IN PRACTICE AT HOUSTON 51 



were not yet very plentiful and the livery busi- 

 ness was still flourishing, with horses for motive 

 power. There was one large stable in Houston, 

 known as the Wilson Transfer Company, which 

 at that time used several hundred horses. 

 Through the influence of a mutual friend I was 

 given a chance at the veterinary attendance in 

 this stable and would undoubtedly have been suc- 

 cessful in landing the contract for the entire out- 

 fit if I had remained there. Another live con- 

 cern whose veterinary services I performed dur- 

 ing this time was the Smithy Cab Line. This 

 concern had about thirty horses and used them 

 on a string of one-horse cabs, hauling passengers 

 fourteen blocks for twenty-five cents. This was 

 the only concern of the kind I ever knew and it 

 was a money maker. 



I was now doing a very nice little bit of prac- 

 tice and was just getting a good grasp of the 

 entire opening when I received a letter from a 

 friend, a Doctor Thatcher, in El Paso. I had 

 met the doctor while I was stationed at El Paso 

 in the government service and before I left there 

 we had become very close friends. Doctor 

 Thatcher was a graduate of one of the old coun- 

 try schools in Scotland or England and had been 

 in practice at El Paso for about fifteen years 

 when I first met him. He was a good veterina- 

 rian, had seen much of the world and was a man 

 whose friendship was worth something. 



In his letter he stated that he had been ap- 

 pointed bacteriologist for the city of El Paso 

 and wanted a man to take charge of his practice. 



