THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 255 



home that night, was treated with a "warm mash/' and 

 virtually put to bed. On the next morning, however, she 

 looked so fine that her owner concluded to go and see the 

 race j and on the road she behaved so well, and beat so many 

 going down, that he determined, "just for a flyer/ 7 to let 

 her try her mettle for the purse. The race was a race of 

 mile heats in harness ; and the horses entered were White- 

 hall, Delaware Maid, Napoleon, and Hiram. The first- 

 named horse, a fine brown stallion entered by James 

 Whelpley, was the contestant of the greatest promise : but 

 all the others were well thought of ; and their owners, being 

 among the most popular patrons of the trotting-turf, had 

 given to the race considerable interest. 



It was a bold exploit to enter that comparatively unknown 

 little runt of a mare, under such circumstances, against such 

 horses ; and when her owner, unable to obtain a trotting 

 " skeleton," determined to put her through in a common road- 

 sulky, his conduct was looked upon as audacious in the 

 extreme. 



At length the start was given, and away they went. The 

 five horses and sulkies were all well together for a few 

 seconds, when Whitehall, with a fine, bold stroke, drew out 

 of the clump, and took a commanding lead : the little bay 

 mare, however, in the battered road-sulky, kept making her 

 long, low, sweeping stride directly in his wake, with the 

 regularity of machinery, and threatening to travel past him 

 the first moment he should lose his foot. At the first-quar- 

 ter pole, there was but one length distance between the 

 stallion and the mare; at the half-mile, but barely two: 

 while the others, with the exception of Delaware Maid, who 

 was tolerably well up, were being tailed off in most disas- 

 trous manner. In this order, the heat -was won by Whelp- 

 ley's stallion; the little bay mare, with the heavy road- 

 sulky, whom nobody thought would have the least chance 

 in the world, being second; Delaware Maid, third; while 

 Napoleon and Hiram wore "distanced." The two latter 



