238 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE 



when the gong sounds and the doors open. Of course 

 no two horses learn with equal rapidity, and the dif- 

 ference between them in this respect is greater than 

 might be supposed. Two weeks constitute about the 

 average period of instruction, during which time two 

 or three lessons a day are given : but horses have 

 been known to learn in one lesson; and others, 

 again, have been months in arriving at the same 

 proficiency. 



A pair of gray horses, newly purchased for an 

 engine in Boston, were led out three times in the 

 manner just described. They were then left to them- 

 selves: the gong sounded, the stall doors opened, and 

 the pair trotted out, each going to his place alongside 

 the pole. They had caught the idea at once. These 

 horses are remarkable not only for intelligence, but 

 for strength and speed. They are both, and the off 

 one especially, of a type different from that of any 

 other fire horses that I have seen, being very tall (the 

 off one is seventeen hands), rangy, slightly wasp- 

 waisted, and having fine, thin necks, and small, well- 

 bred heads. These nags are built after the fashion 

 of the once famous Conestoga horses of Pennsylvania. 

 They are great gallopers, and the hose-wagon steed has 

 hard work to keep up with them ; but this too- is a re- 

 markable animal. He is one of the oldest horses in 

 the department, having served ten years, and being, 

 naturally, a little stiff in the legs ; but his strength is 

 so great and his courage so good that even these pow- 

 erful, flying grays cannot draw away from him. He 

 is a big brown horse, with a great shoulder, the best 

 of short legs, and a noble countenance. His original 

 cost was the unusually large sum of $450, but the bar- 



