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The

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By

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^tMtirfmlfy Ubraiv of Veterinaiy Meddne

CwnmlnBi Sdmoi of Veterinary Medicine a^

T^i^ University

200 WestboTD Road

TUFTS UNIVERSITY LjBBARIES

3 9090 014 665 174

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2009 with funding from

Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries

http://www.archive.org/details/storyofkatequeenOObeer

The Story of

"Kate and Queen

How "Kate" Became an Outlaw and
How "Queen" Became the Family
Driver : : As Told by Themselves

yj

By
PROFESSOR JESSE BEERY

Author of

Bcery's Mail Course in Horsemanship and namerous other

Works on Horses. Also Designer of the

Famous "Beery Bit"

PLEASANT HILL, OHIO.
U. S. A.

Copyrighted 1908

By

JESSE BEERY

Pleasant Hill, Ohio

PREFACE

These short stories are written, that
you who love horses may spend an hour
in their company and have them talk to you
from their view of life.

The author has spent his life with
horses, studying their disposition. He has
had a wide experience training colts and
the most vicious outlaws.

Only an exceedingly small percent of
horses are naturally vicious; but most
horses can be trained to be vicious. A
horse can be trained to kick, as well as he
can be trained not to kick ; he can be trained
to run away as well as not to run away.

The author believes that horses do just
what they are trained to do.

This book is intended to present horse
life from the viewpoint of the horse, with
the hope that it will be found interesting
and suggestive to every reader.

It is almost useless to say that ^'Kate"

is a tjrpe of the thousands of horses that
have been brought to the author for sub-
jection. "Queen" is the type of hundreds
of colts that have been trained by his own
systematic methods. Therefore the inci-
dents and methods mentioned are not vague
imaginations, but facts.

It is gratifying to the author that the
public has appreciated this work and he de-
sires to extend his thanks in this public way
for the many kind words received from
readers, in many parts of the world.

''KATE"

ii

Old Kate's Confession''

Old Kate and Queen had finished their
evening's allotment of oats, and were de-
liberately crunching a mouthful of sweet-
scented hay at intervals. These two horses
belonged to Mr. Lamar, a prosperous farm-
er, who lived on a beautiful well-kept farm,
not far from the city. Mr. Lamar was a
great admirer of good horses and always
kept several about him. He loved, especial-
ly, to have a good driving horse, but took no
particular delight in training a horse, and,
consequently, left that task to the farm
hands for a rainy day job.

Fourteen years had passed by since
Kate had been brought to the farm, a beau-
tiful two-year-old filly. Her beautiful
form, sleek brown coat and pedigree that
extended for several generations into the
most aristocratic of horse families, had in-
duced Mr. Lamar to pay more than an
ordinary price for this promising colt. He
11

THE STORY OF

was very proud of her when lie got her
home. Her good size, neat limbs and spir-
ited bearing almost fulfilled his ideal of the
perfect horse he had longed to possess for
family use.

If we could look upon Kate as she stood
in her stall the evening of our story, we
could hardly believe it to be the horse that
had once been the pride of such an excellent
judge of horses as Mr. Lamar.

Her coat was rough and neglected.
There were many scars where some time
had been many deep and jagged cuts. There
was yet fire in the eye, but it was the fire of
fierceness rather than ambition. The ears,
usually, from habit, lay back close to the
head, and everyone knew better than to
approach within reach of her teeth or heels.
On account of being the principal of many
runaways and the cause of many bruised
spots upon the farm hands and others, her
notoriety was great. There was scarcely
a farmer in all that country that had not
12

'♦KATE" AND "QUEEN"

heard of some of the thrilling smashupi?
and narrow escapes caused by Lamar's un-
governable mare.

She occupies a large box stall in the rear
of the barn, neglected and unnoticed, except
by the curious. A door leads from her stall
into a small lot. In nice weather this door
is left open and this lot and box stall now
constitute old Kate's world.

By the side of old Kate's stall, stands
Queen, a beautiful four-year-old. Those
who know say that Queen is the very image
of Kate in her younger days. Queen is the
only offspring of Kate, and, except for the
marks of age, had the same well-formed
head and large, full eye and thin nostrils,
indicating the same ambition and hot blood.

Queen was known to everybody as the
daughter of Old Kate. She was admired by
everyone for her beauty. She was praised
by some for her excellent behavior and
speed record, while a great many feared
she would develop the ungovernable temper
13

THE STORY OF

of her mother, and it was also hinted that
there was much vicious blood in the line of
her sire.

This evening Queen seemed especially-
kind and placid as she ate her evening meal.
She had a right to feel greatly pleased, for
she had that day carried off the first prize
in one of the best horse shows that had ever
been held in that part of the state. Her
free, graceful actions, combined with her
well-groomed coat of brown, beautifully
arched neck and lithe limbs made her the
center of all admiring eyes.

When before the amphitheater she per-
formed one or two of her neat little tricks,
taught her by her driver, and then, when
she turned to the crowd, with her intelli-
gent eyes sparkling and nostrils dilated,
and acknowledged their applause by three
dignified bows of her head, it seemed that
that vast crowd screamed and yelled
enough to make a driver lose his head and
frighten any ordinary horse.
14

*'KATE" AND "QUEEN"

Of course her mother noticed by her
proud neck and elastic step as she en-
tered her stall that evening that some-
thing unusual had happened. Between bites
of hay they had asked and answered a num-
ber of questions pertaining to the day, when
Old Kate, upon being asked why she was
never taken out to such pleasant places,
assumed a reminiscent mood, and, for the
first time, told her past story to her
daughter.

I shall do my best to interpret old
Kate's story, as she told it that night in her
simple sign language. It was told by the
rubbing of noses, with now and then a low
whinny. Her story was emphasized by a
flash of the eye and distended nostril as
some exciting scene came up in memoiy;
often the flat ears and glaring teeth indi-
cated great passion aroused, and many
times, as tales of terrible abuse and painful
accidents were related, the skin twitched
and the whole body shook with nervousness.
15

THE STOEY OF

At intervals the sides of her stall resounded
with a Idck that was only the involuntary
emphasis placed upon that part of her
story that told of her enormous efforts to
release herself from many entangling
traps.

From these signs her story interpreted
is as follows : * 'I was brought to this place
fourteen years ago. I was then young and
full of fun and life. The best of care had
always been given me. I received many
dainties to eat and was groomed carefully
every day. I can not say that I did not
receive the same treatment when I came
here, but, soon after I came, a misunder-
standing arose between me and the man
that has blighted all my happiness. This
misunderstanding was slight at first, but it
continually grew, until within the last five
or six years we have had nothing to do with
each other.

I believe that it was just after dinner
of the third or fourth day that I came
16

•*KATE" AND "QUEEN '

here that my trouble began. A man
came into the stable talking loudly, and
walked up behind me with a whip and a
large bunch of stuff, that I afterwards
learned was harness. I did not know then
what it was, and that, with his loud talking,
stirred my sensitive nerves at once. He
yelled something at me that I did not un-
derstand and started to walk up to my side.
I was afraid of him, so I stepped over in
front of him, to keep him out. My stall was
narrow, and I could easily do it. He struck
me with the whip and said something very
loudly that I did not understand. I sup-
pose it was, '* Stand over," or something
like that. I did not know a word of man 's
language then, so I do not remember what
he did say.

