34 NEWMARKET EARLY IN THE CENTURY. 



became notoriously identified. My father used 

 to relate that in the Newmarket Spring Meetings 

 of 1811 some horses in Mr Prince's stable were 

 very heavily engaged, some of them in races 

 upon which the betting was pretty sure to be 

 heavy. A design was therefore formed by some 

 unprincipled scoundrels, who hired Dawson and 

 another tout to administer poison to those of Mr 

 Prince's horses which were daily out at exercise 

 and doing" strong- work. With this flamtious 

 purpose in view, arrangements were made by 

 Dawson and his accomplice to put arsenic into 

 the drinking-troughs close to what is still called 

 " Well Gap," half-way down " The Ditch." These 

 troughs were Mr Prince's private property, and 

 were covered over with wooden coverings, which 

 were carefully locked up at both ends. It was 

 at that time the custom for trainers to water 

 their horses after doing a strong gallop, especially 

 if the morning was hot. Every trainer, therefore, 

 had his own troughs, which were scattered about 

 at various places to suit their owners' convenience. 

 As arsenic, unless chemically prepared, will not 

 mix with water, Dan Dawson took into his con- 

 fidence an old chemist named Cecil Bishop, and con- 

 sulted him as to the best way of rendering arsenic 

 soluble in water. Although Dawson was one of 

 those " ne'er-do-weels " who pass their lives in the 

 useless and disreputable occupation of watching 

 horses, he had received a good education, and 



