244 ROAD, TKACK, AND STABLE. 



touching it. When the engine stopped, it appeared 

 that the leader's bit was hanging loose, and that he 

 had served as his own driver. 



This same animal, a big bay horse, is also cred- 

 ited with some clever work in his own interest. Im- 

 mediately in the rear of his stall was a slide where 

 the oats came down, as he had full opportunity to 

 observe at feeding time. But how could he get them ? 

 He was confined in his stall, not of course by a hal- 

 ter, but by a rope stretched behind him, and fastened 

 by an ordinary open hook. First, he discovered that, 

 with some difficulty, he could turn in the stall far 

 enough to get hold of the rope with his teeth, and 

 after many attempts he succeeded in unhooking it. 

 It was then an easy task to step across to the slide, 

 pull it open with his teeth, and thus set running the 

 reservoir of grain above. Two or three times he was 

 found, after achieving this feat, standing in a deluge 

 of oats, and industriously stowing them away in a 

 compartment furnished by nature. But the firemen 

 checkmated him by putting on the rope a snap hook, 

 closed by a spring ; and there it may be seen, at once 

 proving the occurrence and preventing its repetition. 



There is another sagacious leader, called John, one 

 of a span of large, handsome, dark, mottled grays, used 

 on a ladder truck. These are among the very finest 

 horses in the Boston department : they are strong and 

 symmetrical, with small, clean-cut heads, large eyes, 

 and courageous but gentle expression. John, espe- 

 cially, is as kind as a dog, a favorite with the women 

 and children of the neghborhood, a great pet of the 

 firemen, and quiet as a mouse in the stable, but on the 

 street full of life and animation, and playful enough 



