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Show I HARRY FT BROWNING I Smithy "Who Three Years Ago Hired Only One Other Man, Now ! Serves 4 Nations with His Thirty-Five J Helpers. Ijfa HERE have been war brides j and war fortunes without r p number In the United States I since the beginning of tho I I great European conflict, and large sums of money have been made bv People who I Tr leaat expected them, In ways 'which they never would havo Imagined had not ! tho war started them on the high road to suc-f suc-f cess and wealth. From the stock markets of Broad streot and the wheat pits of Chicago to tho breeder who raises stock on the Immense Western ranches and tho farmer who raises each year a colt or two as a side Issue of his farming work, have come tales of sudden and Unexpected wealth made possible only becauso Jialions wero hurling themselves upon one another, an-other, bent on destruction. Perhaps ono of tho moBt curious of fh fortunes, or at least tho paving of the' road to j puch a fortune, is that of tho village blacksmith - of East SL Louis, 111. Certainly it is ono that Hi wca its origin -entirely to the war and to the Hi demand for animals. And, whilo It may seem l a bit modest, tho American people arc accus- tomcd to look at figures In tho days of huge accumulations of wealth,. yet it certainly Is not 1 a sum to bo sneered at 03 a result of scarcely three years' work. fr Tho owner of the fortune won't admit that it Is a fortune. He will tell a visitor that ho has H. mflde considerable money; but he refuses to Ktato the amount. It haa been estimated at , 57C.000, but the owner merely shakes his head Hj when- lhls 18 mentioned and declares that ho wishes It was that much; then he adds that he doesn't see why any other person should car how much ho makes, as long as he does It hon-Hl hon-Hl CBtly that ho doesn't want tho size of his HL pNo mado public, anyhow. He's modest, is this vlUago blacksmith, whoso namo is Harry F. Browning, In so far as tho fortune Is concerned. But ho takes a great J pride in hi3 big business and is proud to dis-' dis-' play It to tho visitor and tell him of the growth ' Jbat has been made during tho war period, j Sort of a by-product of tho war, la this busi- iess. But oven though it may be a by-product, It 1b ono of tho biggest things In tho world. Ifc haa that mark of distinction about it, just as H fomo person has said: l 'It Is better to be tho b'lggest frog In a little -gqr v SHOE"lttG ARMY MULfr puddle than to bo a small frog in a big puddle." pud-dle." Tho distinction of being tho biggest establishment estab-lishment in tho world in Its line now rests Avlth tho village smithy of East St. Louis, according to Browning, who unhesitatingly asserts that more horses aro shod there dally on tho aver-ago aver-ago than at any oher spot on tho face of tho globe. How many? Oh, anywhero from -100 on up to more than doublo that number may bo fitted with now footgear In a day by the industrious indus-trious workors who havo been gathered here to prepare tho futuro war horses for their long Journey to the battlefields. a Browning Does All the "Work. THE National Stock- Yarda at East St. Louis is a big establishment, and tho horse trading trad-ing at the present time Is one of Its most important im-portant branches. And when it comes to horso. trading, all the sellers and buyers both depend on Harry F. Browning. Ho does all the work there. Before tho war this smithy was a small affair, for tho accommodation of tho city trado and such fow dealers as cared to havo horses shod at tho time of sale. Now, there really aro two establishments ono Inaldo the stock yards itself for tho shoeing of war horses, the other outside, which continues to care for tho trade that formerly was tended to by Mr. Browning and an assistant or two, This outsldo shop Is for tho special attention atten-tion needed by flno saddlers and carriage horses and racer3. Not that tho war horses are mistreated in any way when tho aolectlon of footcear Is In question; but for artillery drafts and tho army mule thoro is required re-quired a heavier and rougher class of shoo than ' . commonly Is used on the high-class horses In civilian work, as one might call it. Then, too. the work of shoeing tho war horses must pro-coed pro-coed as rapidly as possible, In order that tho animals may not be unduly delayed on their Journey; whereas, tho shoeing of a saddler is a work of art, requiring time and tho most careful care-ful attention to fitting peculiarities of tho foot and olhor details. There are somo thirty-five men working in tho