway got a friend or
two together, besieged the judges ' box, and induced them
to declare the bets off. It was the only really unpleasant
occurrence I can remember in connection with the old-
time meetings at Newmarket, but candor compels me to
declare that it was one of the rankest decisions ever
given on any race course, and in almost any other section
of the country would have earned a jolly good mobbing
for the judges guilty of such a trick. It is pleasant to
remember that outside of the little ring influenced by the
merchant alluded to, every other Londoner who had bet
his money on King Tom, was ashamed of the manner in
which he had been relieved of the necessity to pay his
losses.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 91

THE LADY WASHINGTON RACE AT CARLTON

PARK.

The Lady Washington race at Carlton Park a good
many years ago was one of the most sensational events in
the history of the Canadian turf. The race was mile and
a quarter heats, and the contestants were War Cry, Moon-
stone, Lady Washington and Protection. In the pool box
over night Lady Washington was a steady favorite with
War Cry next in demand. Protection and Moonstone be-
ing rated about the same. About four thousand dollars
was invested overnight, and on the day of the race no
sooner did the pool-seller open out than fast and furious
was the betting. For fully half an hour before the start
two clerks were kept busy writing out tickets, and when
the horses appeared at the starting post there was a heap
of money in the box.

The first heat was stubbornly contested from start to
finish. For the first half War Cry, Moonstone and Mi'
Lady were head and head. War Cry then let out a link
and though Moonstone and the little mare kept at it they
were never again able to quite reach the leader, who won
by a length from Moonstone, he the same distance in front
of Lady Washington. The manner in which Captain
Elwes' horse had won the heat sent a swarm of hedgers
around the pool box who made desperate efforts to get
out. One hundred, two, three and four hundred dollars
were shouted for first choice, and every time War Cry
was the first selection. Finding nobody would pick out
a horse Quimby bunched the balance, and those who
already had the cheap pools which were sold on War Cry
overnight made themselves very secure by buying an
occasional field against which the odds were about four
to one.

In due course of time the horses were rung up for the
second heat, and quite a crowd of prominent turfmen

92 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

walked down to the quarter pole to witness the start. At
the first attempt the flag went down to a capital send-off,
all the horses being closely bunched. To the three-quarter
pole they raced in close order, Moonstone on the lead.
Eounding into the straight run home. War Cry moved
up past Lady Washington, and laid with his head at the
saddle girth of the leader. In this exact position they
raced past the starting point, the three-quarter pole, and
as they swept by Charley Boyle shouted to his boy on
War Cry to pull back. The boy, evidently greatly sur-
prised at the order, obeyed instructions and Moonstone
beat him out by three-quarters of a length. No sooner
did Boyle call to his boy to pull back than the late Mr.
Bookless, who had been talking to him, remarked, ''What
do you mean, Charley, giving such an order as that?"
Boyle's response was that his horse was sick and he
wanted to save him all he could, to which Bookless re-
sponded that if he was running a sick horse he would like
to get the race finished as quickly as possible. Boyle's
error of judgment cost him the race.

No sooner was the heat announced to Moonstone than
another rush took place to the pool stand. Those who
had started in on Lady Washington and had swung round
to War Cry, now jumped on to Moonstone, and several
hundreds more were dumped into the box by the bewild-
ered bettors. In the third heat War Cry went off with
the lead, and as they passed the judges' stand, was lead-
ing Moonstone by a clear length, who in turn had about
the same advantage over Lady Washington. At the half-
mile Moonstone moved up to the leader, and in this order
they raced the mile. As they levelled for home every-
body was looking for an exciting finish between the two
horses, when suddenly the little mare was seen to let out
a link, join issue with the favorites and after a whipping
finish she beat them out by half a length. War Cry sec-
ond, a head in front of Moonstone.

The faces of the betting men were now a study. Those
who had started in on the Lady, had, after the first heat,
transferred their love to War Cry. When Moonstone

AND OTHER SKETCHES 93

placed the second heat to his credit the majority of them
had followed him, and now here was their first sweetheart
once more to the front and selling first choice in the pools
for $100 to $20 over the field. At this rate a big business
was done, one prominent sportsman of Toronto laying
the odds fifteen times in succession. The fourth heat is
easily described. The little mare outstayed the party,
and from the drop of the flag was never headed. When
the books were toted up it was found that $23,500 had
been wagered on that race alone.

NOW FOR THE SEQUEL.

Later, at Saratoga, the boy who rode Lady Washing-
ton in the race at Carlton Park, made the following state-
ment how the race was won. It appears from what he
stated that the boy rode seven pounds light, and the
gang that followed the mare over here from the States
so surrounded the boy when he dismounted that they
managed unobserved to slip him the necessary seven
pounds to weigh in correctly. Alexander Macnab, then
the police magistrate of Toronto, was clerk of the scales,
and neither he, nor any of the stewards, suspected any-
thing wrong. It was a trick carefully and cleverly exe-
cuted, if the boy's statement is true, and there is not a
shadow of doubt that the slipping of the weights won the
mare the race. Many a time the Lady Washington race
is the subject of conversation when horsemen gather
together, and it will be a long day before another such
exciting contest is run. A well known and popular Q. C.
won the best part of a thousand on the race, and many
other fielders won big bank rolls on small investments.

94 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A STOEY ABOUT THE LATE CHARLES GATES.

Away back in the olden days, when Charley Littlefield
and Charles Gates were young and lively as kittens, the
following circumstance is related to have happened :

Charles Gates was at Georgetown races with one or
two runners, and during the meet he stumbled across an
old peddler whose ostensible occupation was trading
soap for ashes. His rig was an old springless cart, drawn
by a small bay mare that looked as if she had gathered
on her tail and mane about as many burrs as could be
collected in one township. The harness was of free and
easy style, pieced out with shoe laces and string. In a
word, the general verdict of an outsider would have been
that the whole institution, driver and all, had been struck
by a hurricane and got badly broken up. The boss of the
rig was a long, lean, lank, lantern-jawed down-easter,
whose chief occupation at the hotel where he was stop-
ping was drinking whiskey and emitting tobacco juice.

After loading himself with a tolerable cargo of whiskey
he started talking horse with Charles Gates, leading with
the assertion that "Ye never see no fast running horses
now-a-days," he yarned about a mare he once owned
that could outrun anything ever foaled. Warming with
his recollection of the old mare, he went on talking about
a youngster out of her that he was driving, that was ' ' all
powerful smart on its feet and could run mighty slick."
The telling of the story evoked a hurricane of laughter,
which seemed to rile the old 'un, and by this time the
pendulistic motion of his body when he essayed to walk
and the thickness of his speech proclaimed him to be two
sheets in the wind and the third one fluttering. Nothing
would satisfy him, however, but to stagger out to the
barn and bring around the mare to be inspected by the
company.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 95

After backing her out of her stall the old fellow strad-
dled her, and with his long legs hanging almost to the
ground and his upper works swinging backwards and for-
ward, the combination was in the highest degree
ludicrous. Marching around to the front, he walked the
nag into the bar, and a second time sung her praises.
The crowd, as before, jeered at the idea of her being
able to run fast enough to keep herself warm and soon
were jibing the old fellow at such a rate that, apparently
grown reckless by their teasing, he offered to run his
mare a quarter of a mile for a hundred dollars against
any horse owned by any one of the company. Quick as a
flash Charles Gates was on his feet, and though some
objected to making a match with a man who was un-
doubtedly too drunk to know what he was doing, he him-
self insisted on ''putting up the stuff." Charles Gates
responded, and matched Yellow Rose against the ash-
gatherer's mare, the race to come off next afternoon.
Before separating for the night, the ashgatherer, still
stowing away the corn juice, emptied out his pockets and
increased the main stake to one hundred and seventy-five
dollars a side.

Next afternoon a big crowd assembled at the track to
see the fun, and though all the horsemen around the place
laughed at the idea of there being any betting on such a
one-sided match, a couple of strangers, both of them
apparently on a spree, kept taking the 10 to 4 as if in a
drunken frolic. Arrived at the track the old peddler
unharnessed the mare amidst a running fire of chaff, and
opening up a box under the seat of his wagon, he drew
out a racing saddle and a suit of jockey clothes and,
appealing to the crowd to know if there "weren't any
youngsters around there that could ride a leetle bit, ' ' his
invitation was accepted by a boy, a stranger to the crowd.

In a few minutes he was rigged in jockey costume and
Gates' mare being also ready, they were led to the score.
Without much delay the word was given. The first jump
took the peddler's mare half a length to the good, and
without an effort she beat Yellow Eose two lengths at

96 CANADIAN TTJKF RECOLLECTIONS

the quarter. Never was a greater surprise. The laugh
was on the other side with a vengeance, and the parting
words of the old man to Charles Gates as he left the
track: ''You got a pretty smartish kind of mare, Mr.
Gates, but she ain't. quite good enough to tote around in
a peddler's wagon," was anything but soothing to an
irascible temper like that of Gates. Many were the dol-
lars captured by the peddler and his associates, and for
years afterwards the Georgetown track was a sore remin-
der with the veteran Canadian horseman.

i

i
I

^^^'

V^J^^^^^^^^H

r ,j

.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H

HON. WM. GIBSON, PRESIDENT HAMILTON JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 99

THE RAVEN DROPPED BY THE WAY.

It was away back early in the 70 's that the story I am
telling eventuated, and the three parties more particu-
larly interested were the Hon. C. I. Douglas, Major Peel
and Mr. Joe Grand. "Uncle" Joe has joined the major-
ity, Douglas is domiciled in London, and Peel is living
retired in Sussex. At the time I speak of these three
were part owners in the black horse Raven, a very fair
performer, but a brute of rather uncertain temperament.
If he felt 0. K. and nothing occurred to disturb his
equanimity, it would take quite a flyer to beat him any
distance up to two miles, but let anything happen to sour
him and he could outsulk a Mexican mule.

The horse, however, had been running kindly for some
little time, and it was determined to take him up to the
Waterloo meeting and enter him in a dash of two miles
that was advertised on their programme. At that time
there were two or three good long-distance performers
around, and the three gentlemen mentioned, confident
that Raven had showed them a trial good enough to take
them all into camp, determined to back him well and scoop
the box.

The night before the day of the race the pool-seller
started in, and a good bit of business was done on the
two-mile dash, with the black horse sometimes a second
and at other times a third choice. Major Peel was doing
the business for the party, and when the box was closed
for the night the trio had secured about every pool on
Raven and stood to win quite a large pot of money.

Next day at the track, finding their horse in good form,
they again sailed in, and so persistently did they stick
to their representative that by the sheer force of their
money thev finallv forced him to the front, and when the

100 canadia:n^ tuef eecollections

bell called up the starters in tlie race Eaven was selling
favorite. There was not much time lost in getting them
away, and when the flag went down Harry Brown sent
Eaven to the front and he carried his field along in merry
fashion. Uncle Joe was standing in the field near the
judges' stand and was so delighted with the way his
favorite was running that, following his usual custom
when in a happy frame of mind, he commenced to speak
out his ideas about the race.

As the horses went by the judges ' stand at the end of
the first half mile Eaven had a clear lead of two lengths
and was running well within himself. I was standing at
Uncle Joe's elbow as they swept by, and I shall never
forget the cheery ring of his voice as he shouted, "they'll
never catch him. No, sir 'ee, they may as well chase their
own shadow as that black rascal to-day. Look at him
boys — isn't he a race horse? Who wants to bet twenty
against a hundred that he '11 be headed in the race 1 I 'm
just looking for some man to open his mouth that way.
Come along, old boy." And as they went by the judges'
stand the second time, with the black fellow three lengths
on the lead. Uncle Joe kept on talking.

''Why they can't stretch his neck. They're not in his
class, my hearties. He's a race horse, you can bet on that.
I say, Douglas, what crabs those horses are alongside of
him. Why, Peel, it's guineas to peanuts. Just look at
him, watch him there, will ye, just see him. Holy Jupiter,
he's down." And sure enough, swinging the upper turn
to the finish of the third half mile, the leader sulked a
little, and Brown foolishly gave him a sharp cut with his
whip. Quick as a flash he swerved away from the rail,
and as he did so his feet went from under him and he slid
half way across the track. Comment upon the change
that came over the little circle I had been standing along-
side of is scarcely necessary. Peel commenced to count
his pile to see if he had enough to carry him home.
Douglas started to chew straws and figure up his position,
while Uncle Joe declared it was his usual luck. ''An-
other sure thing gone to blazes." I forget now the name

AND OTHER SKETCHES 101

of the horse that won it, but I remember very well that
about the only parties who benefited by his victory were
the hayseeds who bought him because he was selling
cheap. And that night amongst that brotherhood lager
beer flowed right merrily and they whooped it up from
one end to t'other of little Yarmany.

102 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

PAST AND PEESENT PROVINCE-BRED HORSES

COMPARED.

To hear many of the present lot of Canadian turfmen
talk you'd think the Canadian horses of twenty- five and
thirty years ago were all lobsters that couldn't win a
cheap selling race in these days. Of course those who
talk that way don't know anything about it, because the
majority of them were either wearing bib and tucker or
about sprouting into short pants, but they heard some-
body no wiser than themselves say so and, parrot-like,
they repeat the story.

I can mention a few of the old-time duifers, as they
would call them, that were quite good enough to win a
full share of the money in present-day company. In
those days the tracks were many seconds slower than they
now are and the jockeys were scarcely up to the present
standard. Another thing, horses had to be trained in a
different fashion, owing to the fact that racing was a
much more severe game. There were no five-furlong
dashes then ; an occasional three-quarters ; plenty of mile
heats, two in three and three in five, and two-mile heats,
and this sort of programme demanded that a horse
should have condition as well as speed. No matter how
much of the latter he possessed, if he didn't have the
former, the other wouldn't win for him.

I have seen more than one race in Canada when it took
seven heats of one mile each to decide the winner. There
was no rule then about a horse going to the stable if he
didn't win a heat in two or three, and it was a stubborn
fight to a finish and the survival of the fittest. I wonder
where the majority of our present-day sprinters would
be in one of those old-time gruelling struggles? The
chances are that one such race would knock them out for

AND OTHER SKETCHES 103

a whole season. Memory serves up a few old-time pro-
vincials that would be quite worthy company for the
best of those raised at the present time.

Princess by Princeton — Roxaline, was an extra good
mare as a three-year-old. She campaigned all through
the States and won some splendid races. She scored at
Saratoga, Louisville, Memphis, Dallas, Tex., Gainsville,
Tex., and New Orleans, La. She kept on winning at four,
five and six years of age, and five-eighths in 1.02 and
miles in 1.44 with weight up over the tracks of those
days was quite up to the best efforts of present-day pro-
vincials. Brait, a full brother of hers, was another good
horse. As a three-year-old he won at two miles, and the
next year he beat big fields of good horses, both at Sara-
toga and Brooklyn, N.Y. I saw him race at the Springs
where he defeated an even dozen, carrying the top
weight, 112 pounds, and he won in a canter by six lengths,
three-quarters in 1.16 over a slow track. The Brooklyn
race was seven-eighths, and here again he beat a strong
field in a gallop by three lengths in 1.291/2. The follow-
ing year, as a five-year-old, with 120 i30unds up, he ran
three-quarters in 1.16, defeating such good ones as Bar-
num, 117 pounds; Castilian, 115; Leonora, 113, and sev-
eral others.

At Jerome Park he won at a mile in 1.45, beating a
strong field in a gallop. As a six-year-old he won nine
races. His first victory was at Jerome Park, where he
defeated a good field of high-class horses in such com-
manding style that Billy Lakeland ran him up from his
entered price of $1,200 to $2,800, and secured him. He
next won a high weight handicap at Coney Island, carry-
ing 135 pounds, and running the mile on turf in 1.45.
How many Canadian-bred horses to-day could repeat the
trick on a similar course? This is one more nut for the
modern critics to crack. At Monmouth Park he ran
seven-eighths in 1.28, beating such flyers as Swift, Flageo-
lette, Benedictine, etc. A little later, at Brooklyn, he
carried 124 pounds, the top weight, and beat a field of
nine, including such stars as Tea Tray, Long Dance, Ban

104 CANADIAN TUEF RECOLLECTIONS

Cloche, Wilfred, Tattler, Prose, Rowland, etc., running
the mile in 1.44, winning easily by two lengths. At Wash-
ington he also galloped away from a big field of good
ones, again carrying top weight, and late in the autumn,
down in Georgia, he won four races out of five starts.
When seven years old he won nine races, running all over
the United States, over all sorts of tracks and able to win
in good company. The following year, when nine years
old, he also earned brackets. In fact, he was a high-class
race horse, and any Canadian owner who has as good a
one to-day might smile serenely, satisfied with his chances
at Woodbine.

Disturbance, Jack Vandal, Jack on the Green, Nettie,
Terror and many others could be named, all of whom
would prove worthy the company of present-day province
breds.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 105

A FEW OLD-TIME SPORTSMEN.

Rumaging around the pigeon holes of an old-time desk
in my snuggery I ran across an ancient race bill that
brought recollections both pleasant and sorrowful. Pleas-
ant, as a reminiscence of a jolly night, brimful of enjoy-
ment within the bounds of reason and made memorable
in one's mind by the many good fellows that were pres-
ent; sorrow, tinged through the recollection because so
many that on that night were full of life, hope and
ambition, are to-day sleeping the long sleep that knows
no awakening.

Let us hope that they have gained by the change. I
take no stock in the frenzied doctrine that conjures up
visions of brimstone lakes and unutterable torments as
the future state of those who in this world live not up to
strict puritanical notions. The man who tries to act
fairly and lives a decent life, even though he does toy in
moderation with the wine cup when it is red and believes
in tasting a little of life's joys and pleasures as he passes
through this world, has, in my judgment, as fair a fight-
ing chance in the hereafter as the sanctimonious Ash-
Wednesday-faced chap who goes to church twice every
Sunday, and then on week days seeks to impress on you
a sense of his superior godliness. I admire the genuine
Christian who never obtrudes his goodness, but that other
professional whiner I take no stock in, and I am willing
he should reap all the good to be gained by such an
earthly preparation.

I've wandered off the track, though, and now to the
pleasanter thoughts that recollections of the many good
qualities of the absent ones bring up. There was Jack
Munro, not much given to making friends, but true as
steel and all geniality to those he liked. A man of wide
worldly experience, possessing ample means to live in

106 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

comfort, yet one whose venturesome spirit led him to take
the overland journey to California, one of the Argonauts
of '49. Many a queer, out-of-the-way corner of the world
he explored, and when tired of his roaming, back he came
to the old home. He was one of the brightest scholars of
his day at old Upper Canada College; was in the same
class with the present Edward Blake, and the records
prove that he outranked him in class standing. Jack,
however, hated office work, and was content to play the
role of citizen at large. He was passionately fond of the
thoroughbred, and for many a year was a constant visi-
tor at all the running meetings held in the country. He
was a rare good sort, and his death was deeply regretted
by all who knew him.

Another of the old guard was John Hendrie, big of
frame and equally big of heart, a man who rode at four-
teen stone and went straight as the crow flies. I think I
can see his smiling face now ; a complexion like a girl in
her teens and a voice, when it sounded in the hunting
field, like the notes of a silver bugle; a man game as a
pebble and everyone who knew him was his friend. What
more would you ask as a credential in his favor? He
also is but a memory. A seven-foot mound on the heights
overlooking Burlington Bay marks his last earthly rest-
ing place.

Major Peel, representative of a good old English fam-
ily, a clever, popular fellow, fond of all sorts of sport,
but one of the unluckiest chaps that ever tossed a coin or
bet on the issue of a race. I once heard him declare that
if he wagered six and six made twelve, the other fellow
would be able to prove it was thirteen. He dabbled a
little in the racing game as an owner, h.aving, along with
the Hon. C. I. Douglas, brought Bill Bruce to this coun-
try. A very speedy horse, but an unlucky one. He was
brought over especially to defeat Kelso, then owned by
Archie Fisher and carrying everything before him. They
met at Guelph, and Bruce quit so badly in the race that
it was apparent to everybody that he was ''all off.''
A few hours afterwards it was rumored that he had been

DR. ANDREW SMITH, CHAIRMAN EX. COM. ONTARIO JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 109

"got at," and from information afterwards gained it
appeared that his muzzle had been removed and the horse
had filled himself with hay and oats. What added color
to the story was that a boy who had looked after him
cleared out immediately after the race. The affair so
disgusted Peel and Douglas that they at once sold the
horse to the late John Forbes. In the hands of Charley
Boyle he proved himself a game good performer, but he
soon went lame, and though the patching process was
practiced on him for two or three years, he could not
stand the pressure, though his owner lost thousands of
dollars backing him. The "Major," after taking a "fly"
as the lessee of a theatre, a stock broker, a gentleman
farmer and a travelling passenger agent for a railway,
finally wandered back to England, and is now rusticating
in the neighborhood of his old home.

How many of you are there who remember Clarence
Moberlyl At one time chief engineer of the Northern
Railway and a prince of good fellows. Rather under-
sized in height, but a compact, wiry built one, always in
the pink of condition, with a face clean-cut as a cameo
portrait, ever garbed neat as a new pin from the soles of
his boots to the crown of his head. There was nothing in
the world he was so fond of as racing, and there were but
few meetings but what he attended. He was a liberal
backer of his own opinion, and once set on a horse he
would put his money down with a free hand and his most
intimate friends could not get him to hedge a dollar, no
matter how bilious his chance appeared.

I remember one time at Carlton Park he was in the
"box" over fifteen hundred dollars on War Cry in a
memorable mile and a quarter heat race, and though the
writer urged him to "hedge" after the second heat
proved his horse was amiss, he refused to shift, and next
morning it cost him over $1,600 to settle. Though by no
means burdened with wealth, he came up to the settling
desk with his usual smiling face, and after paying the
pool-seller he handed the Club Secretary $25, the amount
he had some days previously subscribed to the racing

110 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

fund. Though that official declined to accept it, consider-
ing the bad luck of the donor, he insisted on it being
accepted. Some of his Barrie friends once induced him
to buy a trotter and give him to Pat Carney to train. He
paid $300 for the promising proposition, and within
three months he declared the trainer sent him bills for
harness, boots, blankets, shoeing, medicine and other fix-
ings for more money than the nag cost. He concluded as
he didn't own the railroad he was in, or a bank on the
side, the luxury was too costly, and he offered the trainer
to toss a coin with him whether he kept the horse and
paid the bills or t'other side on. Pat declined the risk.
Moberly then settled and gave the horse away. His sud-
den disappearance is to this day an unsolved mystery.
It is said that he was on the ill-fated train that disap-
peared in the terrible Johnstown disaster. It was known
he intended travelling in that direction on that particular
day, but whether he was one of the scores that perished
in that awful flood, has never been revealed, but whatever
his fate, no truer friend, no higher principled gentleman
ever loved the noble sport.

Hon. C. I. Douglas, of Oak Ridges, was then one of the
"regulars," and also one of the best-known horsemen
in Ontario. He bought two hundred acres of land up on
the Ridges, a little east of Yonge street, and as he after-
wards declared, when a strong east wind blew it would
carry twenty acres of his property across the road onto
his neighbor's farm, but the same always came back to
him when the same strong wind came from the west. He
was a warm friend of Anson G. P. Dodge, the son of the
New York millionaire, who bought a big estate up at
Keswick on Lake Simcoe and si)ent a heap of money on
it. Being ambitious to gain a position in the country he
took the oath of allegiance and decided to spend any part
of $50,000 to get elected a Member of the House of Com-
mons. He spent the money and got there. Being anx-
ious to help his friend Dodge, Douglas undertook to can-
vass his immediate neighborhood and put in a few good
words for the Conservative candidate. His opponent was

AND OTHER SKETCHES 111

a local man, a well-known farmer, and as the constitu-
ency had from its earliest history been red-hot Eeform,
the farmer's election was considered certain. Douglas'
nearest neighbor was a canny Scotchman like himself,
and when the former called at his house and asked him
how he was going to vote, "Mac" replied he "hadna quite
made up his mind." "Dodge was a guid liberal man,"
he'd heard, "but then, ye ken, t'other man was a decent
chap also." Douglas warmed up in favor of his friend
Dodge, spoke of his wealth, his great ability and the
enormous interest he had in the country and rather be-
littled the calibre of the farmer who was running against
him. "Mac" listened quietly to the outburst, then sturd-
ily replied :

"Nae doubt, Mr. Douglas, ye ken what ye are saying,
but all the same I'll nae vote for him. I'll gang t'other
way."

]3ouglas, who up to this moment thought he had made a
convert, broke loose with: "Mac, you are a damn'd fool.
You don't know enough to bore a hole in the snow," and
the irate canvasser went straight home, chucked his book
into the fire and decided he wasn't cut out for a political
canvasser. Mr. Douglas finally tired of his northern
sandbank and returned to England. His headquarters
are Liverpool and he occasionally makes a flying trip to
this countrv.

112 CANADIAN TUEF RECOLLECTIONS

THREE-MILE HEATS ON THE DON RACE
COURSE IN 1846.

Once more I travel back to the days of the old timers.
To the days when Messrs. Boulton, Romaine, Gates, Lit-
tlefield and others were in the bloom and prime of life
and never so happy as when making a match or watching
a race. The year 1846 was a red-hot one in this province.
Mr. George Parish, then of Ogdensburg, but later of
Vienna, and while there a prime favorite at the Court of
the Emperor of Austria, came over to Canada with his
stable of thoroughbreds, prepared to give battle to all
who chose to challenge him or accept his offers. Mr.
Parish was deservedly popular with all who had the
pleasure of his acquaintance, and whether on the quarter
stretch or in the salons of fashion, he was alike the courtly
gentleman and accomplished scholar. During his visit
to Toronto, at the time I allude to, he was the guest of
the late Chief Justice Robinson, father of the popular
John Beverly Robinson, afterwards Lieutenant-Governor
of Ontario ; who was himself an enthusiastic admirer and
a warm supporter of all legitimate sports.

One night, over their wine, Mr. Parish, who was never
so happy as when chatting apropos race horses and rac-
ing, offered to match his horse Americus against any
horse in Canada, three mile heats, for one thousand dol-
lars a side. The offer was no sooner made than it was
accepted by Mr. C. E. Romaine, who named Gosport, a
bay stallion, lately brought to Canada by Charley Gates.
The race was to be run on the Don track in four weeks,
and straightway Romaine purchased Gosport from Gates
and entrusted his training to Sage Armstrong, who a few
years later became well known as a trotting horse owner
and driver, both in Canada and the United States.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 113

Mr. Parish's horses were all under the skilful handling
of Shaw, who for many years conducted a noted estab-
lishment on Long Island immediately opposite the famous
Hiram Woodruff's place. The morning after the match
was made a legal gentleman waited upon Mr. Eomaine
with the ''articles," and both principals' names were
attached to them. When it became known that such a
match was made a lively interest was roused and outside
speculation commenced. The betting was pretty even up
to within a day or two of the race, at which time it leaked
out that Americus had been highly tried and found to
answer all expectations, then Parish stock went booming
and soon $100 to $75 was freely offered and as freely
accepted.

The weather for a week before the race was above
reproach and on the eventful day it was as if ordered for
the occasion. For two hours before a steady stream of
Yorkites were pouring in the direction of the Don, and
when the saddling bell sounded, fully five thousand peo-
ple were on the course. The chief notables of the province
were on hand, and many a charming Miss that day sport-
ed the colors of her favorite, and so numerous were the
boxes of gloves wagered on the event that Kay's stock
of kids was exhausted within twenty-four hours after
the judges' decision.

The race itself was memorable for the desperate nature
of the struggle throughout. In neither heat from the
drop of the flag to the finish was there more than a
couple of lengths between them. Entering upon the last
half mile of the first heat Americus was leading by two
lengths. Gosport here accepted the challenge, and after
a terrific struggle round to the home stretch, succeeded
in showing his head in front. Down the straight run it
was a fierce struggle and the excitement of the multitude
was at fever heat. Fifty yards from home Gosport made
a supreme effort and gained the verdict by a scant half
length. The second heat was almost a repetition of the
first. Americus piloted the way for two miles and three-
quarters, when Lewis on Gosport, made his move and

114 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

again a cut and come struggle resulted. Half way down
the stretch Gosport got his head in front and responding
gallantly to his rider's call, came away and won a mag-
nificent race by a clear length, landing a big pot for
Mr. Romaine and his friends.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 115

PAST AND PRESENT RACING.

There are some new-fledged turfmen who pretend to
believe that racing in Canada thirty or forty years ago
was of no account. True, the tracks then were not as fast
as now, neither were their furnishings as liberal, nor the
purses as large in amount as those offered at the present
day, but the charge for admission was small and the
public then, as now, were liberal in their patronage.
Prominent men from distant sections of the country
used to foregather and there was more friendly inter-
course and social enjoyment at those early meetings than
at the present time. In a word, there was more pleasure
and less business, more keen enjoyment of the racing
through enthusiasm for the sport than for the sake of
the money that could be squeezed out of it. Yet when
memory travels back to the date alluded to, I can picture
many a gallant contest, recollections of which stir the
blood even now.

In 1873 Barrie course was in its glory and a goodly
number of dollars were offered in premiums. Their July
meeting that year was a memorable one, it being the
initiatory year of the Canadian Derby, which was won by
Dr. Smith's War Cry, who landed at Barrie after a most
eventful trip from New York. It appears that after the
Doctor bought him, he selected a groom to fetch the
Derby candidate on to Canada, giving him instructions
to follow immediately. The Doctor arrived home, waited
day after day, but no horse came to hand, and though he
kept the wires busy with his messages of enquiry, nothing
could be ascertained from Gotham, except that man and
horse had left there at the time ordered. Finally the
missing pair were found at Albany, it turning out that
the groom had become crazy on the journey and had
taken the horse out of the car at Albany, and had left
him in a livery stable there. When reclaimed by the

116 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

Doctor he liad been standing in a narrow stall for nearly
a week, receiving no further exercise than two trips daily
to the trough at the stable pump.

He only arrived at Barrie the morning of the race, and
when stripped for the contest looked in no shape to win
it; but the quality of the company was such that they
couldn't make the pace fast enough to make him quit,
and despite his being ''all off," he won the Derby by a
length in the slow time of 2.471/2, the distance, one mile
and a half. War Cry afterwards won many good races
on the Canadian turf, but as a sire of speed was not a
success.

The Queen's Plate, at the same meeting, was a capital
race, there being eight candidates for the Blue Eibbon,
and several of them having a string of staunch support-
ers back of them. If I remember aright, honors in the
pool box were about even between Mignonette, Nor-
lander, Groldfinch and Emily, and lots of money depended
on the issue. The race was a slow run one, but it was a
close game throughout, the verdict being secured by Mr.
Pringle's Mignonette, the others finishing as named
above. No sooner was the winner's name announced than
some miserable kicker started a report that the mare was
a foreign bred, and therefore not eligible for the Plate.
So persistently was this story repeated that quite a num-
ber of people began to believe it, and in a few hours it
had so increased by the telling that some were ready to
declare that they knew all about it, that the filly had been
brought over from the States when a yearling, and that
indisputable evidence could be secured at Cobourg to
prove it. Mr. Pringle, the owner of Mignonette, took
just the right course to put a summary stop to such
scandal. He expressed his willingness to make oath to
the eligibilty of his filly, and at the same time wager from
a hundred to a thousand dollars that no man could
prove one word of the story about the filly true. This,
though it did not altogether shut the mouths of the
squealers, was satisfactory to everybody worth satisfy-
ing.

