22 TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



The following anecdotes, which we will have in 

 Marvin's own words, serve to give an idea of the style 

 of racing at Kansas City, and thereabouts, in those 

 days : 



^' One of my most notable races was with a bay 

 horse whose name I cannot now recall. It was, as 

 usual, a short straight-away dash. There was a good 

 rider about at that time, by the name of Pierce, who 

 weighed 135 pounds. I matched my horse for $100 

 a side to carry Pierce or iiis weight against a pony 

 called Spot to carry catch weight. Pierce had a weak- 

 ness for whisky, and it was always fully developed on 

 race days. If he was to ride, it was his invariable rule 

 to celebrate the event beforehand by ' getting full.' 

 Originally there were some friends interested with me 

 in the match, but when the time came, owing to 

 Pierce's condition, I decided to ride the horse myself. 

 My friends demurred, and I had to take all the match 

 on my own hands. Having $600 bet on the outside 

 this ran up my stake on the race to $1,000. The 

 match was made with Hugh Kirkendoll, who had been 

 a quartermaster at Fort Scott, but who is now a citizen 

 and prominent horseman of Helena, Montana. (He 

 visited Palo Alto the winter of 1889, but we failed to 

 recognize each other until our conversation led to 

 recognition, and an old acquaintance was renewed.) 

 After I had mounted and was on my way to the post, 

 KirkendoU offered to bet me $100 more that I would 

 lose the race. I took the bet, and went to the start. 

 I won the race easily, and among the losers were my 

 friends who had withdrawn when I decided to ride my 

 horse, and had then backed Spot, feeling sure that my 



