276 AT THE SIGN OF THE STOCK YARD INN 



opened up by the field partially covered by the 

 "Western Stock Journal," had established a monthly 

 magazine called "The National Live Stock Journal," 

 and now made overtures looking toward a consoli- 

 dation of the two publications. The deal was con- 

 summated, and JAMES H. SANDERS agreed to become 

 an associate editor of the Chicago periodical. At 

 first he prepared his copy at home and mailed it in 

 to the head office. He early pressed me into such 

 altogether minor and clerical service as I was able 

 to render in the matter of assisting with the collec- 

 tion of the news of the business and the handling 

 of his proofs. 



Those were indeed trying days for one who had 

 until now been uniformly successful in other fields; 

 but the big horses earned enough to provide a re- 

 spectable support for a considerable family. A famous 

 Clydesdale show horse, Donald Dinnie, had been 

 bought from GEORGE MURRAY of Racine for $5,000, 

 and was added to the Percheron stud, and a liberal 

 patronage was accorded. Those were the days of 

 $20, $25 and $30 fees, and the aggregate bookings 

 of all the stallions totaled a very tidy sum. But 

 hard times now pressed heavily. Debts arising from 

 the railway crash hung like a nightmare with no 

 relief from their crushing weight in sight. GEORGE 