He tried to get in by me two or three
times, but each time I crowded him out. He
then took his whip and gave me an awful
whipping. I do not know to this day why
he whipped me. He ought to have known,
17

THE STORY OF

when I told him by snorting and turning my
head toward that black bunch, he had on his
arm, that I was afraid of it. This whipping
made me so nervous that I could not stand
still, and I just had to dance around. AVlien
he started up to my side the next time, I sup-
pose that I stepped on his toe, in my nerv-
ousness, judging from the way he yelled at
me and the way he walked when he went
out. I thought he had found out that the
black bunch frightened me and had taken it
away, but in a minute or two he came into
the room in front of me. He dropped the
bunch and untied my halter strap and drew
it up so short that my head was drawn close
to the manger. He then brought that awful
black bunch and threw it on my manger.
Then he jumped into the manger himself
and on into my stall. I pulled and tugged
to get away for he looked terrible, coming
over the manger like a big dog. I tried to
crowd him out when he got that black
bunch, but I was tied so short I could not.
18

"KATE" AND "QUEEN"

When he threw it on me I twisted and
bowed my back and pulled back and jumped
against the manger, but he succeeded in
fastening it on me. If he had only let
me touch it, as I did one day when he
hung it on my manger and went away to
do something else, I know I would not have
had that fright. I never could overcome
the nervous shock of that first harnessing
and never afterwards could stand still to be
harnessed. After the harness was fastened
on me a bridle was put on my head so I
could not see on either side or behind. A
piece of iron was put into my mouth that
I tried for a long time to spit out. I was
taken into the bam lot and pulled around a
few times, first one way and then the other
After jerking me around and saying many
things that I did not understand, and strik-
ing me with the whip every few steps, two
men held me, while a couple more ran
something up behind me and fastened it to
me. My head was fastened up tight so that
19

THE STORY OP^

the piece of iron hurt me worse than ever.

If I remember correctly, I went several
miles that day, sometimes with one fellow
walking by my side holding the iron in my
mouth, and sometimes with both men be-
hind me. Everything was confusion to me,
and I do not remember much that happened
or where we went. When I was put in my
stall that night I was tired and sore all
over. When the excitement was over, I felt
for the first time the welts made by heavy
blows of the whip, and the gash under my
tongue made by one of the men jerking the
iron, while I had my tongue over it trying
to spit it out. Many blisters reminded me
of the harness rubbing my tender skin. Out
of all the confusion of that afternoon noth-
ing remained vividly in my mind but that
bunch of harness and that fellow crawling
over the manger.

During all that night, and for several
days, I jumped at every little noise, fear-
ing the approach of that man with that
20

'KATE" AND -QUEEN"

awful whip and bunch of haniess. I sup-
pose the men meant to teach me something,
but they had me so scared to begin with
and then said so many things that I did not
understand, that I knew less how to com-
prehend man's wishes than I did before.
The men were busy for several days and I
was allowed to remain in the stall.

I was feeling pretty good again, when
one rainy morning in came that fellow with
that bunch of harness. My nerves just
went all to pieces. It took some time for
that fellow to get the harness on me and
hitch me to the rig. Where the harness had
rubbed me before was about well again, so
I did not mind the harness so much this
time, but my mouth was very sore and the
rein bothered me so that it took my whole
attention to that, and I remembered noth-
ing else distinctly. I came in as tired and
sore as before, disgusted with the whole
business. I tried my best to understand
what was wanted of me, but so much was
21

THE STORY OF

said and done that I understood nothing.
Many times the driver thought I knew
what he wanted, when I was only so tired
that I did things in a mechanical way and
did not realize what I had done. Those first
two drives were just like several others. It
must have been a dozen times that I was
driven before I really Imew that pressure
on the left side of the mouth meant to turn
to the right and that pressure on the right
side meant for me to go to the left. I re-
member, too, how long it took me to learn
when to start and when to stop without the
driver using the whip or lines. I'll never
forget the time I thought that I had learned
that "Ho" meant to stop. It must have
been nearly a year after they had first
hitched me when Mr. Lamar was driving
me at my very best gait past a neighbor's
house, because he wanted this neighbor to
see my speed. As we passed someone spoke
to Mr. Lamar, and he yelled ''Hello." I
stopped suddenly, having previously deter-
22

''KATE" AND "QUEEN"

mined to stop before I received a pull on
the lines, and Mr. Lamar almost fell over
the dash. He hit me a terrible cut with the
whip and I then and there determined
never to stop again, until I received a pull
on the lines. It was even more confusing
to know when to start. The hired man al-
ways hit me a lick and then said, "Get-
up " or " Go on, ' ' and of course I was think-
ing about the whip and not what he said
afterwards. Mr. Lamar sometimes said,
"Go long," sometimes made a clucking
noise like an old hen and sometimes a kiss-
ing noise before he tapped me with the
lines or whip. I do not see why the men
could not have definite words for what they
expected of me and use some method to get
me to understand them more quickly. It
seems to me that they could have taught me
the use of the bit, and when to stand and
start, without having me pull that heavy-
cart or wagon at the same time.

Nothing worth relating happened for
23

THE STORY OF

several months, excepting my first experi-
ence in being shod. Mr. Lamar drove me
to town one morning and hitched me in
front of a black looking building, where
several other horses were standing. Every
few minutes a horse would be brought out
and another taken in. I wondered why they
went in there and what caused the noise. A
large, rough fellow soon unhitched me and
led me to the door. I stopped to look in,
but could not see much, for it was dark in
there, except one place where there was a
fire with sparks flying in all directions, and
from it came a rumbling noise intermingled
with a ringing sound. The place smelled
different from any place I had ever
smelled. I feared to enter and braced my
front feet when the man pulled at my strap.
I had not yet got my eyes accustomed to
the darkness inside, when a shower of
sparks fell almost at my feet, and at the
same time something hit me across the hips
with a resounding whack. I leaped for-
U

"KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

ward, only to find that I was securely tied
to the side of the building. The sparks
from the fire behind me flew in showers at
short intei-^^als and kept me trembling with
fear lest they would give me another whack
across the hips.

A fellow set a box behind me, then
grabbed one of my hind legs. No one had
had hold of my legs before and I leaped to
one side to get away from him, but he stuck
to it. I swung him back and forth, but
could not get him loose, so I let my whole
weight down on him. He had to let go, and
sprang from under me. It took the fellow
a long time to get me to stand long enough
for him to pick all my feet up and cut them
fiat at ihe bottom.

Another fellow came with some iron
pieces, he called shoes, and began to nail
them to my feet. When he began pound-
ing it hurt my tender foot, causing me to
jerk it very quickly. Somehow my foot
caught fast in his pants and almost tore
25

THE STORY OF

them off his legs. He struck me with his
hammer and yelled so loud that I snorted
and pranced and determined that he should
not hammer my tender feet, and then pun-
ish me because it hurt.

He struck me again, then grabbed my leg,
but I jerked away and kicked at him. The
shoe flew from my foot, just missed his head
and struck the side of the building with
a whack. The man then untied me, placed
a noose over the tender part of my nose,
placed a stick through it, and twisted it up
tight. I think they called this a twitch.
They jerked it several times and made my
nose sting. I suppose that it hurt me so
that I did not notice the man lift my leg
and hammer my foot. The man holding the
twitch, thinking I had given up, loosened
it and the pain ceased. I saw the fellow
holding my foot and felt the jars of the
hammer. I gave a quick leap forward,
jerking my foot free and upsetting the
blacksmith. I made several leaps and
26

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

kicks, causing a horse at my side to break
loose and creating a panic among three or
four men who fell backward from their
kegs and boxes.

The man in front recovered his rope
again and I felt its painful jerks on my
nose. He also pinched my ear with a pair
of tongs. Again the blacksmith hit me a
terrific blow with his hammer and seized
my foot. I resented it with as hard a kick
as. possible at such close range and sent
him sprawling on a heap of scrap iron. The
pain on my nose and ear became so terrible
that I did not know what was done with my
feet or who shod me. When I left the shop
I had four new iron shoes on, my nose was
tingling with pain, and my ear felt like it
was almost pulled out. Mr. Lamar re-
turned from his business up town while the
men were hitching me up. I think a black-
smith shop is one of the worst places there
is for horses. It makes me shudder yet to
think of them and the hard fights I have
27

THE STORY OF

had in them.

Mr. Lamar continued to drive me most
of the time. He considered me well broke,
but I hardly know just what that means,
for I could understand but little of what
was expected of me and, since Mr. Lamar
was a very quiet sort of a fellow, I really
went along to suit myself. I was develop-
ing a great deal of speed, and, being consid-
ered a good family horse, usually took the
family in the beautiful carriage for their
evening drives over to the city. I was then
in the prime of my life and would have been
one of the happiest horses alive, if I could
have felt that there was a complete under-
standing between me and my driver.