Inside shop all of them oxperts. Mr. Browning, aftor assembling this force of expert ahoers and shoemakers, now has a force which dcilcs competition; and, should you enter his e'lP, you will be moro than surprised at tho :v.pldlty with which an animal can bo handled or a shoo pounded into shape. Of theso mon thero i3 constantly a forco at working making tho shoes. A long lino of anvils and forges occupies one end of tho room In tho stockyards sot asldo for tho blacksmith shop; and when all tho workmen are engaged In pounding and shaping shoes, the clamor is almost deafening. Tho most elaboratoly staged "Anvil Chorua" ever conceived con-ceived has nothing on this and even cannot approach It lor nolso, as tho clangor would bo sufficient to drown out tho voices of tho largest chorus that could be packed on the stage of Madison Square Garden. The shoes aro made right on the spot, as tho old-time smith used to mako them, with hammer ham-mer and anvil; this la moro economical than buying shoes already shaped and also gives a bettor quality of product; besides it always la necessary to reshape a rcady-mako shoe, anyhow. any-how. "Making" horseshoes is a general term. As a matter of fact, whether shoes reach tho blacksmith shop already shaped, or whether . the metal for thejn comes In long pieces and is worked up into snoes by tho smith hirosolf, each shoo must be individually fitted to the foot for which it is intended, and part of the work of shoeing is the reshaping of tho shoo to mako It accurately fit the animal's hoof. "When tho shoe has been shaped roughly, tho ends are reheated and bent over to form caulks, If thoy bo desired. Too caulks come as separate sep-arate pieces, and when theso aro to bo appllod tho too of the shoo is heated and the cold piece of metal pounded into the hot until a perfect amalgamation has tuken place and shoo and caulk aro ono piece. Then tho nail holes must bo pierced through the metal. This Is done as a white hot shoe is placed on the anvil and a punch tool is driven through It- at tho proper places by tho smith. Then the wholo Is reheated, touched up and made a finished product, ready to bo shaped to the Individual needs of tho horse or mule that ultimately will wear It. Little Time Is Lost. WHILE ono bunch of men la engaged on the anvils, another will bo handling tho horses. Theso. aro led In just as fast as tho shoes can bo iltted to their feet; and you well can bollovo that little time la lost in shoeing them, for owners, Inspectors and buyers all are waiting their turna at them beforo tho final "O. K." for tho. battlefield is given. Tho horses aro shod In front only. Most of them never havo worn shoes at all, when brought Into this world's biggest smithy; therefore, there-fore, thoro is much trimming and preparing of hoofs to be done, and this Is work that requires re-quires a sure-enough expert, unless the horso is to feel bad effects afterwards, such as strained muacloa and knees from badly-fitted shoes. Thoy coma from tho wido ranges of the West and South, mostly having lived a carefree 111c; and sornetlraos among them there will bo an outlaw, or a free mustang, captured by somo cowboy's wilo and sent along to mako m v ... , v';: 1 1 up tho number roqulrod for cannon fodder. Tho rear hoofs arc trimmed up into shape, but aro left without tho protecting iron rim. This is done because the anlmnls have a long journey to mako in cars and on steamers before be-fore they reach their field of service, and during this long journey thero is a possibility of their Injuring ono another by resentful kicking, kick-ing, if their hind feet aro shod with Iron sheets. Each day, as tho animals como in from the ranges and arc unloaded from tho lor lines of stock- cars, thoy aro sent, as soon as possible, to Brownings: then, after being shod, are taken In hand by expert riders and their capabilities demonstrated befopo tho eaglo-cyccl, eaglo-cyccl, ever-watchful govei-untental inspectors, veterinarians and buyers. In this market horses aro bought for England, Eng-land, France, Italy and Belgium. Few go to Russia or tho other allied countries. As a matter mat-ter of fact, it Is rather hard to find enough animals to supply, the demands of the four nations mentioned. Tho army mule also is handled in largo numbers, but thero aro many moro horses than mules. To successfuly cope with a Job In this establishment estab-lishment a man must not only be a smith and a horsoshocr. but also must understand something some-thing about handling the animals, thomselves. As naturally could be' expected thoro aro many "bad actors" among