GEO. M. HENDRIE, PRESIDENT WINDSOR RACING ASSOCIATION.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 119

On the day following that on which the Plate was run
there was a very exciting hurdle race between Mitchell,
Jack the Barber and Edenton, the latter, one of the worst
mannered brutes that ever had a saddle on his back. In
the hurdle race alluded to Mitchell was a red-hot favorite.
His victory of the previous day over the same company
made it, with the majority of the bettors, a foregone con-
clusion, but there were a few who paid a little more atten-
tion to the matter of weights, and remembering that the
favorite had a heap of lead up, cast their affection upon
Jack the Barber, another mean tempered one. Jack at
that time was owned by ''Uncle" Joe Grand (green be
his memory), and the writer of these "Eecollections"
remembers well his expressive remark just prior to the
start and after a few ducats had been posted on his
chances as a mutual "spec": "If Jack don't sulk, he'll
break Mitchell's heart the last half mile," and the
prophesy proved true.

The race for a mile and a half was a neck and neck
struggle, each horse lifting together at the jumps. But
once squared on the stretch for the home run, weight, that
great leveller, commenced to tell, and, though Quebec's
representative fought a gallant fight, responding nobly
to every call of his jockey, it was not to be, and Ontario's
champion gained first honors by a length. Great was the
shout that went up from the throats of the people, and
many were the hearty congratulations extended to
"Uncle" Joe. Methinks I can see him now, his jolly face
full of smiles and his cheery voice sounding clear as a
bell as he cracked his jokes and called upon his friends to
join him in a bumper of sparkling Moselle. Those were
pleasant days, let the croakers say what they will. Many
a good man and true went the rounds and enjoyed the
fun and though charges of fraud were frequent, yet I
believe that about nine times out of ten the charges could
not be sustained. It will be many a day before a more
enthusiastic lot of good fellows will follow the fortunes of
the Canadian turf.

120 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

ELEVEN-HEAT RUNNING RACE.

Do not favor me with a smile of incredulity, for I
experienced that once before when, with a party of
friends seated around a table in the Windsor Hotel,
Montreal, I made the statement that I had once witnessed
an eleven-heat running race in Canada.

Three men's hands went immediately to their trouser
pockets to hand me out the historic penny for proposing
to tell such a whopper. I refused the coin, but wagered
them a cold bottle with shell oysters, as an appetizer, if
I could not prove the truthfulness of my declaration.
Each one accepted the bet, and it cost them $25 to settle.
For the benefit of other doubting Thomases, I will give
the particulars here. It was up at Elmira village, in
Waterloo county, in the year of grace 1880, that I saw
the race in question. It was half-mile heats, three in five,
for a purse of $100, and the complete summary follows :

Paladin 531613333*1

Mischief 263534411*3

John Logan 62615214232

King Harper 41534122644

Priscilla 3 0 0 2 6 5 dr.

Ella Walker 7 4 0 0 2 6 dr.

Oscar 8 0 4 4 dr.

Lazy Harry 1 5 2 0 dr.

Time not reported.

I am inclined to think that the above is a record. I
have witnessed many long-drawn out contests, but not
one of them equalled this, and the little German village
of Elmira can lay claim to having had the longest drawn-
out running race in the history of the turf decided on
their track.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 121

MEERY DAY" TIP.

Whew ! but those Montrealers had it served up to them
hot and strong that winter. Certain of the wise citizens
of the Eastern metropolis became acquainted the summer
before at the Bel Air meeting with some horse owners
whose occupation is more of touting than training. After
that meeting closed in August the tipsters kept the wires
busy sending on ' ' sure ' ' things to their Montreal clients.

When the New Orleans meeting started, then the tout-
ing game commenced in earnest, and considering the con-
ditions on which the touts were doing business, viz., put
up nothing and draw half the winnings, it is not surpris-
ing they kept the wires warm with their information. One
of the mo-st persistently touted horses, both that fall and
all winter, had been Dave S. A syndicate had been formed
and the final wind-up of investments on that in-and-outer
was a total loss of over $2,500. Hope again told its flat-
tering tale with others, but the blanks so far outnumbered
the prizes that outsiders wondered the northerners did
not shut down on the southern tipsters.

Just about the time they were getting tired of invest-
ing more money in lobsters they were favored with a
brand new, double-dyed-in-the-wool, thirty-seven-inches-
to-the-yard article that was guaranteed to be more sure
than taxes. Aurora never gilded the sky with more bril-
liant promise than the New Orleans confederacy pictured
the absolute certainty of their latest triple-riveted, besse-
mer steel, armor-plated, double-turreted certainty. No
anarchist leader was ever sworn to more inviolable sec-
recy than the Montreal chosen ones — these, about six in
number — who were warned to get ready for the most san-
guinary slaughter of the whole winter season. A tele-
graph code, as secret as the grave, was in use, and day
by day the Montrealers waited for the fateful news that

122 CANADIAN TUEF RECOLLECTIONS

was to hand over to them the pool-room keepers of the
East, to be shorn as close as any sheep that ever left the
shearer's hands.

The chosen six were obligated to bet a large amount
and cut the winnings in half, sharing with the New
Orleans party, and large though the sum was that was
to be invested, it was on hand ready for instant use as
soon as the signal came to cut loose. That signal came
on a Thursday morning to be ready to play a certain
horse in the sixth race on Friday. With the silent
alacrity of the historic Arab of the desert, the chosen six
disappeared from their usual haunts ; it was as if a great
hole had suddenly opened up and they had dropped in.
With the subtle instinct of a Hawkshaw one or two of
them started from suburban stations fearful that the keen
scent of some suspicious one would unearth their little
game. Friday noon saw them ready primed for their
deadly work at Albany, New York and Buffalo, one old
reliable being left in Montreal to attend to the local shop.
Whether that old reliable leaked, or whether one of the
six conspirators, before leaving whispered the secret to
Tom and he had bleated to Jack and the latter dropped
it to Dick, deponent knoweth not, but sure it was that on
Friday morning mysterious hints were dropped by wise
men and other cunning ones passed it round to their
chosen chums, and in the local pool room there was a hum
of suppressed excitement all afternoon.

At last when the odds went up on the sixth race, one
would have thought a bunch of Texan steers had broken
loose, the way they jumped to the front, fearful that
something might happen to prevent their hands getting
into the jam pot. Men who usually wager a couple of
dollars were betting twenties, and the fellows who occa-
sionally loosen up and gamble five each way, were throw-
ing in fifties and hundreds and every mother's son of
them was down on Merry Day. So here was the long-
prepared, anxiously-expected slick one revealed at last.
Curly Brown's skilful hands were said to have put the
last finishing bloom on the peach. The horse had been

AND OTHEB SKETCHES 123

trained to the hour, and was to be delivered cherry ripe
at the post. The local pool rooms never gave more than
4 to 1 and at this price they were peppered so vigorously
that they soon cut to 2 to 1 and finally 8 to 5, and even at
these shrunken odds quite a pile of money was bet. When
"they're off" sounded through the room there was a
stillness almost solemn in its intensity. It was so dense
for a few seconds that one felt he could cut it into pieces,
and when the caller-off said: "Percita first, Merry Day
second," the wise men were shaking hands with them-
selves, and when the next call came that Merry Day was
second in the stretch, only a neck behind the leader,
there was an audible chuckle all over the room, which sud-
denly changed to a sort of frozen smile on the face when
the words rang out from the operator : * ' Command wins
by a head. Merry Day second." Another sure thing gone
wrong.

124 CANADIAlSr TURF RECOLLECTIONS

NETTIE'S TRIUMPH AT LONDON.

The day that Nettie downed Belle Mahone on the New-
market race course, London, I was there, and the boys'
wigs lay thicker on the green than on the day after the
big fair at Ballinafad. Who got scorched? Why, all the
knowing ones, of course. In a word, a few plotters had
it worked down to a fine point. Quimby, the pool-seller,
with a couple of able assistants, had dropped Belle
Mahone in quietly from Michigan, and so sure was the
trick that the cunning ones just went around begging the
unsophisticated to accept long odds on the result. In
the reading room of the Tecumseh House over night a
large gathering of turfites had surrounded the pool seller.
Representatives from many sections of the province were
on hand: Hon. C. I. Douglas, Major Peel, Jack Munro,
C. E. Romaine, Joseph Grand, Mr. Cash, Mr. Bookless
and a strong delegation from Hamilton, with many others
that memory fails to chronicle just at the moment.

From the opening of the box at 8 p.m., to the drop of
its lid at half-past ten, a lively business was done, and
from first to last Belle Mahone was a red-hot favorite.
The average run of the tickets was Belle, $30 to $40;
Mohawk, $15 to $20; Nettie, $3 to $5, and at those low
figures the province-bred was slow of sale as ice cream
on a January morn. ''Who'll take the old slave at three
dollars'?" was Quimby 's incessant appeal to his cus-
tomers, and it was mighty hard work to get anybody to
respond. ''Yes, Nettie may win if Belle and Mohawk
both fall down," said a prominent horseman to the
writer, who had expressed a high opinion of the superb
condition in which Dick Leary had brought the old mare.
Such was the opinion of everybody who had a thought to
express about the race. Belle Mahone had been cam-
paigning with great success through the Western States

AND OTHER SKETCHES 125

and Mohawk was just then thought by his owner, John
Forbes, to be good enough to run against any man's
horse. Old Nettie was looked upon as out of the count,
a good mare though she had proved herself in a score
of hard fought fights ; she was considered outclassed and
the most enthusiastic backer of the White stable couldn't
pluck up nerve enough to do more than take one or at
most a couple of the three-dollar snaps. The day of the
race was as fine as one could wish for, and a large crowd
of people gathered to witness the sport. Prior to the
start of the big race, which was a dash of two miles, pool-
selling was continued with great vim, the Quimby com-
bination sticking to Belle and the Forbes contingent pil-
ing it upon Mohawk.

As the horses cantered past the judges' stand in a pre-
liminary pipe opener, neither of the two favorites filled
the eye equal to the daughter of Kennet. Leary had
eased her up for a week or so after her early summer
campaign, and certainly she looked and acted fit to run
for a man's life. With the sheen of satin on her coat
and an eye bright as a hawk, many a one familiar with
the gameness of the pride of Halton regretted they had
not taken a few of the cheap ones that had all along been
going a-begging. The veteran Leary was in the saddle,
and his old head was worth seven pounds any day against
boys, especially in a two-mile dash. There was very little
time wasted on the start. At the second attempt the flag
was lowered with the favorite on the lead, Mohawk in
second position and the Canadian trailing three lengths
behind. To the half mile these positions were unchanged,
then Mohawk moved up a little closer, the jocks on both
the leaders watching each other with jealous eye, appar-
ently caring nothing for the trailer on their path.

Past the judges' stand on the first mile Mahone had a
length to the good, Mohawk following, and Nettie still
three lengths behind ; round the quarter Mohawk respond-
ed to a call and closed upon the leader ; a sharp skirmish
took place to the half mile, resulting in the mare still
having a half length the best of the argument. But now

126 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

a new interest made itself felt. Leary, who all along had
exhibited rare patience watching his leaders fighting one
another, saw the critical moment had arrived, and, call-
ing upon the ' ' old slave, ' ' raced up to the favorites, went
by them as if they were anchored and at the three-quarter
pole had a lead of three open lengths.

The race home was a cut and come struggle between
Mohawk and Belle Mahone ; both were dead beat. Nettie,
on the other hand, was fresh as paint, and raced home a
winner of the dash with six lengths to spare, which could
have been increased to twelve if Leary had wished to
make an exhibition of the foreigners. The drop was a
heavy one, the followers, both of Belle and Mohawk, were
clean scooped, and the night train took away many a sore
head that had swooped down on the pool box over night,
thinking he had but to stoop to pick it all up.

HUGH PATON, DIRECTOR MONTREAL JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHEK SKETCHES 129

FORTY AND FIFTY YEAES AGO.

Every now and then I hear some of the young chaps
grow rapturous about the wonderful progress the run-
ning turf has made in Ontario, and cite the Ontario
Jockey Club meetings as proof of it. Now I quite agree
with them so far as the big Toronto meeting is concerned.
It is an improvement over any of the old-time meetings.

Nearly forty years ago the Whitby Club used to give
some rattling good meetings, and purses of $400 were no
uncommon prize. Now grass grows over its track and
the footfall of the thoroughbred hasn't been heard there
for years. Hamilton in those days used to hang up thou-
sands of dollars, and prominent men used to gather
from all over the province ; contests as keenly contested
as any run nowadays were then witnessed, but for a long
time the glory departed from there also, and it is only
within a few years that the Hamilton Jockey Club has
again popularized the silks and satins of the turf in the
Ambitious City.

London was another popular centre, and on the old
Newmarket track there was many a gallant contest in ye
olden days, and good men and true gathered from all
over to take the odds or lay them as their fancy decided.
And what a jolly crew used to report the night before the
opening day of the meeting at the Tecumseth House, the
headquarters of the tribe. Business men, professional
men and gentlemen of leisure would be there, all bound
for the races and all bound for a good time, but all in cor-
rect form as became gentlemen who had a proper respect
for themselves. Then again, down in the old Limestone
City, on the old Cataraqui track, there were many good
races and province-breds who could hold their own with
the best of the present day, struggled through two-mile
heats, and those terrible killers, mile heats, three in five.

130 CANADIAlSr TURF RECOLLECTIONS

No man but a latter day crank can deny that there were
some rattling good performers then. Memory serves up
such good ones as Augusta, Allendale, Brown Dick, Mont-
calm, Verge, Julia Adams, Newcastle Maid, Twilight,
Jack the Barber, Kenneth, Thunder, Harper, Tommy
Wonder, Clarion, Blanche, Marksman, Don Juan, Wil-
liam Ashley, Nannie Craddock, Zig Zag, and a little later
on Sir Archibald, King Tom, Lord Byron, Vespucius,
Judge Durell, Vandal, War Cry, Carleton, Edenton, The
Moor, Viley, Kelso, Jim Connor, Bonny Braes, Jack
Bell, Jack on the Green, Milesian, Duffy and lots more
that I can't recall to mind just at the moment, and those
were the days when long distance racing was more the
rule than the exception, and a meeting without mile heats
was booked a dull affair, and many a gallant three-mile
heat race in those days proved the stubborn gameness of
the performers.

How many horses do you suppose, owned in Canada
to-day could have stayed the trip with Verge, Julia
Adams, Jack the Barber and William Ashley in their
great three-mile heat race at Whitby, in June, 1862 1 The
first heat was won by the mare in 5.411/2. The second and
third by Verge in 5.34 and 5.381^, and weight for age was
the impost. The day before on the same track, Julia
Adams won a two-mile heat race in 3.38 and 3.41 ; Verge
being beaten a length in the final heat and a scant neck in
the second. The year after, also at the county town of
Ontario, Thunder, with 122 pounds up, won a two-mile
heat race in 3.421/^ and 3.3814, Harper being lapped on
him in both heats. Three and four thousand people used
to turn out in those days, and though bookmakers were a
betting medium unknown, yet a goodly quantity of dollars
used to be wagered, and lots of prominent men of the
community were not ashamed to be seen backing their
fancy.

AN ANCIENT QUEEN ^S PLATE.

I have heard it claimed a hundred times that no
Queen's Plate was ever run in Canada before 1860, but
the following, published some time ago by the Oobourg

AND OTHER SKETCHES 131

Star, is a fac simile of the bill issued by the Newcastle
Turf Club in 1841 :

''Newcastle Turf Club, June, 1841.

''President — D'Arcy Boulton, Esq.

" Stewards— The Sheriff of the Newcastle District,
Geo. S. Boultbee, Esq., Donald Bethune, Esq., John Craw-
ford, Esq., J. S. Innes, Esq., Wm. Weller, Esq., H. Cov-
ert, Esq.

"Treasurer — ^Wm. Weller, Esq.

"First Day, Tuesday, 22nd June — The Cobourg Plate
of £100, free for all horses. Heats, two miles and a dis-
tance. Two-year-olds, a feather, three-year-olds to carry
6 St. 6 lbs. ; four, 7 st. 9 lbs. ; five, 8 st. 4 lbs. ; six, 8 st. 10
lbs. ; and aged, 9 st. Horses bred in British North Amer-
ica, allowed 8 lbs. The winner to be sold for £200, if
demanded within one-quarter of an hour after the race.
Entrance, £5.

"The Queen's Plate of £25, for horses (the bona fide
property of subjects of Her Majesty two months before
the day of running) . Three-year-olds to carry 9 st. 3 lbs. ;
four, 10 st. 7 lbs. ; five, 11 st. 3 lbs. ; six and aged, 11 st. 7
lbs. Heats, one mile and a distance. Gentlemen riders.
Entrance, £5.

"A. G. Allan, Secretary."

A glance at the above shows the Cobourg Plate in those
days was worth a hundred sterling, equal to $500 Cana-
dian currency. In fact, I saw $600 purses hung up in
Toronto thirty-eight years ago. It will always be a de-
batable point that will be stoutly defended on both sides,
whether we have made much improvement in breeding
the thoroughbred in Ontario. Remember, that the pres-
ent going at Woodbine is infinitely faster than the tracks
at London, Hamilton, Whitby and Kingston were, and
I'm not altogether certain in my mind, but that Nettie,
Jack Vandal, Bay Jack, Terror, Jack Bell and such could
hold their own with the present race of provincials.

Of course we hear a great deal about the naughty do-
ings in those days, but page for page the record then was
just as clean as it is now. "White man is mighty uncer-

132 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

tain," according to Indian logic, and those who race
horses now are no improvement on those of twenty or
thirty years ago. Crooked men will try and get in their
dirty work and occasionally they succeed in getting away
with the trick. So long as grass grows and water runs
these jobs will be attempted, and the turfmen of to-day
cannot successfully throw stones at their predecessors
on the Canadian turf of thirty-five years, at least, that is
my opinion.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 133

A NOTABLE MILE HEATS RACE, THREE IN FIVE.

** Remember that disastrous coup?" ''Well, I should
head. Old heads commenced to shake and prophesy that
old fellow, that day as hummers in a MuLtner swamp in
the month of June." Such was the exclamation of an
old-time turf friend when talking over the great mile heat
race, three in five, that took place at Hamilton many
years ago. It was a Waterloo, and no mistake. Jack on
the Green, Bay Jack and Rathowen were in it, but in the
opinion of the knowing ones it was a Gordon Setter
against a yellow cur that Jack on the Green would land
the trick. Archie Fisher was handling the favorite, and
weU I remember the confident manner in which Archie
and his friends stood round the box over night in the
Royal Hotel and backed their fancy. Jack on the Green,
$50 ; Bay Jack, $25 ; Rathowen, $5, and the field $4, was
about the average, and at these figures much money was
placed.

Next day a goodly crowd gathered at the course, for
those were the days when the gentry of Hamilton came
to the front, and speculated a little in the pool-box them-
selves. The betting of the preceding evening was con-
tinued at about the same rate, and a heavy business was
done. The first heat was a stubborn struggle from end to
end, each horse in the race taking a turn at the favorite,
but the latter managed to shake them off and landed the
first instalment by a clear length. The apparent ease with
which the favorite had won the heat made him a still
hotter choice, and the backers of the stable, not content
with what they already had on, plunged still heavier, evi-
dently thinking they were finding it. In the second heat
the favorite was well away, and rounding the turn got
clear of his company, looking at that stage as if he easily
had the foot of the party, but turning into the back

134 CANADIAN TUKF RECOLLECTIONS

stretch Bay Jack moved up and gave the leader a head
and head struggle to the three-quarter pole. Here the
London crack fell back, and Eathowen, coming with a
rush, gave the favorite no let up. Down the home stretch
the pace was hot, whips were cracking and a thousand
voices added to the excitement of the finish. "Jack has
it ! " " No, Eathowen has him ! ' ' sounded from hundreds
of throats. At the old draw-gates, Billy Flint, on Eatho-
wen, makes still another effort and gets his horse's head
to the front, but Jack responds to the call, and half way
to the stand is again head and head. Once more Eatho-
wen lets out a link, and a responding effort is made by
the favorite, but the killing pace he has been kept at from
the start with a fresh horse ready at every stage to take
up the running had its effect, and in the last two jumps
Eathowen forged to the front and gains the verdict by a
head. Old heads commenced to shake and prophecy that
the favorite 's bolt was shot, but many others loyally stuck
to their colors and some even dipped in at the reduced
rate and got on a little more. The third heat was almost
a repetition of the second. Eathowen made the running
the first quarter, then Bay Jack set the pace for the next
half, when Eathowen again came up for the finish. The
run home was another desperate struggle, whip and spur
being freely used and Eathowen again gaining the verdict
by a scant head. Now a rush is made for the box, and
fifty voices are shouting in the desperate attempts to get
on. "Eathowen," "Eathowen," is the reigning cry, and
soon the odds are on him, $50 against $20 on the field.
Soon the jockeys are mounted for the third heat, backers
of Fisher's stable in the meantime being busy figuring up
their books, and counting how much they had saved from
the wreck through the medium of their investments on
Eathowen.

At the drop of the flag the latter jumped off with the
lead, Jack on the Green laying at his side. This position
was unchanged to the three-quarter pole, the two leaders
being fully four open lengths ahead of Bay Jack. At this
stage it looked as if the old struggle was to be renewed

AND OTHER SKETCHES 135

between the past and present favorite, but to the amaze-
ment of everybody, no sooner were the leaders fairly
squared for home than Bay Jack made his run, coming
up like a bullet. Down the stretch they come, a trio
linked head and head. Once more whip and spur are
brought into requisition and all the arts practised to gain
a point. At the draw-gates Rathowen has a head the best
of it, but half way from there Bay Jack makes another
effort, and the salvos of ''Hip, hip, hurrah," pronounce
that the rank outsider has caught the judge's eye first.
Once more the pool-seller's voice is heard, and again an
excited crowd throngs the stand. Those who started in
on the first favorite, and afterwards played Rathowen
for a saver, are clamorous for a chance to hedge again,
and soon Bay Jack rules at $50 to $20 over the party.
The fifth heat was a grand struggle between the latest
favorite and Rathowen, and I still incline to the belief
that if Flint had shown a little more patience on Rath-
owen he would have won the heat ; but he made his run too
soon, and his horse, dying away at the draw-gate, was
caught by the Londoner and beaten out by half a length.
The sixth heat was an easy victory for Bay Jack, whose
rest up in the first three heats now told hugely in his
favor, and though a gallant effort was made by his com-
pany the little bay stallion shook them off and landed the
richest harvest of the season for his backers.

136 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A NOTED OWNER AND BREEDER OF
THOROUGHBREDS.

Mr. Joseph E. Seagram, President of the Ontario
Jockey Club, and who for many years was the Parlia-
mentary representative of North Waterloo in the House
of Commons, is one of the best known men in the Domin-
ion. Not only have the brands sent out from his distillery
at Waterloo, Ont., made his name familiar from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, but he is equally well known as a
turfman and breeder of thoroughbreds. He has won the
Queen's Plate ten times, and since the accession of His
Majesty King Edward to the throne, he has landed the
coveted honor three times. Some idea of the extent of
his turf operations may be judged from the fact that he
generally has at his Waterloo breeding farm about one
hundred head of thoroughbreds and his string in train-
ing each spring, before the weeding-out process has been
started, generally numbers about forty head. All the
big stakes on the Canadian running turf have at different
times been won by his horses, and many important events
across the border have also been credited to his colors.
For over twenty years he has spent money lavishly im-
porting choice blood, both from England and the United
States, and though, perhaps, the returns were not always
up to what even reasonable expectations might look for,
still there was no slacking off in the efforts to secure
success.

Outside of the racing reputation gained by his stable,
Mr. Seagram's work as a breeder of thoroughbreds has
been of inestimable value to the country at large. The
sales by public auction each year of his surplus stock
has scattered broadcast over Canada hundreds of well-
bred animals within the past fifteen years, and these were

AND OTHER SKETCHES 137

sold at prices at which any farmer could afford to pur-
chase. The brood mares which did not produce speed at
the Waterloo stud were, of course, failures from a racing
point of view, but their blood has greatly enriched the
equine stock of Ontario especially, and scores of instances
are on record where the produce of these mares by ordin-
ary sires have secured the highest honors of the show
ring. It is also a noteworthy fact that many horses sold
by Mr. Seagram at these public sales have proved suc-
cessful race horses, in many instances winning from
high priced animals belonging to their former owner. It
is quite natural for people to say that an owner would
not likely sell the pick of his horses, but might be expect-
ed to weed them out and dispose only of those which he
thought were of the least value as racing property. That
argument is all very well in theory, but it does not work
out in practice. Where a trainer has thirty-five or forty
horses to work it is not possible for him to give the same
attention to the working of each which he would do if
his attention was directed to the management of a much
smaller number. Hence, horses have been sold out of
the Waterloo stable at low prices that have won scores of
races both on the Canadian and American turf. It is
scarcely necessary to add that Mr. Seagram's colors, the
famous black and yellow, are highly popular with the
race-going public. That portion of it who back their
fancy know they will have a run for their money and it
is this public confidence that adds so much to their
popularity.

Mr. Seagram, as President of the Ontario Jockey Club,
is also an honorary member of the English Jockey Club,
the most exclusive organization of its kind in the world,
one which includes in its membership not only many of
the most distinguished citizens of the Empire, but also a
liberal number of the most notable men in Europe.

138 CANADIAN TUBF RECOLLECTIONS

THE LATE WILLIAM HENDRIE.

* * He was a man ; take him for all in all, I shall not
Look upon His Like Again. ' '

— Shakespeare.

To my mind these Recollections would scarcely be com-
plete if I omitted mentioning the name of one who for
so many years was a central figure on the Canadian run-
ning turf ; one who by his high example elevated the sport
in the estimation of the people.

It has been my sorrowful duty on many occasions to
note the death of men prominent in politics, in the pro-
fessions, in mercantile, manufacturing and social life,
but I never experienced keener regret than on the occa-
sion of announcing the death of William Hendrie, in July,
1906.

He was a prominent contractor, and as the originator
of the railway cartage business in Canada, displayed exe-
cutive ability of the highest order — simplifying and sys-
tematizing what was before unsatisfactory and unsafe —
supplementing it by a rapid, safe and economical delivery
of railway freight to consignees. The originator and
director of many extensive business enterprises, he was
justly entitled to rank one of Canada's greatest captains
of industry.

Separate, however, from all his vast commercial un-
dertakings, it is in a different capacity that he is better
known to the Canadian people. As President of the
Ontario Jockey Club and an honorary member of the
English Jockey Club, he was par excellence our repre-
sentative turfman. No man in the history of the royal
sport ever raced, whether on the heath at Newmarket,
at historic Epsom Downs, or at Ascot, who was a more
thorough sportsman. His love of the thoroughbred was
next to his love for his family. No sordid considerations

THE LATE WM. HENDRIE.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 141

of pecuniary gain ever entered into his calculations in
connection with his turf career.

No happier hours of relaxation were passed by him
than when wandering through the fields of his Valley
Farm, watching the thoroughbreds, which, young and
old, roamed its pastures. It may be that in the estima-
tion of eminently practical-minded owners, who are in a
big majority on the American turf, Mr. Hendrie's suc-
cesses were not, from a dollar and cent view, proportion-
ate to the outlay, but to one of his lofty ideals in all
matters connected with racing, the question of profit
never engaged his attention. Like all owners, he was
fond of winning, but there never was an owner of race
horses in any land who could lose with better grace or
with more genuine warmth of feeling congratulate the
owner who defeated him.

He never bet on his horses, not even the smallest sum.
To him the pleasure of winning was all-satisfying and
that satisfaction was intensified tenfold if the winner was
one of his own breeding. I remember a few years ago a
young turfman, whose horse had just been defeated by
Mr. Hendrie's, turning to him, and with considerable
warmth of feeling declaring he was willing to run the race
over again in one hour's time and wager him one thou-
sand dollars that he could beat him. Mr. Hendrie's reply
came both prompt and decisive, but in courteous tones,
he informed the would-be bettor: "I hope I am a sports-
man, not a gambler." It was short, sharp and to the
point, and it thoroughly bespoke the character of the man
who uttered it.

Another striking illustration of his high quality as a
sportsman is furnished by the following incident. A few
days after his horse, Martimas, had won the Futurity of
1898, the greatest two-year-old event on the American
turf, he devoted a large proportion of the money thus
received to the construction of a wing to the Hamilton
Hospital, which is now called Martimas Annex. A few
days after his splendid colt had landed the great race, he
also won the Flatbush Stakes, but was disqualified for an

142 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

alleged foul. After giving their decision one of the stew-
ards approached Mr. Hendrie and expressed regret that
they felt forced, under the circumstances, to set back the
horse of so genuine a sportsman. His reply was worthy
of himself. Bowing to the steward in question, he calmly
replied: ''The money lost is of no consideration what-
ever. I am thoroughly satisfied, because my colt has
proved himself the best."

His personal appearance was worthy his splendid
qualities. Standing over six feet, straight as an arrow,
even up to his later years ; his broad shoulders crowned
by a head of magnificent proportions ; a handsome face,
full of character and one that responded with a sunny
smile to any remark that pleased his fancy; clean of
speech, and one of the pleasantest of companions. A
man of great wealth, every dollar of which was gained
by the force of his own genius, illustrated by indomitable
energy and unswerving integrity; a self-made man in
every sense of the word, but, thank God, not one of those
who are always worshipping his maker — namely, himself.

To those who have visited ''Holmstead" it is scarcely
necessary to speak of that princely hospitality which
spread his fame as host far and wide. No lord of the
manor, castle, or baronial hall ever welcomed his guests
with a greater charm of manner and becoming dignity
than the deceased sportsman. His words of welcome be-
tokened the warmth of his feelings and his departing
guests, as they felt the firm grasp of his hand, knew their
host would be delighted to see them again.

The name of William Hendrie is now but a recollection
but for long years to come it will remain green in the
memory of those who had the honor of his acquaintance,
and no matter how brilliant the future development of
the Canadian turf may be, it will never count amongst
its rulers or supporters a grander character than that of
William Hendrie, the late President of the Ontario Jockey
Club. A man of the loftiest character, of generous im-
pulses, he was one of nature's truest noblemen.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 143

He had a strong regard for all branches of legitimate
sport, but he had an almost passionate love for the thor-
oughbred and the sports of the turf. No honor was ever
more worthily deserved than his selection as an honorary
member of the English Jockey Club. Its members include
some of the greatest and most historic names of the
Empire. The following are a few of them :

Arthur James, Col. W. Baird, Stewards. His Majesty
King Edward VII., H. R. H. Prince of Wales, H. R. H.
Duke of Connaught, H. R. H. Prince Christian, His
Majesty King of the Belgians, His Imperial Highness the
Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia, His Highness the 'Khe-
dive of Egypt, Duke of Devonshire, Viscount Donne,
Earl of Dunraven, Earl of Durham, Earl of Ellesmere,
Viscount Falmouth, Captain Greer, Sir Frederick John-
stone, Bart., Earl of Rosebery, Duke of Westminster,
Duke of Portland, Duke of Richmond and Gordon, Mar-
quis of Zetland.

Yet illustrious as is the record of names we have
quoted, in conferring the honor of membership upon
William Hendrie, they did honor to themselves, and had
his life been spared to meet his fellow-members of the
most exclusive organization in the world, he would have
proved worthy company for the noblest sportsman among
them.

144 CANADIAN TUEF RECOLLECTIONS

A WELCOME ADDITION.

