Horse- RACING at Fort Salisbury. 289 



play their authority, and who would certainly 

 have been immediately intimidated into compliance 

 ^vith all their demands. But this great oppor- 

 tunity of gaining glory and power the " vigilance 

 committee " pusillanimously allowed to pass ; and 

 the population of the settlement I saw growing, 

 progressing, and even prospering under the des- 

 potic and grinding tyranny of less than a dozen 

 policemen, whose military duties kept them all 

 day employed at the Fort. 



Horse-racins: was inau"'urated here, but under 

 circumstances which to mc, at least, did not appear 

 to be very promising. I had matched a horse 

 which I had sold a few days previously to beat at 

 even weights, over a distance of five furlongs, a 

 horse belonoino; to Dr. Rutherford Harris. Mr. 

 Slater, the oAvner of the horse I had nominated, 

 gave his consent to the match. This horse was 

 three-parts bred, and I knew him to possess a good 

 turn of speed, as more than once I had galloped 

 after buck on him. Dr. R. Harris's horse was a 

 good-looking, thick-set brown cob, pig fat. I had 

 little doubt as to the result of the match. In the 

 afternoon, at four o'clock, three-fourths of the 

 population of Fort Salisbury turned out to see the 

 race. The betting varied from six to four to tAvo 

 to one on my opponent's horse. This somewhat 

 alarmed me. Mr. Giftard, the manager of the 

 Bechuanaland Exploration Company's exjiedition, 

 was to ride Dr. Harris's horse. Sergeant-Major 

 Montgomery rode for me. To my horror the horse 

 which I had nominated appeared on the ground 



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