. LIFE WITH THE TROTTEKS. 195 



of the Bemis Brewing Compan} , who gave for him $10,000. 

 Mr. Bemis was at this time the leading owner on the West- 

 ern trotting turf, having in his stable such well-known ones 

 as Bonesetter, Silverton, Fred Douglas, Little Brown Jug, 

 and Sorrel Dan, the two last named being pacers, and the 

 lot about as formidable a one as has ever been owned by one 

 man. In the discussion as to the merits of Ford and Bone- 

 setter I expressed the opinion that Ford was the better of 

 the two horses, and from that came a match, the owner of 

 Ford and myself backing him against Bonesetter in a race 

 of mile heats, three in five, to come off the 12th day of June 

 over the West Side track at Chicago, for $1,000 a side and 

 the gate money, Mr. Bemis backing his own horse, and John 

 B. Drake, of the Grand Pacific Hotel, was appointed final 

 stakeholder. From the moment the race was made until the 

 day it was trotted there was a great deal of talk and excite- 

 ment and a large amount of money Avas wagered on the 

 result, Bonesetter being a favorite in the betting from the 

 start, a j)osition he held until the race came off. I had not 

 seen Ford from the time I witnessed his good work at Cin- 

 cinnati until after the race was made, and the forfeit imt up. 

 The next morning I went to his stable, to look him over, 

 and I found him in what seemed to be rather bad condition. 

 His legs were very much swollen, with *a great deal of fever, 

 and his system seemed generally out of order. While I was 

 considering what course of treatment to give him his groom 

 applied some patent lotion to his legs to reduce the swell- 

 ing, which had the effect of blistering him in the most fright- 

 ful manner, from the effect of which his legs never entirely 

 recovered. 



My first efforts were directed to reducing the swelling 

 and inflammation caused by the blister, which was so pain- 

 ful to the horse that he neither ate, slept nor lay down for 

 at least ten days, and . it seemed to me at one time that he 

 would certainly die from the effects of it. One word here 

 about blistering horses. I have known in my time several 

 .animals to lose their lives from the effects of a blister. My 