The addition of such a name as that of Sir Thomas G.
Shaughnessy, K.C.V.O., President of the Canadian
Pacific Eailway, to the list of Canadian owners of thor-
oughbreds is an event worthy of record in these pages.
Men of great influence and some of them bearing names
of historic interest in Great Britain, are owners of racing
stables, and the prestige of their social standing and influ-
ence is a mighty factor in upholding the prosperity of the
English turf. The King of England is the representative
turfman of the Empire, and certainly his example has had
an all-powerful influence for good in the management of
turf affairs across the sea. The English Jockey Club is
the most exclusive organization in Europe, and its roll of
members, as alluded to elsewhere, includes the names of
many men of world-wide reputation.

Here in Canada, where the field is so limited, we doubly
welcome the addition of one whose name is known and
honored from one end of the Dominion to the other. Sir
Thomas Shaughnessy, by the force of his own genius, is
to-day a central figure in the history of Canada and if his
accomplishments in the next ten years are at all com-
mensurate with his past performances, then indeed will
he stand forth one of the most conspicuous figures in our
national history.

His debut as an owner was made at the Montreal
Jockey Club meeting in 1908, and it is an open secret
amongst his friends that his appearance as an owner was
due to his desire to support the Club, of which his friend,
Sir Montagu Allan, is President, and the fact that his
colors have many times been first past the post is emi-
nently satisfactory to his admirers. It could not be
expected that one, upon whose shoulders such great in-
terests rest, could give his personal attention to a racing

AND OTHER SKETCHES 145

stable, but his name as an owner upon a Club's racing
programme is a powerful assistant in popularizing the
running turf in this country.

No feudal Baron in ye ancient days wielded more
power than a modern railway magnate whose word, as
in the case of the President of our great national high-
way, is law to thousands of employees ; a slight idea can
therefore be formed of his far-reaching influence which
extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. Such a
citizen is therefore a powerful addition to the Canadian
list of owners, and that the success of his colors may be
equal to the popularity of their owner, will be the earnest
wish of every lover of our national sport.

146 CANADIAN" TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A WELL-KNOWN AND POPULAR TURFMAN.

The name of Dr. Andrew Smith of this city appears
frequently in these "Eecollections." He has for nearly
half a century been a conspicuous figure in connection
with turf affairs in this country. As an owner he was
represented by many good horses, such flyers as War Cry,
Inspiration, Helen Bennett, Lady D'Arcy, etc., etc., at
different times wore his colors, and it is scarcely neces-
sary to add that the latter were always a favorite with
the race-going public. Not only as an owner, but also
as a racing official, the Doctor has for many years been
a central figure. As Chairman of the Executive Com-
mittee of the Ontario Jockey Club, he has for many years
given both time and energy to the discharge of his duties
and his unselfish services have had much to do in build-
ing up the present prosperity of our premier racing asso-
ciation.

He was principal of the Ontario Veterinary College for
over forty years, and enjoys a national reputation as a
veterinarian. He is a member of the Royal College of
Veterinary Surgeons, and his scientific attainments and
clever management of the College, not only made it
known all over the American continent, but attracted to
it students from every State in the United States, from
every part of the Dominion of Canada; also from Eng-
land, Scotland and Ireland.

He was Master of the Toronto Hunt Club from 1883
to 1894, and during his occupancy of that position the
Club increased both in numbers and prosperity.

A noteworthy trip of Toronto turfmen was one in 1870
when Robert Bond and Dr. Smith got together a party of
twenty to go down to the Whitby races. The first named
acted as whip of a rattling good four-in-hand, and a better

AND OTHER SKETCHES 147

performer in that line never sat on a box. It was a pleas-
ant party, every one of the company being personal
friends of the kind able to enjoy themselves without go-
ing to extremes. Favored by splendid weather, the drive
down the Kingston Koad was thoroughly enjoyed and the
coach drove up to the Robson House with a splendid
Jacksonian rush that fairly startled the crowd of Whit-
byites assembled to welcome the visitors. Of the twenty
who made that trip, only five of us are alive. The balance
have weighed in. Green be their memory.

Though advanced in years the Doctor is a hale and
hearty man. He still makes an annual journey to Eng-
land, and while there attends a few of its great race
meetings. No citizen of Toronto enjoys a more wide-
spread popularity, and to quote the words of one who
graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College more
than twenty years ago, ''He is a grand old man, whom
everyone who knows delights to honor."

148 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

SIE H. MONTAGU ALLAN, PEESIDENT, MONT-
EEAL JOCKEY CLUB.

The Montreal Jockey Club were fortunate in being able
to induce Sir H. Montagu Allan to accept the Presidency
of their Club. His social standing, added to his personal
popularity, had a great deal to do in establishing the
Club in public favor. Although never prominent as an
owner of race horses, he has occasionally owned a few
good thoroughbreds and won races on the provincial turf.
He also has to his credit several good cross country
events, including the Hunt Cup in 1893. He lately pur-
chased several fashionably-bred brood mares in foal to
noted sires, thus setting a good example that other men
of wealth in Quebec might follow with much advantage to
the Province. He was Master of the Montreal Hunt
Club for three years. He is a bold, fearless rider, though
not a reckless one, and is to-day, when he can spare the
time to indulge in the sport, a rider invariably in the
first flight. He is Vice-President of the Allan Line of
ocean steamers, President of the Merchants' Bank of
Canada, and also of several extensive industrial institu-
tions. He is also Honorary President of the Montreal
Amateur Athletic Association, which is the most influ-
ential organization of its kind in the Dominion. He is
a staunch supporter of every branch of legitimate sport.
His name is familiar to every business man in Canada
as that of one who has wielded a powerful influence in
developing the trade and commerce of the Dominion.

At Eavenscraig, his splendid estate in Montreal, he dis-
penses a generous hospitality.

R. J. CHRISTIE, DIRECTOR ONTARIO JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 151

DO YOU CAEEY A RABBIT'S FOOT?

A rabbit's foot for luck, is a solidly grounded belief
in the minds of tens of thousands of the dark-hued sons
and daughters of Africa, and many thousands also of
their white brethren. Out in Arkansas you can buy
them in all sizes; some mounted in silver, others of the
baby variety, to be worn as a charm on the watch chain.
If you wish to know full particulars of just how powerful
a charm they are and the luck they bring to the wearer,
just back up alongside of an aged Ethiopian, as I did
once out in Little Rock, Arkansas, and get him started
on what is, with so many of them, a favorite subject.
This old coon was particular in impressing upon me what
he pronounced "the important consideration," namely,
You must start on the hunt precisely at midnight and the
moon must be at its full. Your hunting ground must be
in the cemetery, no dark clouds may obscure Luna's fair
face, but her ghostly radiance must lighten up the tomb-
stones and a slanting ray or so strike the church edifice.
You must be armed only with a single-barreled shot-gun.
The charge must be slugs cut by a jack-knife from a round
stick of pig lead. Three of these slugs must have a cross
marked on them. Your gun ready, you sit crosswise over
the grave of a colored person who died at an age not less
than three score years and ten. There you must sit and
wait patiently the appearance of a jack rabbit. If he
fails to make his appearance one night, you must continue
your nightly hunt, when the weather is propitious, until
the hour arrives when you have secured your game.
Once this is done you cut off the four feet, then bury the
body at the nearest crossroad. You must talk to nobody
on your way to the graveyard, and you must be equally
mum on the return with your spoils.

152 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

Such was the assurance given me by the white, wooly-
headed coon of Arkansaw, and so thoroughly grounded
was his faith in this potent charm that it would have been
cruelty of the most refined character to have made the
slightest effort to uproot the faith that was in him. A
friend of mine who accompanied me on the trip, became
inoculated with faith in the yarn, and the following
spring at the Woodbine races, armed with his rabbit's
foot, he proceeded to make Fis selections. He made four
bets on the opening day, five on the second day and did
not cash a single ticket. Mad as a wet hen at the result
of his faith in the negro legend, he threw away bunny's
pedal extremity. It was picked up by one of his friends,
who carelessly put it in his vest pocket, more for the
novelty of the article than for any faith in the charm it
was said to possess. The next day he made three bets
and won them all. The following day he wagered four
times and won each time. And the third day the original
owner, regretting his hasty temper, was around town
hunting up the friend that had had such marvellous luck
with the rabbit's foot.

Its succeeding history remains to be told, although I
have heard it whispered that a charming young society
lady of Toronto afterwards carried it concealed in a
place the whereabouts of which was not likely to be known
to any but her waiting maid.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 153

JONATHAN SCOTT'S 400 TO 1 SHOT.

Old Jonathan Scott died in the General Hospital in
this city about three years ago. Well, the end must come
to all of us, and the man who has swung around the circle
for nigh on to eighty years may expect that he is coming
near to the end of his career. Did I say eighty years in
connection with old Jonathan 1 Well, it is a hard matter
to guess. He for years has been like a gnarled and with-
ered oak — one that had withstood the blasts of centuries
and whose knotted and rugged surface gave no indication
of the earlier years of the world's history in which it was
a sapling.

Jonathan was on the turf fifty years ago. Nearly
forty years back I remember him in charge of the Halton
stable, the property of Mr. James White. He was then a
very lame man. It was a difficult task for him to move
around, but with all the drawbacks of painful physical
infirmities, he was as cheerful a man as ever wore shoe
leather. He raced east, west, north and south; had gal-
lopers through the bushes on the half-mile tracks ; raced
at Saratoga, Monmouth Park, old Jerome and on every
race course in Canada from Quebec in the east to Wind-
sor in the west, and Jonathan was no slouch in the busi-
ness, either. He had a heap of horse sense; had not a
lazy bone in his body ; was up with the lark in the morn-
ing and was ever faithful to his employer's interests.
He did what no Canadian trainer, either before or after
him, has accomplished. He started Balbriggan at Sara-
toga, against whom as good as 400 to 1 was on tap. The
dsLj before the race he advised two or three other Cana-
dian trainers who were talking with him, to have a bet
on his mare Balbriggan, the property of Mr. 0 'Brien, of
Montreal. They laughed at his pretentions, but the old
man, solemn-visaged as an owl and earnest as a penitent

154 CANADIAN TURF KECOLLECTIONS

at the bench, declared that they must run the race, seven-
eighths, in .28 or better to beat him, but though he was
leading winners into the paddock when they were riding
a cradle, they would have none of it. Balbriggan's vic-
tory was a veritable bolt out of a clear sky. The horses
engaged in the race were eleven in number, and included
a lot that classed up to the best selling plater form, such
as Sandown, who only had 103; La Joya, with the same
weight; Figaro, 99; Torchbearer, 98; Mary S., 98; Ken-
tucky Lady, 98; Stonemason, 99; Skidaddle, 112; Leon-
ardo, 94 ; Lehman, 100, and Balbriggan, 100. Mr. Fleisch-
mann, the owner of Lehman, was very sweet on his
horse 's chances, and the whole stable connection had their
coin down on him. His best race in Chicago was a mile
and seventy yards in 1.45, with more weight up, and he
also had many other fast performances to his credit, and
his friends backed him as if the event were already won.
The Seagram stable thought they had a royal chance with
Stonemason, and hundreds went into the ring on his
chances. Figaro was another red-hot choice, and thou-
sands of dollars were staked on him, but the despised
Canuck mare, with an unfashionable jockey up, that half
the people present had never heard of, simply outpaced
the whole party and beat them on their merits.

Now I will relate an interesting circumstance that
occurred in connection with this race. Two friends and
myself had strolled across the bridge from the public
stand on to the balcony of the pretty little club house that
had just been erected by President "Walbaun. We were
seated at a table smoking a cigar and sipping a light B.
and S. just before the race in question. Just in front of
us at another table, were two ladies and a gentleman.
The former were both good lookers and, judging by their
conversation, were evidently enjoying their outing. A
bottle of Pommery and three glasses proved they were no
cold-water disciples and the conversation of the three
clearly demonstrated that they knew very little about the
racing game. Just then one of the commissioners passed
around with the betting card. One of the ladies asked to

AND OTHER SKETCHES 155

be allowed to see the names of the horses that were going
to start in the next race. Glancing over the card she
spoke out quite loud enough for us to hear. Turning to
her companion she said: ''Why, Julia, here is one we
should have a bet on. It's name is Balbriggan. All the
girls know all about that useful article. ' ' The gentleman
turned round and said : ' ' Well, girls, do you want me to
back Balbriggan, because if you do, here is my pile,"
drawing from his vest pocket three silver dollars. The
ladies urged him to bet. The commissioner, a shrewd
lad, said: "Well, sir, there is only 100 to 1 on my card on
that horse, but they tell me there is 400 and 500 to 1
against that one in the ring. If you like I will go down
and get the best odds I can." The parties assented, and
the boy went away and brought back a ticket bearing on
its face the figures "$1,200 to $3." The mare in question
belonged to Mr. O'Brien, a son of the late Senator
O'Brien, then a prominent broker in Montreal, well
known to myself and the two friends by my side, and I
was well acquainted with the trainer, Jonathan Scott. I,
however, had not met him the day before, or on race day,
therefore had no opportunity of hearing his opinion of
said mare; and we decided to remain there and witness
the race without having any pecuniary interest in it.
After one or two false breaks the whole field got away.
It was a mixed-up race, first one and then another, until
they got well into the stretch, when three or four ap-
peared to us to be head and head fighting for the lead.
It was impossible from our position to note the horses
passing the stand until they came right opposite the
judges' stand, when, to our intense surprise, we saw the
head of Balbriggan in front, and the judges ' verdict was
"won by a head."

Neither of the ladies, nor their companion, had the
slightest knowledge of who the winner was, and, turning
around, I said to one of the ladies : * ' Excuse me for the
liberty I take, but your knowledge of Balbriggan has
proved a success. ' ' They were, of course, intensely aston-
ished when I told them Balbriggan had won, and it was

156 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

amusing to hear the two ladies at once commence to fig-
ure up what the $1,200 would do in the shape of silks,
satins and gloves. The gentleman, however, chimed in
by saying : ' ' This is a straight case of divide. I will keep
the odd three dollars and we will whack up $400 apiece."
Just then the boy reappeared and asked for the ticket to
go down and cash. The gentleman decided to go down
himself and asked us, as a special favor, after being intro-
duced to the ladies, to await his return. "We did so, and
when he came back his pocketbook was just $1,200 richer.
Over a glass of wine we wished them continued suc-
cess in the guessing line, and that day started a friend-
ship which after years have cemented.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 157

JACK THE BARBER SHAVES HIS BACKERS.

Talk about taming a shrew! You could easier curb
the temper of a zebra of the plains than soothe that
crotchety provincial, Jack the Barber, if he felt in the
humor for acting mean. On the flat he was a respectable
performer, and as a jumper he was hard to equal when
he inclined to go about his business, but if he made up
his mind to play loafer not all the whips or spurs used by
jockeys could move him along.

I have seen him when he was in decent humor, prick
his ears and clear a twenty-eight foot water jump as if
he were fond of it, and again I have seen him lug along
and stumble over an insignificant six-foot ditch. When
you had your money on him was his favorite time for
playing mean, but if you didn 't happen to back him for a
single dollar, he was pretty certain to run as kind as a
kitten. I remember once travelling to Ogdensburg in
company with his then owner, Uncle Joe Grand. Jack
had been entered in the hurdle race and steeplechase both,
and though the company was formidable in quantity,
the quality of the baker 's dozen of contestants was not of
high grade. In fact, if Jack was in decent temper, it was
quail on toast against cold porridge that he could land
both tricks. A triple partnership had been entered into
between Uncle Joe of the first part and a well-known
King street wine merchant who administered spiritual
consolation of the second part, and a sporting journalist
of the third part. Share and share alike in the expenses
and an even divide on the winnings was the basis of the
agreement.

Arrived at the Burgh on the morning of the day of the
race, the three partners started to hunt up the horse
which, under the charge of Brown, his trainer and rider,
had been shipped a few days earlier. After nearly a two

158 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

hours* search the stable was found, and in reply to en-
quiries Jack was pronounced fine as a fiddle and in good
tune. Animated by the report an attack was made upon
the pool-box. As many as six horses were sold out as
choices, the balance in the field, Jack's average quotation
being about four dollars.

At this rate all the tickets that were sold, about forty
in number, were secured and mutual congratulations in-
dulged in respecting the coup likely to eventuate in the
afternoon. The race meeting was being held under the
auspices of the Oswegatchie Agricultural Society and a
large crowd of people were present.

On the track, preparatory to the start, quite a little
additional speculation was indulged in at about the same
odds, and as the horses faced the starter, Jack's actions
were those of a well-mannered race horse. The distance
was two miles over eight hurdles, and at the drop of the
flag Brown, according to orders, moved about his busi-
ness, and before a quarter of a mile was run had a clear
length the lead of the party. At the stand once around
the half-mile track Jack was three lengths to the good,
running under a strong pull. At the mile he was four
lengths on the lead, and running past the judges' stand at
the mile and a half he still kept his place and, bar acci-
dent, it looked a brown stone front against a log shanty
that the Barber would shave the party. As he moved to
the turn on the last round Viley and N. P. made their run,
and Mr. Grand signalled to Brown to give the horse his
head and send him along. No sooner was this done than
Jack moved away from his company like a quarter horse
and the issue showed a dead certainty, but Brown, either
through carelessness or over anxiety, touched him with
the spur, when, quick as a flash, he swerved to the fence
and commenced a hammering match on the boards with
his heels.

So ended the coup, and the $1,400 of winnings that a
minute before had been almost in the pocket, faded away
like many other such fabrics of similar vision.

AND OTHEE SKETCHES 159

The next day in the steeplechase an effort was made to
get even, and with an expenditure of sixty dollars the
chance was bought to win eight hundred. But the brute's
temper was up,. and before he ran a quarter of a mile he
commenced to show it, and coming to the water jump he
sulked so badly that it was all Brown could do to keep
him straight. When he got him to the jump he never
raised a foot to the bank that faced it, but went head over
heels, throwing Brown an ugly cropper into the fence
corner. The race itself was a chapter of mistakes and
accidents. Blackbird and two others went half a mile
further than necessary. N. P., then well on the lead,
through Blackbird's mistake, staked himself when run-
ning out from the field on to the track, and old Abbots-
ford, whose chances were appraised in the pool-box at
$1 in $30, came along, and making no mistakes, landed on
the track about three lengths behind N. P., who, though
badly injured, and bleeding profusely, was making a gal-
lant effort to finish the last quarter. Never was a
pluckier effort made by an injured horse, but the loss of
blood told the usual tale, and half a dozen lengths from
home Abbotsford got on even terms and beat him out for
first honors. The winner's owner. Dr. Coleman, of Ot-
tawa, was so surprised that in his confusion of mind he
ordered half a dozen of *'fiz" and forget to drink any of
it himself. The Doc. had a chance that day to harvest
a great crop from a very trifle of seed.

160 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

THE PEEACHEE AND JACK VANDAL.

I remember a very funny incident that occurred many
years ago in the grand stand at the Hamilton track in a
race won by Jack Vandal. A preacher had strayed into
the ranks of the ungodly and was seated, along with a
friend, an interested spectator of the races, not far from
where I was located. A noisy fellow was shouting a desire
to lay twenty-five dollars to ten that Vandal wouldn 't win
the heat, and was particularly pressing upon the preacher
to have a shy at it. The offer was refused, however, with
the declaration, ''I'm not a betting man, sir. I hate
gambling." Soon the flag went down and as the race
progressed the noisy gambler kept on shouting: "I'll lay
$25 to $10 Vandal don't win the heat." At the quarter
Vandal was fourth, at the half he was third, and still the
25 to 10 was shouted. As they swung around the upper
turn into the home stretch, the preacher, whose tall form
gave him a bit the best of it in a neck-craning match,
noticed that Vandal was up even with the leader and with
sparkling eyes yelled to his friend, "John, take him up,
take him up ; take 25 to 10, take 20 to 10, take anything
you can get, and by Jupiter I'll go you halves." At this
moment Vandal swept under the wire, winner of the heat
by half a length, and a roar of laughter on the stand
warned the preacher that the crowd had caught on to his
lapse from morality.

H. A. ALLAN, DIRECTOR MONTREAL JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 163

THE LATE JOHN HENDRIE.

Jolm Hendrie, always called Jack by Ms intimate
friends, was a man worth knowing. Over six feet in lis
stockings, broad shouldered, deep chested, slim waisted,
well hipped, with underpinning above criticism, a man
every inch of him and one well worth looking at.

Talk about a fearless horseman, I never met one quite
his equal. Although a heavy man, weighing when in
prime condition close on fourteen stone, his seat in the
saddle was grace itself, and with hands light as a lady's
dainty fingers, but woe betide the horse that tried to take
liberties with him. I saw him once at his very best on
as ugly tempered a brute as ever wore shoes. He was a
big, raw-boned horse, standing I6I/2 hands, and had
proved himself unmanageable in the hands of half a
dozen who had owned him. He was bought for a song on
account of his bad temper and his new owner determined
to try him out.

I was fortunate enough to be present when he tried him,
and I shall never forget it. It took a good deal of general-
ship to get into the saddle. Every trick known to the
worst mannered broncho seemed to be familiar to this
halfbred gelding, and short of lying down and rolling over
he practised them. Finally, the mounting was success-
fully accomplished and the horse was given his head.
His reply was to back up at his best speed, whirl sud-
denly around, then reverse himself; next, following this
up by rearing and throwing himself backwards. His
rider, cool as the historic cucumber, swung himself clear
of the saddle and made the fact known to his mount by a
few lively cuts that quickly brought him to his feet. Be-
fore the brute had time to practise any more trickery,
Hendrie was in the saddle, and with whip and spur
started him into a gallop. There was no let-up to the

164 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

strenuous efforts of his rider ; whip and spur were ready
at the slightest indication of any faltering, and a good
two miles was covered before the horse was given a
breathing spell. When a halt was called, the Demon, as
we had named him, was dead beat. Not so his rider, he
was ready for a second test of endurance, but it was not
necessary ; the Demon was conquered and though nobody
else was anxious to try his quality he was, in the hands of
his master, Jack Hendrie, as tractable as a spaniel.

Under his guidance, while he was Master of the To-
ronto Hunt Club, splendid sport was enjoyed. In fact,-
those were the Club's palmy days. There were some
crack riders in the Club then and with such a Master to
lead them it was a rare pleasure to see them in the field.

Arthur Godson, contractor, still hale and hearty;
Eobert Bond, the big cab proprietor, apparently as vig-
orous as ever ; Gus Thomas, and Dr. Andrew Smith, still
conspicuous in our midst, were especially noteworthy
members. I have seen many hard riders in English
Shires, and this lot were good enough to hold their own
even in such choice company. Many good riders in those
days were also to be found amongst the following mem-
bers: Henry Godson (ex-collector of Inland Eevenue),
spare of form, but still erect and almost daily to be seen
on King street. Others, now deceased, were W. Copland,
J. M. MacFarlane, Charles Moore, Joseph Walker, Mr.
Hagel, Lewis Reford, John Leys, Walter S. Lee, T. Jones,
George Hastings and John Donaldson. Others there were
equally worthy of mention, but enough have been named
to show that the Toronto Hunt Club in the days of yore
was composed of sportsmen of high class.

In addition to the civilians many of the officers of regi-
ments then stationed at Toronto used to take part. Con-
spicuous amongst them were Col. Jennings, Capt. Moore,
Capt. Higgins, Major Hubbard, Lieut. Spilling, after-
wards Colonel of the famous Thirteenth Hussars, and
many others whose names I have forgotten.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 165

A TRUE SPORTSMAN EVERY INCH OF HIM.

Handling a breech loader through the stubble or over
decoys, or, rifle in hand, on a still hunt, or casting the fly
for gamey trout or bass, my old friend Roddy Pringle
was a good performer. As a horseman he had few equals,
and as a turfman his career was above reproach. He was
an all-round sportsman of the highest type and his death
at a comparatively early age was sincerely mourned by
thousands who had the honor of his acquaintance.

I passed many a pleasant day during a series of years
in his company here in Canada and at important racing
centres in the United States. He could not be called a
betting man. True, he was ready to back his opinion,
but he was not one of those turfmen who take no pleasure
in watching a race unless he has a pecuniary interest in
the result. Many a day he did not wager a dollar, but
yet took as keen an interest in the struggles of the thor-
oughbreds as if he had thousands at stake.

My old friend was among the handful of true sports-
men who kept the turf spirit alive in Ontario after the
departure of the British troops and the advent of the
hard times which followed the American war.

For at least twenty-five years the fate of Canadian
flat racing and steeplechasing trembled in the balance.
What between the then greater popularity of the trotter,
the scarcity of good thoroughbred horses, and the still
greater lack of thoroughbred horsemen, it was a hard
struggle to preserve the running turf from total eclipse.
Had it not been for a faithful few, who manfully, for
sheer love of the thoroughbred, and often at great per-
sonal and financial sacrifice, stood to their guns and kept
the old sport alive, the trotter would have had it all his
own way, and the men of the present day would not have
their Woodbine, nor would many of our modern Canadian
breeding studs be in existence.

166 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

The disappearance of the thoroughbred stallion from
the concession lines would also have been severely felt
in a province, which, as it is, lacks altogether too much a
proper appreciation of his value.

It was Mr. Pringle's opinion that only through actual
performance on the turf, the game, stout thoroughbred
could be maintained, and that none but those who had
carefully studied the question could realize the important
part played by this strain of blood in improving the
quality, as regards constitution and conformation, of the
light-legged horses of any country.

Even as matters stand, there are in Canada too large
a number of coarse, low-bred weeds, and had it not been
for the enthusiasm and enterprise of a few individuals
who, during the last three or four decades saw to it that
the thoroughbred kept his place on the course and in the
show-yard, the state of affairs would be infinitely worse.

Among the loyal friends of the thoroughbred in those
dark days, ''Roddy" Pringle ranked high. An all-round
lover of decent, clean sport, he was an exceptionally good
horseman, and although, as a rule, self-contained and
undemonstrative, no man better enjoyed a close finish,
or was more keenly enthusiastic when his choice finished
first past the post.

Mr. Pringle was the owner of many well-known horses,
among them that good race mare Mignonette, who won
the Queen's Plate in 1873, being the first three-year-old
to win the Canadian Classic.

Later an intimate and mutually cordial friendship be-
tween him and Dr. Andrew Smith, led to their being asso-
ciated in the ownership and development of some of the
best thoroughbreds ever raised in the Dominion.

Out of the famous imported mare Castaway, by Zet-
land out of Castellan, they brought to the starting post a
whole family of horses, almost all of which proved noted
winners, some being of exceptional merit. Among these
the noted grey mare Lady D'Arcy, by Thunder, a son of
Lexington, held for two years the three-quarter mile
record of the American turf, no small honor for a Cana-

AND OTHER SKETCHES 167

dian-bred, competing with the flower of Kentucky and
Tennessee, to say nothing of the big studs of New York
and New Jersey.

Another good one was Roddy Pringle, by Helmbold,
who, after winning the Queen's Plate in 1883, beating
among others the speedy Princess by Princeton out of
Roxaline (later a noted smasher of records on the Amer-
ican turf), raced as a gelding for many years, and was
still winning in the nineties.

Many good horses, both province-bred and imported,
ran under the joint control of Mr. Pringle and Dr. Smith,
and although there were in Ontario, during that trying
period, other men to whom much credit is due, it is doubt-
ful if any achieved more than these two did with the
means at their disposal and in face of the difficulties of
all kinds which they had to encounter.

Many men are in the racing game for the money, while
others, ' ' having the price, ' ' as the saying goes, take it up
as a fad or a fancy, caring little what it costs them. Both
of these classes are useful and necessary, but in Ontario
thirty years and more ago, there were few, if any, of the
latter sort, while the former, if given full swing, would
soon have ended the sport.

The racing men of the present generation owe, in a
greater measure than most of them realize, the preserva-
tion of the Ontario turf to the single-minded efforts of a
little coterie of keen, clean sportsmen, who loved racing
and the race horse for themselves and not for gain or
glory.

I have referred to our associations at the important
racing centres of the United States, and no more pleasant
days ever were than those we passed together at Sara-
toga, many jovial hours being spent on the verandah of
Charles Reed's splendid residence on the avenue leadijig
to the race course in the company of the Master of
**Fairview." Stories enough to fill this book were told
there. The host himself could tell a good one, and many
of his friends were good seconds. ** Charley" Reed, as
he was generally called by his intimates, was a first-class

168 CANADIAN TUKF RECOLLECTIONS

entertainer. The company rarely broke up before mid-
night and it certainly was pleasant on a moonlight night
to look ont upon the splendidly kept grounds of the Reed
mansion and the superb elm-shaded avenue on which it
fronted.

At one of these pleasant reunions a younger member
of the company was rather boastful of his ability as an
amateur foot-runner. Warming on the subject he stated
he would wager a basket of ^'fiz" that he could run
seventy-five yards faster than any amateur of our ac-
quaintance. "You are a good many years younger than
I am, but make the distance fifty yards and I will take a
crack at you myself." Such was the quiet reply of my
friend Pringle, and when the boaster asked when the
event should be pulled off, the answer was, "right now
on the Avenue." Both parties agreeable, we adjourned
to the ground selected, and as there was neither a vehicle
or person in sight it was a clear field with no obstacles
in the way. The fifty yards were duly measured; the
judge was appointed and I was selected to do the start-
ing. Both gentlemen promptly responded to my request
to toe the mark, and on their affirmative response to my
query: "Gentlemen, are you ready?" I said, "Go!"
They went, my friend Pringle playing pathfinder all the
way. The beaten one remarked : ' ' By George, I was not
expecting to run up Against a ghost by moonlight." The
"fiz" was promptly supplied, and many a pleasant chat
was indulged in on the same piazza over its consumption.

"Roddy" Pringle held and still holds, in the hearts of
those who knew him, a place of high honor. Kindly,
gentle and genial, a sportsman for sport's sake, he stood,
without fear or favor, for fair play and square dealing.
His influence was all for good and turfmen, in Canada
and elsewhere, who knew and loved him, will ever keep
his memory green, and recall in association with his
name the good old days of yore when men went to the
races more to enjoy the sport than for the sake of the
money that could be made out of it.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 169

His last resting place is at Cobourg, the town he loved
so well. I also am fast nearing the other shore and I
sometimes ask myself the question: ''Will old friends
meet again and old friendships be renewed?" Mystery
of mysteries is the great hereafter. Who can tell?

170 CANADIAN TUEF RECOLLECTIONS

A EEPEESENTATIVE EAILWAY CONTRACTOR
AND TURFMAN.

Back in the '70 's Mr. John Shedden, head of the great
railway contracting firm of Shedden & Co., was one of
the representative turfmen of Ontario, and his farm at
Davenport, a few miles northwest of Toronto, was a
pleasant resort which his friends often visited.

He owned the thoroughbred stallion Thunder, by Lex-
ington, a gray horse of great speed and endurance which,
after a most successful racing career in the United States
in which he defeated many of the best horses in training,
running long distances and winning many long drawn out
heat races, was brought to this country by the late Henry
Hogan, of Montreal, from whom Mr. Shedden purchased
him. He also imported Castaway, Sweetbread, Poetess,
Fidget, and other mares. Just when he had decided to
extend his operations as an owner, his untimely death
ended all. He was President of the Toronto and Nipis-
sing Railway, and was killed on the return journey of the
first passenger train that inaugurated the opening of that
road. He was one of the most popular men of his day,
and at his residence on the comer of Spadina avenue and
King street, he dispensed a hospitality unsurpassed by
any other citizen.

