127 



He owned such horses as Henry, Boston and Flirtilla, 

 besides many other celebrities. No man who was ever on 

 the continent ever owned half so many rarely good ones, and 

 they took part in all the great races. There was never a 

 time that his horses were not earning money for him and 

 defying the other notables of the day. Col. Johnson 

 breathed his last at the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans 

 during the winter of 1849. 



John and Robert Stephens were gentlemen of the old 

 school and owned many great horses. Their home was on 

 the Jersey Heights in New Jersey. Like Col. Johnson, they 

 were educated and refined gentlemen, and they were also 

 great match makers. When they thought they had a horse 

 in their stable that was good enough to run against some 

 other one they did not hesitate to match him against the 

 other. The celebrated Eclipse was in their string when he 

 beat Henry, and they must have won thousands of dollars 

 on the victory aside from the stakes of the match. 



In a business way the fame of these gentlemen was wide- 

 spread, and they numbered their friends by the thousands in 

 all parts of the country. In the North, South, East and 

 West the name of Stephens was held in the greatest respect^ 

 and everybody had expressions of admiration for their 

 daring as turfmen and their gracefulness as gentlemen. The 

 soul of honor, they had but to tell a man they would take his 

 bet for any amount, and the latter knew that if he won the 

 money would be paid at any time he demanded it. 



Then there was Major Thomas Doswell, whose home 

 was at Hanover Junction, near where Henry Clay, the great 

 commoner, was born. He was the owner of the celebrated 

 Planet, Fannie Washington, Inspector, by Boston, Nat Pope, 

 Sarah Washington, the dam of the most of the others, and 

 many horses that reached the highest pinnacle of equine 

 fame. I fancy I can see him yet galloping about the track 

 on his little black horse, giving instructions to his rider at 

 various points in the race. If he saw the jockey was making 

 too much pace, he would tell him to slacken it, and if he was 

 going too slow, he would instruct him to let out a wrap or 

 two. In this way he helped the boy to ride the race, and 

 often was the sole cause of a victory for his horses. 



