LIFE WITH THE TROTTERS. 291 



He stuck to the children and tried to sell his horse, but as it 

 had been reported that he had been lame no one took any 

 interest in him. I, knowing what a wonderful trotter he 

 was, tried to induce a wealthy friend of mine to buy him 

 and take the chances of his recovery. He thought that 

 would not be a good business scheme, so Forbes was com- 

 pelled to keep his horse, and has had occasion ever since to 

 thank his stars that he did, as the next year he trained and 

 drove Oliver K. himself, won all his races including the 

 $10,000 purse, and sold him for $17,500 to Mr. Charles 

 Schwartz, of Chicago. From that day until this fortune has 

 smiled on Forbes and it will take an old-time flood to carry 

 his property into Lake Erie again. A handsome painting of 

 Oliver K. adorns his j)aiior walls and his children look upon 

 it as though it was the j)icture of a hero. In Mr. Schwartz' s 

 hands Oliver K. has jDerformed some handsome fea,ts, having 

 beaten Harry Wilkes while in his j)rime and gone a mile 

 against the watch in 2:15. This li orse is not considered gilt- 

 edged in breeding, but in my judgment, if he had been fortu- 

 nate enough to have staid sound, he would have comj^elled 

 the public to have said in his case that a gilt-edged pedigree 

 was not absolutely necessary in a race-horse. I do not wish 

 to say that I do not like pedigree in horses, as I do, but I 

 do not want all j)edigree and no horse. If I have a good 

 horse that has a good pedigree, I have more confidence in 

 his improving, training on, and lasting than I would in a 

 horse without a pedigree. 



One of the old-time drivers whose methods etc., made 

 a lasting impression on my mind was Simon James. He was 

 the pride of the Queen's Own, being a native of Canada 

 and one of the Queen's subjects. Canadians are a sport- 

 loving people and years ago had a breed of horses that 

 could all trot some, their particular forte being speed and 

 not staying qualities. In those days to win a i-ace at Buf- 

 falo was considered of as much importance as to win now 

 the English Derby. Simon made occasional raids across the 

 American border, and, such high esteem and confidence was 



