Show THE THIRTY NINE DOLLAR MARE MA RE I 1 four or five years ago while traveling in the state of maine to halt at an out of m the way tavern in those parts parte in the bar room of which during the evening eveni evening nr I 1 heard the substance of the following story st j ry related it may mav divert a portion of your readers and so 30 I 1 write it out fur ur you u speaking speak ing of horses remarked the leading talker odthe of the evening speaking of horses reminds rein indis me of a mare I 1 knew a long time ago when three minute nags aernt wern tao so plenty as we hear about now days a phere diere was a blaek blacksmith smith in th town where here I 1 thon then lived who was a very fair judge of horses and who generally owned a Irus duslier ru slier ber for those times though thou irli almost liis his entire fortune was ordinarily invested in liis his wab crab ile he sold hiff big old mars mare one day and kept his eye open for another beast when the right kind of an animal might fall in his way it chanced son s on afterward that there came to the door of liis his little shop one day a gray gra mare a long lean bodied wench the owner of which desired to have her shod the Hick Ilick smith sinith looked in her mouth as horsemen horsem eft sometimes will and then lie he tried her dock he stood in front of her and then beside bebide of her and then examined her feet and then went to work to shop her how flow old is she lie he asked q dietly as lie he proceeded to pare and trim her hoofs nin years come spring said the owner the blacksmith looked in her ter mouth again and said yes ayes you can warrant that I 1 warrant well ashes a good beast anyhow responded the owner Is she so ind As asa fresh afresh hickry nut nul kind As a cosset sheep maybe sell her cmil indes the lie blacksmith slowly as he finis finished lied her last foot yes replied tile the owner handing the blacksmith a dollar for his job I 1 yes ill sell her ter i how much money cash down I 1 forty five dollars five and forty she must be a good un then she aishe hi i i a good one say forty stringer stranger and ill venture to take her i the bargain was closed the stranger walked away with his old saddle on his arm and tile the gray mare walked into the blacksmiths little I 1 shed stable it was a heap of money for him to put I 1 into a single horse but he tho thought tight she had good points in her up notwithstanding thie the fact that she eai over aej fc f of late or too tao carefully groomed I 1 I 1 A little care card add grooming very soon deve loped her more satisfactorily and the purchaser rhan chancing cing to be a dozen miles from home one night hurried up her cokee on his way back and led a noted three minute straight into town own like open and shut shul well done well done old thirty nine I 1 said the blacksmith enthusiastic lly ily as fie applied two huge straw wisps to he her r reeking sides nor left her while it a single hair was turned aon upon her body well awell done old oman ill take you round to walnut hill and will see about this and he h did take her there once thrice fifty times but h said mid F nothing only that the mare was a good to draw and lie he was content with her I 1 at the end of four or five months tile the 0 old I 1 d man took a leather pouch shut up tip s shop op a and d rode his hia gray bray mare to boston halting alting li at I 1 the old I 1 d eastern stage house in arin ann street here ere h he e remained quietly for three or four days sc scarcely arcel showing 0 himself and never speaking of his mare oie evening he overheard some soine of the boys in the barroom bar room talking horse and lie listened liate ned earnestly go said one of them 11 1 I rather think he can in two fifty sure ha ha roared the rest for three minute horses even were not very plenty penty at that period I 1 id like to match him against something that can trot your wigglers wigg lers and rockers and anaf runners are not the thing I 1 give me a square trotter and I 1 can just leave hirn him all ken kea bout aw asked a voice near by modestly I 1 the 6 company turned about and saw an unshorn i I 1 rough man sitting in his shirt 1 1 i r 1 1 slee sleeves res to whom the young buck did not reply at all our black blacksmith sinith for it was lie he continued v to smoke his pipe the boys put their heads together il for a lark and the foremost asked I 1 perhaps you have got a horse that you would like to exercise a little i yass responded respond od the rudle ru le dressed stranger V 1 11 I dont mind a little exercise fr the lie old mare bit bajt you dont bate nothing