CHAPTER VIII. 



BELLE HAMLIN — DOUBLE -TEAM RECORDS — GLOBE — 

 HONEST GEORGE — JUSTINA — NIGHTINGALE. 



EARLY in the spring of 1891, I made an arrange- 

 ment with Messrs. C. J. and Harry Hamlin, 

 proprietors of Village Farm, to drive their 

 stable of racing horses that season. I shipped the 

 stable I had been training in Tennessee that spring 

 North in July, and the horses I was to drive for the 

 Messrs. Hamlin were shipped to me after I got North, 

 and, combined with what I had, made quite a large 

 stable. Among those I campaigned that year belong- 

 ing to the Messrs. Hamlin were the trotters Belle 

 Hamlin, Justina, Globe and Nightingale, and the 

 pacers Hal Pointer, Moonstone and Glendennis. I 

 used Belle Hamlin in double harness, giving exhibi- 

 tions at most of the large race meetings. She was a 

 very handsome bay mare, about 15^ hands high, very 

 smooth and stylish, and her impressive way of going 

 made her a very attractive race horse. Her tempera- 

 ment was pleasant, and she possessed about as many 

 of the elements that go to make an ideal driving 

 horse as is ever seen. Without any exception she was 

 the best pole animal I ever saw. Her mouth was 

 neither too hard nor too soft. She had plenty of life and 

 spirit, but was perfectly tractable and easily governed, 

 and could always be relied upon to do her share and a 

 little more when driven with another horse. This 

 statement is proven by the following record : Her 



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