I believe it was the summer that I was
six years old (here old Kate gave a vicious
kick and snapped her teeth so fiercely that
it startled Queen, who bad been intensely
interested in her mother's stoiy) that Bill
Temper came to work for Mr. Lamar. He
was always in a hurry, and if things did
28

'*KATE" AND "QUEEN"

not go to suit him always flew into a
passion. I often wonder why Mr. Lamar
kept him, for he was so reckless in his speed
that he was always getting into trouble.
Somehow I took a dislike to him the first
morning he came into the stable. He came
in a flurry that made us all feel uneasy.
When he came to clean my stall, the first
thing he did was to prod my sensitive legs
with the fork and afterwards yell, "Get
over." I involuntarily bounced with my
hind leg? and scringed every time the fork
came about me for fear I would get struck
again. He came in, a few moments later,
roughly threw the harness on me and
hitched me to the spring wagon. He was
hardly seated in the wagon until he hit me
a cut with the whip and yelled crossly, ' ' Go
long. ' ' I didn 't lose much time in starting,
I tell you, and took him a pretty good clip.
I do not know whether my gait pleased
him or not, for every little bit he would
speak roughly to me, which kept me un-
29

THE STORY OF

nerved all the time. Bill taught me that
morning how to get around objects that
frightened me. Down by old Mr. Johnson 's
woods lay a black log that I had always
been afraid of. I always watched that log
when I went by and usually snorted to chase
away any beast that might be behind it, for
I once saw the weeds shaken by something
hidden there. Mr. Lamar had always let me
take my time in going by so I could watch it
better. When I stopped to walk by that
spot that morning with Bill, he hit toe a cut
with the whip just as I thought I saw the
weeds move again. Of course, I thought
something by that log had hit me, and I
circled around it as fast as I could go.
When we came back that way, Bill was
afraid to pass there, too, for he began jerk-
ing the lines nervously and whipped me
when we were past the place, so we could
get away quicker. I kept away as far as I
could by going into the side ditch. A little
further down the road there was something
30

"KATE" AND "QUEEN"

hanging on a weed just off the side of the
road. I thought it was only a piece of pa-
per, but being somewhat nervous yet, I
watched it pretty closely. Just as I had
about decided it was a piece of paper, it
moved and something hit me. I again went
around by the side ditch, as far away as I
could.

I came home from that trip very much
worried, for I had trotted fast with the old
spring wagon. The excitement caused by
our two frights and Bill Temper's irritable
manner, left me very nervous. I did not
enjoy my supper very much that night, and
had hardly finished when Bill came in with
the fork to fix my bedding. Either care-
lessly, or purposely, that fork struck me
again, and being nervous anyway and
afraid of it, I kicked it as hard as I could.
I do not know whether forks bite or not,
but when I kicked, two prongs of that fork
fastened to each side of my pastern, and
how I did kick to get it loose. I remem-
31

THE STOEY OF

ber how the boards of my stall broke
and flew in all directions. Bill was mixed
up in it, too, for he had hold of the fork
part of the time, and I kicked him too. I
really think he wanted it to hurt me, at
least he had it in his hand when I
finally kicked it loose. After that Bill al-
ways put me in another stall to clean mine,
for I never after allowed a fork about. I
made things so lively that the men kept
them away. Mr. Lamar was gone for sev-
eral weeks that summer and Bill drove me
very frequently. In fact, I think he made
some very weak excuses, sometimes, merely
to get me out for a drive.

I learned several things of Bill. He so
thoroughly drilled me in hurrying around
objects that frightened me, that I circled
around everything in which there was the
least possibility of danger, and it became
such a habit that I did it sometimes when
there was really nothing to be frightened
at. He taught me to start as soon as I
32

*'KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

heard his foot on the buggy step. Another
thing that was vividly impressed on my
mind was that I should never allow any
horse to go around me. It took many a race
for me to learn that point, but Bill never
let any opportunity pass by without giving
me some practice.

Nearly all the horses in the community
soon learned that it was no use to try to
pass me, and did not often attempt it. There
were two or three from the city I often saw
on the road that gave me the fastest races
we had. One, especially, gave me many a
race before I felt confident of being able to
keep ahead of any horse on the road. This
little gray I could always tell as far as I
could hear her, by a peculiar pat of her
feet. Whenever I heard her coming, I went
my best to keep ahead.

One morning the latter part of the sum-
mer I heard the familiar voice of Mr. La-
mar again. He came into the barn and
came in my stall, saying something about
33

THE STORY OF

me not being as fat as usual. He left the
barn and returned again in a few minutes
with a new set of harness, which he pro-
ceeded to fit to me and took me out and
hitched me to the carriage. He seemed
very proud of his harness, and placed spe-
cial emphasis upon the fact that it had
the latest style shaft band. I noticed when
he fastened it that he wrapped it two or
three times around the shafts just as if he
feared the shafts might fly up and hurt
somebody. He took the whole family for a
drive that day. Whenever one of them
stepped on the step I started quickly, and
each time received a jerk from Mr. Lamar.
I couldn't understand why I should not
start, when Bill had taught me that a foot
on the step meant to go. We finally got
started, after I had reared a time or two,
with everybody scolding about their hats
being knocked awry, and me considerably
irritated, because I had been fooled so
often.

34

''KATE" AND "QUEEN"

I took them down the road at a pretty
good gait, dodging from one side of the
road to the other, as it seemed necessary in
order to avoid all suspicious-looking ob-
jects. It surprised Mr. Lamar somewhat,
when I went very fast by the log and
around by the side ditch. He said some-
thing about me getting more afraid rather
than getting used to the log ; I did my best
to show him that it was best, as Bill had
taught me, to hurry around suspicious ob-
jects, but he did not seem to understand me.
Two or three times the women screamed as
I crowded over to the other side of the road
away from something, and nearly collided
with a buggy, and once or twice almost
missed the end of some culvert.

Just as we left the city that evening, I
heard the familiar sound of that gray horse
coming up behind me. I was determined
that, although it was hitched to a light rig
and me to a heavy carriage, it should not
pass me.

35

THE STORY OF

The gray attempted to get around me by
a quick dash, but I was watching for that,
and away we went. A man ahead saw us
coming and turned into the side ditch to let
us pass. Chickens flew from the road as we
dashed by the farm houses ; children scam-
pered from the dust and watched us from
gate posts as we raced by. The women
screamed as we dashed past a load of hay,
for the carriage top rubbed the hay and the
outer wheels were in the ditch; but that
gray must not pass. We had not gone more
than half a mile until that gray was far be-
hind. Just as we were about to turn into
the lane at home, a horse and a buggy came
out, which, I thought, intended to go around
us, and I went into the lane so fast that the
hind wheels slid, making the women scream
again. I had hoped to please Mr. Lamar,
after he had been gone so long, and, so had
done my best. I think though that he was
not very well pleased with me, for his voice
to the men seemed gruff, while he said
36

"KATE" AND "QUEEN"

a great deal about "shyer," "tough-
mouthed," "not safe for the family,"
"wouldn't stand," and many other things
that I did not understand.

The next morning Bill and Mr, Lamar
came in and examined the bit of my bridle.
Bill said something about "hacking it with
a hatchet," and Mr. Lamar talked about a
"Jaw Breaker." Bill hitched me to the
buggy and we went to town and stopped be-
fore a harness store. Bill brought out a
large bright object with a chain across it,
which, I suppose, was a bit. Bill slipped my
bridle off to buckle the bit on. For the first
time in my life, I saw the buggy to which I
was hitched. It looked so much different
straight behind me, than it did off to one
side or when another horse was hitched to
it, that I became terribly frightened. No
sooner had the bridle been slipped off than
I leaped forward. Bill grabbed the end of
the shaft and my mane and ran along with
me for quite a distance, but could not keep
37

THE STOEY OF

up. The front wheel struck him and
knocked him down. Men ran out from side
streets, stores and alleys, and ran directly
toward me, frightening me more and more,
and, as I circled around them, my buggy
caught the wheels of others and upset them.
I can not describe to you all the noises
and terrible sights I saw there in a few min-
utes; buggies upset, horses running, men
yelling and all the time that frightful buggy
right behind me. I had never seen objects
in the city except directly in front of me,
and now, with no bridle on, everything was
frightful all around me. How I did run to
get out of that awful place. It is an experi-
ence that will stay with me as long as I live.
I believe I was almost insane. At the first
corner the buggy upset and frightened me
all the more. There was a loud crash and
the top was left in the street. Something
cut my heels that reminded me of the prods
of the fork and how I kicked! I thought
every moment that I would be killed, and