on it I 1 take lake it why yes yea just for the nama of the thing well go five hundred or so I 1 five hundred what exclaimed the green iun un jumping from his chair and smash smashing ing bi his is pipe atthe at the same moment five hundred dollars to be sure 0 git bout you re bokin no we cant trot jim short of that it t pay wal now look here babur ill III tell you what ill do ill hoss hosa agin acrin hoss boss yourn agin mine in harness no sir that wont do but five hundred come say fifty thala enough but there was no other way and the black smith placed his money at last in the landlords hands which the shar pers instantly covered cov pred do you know him they asked as the old fellow moved off no said the host hoat he has just come jn in from salem balei he says 1 1 the preliminaries were quickly arranged and the afternoon but one following was agreed for the trot over tile the upper mill dam road everybody had heard of the queer bet before the next evening and the road was lined with pedestrians and carriages the challenging party lived in charlestown Charles town and the horse they had named was the crack of the time a so they cared nothing about what was to trot against him and asked to 10 questions I 1 I 1 the day was clear and cool and the black 1 I 1 smith had been upon the ground full two hours his gray mare stood at the roadside in a wretched harness and worse gig though the latter was light and strong and several tir times ries as the cum pany gathered she had been moved and buffeted for being in the way of gentlemen she bore her persecution meekly however slid and the blacksmith in his shirt sleeves said bothi g cW wheres coheres heres your horse asked the confident jockey who was to drive lie his competitor shell be here in time now dont go to givin herself any extra trouble about her now cause hev your hands full im chinkin th inkin by and bye hotd yer give fer that ere ski let youve got on your head my riding cap sawney and them silk figins arnt thorn them rather costly wheres your horse times up out of the way with that old crow bait shouted one of the fast boys hauling up at tits this I 1 moment and seeking to get the place occupied by the blacki maths tea learn in but there stood the mare with her hl head aa drooping almost to her feet seemingly jaded and woebegone woe be gone when the blacksmith hopped binl ino the gig looked at his watch and said here we are then mister but wheres the horse alit you are going to trot here she is well wel I 1 dont trot with no such skeleton a I 1 that mind you said his opponent not by a 1 long chalk and a furious roar of merriment went up liani ligni I 1 the crowd who were in the blacksmith insisted however hed trot his mare or claim tile the money and tile the animals were called to the start mile heats from the crossin gr ff best two in three at tile the word aw a way ay they went ill i it horse fairly leading the way the mare kledt behind up to tile the half mile post fell off on oil the third quarter and the horse came into tile the post a splendid winner in 2 42 the llie mare barely saving her distance coming lionie home at a half gallop and half trot amid tile the yells of the crowd tile blacksmith had a friend in ill the congre gation who had a pile ot of the ready to he be sure lure no one knew knewt this liis and he was evide evidently nily a rich ni min in he took all the side bets beta lie he could muster at big odds against tile mare illare sie badly at the stand and tile the blacksmith looked haggard aggard li and earne earnest bt the crowd roared again et ct the he second start but the roar was wag brief this ti time ne now go thirty nine screamed the blacks blacka nith as they went away on this heat ano she sha didgo did go instantly tak taking i rig the pole stretched liht aloi g p pissed ased tile the liah half mile mirk finished the third quarter without a miss step aad and came home five lengths ahead in 1 money began to change changa limuli again but the horses came up for the third heat and at the words worda now go thirty nine the mare made an awful gap between herself and her competitor tile tie mare led the way aye every foot of it from the start and distancing lim hw rival passed the winning post well in hand clear down in the thirties iea she was a good un an added our narrator and what bt became of this beast we a sad oil lie sold her for a thousand dollars before lie he left boston she went south but died soon afterwards after she cost him with her new set of shoes valued at one dollar forty dollars if he callad her thirty nine yankee notions noti ons |