H 1 S T E Y OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



19it 



Mr. Clay called me aside and began to ex- 

 plain. "Since I wrote that challenge my cir- 

 cumstances are differently shaped. I cannot 

 meet you. I have only brought one heifer here 

 and my brother declines." "Well^ Mr. Clay/" I 

 replied, "I did not expect this ; but I know you 

 to be a gentleman, and I will endeavor to meet 

 you as such. No man knows better what it is 

 to be in a difficulty than myself. I sympathize 

 with you heartily, and will consider the trial at 

 an end." 



There was a crowd around my stalls to see 

 the white-faces ; among them Mrs. Dr. Watts 

 of Chillicothe and her daughter. The Doctor's 

 reputation is well known as a Shorthorn breed- 

 er. I had met the whole family at their house 

 at Chillicothe previouslj', conseqiiently I walked 

 with them through the stalls of the Shorthorns ; 

 but I found that Mr. xVlexander had been polite- 

 ly showing them through his previously, and 

 Miss Watts, being not only a belle, but a very 

 sensible young lady, he paid her much atten- 

 tion, and, being a bachelor, it was very appro- 

 priate. 



Mr. C. M. Clay and I walked together to the 

 amphitheater, where most of the breeders had 

 assembled. There we met Mr. Alexander and 

 Mr. Clay introduced me. "Well, Clay,'' said 

 the former, "I suppose you and Sotham are to 

 settle your differences in opinion to-day." 

 "No," said Mr. Clay, "we have amicably settled 

 the difference." "Indeed," said Mr. Alexander, 

 'Tiow came that so ? I suppose you are afraid of 

 each other." "No, Mr. Alexander," said I, "that 

 is not the case. I will leave Mr. Clay fo ex- 

 plain." He repeated, "You are afraid of each 

 other.'' With this repetition my blood began to 

 rise. I then said, "In my lot I have brought 

 two yearling heifers here to show against Mr. 

 Clay. I will place these two heifers in any 

 honest, ' competent man's hands in Kentucky 

 against any two yearlings in your herd you 

 choose to place against them. They shall be fed 

 alike in weight and quality of food, and those 

 who shall pay the most for food consumed at 

 two and a half vears old shall be the winners." 



Mr. Alexander turned round with rather a 

 forbidding look, and said : "If you come here 

 to fi-ght, I can fight." I replied that I did not 

 come here to fight, but that I could fight, and 

 I had the determination to meet him on that 

 score. The atmosphere began to feel warm, and 

 quite an excitement ensued. Mr. Brutus 

 Clay remarked to me that I was just the 

 man for Kentuckians ! The difficulty must- 

 be settled, so he said, "I propose that we 

 all go to Alexander's camp, take a drink, and 



bury the hatchet." This was agreed upon. On 

 our way we encountered Mrs. and Miss Watts ; 

 the latter said : "I think, Mr. Alexander, that 

 you and Mr. Sotham had better compromise." 

 He said we were on our way for that purpose. 

 We seated ourselves on the rustic seats ; the 

 display of the numerous silver cups, all trophies 

 of Mr. Alexander's success in the 'