LIFE WITH THE TIlOTTEKS. 109 



tainly win. Still, I could liardly believe that Rarus, a liorse 

 that had gone to California and back, beating everything 

 that he had started against, was to meet his Waterloo. Both 

 horses showed distress after the third heat, and when we 

 went away in the fourth the clii) was not as fast as it had 

 been. Great Eastern led all the way to the head of the 

 home stretch, and from thereto the stand we had a desperate 

 race, I was very busy watching and driving my own horse 

 and could not see what Green was doing, but was told after- 

 ward, by men who are good Judges, that he rode his horse 

 as skillful a finish as was ever seen. At the last stride 

 Rarus got his head on even terms with Eastern, and as they 

 went under the wire I could not tell which had won. The 

 judges at once decided that it was a dead heat, which I 

 think was correct, as all the betting men seemed satisfied. 

 This mile w^as in 2:18|, a pretty good clip to be going in a 

 fourth heat over such a poor track. We had now gone four 

 miles, three of them having been fighting ones. Neither 

 horse seemed to have much advantage over the other in 

 speed, the fact of Rarus going in harness putting Great 

 Eastern on even terms with him in that respect. I had often 

 heard running-horse men talk of liandicapj)ing two horses 

 so that they w^ould run to a head-and-head finish, and after 

 this race with Great Eastern could see how it might be done. 

 One thing I believed about Rarus was, that he was game to 

 the core. I had never seen Great Eastern tried in that sort 

 of a battle, and, as a rule, turfites always doubt the game- 

 ness of a horse until they see him thoroughly tested. That, 

 I think, arises from the fact that so few horses prove them- 

 selves fully game when tried by the fire of a long race in 

 which every heat is gone at top speed. In the fifth heat 

 Eastern again went off with the lead, out trotted Rarus to 

 the half-mile jDole, and from there to within twenty-five 

 yards of the wire we went like a double team. At the j)oint 

 named the big horse faltered, and Rarus beat him to the 

 wire by a length in 2:21. After this heat Great Eastern 

 looked as though he was through. Rarus was somewhat 