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

so I kicked my best to get it away from me.
The pieces flew thick and fast. The last
wheel caught in a truck wagon and I left it
there. I did not go far beyond that until
the harness became entangled in my feet
and threw me so I could not get up. A man
came from a livery stable near by, with a
bridle, and led me into a stall

BUI soon came up, hatless and breath-
less, with blood streaming from his nose
and a gash in his face where the wheel had
struck him. They took the new harness
and got it mended and brought my
bridle with the "jaw breaker" and hitched
me to a buggy from the livery stable. I felt
like getting away from something all the
way home. My heels were badly cut by the
buggy in the running, and that ' ' jaw break-
er" was the most maddening thing I ever
had on. It filled my mouth full and cut the
tender skin of my jaw. My mouth was soon
so numb that I could hardly feel a pull on
the lines. That bit and set of harness made
39

THE STORY OF

my torture complete. I could not under-
stand why Mr. Lamar could be induced to
buy such a set. When we went down hill
the shafts would not slip forward in the
shaft holders, and the whole load pushed
forward on my back. By the time we
reached the bottom of the hill the shafts
had worked enough forward to cause me to
pull all the load with the back band. Even
on smooth roads the continual backward
and forward motion of the shafts was very
irritating. As I think back over the torture
of that drive home, I wonder how I stood
it. I went as fast as I could to get home in
the quiet stall, and Bill and I both felt con-
siderably relieved when we got there.

I did not rest well that night. My
mouth hurt. My back was rubbed raw, and
a big raw spot on each side, back of my
front legs, made by the shaft band; my
crupper had rubbed the hide off entirely
around my tail, caused, I tKlnk, by being
reined so tight, and the shaft band jerking
40

''KATE" AND "QUEEN"

back and forth. All these, with my sore
heels, made me spend a miserable night.
By the next morning, the sting had left the
sore spots, but there remained a dull sore-
ness that is hard to describe, that made me
feel miserable. The nervous shock of the
day before also added to my misery. I had
just finished my morning meal and had
settled back for a day's rest, when Bill
came in with the harness. He threw it
heavily over my back. I bowed my back
and twisted around and stamped my feet to
tell him the best I could that they hurt me.
But he just scolded me and began to draw
the girth up tighter. I couldn't stand it
any longer, and I just reached around while
he was stooping over, and bit him pretty
hard about the bottom of the coat tail. Bill
jumped and screamed so loud that I was
afraid I had killed him, but I didn't care
much.

I had done my best to let him know the
harness hurt me, but he paid no attention
41

THE STORY OF

until I bit him. I always used my teeth
after that, as that seemed one of the best
ways to make a man understand what I
wanted. A few seconds after I bit Bill, the
bridle flew into my face and hit me several
blows over the head. I never liked to see
the bridle coming toward me after that and
always kept my head as far away as pos-
sible. Bill next stepped back and jerked
my sore tail up so high and jerked the
crupper under it so roughly that it almost
set my teeth on edge with pain. It made
me so mad to think a man had no more
sense, that I gave him a side wiper tbat
sent him back against the barn all in a heap.
He was so far back that I couldn't reach
him, but in my mad excitement, I kicked
anyway. Bill soon regained his breath and
that dreaded fork handle began to strike
me from behind the partition of my stall.
Then I kicked with all the power of my
strength. My earlier experience with the
fork and the experience of the day before
42

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN''

seemed to roll in upon me. The harness
fell off of me and was sent flying to the
rear of my stall. The splinters flew from the
side of my stall, and I felt able to kick the
barn to pieces. When it ended, Mr. Lamar
and two or three other men were there.
They said something about not letting me
whip them out, and, after looking in the
stable door at my rear a few times, they
seemed to be afraid to come up behind me.
One of the men entered the feed room
with the harness on his arm and started to
climb over the manger. It reminded me of
the man scaring me so badly the first time I
was harnessed, that I lost control of my-
self, and threw my whole weight back on
my halter strap. A board of my manger
split off and let me fall backwards near the
door. I leaped out of the bam with the
board hanging to me. I was so frightened
that I did not feel the many deep cuts and
gashes that board gave me as I ran. I tried
hard to get away from it, but I could not.
43

THE STORY OF

Finally it struck me a cruel blow as I ran
into a corner of the barn yard. It pene-
trated my breast and knocked me down. As
the men ran up some said it would kill me,
and I thought so myself when they pulled it
out and helped me into a large box stall.

I lay in the stall several weeks before I
finally became able to get on my feet. I
was unable to be hitched up all that winter.
The men were so rough in handling me,
being so sore all over, as I was, that I bit
and kicked as soon as I could do so. Con-
sequently, I did not get very good care, but
being of a vigorous constitution, my
wounds all healed by spring.

One nice day that spring Mr. Lamar
came into the barn and said several things
to Bill, in which I recognized the words,
''Kate needs exercise," and ''She has for-
gotten her bad experiences." Pretty soon
Bill came in with the harness, but I soon
made him get out with it, for somehow
it scared me and made my back hurt to
44

'^KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

look at them. I was led out in the yard and
harnessed, for it did not look so fright-
ful there, where there was plenty of room.
They had the "jaw breaker" bit on, and
when going over, Mr. Lamar said some-
thing about me being a "lugger" yet. I do
not know what a "lugger" is, but I sup-
pose it is all right. I felt good, being the
first time I had been out, and the day being
so beautiful, I took them a lively drive. I
dodged around everything that was un-
familiar and went farther away from them
than before, because of the recollection of
former pain. Each time I circled around,
something struck me. It may have been
Bill's whip, but since my whole attention
was on the object, I think it was the object
that struck me. Away we went down the
main street. I saw the steam cars and a
street car at a distance. I never saw one
close, for Bill and Mr. Lamar were so
afraid of them that they stopped a square
away from the steam cars and always had
45

THE STORY OF

me hurry up a side street when they saw a
street car coming.

Bill and Mr. Lamar tied me by the gro-
cery, and had just stepped inside when a
woman came along with an umbrella, and
raised it directly in front of me. The man
on the manger flashed immediately through
my senses, and I squared myself and gave
a mighty pull. The rope with which I was
tied snapped easily, and I started down the
street.

The first jump or two brought back all
the feelings of my previous runaway. I
felt ungoverned again and knew my power
to get away from the rig. I was just about
to kick everything loose as I ran, when a
man seized my bit, threw his weight against
my shoulder and pulled my head sidewise
so that I had to stop. I had dodged the men
who had run straight out after me, but this
man was running from me and grabbed me
as I went by. I believe he knew something
about horses, for he seemed to know just
46

"KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

how I felt and soothed my nerves consider-
ably by a few strokes with his hand on my
neck. Mr. Lamar and Bill soon came np
and gave the fellow a round, bright piece,
unsnapped the rope from my neck and
drove oif .

I was jnst going aronnd the corner, Bill
letting me go pretty fast, when I almost
ran into the queerest looking thing I ever
saw. As near as I can remember, it looked
like a low buggy, but sounded like a steam
engine. There were some hideous looking
objects inside with large eyes. Altogether
it was the most horrid looking object I ever
saw. Bill suggested what to do, by pulling
on one line and hitting me a cut with the
whip. I was too close to circle around, so
I reared and gave a forward leap. I was so
frightened that I didn't know, nor care,
where I leaped. I came down on something
that crashed and tore, and directly beneath
me was that hideous machine. I leaped out
somehow and the buggy and the machine
47

THE STORY OF

were all in a heap. The buggy stuck to me
and lit on the four wheels with Bill still in,
and if ever the people in that town saw run-
ning, they saw it that day. The buggy
swayed from one side of the street to the
other. That, with Bill's yells, made me
frantic. People ran and screamed. Bug-
gies disappeared around corners. Houses
seemed to be flying away from me as I
passed by.

Thus block after block I ran, when some
one rushed out from a side street. I
swayed to the opposite side of the street.
The hub caught on a hitching post, the
buggy stopped suddenly, pitching Bill high
in the air over a yard fence and head fore-
most into a flower bed. I was headed to-
ward home, and made quick time in getting
there. I was so badly bruised that I was
again in the box stall several days.