His nephew, Mr. Hugh Paton, of Montreal, whose por-
trait appears in this book, is quite as strong a lover of
the horse as was his popular uncle. In the early '80 's
he won three Queen's Plates for the Province of Quebec,
and many other events both on the turf and field, includ-
ing the Montreal Hunt Cup in 1889. He is a Director of
the Montreal Jockey Club, and it is the presence of such
men as he on the Board of Management that has so
speedily elevated the Club in popular favor and ensured
for it a gratifying success. Personally, he is one of the
most genial citizens of the commercial metropolis, and
both in his city and at his country residence is as popular
a host as was his uncle thirty years ago.

JAMES CARRUTHERS, DIRECTOR MONTREAL JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 173

ANGUS SINCLAIR, A FORMER NOTED BREEDER
OF TROTTERS.

It will be generally admitted that the light harness
horse is the most popular equine in Canada. When due
regard is paid to mating sire and dam he is not only a
good looker, but possesses speed, a valuable qualification
with those who have much driving to do. A very marked
improvement in this class of horse has taken place in
Canada within the past twenty-five years. Time was
when anything possessing a little speed would pass mus-
ter, but the intelligent ^perseverance of a few men in
Ontario accomplished wonders in improving the quality.
Conspicuous above all others in this respect stands the
name of Angus Sinclair who, when proprietor of the
Roslyn Stock Farm, Chatham, was a central figure in
connection with the breeding of the light harness horse
in Ontario.

His importation of the standard-bred sire, Wildbrino,
2.19, by Hambrino, introduced at that time not only the
fastest, but one of the best bred horses ever brought to
this country. It required a good deal of nerve to pay
the high price which Mr. Sinclair did for him, because
Wilkes blood was then all the rage and anything out-
side of that strain was looked upon with distrust. The
wiseacres, those who pretend to know it all, also pre-
dicted that the high service fee charged utterly precluded
the possibility of the horse receiving much public patron-
age. In this, however, they were mistaken. His owner,
a strong believer in the power of printers ' ink, advertised
him liberally, with the result that not only was an ex-
tended patronage secured, but a fine quality of mares was
also attracted to his court. The superior quality of his
stock thoroughly justified what had been written about
him and at an early age his sons and daughters furnished

174 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

the superlative test of merit by securing fast records.
His first crop of colts produced Violet, two-year-old rec-
ord to high- wheel sulky, 2.3114 ; the second produced Wild
Crocus, two-year-old record, 2.25%, and each year after-
wards added to his success as a uniform sire of speed
with native mares. What he could have accomplished if
mated with better bred mares can be judged from the
fact that to a granddaughter of Red Wilkes he produced
General Brino, 2.O714, and to a daughter of Red Wilkes,
Major Brino, 2.05i4j ; but not only has he proved himself
a remarkable sire of speed, but the superior style and
quality of his get have also secured for him high honors
in the prize ring altogether outside of their speed quali-
fications. Again, in transmitting speed he also imparted
that stamina and endurance which stand the test of
long drawn out races — in a word, the blood that sticks.

Many of his sons are also distinguishing themselves in
the breeding ranks, and altogether it is within the mark
to say that Wildbrino is one of the greatest standard-
bred sires ever brought to this country. It would be
interesting, if one had the time to make the neces-
sary enquiries, to figure out the actual cash value
of his descendants. I do not mean by attaching fancy
figures to any of his produce, but by recording the prices
which were paid for the most noted of his get. It is by
such substantial tests as these that the true value to a
country of well-bred stock is made evident. Yearlings
and two-year-olds by Wildbrino were eagerly bought at
prices ranging from $200 to $1,000, and in several cases
of exceptional merit even larger figures were offered.

Now, as it costs no more to feed a well-bred one than
it does to raise a mongrel bred, it is not necessary to
advance any argument to prove the immense benefit, not
only to the breeder of such stock, but also to the country
in which it is produced. Again, there is nothing of the
lottery game about such breeding industry. True, a
farmer may not secure exceptional speed, but if he exer-
cises a fair amount of common sense judgment in select-
ing good-looking, sound mares and breeding them to a

AND OTHER SKETCHES 175

stylish well-bred sire having speed, he can reasonably
rely upon securing stock which, even if not gifted with
exceptional speed, will possess the necessary quality and
style to command a highly remunerative price in the
market.

The heavy demands upon Mr. Sinclair's time, through
his railroad contracting business, compelled him to relin-
quish the breeding of the light harness horse. It was to
him a fascinating occupation and his withdrawal was a
distinct loss to Canadian horse-breeding interests.

Every now and then a scare is started about the decad-
ence of the horse. First the bicycle, next the automobile
was to drive him off the road. Yet to-day handsome, well-
bred animals, whether for carriage, saddle or ordinary
driving purposes, never commanded a better price, but it
is a noteworthy fact that the advertising columns of many
newspapers are crowded with advertisements of autos for
sale. I do not mean to imply that the latter class of
vehicle has not its use, but I do unhesitating assert that
any vehicle which costs $1,000 a year to keep in repair
and for supplies, is not an article that will ever supplant
the horse in public favor. To those who can afford the
expense of a chauffeur the annual outlay would be vastly
increased, so that the modern juggernaut is a costly lux-
ury which can only be enjoyed by those possessing ample
wealth.

176 CANADIAN TUBF KECOLLECTIONS

HOW SIX HOOKS REFLECTED SEVEN.

Yes, there were only six metal hangers attached to a
frame hanging across the door which led from my
friend's room to my own at the Clarendon Hotel, Sara-
toga, but at the angle at which the door was open seven
were reflected on the wall. When I first noticed the in-
creased number I thought I was mistaken, but a closer
inspection proved otherwise. There were Imt six hooks
on the frame, but there was an extra one in the reflection.
My friend was anxious to know what was so closely
attracting my attention, and on my explaining the
phenomena he also scrutinized the apparition and was
equally surprised. One glass of whiskey and soda could
not be chargeable with the illusion, so mentally conclud-
ing it was a puzzle which would demand the attention
of a scientific mind to solve, we dropped the matter.

The next night, sitting in the same position, the reflec-
tion on the wall showed the same, and my friend sug-
gested, merely out of curiosity, that I should look over
the racing programme which had been run off that day
and note if number seven had cut any figure in the re-
sults. Here is exactly what it did :

In the first race eight starters went to the post and
number seven on the ''card" proved the winner. In the
second race nine two-year-olds faced the flag, and again
number seven landed the coin. In the third event there
were but five starters, so that to reach seven it was
necessary to count the nominations from number one to
five and then recount from number one a second time.
This made number two on the ''card" figure out seventh
and he also came home first. In the fourth race there
was a big field, and again number seven was the first to
catch the judge's eye. In the fifth race, which was the
last, number seven finished second, but as the odds

AND OTHER SKETCHES 177

against bim for the place were three to one, the invest-
ment, if he was backed both ways, would have proved a
profitable one.

Figuring it out at the time proved that a five-dollar
bill invested to win and for place on the winner of each
race at the odds obtainable, parleyed through the card,
would have won a trifle over ten thousand dollars. Of
course such revelations as these are never forthcoming
until after the events have transpired. If they were,
millionaires would be as plentiful as skeeters in Temis-
caming in the fishing season.

178 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A DAY OF SENSATIONAL LUCK.

You can call it blind luck or any other name you prefer,
I am not troubling myself about what would be the most
suitable term to apply to it; I am simply relating a cir-
cumstance that occurred a few years ago at the Saratoga
race meeting, and as the facts of the case came under my
personal observation, I can vouch for the truthfulness
of the story.

As I was leaving my hotel on the day in question to
drive to the track, the manager introduced to me a gen-
tleman whom I had previously noticed was a guest at the
hotel. I had been keeping a carriage waiting for ten
minutes at the door to accommodate a friend, also a
guest, who was going out with me, but at the last mo-
ment had changed his mind, and as there were but a few
minutes in which to reach the course before the racing
commenced, I was making all possible haste to get away.
The gentleman in question was also anxious to get to the
track, and I was asked if I would be willing for him to
drive out with me. Satisfied to have his company, the
necessary permission was given.

On the way out he told me that this was his last day
at the Springs. He had spent a pleasant two weeks'
holiday, but frankly confessed that he had not been a
success in guessing the ponies. He said he had brought
$400 with him for his expenses and of this he had a ten-
dollar bill left with which to make a final plunge. He
had provided himself with a return ticket, paid for his
reservation in the Pullman and an additional $5 for
provisions on the road. This was securely packed away
in his valise, and he proposed investing the remaining
$10 on the longest shot on the board in the first race.
Mentally, I concluded that he would likely be wiped out
in short order, but as it is never safe, in such cases, to

AND OTHER SKETCHES 179

give advice, I refrained from doing more than express
the hope that he would guess them aright.

True to his word, as soon as we arrived at the track
he walked away to the nearest bookmaker and I, not be-
ing interested in the race, went up on the grand stand.
Immediately after the race was run I walked over to the
betting ring, and there found my newly-made acquaint-
ance standing in the pay line, and as I walked down that
way he beckoned to me and showed me his ticket, which
called for $210. He had backed a 20 to 1 shot and landed.
Congratulating him on his good fortune I left and saw no
more of him until after the finish of the second race,
when I noticed him again standing in line, waiting to
cash another ticket. He speedily joined me, showing a
roll of $1,000 which he had just drawn. His second in-
vestment had been $200 on a 4 to 1 shot. Thinking that
he would be more than satisfied, I asked him if he had
made up his mind to give them a rest. He replied: "No,
I feel this is my lucky day and I am going to play the
hand out."

Wishing him good luck, I joined a party of friends and
saw no more of him until after the finish of the last race.
He then came over and insisted that I should join him
in a drive back to the hotel. This I did, and, inviting me
to his room, he unloaded his wealth, and there in good
bank notes was $6,785. Certainly, it was a case of per-
sistent good luck, and he was wise enough to leave for
home that night with his treasure.

The following year, while standing in the rotunda of
the Grand Union Hotel at Saratoga, I met him again.
He then introduced me to his wife, a charming little lady
to whom he had been married about three months. He
also informed me that on his return to Boston he had
invested the money so rapidly gained in purchasing a
gents' furnishing store which was turning out a profit-
able investment, but, with a look of pride and satisfac-
tion on his face, he said his choicest investment of all
was the little lady to whom he had just introduced me.
On my expressing the hope that he was now satisfied to

180 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

let well enough alone and not again try another plunge
of the same character, he answered: '*I never bet more
than $5, and I have not made more than one bet each
day I have been here. I have no desire to figure as a
plunger. ' *

The case was one that rarely happens. Here was a
man destitute of any knowledge respecting the quality
or chances of the horses engaged in any of the races on
the day on which he made his bets; yet, in each and
every race on the card, six in number, he staked his
money and won. It was simply a case of blind luck and
such rarely happens to any man, least of all to the man
who wants good fortune as badly as he did on the mem-
orable day in question.

COLIN CAMPBELL, DIRECTOR MONTREAL JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 183

CANADA'S VETERAN TRAINER, CHARLES

BOYLE.

There are many popular trainers of thoroughbred
horses in Canada, but I may, with certainty of not oifend-
ing any one of them, designate Charles Boyle, of The
Firs, Woodstock, dean of the craft. It is close on forty
years ago that I first made his acquaintance. He was
then, as now, all horse, and nobody, even in those earlier
days, could talk more interestingly on the subject than
he. I well remember one May morning in 1870. I, along
with a party of friends, was swinging around the circle
of stables at Whitby, looking over the horses that were
entered in the races under the auspices of the local turf
club — the only stable accommodation in those days be-
ing at the various hotels. It was in the yard of the Royal
that I met the subject of these remarks, and at the time
of my visit he was busy at work on a roan horse called
Rapid Roan, which he had entered in the Queen's Plate,
to be run on the following day. He started, but in the
opinion of his trainer his lot in life was not that of
bearing a silken jacket and, changing his name to
'* Rapid Ruin," he speedily disposed of him, and the last
I heard of the roan was that he was doing duty between
the shafts of a buggy in a livery stable at Orangeville.

It is not necessary for me to enumerate all the horses
Charles Boyle has handled. To do so would be to fill
many pages. It will be sufficient to mention some of
the noted ones that he brought to the post. Among
those of the earlier days were such good performers as
Vespucious, Judge Durell and Musketeer, and a mare
that gained him a good deal of credit at the time was
Inspiration. She was brought over from the States and
came here with a reputation of being a fair sprinter,
but under his clever handling she proved able to go all

184 CANADIAN TUEF KECOLLECTIONS

distances, and afterwards won many rich stakes on the
American turf.

War Cry was another good horse trained by him. He
won the first Canadian Derby at Barrie, and afterwards
scored in many important races, both in Canada and the
United States. Charles Boyle entered into partnership
with Charles Littlefield, under the style of Boyle & Lit-
tlefield, and for several years they occupied a prominent
position among the owners of horses on the American
running turf. A few of the good ones that wore their
colors were Miss Maud, Peacemaker, Halton, Eagle Bird ;
Havoc did them good service also. He was one of the
best sons of his illustrious sire. He raced successfully
at all distances, and won in first-class company both at
the big meetings in the east as well as the west. He has
since done eminent service as the premier sire at Mr.
Seagram's Waterloo establishment. Inferno, the fastest
provincial yet uncovered, is by him, and quite a number
of other winners on the Canadian turf have been sons
and daughters of his. Springfield was another of friend
Charley's star performers.

After the dissolution of the partnership between
Messrs. Boyle & Littlefield, the former returned to Can-
ada, and shortly afterwards took the position of head
trainer for the Seagram stable. During the time he filled
it Mr. Seagram's colors were to the front in many im-
portant stakes, not only in Canada but also south of the
border line. Were I to enumerate all the good races he
has won with horses of his training, I would occupy
many pages of this book. Suffice it to say that he ranks
in the front row of Canadian trainers. Few men possess
greater ability. He has a wonderful knack of preparing
a horse for a special effort and, bar accident, you can
rely that when race day comes around, his representa-
tive will be in the very pink of condition. Briefly stated,
he is one of the few trainers who can get a horse ready
almost to the hour he is wanted.

Outside of his ability as a trainer of thoroughbreds
he is one of the pleasantest men you could possibly desire

AND OTHER SKETCHES 185

to meet. Thoroughly conversant with the racing events
of the past forty years and blessed with a good memory,
he is a most entertaining companion.

Though well advanced in years he is a hale and hearty
man and gives as close attention to his horses in train-
ing now as he did twenty years ago. He has the well-
wishes of a host of friends.

186 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

CANADIAN OWNEES AND THEIR COLORS.

The following is a record of the principal owners of
Canadian racing stables. The list is not a long one, but
it includes the names of owners whose colors have won
many important stake events at American as well as
Canadian race meetings. Not only at the principal east-
ern meetings, but also in the west and as far south as
New Orleans, Canadian-bred horses have scored notable
victories.

Joseph E. Seagram, President of the Ontario Jockey
Club, owns more thoroughbreds than any other man in
this country, and his victories during the past twenty
years, both at home and abroad, would take many pages
of this book to chronicle.

The late Mr. William Hendrie was also a notable fig-
ure on the turf, both here and south of the border line.
Two of his sons, Lieut.-Col. Hon. J. S. Hendrie, a mem-
ber of the Ontario Government, and Mr. George M.
Hendrie, of Windsor, with a large string of horses, are
worthily upholding the reputation of the Valley Farm
stable.

Robert Davies, Squire of Thorncliffe, a magnificent
estate of about one thousand acres, just outside the city
limits, is also another prominent figure as a breeder of
thoroughbreds. His colors are often to the front and
none are more popular with the racing public, who know
that the stable is always striving to win. Mr. Davies
has imported many thoroughbreds from England, and
his premier sire to-day at Thorncliffe is Orme Shore, by
the great Orme (sire of Flying Fox, which was sold for
$187,500, the highest price on record for any horse).
Three of the get of Orme Shore made their first appear-
ance on the turf at the spring meeting in 1909, and the
fact that all three of them proved winners is substantial

AND OTHER SKETCHES 187

evidence of their sire's quality. The names of the trio
are Shore Lark, three years ; French Shore, three years,
and St. Cecilia, two years. The manager of the stable is
Mr. E. W. Davies, a son of the proprietor. He is one of
the managers of the big Copland Brewing Company of
Toronto, a young business man of the hustling stamp.

Sir H. Montagu Allan, Sir Thos. G. Shaughnessy, Mr.
Bartlett McLennan and Mr. Ogilvie are late additions to
the list of Canadian owners, though some years ago the
first named gentleman won the Province of Quebec
Queen's Plate at the Bel Air meeting. Eecent purchases
by them have been made for the purpose of encouraging
the sport in the Province of Quebec and to mark their
appreciation of the efforts of the Montreal Jockey Club,
whose splendid new track at Blue Bonnets is likely to
become one of the best patronized and most popular in
the Dominion.

The Hon. Adam Beck has for several years owned a
few good thoroughbreds, and though his stable rarely
contained more than three or four horses he has been a
decidedly successful owner. The same shrewdness that
characterized his purchases for horse show competition
and which gained for him many notable successes both
in Canada, the United States and England, also guided
his turf selections, and many times he has upset the cal-
culations of the talent by the brilliant performances of his
horses, both at Woodbine and elsewhere. Unhappily
four of his horses were recently burned in a railway car
on their return from Woodbine. That rattling good horse
Photographer was one and the others were Moorshot, a
half-brother to Photographer, and a couple of two-year-
olds that would have figured as entries for the King's
Plate of 1910.

Charles Boyle does not race many horses now, but he
has owned a host of good ones during his career as
trainer and owner. The racing firm of Boyle & Little-
field was for years one of the most important in the
United States, while the name of Mr. Boyle has been for
nearly forty years familiar to race goers in this country.

188 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

The lamented death of Nathaniel Dyment, of Barrie,
removed one of our most valued owners. His nephew,
John Dyment, has a string of his own in training, and
each season leads many winners into the paddock.

The Kirkfield stable, though not for many years estab-
lished, sprang into prominence very early in its history.
The Mackenzie Brothers, its owners, were lavish in their
expenditure for good horses, with the result that many
important races were speedily placed to their credit.
The lamented death of Mr. Alex, Mackenzie it was feared
might disrupt the stable, but a year later the older
brother, Mr. "Rod" Mackenzie, of Winnipeg, one of the
best-known horsemen in the western country and one
of the pluckiest buyers that ever visited a sales-ring,
decided to re-enter the game, and is gradually getting
together a string of high-class horses.

Messrs. Carruthers & Phelan are well-known Cana-
dian owners. The former gentleman was for several
years a partner of the late Alex. Shields, and their stable
turned out many winners. Mr. Phelan has also been a
long time in the racing game, more particularly in con-
nection with the jumpers, and his horses also earned
many winning brackets.

Irving Wheatcroft purchased about one hundred
thoroughbreds within the past year. A large number of
these were sent to his island home, near Victoria, B.C.,
on which he has a splendidly equipped breeding farm.
The remainder of his thoroughbred stock is' located in
Kentucky. He has a strong stable and has been a formid-
able competitor on the California turf. The late adverse
legislation, however, in that State has ruined the racing
game and has forced him to turn his attention to the
eastern turf where in future, both in Canada and on the
metropolitan circuit, he is likely to play a strong hand.

J. W. Taylor, also of Victoria, raced many good horses
at California meetings and scored many successes. His
colors will be warmly welcomed when he comes east.

George W. Cook is another popular owner, but the last
two or three years his big lumber interests have so occu-

AND OTHER SKETCHES 189

pied his time that he has somewhat curtailed his turf
operations.

Charles Millar, one learned in the law, has a warm
spot in his heart for the thoroughbred, and notwithstand-
ing the arduous claims of a great law practice, he has
purchased a select string and will prove a strong addi-
tion to our list of owners. He is a winner in everything
he undertakes and his racing venture is not likely to
prove an exception to the rul6.

I am pleased to record the fact that Mr. Kenneth
Dawes, of Montreal, has lately joined the list of owners.
His father, J. P. Dawes, was one of the best known and
most popular owners of his day, both in this country
and south of the border line. His horses were almost
invincible in the steeplechase field, and his colors, red
jacket and black cap, were for many years the most
notable in cross-country racing on this side of the
Atlantic.

Mrs. L. A. Livingston is one of the latest additions to
the ranks of Canadian owners. She has purchased a
large estate near Cobourg, in Northumberland county,
and has brought over the thoroughbreds previously kept
by her at Rancocas.

Gorge A. Case, a prominent real estate broker, keeps a
few horses in training, steeplechasing being his favorite
sport, and his colors are more often seen through the
field than on the flat.
Hon. Adam Beck —

Old gold, purple sleeves and cap.
Sir H. Montagu Allan —

Dark blue and primrose, yellow stripes.
Bartlett McLennan —

Dark blue, yellow cross sashes.
Colin Campbell —

White, cherry sleeves, cherry and white cap.
Joseph E. Seagram —

Black, yellow sash.
John Dyment —

Orange, green sleeves and cap.

190 CANADIAN TUKF RECOLLECTIONS

Eobert Davies —

Canary and black stripes, white cap.
Valley Farm Stable —

Brown, yellow sleeves and cap.
Allan Case —

Royal blue, gray sleeves, blue cap.
Kenneth Dawes —

Cardinal, black cap.
E. J. Mackenzie —

Orange, white sash, orange and white cap.
Carruthers & Phelan —

Crimson and white stripes, crimson sleeves and cap.
Irving H. Wheatcroft —

Cream, burnt orange collar, cujffs and cap.
G. W. Cook-
Cerise, orange sleeves, white cap.
Doane Brothers —

Tan, pale blue sleeves and cap.
A. E. Ogilvie —

Purple, red band on sleeves, red cap.
Charles Millar —

Yellow, red cap.
Mrs. L. A. Livingston —

Blue, silver braid, black cap, silver tassel.
Charles Boyle —

Black jacket, blue cap.
Sir Thomas G. Shaughnessy —

Not registered.
Colonel Sewell —

Not registered.
Ambrose Wood —

Not registered.
J. W. Taylor—

Not registered.

W. p. FRASER, SECY.-TREAS ONTARIO JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 193

A CANADIAN BOOKMAKER'S EXPERIENCE AT

SARATOGA.

A Montreal citizen who occasionally made a ''book"
at local race meetings, having been fairly successful, de-
cided to try his luck in a wider field, and chose the Sara-
toga meeting at which to make his debut. He had a bank
roll of about $5,000, and therefore considered himself
fairly well stocked for business.

On the first race of the opening day he won $300. On
the second race he added $250 to his original capital. On
the third event he added a century and a half more to
his stock and commenced to think he had found the royal
road to fortune. Not being well posted on the merits of
the horses engaged, he necessarily paid very close atten-
tion to the quotations hung up by other bookies. On the
fourth race customers were not coming his way in any
number and he decided to raise his neighbor's figures
against one or two horses and see if he could not attract
a little more business. Against one of the horses he
raised the price from four, to five to one. As soon as he
did so a neatly dressed citizen, having every appearance
of a business man out for an afternoon's sport, handed
up a bank bill and pointed to the horse against which he
had lifted the price to five to one. Unfolding the bank
note the Montreal penciller was aghast to find that it
was for one thousand dollars. He mentally decided the
offer was too rich for his blood, and handed it back to
the stranger with the remark that it was too strong a
dose. Still wearing the same pleasant smile the would-be
bettor passed down the line. His name was Pittsburg
Phil and the Canadian penciller, learning who it was, was
willing to shake hands with himself for the wisdom he
had displayed in not accepting the bet. The horse did
not win and then the Montrealer concluded he lacked the
necessary nerve to be a successful metropolitan operator.
He did not hang up his slate the next day.

194 CANADIAN TUBE BECOLLECTIONS

HOI THE GYPSIES.

Of late years the gypsies have invaded Canada in con-
siderable numbers and these restless, roaming spirits,
that rarely abide in towns or cities longer than necessary
to look over the horse stock or drop a hint of where the
fortune tellers of their race may be found, have in some
sections bred a very wholesome respect for their ability
as horse traders.

I remember one of their exploits in the latter line which
occurred down Kingston way a number of years ago,
which proves their ability to give even a Yorkshireman a
good many points and beat him. One day a string of
gypsies ' vans was on the road from Gananoque to Kings-
ton, when a wealthy resident of the latter place, who was
driving eastward, was strongly attracted by the appear-
ance of a chestnut gelding with a star in forehead and
two white heels, being led behind one of the vans. Hav-
ing priced him, and received assurances that he was
sound as a ''bloomin' " sovereign and kind as a kitten,
he had his own horse removed from the shafts of his dog
cart and had a trial of the chestnut there and then.

The trial was quite satisfactory and as the price asked,
$200, was not unreasonable, the horse was bought and an
order given his gypsy owner to call at the purchaser's
office on his arrival at Kingston and collect his money.
This was carried out and the horse delivered at the sta-
ble of his new owner. The following day he was hooked
up for a twelve-mile drive, but became so used up before
he had completed the journey that his new owner com-
menced to think his purchase was on the sick list. Re-
turning to the stable with him, a vet. was called in, and
it was soon made clear that the gypsies had worked off
one of their specially prepared samples on the Kings-
tonian. He was touched in the wind, tender in the feet.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 195

and altogether such a patched up relic of what had once
been a good hack, that his new owner was glad to sell
him for sixty dollars.

About three months later the same gentleman was
standing in the market square of the Limestone City
when a farmer drove up a very handsome, bloodlike
chestnut gelding, with not a white hair on him, hooked
to a democrat wagon, in which he had a couple of baskets
of butter to sell. The appearance of the horse attracted
the citizen's attention, and in response to enquires as to
his breeding, he was informed he was by Judge Durell,
out of a mare by Jack the Barber. The breeding being
exceptionally good and the looks of the gelding away
above the average, an offer of $175 was made, condi-
tional upon the horse being a good driver, and as he
showed good action when moving up and down the mar-
ket square, he soon changed hands and the Kingstonian
congratulated himself upon having at last secured a
stylish looking good driver at a small figure. Once the
horse was put to steady driving he commenced to fail
very similar to the gypsy's representative, and more than
one remarked that he was getting more like the other
horse every day. Finally, his heels commenced to change
color, and before a month had gone by it was evident
that previous white marks had been painted over both
in his forehead and on his feet, until one day he stood
revealed as the identical horse that the gypsies had sold
the same owner months before and which, after buying
him back for sixty dollars, they had again succeeded,
through the ingenuity of one of their brethren, who was
an adept at playing the innocent farmer act, in selling
the second time to the same party who had been so
grievously taken in and well cooked at the first attempt.
A little dye had removed the white marks and thus
changed his appearance to a casual observer.

Another very good horse story had its origin through
a funny circumstance that happened in Toronto some
years ago. A wealthy resident of Toronto, whose pride
of lineage could not be any stronger if he boasted the

196 CANADIAlSr TURF RECOLLECTIONS

blood of all the Howards, was desirous of purchasing a
pair of very superior carriage horses, and many were
the teams that from time to time were driven to his
mansion to be inspected. Nothing, however, came up
to the desired standard of perfection, and it began to
look as if the country held nothing good enough for the
excruciatingly particular purchaser. At last one day two
men filed an appearance, driving a pair of elegant bay
geldings, black points, full 16.1 in height, matched to a
hair in color; upheaded, lofty steppers, full of style and
bold, speedy drivers. The price asked for the pair, $600,
was very reasonable, and the intending purchaser being
satisfied on that point, commenced to ask how they were
bred and who owned them.

The latter query evoked the answer that the two geld-
ings were owned by two hackmen of this city, and as
neither was rich enough to buy the other man 's horse, it
was decided, when opportunity offered, to put the team
together and sell them. No sooner did it become known
to the aristocratic gentleman that both horses had been
driven by cabmen in their hacks, than he refused to
purchase them at any price, and about two months later
the pair were picked up by a New York buyer who paid
$650 for them.

Now for the sequel. About three months after declin-
ing to negotiate for the cabmen's pair, the gentleman in
question landed in New York on his way home from a
trip to England and mentioning to a Gotham friend while
lunching with him at his club, that he was on the lookout
for a pair of carriage horses, his friend told him of a
very stylish pair that he himself had been looking at
the previous day, their only fault in his eyes being that
they were too big for his carriage. As size was import-
ant in the Toronto citizen's eyes, he decided to go with
his friend and look them over. Arrived at the sale stable
he was shown a pair of magnificent bay geldings with
black points, over 16 hands high, superbly matched,
thoroughly well broken and in every way a model car-
riage pair. The price asked was a stiffish one, $1,500,

AND OTHER SKETCHES 197

but finally buyer and seller came together and in a few
days the team arrived in Toronto and soon made their
appearance on King street. Soon after their arrival the
coachman was with them opposite a mercantile establish-
ment, when a cab driver next to him, who was waiting for
his passengers, who were shopping in the big dry goods
store, asked the coachman where his master had picked
up such a rattling pair of horses. When informed that
they had just arrived from New York and cost $1,500, he
looked them over carefully, and finally told the coachman
that he had himself offered the same team to his master
for $600 and offered to bet $50 that such was the case.
Sure enough, upon further enquiry being made, it was
proven beyond a doubt that they were the pair bought
here by the American buyer, and so chagrined was the
aristocratic citizen over the laugh at his expense that he
foolishly sold the team and pocketed a loss of several
hundred dollars. Moral — Don't let your pride run away
-with your common sense.

198 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

HE WAS ONE OF THE RIGHT SORT.

Poor Jack Munro ! He was weighed in some years ago,
but it will be many a long year before he is forgotten by
those who in the '70 's used to be in his company at the
various race meetings throughout the country.

Poor Jack had the misfortune to get a leg broken, and
even after it had mended so that in the doctor's opinion
our old friend might have safely trusted to it for support,
he steadily refused to discard his crutches, and many a
laughable incident occurred which went to show that the
props might have been thrown away.

The first time our old friend's peculiarity shone con-
spicuously was up at Aurora. Major Peel, then a gentle-
man farmer, had a cosy little box on his farm a short
distance north of the village. On the opening day of the
inaugural meeting he gave a luncheon to a few friends at
his house, and foremost among the merry-makers was
Munro. For about the six hundredth and sixty-sixth
time he told the story of his break, and with a face that
for mournfulness would have made the fortune of a pro-
fessional mute, declared he never expected to walk an-
other step without using his crutches. No amount of fun
appeared to enliven him and the unlimited amount of
joking about his perpetual lease of the crutches, failed
to thaw him out.

Finally Mrs. Peel proposed a stroll on the lawn, and
Munro was one of the first to respond to the invitation.
Jumping from the table, entirely forgetful of his
crutches, he escorted our hostess to the grounds, and
was soon chatting away and walking as free from lame-
ness as any one of the party, who, as a rear guard, were
following up, wondering what on earth excuse Munro
would have for so soon discarding his sticks.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 199

At last Mrs. Peel, pretending to have just noticed the
absence of his supports, warmly congratulated him on
his ability to walk alone, when suddenly, as if shot, poor
Jack fell against a tree near where he was standing and
declared that the pain in his legs was so awful he couldn't
move another step. The next moment he started on the
jump for the house, grabbed his crutches, and for many
a week thereafter declared he could not navigate without
them. Our old friend was a good sort, fond of the sports
of the turf and ever ready to back his opinion. He was
one of the old guard who were "aye ready" to start,
wherever the meeting might be. He had a host of friends
and none who knew him but found him a thorough sports-
man in the truest sense of the word. Greater praise than
that no man deserves.

200 CANADIAN TUKF RECOLLECTIONS

EILEY GRANNAN TOOK A HAND IN.

