Walk-in-the-Water, a Remarkable Racer 255 



The proprietor, to prevent a "walk-over," induced 

 Foxhall to allow him to announce Walk-in-the-water, 

 whose name would be sure to draw a crowd. There was 

 a large attendance, and the game old horse made a won- 

 derful race, considering his age, running a heat, and evi- 

 dently losing in consequence of his want of condition. 



When the horses were brought out I missed Uncle 

 Berry and went in search of him. I found him in the 

 grove alone, sitting on a log and looking very sad. "Are 

 you not going up to see old Walk run?" I inquired. 

 "No, I would as soon see a fight between my grandfather 

 and a boy of twenty," he replied. 



In the year 1827, when Walk was 14 years old, Uncle 

 Berry took him and several colts that were entered in 

 stakes, to Natchez, Miss., travelling by land through the 

 terrible swamps of the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations. 

 The colts had made very satisfactory trial runs in Ten- 

 nessee, but suffered so severely from the journey that 

 they either paid forfeits or lost their stakes; so that Walk- 

 in-the-water was the only hope for winning expenses. He 

 was entered in the 4-mile race of the Jockey Club, and 

 his only competitor was the bay Archy gelding, Blucher, 

 15 years old, a horse of great fame as a 4-miIer in Mis- 

 sissippi. 



Sometime before the race the Jockey Club met and 

 changed the rule, reducing the weight on all horses of 

 15 years or upward to 100 pounds, leaving to all others 

 their full weight or 124 pounds, 3 pounds less for mares and 

 geldings. On the day before the race was run a motion 

 by Col. A. L. Bingaman to rescind the rule and make 

 the weights equal was voted down. 



This extraordinary proceeding would not have been 

 tolerated by the gentlemen who, at a later day, composed 

 that club, but Uncle Berry protested in vain against the 



