147 



He owned Monsoon, Legal Tender, Knight of St. Louis, 

 Greenback and others. 



Charles C. Maffitt stood as high as any turfman through- 

 out the country, and in St. Louis, Mo., he was the idol of the 

 people of all classes. Everybody had a kind word to say 

 for him and he had a kind word to say for everybody. 

 There was not a single evil trait in the make-up of this gen- 

 tleman. Nature fairly exhausted her resources when she 

 constructed such a man. He was gentle, loving, thought- 

 ful of the comfort of others to a marked degree, generous 

 to almost a fault, and possessed of all the characteristics 

 that go to make up a perfect gentleman. 



As an entertainer he had few equals in the city of St. 

 Louis, and certainly no superiors. His little levees at the 

 Fair Grounds were the delight of his friends and they loved 

 to gather round the festal board where he presided. What 

 he did was done in a most regal way. In the beginning Mr. 

 Maffitt had no desire to become a turfman, but his friend Lu- 

 cas Turner, who was a breeder, had arranged to hold a sale 

 of horses, and Mr. Maffitt bought a few in order to start the 

 sale. 



There was no man who thought more of his friends than 

 did Mr. Maffitt, and when he became the possessor of a string 

 of horses he named the animals after them. One he called 

 Lucille Manette, after the daughter of Mr. Pierre Chouteau; 

 another Sir RoUa, after Mr. Rolla Wells, the present Mayor 

 of the city of St. Louis, who was for years president of the 

 Fair Grounds Association. It was always the desire of Mr. 

 Maffitt, after he became identified with the turf, to possess 

 one of the foremost rank, and he would probably have suc- 

 ceeded had not the icy hand of the sable messenger of death 

 been laid upon him, and thus cut short a promising career. 



A pretty little incident in connection with this string of 

 horses is that after old age set its seal on fleet-footed Lucille 

 Manette Mr. Pierre Chouteau built a stable for her and keeps 

 her in quiet and comfort as a mark of respect to the memory 

 of his lamented cousin. This is only given as an illustration 

 of the sincere affection these two gentlemen had for each 

 other. But all who knew Charles Maffitt loved him, and 

 there was many a tear shed when he breathed his last. 