Mr. Lamar came into the stable one day
and heaved a sigh as he leaned against the
manger. He muttered something about
48

"KATE" AND "QUEEN"

"None better bred in the country," and
"Pretty as a picture." I think he meant
me, for he looked at me all the time he
talked. He said something more about
"Counting on her for a family horse." I
think he was very much discouraged about
something, judging from his dejected ap-
pearance.

A few days later, as I watched the men
hauling some stone off the field, one of the
horses began to paw, and finally lay down.
I watched the men work with it for several
minutes, and came to the conclusion that it
was sick. I often stood for hours with my
head out of my little door and watched the
men and horses at work. I often wished I
could be out with them instead of being
kept in my stall so long. After a while the
men got the horse up and unhitched it. One
of them got on it and run it up and down
the field several times as hard as he could
make it go. I did not think it was very
good for a sick horse, but it is hard to un-
49

THE STORY OF

derstand men's ways, and he might have
been hunting for something. The horse
was brought to the stable and placed in a
large stall by the side of mine. Mr. Lamar
started to town for a horse doctor and told
the men to ''Put Kate to work if you can
work her,"

One large fellow whom they called
Pete, replied that he could work any-
thing with four feet. I was taken out of the
barn and harnessed, and hitched to the
wagon with the load of stone. Pete took
the lines and cracked his whip, and I leaped
forward. I struck my shoulders against
something hard, and Old Joe, the other
horse, nearly fell backwards. Pete began
lashing me with the whip. I leaped and
plunged to get away from there, but every
time I went forward I hurt my shoulders
and Old Joe went backwards. I got so be-
wildered that I just stood and pranced and
broke out in a cold sweat all over. Pete
came and patted me on the neck, and left us
50

^'KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

stand awhile. He tried again, but Old Joe
would not start at all when I did, and my
shoulders were getting so sore I didn't go
forward very hard, but mostly sideways.
Pete came and patted me again and un-
loaded nearly all the stone. He took the
lines again, and again I started forward
and nearly pulled Old Joe and the wagon.
I never got such a licking in my life as I
got from Pete after the wagon started. He
drove around in a circle lashing me every
step. The end of the lash cut my hide open
in different places, and the hissing of the
whip as it cut through the air, hurt me al-
most as bad as the blow. I reared and
plunged to go faster, but Old Joe would not
get in the notion. We circled around by the
stones and they were loaded again. I stood
and pranced and sweat. My whole body
ached and shook. Pete came and stroked
my neck and said something, and Old Joe
started. I remembered the terrible licking
because I started the other time, so I stood
51

THE STORY OF

prancing and snorting.

Pete tried several times to fool me into
starting, but I knew better after he had
petted me for standing and thrashed me
for going. They unloaded the stones again,
but I was so mad by this time with
those men fooling around that I just stood
and kicked. After an hour or two, Pete
unliitched Old Joe and hitched him to my
mouth with a chain around my lower
jaw. I leaped and plunged in every di-
rection to free myself from that chain. I
thought I had endured every torture that
could be heaped upon a horse, but that was
the worst of all. I believe that I would
have jerked my jaw off to free myself, had
not the hook slipped off the link and let me
free. I soon stripped myself of the har-
ness and ran into my stall.

That was the last time I ever had the

harness on. I was turned out in the

pasture for a brood mare. You are my

only offspring, Queen, and have the same

52

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

lithe form and high ambition I once had.
You must understand the language of men
or you could not be so happy. I always did
my best to understand their meaning, but
could never get a clew to their language.
That is the reason I suffer with my aching
muscles, uncared for and considered an
outlaw by man. Because I developed a
quick temper in protecting myself, and bear
the ugly scars of my battles for life, I am
rejected even by my own kind. ' '

Here ' ' Old Kate ' ' gave a kick of resent-
ment that aroused all the horses dozing in
their stalls. Not Imowing the surging emo-
tions back of Old Kate's action, all con-
demned her for continually disturbing the
peace of the stable, except "Queen," and
she gave a whinny of sympathy that
soothed Kate's overwrought nerves. Upon
the promise of Queen to explain her con-
tentment and peaceable disposition, in spite
of her natural nervousness, Kate dropped
her head in sleep and the stables were
53

THE STOEY OF

clothed in silence except for tlie rhythmical
breathing of the horses.

54

''QUEEN"

"Queen's Autobiography"

The evening following "Old Kate's"
confession she ate her meal vdth greater
alacrity than usual, for she had not forgot-
ten that this was the evening her daughter,
Queen, was to tell her the story of her life.
Since Queen was two years old their lives
had gradually diverged until it seemed that
an impassable gulf had come between them.
Now that she had told her story, the best
she could, and Queen had promised to tell
her experiences, visions of an unknown life,
full of harmony and peace, seemed about to
open to her starved existence, and she was
anxious that Queen should begin.

Queen had scarcely begun when a nose
appeared in front of the adjoining stall, at-
tracting the attention of the horse to the
left. Noses kept appearing thus in each
stall, alternately, until the attention of the
last horse was attracted. Queen had the
respect and confidence of every horse in the
57

THE STORY OF

stable. She was so beautiful and her man-
ners so perfect, that all felt that Queen was
the ideal to be sought by the horse king-
dom. If there was any uproar in the
stables, it never proceeded from Queen's
stall. If there was trouble between the men
and some of the horses. Queen was never
one of the horses. Her understanding of
man's ways and language was so acute,
that, to the horses, she seemed often to an-
ticipate even men's wishes. So marvelous
was her understanding that the horses
could not help but notice that even the men
acknowledged her superiority by always
speaking to her in a low, kind tone. In fact
it seemed that with the coming of Queen a
new spirit had taken possession of the
stables.

Roy Lamar, Mr. Lamar's son, had be-
come the dominating character of the
stables when Queen came in, and with his
advent. Bill Temper and Pete had disap-
peared and more humane and thoughtful

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

fellows had taken their places. Of course it
was natural for the horses, in their simple
way, to attribute all these changes to the
beautiful disposition of Queen. Therefore,
when word was passed along that Queen
had something to say, all listened attentive-
ly. You would have been really interested
if you could have seen and heard the grace-
ful Queen tell her story of knowledge
gained and ambitions attained. It was a
story of conquests and triumphs that I
gathered from the dainty tosses of the
head, the sparkle of ambitious eyes and the
triumphant arch of the neck. It was a
language of harmonious action, that most
men call signs, but which is one of the most
eloquent of languages when understood.
Queen began speaking mostly to her moth-
er, but understood by nearly all the horses
in the stable.

"The first two years of my life you
know very well, mother, for we spent those
happy days together. It was a life of free-
59

THE STORY OF

dom spent in the pasture lot and in the
barn. I have only a general impression of
those days, for my body was growing and
developing rather than my mind. I had a
natural fear of all objects that I suppose
you taught me, but how or when you did it,
I do not remember. It was the winter that
I was coming two years old that my body
became nearly developed and my mind
awakened to my surroundings. I felt for
the first time that I was equal to any of the
horses about me in strength. I could run
faster than any of them and could kick as
high. I had never been touched by man and
knew no restraint but the pasture fence. I
was just a natural horse, with all a horse 's
instincts well developed, backed by blood
well selected for generations. I felt, moth-
er, just as you say you did at the age of
two years, but there our common experi-
ence ceases. It seems that your life has
been a series of disappointments, while
mine has been a continuous development.
60

''KATE" AND "QUEEN"

One morning in March Mr. Lamar and
Roy came into the feed room and talked
very earnestly for some time, I do not know
what they said, for I did not understand a
word of man's language then, but, after
that Roy always fed me in the morning and
evening and seemed to claim me as his own.
He went away every day toward town until
the corn was planted. I think he went
where the boys all collect together in the
winter time, for I have seen large crowds
of them together in a large yard in town
since. A week or two after he quit going
away, he opened my stable door and drove
me over into the little barn lot, where the
sheep are kept in the winter. He came in
and closed the gate. It frightened me very
much to have a man in such a small place
with me, and not be able to get away. I ran
to the farthest corner, but he followed me.
After he had followed me around the lot
two or three times and I was not quite so
afraid of him, Roy said, ' ' Come here, ' ' and
61

THE STOEY OF

something cracked very loudly that made
me jump and tremble. I noticed for the
first time that he had a long whip with him.
I did not know what it all meant, so I tried
the harder to keep away from him. He re-
peated his words several times, and each
time the whip cracked. Finally I got into a
corner and Roy stood so that I could hard-
ly get past him when that whip struck me
around the legs, after Roy said 'Come
here.' I did not know, of course, what
' Come here ' meant, but I remembered how
I used to run to you, mother, when I was
badly scared, and so I went up to Roy, for
I was not as afraid of him as I was of the
whip.