tho horses brought soral-wild soral-wild from their natlvo ranges and wnon it comes to being fitted with shoes, thoy aro exceedingly ex-ceedingly fractious, to say the. least. Shop of Specialists. pENERAL blacksmithing is a thing of tho v past with this particular shop, for thero is not time to attend to tho business that otherwise- might bo offered. This is a shop of opo-c opo-c alists specialists In tho manufacturing and onaplng of shoes and experts in the fitting of litem. There aro men for each detnll of the work, and so busy is tho place that, Instead of each man aeleotlng his shoos ono at a time, as often is dono in tho village smithy, a man Is employed who wheels them along In a barrow, distributing them just where thoy will bo wanted. They use almost uncountablo numbers num-bers of them; the weokfy call for horseshoe nails amounts to fullv half a tor.. And as for tools, thoy are bought by tho gross 'instead of singly, as formerly was the custom. In one corner of tho shop Is a stack , of used rasps only' ono of the many things that a horseshocr must have to do his work properly and in that pile aro several gross, accumulated In an eight months' period. And as for old horaeshoos, if It weren't for tho regular reg-ular visits of tho Junk man, tho shop would be- come qulto impassable. As It is, thero always Is a huge pilo of shoes In tho center of tho room, thrown thero as tit 03 aro taken from tho hoofs of animals that come In already shod, and theso are far the smallest proportion of the horses brought Into tho shop. Nearly every person in tho country has at some time or another seen tho trick moving pictures which show a set of genii or of giants producing minted gold In unlimited quantities by pouring molten motal on to anvils " and pounding with their hammers. That is Just what Harry F. Browning has dono; not that ha has pounded out tho coins himself particularly, but that tho village smithy has produced them from Us dozen of anvils. For It certainly is true that when tho shoemakers place their rod- ' hot metal on the anvils to bo shaped Into horseshoes with each stroke of their hammcra, thoy produce for tho owner of tho establish ment a coin of small denomination, possibly, I but many In numbers, making a tidy fortune ' when all accumulated. Biggest Smithy in History. npHE biggest 'blacksmith shop in history! That's its title. From tlto days of the ! heathen, along about 200 B. C, when tho use of shoes on horses and similar animals was begun, all through the ages of chivalry, when a horso was equipped, not only with shoes, but :t . with a coat of mall as well, to the present day. mi nover has there been such a demand for horc. shoes as there is now. When it nrst j learned by observation that a horse's hoof J would weur out under hard labor, tho peoplo of early days had tho custom of wrapping the , ! hoofs of their animlas with tho equivalent of sacking in this day, or with suitable, strong grasses. Then, with tho widespread use of Iron, camo the custom of placing an iron rim f about tho hoof to protect it from breaking, this being somo few hundreds years beforo the com- ' H lng, of tho Messiah. Thereafter tho custom grow and spread until now it is almost uni- versal Science declares that shoes should bo as light , as Is compatlblo with tho wear to bo demanded of them and that the ground face of the shoo should bo concave, whilo the faco applied to tho hoof should bo plain. It also decrees that none but heavy draft horses should havo heel and toe calks, and that, whon romovlng the oxcess ;r part of tho horny growth in rcahocing, care must bo taken to keep the sides of the hoof of , , equal height. That the shoe must fit accurately accu-rately to the circumference of the hoof Is a cardinal prlnciplo laid down and a slight pro- jcctlon beyond tho heel, also, is callod for. Tho matter of nails also Is dealt with, and it Is do- .'' clnred that as few as posslblo should bo used; that theso should take a short, thick hold of N. tho wall of tho hoof, so that old nail holes may ' : bo removed wlththo natural growth of tho hoof I and paring of the horny matter. Tho best thing about the sudden fortunes of this glorified village smithy Is that there ap-pears ap-pears no indication of a let-up in tho demand for horses and mules and shoeing of them! so Harry F. Browning is likely to continue the ( accumulation of a fortuno as long nstho war ' 1 shall continuo to wago. How 'long Is that7 Tho. horso buyers don't know, neither does Browning: certainly he is not preparing to dls- Jj conllnuo any of his activities as yet. J A |