I remember, in 1894, at Saratoga, I was walking in the
company of a very prominent Canadian owner, when the
well-known ''Doc" Street came along. The horses were
just going to the post for the next race and he gave the
* ' eye ' ' to my companion in such a way that it meant busi-
ness. He stepped forward and the magic word whispered
in his ear was ' ' Gallilee. ' ' That bit of information was
worth a good round sum to the party to whom it was
given, because, if my memory serves me right, he bet
either four or five hundred and got about 4 to 1 against
his money. The following tells the story of the race:

The powers in control at Saratoga that year had been
urged to bar Grannan from the track. The Kentucky
plunger was in one of his famous winning moods and
was beating the game right and left. His friends all
alleged that the animus toward him was inspired by
jealousy. After a time the true inwardness of the matter
came out.

Street had Gallilee in a race one day. He was a legiti-
mate 8 to 5 shot, but went back in the betting to 4 to 1.
Then Grannan went out in the paddock to see the redoubt-
able Doctor.

** What's the matter with your horse, Street!" quer-
ried Grannan. ''He's 4 to 1 in there."

"There is nothing the matter with him," said Street.
"He is all right and ought to be a favorite and should win
easily. If his price is gone back somebody must have
got at the boy. ' '

The result of the conference was that Grannan agreed
to bet on Gallilee if he could put up his own jockey, to
which Street assented. Street complained to the stew-
ards about his boy, had another jockey substituted —

C. J. FITZGERALD, MAN.-DIR. MONTREAL JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 203

Barnes, if I remember correctly — and in the meantime
Grannan rushed back to the ring and bet Gallilee to a
standstill. When he got through half the slates were
turned to the wall.

Grannan must have won twenty-five or thirty thousand
dollars over the race. He put crimps in half a dozen
bookmakers and that was said to be the reason why some
people were anxious to bar him from the track, although
they refrained from injudicious action of that sort.

204 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

HOW A LOBSTER STOPPED A GRAND TRUNK

EXPRESS.

It was early in the 70 's that what I'm going to talk
about took place and the party around whom the story
centres was poor Sam Page, now deceased. At the time
I speak of Quimby and Forbes were looked upon as the
official pool-sellers of the country and, commencing to
feel their oats, as it were, they started to dictate to the
Turf Clubs and wanted everything their own way. The
result was that several clubs broke loose and Sam Page
was engaged to sell pools at those meetings.

One of these associations was Decker Park, Montreal,
then under the control of L. W. Decker, the proprietor
of the Albion Hotel, and it was arranged that Page
should be on hand to sell pools in the office of the
"Albion" at 8 p.m. on Monday evening, the races start-
ing at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Now, the better to understand
what follows, I will explain right here that Sam Page
was one of the heartiest feeders I ever met. He was also
a good judge of when dishes were properly prepared and
he never allowed himself to be hurried at his meals. No
matter what important business was on hand poor Sam
would concentrate his whole mind on the meal before him,
and no matter who waited it was utterly impossible to
hurry him along.

At the time I am speaking of there was no Sunday
night train to Montreal, so that it was necessary to leave
on Saturday night if Page was to be on the ''block" on
Monday evening. I had also promised Decker to get
down on the Monday, so took the Saturday night train
also. Arrived at Cobourg, where was one of the chief
restaurants on the road, we both went in for supper.
There were very few through passengers that night and
only one other person beside the conductor, Page and my-

AND OTHER SKETCHES 205

self, was at the table. As we sat down I noticed in front of
Sam an extra fine looking lobster. It was split down the
centre and certainly was a tempting morsel, and a glance
at Sam's face showed that he thoroughly appreciated the
look of his favorite dish and, pushing his plate to one
side, he confiscated dish and lobster, and calling for vine-
gar, salt, cayenne pepper, mustard and oil, straightway
laid himself out to mix an epicurean sauce for the tooth-
some shell fish. Recognizing that the schedule time for
supper was only twenty minutes, I started in to hurry
matters, but it was simply effort wasted. Soon the con-
ductor left the table to get his orders, remarking as he
went out that we had only a few minutes left. I shortly
followed him, calling to Sam to come along or we'd leave
him. Meeting the conductor on the platform, I took the
lamp from his hand, opened the refreshment room door,
gave a swing and a final warning of "all aboard" to the
solitary feeder. It was fully five minutes behind sched-
ule time when we pulled out from the station and we
never doubted for a moment that Page was on board. I
had gone forward to a front car to take a smoke with a
friend, and when the conductor came through he told
me that Page was not on the train. Here was a nice
mixture. Pool-selling was to start at eight o'clock Mon-
day evening and there was no chance for him to reach
Montreal before 10.30 that night. Feeling certain that
if he failed to keep his appointment Decker would give
the job to a local applicant, I asked the conductor what
chance there was of his reaching his journey's end be-
fore late Monday night. He didn't think there was any
chance of his getting east of Kingston. It appeared, how-
ever, that when our train left Cobourg there was a
through freight standing on the siding ready to follow
us, and if Page was equal to the emergency, the conductor
thought he might secure passage on it.

By the time these explanations were given we were
slowing up for Grafton station, and I made a strong
appeal to the conductor to try and persuade the engineer
to delay matters until the freight arrived. It was a

206 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

hard job to do it, but I finally succeeded and it wasn't
many minutes before the headlight of the freight train
showed some five miles up the rail. During the time I
was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the freight, and
speculating in my mind whether Sam would have sense
enough to be on board of her, I noticed that the engine
driver was very busy at some portion of the machinery
that he had apparently discovered to be out of order. At
last the freight train swung in on the siding, and running
down towards the caboose I met Sam coming towards me
puffing like a grampus, and between puffs trying to roast
somebody for leaving him behind. We had been delayed
eighteen minutes, and that is how a lobster stopped a
Grand Trunk express. It is scarcely necessary to add
that the road was then run in a very different fashion
from what it is now.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 207

THE HOME OF THE ONTAEIO JOCKEY CLUB.

The grand stand accommodation at Woodbine Park is
not of the palatial order. It is, in fact, an old-fashioned
structure worthy to rank with some of the ancient build-
ings of a similar character to be seen at long-established
English race courses. Old fashioned, however, as the
stand is and lacking in modern improvements, any such
drawbacks are more than counterbalanced by the noble
lawn accommodation in front of it and it would be diffi-
cult to equal, much less surpass, the appearance of the
building and lawns when crowded on important race days.

The steel structure on the western end of the lawn, de-
voted to the use of the members of the Club, is of a more
modem style of architecture and is fitted with boxes
which are rented each meeting to members. The flat roof
of this building, sixty feet from the ground and capable
of accommodating several hundred people, furnishes a
superb view of the races and is always crowded when a
steeplechase is in progress. The scenic view from this
elevation it would be difficult to equal on any race course
in the world. *

The southern boundary of Woodbine Park is Lake
Ontario, which is fifty miles in width at this point. On
a bright day its sunlit waters, over which sailing vessels
and steamers are constantly passing, adds life and ani-
mation to the scene. The city of Toronto, with its miles
of business streets and tree-shaded avenues, lies to the
west, while to the north the wooded hills of Norway
form an attractive background to the picture.

The property at Woodbine Park covers some eighty-
five acres, with stabling for 450 horses, accommodation
for several hundred more is procurable in the immediate
neighborhood and is utilized by the Club at every meet-

208 CANADIAN TURF EBCOLLECTIONS

ing. Within the last three years the directors of the
Ontario Jockey Club purchased additional property to
the extent of 250 acres in Scarborough, overlooking Lake
Ontario. The property is situated between the electric
and Grand Trunk railways and within eight miles of the
City Hall of Toronto. It is an ideal site for the future
home of the Ontario Jockey Club, where one may be
assured the real old-fashioned comforts of Woodbine
Park will not be missing but, in addition, will be found
all the modern improvements which engineering skill and
practical knowledge of an up-to-date race course will
suggest.

The illustrations published elsewhere portray more
graphically than words the attractions of Woodbine and
the great crowds that visit it. It would be difficult to find
in any country a more inspiring racing picture. Its May
meeting is the recognized opening event of the outdoor
social season, and in the opinion of those familiar with
all the leading race courses on the continent there is no
place that makes quite such a brave display as that to be
seen on the club house and lawn at Woodbine, especially
on those days when the King's Plate and other important
stake events are decided.

W. P. Fraser, Secretary-Treasurer of the 0. J. C, has
grown with the development of his Club. He is to-day a
thoroughly well posted racing official. Prompt and fear-
less but thoroughly fair in his treatment of owners. He
has for ten years filled his present position, and no more
indefatigable worker was ever connected with a racing
association.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 209

THE MONTEEAL JOCKEY CLUB.

The possession of the newest and best-equipped course
in the Dominion of Canada is the proud boast of the
citizens of Montreal, and those who have visited Blue
Bonnets and noted its perfections find it difficult to dis-
pute the claim. Nestling at the foot of Mount Royal and
occupjdng 167 acres of choice land, nature has done much
for the superb course, but the brain of the landscape
gardener has been employed and it is no stretch of the
imagination to say that when all the plans under way
for the beautification of the plant, some of which are as
yet in embryo, shall have reached fruition. Blue Bonnets
will stand comparison with any race course on the Amer-
ican continent.

The course is so conveniently situated that it may be
reached by electric cars in twenty-five minutes from the
heart of the city, or by a most excellent road, if one pre-
fers to motor or drive; while on race days the special
trains over the Canadian Pacific bring patrons within a
hundred yards of the club house, the journey from "Wind-
sor station occupying only a quarter of an hour.

The track proper is one mile and an eighth in circuit
and has two ''chutes," one for races at a mile and the
other for events at seven furlongs. The safety of the
contestants and the desire that the best horse should win
induced the management to make the width of the course
100 feet, and the fact that so large a percentage of favor-
ites win over its surface is proof that the aim of those
who projected the plan was accomplished.

The steeplechase course in the inner field is, in the
opinion of experts, as good as can be found anywhere.
There are many steeplechase enthusiasts in and around
Montreal, and some of the gentlemen who occupy execu-

210 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

tive positions in the Montreal Jockey Club have given
their special attention to the construction and care of the
course for the timber-toppers. The jumps are construct-
ed strictly according to regulation, both as to height and
thickness, and care has been exercised that the "take-off"
and "landing" places should be good, sand having been
mixed with the soil so that a horse may extend himself
with safety.

The club house is an imposing structure of two stories
and an attic, a combination of the French and colonial
styles, capable of accommodating about 1,500 persons.
It is situated on an eminence and commands a splendid
view of every part of the course. In fact, spectators,
whether in the galleries or on the lawn, can see every
movement of the horses during the races, whether on the
flat or 'cross country.

The grand stand, with a seating capacity of 3,500, is
built almost entirely of steel and concrete and it, too, is
on a knoll with a lawn for spectators, which affords per-
fect facilities for viewing the sport. The refreshment
rooms are beneath the stand and the telegraph offices are
in a well beneath the stairway.

The paddock is large and conveniently placed behind
the club house so that ladies who wish to look the horses
over before the races may do so with comfort.

A feature of the course is the quarters for the officials,
trainers and jockeys which are separated from the pad-
dock, thus ensuring the privacy which is essential in the
Xiroper conduct of a race meeting. Only those who have
business there are admitted to this enclosure, or to the
next colonial cottage, in which the offices are located.

There are twenty stables, affording accommodation for
610 horses, and an artesian well supplies water of the
purest quality, which is piped throughout the property.

The inaugural meet of the Club was opened June 4,
1907.

Two meetings are held each year, one in June, the other
in September, and it is pleasant to note the fact that
western Canadian owners of race horses have been liberal

W. NORTHEY, SECY.-TREAS MONTREAL JOCKEY CLUB.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 213

in their support, also that many prominent American
stables are always represented at Blue Bonnets.

The office holders of the Club are representative busi-
ness men of the commercial metropolis. Its President,
Sir Montagu Allan, enjoys a national reputation. He
is the head of the Allan Line of ocean steamers and one
of Canada's most noted captains of industry. The Vice-
Presidents are Hon. J. E. Robidoux, Wm. P. Riggs and
A. E. Ogilvie. They are ably supported on the Board of
Management by the following Directors : James Carruth-
ers, Colin Campbell, Bartlett McLennan, Hon. J, P. B.
Casgrain, Geo. R. Hooper, Hugh Paton, Hugh A. Allan,
Dr. Charles McEachran, H. B. MacDougall and Welton
C. Percy.

The Club's Managing Director is C. J. Fitzgerald, the
well-known racing official. He is a Canadian by birth.
For many years he was the official starter of the Amer-
ican Jockey Club and also manager of the Brighton Beach
Racing Association. His knowledge, gained by years of
experience, has been of great value to the Montreal Club.

The Secretary-Treasurer, W. Northey, is eminently
qualified for the duties of his position and his ever-
courteous and affable manner has made him deservedly
popular with the patrons of the Club.

214 CANADIAN TUEF RECOLLECTIONS

THE WINDSOR RACING ASSOCIATION.

The above Association occupies a prominent position.
It is one of the best racing properties in Canada and its
track is one of the fastest. For several years it was
devoted exclusively to the harness horse, but the forma-
tion of a local jockey club, which was due largely to the
enterprise of ex-Mayor Davis, introduced the thorough-
bred in that section and popularized him with the sport-
loving public of the district.

Several successful meetings were held by the local
Club, but finally a new organization was formed, the
President of which is Mr. George M. Hendrie, and the
Secretary and Manager, Mr. Walter 0. Parmer, both
thoroughly experienced racing men. Mr. Hendrie, in
partnership with his elder brother, Lieut.-Col. Hon. J. S.
Hendrie, of Hamilton, owns the Valley Farm racing sta-
ble, one of the most important in the Dominion. The
engraving published on another page gives a good idea of
the club house, paddock and grounds in connection with
the Windsor track.

Within the boundary fence there are 124 acres. The
stalls number 602, while immediately adjoining the track
are 300 additional ones which are controlled by the Club.
There are splendid water, sewer and electric light ser-
vices and altogether the property deserves to be classed
as one of the most complete racing plants to be found
anywhere. The meetings are highly popular with the
race-going public of Detroit who, in a twenty minutes'
journey from their City Hall, are able to reach the
track. Electric care run to the gates and big crowds are
rapidly handled every day of the summer and autumn
racing. A little over one hundred thousand dollars are
now distributed annually in stakes and purses, and the
plan adopted of paying the money won immediately the

AND OTHER SKETCHES 215

oflScial decision is given, is one highly popular with own-
ers of horses. A large amount of money is put into cir-
culation every racing season by the presence of such an
influx of horses and visitors, a fact which is appreciated*
by the farmers of the surrounding country as well as by
the business men of Windsor.

track. Electric cars run to the gates and big crowds are
The owners of the property have made a liberal offer
to the municipality to construct extensive buildings in
which to hold an up-to-date County Show and additional
building accommodation in which auction sales of horses
and other live stock can be advantageously held. Even
at the present time a good deal of stock is disposed of
each year at Windsor, but with the splendid accommo-
dation which Messrs. Hendrie and Parmer would, under
reasonable conditions, be willing to supply, there could
not fail to be a noteworthy increased development of the
live stock business at the citv of Windsor.

216 CANADIAN TUEF ' RECOLLECTIONS

THE HAMILTON JOCKEY CLUB.

The boom in turf matters in Canada has been nowhere
made more apparent than in the city of Hamilton. Rac-
ing in that city was under a cloud for many years, but the
establishment of the Hamilton Jockey Club secured a
resurrection of the sport and its restoration to public
favor. The present Club, under the Presidency of Sena-
tor the Hon. Wm. Gibson, one of our representative rail-
way contractors, and a strong Board of Directors, has
made a splendid record. Their two meetings a year are
attended by large crowds, an average of eight hundred a
day going by special train from Toronto. Their stakes
and purses are liberal and the number of horses that race
there is only limited by the stable accommodation pro-
curable. The property is about seventy-five acres in ex-
tent. There are 490 stalls on the grounds and over one
hundred additional in close proximity to the track. The
latter is one mile and a sixteenth in circumference and
past performances over its surface have proved it to be
one of the fastest in Canada. There is also a turf course
of one mile, being the only one in America, with the ex-
ception of Sheepshead Bay. The steeplechase course is
one of the best to be found anywhere.

Its President, Senator Gibson, has been engaged in
many notable works, such as the enlargement of the
Welland Canal, the new Victoria Bridge at Montreal, the
masonry of both ends of the St. Clair Tunnel, as well as
the masonry in connection with the construction of the
most important bridges on the Grand Trunk Railway
system. He owns and operates two of the largest lime-
stone quarries in Canada. He also holds many positions
of honor and trust, amongst them being the Presidency
of the Bank of Hamilton, also of the Hamilton Gas Light
Co., Director of the Canada Life Assurance Co., and is

AND OTHEE SKETCHES 217

also a director on the board of a large number of other
important corporations. He is one of the most progres-
sive members of the Senate in Canada, Chairman of its
Banking and Commerce Committee, and the Hamilton
Club are to be congratulated on securing him for their
President.

Its Secretary, Mr. A. E. Loudon, for many years en-
joyed the reputation of being one of the best gentlemen
riders in this country, his forte being steeplechasing, and
between the flags he was a first-class performer, possess-
ing good judgment and plenty of nerve. As a Secretary
he is popular both with his Club and the general public
and is to be congratulated on the great success that has
been achieved by the Association since he was installed
in office.

218 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A CANADIAN ''GUERILLA" YARN.

Some time ago when travelling in a railway carriage
I chanced to meet an old ''giierilla" of the road, one of
the pioneers of '62, in whose company at that ancient
date I had journeyed many thousands of miles, when rail-
way trains were few and far between and telegraph
offices were unknown in a majority of the villages of On-
tario. As we sat and chatted about ye ancient days the
name of many a good fellow who has since sailed over the
dark river came to mind, and pleasanter thoughts of other
veterans still on the warpath whiled away in a happy
fashion what otherwise might have proved tedious hours
long drawn out.

One of the old-time recollections twined around as
rare good a specimen as ever unpacked a sample trunk.
My old friend Linton, known to his intimates as "Bob"
Linton, now alas on the retired list through blindness,
was one of the very earliest enlisted "guerillas" of
the very select company in that '62 and thereabouts who
had the road to themselves, and many a good ti'ip he
and I had together in those days. The fun in connection
with friend Linton was scored at Mount Forest a good
many years ago, and mouldy though the story be with age,
it will be fresh as new paint to the present army of young
men who go forth with cases and trunks from this city.

The night was one in August, close and sultry, and the
bedroom which Bob had apportioned him being of the
slanting roof order, was almost hot enough to stew oys-
ters, so the occupant forthwith proceeded to elevate the
window to the top notch. This done, he went to bed, not
to sleep, but to roll around on top of the clothes and
wonder why on earth he had been idiot enough to accept
such quarters when he could have had a soft mattress on
the back verandah where a cool air fanned to sleep two
of his chums who had refused to be grilled in similar
quarters. Soon after lying down he was disturbed by a

AND OTHER SKETCHES 219

fluttering noise, as of a bird flying around his bed, and
springing up he struck a Hght and saw a small, flattened
out looking object, like a compressed mouse, with wings,
flying about the room. Now Bob, not being well versed
in natural history, was undecided as to the character of
his room-mate and, considering it a mighty queer kind
of bird, he determined to catch it if possible, and examine
it more closely by the morning light. So, taking his felt
hat, he started on a chevey-chase, and after stubbing his
toes a dozen times and knocking an inch or two of bark
off his shins, he finally cornered the intruder with his hat
and shut it up in a drawer of an old-fashioned table that
stood near the window, after which he went to bed and
fell asleep.

His sleep, however, was a brief one. He had scarcely
sounded the first note on his nasal trombone, on which he
was a rare good performer, when a further rushing sound
awakened him, and lighting his lamp once more he suc-
ceeded in catching a second bat, but not until he had
caromed with his toes on every article in the room and
dropped a few cuss words as mile-stones to mark the
weary journey he travelled to make the ''catch." Once
caught, he deposited it in the drawer with its companion
and again took to bed. Soon again, however, he was
awakened in a similar manner. Bats appeared not to
come as single visitors, but in companies, and seven dif-
ferent times did Bob chase the darned little critters
around that room until he had that number 'prisoned in
the table drawer, to be duly flourished before his friends
in the morning in evidence of his night's doings. At last
the supply of bats seem-^d to run out, and he succeeded
in getting a few hours ' sleep. When he awoke he jumped
out of bed and cautiously opened the drawer containing
his victims, but, great Scott! there wasn't a bat to be
found. He opened the drawer its full length, and then
discovered it had no back to it. Bob had, in fact, spent
two-thirds of the night catching the same bat, which had
flown out of the back of the drawer about as soon as he
put it in the front way.

220 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

AN OLD-TIME FORTY-MILE TROT.

There is no getting over the fact that Canadians, as a
people, are as fond of sport as their ancestors across the
herring pond.

True, we have not a wealthy class that can afford to
lavish its tens of thousands a year in providing sport for
the gratification of the public taste, but what our citizens
lack in ducats is made up in enthusiasm and you can wit-
ness as much enjoyment at a roadside race for a ten-
dollar note as you would see on Epsom Downs when
twenty thoroughbreds sweep past the winning post. I
have seen our country cousins shout themselves hoarse
over a horse that couldn't run his mile in better than
2.10, and I have heard the same fraternity yell like a
Comanchee in honor of a plug that struggled through a
heat in three minutes. Women will flirt and men will
sport and bet their money on the bobtail, or some other
kind, and all the straight-laced exhorters that ever cried
themselves hoarse in pulpit or market-place cannot talk
it out. Man has a certain amount of cussedness about
him and when I meet a chap fond of rolling his eyes on
the upstroke and crossing his hands in orthodox shape, I
put him down as being ''on the make." What his par-
ticular little game may be I perhaps have to find out, but
it is a thoroughbred against a poodle that he has some
kind of a game in hand and is only lying low for a chance
to ''open out." Having thus spoken a few words of
gospel truth, I jump back to my text refreshed by the
digression.

The old-time trotter is apt to be considered by modem
turfites an old fogy that could not trot fast enough to keep
himself warm. Yet the blood of these old stagers, judici-
ously mated, has produced the present marvellous flyer,
the measure of whose capabilities has not yet been mark-
ed upon a blackboard; still, though, the old folks couldn't

AND OTHER SKETCHES 221

look on at a 2.10 or .12 clip, they did have some really
good sport in the days of Anld Lang Syne. I can travel
over forty years myself, and sometimes anchor alongside
a still older one and rejoice to hear him rnn the gamut of
past experiences and tell how they did things in the early
days. I met not long ago an ancient who told me all
about a forty-mile trot that took place on the old Don
race course in the year 1847. The old heads had for some
time been disputing as to who owned the likeliest horse,
and when one chimed in on his favorite, another would
talk back about his, and so it went on until the blood
warmed up to the pitch when "it's money talks" and no
other argument will fill the bill.

In the year '47 long-distance trotting was the rage, and
Mr. C. E. Romaine, then known all over the continent as
"Young Canada," offered to bet a thousand dollars that
his mare. The Queen, could beat Mr. James Cotton's
horse, Jack on the Green, a straight trot of forty miles.
The Cottonites had blood in their eyes also, and the
result was a match for $2,000 over the Don track. From
the moment the match was made the feeling ran high and
the partizans of each gentleman kept the pot boiling right
straight along. Unfortunately for Mr. Romaine, about
three weeks before the appointed time, The Queen lamed
herself, and her party were down in the dumps. Her
plucky owner, however, succeeded in getting a postpone-
ment for ten days on condition that the full stake of
$1,000 a side be posted and the match made p. p.

This was done, and as the mare got over her lameness
speculation again became brisk, a good deal of money be-
ing put up at evens. Three days before the eventful one
it commenced to rain and Jupiter Pluvius kept the
sprinkler going for thirty-six straight hours. As a con-
sequence the track on the inside was fetlock deep in mud
and it became necessary to trot clear on the outside to
keep away from the stickiness. As the horses were rung
up for the start, the most casual observer could not fail
to note the striking difference in the appearance of the
two performers. The mare was a scant fifteen hands, of

222 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

light build and, though a well-known stayer and having
the foot of the horse, many doubted her ability to com-
pass forty miles of such going as she had to face that day.

On the other hand, Mr. Cotton's horse was three-
quarters thoroughbred, stood sixteen hands and an inch
and looked as fine as a fiddle. Mr. Romaine drove his own
mare, and Mr. Tom Gillespie, of Hamilton, handled the
ribbons over Jack on the Green. Just prior to the start
Mr. Romaine made an even bet of $500 with Mr. Parish,
of Ogdensburg, that the race would be trotted inside of
three hours and a half, but a second offer of the same
gentleman's of a like amount found no takers. When the
word was given, Mr, Romaine went to the front with the
liorse trailing in close company. Mile after mile was
trotted in the same Indian-file fashion, both drivers fear-
ing to force the pace, each determined to stick to the
other. For twenty miles there was no change of position,
but the previous soft footing had become terribly cut up
by the horses' feet and the outside of the track was now
almost as bad as nearer the rail.

On the twenty-first mile The Queen let out a link and
for a time opened quite a gap on the horse, but the latter,
settling into a long telling stride, again ranged up, and
once more the procession was kept going. As they en-
tered upon the thirty-ninth mile not more than two
lengths separating them, the excitement bubbled over and
both sides cheered their representatives most lustily. As
they came down the home stretch and started on the
fortieth and last round, wheel and wheel, each driver
exertilig his utmost skill, and their horses trotting to-
gether like a team, human nature had to cut loose and
signify its hearty appreciation of the great struggle.
''$50 on the horse." ''Put up, my hearty, and I'll go
you another twenty on the top of it, just for love."

The shouting of the betting men was fast and furious,
each one outvieing the other in his efforts to "get on"
his favorite. Both animals showed signs of distress, and
it was a toss of a copper which would quit first. At the
half-mile pole the horse made his effort and gained two

AND OTHER SKETCHES 223

lengths in the struggle, but as they rounded the turn into
the home stretch the little 'un made a last and gallant
effort to re-occupy the pride of place. It was neck and
neck for a brief turn, but blood and breeding told the
usual tale, and after the most noteworthy long distance
race ever trotted in Canada, Jack on the Green secured
the verdict by two lengths, in the remarkable time, con-
sidering the state of the track, of three hours and eight
minutes. The Don race course is now only a recollection
of the past. Factories and workshops mark its site and
the busy hum of human industry resounds where the
echo of flying feet once awakened the enthusiasm of the
multitude, so that the storm of their noisy acclamations
vied with the murmurings of old Ontario, as her white
crested waves broke on the neighboring shore.

224 CANADIAN TUEF BECOLLECTIONS

A TEOTTING MATCH IN MONTREAL IN THE 70 'S.

Along in the '70 's the Albion Hotel in Montreal was a
favorite stopping place with the leading horsemen, both
of western and eastern Canada. Its then proprietor,
L. W. Decker, was an enthnsiastic admirer of the light
harness horse and generally had one or two fast trotters
or pacers in his stable. It was, therefore, natural for
horsemen to foregather at the Albion, and many a pleas-
ant evening was spent discussing who owned the speed-
iest nag. Many a match, both on the ice in winter and
over the turf in summer, resulted from these evening
chats, and much good sport was thereby furnished the
public.

One night a good-looking stranger was introduced to
the select circle by Mr. Decker. He said he hailed from
New Hampshire, and as he was well posted on the horse
question he proved an agreeable and entertaining com-
panion. His business was that of a travelling salesman
of patent medicines and his outfit, a good-looking, cross-
matched team, a black and a gray, hooked to a gorgeously
decorated wagon, made an attractive appearance. He
occasionally drove his horses single, and on more than
one occasion joined some of his newly made Montreal
friends in a drive out to the Back river. The black horse
was his favorite single driver, and was a good stepper,
though in several trials of speed on the road with local
horses he had generally come out second best.

One night at the usual gathering of horsemen in the
Albion, a prominent Montrealer, while extolling the
quality of a new purchase he had lately made in the west,
declared his willingness to make a match against any
horse owned in Montreal, the stake to be $100 or $200 a
side, and the distance, mile heats, two in three. None of
the local horsemen present appearing anxious to accept

ANGUS SINCLAIR, TORONTO.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 227

the challenge, the patent medicine vendor expressed his
willingness to take up the offer, only as he was not a
resident of Montreal he did not like to interfere. He
was told that he would be accepted as a citizen if he
desired to take a hand in. He, however, upon being so
promptly made eligible apparently backed down and
allowed the evening to pass without expressing any
further wish in the matter. A night or two later, most
of the same persons being present, the Montreal owner
of the western horse, bantered the traveller as to the
speed of their respective horses. This time it resulted
in a match for $200 a side (the stranger mentioning his
black horse as his representative), the match to be trotted
the following week, Mr. Decker being appointed stake-
holder. During the few days that intervened before the
race was to be decided many wagers were made, the
Montreal-owned horse being a strong favorite. The medi-
cine man made one or two small bets on his horse, but
did not appear at all anxious to put much money up on
the result. On the day before the race, when matters
livened up at the hotels mostly frequented by horsemen,
much money was wagered.

On the day of the race a big crowd was in attendance
and pool-selling on the result was brisk. The Montreal
horse was a steady first choice, selling for $20 against
$10 and $12 for the outsider. The latter was persistently
supported by a well-known Quebecker, and another per-
son, who was a stranger to those present.

When the horses were called for the first heat the Mon-
trealer showed up decidedly the best looker. He was a
hands, and in his preliminary brush down the stretch
rangey looking bay gelding, standing nearly sixteen
showed considerable speed. In fact, so impressed were
his backers that they eagerly snapped up every bet
offered. There was very little scoring indulged in. The
peddler did not appear anxious to obtain the best of the
start, and at the second attempt both horses went away
head and head on their journey, the local horse having the
pole. There was no perceptible advantage gained by

228 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

either during the first round of the half-mile track, but
going up the back stretch on the second half-mile of the
journey the local horse moved away from his opponent,
and though the latter was apparently driven to the limit
of his speed he was unable to close the gap and was
beaten to the wire by a liberal length. There was a good
deal of cheering over the result. The owner of the win-
ning horse was a popular citizen and his friends, evi-
dently under the belief that the money they had wagered
on the result was already in their pockets, surrounded
the pool-seller and cheerfully bet the odds of $20 to $6
that their favorite would win the race.

When the horses scored for the second heat a close-
observing Toronto horseman who had wagered $100 on
the Montreal horse, noticed that the rigging on the ped-
dler's nag had been changed, and suspecting from this
circumstance that there might be a nigger behind the
woodpile, he decided to hedge his money, and this he suc-
ceeded in doing, and to keep an interest in the game he
bet $30 against a century on the Yankee horse. When the
word was given in the second heat both horses started
head and head. They trotted like a team the first half,
and until they rounded into the home stretch at the finish
of the mile, the proverbial blanket would have covered the
pair. Now, however, the black horse, responding to the
call of his driver, forged ahead, and though the finish was
an exciting one, the stranger had the best of it by half a
length. The result in the second heat cooled the ardor of
local bettors and only a limited amount of business was
afterwards done.

In the third and deciding heat both horses were again
sent away on even terms, but, evidently determined to
take no chances, the black horse was rushed to the front,
and at the end of the first quarter was a length to the
good. Passing the judge 's stand the first half-mile he had
a lead of two lengths, and though his driver slackened his
efforts when finishing out the journey he came home an
easy winner by about the same margin in the fastest mile
of the race.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 229

The easy manner in which the Yankee had won the
third heat, coupled with that flash of speed in the first
quarter of it, was an eye-opener to the backers of the
Montrealer, and some of them commenced to think that
the whole game from the start had been an easy one for
the stranger.