It must have been just what he wanted
me to do, for he stroked my neck with
his hand, which soothed me so much that
I felt at once that I had found a friend.
Roy started backwards, touching me on the
shoulder with his hand, just as he said,
'Come here,' and then that whip touched
62

''KATE" AND "QUEEN"

me across the hips. I kept close to Roy, for
somehow I felt that he would not hurt me.
He backed around the lot, stopping every
few yards and starting with the words,
'Come here.' I soon learned what 'Come
here' meant. Whenever I started as soon
as Roy said 'Come here,' the whip did not
touch me. I will never forget how it sur-
prised me when Roy got on my right side
and turned the other way. It did not look
at all like it did when we were going the
other direction. Roy was very patient with
me and seemed to understand that I would
have to learn anew on that side. I soon
learned to follow in both directions and to
follow with my head at his shoulder when
his back was to me.

He taught me about the whip that I had
feared so much. I touched it with my
nose and Roy rubbed it over me and
swung it around in front of and over
me, until I found that it would not huii;
me, unless I did not do the proper
63

THE STORY OF

thing. Roy took me in the larger bam lot
and I followed him there, and from there
we went around in the front barn yard, by
the hou3e. The men, seeing the women all
out, stopped their work and watched us
walk around. I do not know what there
was so curious about it, but they seemed to
think it was a wonderful thing that I should
follow Roy without anything on my head.
While they were watching, Roy taught me
to put my head in the halter. He first let
me touch it and rubbed it all over my head
to get me accustomed to it, for I had never
seen one before. Then he drew away from
me and said, 'Come here,' and held the
halter a little in front of him. I stuck out
my nose to touch it and he slipped it care-
fully on my head. He did this a few times
till I learned to put my nose down into the
halter. This made the people all laugh and
they said something to Roy about 'Great
success with such a wild colt,' and many
other things that pleased Roy and made me
64

''KATE" AND "QUEEN"

more confident, for Roy stroked me fre-
quently.

I was led into the horse stall and tied
here in this stall for the first time, and ever
since I have been with the other horses.
The next day Roy took me out and we
walked around together for a few minutes,
some of the men asking whether I had for-
gotten. Roy explained to them something
about a horse 's mind being different from a
man's and that a horse did not have to
think much, consequently when a thing was
distinctly fixed on a horse's brain they
never forgot it, and that he was repeating
the lesson to fix it more thoroughly on my
mind. We had walked together but a few
minutes when Roy had me come to him and
put my head in the halter, but this time he
pressed my lower jaw inside the mouth
with his thumb, and when I opened my
mouth he slipped something smooth into it.
I didn 't know what it was, but I had learned
in my first lesson that Roy would not hurt
65

THE STOBY OF

me, and so I did not try to get away, but
only tried to spit it out. The bridle was
slipped on and off several times in suc-
cession, until I got so I would open my
mouth for the bit. The head gear was put
on my head so carefuly that my ears were
not hurt in the least. A strap was then
buckled around my body and lines put in
the bit. I tried at first to follow Eoy, but
by gently pulling on the lines, he taught me
to keep my head away from him. I soon
learned to obey the pulls of the line. In the
same careful, precise way in which he
taught me * Come here, ' Roy taught me the
meaning of * Get up. ' He said it so distinct-
ly and so often used it that I could never
forget it, and it seems that my muscles al-
most start sometimes at 'Get up,' without
me thinking about it. Roy was careful that
the bit was kept in the proper place, so that
my mouth was not hurt in the least. As
soon as we began to get tired, I was taken
to the stable. My brain and nerves were in
66

''KATE" AND "QUEEN''

excellent shape to retain all I had learned.
I had received caresses for what I had done
correctly, and the whip had struck me
whenever I did wrong, so I had distinct im-
pressions of what was right.

I had a good night 's rest with good feed,
and good bedding, and after a good
grooming the next morning, I was ready
for another lesson. The lesson soon came,
but it was only for a Balf hour. We
did again the things that I had learned
and learned in addition the new com-
mand, 'Whoa.' I was so restless at that
age that I remember it was very hard
for me to stand. The commanding tone and
the firm pull on the lines made me obedient.
The command was repeated several times,
so that I could do nothing else but stop at
the command. In the next lesson, Roy
rubbed a pole over me and around my hind
legs. I was afraid of it at first, for my hair
was short and my skin sensitive. I touched
the pole with my nose several times and
67

THE STOEY OF

found it would not hurt me. The pole was
placed under my tail and across my hips,
and gradually my tail was raised. It felt
ticklish at first, but after it was repeated
several times, I did not care for it. I won-
dered at the time why that was done, but in
a few moments I found out.

' * The harness was brought out, and after
letting me feel of it, it was placed on
my back. My tail was gently lifted, just as if
to lay the pole across, and the crupper was
placed under my tail. The rein was fastened
so that I could not get my head down. The
rein and the harness, together with being
driven out into the front barnyard and out
into the road rather confused me. Roy
seemed to understand that a borse could
think of but one thing at a time and, by re-
peating what I had learned, soon had my
confidence restored.

"He drove me up to a buggy, which
I touched. We then went around it and
saw it from all sides. We then stopped
68

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

to rest awhile and another man pulled the
buggy around us. I watched it all the time.
Roy always used a bridle that left me the
use of my eyes, and I always have made
good use of them and, I think, every horse
should. Roy then rubbed a pole along my
sides and across my thighs, and the buggy
was pulled up close to me. This time a
pole came along each side and was fast-
ened to my harness. I was so intent on
watching the buggy and those poles
that I did not hear Roy say 'Get up,' His
assistant pushed me sideways and started
me with that buggy following close to me.
It scared me so badly that I hardly knew
what I was doing. The fellow holding my
bridle and the calm, 'Whoa,' from Roy
stopped me. We started and stopped a few
times before I felt safe with the buggy fast
to me.

"Roy then got in the buggy and drove
to the left around the front lot a few
times. When he turned to go to the right I
69

THE STOEY OF

did not want to go, for there was that pole
pressing me on the side that I had not felt
before. I had not the time to fully make
up my mind not to go, before Roy touched
me with the whip, which decided me to go
at once. It was much easier to walk around
with only a surcingle than with a buggy,
but, by Roy's careful handling and pa-
tience, I soon learned to walk and turn with
the buggy. I found that * Whoa ' and * Get-
up ' meant just the same when hitched to the
buggy as they did before.

*^It pleased me very much to know
that I was getting along so well in under-
standing Roy and learning something new
each day. It must be great joy to men
to learn so much, for it gives us horses such
pleasure to be well trained. I never rea-
lized before, mother, why you have been so
despondent and out of sorts with the world.
I have seen many other horses that look so
hopeless and discouraged, and I suppose it
is because there is so little understanding
70

"KATE" AND *'QUEEN"

between them and their masters. I have
noticed, on the other hand, horses that look
happy and contented. They have great
pride in themselves and their carriages.

' ' The bond that binds them to their mas-
ters is strong. They respond to the slightest
intimation of the lines or least change in
the tone of the voice. It seems that after the
first few lessons of my early training that
Roy and I understood each other perfectly.
Of course, there were many things for me
to learn, but I felt the way was open for me
to learn what I did not know. Roy always
read my thoughts when I indicated by my
ears and eyes that there was something that
I did not understand, and always did the
right thing to make me understand. He
never left me to find out new ways without
directing me in the best way to learn.

"An example of the thoroughness of

his teaching was the manner in which he

handled my feet. The lesson with the pole

had taught me not to fear anything touch-

71

THE STORY OF

ing me anywhere on my body or legs. He
lifted each foot and had me rest my hind
foot backward on the point of the toe. He
continued to drill me when he curried me,
until I learned to know when he asked for
my foot and lifted it up for him. He
pounded each foot lightly with his hand, so
I had no fear whatever when we went to
the shop.

