1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



147 



out being able to mount him, were in a scarcely gle politics with agriculture, and did not want my 

 worse dilemma. Finally, my precious Kate, who was horse to run a political course, 

 more of a "shrew" than even Petruchio's, ha^'ing | Having dreamed of horses all night, besides hav- 

 withstood most manfully (ivoman fully occurred to ing the nightmare, once or twice, I awoke betimes, 

 me, but I wont say it,) "all my endeavors to tame anxious to learn the condition of my new treasure. 

 her, commenced a new species of gymnastics, by I Everybody knows how much more pride one feels 

 kicking up in the carriage every time she felt the ' in his horse, than in any other_ property, and espe- 

 breeching in going down hill. Icially how it takes the conceit out of him to be 



Now, as she would not work on the farm "for ' cheated in a "horse-trade." 

 any man's persuasion," and was not precisely the j l -^-ent to the stable with fear and trembling, 

 kind of animal to sell to one's particular friend as 'doubting whether the "General" had not been trans- 

 "a steady family horse," and as I did not dare to 'formed like fairy gold to dust and ashes during the 

 risk my own wife and children behind her, I began night, or whether he might not have been a witch's 

 to read the "Muck Manual" with the idea of com- 1 horse, and be found turned into a broomstick! 

 puting lier agricultural value for the compost heap. : But he was there in full shape and proportion, 

 when fortunately I had ocasion to drive her to thejpie gave a slight cough as I opened the door, a 

 good old town of Dcrry in a sleigh. As I came up ' sound which a man who has owned a horse with 

 to Cameron's Hotel, at about a "three minute lick," ! tj^e heaves will never forget ; and on examination, I 

 as the jockeys say, I saw at the sign-post, a fine found he had a strange way of breathing, his flank 

 stately horse harnessed to a sleigh. I was exam- | heaving two or three times at every expiration of the 

 ining him pretty carefully, when a man whose ap-' breath. I was told at once that my horse had the 

 pearance announced him as one of "the fancy," heaves. 



stepped out and accosted me with "Well, friend, I had heard of the disease frequently, and had 

 do you want to buy such a horse as that?" "I' the impression, which I find is quite common, that 

 should like him," was my reply, "if he is as good as I it renders the animal worthless. However, as it 

 he looks, and you will sell him at a fair price, andl\vas a complaint which struck at my purse and my 

 take mine without any steel engraving." ! feelings, and not lilvc Katy's heels, at my head, I 



"Why, what sort of a beast have you got? She 'concluded to be resigned, and avail myself of my 

 looks well, and came up the street as if she had legs very manifest advantages for observations on its 

 enough." i symptoms and treatment. 



I hojje I shall be forgiven, if I suspected he would ' ^^ly horse went home to Exeter, sixteen miles, in 

 not believe more than half I said, when I replied, 'fine style with no symptom of disease, except once 

 giving him the literal truth : "She is six years old, in a mile or two a slight cough. Straightway I 

 and sound, can trot a mile in three minutes, and strove to learn all that books and stalile-men can 

 will be likely to kick your brains out, if you take tell of the heaves, and to try all knoM-n remedies. 

 her, in the course of a week." He assured me that! In its common form it is thought to be a forma- 

 ts horse was perfectly sound and kind; that his j tion of air-cells on the outside of the lungs, from 

 price was three hundred dollars, and that he Avould ! which the air escapes with difficulty. Sometimes, 

 "swap right ;" adding coolly, "I should like to see 'on dissection, the proper air-cells of the lungs are 

 one horse that is uglier than / am." j found to be ruptured, and generally there is inflam- 



I proposed to drive his horse, alone, to which thcimation of the throat and windpipe. The theories 

 owner at once assented, and I steered straight off" to i about it are various. It is often said that the lungs 

 the stable of a man, famous for his skill in horse- j have not room for action, and that food should 

 flesh, whom I had known when I was a boy thereat therefore be given in a condensed form, and in a 

 Pinkerton Academy, and asked him to examine the 'moderate quantity — and this I should regard as 

 animal with me. We drove him out of sight, and ' correct, were it not notorious that horses at grass, 

 gave him a thorough investigation. We tried him [ where they eat enormously, and keep their stom- 

 in alibis paces, walk, trot and canter, forward and,jachs distended, are usually relieved of their worst 

 backward, examined his teeth, his feet, his knees, [symptoms 



his eyes. We observed his breathing, spoke of the 

 glanders, the heaves, broken wind, and various oth- 

 er ills which horse-flesh is heir to. He was young, 

 and large, and handsome, and fleet, and to all ap- 

 pearance sound and manageable ; and yet we were 

 perfectly satisfied that the horse had some defect. 



However, I put a bold face on the matter, drove 

 back to the hotel, and told my man I would give 

 him fifty dollars to hoot, or go along with my own 

 horse. Without driving my mare an inch, he qui- 

 etly unhitched his own horse from his sleigh, and 



I tried all sorts of heave jwwders on my patient, 

 with no effect whatever. It is said that in a lime- 

 stone country this disease is unknown, and lime wa- 

 ter Avas prescribed with no apparent advantage. 

 Some one told me to give the horse ginger, and 

 strange to tell, I found that a tablesjjoonful of gin- 

 ger given to the General with his oats, would cure 

 him for the day, in half an hour after he had eaten 

 it ; but on giving it daily, the effect soon ceased. It 

 is ?i jockey's remedy, and will last long enough to 

 swap u])on. Finally, I was advised to cut my 



exchanged harness, put him to my sleigh, and ])ock-j horse's, fodder and give it always wet. I pursued 

 etedhis fifty dollars, hardly losing a whiff of the | that course carefully, keeping the General tied with 

 cigar he was smoking:. I confess I was a little 'so short a halter that he could not eat his bedding, 



startled at his perfect comjwsure, but with a friend- 

 ly caution to beware of Kate's heels, I bade him 

 farewell. 



I had but five miles to drive that afternoon, to 

 my native town of Chester, where I stabled my new 



,iving him chopped hay and meal three timesa day, 

 and never more than a bucket of water at a time. 



He improved rapidly. I have kept him five years, 

 making him a factotum — carriage horse, saddle 

 horse, plow and cart horse — and he bids fiiir to re- 



horse for the night. I gave him the name of the main ussful for five years to come. Kept in this 

 "General," it being a time of political excitement, way, his disease does not lessen his value for speed 

 when both candidates bore that title. I never min- or labor, a single dollar. When the boys grow care- 