That night at the Albion the select circle of resident
horsemen was informed by Mr. Decker that he had an
interesting dispatch he was anxious to read to them. He
had heard it rumored that the peddler intended going
from Montreal to Newport in Vermont, and having an
intimate friend in the hotel business down there he had
wired him to look out for the peddler and post the boys
to make no match against his black horse. To this his
friend had wired the following reply, which he would
read to them:

"L. W. Decker, Albion Hotel, Montreal.

** Warning comes too late. That slick peddler

broke all the boys here a month ago. We gave

him Horace Greely's advice to go west and try

Montreal. Guess he has done it."

230 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A CANADIAN FREEBOOTER.

Yes, he was a particularly smart customer was Mr.

L , and many a horseman around Brantford will

make aflfidavit to that effect without a moment's hesita-
tion. He carried a whole canful of sweet oil around with
him concealed under his tongue, and when he was engaged
in a ringing tour it would take more than three ordi-
narily sharp men on the judges' stand to spot him.

On one of his piratical trips down through Pennsyl-
vania he took along with him a horse with a record low
down in the "thirties" and, as it transpired afterwards,
he started not only in the three-minute, fifty and forty-five
classes, but also took a hand in two or three races at the
fairs reserved for gentlemen 's roadsters. My informant,
who stumbled across him in Venango County, Pa., de-
clared that Sol Smith Russell could not have improved
upon L 's get-up and his assumption of the char-
acter of a local preacher.

He introduced himself as Brother Wilkins, a travelling
local preacher, whose habitation when he was not swing-
ing around the circle, was a few miles back from Pit Hole,
and having run across a Fair bill showing a prize for
road horses, why he just thought he had a pretty good
smart kind of a roadster, and as a local preacher's salary
wasn't a very hefty one, he just guessed he'd let the old
horse take a hack at the company, and maybe he'd have
luck enough to get a little bit of the prize money which
would be considerable welcome. The purse was one hun-
dred dollars, and his entry was as follows : ^ ' Joseph Wilk-
ins, Pine Tree Hollow, b.g. Missionary, breeding, don't
know. ' '

When Mr. L , in the character of Wilkins, of Pine

Hollow, appeared on the track he was garbed in a long
black coat, straight buttoned up from chin to waist, and
a very clerical looking black hat on his head. Prelimin-

AND OTHER SKETCHES 231

ary to the horses being called up Wilkins mounted the
judges' stand and expressed the hope that they would
kind of help him through, as he declared : " I 'm not much
of a driver, I'm afraid, and these chaps that are frisking
around so in their dehcate buggies, look as if they'd
run over a fellow rather than go round him ; however, I 'm
mighty hard up for a few dollars of ready money and as
my horse is quite handy on the road, I thought I wouldn't
be offending my conscience if I was to try and make a
trifle out of his speed."

The judges assured Wilkins he should be protected in
his rights and the ' * local preacher ' ' went down, thanking
them every step of the way for their kindness. His trap
was a sort of cross between a road cart and a jumper
and no fellow ever looked more awkward climbing a
greasy pole than he did mounting the hybrid vehicle.

When the word was given he was sitting in such un-
gainly fashion some folks thought it was more likely he
would fall off going around the first turn, but he didn't,
and though he made a terrible mess of it jerking his
mare, coming home he managed to get inside the flag and
was saluted with all sorts of chaff for his awkward driv-
ing. The second heat he sat bolt upright as if screwed to
the seat, and after another greenhorn finish down the
stretch he succeeded in finishing fourth, two others be-
ing behind him. In the pool-selling that was briskly going
on before the race and after each heat, all pools being
sold on the race, the preacher 's horse sold for one or two
dollars, and appeared slow of sale even at that figure. In
the third heat Wilkins appeared to have more confidence
in himself, and though he still gave evidence of not know-
ing much about driving, he managed to win the heat by
half a length. The fourth heat he also landed by about a
length, and then the crowd began to think the stranger's
horse was a mighty good one to win with such a driver
up. Before the fifth heat there was a lot of money wag-
ered, but still there did not appear to be anybody very
hot to back the outsider and in pools of $25 he only
brought an average of $8. This heat was much the same

232 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

as the others. Half way down the stretch Wilkins had a
length the best of it, he then let one of the reins drop out
of his hand and only succeeded in reclaiming it after his
horse had made a bad break; he, however, managed to
get him levelled again, and after what the spectators
termed a big lot of luck, he won the heat by a neck. When
the two chaps who had gathered in all the tickets on
Missionary met the latter 's owner that night they divided
up eleven hundred dollars of spoils, and so the game went
on right down through the oil country, and when the bird
had flown and the old heads commenced to investigate,
they found that one of the cleverest operators that ever
mounted a sulky had cooked their bacon for them in
great shape. As a Meadville man said, he was a slick
enough Canuck to shave a Connecticut Jew.

THE LATE RODDY PRINGLE.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 235

A NOTABLE RACE ON THE ICE.

Do I remember the Bolly Lewis race? Well, I should
rather think I do. Talk about a hurricane, old chap, why
the knowing ones were struck by a real old-fashioned bliz-
zard. Their pockets were turned inside out and only that
the most of them had return tickets, Toronto friends
would have had to find free board for them until the
spring.

Do I remember particulars of the race? Yes, I have
the record clearly stamped on my memory. The way it
came about was this: The present ^'Charley" Boyle was
rusty for want of something to do, and to pass away the
days and make a few dollars at the same time, he con-
cluded to get up a winter trotting meeting. It was in
1872, a genuine old-timer, thermometer-on-a-strike, nearly
all the time in the neighborhood of zero, and snow enough
to let one look down his neighbor's chimney. Toronto
Bay was frozen about three feet thick, and Boyle decided
to make a track opposite the present Union Station.
This was done, and though snowstorms came with almost
daily regularity, the scrapers were kept busily at work,
and when race day came round the going was 0. K. The
amount of money hung up in purses was liberal and the
entries in all the classes were away above the average.
The race, however, about which the speculation was
briskest was the ''free-for-all." There were four Cana-
dian representatives engaged in it, and up to the day be-
fore the race nobody expected foreign competition, but
at the eleventh hour the well-known trotter Bolly Lewis
arrived, and so great was his reputation on the ice that
the event was considered by many a foregone conclusion
in his favor. How he happened to come this way is well
worth recording. The eastern parties who owned him
had sold him to a person in Detroit, and, according to
agreement, had to deliver him there by a certain day.

236 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

They shipped him via the Great Western Railroad, and,
arriving at the Suspension Bridge, hearing that entries
for the Toronto ice races closed that night, they forthwith
telegraphed their entry and took the horse off the cars
at Hamilton. In the meantime they telegraphed for one
or two backers and prepared on their arrival in Toronto
to play scoop game on the Canucks.

Quimby and Forbes were the pool-sellers, and Jim Car-
son's saloon was their headquarters. The day previous
to the race a tall, lank Connecticut man, who drawled five
minutes for every three minutes talking indulged in, had
a private interview with Carson and proposed that he
should do the betting for the party. Carson, no way loth
to stand in on a good thing, jumped at the chance and
straightway a couple of thousand dollars were handed
over for betting purposes. During the afternoon he got
in a little good work, and soon it was whispered around
that Bolly Lewis was a sure thing and that Carson had
the straight tip. The knowing ones who just got the news
also dipped in, and when the pool-box was opened at
eight o'clock there was a big rush made to get on the
favorite. The keen competition for first choice soon
sent the odds ballooning and the call before nine o'clock
was as follows :

Bolly Lewis $40, Princess $25, Mazeppa $5, field $7.
At these figures Carson and his followers stood to the
front and bought the choice, apparently satisfied with the
chances, in fact, looking upon it as so much money
picked up. Up to the hour of closing the box a large
amount of money was staked and again in the morning
the boys returned to the charge and set the ball rolling in
the same direction. The sport was advertised to com-
mence at 2.30 p.m., and at that hour a crowd of people
numbering some thousands, was gathered on the ice. The
.45 trot was a fine struggle, and the victory of Douglas
was only scored after one of the most gallant efforts ever
witnessed in a race. Each horse finished under the whip
and the verdict in each heat only secured by a head. When
the horses in the free-for-all were rung up an excited

AND OTHER SKETCHES 237

crowd was ranged on either side of the home stretch, and
many were the opinions expressed on the probability of
the foreigner distancing the whole party in the first heat.
In the preparatory "overture" there were one or two
old heads who did not like Lewis. To them he moved
stiff and did not appear able to extend himself ; but with
the general run of horsemen present his past victories
blinded their eyes, so that they were unable to form an
unprejudiced opinion.

After a few unsuccessful attempts to get away, the
word was given, with Mazeppa a half length on the lead,
the favorite in second position. Trotting up the straight
stretch from the judges' stand Mazeppa went like a
quarter horse, and as he passed the quarter pole had fully
six lengths the best of the company. Yet no glimmer of
doubt disturbed the minds of the Bolly Lewis backers,
and even when at the half-mile flag the yellow gelding
had a lead of twenty lengths, the opinion was that the
journey on the last half would anchor him. Eounding
the turn, with the whole field spread out in Indian file,
the leader displayed wondrous speed, and as he squared
himself for home showed still more daylight between
himself and his followers. Nearing the judges' stand his
driver and owner, the late Simon James, pulling him up
walked him past the stand in time close to 2.30. The sec-
ond and third heats were a repetition of the first. Mazep-
pa was beyond doubt a faster horse that day than he ever
showed himself, either on former or after occasions.

That day it would have taken a veritable ghost to beat
him and so, no doubt, thought the eastern sharp 'uns who
staked their pile on the American representative. In the
pool-room that night great was the jubilee with the field-
ers, fifteen and twenty dollars had captured a pile, and
sour were the faces of the foreigners who saw their
shekels pass into the hands of those who were not likely
to give them an opportunity to win them back again.

238 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

FOUR-MILE TROTTING SPIN AT OWEN SOUND.

Away back in the '60 's there were not many '* gueril-
las" on the road in Canada. Nowadays they are called
commercial travellers and the woods are full of them, but
at the time I am speaking about the boys could be pretty
nearly counted upon one 's fingers and toes, but what they
lacked in numbers they made up in quality.

Branxjh railroads were then very scarce. The Grand
Trunk and Great Western had it nearly all to themselves
and great stretches of country that are now covered with
a network of iron rails, could only be reached at that
time on wheels in summer and runners in winter. There
are lots of good men and true among the travellers of
to-day, but there are also many of the other kind, which
I suppose is not to be wondered at considering the big
crowd there is; but in the days I am talking about a
mean-acting man, such as a sneak or tale-bearer, would
have been driven off the road in thirty days from the
discovery of that meanness.

Then the customers, those back of the railway lines,
used to hail the arrival of the ''guerilla" as a happy
break in the monotonous daily round. The latter gener-
ally came loaded with the latest stories and as jealousy
was an article then unknown amongst country shop-
keepers, they would gather of an evening with a traveller
either at one of the centrally located stores or in the hotel
parlor and spend a social hour in chatting and yarning.
Then one of the longest driving routes, and one of the
pleasantest as well, was from Guelph up to Elora and
Fergus, then north through Arthur, Mount Forest, Dur-
ham and several villages lying off the centre road on to
Owen Sound. There was a well-appointed stage line
from the Royal City to the upper lake town belonging to
the Coulson Brothers, the head of the firm being the then

AND OTHER SKETCHES 239

well-known J. P. Coulson, of the Coulson House at the
Sound. He was a red-hot friend and an equally red-hot
enemy, naturally quick-tempered and inclined to have his
own way in everything. Many were the games that the
'* guerillas" used to put up on him just to get him started,
but it was always advisable to be out of the way at the
particular moment when he discovered the trick that had
been played on him.

I remember one time being snow-bound at the Coulson
House along with some travellers. One of these (I'll
call him Jack for convenience) was passionately fond of
a joke, and whether it was at his own expense or some-
body else's, appeared to make no difference, so long as
the laugh was on some one. He was also a bit of a
horseman, would bet a few dollars in a quiet way and I
believe would rather bet a "tenner" any time, even
though he felt sure of losing it, than take a stump. At
this particular time the four of us went driving; three
of us had hired teams and drivers at Guelph, but "Jack"
had brought his rig through from Brampton, and a
mighty good-looking pair of bay geldings they were. At
the dinner table, with J. P. in the seat of honor, we were
doing yeoman service to a spread of roast partridge and
stewed hare, a little special preparation which the land-
lord had provided on account of our being snowed up.

During the meal the talk turned upon driving horses
and J. P., with his usual assertiveness, declared he had
the fastest driver in the "Sound"; that he could pass
anything he had ever met on the road, and though he
would not bet he could beat some of the flyers that made
their living on the track, he'd wager a goodly sum that
he could hold his own with a liberal share of them, too.
At this stage of the game Jack broke in :

"I say, J. P., you're not blowing about that flea-bitten
gray out in the barn are you, with a head like a flour
barrel and a pair of ears like a jack rabbit?"

At this depreciation of his favorite roadster the
choleric Coulson grew several shades brighter in the face
and with a look at Jack that meant mischief, broke loose :

240 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

''Yes, Mr. Man, that's just the hoss I was talking
about. He may be a flea-bitten gray in his color, but he
ain't got no flour-barrel head, and his ears are as good
shaped and a mighty sight keener than those of some com-
mercial travellers I've met, and what's more, he can
trot faster than either one of them peacocks you are driv-
ing can run. That's what my money says, and it's the
stuff that talks."

Jack listened to the outburst without a quiver, and
when it was through dropped in a few more words that
added kerosene to the fire, then wound up by declaring
that he "did not believe that J. P. had any kind of a' good
roadster to his name. That he'd seen that flea-bitten
gray three summers before his present owner drew a line
on him and he just thought he was of no account. Might
be able to go half a mile or even a mile at a fair gait, but
when it came to a five-mile drive, why, he knew he was a
duffer and he wouldn't be a bit scared to trot the bay
gelding in his team, if the roads were only good enough,
against the gray for four or five miles fair trotting for
a twenty-dollar bill and an oyster supper for the party. ' '

This proposition by its very audacity nearly took
J. P.'s breath away, but he speedily rallied and said he
wouldn 't accept any such soft snap, but he 'd bet forty to

twenty and d^ n the cent of a hotel bill he 'd charge the

whole four for the time they were snowed up in his house
if he didn 't make Jack think he was driving a mule before
he got to the end of the four miles. The storm cleared
up about three o 'clock that afternoon, and by noon of the
following day the Durham road was fairly well broken,
and it was arranged that the parties should jog four
miles down the road, then turn, and at a given signal,
start for the Coulson House. A well-known resident and
the writer went down to start them, and as we had a
*'bit" of blood between the shafts that could run like a
streak, we decided to keep in the hunt as well as we were
able. Arrived at the turning post it was arranged that
a coin should be tossed to decide who 'd have the right of
the road on the start, but that in case the driver whose lot

AND OTHER SKETCHES 241

it was to start behind the other had speed enough to pass
the leader, the latter was to forfeit the stakes if he made
the slightest effort to crowd him while passing. This
agreed upon the coin was flipped and J. P. won the
choice. With this advantage in his favor he was de-
termined to be generous and, turning to Jack, he offered
to bet him 20 to 5 that he'd beat him fifty yards. The
offer was accepted, and the writer, strengthened by Jack 's
confidence, expressed a willingness to take the dose a
couple of times. This was done, then the word was given :
''Gentlemen, are you ready? Go." And both drivers
went.

J. P. set a rattling good pace, and evidently intended to
make it a hot one from start to finish, but the nose of
Jack's gelding was smelling of his buffalo robe all the
time and at the end of the first mile there was not a yard
of daylight between them. This position was retained
until within half a mile of home, and I was beginning to
think that though it was a mighty close struggle my ten
dollars was up salt creek, when, just as they reached the
four corners, Jack drew out, yelled like an Indian on the
warpath, went past J. P. as if the latter were anchored,
and, sailing along with a full head of steam on, waved
his adieus to his host. I was not in at the finish, for our
half bred, good bit of stuff though he was, couldn't keep
the pace up with two fellows in the sleigh for four miles,
but when we arrived home we heard that Jack landed a
winner by three hundred yards and that when J. P. drove
up to the hotel. Jack was sitting in an arm-chair outside
the door, cigar in mouth, and asked him where on earth
he had been fooling away his time. It was not necessary,
though, for Jack to rub it in. J. P. was the sorest man in
Grey county that day. It wasn't so much the money he
had lost that worried him, nor the free bills for four
hungry guests for five days, but he knew right well that
it would take many a dollar's worth of liquid refresh-
ment to wet the mouths of the kidders, and so it did.

But when a few days later a letter reached him from
a friend down in Guelph, warning him not to be so ready

242 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

to back his driving horse against horses with records
better than .45, J. P. straightway declared that it was a
* ' plant, ' ' and that the boys had rung in a trotter on him
on purpose, and no amount of future explanation was
sufficient to change his mind. When told that the gelding
had been loaned to Jack for a few weeks ' driving exercise,
he declared it was a conspiracy and vowed he'd get even
with the quartette before he quit.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 245

MR. RILEY'S FLOATING TRACK.

Forty years in the history of a city of the old world is
but as yesterday, but forty years in the record of a young
country like Canada and of a juvenile city like Toronto,
is chockful of interesting events and notable transforma-
tions. Anchor yourself alongside some of the old-timers,
get them started away back on the stream of life and as
they come again slowly sailing towards you, the yarns
some of them can spin are mighty funny ones. One of
the ancients, who died in this city a short time ago, was
Mr. Riley, at one time proprietor of the Revere House,
at the corner of King and York streets. He was one of
the oldest hotel-keepers on King street, and previous to
his locating there supplied spiritual comfort in the neigh-
borhood of the Esplanade at the foot of York street.
Then, as now, the boys liked their fun and as with us, so
with them, a little horse racing was relished by both old
and young. In those days the swell race track was known
as Boulton 's track, located in the neighborhood of Bever-
ley street, now a thoroughfare fringed with stately
mansions, then a tract of ground, half bush and half a
clearing. Charley Littlefield, Charley Gates, J. Mitchell,
D 'Arcy Boulton, of Cobourg ; J. Crawford, of Port Hope,
and others whose names do not occur to my mind for the
moment, were the horse owners and horse trainers of that
time, and many a gallant three and four-mile struggle
used to be witnessed for purses nearly as large as the
average nowadays. In the winter time trotting on the ice
was a favorite amusement, and scores of matches would
be made and settled while the snow was flying. One win-
ter friend Riley made up his mind to distinguish himself.
He waited with eager impatience for the ice to form on
the bay, and as soon as nine inches of good strong mater-
ial was reported, he straightway commenced preparing to

246 CANADIAN TUEP BEOOLLEOTIONS

construct a first-class mile track. A civil engineer and
his assistants were engaged to do the work on scientific
principles, and soon it became known and talked of both
far and near as a ' ' big thing on ice. ' '

Every owner of a horse in the town was congratulating
himself on having a high old time as soon as the track was
ready, and friend Eiley saw looming in the distance a big
reputation for enterprise, with a fine run of customers at
his hotel thrown in. A big gang of men were put to work
and at the end of two weeks, on a Wednesday at noon, the
track was completed and announced perfect. It was
bushed every fifty yards, and altogether pronounced the
greatest thing yet attempted in that line. At two o^clock
a great crowd of people were on the bay taking a look at
things^nd speculating on the grand prospects of sport
ahead, and in Riley's hotel on the shore the boys were
congregated getting up the programme for the races to be
held. About this time a strong easterly wind blew up, the
sky became overcast and the people at the track made for
the shore. The storm came on so quickly that in two
hours' time Toronto Bay was clear of ice, Riley's track,
with its bushes acting as sails, swept almost intact out
into the open lake, and much fun was made over the mis-
hap. Some wags sent messages from Hamilton and Oak-
ville that Riley's track went sailing by their respective
places at the rate of ten miles an hour. The strong breeze
did more than blow away the track, it blew out of friend
Riley's mind all desire for speculation in that line. In
his long experience as a hotel-keeper he had met with
many slippery customers, but nothing in his experience
came up to his track venture.

Things have changed since then. The whole aspect of
the bay shore has been revolutionized, but as you sit by
one of those early settlers like Mr. Riley and hear him
talk of past fun, you are forced to believe that the boys
of that period were as lively a lot of stags as any we have
at the present time.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 247

THE WAY THEY FOUND IT.

I ran across an old turf follower one evening who, for
convenience sake, we will call White, that being nearly
the opposite color of his name, and he fell to talking
about old times on the trotting turf. A friend of his
owned a very speedy horse, one that could reel off three
heats in .25 or better, and as the owner had no use for
the horse for some months, he offered him to the yamer
to campaign if he thought there was anything to be
made by it.

The offer was accepted, and after a good deal of study-
ing where to go and what class to tackle, a certain town
was selected at which a two-day meeting was advertised
and the .45 class was the one decided upon for the raid.
The horse was dropped into the place quietly two days
before the race, and on the night before his controller
stepped into the pool-room to see how the betting opened
out. As soon as the auctioneer started he noticed an old-
timer who had driven more ringers than any other man
in the Eastern States, busy buying up all the tickets he
could get hold of on a horse called "Joker." There were
also two very slick veterans who were stacking up their
lucre on two other nags in the same race. After the box
closed. White, who knew the grizzled article that was
sticking so pertinaciously to Joker, followed him out to
the bam and the following was about the gist of the
interview :

' ' I say, Pete, you are backing your horse pretty strong.
D'ye think you have got a patent on the race?"

' ' Hello, White, is that you ? Well, I kinder reckon that
I'll take the stuff when the race is over."

''Don't be too sure on that point, Pete. I don't want
to scoop you, but how fast do you expect to trot over this
stony and lumpy half-mile track?"

248 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

''How fast? Well, you bet the man that leads me
under the wire will have to reel off three heats mighty
close to .28, or he won 't get a taste of the sugar. ' '

In answer to this declaration White declared it was no
good and if Pete wanted to save enough money to buy a
plug of tobacco, he had better hedge out the money he
had put in the box, for it would take a slicker gait than
.28 to secure the boodle. Old Pete, however, was dead set
on his ringer and was bound to sink or swim as he stood.
Next day at the track there was a big crowd of people and
seven horses scored for the first heat in the .45 class.
When the word was given four of the seven entries rushed
to the front and passed the quarter pole at less than a
twenty clip. The half was clocked in 1.11, and after a
fighting race of it from end to end, White's entry won
the heat in 2.261/2 over a slow half-mile track. He also
scored the second and third heats in .251/4 and .27. In
fact, when the boys got together after the race it ap-
peared that all four horses were raiders and each owner
had struck for this particular town looking for a soft
snap, and the above is the way they found it.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 249

MY EXPERIENCE WITH A PULLER.

In the early '70 's Frank Henderson was a leading hotel-
keeper in Bowmanville and was well known on the Cana-
dian trotting and running turf. He owned several run-
ners at different times and used to pick up quite a few
races. It could not be said that his nags were top-notch-
ers, but they came in for a share of what was going and
as the owner was a plucky bettor and generally had a
^ ' roll ' ' he cut quite a figure at the small meetings.

Henderson once owned a bay gelding called Frank and
I am open to lay long odds that he was one of the very
toughest, hardest pullers that ever had a bit in his mouth.
He was a good-looking bay gelding about 15^/2 hands high
and as smooth-gaited a trotter as ever wore iron. The
man who handled him for Henderson was the well-known
Pat Carney, as reckless a driver as ever held reins in
his hands — one who would take all sorts of chances in a
race and who was a terror to nervous drivers. Carney
had his horse one winter exercising on the roads around
Toronto and on an afternoon at the ''Peacock" Hotel, on
the Dundas road, kept by Robert Wilson, I met Carney,
who drove up with the bay gelding. There had been a
great fall of snow and it was only in the centre of the
road that the going was passable. There were about a
dozen of us out for a sleigh drive and one of the party
proposed that we drive to Lambton Mills, a few miles
further west. This was agreed to, and as I was about
stepping into my cutter, between the shafts of which I was
driving a smart black mare, Carney came up and sug-
gested that I try his nag, as far as the next hotel and
he would take mine. Knowing that Pat never drove a
slow one, I was content to make the change, and the six
started Indian file for Lambton. I was the whipper-in
of the lot, but before we had gone a quarter of a mile the
horse pulled so hard that it was a case of either going
over the top of the chap in front or pulling out into the
deep snow to get by. This I succeeded in doing and,

250 CANADIAN TUKF EECOLLECTIONS

despite the fact that we were plowing through two feet of
untrodden snow, we went by the whole bunch as if they
were standing still. Once clear, the gelding swung into
the beaten road and, still pulling like an engine, kept in-
creasing his speed. I tried by slacking on the reins to stop
him, but the devil was in him and no man's arms were
ever strong enough to curb his flight. Knowing well the
long steep hill that led down to the brick hotel at Lamb-
ton Mills, I knew it was impossible to get down safely at
the rate we were travelling. I don't believe I ever exer-
cised so much muscle in all my life as I did during the
last half-mile of that drive before reaching the hill, at
the top of which was another hotel that stood back some
thirty yards from the road. Just when I had decided to
put my remaining strength into trying to head him for
the fence, I noticed a huge drift of snow to the right and
close to the hotel driving shed. There was no time for
hesitation, so, putting my whole force into a sudden
wrench on the right rein, I managed to head him for the
drift and that ended the journey. The horse went in and
was snow-bound level with his back, while the sudden halt
sent me flying through space, and it took all the strength
of Frank Harrison (brother of Chief Justice Harrison
who lost his life while bathing in the Niagara Eiver) to
pull me out.

Carney confessed that his own arms had given out
when he reached the * * Peacock, ' ' and he thought he would
give me a little exercise while he rested up. Henderson
had a standing offer of $1,200 from a Rochester man for
the horse if he could break him of the pulling habit, but,
as he afterwards told me, he cost him two sleighs, three
buggies and a $40 plate-glass window while trying to
educate him. He gave it up at last and sold him for one
hundred dollars to a teamster, who gave him all the pull-
ing he wanted, hooked up with a mate in front of a
wagon hauling bricks. Thus employed I saw him five
years later in Bowmanville, and the sight of him brought
back vividly to my mind that mad rush into the Lambton
snowdrift.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 251

AN EASTERN EQUINE WHICH FAILED TO
SCORE.

He was a big, raw-boned gray gelding ; stood 16 hands
iy2 inches high, and would have won a chromo in a com-
petition for ugliness, not of temper, but for looks.

He was bred away down in the Eastern Townships in
Quebec, his breeding like that of two-thirds of the trot-
ters in the French country thirty years ago being de-
cidedly hazy. I heard a half-dozen different horses at
various times named as his sire, and he was damned
more than a thousand times by those who had backed him
in his races. He had won a few times in and around
Montreal, and a couple of smart citizens of that burg
decided to send him west and scoop in the shekels of the
hayseeds. They had timed him miles better than .30, and
as he was eligible for the .50 class, they simply counted
up their earnings before they left home.

His Ontario debut was to be at Guelph; that was in
the days when ''Billy" Bookless was one of the chief
pushers in the Royal City, and when its race meetings
were especially popular. It was the first day of the
meeting, and Major Peel, C. I. Douglas and the writer
were standing outside the ''Royal" looking over the list
of entries as they appeared on the programme. Seeing
Repeater entered in the .50 race, and remembering that
I had heard a good many ghost stories the previous year
when in Montreal about this chap's phenomenal speed, I
decided, after talking the matter over with my friends, to
wire L. W. Decker, of Montreal, who not only knew all
about the horse, but, as it afterwards turned out, owned
an interest in him.

My telegram read as follows : ' ' Gray gelding Repeater
here. How fast can he trot?" About half an hour be-
fore leaving for the track the answer came back : ' ' Good
track, three heats better than .30 sure." Great Scott!
what a sure thing it did look to back the eastern giraffe,
and when we reached the ground and found John Quimby
knocking him down for five dollars in pools of forty and

252 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

fifty dollars, it looked such real jam that we could not
resist dipping our fingers into the tempting pot. In fact,
we did it many times, and when the bell sounded for the
first heat in the .50 class I would not swear we hadn't
figured up our winnings. In the different attempts that
were made Repeater was well to the front in all of them
and showed lots of speed. Finally when the word was
given he shot to the front, and at the quarter pole was
two lengths in the lead and going very easily. On to the
half-mile pole he kept sailing, leader of the first division,
and, 'pon my word, it did look just as if it was all over,
bar the shouting. But just as he swung to the turn round-
ing into the home stretch he left his feet and then com-
menced a jigging business that fairly discounted any-
thing of the sort I ever saw before or since. He literally
kept bobbing up and down like a rocking horse, and when
his driver did at last walk him into a trot, the horses
were under the wire and the distance flag had consigned
him to the obscurity of the stable. Time, 2.32.

Just about that time we wished the science of tele-
graphing had not been discovered, but when early the fol-
lowing morning he turned the track in 2.31, we thought
it would be good policy to look for our money where we
had lost it and back him again in the 2.45 class to be
trotted that day. We did it, and got even larger odds
against our money. The first heat started in much the
same style as on the preceding day. At the half-mile pole
the Montrealer was three lengths on the lead, when one
of those yellow curs that seem to infest a race course, ran
in front of Repeater and gave him an excuse to repeat
his great dance act. He did it in fine form and kept on
doing it till one commenced to wonder if he wasn 't anch-
ored right there. When he reached home the distance flag
had been dropped, folded up and carried to the judges'
stand. Time of the heat, 2.42i/^. Once more cardboard
littered the green sward, and we decided that the horse
that on a good track could go three heats better than .30
was perhaps a good enough nag to fool around home with,
but he was of mighty little account at an Ontario meeting.

I

AND OTHER SKETCHES 255

TORONTO, THE GREAT HORSE MARKET OF
CANADA.

One of the most interesting and noteworthy facts in
connection with the horse-breeding interests in this coun-
try, is the concentration of the trade in Toronto. Fifty
years ago Grand's Repository was established in the
Queen City, but it is only of late years that the business
of selling horses by auction assumed noteworthy propor-
tions. The recent purchase of the business by Messrs.
Burns & Sheppard, caused a rapid development which
has kept on steadily increasing, the most substantial
proof of its present proportions being the fact that a
little over ten thousand horses were sold there during
the past year. This army of equines included thorough-
breds, standard-breds, harness and saddle horses, Clydes-
dales, Hackneys and general purpose horses. The regu-
lar auction sales days are Tuesdays and Fridays, and
buyers are then present from all parts of the Dominion
between Halifax in the east and Dawson City in the west.

Many important winners on the Canadian running
turf have been sold at The Repository, including two
King's Plate winners. In the light harness horse line
they have sold a host of fast trotters and pacers, ranging
in speed from Maud Keswick, 2.031/4, Lady May, 2.041/4,
Moth Miller, 2.07, and scores of others with records be-
low 2.20.

Valuable importations of registered Clydesdales and
Shires are sold at The Repository every year, in fact,
Toronto is the admitted centre of the horse business of
the Dominion. The shrewdest buyers in the country con-
sign to this market, and the result is a constant supply
of the best class of stock it is possible to procure. Qual-
ity of a high order is often represented at the sales. As
much as $5,000 has been paid for a pair and $3,500 for a

256 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

single horse. The firm do a purely commission business,
thus in no way interfering with the interests of con-
signees.

Mr. C. A. Burns is the active partner, and as an auc-
tioneer is a clever performer. He has been for years one
of the representative horsemen of the province, and it
would be within the mark to say that during the past
fifteen years he has owned and driven for his private
use more fast trotters and pacers than any other man in
the country. He is a keen and critical judge of horse
flesh, and this qualification has been of immense value
and a powerful aid in building up the firm's great busi-
ness.