*'I remember how it eased my feet to
have the iron shoes protecting them from
the gravel and stones. Had he not trained
me in this way at home, where I was accus-
tomed to being handled, I am sure I would
have resisted under the fright caused by
the flying sparks and strange noises all
about me.

''These preliminary lessons, I am sure,
saved me from many a bad fright, and
probably kept me from forming many bad
habits. I know that log down by Johnson's
woods, too, mother, and remember well the
first time I ever saw it. It was the first drive
72

"KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

we had taken on the pike. I had seen a few
objects on the road that were new to me,
but that log attracted my attention when we
were some distance away. It is old and
black with some green moss on it, now, and
looks frightful. I was watching it closely
and was nearly even with it when there was
a crackling in the brush and Johnson's old
black and white dog leaped upon the log
with a yelp. It startled me so that I jumped
some, and probably would have jumped
some distance sideways if Roy's calm, con-
fident, 'Whoa,' had not iTing in my ears just
as I was getting myself ready for the
spring. Of course I stopped, and had no
more than done so when I saw the dog.
Roy talked to me quietly and with loose
lines had me go up to the log and touch it.
You can hardly imagine how foolish I felt
when I saw what it really was.

' ' Roy had taught me to go up to fright-
ful objects, before we left the barn that day
by having me walk over papers and stand
73

THE STOEY OF

while all sorts of noises were being made.
Of all things, though, that old buffalo robe
hanging on the fence scared me the worst.
It required all of Roy's ingenuity, I think,
to get me close to it. I went a few steps
and walked away. Once I had crept close
to it, and when I blew my breath at it,
it scared me so I nearly jumped back on
Roy. I tried to run away from it, but he
kept tight lines and kept my head towards
it. After several minutes ' work, I got close
enough to it, that by stretching my neck as
far as I could, I touched it. After I touched
it a couple of times, I found it would not
hurt me, and now whenever I see any big
bugaboo and hear Roy's 'Take care, walk
up to it, ' I think of the old robe, and go up
and touch it. A wet spot in the road fright-
ened me when I first noticed it, but I went
through it and stepped on it hard, and it
did not hurt me in the least.

"Some distance further a large, white
object loomed up before us. I looked from
74

X

''KATE" AND "QUEEN"

side to side with the intention of turning
around and going back, but Roy encour-
aged me by his voice and made me to un-
derstand that he was master and must be
obeyed. As the object approached it took
one side of the road, while I walked on the
other. When we came beside it, Roy drove
me right up to it. I feared it and trembled,
but Roy must be obeyed, and he had never
fooled me into trouble. There was noth-
ing to do but march up. I touched it with
my nose and found it to be only a large
wagon with a white top. I have touched so
many strange things and always found
them to be harmless, that I have overcome
my natural fear and nervousness, and now
have no fear of any object.

I did not like the looks of cars and auto-
mobiles when I first saw them. We were
going to town one day, when, rounding a
curve we came upon an automobile standing
beside the road. A man was lying flat on
his back underneath it, with only his feet
75

THE STORY OF

protruding. From the inside somewhere
came a terrible pounding noise. I learned
afterward it was an engine.

I was very much frightened at first, but
Roy drove me right up to it and waited.
With trembling limbs and dilated nostrils,
I reached out and touched the automobile to
see if it would hurt me. When I had satis-
fied myself that it was harmless, Roy spoke
to me and we drove on. Now I am perfectly
indifferent to automobiles and allow them
to run close to me.

"Roy's sister, Rose, came to the buggy
one evening, just as we were starting on
our third or fourth drive, and said she
would like to go along, that 'The colt was
so well behaved.' Before going very far
she asked to drive. Before Roy would let
her have the lines, he told her she must first
learn to drive; that the ease of the horse
depended upon the driver. He taught her
to hold the lines so, that they would not be
continually drawing against my mouth, nor
76

THE STORY OF

so loose that she would have no control with
them. He instructed her as to the different
commands, that I knew and their meaning.
Rose took the lines and drove me the re-
mainder of that drive and did very well.
Of course, I did not understand her as well
as I did Roy, but in a few drives I under-
stood her as well as I did him.

**Mr. Lamar and the farm hands said
that Rose was quite a horsewoman. They
praised Roy continually for his success in
breaking 'Old Kate's colt,' as they called
me often, and praised him yet more that he
had done his work so thoroughly, that a
woman could drive me. Even yet I hear
men and women ask Mrs. Lamar and Rose,
when they drive me to the city, if they are
not afraid to drive such a high-spirited
horse, when there is so much to be fright-
ened at. Don't they know a horse well
enough to understand that 1 must obey the
commands that have been drilled into me,
and that I understand a woman as well as
78

^>v

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

a man when they talk the same language?
It seems they do not or they would not ask
such foolish questions."

Here Old Kate rushed against her stall,
with mouth open and ears back, and
said to Queen: "I see, daughter, that your
path has been easy. You have not had any
of the trials that really try the behavior of
horses. You have never been in an acci-
dent or been mistreated." Queen re-
plied: "I can not say that I have been
badly mistreated, nor that I have even been
in any bad accidents, but there have been
some occurrences that were far from pleas-
ant. A few weeks ago I was badly fright-
ened, and came very nearly being killed.
Rose and three other girls had driven me
over to an uncle's to spend the evening.
The evening was warm, and we did not
start home until nearly midnight. We were
coming down the valley road that crosses
the railroad track with high hills on each
side. It is a dangerous place and many
79

THE STORY OF

men and horses have been killed there. I
was trotting along very fast, for the girls
were anxious to get home, when my keen
ears heard in the distance the midnight ex-
press. I expected every moment that Rose
would stop me and listen, but she was
laughing and talking and did not hear the
train, and, I suppose, did not think of the
crossing. On I went, and nearer roared the
train. We were only a few rods from the
track and the train just around the curve,
as near as I could tell from the sound.
Would not the girls stop laughing and talk-
ing and check me before we got on the
track? Maybe they intended to get across,
I thought, but I knew we could not. On I
went, but as my head passed the cut, I saw
the express coming only a few rods away.
Just then the girls stopped talking and
heard the roar and the headlight flashed on
us. I was hastening across, since I had not
heard the command to stop. I was within
ten feet of the track, and the train nearly
80

N

THE STORY OF

upon us. The girls screamed such screams
as I never heard before, but in the roar of
the train and the screaming of the girls, I
heard the command, ' Whoa. ' I set my feet.
I was trotting so fast and the surrey
pressed so hard that I slid nearly on the
track. I turned my head sideways and the
express whizzed by. It was past in an in-
stant. The girls sobbed and cried. A^^iy
they did, I do not know. Rose clung around
my neck, patting me and saying, 'Good,
faithful Queen, you saved our lives by your
obedience. ' I told her, the best I could, that
I was glad she had told me to stop and that
she had saved my life, too.

"Roy has been very careful about who
has driven me, and, consequently, I have
not been badly mistreated. I have heard
Roy tell his father that any horse can be
spoiled by careless or abusive drivers.

''Earlj'- in the summer two young fel-
lows from the city came to visit Roy, for a
few weeks. The three boys often drove me
82

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

to different places, and Roy was often com-
plimented on his beautiful, well trained
horse. One afternoon I was hitched to the
old spring wagon with two or three long
poles in it. I heard Eoy say something
about being too busy to go along and asked
the boys whether they understood driving.
One fellow replied that he had had a great
deal of experience with horses and knew
how to handle them. I do not deny the first
part of his statement, but we had not gone
very far before I knew the latter part was
false. Some people are like some horses;
they know a great deal, but what they know
is all wrong. Whenever he wanted me to go
a little faster he gave me a jerk and a slap
with the lines. He kept nagging me in that
way, all the way to the river. My mouth
hurt and I felt irritable till we got there.
Roy always hitches me in the shade and
loosens my rein when we stop, but that fel-
low let me stand in the sun and left my
rein just as if we were driving. The boys
83

THE STORY OF

sat on the bank a part of the afternoon with
those poles in the water. Later toward
evening they went into the river and
seemed to have a good time, for the water
splashed a great deal, and I could hear
them laughing and shouting. I whinneyed
several times for them to come and tie me
in the shade, but they did not seem to
hear me.

