OPPOSITION. 499 



could not do by the ordinary pony performance ;- so to 

 meet the emergency, I arranged to have a bet made of 

 $100, that a certain negro boy there could ride " Tommy" 

 without being thrown. This was announced in the morning 

 papers, and as I expected, there was a crowd gathered to 

 witness the trial. Judges and referee were appointed, and 

 I put up the money. The condition was that he should 

 ride him twice around the ring, or sit upon his back one 

 minute, with the privilege of making three trials. The 

 young man made a heroic effort to win, but was at each 

 time ingloriously thrown. 



The time had now come for a supreme effort, so 

 1 mounted a box I had arranged for the purpose, and made 

 it. I closed up my remarks by offering $500 to any man 

 who would produce a horse I could not subdue and drive, 

 gently within forty minutes. Up to this point I had not 

 received a single name, nor did it seem possible to obtain 

 horses to experiment upon. Finally, a gentleman named 

 Edwards, a wholesale grocer on Water St., came forward,, 

 saying, " We think we know something about this matter.. 

 Rarey, Rockwell, and others have been here, and we think 

 we know all and more than you can give us. But we have 

 a horse here, which, if you can drive, as you say you can, 

 you will convince us you can beat any man in the coun- 

 try." 1 answered, " Get the horse, and I will settle the 

 matter very quickly." 



The horse was sent for, and led in by a groom, and fol- 

 lowed by the owner, a prominent citizen named Malone. 

 At the last moment, he refused to let me have the horse 

 to experiment upon ; but rather than lose the opportunity, 

 1 bought him, paying very much more than he was really 

 worth. I then said to the people, " I now have a subject, 

 a horse that you all know cannot be driven in harness by 

 any man in your city or State. If I do not drive him gen- 