AND OTHEK SKETCHES 257

THE UNEXPECTED OFTEN HAPPENS.

All those who have done much hunting have doubtless
at some time or other had similar experiences to those
which I am about to relate.

Partridge, or more correctly speaking, rough grouse,
shooting, was always a favorite sport of mine, and many
a glorious autumn day I have spent hunting the wildest
and gamest bird that ever wore feathers. The whirr of
his wings as he springs from the ground is of such vol-
ume as one would only expect to hear from a bird ten
times his size. His marvellous cunning is displayed by
the manner in which he zig-zags his course of flight, put-
ting every possible obstruction in the way of the man
behind the gun. His speed on the wing is marvellous
and the man who can bring down three out of six of
the birds he shoots at has a right to shake hands with
himself on being a real good shot. I care not how often
you may have hunted this bird, or how familiar you may
be with his ways and tricks, it is impossible when one of
them breaks cover at your feet not to experience a thrill-
ing feeling of surprise.

I did not, however, start out with the intention of writ-
ing a chapter on the habits of the rough grouse, but sim-
ply to relate surprises I have experienced when hunting
this magnificent game bird. There are many sections in
which the grouse are fairly plentiful, but in wHich you
have no expectation of running across big game. The
unexpected, however, often happens, as the following
will illustrate : On one occasion I was returning to camp
after a fairly successful afternoon, having secured four
brace of birds, when, in crossing a swale within half a
mile of our tent, I ran almost on top of a bear. He was
not thirty yards distant. He was evidently as much sur-
prised as I was, and with a startled grunt made a dash

258 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

for a clump of alders close by. Two barrels of No. 8
shot apparently further hastened his movements, judg-
ing by the crashing noise he made in breaking his way
through the close cover.

A second experience of a similar character a year later
when hunting in a locality that was fairly well settled
and in which one would never expect to encounter big
game, convinced me that it would be wise policy to in
future be provided with two or three buckshot cartridge,
but the occurrence I am now going to mention proves that
even when so provided there is likely to be many a slip
between the cup and the lip.

I was up in the north part of Peterboro county, where
for several years I had met with good sport hunting
both partridge and deer. It was a hot afternoon in
October, just the sort of weather that one would expect
to find partridge numerous. There was plenty of the-
food these birds are so fond of, but though I had tramped
many miles and hunted faithfully, a single pair was all
that my game bag held. Anxious to improve matters I
decided to leave the tote road, along the borders of which
I had so often had good luck, and try the woods leading
northwards to Blue Lake. After an hour's hard tramp
with only one additional bird to reward my efforts, I
decided to call it an ''off" day and circle homewards.
It was as hot as a July day, and by the time I got back
to the tote road, I was in a humor to take matters easy
for a while.

Selecting a shady spot I found a comfortable seat, and
leaning my gun against the nearest tree about four feet
distant, I decided to have a smoke and thus soothe my
disappointment. As I was feeling for my pipe a rustling
noise immediately opposite attracted my attention, and
looking up I was startled to see a big black bear rooting
at the foot of a beech tree on the opposite side of the road
and not forty feet from where I sat. There was not a
breath of air stirring, and as I had not made the slightest
noise he had no warning of my presence. I do not be-
lieve that I ever in my life felt so chagrined as at that

AND OTHEB SKETCHES 259

moment. Here was I within forty feet of my * ' Greener, ' '
the left barrel loaded with a heavy charge of buckshot
and the right with Number 6, but I knew that the slightest
movement on my part would send the bear rushing into
the close cover which was within six feet of him, but in
less time than it takes to relate it I decided to make an
attempt, and with the utmost caution stretched my arm
towards the gun. Leaning as far over as possible I
finally got my fingers around the barrel and still not the
slightest sound by me had warned the bear of my pres-
ence, but just when I thought that bear meat and a splen-
did robe would crown my day's hunt, the butt of the gun
slipped an inch or two, but it made sufficient noise to
alarm wary Bruin who, with a grunt that could be heard
an acre away, dashed into the thick brush, and though
the contents of both barrels were sent after him, only a
few drops of blood showed that he had been touched. I
and a companion I shortly afterwards met took up the
trail, but approaching twilight and a neighboring thick
swamp satisfied us of the uselessness of continuing the
hunt.

If it had been my good luck to have followed my usual
custom when resting to hold my gun across my knees I
could not have failed to score a brilliant wind-up to
what had been a disappointing day.

In the deer hunting season from the first to the fifteenth
of November I for several years hunted through this
district, but though I and my friends had still-hunted,
rifle in hand, through the big woods and swamps for
miles around, we never had the good luck to meet Bruin
when thoroughly prepared to properly attend to him.
We often came across traces showing his presence only
a few hours before our arrival, but his cunning was
greater than ours, and he managed to keep out of our
way. I have often read stories of encounters with bears
and the pluck displayed by the hunters who killed them.
I accept these stories with many grains of allowance. My
own opinion, gained by many years of experience, is that
the bear found in Canadian woods is a cowardly brute

260 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

and as anxious as the most timid hunter could be to get
out of the way. The only exception to this rule is the
case of a wounded bear when brought to bay, or a mother
when her cubs are attacked. She is then thoroughly
dangerous, and the hunter who has wounded one of her
youngsters and finds himself confronted by the mother
requires to keep his head cool and shoot straight. Other-
wise he will have a wrestling match on hand in which
he is likely to come out second best.

Passionately fond of shooting and fishing, I am now,
through blindness, forced to content myself with mem-
ories of past outings; of splendid sport on lakes and
rivers, of noble catches of gamey bass and lordly salmon.
Memory also serves up thoughts of glorious autumnal
days in Canadian forests when hunting red deer or moose,
and though the knowledge that such pleasures can never
again be experienced, it is solace for the mind to be able
to serve up some of these recollections.

Every shooting season an appalling number of acci-
dents are annually recorded, the majority of them caused
through gross carelessness in handling, or otherwise
using, rifle or shotgun, and some men are so thoroughly
reckless that they are unsafe companions, no matter how
big the woods. At the slightest movement the gun is at
their shoulder and without any proper inspection of what
caused the noise, they will blaze away in the direction of
the sound. Settlers often lose young stock feeding in the
woods through such recklessness, and it is therefore not
surprising that in some sections where they have had
such experiences they object to hunters trespassing on
their property.

My son, a skilful hunter and a thoroughly experienced
woodsman, once had a narrow escape when still-hunting
in this same section. When stepping over a log he was
seen by an amateur hunter who, mistaking him for a deer,
had his rifle at his shoulder ready to blaze away without
further inspection. Fortunately, a lad who was steering
him through the woods, detected the mistake and knocked
up his rifle, thus sending the bullet harmlessly through

CHARLES BOYLE, THE VETERAN CANADIAN TRAINER.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 263

the tree tops. The reckless fool was given the balance
of the day in which to clear out of that neighborhood or
else take a sound thrashing. He decided to move.

I have for many years advocated the passage of a law
by the Ontario Legislature, making the careless handling
of firearms a criminal offence, wlieh in so doing the life
of a fellow creature is endangered. My persistent ad-
vocacy of such a measure attracted attention in an
Eastern State and continued agitation by the local press
on the same lines finally caused the passage of such a law
by the Legislature in which, when death is the result, the
person who did the shooting can be sent to prison. I am
satisfied that such a law would prevent many accidents in
Ontario. The law should be printed on the back of every
shooting license so that there could be no possible excuse
for a hunter to plead ignorance. It is a subject worthy
the grave consideration of our Legislature.

264 CANADIAN TUKF KECOLLECTIONS

A FAVORITE DOd.

Did you ever own a dog? Not necessarily one of aristo-
cratic lineage, whose pedigree conld be traced through a
dozen generations of dogdom. Neither do I care what
breed of dog he might be.

He might be a St. Bernard, a Mastiff, a Newfoundland,
a Pomeranian, a Setter, a Pointer, Retriever, a Dandie
Dinmont, a Bulldog, a Collie, an Irish Setter, or any other
of the dozen breeds of canines. He might even be a
Poodle, some kind of Spaniel or a Hound. Stop right
here. I've owned all kinds of breeds and scores of them,
but the best, truest, bravest, kindliest, most knowing one
that ever wore hair upon a dog hide, was a hound I called
Smoke.

I had heard of his mother by repute; of his father
nothing was known. Smoke wore more colors on his
body than were ever seen in a gypsy's shawl. He had
white shoulders, a smoke-colored saddle, brownish-red
ears, black band around his neck, smoke-colored spots
down his front legs, black and tan down his hind ones,
and a smoke and white-colored tail.

He wouldn't have taken a prize on his looks at any
kennel show on the continent, but in the woods hunting
rabbits, hares or deer he could outrun, outstay and out-
hunt any dog I ever met with in thirty years ' experience.

Other dogs would score a grand run one day — perhaps
two or three days in succession. By that time their bleed-
ing feet, shredded by the jagged rocks of the north coun-
try, had them so crippled they were knocked out for
days ; but no matter how sharp the granite, how steep the
rocks, how thorny the underbrush, Smoke was ever on the
job. I have seen him crawl out of the kennel in the morn-
ing stiff and sore in every joint, feet puffed and swollen,
but you dare not leave him on his chain to rest up for the
day. If you did he would protest with a voice that would
be heard over half the township.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 265

Many a glorious run I've had with him. Talk about
keenness of scent ! I've known him, lying flat on the bot-
tom of my canoe, a light blanket thrown over him to
ensure his stillness, and one morning when ballasted that
way, I was paddling up big Red Stone, in Haliburton dis-
trict, fully a quarter of a mile from the wooded shore ;
suddenly the head emerged from the blanket, the nostrils
quivered with excitement and I knew that Smoke had
scented a deer. Cautioning him in a low whisper, I
rounded a point two hundred yards to the west, quietly
landed, put on his collar and entered the woods.

We had not circled more than fifty yards before his
head went into the air, his whole body quivered with
expectation, and had I not loosened him, he would have
pulled me over the fallen log his forepaws rested on.
In less than two minutes the roar that echoed over the
hills told me it was a hot scent and Smoke not far behind
his game. So quick was he at his work and so fast did he
keep what proved to be a big fat buck on the move, that
the latter, panting from his swift run, speedily circled
back to the shore of the lake from which he had been
driven.

He broke cover within one hundred yards of where I
stood, and a lucky shot from my Winchester dropped him
at the waterside. So quick had been the killing that two
of the party who had been dispatched to the nearest
watches had not even time to reach their stands before
three shots in rapid succession warned them that the
morning hunt in that direction was over, and the signal
speedily brought them in.

The head of the big buck killed that November morn-
ing on the shore of big Red Stone occupies a conspicuous
place on the wall of my den, and every time my eyes rest
on those gracefully spread antlers and massive neck of
one of the heaviest deer killed in the north woods,
thoughts of Smoke creep into the mind and memory of
his tragic death in the wilds of Temiscaming saddens
me. Now I will tell you how it happened.

266 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

Smoke had hunted with me in many sections of country
and though at different times I owned many good hounds
and hunted in company with other owners who had dogs
they had reason to be proud of, yet Smoke never failed to
prove his superiority. His keenness of scent, as illus-
trated above, was wonderful; his speed was great, his
courage undaunted, and it was this latter quality that
caused his death in the Temiscaming country. I was
camped for a few days on the border of the Marie River,
in Northern Ontario. I had gone out from the shack,
leaving my rifle behind me, to examine some rock not
more than two hundred yards distant. While busy break-
ing off some quartz, I heard Smoke 's voice down near the
riverside, and its sound plainly told me that he had some-
thing at bay. Fearing it to be a porcupine, one of the
most miserable, exasperating creatures that infest our
Canadian woods, I ran in the direction of the sound at
top speed, hoping to save the dog from filling his mouth
with quills. When within about fifty yards of where the
dog was barking I noticed that he had treed a very big
black bear. I immediately rushed back to the shack, grab-
bed my rifle and started for what I thought would be sure
game. Before I had covered half the distance there was a
sudden crash and then an ominous silence. Hurrying on-
ward I arrived at the spot to find poor Smoke literally
torn to shreds. The bear had evidently seen me on my
first trip and, coming down the tree, had been attacked
by the dog. In close quarters there could be but one
result, and the dismembered carcass showed how savage
and destructive had been the work.

My companion, who had been out fishing on the river,
arrived about half an hour later, and we vowed to avenge
the death of the best dog that we had ever owned. Pack-
ing away sufficient food to last us for a long day's hunt
we were within fifteen minutes hot on the trail. We had
no difficulty in following the bear for the first hour ; then
the trail led us into a dense swamp. The gloom of this
huge forest of cedars made it difficult to see any distance,
but by cautious, careful work we gradually worked our

AND OTHER SKETCHES 267

way through, and after three hours of the severest kind
of toil, found ourselves On a hardwood ridge and soon
came upon Bruin's freshly made tracks. We followed
them for another hour and then began to think it was a
case of camp out for the night. Determined to move for-
ward until we reached a high ridge to the left of where
we were standing, we cautiously advanced, working our
way slowly over some fallen trees, by negotiating which
we would save ourselves a long detour.

My companion, who was some yards in advance of me,
suddenly stopped and raised his hand in caution. I had
scarcely time to note the warning signal, when, with a
rush, the big brute, who was lying behind a huge log, not
thirty yards away, sprang into sight, and was apparently
anxious to put as much space as possible, in the shortest
time, between us. His movements, however, had not been
so quick as to escape the bullets of our Winchesters, and
though he apparently kept moving, we knew by the
labored manner in which he scrambled over some logs
about forty yards away that he was badly hit. Two more
bullets caught him before he hid from our view in a thick
tangle of alders and not knowing how badly he was in-
jured, and having the highest possible respect for a
wounded bear, we filled up our magazines and used every
possible caution in approaching him. We, however, were
soon relieved from any anxiety in the matter, for when
we reached the tree trunk over which he had disappeared,
we found Bruin in his last struggle and a bullet at short
range finished the work and with grim satisfaction we
gazed upon the monster who had killed the best hound
that had ever honored a camp with his presence.

268 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

CASTING BY MOONLIGHT FOR BASS.

I suppose the average bait caster knows very little of
casting by moonlight, but to my mind this is one of the
most pleasurable ways of fishing. The very weirdness
and uncertainty constitute its chief charm, for the more
uncertain a thing, the greater the satisfaction when it is
accomplished.

Confirmed fly casters often ridicule the bait caster with
the stubby rod, but I have used both, and it takes fully
as much skill and practice to manage the short rod as the
long whippy one, and bait casting offers a much larger
field and greater variety of fishing than fly casting. A
surface bait should always be used, as a bass strikes at
the commotion made by the bait, not because he is hun-
gry, but merely because he wants to fight.

I have had some pleasant experiences angling by moon-
light in the rapids on the Trent River below Healey Falls.
I know of nothing more enjoyable on a warm evening
than wading by moonlight, fly-fishing for bass. The
River Trent at the point I allude to is a rushing stream
of water whirling along in foam-crested ripples at the
rate of seven miles per hour. The river is not more than
forty yards in width and from either shore it is possible
to wade out an average distance of fifteen or twenty feet
without being above the hips in water, great caution,
however, is necessary on account of the smooth and slip-
pery condition of the river-bed. All of which adds to the
excitement of the sport. I have fished that stream many
times when the moon was temporarily obscured by a
passing cloud, which made it impossible to distinguish
the top of my rod, much less the line. I have hooked
many a good fish when it was impossible to follow his
movements beyond the occasional break of the water
made in his mad plunges to avoid the tantalizing barb.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 269

On one occasion I hooked a small mouthed bass which,
after landing, tipped the scale at four pounds. I had
fought him for fully twenty minutes and was beginning
to be as tired as the fish, when, to my dismay, a second
whopper took my second fly. I looked upon the fight then
as an almost hopeless one, but fortunate for me, after
the first plunge, a weak spot was found and the hook
taken by the fresh fish was stripped at the shank, thus
enabling me to land my first captive, and I do not believe
I ever felt greater pleasure in over thirty years of ang-
ling experience than I did on that moonlight night on the
rocks near Healey Falls, when landing one of the pluck-
iest bass that ever set up a fight.

I have caught as many as two dozen green bass in the
same stretch of water, running from one to two pounds
in weight, in three hours' fishing by moonlight. In fact,
I may say that I have caught more of that variety of the
bass family in those particular waters by that style of
fishing than by any other.

Not only in the Trent but in other northern waters, I
have had equally good success in moonlight fishing. I
remember once, on Four Mile Lake, a few miles back
from Coboconk, I was anchored close to a bare rock in
the centre of the lake, hoping to get a good evening
catch. In this I was disappointed. It had been an ex-
cessively hot day; there was now a light, cooling breeze
coming across the water, and I decided to enjoy my
evening pipe in my pleasant resting place before return-
ing to camp. About nine o 'clock the moon shone out with
rare brilliancy and noticing one or two breaks near to
my rocky island, I determined on making an effort to
catch a few fish by Luna's light. Putting one of the few
live grasshoppers I had with me on the hook, I cast in
the direction of where I had seen the waters disturbed
and was soon securely hooked to a good fighting bass.
The rest of the story is easily told. With grasshopper,
dew worm, and towards the last with the white miller
fly, I caught nine splendid fish and was not more than one
hour in doing it. The following night, with equally fav-

270 CANADIAN TUKF RECOLLECTIONS

orable weather, I only succeeded in landing one, but the
evening before we broke camp I took five more splendid
specimens in the same place and many times since then I
have laid off during the heat of the day and done my fish-
ing late in the evening by moonlight.

If any of my readers visit Old Trent I advise them to
try the stretch of water I have specified, namely, below
Healey Falls on the west side of the river. The banks
are for the most part fringed with huge trees, which, in
the moonlight cast a weird shadow over the foam-
crested waves of the rapids. The moonlight streaming
through the limbs of the big trees reflects in fantastic
forms the waving branches of elm and birch. Here an
open space reveals a path of silver in the centre of the
river which looks to the eye bright as day. On either
side of it the shadow of the trees creates a blackness
that but brings into bolder relief the beauty of the illu-
mined waters. There is at all times hereabouts a suffi-
cient current of air, caused by the rushing falls, forty
feet in height, just above you, to prevent annoyance from
mosquitoes and night flies, and take my word for it, that
the angler who once tries fly casting for bass by moon-
light in the rapids of Old Trent, will be anxious to repeat
the experience at the earliest possible moment.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 271

THE GLORIOUS NORTHLAND— THE HOME OF
THE LORDLY MOOSE.

Although much has been written about this lovely
Northland, nothing that has been said conveys more than
a faint idea of what a sportsmen's paradise it really is.

I have canoed for hundreds of miles over its lakes and
rivers, have shot the rapids of the Blanche, have fished
for speckled trout in the numerous streams that empty
into its waters, have shot deer and bear in the magnifi-
cent forests that skirt its shores and have seen enough
moose in that country within easy travelling distance and
in the highlands at the head of the river, to convince me
that it is quite unnecessary for the Ontario Government
to forbid the shooting of moose, excepting at intervals of
years. I can speak positively on that score so far as
this section is concerned. I have in a day's journey
counted seventeen moose, five of them monster bulls,
whose antlered heads were crowns of glory that would
recompense a sportsman though he travelled a thousand
miles for his game.

On my last trip to the head of the Blanche River I
kept a careful tally of the moose, caribou and deer that
I saw, and it totalled in one week 47 moose, 32 deer and
41 caribou. All these were seen on Ontario soil. The
moose, of course, being protected by the law, were not
assailable. Right here a rather ticklish question crops
up and I leave it to legal minds to carp over: whether
under the circumstances, if I had shot the moose I would
have been subject to the law's penalties? I was out
prospecting and, of course, carried my rifle with me;
passing out from a gully into a clump of trees, I ran prac-
tically on top of a big bull moose. I was within fifty
yards of him and it would be hard to say which was the
most surprised, the bull or myself. He, however, was in
fighting humor and did not propose giving me the right

272 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

of way. His eyes blazed with wrath at an intruder upon
his solitude and his bristling back hair and impatient
pawing warned me that the sooner I climbed a tree the
better chance I would have of living to relate the story.
It did not take me long to climb well up into the nearest
one, and I had just reached a safe height when his lord-
ship favored me with a few basso profundo samples that
would have been by no means pleasing music to listen to
in any closer company than from this elevated perch. He
walked around in a circle a good many times ; pawed up
quantities of earth and favored me with a lot of noise;
finally, with a parting roar that boded no good to any-
thing he ran foul of, he went away.

Now, what would the interpreters of the law have
decided if I had killed this bull moose that attacked me
— not I him — I could easily have killed him, but I had
plenty of meat at camp and must confess I'm not partial
to bull moose meat of ancient calibre. A two-year-old
is as juicy a morsel as ever an epicure rolled over his
tongue. It is far more palatable than the choicest venison
and superior to tame beef, but it is an article that de-
cidedly deteriorates with age, and a mature bull, like my
visitor, with a spread of antlers over fifty inches', is a
tough customer to grapple with, dead or alive. If you
have never had an interview with a mad bull moose, then
you have missed seeing a creature mad in every hair of
his carcass; his eyes glitter a lurid red; his back hair
rises like quills on the fretful porcupine. He is in truth
a monarch of the wilds and a most impressive looker he
is. The cow moose is an ungainly looking animal, but a
big bull moose moving through the woods is a lordly
sight. I stood one morning on a rocky point and watched
a monster bull and two cows that had been disturbed by
some Indians who were hunting in the neighborhood.
They were coming along with that swift swinging pacing
gait that will carry them a hundred miles in a day when
the notion sends them off, and at the sound of the sharp
whistle I greeted the leader with, he half raised his head
to take a survey of the scene. It would have been a

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AND OTHER SKETCHES 275

rare treat if I could have flashed a kodak on him. He was
on a bit of clear ground and stood out in bold relief, his
two consorts. a little behind him, and a grander sight
never favored a hunter's eyes.

He stood over seventeen hands high, weighed a ton or
more, and had a spread of antlers that fill my eye even
now, while writing this, as they did then, to the ex-
clusion of all others I ever looked upon. It was a glorious
morning in early October, a sunshiny, bright, crisp
autumnal day; one of the kind that makes an outing in
the Canadian forests a long dream of exquisite pleasure.
The sun's rays just tipped his antlers, till they shone like
burnished gold, and out of respect for his majestic bear-
ing I doffed my cap and gave him a rousing cheer. At
the sound of my voice his lordship threw his head back
and struck a gait that promised many a long mile would
be passed before he again halted by the way.

Bound Lake, at the head of the Blanche River, is not
a big sheet of water, but it is a veritable gem in the wild-
erness. On one-half of the shore is a dense forest, the
other is a succession of rocky heights. In the lake are
plenty of bass and pickerel and here, as elsewhere, in
this region, partridge are fairly abundant. Moose and
caribou are numerous, but red deer are not as plentiful
as in the woods farther south. Straight north is Lake
Abittibi, and in a direct line north of the lake is the
Abittibi River, which runs clear to James Bay. In this
region big game is so numerous that all the hunters likely
to visit the region for a quarter of a century will make
but little impression upon the number. But the sports-
man who cannot spare more than two or three weeks for
his outing, need not travel as far as this section to get all
the shooting he desires. Much nearer the railroad, at
Temiscaming station, there is a branch line running
down to Keepawa on Lake Keepawa. It is scarcely neces-
sary to add that the hunter coming to this section must
have a guide. Some of the lakes are so dotted with
islands and the forests so immense that until you have
learned your way by experience, it would be sheer folly

276 CANADIAN TUEF KECOLLECTIONS

to attempt to go it alone. Your most valuable companion
in the woods is first your compass and next your rifle.

The Les Quinze, or as it is generally called here, the
Cass River, is in Quebec. There are fifteen rapids on it,
but they are all easy to portage around. There is also a
good road which runs along the river opened by the lum-
ber company, and you can drive every yard of the way, if
preferred. The fish in it are pickerel, pike and bass, and
the Indians say that early in the spring they have caught
'lunge in it, but they are not numerous. Its high, rocky
banks, covered with spruce and cedar, shelter plenty of
partridge.

You can throw physic to the dogs in this climate and
they, more wise than many people, will have none of it.
The nights are cool during the hottest months of sum-
mer, and the air one breathes in these great forests is a
more powerful restorative than was ever prescribed by
the world's most noted physicians. You can live like a
prince at a very small expense, and the man fond of his
rod and gun who visits this, one of nature's grandest
retreats, and feeding on the many luxuries of his skill
as an angler or hunter must indeed be a chronic grumbler
if he is not more than satisfied. On all the great Amer-
ican continent between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans^
there is no territory where so much good sport can be
obtained, either shooting or fishing, nor can the eye feast
on such glorious scenery elsewhere as in this wonderful
Northland.

It is also extremely easy to reach. The traveller jour-
neying from anywhere in New York State, can, via
Toronto, book himself to Temiscaming, via North Bay.
Or, if he hails from the farther east, he books himself
via the C. P. R., via Ottawa. Reliable Indian and half-
breed guides who speak English can be obtained at rea-
sonable prices and supplies can also be purchased at
several points in this country, though it is always well
to take a certain quantity of necessaries with you, such
as tea, coffee, condensed milk, etc.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 277

DEER HUNTING IN HALIBURTON.

If I were an agriculturist on the lookout for land on
which to play the role of husbandman, I don't know that
I should select the district of Haliburton as the most
favorable spot on which to settle. The mountains are
too numerous and the bed rock is too plentiful to the
acre. True, there are magnificent hardwood forests and
some of this land when cleared raises fine crops, but life
is too short for a man to spend the best portion of it
fighting the up-hill battle against nature when it is pos-
sible to select other territory where he will not grow slab-
sided walking around the hillsides.

But if the country is not A No. 1 for farming purposes,
there is no denying that it is a grand resort for the sports-
man, and as our party was totally indifferent to the num-
ber of bushels of grain the land would grow to the acre
beyond securing sufficient to feed a few hungry men for
two weeks, I speak only of the Haliburton district as a
country in which to find game, and due respect for my
catechism days compels me to say that in this line it is
worthy of high commendation. I would not recommend a
man of weak lungs or tender feet to give it a go, because
the chances are if he did he'd be knocked out in short
order. Going across country on the half perpendicular
basis is not the easiest kind of locomotion, and as there
is about one mile of climbing up there for every half mile
on the level, it demands sound lungs and good feet to play
the pedestrian role successfully.

Again, those who go shooting up in this big northern
country must be prepared to rough it, willing to go under
canvas or live in some deserted lumber shanty ; be satis-
fied with the kind of food that can be conveniently cooked
with the most primitive kind of utensils and the seasoning
of which has a little more wood ashes than anything else.
If, however, your stomach is a strong one and satisfied

278 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

with good sound, fat pork, venison and mountain trout as
the chief dishes, with tea, minus milk, and a bed to sleep
on made of three feet of cedar tips ; in fact, if you are
a thoroughbred sportsman, you will grow fat on these
luxuries and enjoy yourself accordingly.

The morning of one 15th of October found myself and
four friends snugly encamped on the north shore of the
Big Redstone. The spot selected by our chief guide could
not have been improved upon. It was in a narrow valley
between high mountains, beautifully wooded to within
thirty feet of the shore, the beach of which was of white
sand, thus ensuring cleanliness around the camp. Our
tent, 20 by 18, was provided with a good sized box stove,
had a comfortable table made from driftwood picked up
along the shore; two large logs the whole length of the
tent formed at the same time a boundary for the sleep-
ing department, outlined a central passage through the
tent and made capital seats for us when we gathered
around the stove at night and talked * ' shoot. * '

Our first day's work netted us two does that were in
prime condition, and as the party were hungering for
venison steak broiled over the coals, one of them was
dedicated to camp use, and I am open to lay a comer lot
to a peanut stand that the average per man of deer meat
that night at supper would send a restaurant keeper into
convulsions. Just how many pounds per man were stow-
ed away I wont determine, but it was a prodigious
quantity. We started in for our twelve days' hunt with
the hope of averaging one deer a day, more than that we
did not desire, and when I state that we shot eleven deer
and about twenty-five brace of partridge, it will be seen
that our expectations were realized. The quantity of
venison secured enabled each one. of the party to remem-
ber his friends on his return to town. One of the eleven
shot was a buck that topped 300 pounds, and the noble
fellow's head was crowned with a pair of antlers that
for size, spread and symmetry it would be hard to match.

One day's experience was fairly illustrative of its
fellows. Up at five o'clock every morning, a half hour

AND OTHER SKETCHES 279

devoted to a substantial breakfast of tea or coffee, trout
and pork, and occasionally a hot scone as a sort of top-
ping-off relish. Ten minutes devoted to getting our
shooting irons in order, and by six o'clock at latest we
were in our canoes and headed for the sections allotted
to us to watch. Sometimes it was a vigil on the water
and oftimes on a runway in the big woods that surround
Eedstone Lake. Have you ever played the sentry for a
couple of hours on a runway? If you have you will swear
to the correctness of what I am about to say, and if you
know nothing about it you have a new experience to par-
ticipate in.

I know of nothing more solemn than the stillness of the
forest. I do not mean a hundred acre patch, but great
woods stretching for miles and miles on three sides of
you and on the fourth an arm of the lake three-quarters
of a mile in width with two hundred feet of perpendicular
rock guarding its opposite shore. Autumn's flaming torch
has tinted every leaf but that of the evergreens, with
gorgeous hues and as the light and shade play upon the
waving branches, one looks upon a picture that neither
ancient nor modern painter could truthfully portray with-
out being charged with exaggeration. I looked upon
maple trees that were glittering monuments of gold and
silver and gems, every hue of the rainbow etched upon
their leaves and each ripple of the summer-like breeze
revealing new tints and gorgeous combinations of glor-
ious coloring, until the eye became almost weary with
the blaze of glory and rested itself by turning to the
green of the pines and cedar.

Here you stand, rifle in hand, waiting for the sound of
your hounds ' musical notes, knowing that when the game
is afoot, the deep roar of Leader or the tremulous vibra-
tions of Mike's eager tongue will echo from mountain
top and over valley and water. If the game heads your
way, be sharp of ear and quick of eye ! Bringing down a
deer running at full speed from the hounds is a trick that
any marksman may be satisfied with performing. True,
a deer is big of body, but he is also marvellously swift

280 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

of foot, and it demands a steady nerve and sure aim to
stop a full grown buck or doe when full on the way
for distant shelter; but while waiting for this crown-
ing glory of your watch on a runway there are many
things to interest you. Though for many minutes there
may be absolute silence, the next moment that chattering,
saucy imp of the woods, the red squirrel, will come scurry-
ing within a few feet of the silent watcher and with tail
curled over his head and paws combing his whiskers pro-
ceed to quiz you, squirrel fashion. One morning when
on watch I had three mink pass within twenty feet of my
stand; two large silver gray squirrels also took stock of
me, and finally a horned owl, evidently dissatisfied with
my intrusion, let out a shriek that would have done credit
to a steam engine. More than once was I tempted to let
drive at the mink, and my hands moved towards my
''marlin" when I caught sight of the grave and solemn
visage of Mr. Owl taking it all in, but the distant music
of the dogs bearing my way forbade any side issues, and
I was forced to look on and smile serenely at the move-
ments of my company.

The weather during our stay in camp was to the King's
taste. Bright, sunshiny days, with cool, frosty nights.
There was just sufficient sharpness of tone to the atmos-
phere to brace up the system, sharpen the appetite and
make one feel that a little exercise was a goodly medicine
to take. Twenty miles from the nearest post office or
telegraph station — think of it! What a happy release
from outside world affairs. A sort of don't care feeling
takes possession of one, and you enjoy the serenity of
your life, thoroughly indifferent to the state of the Ger-
man Emperor's liver, or whether the Czar of Russia has
sneezed a little harder than usual and thus upset the
money market.