**It was about dark when they came to
start home. When we started, one hit me a
cruel blow with one of those long poles and
only laughed when I jumped and took them
swiftly out to the main road. The fellow
kept nagging me with those jerks on the
lines until I was very nervous and going at
a great rate. The faster I went the louder
the boys shouted and laughed. Every few
steps the boy on the left side would prod
me with the pole. I kept increasing my
speed until I was going as fast as Roy had
ever driven me. We were approaching the
place where those deep ruts are and I ex-
84

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

pected them to slow down, but they did not.
When the front wheel struck the rut the
boys bounced off the seat and yelled
'Whoa.' I stopped, and the boys nearly
fell over the dash. One struck me with the
pole and yelled, 'Get-up,' before they had
time to straighten the seat and sit down. I
suppose the lines were not straight, for just
as I leaped forward to hasten on, I received
a sharp pull on one line that sent me to the
side of the road far enough for the front
wheel to strike a large stone. I saw the seat
and a couple of objects, that may have been
boys, fly up into the air and light over by
the fence. By the time they lit, I was so far
away I could not hear what they said. ' '

Here Old Kate said: **Now you are
running up against the real thing. You
smashed the old spring wagon, didn't yout
You should have knocked those boys out
with your heels long before they were
thrown out." But Queen only continued:
"The jerking on my mouth and the prod-
85

THE STORY OF

ding of the pole ceased, and I soon took my
usual gait and went home. Roy and Mr.
Lamar and the women came runnig out,
very much excited. They talked a few min-
utes and looked down the road. Roy then
got into the wagon, turned me around and
drove me swiftly back.

**We met the boys about a half mile
from the ruts, carrying their poles and the
wagon seat. Roy and the boys talked
while they put the seat in, and I heard
the fellow, who had driven me, say that
I was nervous and scared at something.
It made me very nervous when they
climbed in with those poles, but Roy took
the lines, and by talking to me made me un-
derstand that those fellows would not be
allowed to hurt me. I hardly think that
Roy believed what the fellow said about me,
for he never allowed him to drive me again.
There is only one more incident that I wish
to relate, and then I will have finished my
brief story. It happened just the evening
86

''KATE" AND "QUEEN"

before those men tied those beautiful rib-
bons to my bridle. Mr. Lamar had driven
me that morning to the county fair, and had
with him Mrs. Lamar and the girls. Roy
had taken special care of me, for he said he
expected me to get first premium. I do not
know what that is, but he had cared for me
so well that I never felt better in my life.
When we arived on the grounds there were
so many people and so much noise, that I
kept my head very high and watched on all
sides. There were banners and tents, and
noises of all kinds. I felt somewhat nervous
but knew nothing would hurt me.

"That evening all had gotten into the
carriage and started toward home when
they seemed to change their minds and
turned toward another part of the fair
grounds, where I saw a large round tent
or something like that. The girls kept
talking about a 'balloon.' There was a
large crowd of people between us and the
object, and many screeching noises all
87

THE STORY OF

around us. A horse was tied here and
there not far away. We did not stand
there long when the people gave a shout
and the big balloon went up in the air with
something dangling from it that looked
somewhat like a man. The horses about us
tugged at their ropes and some reared and
whirled around. I looked up, and there
came that balloon directly over me. I had
seen such an object before. My legs
trembled and the sweat broke out over me.
Mr. Lamar talked to me but I was so scared
I stood and pranced.

''Mrs. Lamar and the girls gave a
scream from the carriage. I looked back,
although I feared to take my eyes off the
balloon, and there came a runaway horse,
with no bridle, and a carriage hitched
to it. The horse was panic-stricken,
and was coming directly toward the car-
riage. Mr. Lamar spoke to me and I
stepped up. The horse just missed, our
hind wheels and passed on to my right.
88

''KATE" AND "QUEEN"

Two women, a few feet from us, were
knocked to the earth by that horse and car-
riage. Men yelled, 'Ho,' 'Whoa,' 'Look
out,' 'Get away there," all about us. I
never heard such an uproar nor saw people
so excited as they were there. That
aroused me the more. Excited horses and
excited people make other horses and peo-
ple excited. Some one yelled, 'Look out,
Lamar,' and there came that horse, at
break-neck speed directly toward me. I had
not time to back, and a building was too
close for the horse and carriage to pass.
The runaway horse struck me near the
shoulder. The shaft of the rimaway horse
slipped under my shaft band and belly-
band, and broke both. The front wheel ran
between my fore legs as the horse tore on
in its mad flight. The carriage top bumped
my head and disappeared in a crowd of
people. Added to this was the confusion cre-
ated by other frantic horses, the screams of
women and children, and the commands of
89

THE STORY OF

frightened men. I started to run. Any-
where, or any way to get out of that awful
confusion. I had hardly given my first leap
when in the midst of the din, I recognized
Mr. Lamar's 'Whoa, Queen.' I stopped sud-
denly and the shafts flew up over my back
and the cross piece struck me across the
hips. Again the welcome, 'Whoa, Queen,'
soothed my overtaxed nerves, and Mr.
Lamar stopped from the carriage and
stroked my neck. How soothing that was, I
can never forget, for the sweat was drop-
ping from my limbs and my whole body
trembled. I could hardly get my breath,
and my heart felt like it would burst. I
soon felt quiet and easy, for Mrs. Lamar
and the children gathered around me and
rubbed my nose and stroked my neck. I
never saw Mr. Lamar so moved as he was
that evening. When he came to my stall
before closing the barn for the night he
dropped in an extra handful of oats and
stood rubbing my neck, saying something
90

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

about, 'Faithful animal,' and 'Again you
have saved the lives of my loved ones.'
Then he stepped over in front of your stall,
mother, and said, ' Poor Old Kate, how you
have been abused and mistreated. What a
noble horse you might have been if we had
only understood you. It would have saved
us many accidents and you many bruises.'
He then said something about 'how much
good those colt training lessons did for Roy
and the entire household,' and passed on
out of the bam and his lantern disappeared
around the corner of the kitchen.

"Yesterday afternoon, while we were
yet in front of the amphitheater, after the
men gave me the ribbons a large, well
dressed gentleman stepped up to Roy and
asked if I was for sale. Roy replied that I
was not. The gentleman said, 'You would
part with her for three hundred dollars,
would you not?' Roy replied that he con-
sidered me worth more than that if he
should wish to sell me.
91

THE STORY OF

i i rpjjg gentleman then offered four Imn-
dred dollars, but was promptly refused.

' ' The gentleman then said : ' Mr. Lamar,
you have a horse of remarkable beauty and
intelligence. She is free from all blemishes
and scars. Her age adds to her value. I
have been searching for a horse for my
wife and daughter that would combine
beauty and high spirit with docility. I had
begun to fear I would never find so rare a
combination. The judges here today have
decided your horse superior to all others in
symmetry and spirit. Yesterday I saw the
accident that happened to your father and
family. I know now that your horse will
stand all tests. For the sake of my wife
and daughter I will raise my offer to five
hundred dollars. '

**Roy turned and looked at me a mo-
ment and then turned to the man and said :
*Mr. Whitcomb, my mother and sister are
just as much to me and to my father as
your wife and daughter are to you. Twice
92

''KATE" AND ''QUEEN"

this horse has saved the lives of my sisters.
They think too much of her for me to sell
her from them, and I can not accept your
offer. '

"They talked a while longer, and I
heard Koy tell Mr. Lamar that evening that
Mr. Whitcomb had offered him fifty dollars
to train his thoroughbred colt. I suppose
that is why they are fixing up that other
stall today."

The horses whinneyed their satisfaction
when Queen finished her story, and settled
down in their stalls to dream of peaceful
pastures and the dawn of the day when all
men should seek intelligently to know their
horses and apply sane and systematic
methods to their education.

(The story has an additional charm
and more practical hearing to those read-
ers who have studied Prof. Jesse Beery's
Correspondence Course.)
93

s

Q

Schrol of Veterinsffy Medfeine ;
Tufts University

^affh Grafton, MA OlSS^