I have no doubt there are lots of people who will shrug
their shoulders and say, ' ' Not any of that in mine, thank
you," and I think it is lucky for somebody else's sake
that such people do not try it. I have had my peace of
mind destroyed more than once by having a crank in the

AND OTHER SKETCHES 281

camp who wanted his meat served on a hot plate, and
would raise Old Harry if his steak was not broiled to a
turn. Fellows whose appetites depend on fancy fixings
are a nuisance to everybody around them, and the only
way to ensure the comfort of a party is to fire such a
grumbler out of the camp in summary fashion. I remem-
ber once having a chap unloaded on me on a week's fish-
ing trip that was the crossest-grained, warped and twist-
ed, double-dyed-in-the-wool grumbler that ever burdened
the earth with his presence.

He wanted more waiting on than any full-fledged
French dancing master, and they are hard to overcome.
He could grumble more and smile less than any sinner I
have met in forty years. The first day in camp he was

d d by the guests, and the second day the party were

prepared to take desperate chances to be rid of him, and
I was voted an embossed leather medal if I could drive
him out. I managed it in the following fashion: The
bore had casually dropped the remark that he was ter-
ribly frightened of snakes. Luckily for our peace of
mind, I had that morning killed a big black water snake
about four feet long, and I determined to use his mangled
remains as the exterminating agent. That evening I hid
it under the bed of cedar boughs on which the intruder
slept, and soon after the party had retired I started tell-
ing the most horrible snake stories it was possible for the
human mind to conceive. I soon had the bore in such a
state that he insisted on searching the tent to ascertain
if any snakes had crept in out of the cold. My friends,
whom I had previously posted, pretended to dissuade
him, but finally, to ease his mind, consented to humor him.
We, of course, began at the part of the tent most distant
from the concealed reptile, but gradually turning over the
blankets and removing our valises, we worked our way
round to the corner occupied by the crank. Slowly and
carefully we removed the covering from the cedar boughs
and as the waterproof blanket was lifted, there, sure
enough, was the protruding head of a big snake. Great
Scott! I'll never forget the yell that echoed in that tent.

282 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS

"With a mighty bound the chap headed for the place of
exit and, waiting for nothing, he burst through the cur-
tain, breaking fastenings like cobwebs, never stopping
until Ee reached the shore of the lake fifty yards away,
where he jumped into one of the boats and swore he would
row to the nearest farm-house and hire a wagon in which
to reach the village. Gently and soothingly we talked
with him, kindly hands were ready to help him pack his
duds, willing muscle rowed him over the bay to the
farmer's house, and as the rattle of the wheels that bore
him away sounded o'er the waters, we returned our cor-
dial thanks to Mr. Snake for the noble service he had
rendered us. When you are aflflicted with a bore in camp
find out if he's afraid of snakes.

But to thoroughly enjoy such a trip as ours you must
be well provided with the right kind of guides, and in
this respect we were wonderfully well served. Ours had
an extended reputation and proved himself a thoroughly
good man. His assistants were two of the most obliging
and best workers that I ever hired. Thoroughly sober
men and keen hunters, always ready when wanted and
no labor was considered too great by either if by under-
taking it they thought they could add to the enjoyment
of the party. To see them elevate a canoe to their shoul-
ders and climb a rock at an elevation of 45 degrees to
make the portage to another lake, was a revelation, and
the whole work was accomplished without any fuss, in a
matter-of-fact way that added to the party's appreciation
of their services and around camp they were as willing
workers as in the woods or at the paddle.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 285

A FEW SUGGESTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS.

Look to your rods, reels and lines; go over the latter
with jealous care, because if there is one thing in the
world of sport more tantalizing than another, it is to find
out the weak spot when you are reeling in a fine trout or
bass. Though you be a devout church member, or even
a Sunday School teacher, you are apt, when such a catas-
trophe occurs, to say naughty words that at other and less
provoking times would send a shudder through your
anatomy from heels to head.

Were you ever in such a fix yourself? If you haven't
been then you never have been tempted and don't know
what power of mind is necessary to withstand the temp-
tation. I was once bait-fishing a stream up in Grey,
alongside a distinguished member of the Methodist
Church and one of its most devoted class teachers — a
man of generous impulses and a real good sort, one of
the kind who believed in legitimate sport and was fond
both of the rod and gun. On the occasion referred to he
had hooked an extra big trout and was exercising all the
arts of the skilled angler to land the fish. He had worked
with him for fully twenty minutes, and at last had him
well spent and was gently reeling him in. Just then an-
other big fish jumped close beside the captive, and his
splash seemed to give a hidden link of strength to the
one that was being taken in out of the wet, for he sud-
denly swerved, and though the tension was but for a
second, the line parted near the tip and about thirty feet
of the silken strand, with leader attached, all went down
stream.

Inspection showed the weak spot in the line. It had
been put away the previous autumn without being thor-
oughly dried out and oiled, hence the dire result which
elicited from my companion the quaint remark: ''If I
wasn't a churchman, I'll be damned if I wouldn't swear,"

286 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

and then quick as a flash he tumbled to the language he
had used and joined me in a hearty laugh over the invol-
untary explosion. If you are a follower of old Ike of
revered memory, don 't run any such risk. Examine every
inch of every yard and test it before you leave on your
trip. Look to it also that the moths have not invaded
your fly-book and played havoc with your choicest
samples.

Anything that has a suspicious look about it discard.
Eternal vigilance is the price you have to pay if you wish
a perfect outfit. Then the joy is yours of knowing that
if a two, three or four-pounder gives you the slip, it was
not through defective tackle, but simply because your
skill was not a match for his cunning, or else, perchance,
he had not been hungry enough to take a firm hold.

One of the cleverest and most popular doctors that
practiced in Toronto a quarter of a century ago, a man
of wonderful ability in his profession and possessing a
magnetic personality, was also an enthusiastic angler,
but of all the men I ever knew he was the most forgetful
that ever handled a rod. One time he was up with me at
Flesherton in Grey county, and, mindful of his treacher-
ous memory, I warned him as we were about getting into
the conveyance that was to take us to the river, to look
over his belongings and see that everything was there.
Like most men with his failing, he asserted he never for-
got anything. We drove a distance of thirteen miles, and
when we reached the river bank and commenced to pre-
pare for the work in hand, the doctor discovered he had
come away from the hotel without his rod. On the fol-
lowing day, while we were fishing the pond at Purdy's
Mills, it was decided to divide the party and fish both
sides of the pond and fish the river also for half a mile
up both the east and west banks. Just as I reached the
first bluff and had worked my way down to a convenient
ledge from which to reach a very promising looking pool,
the doctor hailed me from the west side with the declara-
tion that he had left his book of hooks down at the mill
and having broken the one attached to his line, was badly

AND OTHER SKETCHES 287

knocked out. It was a case of walking nearly a mile over
very bad going back to the mill unless I could relieve him,
and this was finally accomplished by fastening two or
three hooks to a stone and throwing the same across the
river. The Doctor then had fair luck, and when we de-
cided to turn back had fourteen good-sized fish in his
creel. Half way back he sat down on an overhanging
ledge to reach a very enticing-looking spot and then, bet-
ter to accomphsh the leaning over act, he took his basket
off and placed it on a ledge near him. Not succeeding in
landing a fish at the promising looking pool, he continued
his way, and when he met me at the mill was in high glee
over his good luck. When I asked for the proof the doc-
tor reached for his basket, and the look on his face when
he discovered it was not there was ludicrous in the ex-
treme. His carelessness cost him a half-mile climb over
the rocks, the journey no way lightened by the voices that
sounded in his ears: *'0h. Doc, you never forget any-
thing." Poor Dr. John Kennedy has crossed another
river since then, and it is one from which there is no
return ; he has joined the silent majority. He was a big-
hearted man, a generous soul if there ever was one and
his reputation in his profession was not excelled by any
practitioner in Canada. ,

288 CANADIAN TUEF KECOLLECTIONS

A TRUE FISHING STORY

A prominent resident of Toronto, half a century ago,
was Colonel 0 'Hara, a retired British Army officer. He
was a thorough all round sportsman, and his favorite
pastime was fishing. There were few streams between
Lake Ontario and the northern lakes which he had not
sampled and but few men were as skilful as he with rod
and fly. The following story told me about the Colonel
is worth repeating;

A brother officer who had served in the same regiment
was visiting in this country and as he was also an enthus-
iastic disciple of Isaac Walton the Colonel invited him
to join in some of his fishing trips. The offer was ac-
cepted and the two veterans had many days of splendid
sport in the streams north of Toronto. One day they
were fishing near Priceville, in Grey county. The weather
was sultry and the mosquitoes were out in battalions.
The fishing, however, was good and the Colonel was sat-
isfied to suffer the attacks of the pests. Not so the
Major, who was waving his arms to drive off the skeeters
and in doing so did more splashing of the water than
was allowable. The Colonel stood it for a while, but
finally his patience was exhausted and he called out:
"Major, what is the matter with you this morning? You
are making as much noise as if you were fishing with a
sinker and float. Surely you are not demoralized by a
few flies?" The remark nettled the Major, whose temper
and liver had not been improved by a twenty years ' resi-
dence in India, so he answered with some warmth:

** Colonel, I can stand these d flies as well as you or

any other man, and you can take up the challenge if you
want to." After a few peppery words a bet of a basket
of * * fiz " was made, the wine to be used during their out-
ings, and the test decided upon was as follows: after

AND OTHER SKETCHES 289

dinner that evening both anglers were to bare their backs
and go outside their tent and lie down on the grass.
Smoking was allowed, but the first man to move a hand
to brush off a mosquito would lose the bet, the referee
being the Colonel's valet.

At eight o'clock both gentlemen stripped to the waist,
and stepping outside the tent lay down side by side, both
puffing vigorously at their Havanas. The mosquitoes
were there in swarms that night, and the two well-fed
backs were a feast they were not slow in alighting upon.
Both victims commenced to wriggle and squirm, but the
conditions of the match prevented the use of the hands
and so no relief was possible from that quarter. The
attacks at last became so persistent that the Colonel
bej^an to weaken and regretted having badgered his
friend into the game. At last the Colonel, unable to stand
the pressure, slyly taking his cigar from his lips, gently
pressed the lighted end on the Major's back. With a
yell that might have been heard acres away the Major
jumped to his feet shouting: "Colonel, the bet is off;
gallinippers are barred, mosquitoes only were to count. ' '
Both gentlemen returned to the tent, and the valet was
kept busy applying a soothing lotion to their backs.

It was not until the pain of the scars had been relieved
that the Colonel admitted the trick he had played. The
wine, of course, was supplied by the perpetrator of the
joke, and many a laugh was indulged in in after days
by the Colonel and his friends over the gallinipper
episode.

290 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

DID THE BIRDS REASON IT OUT?

A few years ago I did a good deal of fishing on Round
Lake, a sheet of water about two miles in length by from
half to three-quarters in width, situated four miles north
of Havelock, on the Quebec division of the C. P. R. The
lake was then surrounded by a heavy growth of timber,
much of which has since been cteared off, and the destruc-
tion of the timber has practically ruined fishing in that
water. The North River empties into this lake, and it
was on its western shore that the circumstance I am
relating took place.

A pair of fish hawks of the largest variety had for
several years nested in a huge blasted pine standing in
the drowned land about fifty yards back from the river.
These hawks were most voracious fish destroyers and one
or two visits to the neighborhood of their nest revealed
bushels of fish bones, bearing ample testimony to their
destructive capacity. It was finally decided that in the
interest of anglers visiting the lake it would be well to
destroy the birds. Many were the ingenious devices
planned to effect this purpose, but during the two sum-
mers that I was acquainted with what was going on, none
of the attempts were successful. If a boat approached
that shore there was no way of reaching the tree in which
the nest was built, except by landing on the west bank of
the river. To reach it in any other way meant a long and
arduous struggle through the drowned land and tangled
briar bushes. Therefore, the various shooting parties
that tried to exterminate the birds used the river as their
nearest way to get at them. As soon, however, as a boat
would land, a warning note would be sounded by the mate
on watch and the bird in charge of the nest would imme-
diately take wing. Sometimes the male bird was at such
a height floating around in the clouds as to be nearly

AND OTHER SKETCHES 291

imperceptible to the naked eye, but as soon as a boat
neared the river bank, the bird would seem to dro}) like
a bolt, uttering piercing cries of warning to its mate.

After several unsuccessful efforts, it was finally de-
cided that three should go in the boat, one should land
and the others row the boat back to the lake, hoping thus
to deceive the birds. This was done on half a dozen
occasions, the utmost precaution being taken to prevent
either of the birds seeing the third man in his hiding
place within reachable distance of the nest, if either of
the fish destroyers should return to it, but in every case
these efforts were unsuccessful. No matter though the
two parties rowed away from the shore, the warning cry
of the bird still sounded and neither would return to the
tree; but as soon as the third party would re-enter the
boat and it left the shore, these birds would return to
the tree, sounding a jubilant note.

An effort was finally made by two boats going together,
there being three parties in one boat and two in the
other. All five landed on the shore and one of the num-
ber, a noted shot on the wing, was left in hiding near the
base of the tree in which the nest was. The other four
returned to the boats and rowed down the river to the
lake. On the way down the birds were plainly seen hang-
ing around and one of them dived and caught a fish of
considerable size before the eyes of the watchers. It
was then considered certain that they would return to
their nest, but, instead, they flew to an adjoining tree
and regaled themselves with their catch. After waiting
two hours and finding that the old birds were not likely
to return to the nest, the boats were rowed back, the
watcher was taken on board, and in less than ten min-
utes after leaving the shore both hawks were back at
the nest.

The question of interest is, was the instinct of these
birds sufficient to keep track of the number of persons
who went into the woods and detect the absence of one on
the return! Several efforts were made to illustrate their
power of discernment, and in every case where the party

292 CANADIAN" TUBF EECOLLECTIONS

landed and the same number returned to the boats, one
of the birds would immediately return to the nest. I
am thoroughly satisfied in my own mind that they knew
as well as we ourselves every time an enemy was in am-
bush waiting their return, but by what process of rea-
soning they arrived at that conclusion I will not under-
take to decide. One thing I do know is, that the fish
hawks of the North Eiver were too cunning for the
anglers who for two summers sought their destruction
and, personally, I was delighted that they escaped the
many snares set for them.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 293

AFTER A RAILWAY BONUS.

Time has cut a wide swath in the ranks of the spell-
binders who thirty years ago represented this city
throughout the country.

There was many a hot fight on in those days outside
of politics, some of the fiercest being over the securing of
bonuses for the construction of railways to this centre.

George Laidlaw was the chief of the bonus hunters,
and by his sagacity and foresight did more than any
other man in laying the foundation of this present im-
portant railway centre.

He was generously aided by many of the best-known
citizens of that day. There were W. H. Beatty, John
Gordon, Angus Morrison, John Hallam, John Baxter,
John Canavan, William Ryan, Alexander Manning,
Colonel Arthurs, Hon. John Beverley Robinson, Nathan
Dickey, John Ginty, Garrett Frankland, John Taylor,
James Scott, John Macdonald, "Square Toes" Medcalf,
John Blevins, George Morse and the writer. Verily the
scythe-bearer has cut broad and deep amongst those I've
mentioned. Out of the score named above all but two,
W. H. Beatty and myself, have travelled the through
route and ended life's fitful journey. W. H. Beatty is
still head of a great legal firm, a wonderfully well pre-
served man, almost as stalwart and erect in appearance
as in those days when he made the farmers of Grey
county believe that the construction of the Grey and
Bruce line would put them all on Easy street. Last, the
ivriter is still here, and now, as then, wielding the pen and
wondering whether the next thirty years will be as pro-
lific of results for the city as the past.

The occurrence I am going to relate took place at
Priceville, up in Grey county. We were after a bonus of
$300,000, and the Hamilton people were fighting like Tro-

294 CANADIAN TUKF RECOLLECTIONS

jans against us, seeking to divert the trade to their city
instead of Toronto. I had held a meeting twenty miles
away in the afternoon and had driven Priceville way to
attend one still further south, but finding it had been
postponed through a fire in the school house, I decided
to drop in and hear what the advocates of the Hamilton
railway had to say in its favor. There were two of us,
John Canavan being my partner that night. It was not
known we were in the village, and a few minutes after
the meeting had opened we were able to drop into a back
seat in the hall without being observed. The speakers
of the evening were two clergymen from Durham. He
who was addressing the meeting was quite facetious at
the expense of the Toronto scheme and in a quiet neigh-
borly manner was evidently making a good impression
on his hearers. He raised a lot of fun by describing our
line as follows:

"Those Toronto people who want to build a narrow
gauge, but which I call a narrow gouge railway (laugh-
ter), are carrying around a portly alderman named John
Baxter, who weighs 350 pounds, and they declare that
two men of his size can sit comfortably in one seat
(roars of laughter). My friends, it is a prodigious
fabrication ; two men of such size would be almost as big
a load as one of their toy engines could haul (loud
laughter). My dear brethren, they tell us these narrow
gauge roads are a great success in Norway and Sweden.
Why don't they tell us of some place nearer home where
we could learn something about them? I tell you, my
friends, they cannot do it. They cannot tell us of a single
country nearer Canada where there ever was one, much
less one that is a paying investment."

Recognizing that the parson's talk was having a de-
cided effect on the voters, I jumped to my feet and
begged permission from the chairman to ask a question
of the reverend gentleman. It was granted me. I be-
gan: '*Sir, you have told our friends here to-night that
the Toronto people cannot mention a single narrow gauge
railroad outside of Norway and Sweden. I accept the

AND OTHER SKETCHES 295

challenge, Sir, and propose right here to settle this ques-
tion." Looking him straight in the face, I raised my
voice and said: "Will you. Sir, as a minister of the
Gospel and on your honor as an honest man, deny before
this meeting that the Connemara and Bog of Allan nar-
row gauge railway in Ireland is not a great success to-day
and paying over five per cent, dividend to its stock-
holders? I pause, Sir, for a reply." One glance at the
astounded gentleman's face showed me he was thor-
oughly befogged and he stammered out: '*I am very
sorry, Mr. Chairman, if I have said anything untrue. I
had never heard of the Connemara and Bog of Allan
Kailroad, therefore, my friends will excuse my mistake."
Needless to say, I gave him no chance to proceed further,
but immediately complimented him on the honesty of his
character in apologizing and admitting he was not ac-
quainted with the subject he was discussing. At this
stage my friend Canavan, in the broadest of Irish accents,
guaranteed that if the preacher would visit him in his
Connemara home he would introduce him to many other
pleasant things in addition to the narrow gauge rail-
ways. Canavan then sang "The Boys of Connemara"
in fine style, every Irishman present joining in the
chorus.

We then addressed the electors in favor of the Toronto
scheme, carried the meeting with three times three and
a tiger, adjourned to the hotel, where a kindly disposed
landlord "set 'em up" for the crowd, while we took the
leading lights into the dining room and treated them to
an oyster supper and — N.B. — The Connemara and Bog
of Allan Eailway was not constructed owing to some
difficulty in floating the bonds, but the vote in Priceville
neighborhood three days later was almost unanimous in
favor of the Toronto scheme, and thus was the founda-
tion laid for the superb railway system that now serves
that northern country.

296 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A PLOWING MATCH THAT DID NOT COME OFF.

During twenty years of active platform work I met
many able speakers. I used to keep a list of those who
opposed me, but it grew to such proportions that I drop-
ped it. During my numerous campaigns advocating a
stringent license law against prohibition, it was no un-
usual thing for half a dozen clergymen in one night to
accept my invitation to discuss the question, and fierce
though the fight was in many counties of Ontario I am
pleased to record the fact that I have only pleasant
recollections of my intercourse with my clerical oppon-
ents.

In politics I met many hard fighters, but to my mind
the most formidable of them all was the late Hon. Archi-
bald McKellar, Minister of Agriculture in the Mowat
Government. He was not an orator, but was one of those
fluent speakers, full of force and possessing a clear,
pleasant voice which made every word sound clear and
distinct. In addressing an audience of farmers he was
particularly strong, and being himself a practical agri-
culturist he spoke with authority on farming subjects.

I have alluded to the above facts so that my readers
can understand and appreciate that it was no easy task
to hold your own in an assemblage of farmers against
such an experienced member of their own class.

The circumstance I am about to relate took place at
Flesherton, in Grey county, during an election for the
Ontario Legislature in which the late A. W. Lauder
was the Conservative candidate, and Nathaniel Dickey,
the standard-bearer of the Reform party. Mr. McKellar
was representing Mr. Dickey on the occasion, and I was
acting in a similar capacity for Mr. Lauder. The hall
was filled to the doors with farmers, and Mr. McKellar

AND OTHER SKETCHES 297

made a strong appeal to them to listen to the voice of one
who was proud to declare that he was one of themselves ;
that there was no branch of farm work, from barn-rais-
ing to using the thresher, that he was not familiar with,
and he particularly prided himself on his ability to han-
dle a plow in a workmanlike fashion.

It is scarcely necessary to add that this style of speech
took immensely with his audience. He very adroitly
raised a prejudice against me in the minds of many
present by incidentally mentioning that I was a news-
paper man brought up in the city, knowing nothing about
country life and therefore not competent to tender advice
to practical men like Canadian farmers.

Now all this, told in a friendly manner, was, I could
easily perceive, making a strong impression on the crowd
and this was plainly evidenced by the slimness of the
applause which greeted me when I stepped forward to
speak on behalf of the Conservative candidate. I had at
one or two previous meetings had something of a similar
character rubbed into me by Mr. McKellar and I deter-
mined there and then to make a bold bluff which I thought
might put a stop to future similar attacks.

Addressing mj^self with considerable energy to the
chairman. I asked his special attention while I made a
proposition which I thought would meet the approbation
especially of the large number of young men who were
present in the hall. I said I was weary of hearing Mr.
McKellar boast so often of his ability as a plowman and
I proposed at this meeting to suggest a practical test
which would once and for all settle the matter. I re-
marked that I had myself some years before the com-
mencement of my city career enjoyed the reputation of
being one of the best plowmen in my township. I then
suggested that Mr. McKellar and myself should each
hand over $50 to the chairman, who should select a field
in which we should give a practical illustration of our
ability at the plow-handle, and as Mr. McKellar was an
older man than myself I accorded him the ])rivilege of
being the first to use the team selected for the purpose.

298 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

He was to plow for one hour and I was then to take the
same team, plow the same length of time and three com-
petent judges were to decide which man had done the
most satisfactory work during the trial; the $50 put up
by the loser to be divided into three prizes of $25, $15
and $10 for a plowing match between the young men of
the township. The proposal was received with unbound-
ed applause by the crowd, and I called upon Mr. Mc^
Kellar to either accept or refuse the challenge. He was'
evidently unprepared for my call, and without taking
proper time to consider it he bluntly replied: "I never
bet, and I therefore won't accept your offer."

Now, it was not a difficult matter to convince the young
men present that there was nothing of a betting char-
acter about my proposition, and I expressed deep regret
that I should be deprived of the opportunity, which I
felt positive would have been mine, of handing over such
a handsome amount as the $50 of the loser to be com-
peted for by themselves ; however, I hoped to be invited
by them to their spring plowing match, then I would have
a chance of spending a pleasant hour or two and at the
same time show them what I could do in the plowing line.
At this the applause was of the heartiest description,
during which I rushed matters by calling for three cheers
for the Queen, and the meeting broke up satisfied that I
was a boss plowman and that my opponent was afraid to
meet me.

The day after the election, in which the Conservative
candidate won, I spent a pleasant hour with the Minister
of Agriculture. He expressed surprise at hearing I was
a proficient at farm work, and asked me if it was really
so that I was such a good plowman. I then admitted the
bluff I had played on him by saying that I had never in
my life handled a plow but once and that my debut in
that line was a dismal failure. I felt, however, that I
was justified in playing the card owing to the persistent
manner in which he was seeking to raise a prejudice
against me as a city chap who knew nothing about coun-
try life and ways. He laughed heartily over the joke

AND OTHER SKETCHES 299

that had been played upon him and many a time after-
wards, while he filled the office of Sheriff of Hamilton, I
used to drop in upon him and on such occasions he
always alluded with a hearty laugh to the plowing epi-
sode. In addition to Mr. McKellar's ability on the poli-
tical platform he was one of those genial men it was ever
a pleasure to meet, and his frank off-handed manner
made him popular with all classes.

300 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

A CORNER ON RATS.

On a November night about twelve o'clock I happened
to be sitting with several others around one of the big
stoves in the office of a well-known hotel in Montreal,
when the conversation turned on rats.

It so happened that one of the night porters, whose
special duty it was to look after the fires — the hotel being
heated in the old-fashioned manner by stoves — was a
smart young chap recently from Old London and pre-
vious to his leaving the big town he had done quite a little
work in the rat-catching line. Now, at the time I speak
of the basement portion of the hotel swarmed with ro-
dents. At the approach of winter when there was no
longer food for them on the wharves, hosts of them
would travel up the sewers and seek in every direction
for what was eatable.

The big kitchen of the hotel was a favorite trysting
spot of theirs, and the walls were in most places liter-
ally honeycombed where they had tunnelled their way
through. Cats by the dozen had been introduced for the
purpose of killing them off, but after a few weeks of
very vigorous exercise pussy would invariably become
satiated with the sport and retire from active business
and many times in this same place I have seen two or
three cats dozing on the bricks in front of the big range
and a dozen rats scampering about the room.

On the night I allude to one of the party around the
stove was a New York drummer who had a decided an-
tipathy to rats and thought them a little the meanest
breed of vermin on the face of the earth, his opinion
being largely influenced from his having been once badly
frightened by a rat getting into his bed. The talk finally
turned to rat catching, and I offered to bet a bottle of
^'fiz'' that I could find a man in the hotel who in thirty

AND OTHER SKETCHES 301

minutes from the time he started would catch half a
dozen rats with his hands, unaided by a dog or trap.

The proposition struck the New Yorker as so insanely
liberal that he laid the odds of two bottles to one that it
couldn't be done. The bet was made. I called up the
porter and asked if he would tackle the job. "Dave"
asked no better fun than catching rats, knowing from
experience that he was always well rewarded for his
proficiency in that line. At his request the five of us fol-
lowed him into the carving room and kitchen to see for
ourselves just what preparations he desired to make.
What he did when there was to open the slide doors
under the meat table, also the door between the two
rooms, then provide himself with a big broom.

Eeturning to the office the New Yorker took the time
and all hands waited eagerly for Dave to give the word
when the first raid should be made. He kept us nearly
ten minutes before giving the signal, when, as quietly as
possible he stepped to the door and as he rushed into the
carving room all hands followed. The rat catcher's first
trick was to shut the sliding doors under the carving
tables and the door between the two rooms, and when the
gas was turned up there was such a scampering of rats
across the floor that our Yankee friend jumped on the
table yelling at his highest pitch.

Dave proceeded to work in the most methodical man-
ner. He would single out a rat, and with broom in his left
hand, chase him into a corner. He would then clap the
broom over him and hold him down, then with his right
hand catch hold of the rat's tail, swiftly draw him from
under the broom, then keep swinging him round and
round until he walked to a big wire cage over on one of
the tables, when he would pop him in.

In ten minutes' time he caught seven rats, and there-
fore easily won my bet, but to give the Gothamite a little
fun for his money, Dave made two other raids, securing
five the second trip and four the third time. Then to
show his utter fearlessness in handling rats, he allowed
the New Yorker to point out the ugliest and wickedest-

302 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

looking rodent in the cage, after which he put in his hand,
not gloved nor in any way protected, brought him out
and opened the front of his outer flannel shirt and let
him loose in his breast. The last act was all our Amer-
ican friend wanted to see, and the appearance of his face
as Dave unbuttoned his shirt and popped the rat in was
a mixture of fright and disgust it would be impossible
to describe.

A pleasant hour was spent over the wine, and arrange-
ments were made to get some terriers in the morning and
polish off the rats. This was duly attended to, and the
New Yorker left Montreal satisfied that from personal
experience he could tell a rat story that would bear com-
parison with anything in that line over the border.

AND OTHER SKETCHES 303

THORNCLIFFE STOCK FARM.

One thousand acres of upland, meadows and forest-
crowned hills for a background, go to make up a noble
estate, and when this is located on the outskirts of a city
of three hundred thousand population, its natural beauty
is rendered still more attractive by its close proximity to
a great commercial centre like Toronto. The Thorncliffe
Stock Farm is well known all over Canada. It has been
the home, not alone of many noted thoroughbreds, but
also of prize-winning Clydesdales, which have gained
high honors in Canadian and American show rings;
Jersey cattle, Shropshire sheep and Yorkshire pigs. At
one time flocks of sheep roamed o'er the pastures of
Thorncliffe — animals so choicely bred that buyers were
attracted from all parts of the continent, but the damage
caused by hungry, roaming dogs, was so great and so
difficult to guard against that the owner was reluctantly
compelled to relinquish one of his favorite enterprises.
When individual members of a flock of sheep are worth
all the way from $100 to $600 the damage caused by
sheep-killing dogs can easily foot up to a large amount,
and though men were employed to guard these flocks by
day and carefully house them at night, yet it was found
impossible to secure their safety and their breeding was
discontinued.

The premier thoroughbred sire at Thorncliffe is the
imported English horse Orme Shore, by the world-
famous Orme (sire of Flying Fox, which sold for $187,-
000, the highest price ever paid for a horse). Virginia
Shore, the dam of Orme Shore, is by John Davis, by
Voltigeur, out of Distant Shore by Hermit. Orme is by
Ormonde, out of Angelica, by Galopin.

Judging by the success of the get of Orme Shore at the
last spring meeting of the Ontario Jockey Club, it is Imt

304 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS

reasonable to assume that in addition to his own high
quality as a performer, he will prove a brilliant success
at the stud. As a two-year-old he won five races, carrying
from 124 to 135 pounds. He is a horse of superb style
and faultless conformation, and in the opinion of Major
Daingerfield, of Lexington, he is one of the grandest
thoroughbreds he ever looked upon.

The herd of Jersey cattle on the farm, though not a
large one, represents the choicest prize-winning blood of
this popular breed of cattle; while the Lord Eosebery
strain of Yorkshire pigs are said to be the choicest speci-
mens in this country. Buyers from Tennessee, Ohio,
Illinois and many other States, have enriched their home
stock with this popular strain. In fact, the demand, both
at home and abroad, taxes the capacity of the farm to
supply.

Mr. Robert Davies, the owner of this splendid estate,
is a central figure in the business life of Toronto. He is
owner of one of the greatest brick manufacturing plants
in the world, also proprietor of a large paper mill and
the owner of two other extensive manufacturing concerns
in the cit3\ One would naturally suppose that every
moment of his time was occupied and his mind engrossed
with business cares and anxieties. Such guessing, how-
ever, would be wide of the mark. Wherever you meet
him, he impresses you as a man who has nothing to worry
him. A smiling face and a cheery voice are two of his
chief characteristics and he never shows to better advant-
age than when, as Squire of Thorncliffe, he welcomes his
guests, either at the old farm-house in the valley or at his
splendid mansion at Todmorden. Many a noted gather-
ing at both places could be recorded every year. Turf-
men and horsemen from all over the continent have
visited Thorncliffe, and one and all carry away with them
pleasant recollections of the beautiful estate and its
popular owner.

Webster Family Library of Vetenrtary Medioine

OuHNSiings School of Veterinary Medicine at

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200 Westboro Road

North Grafton, MA 01536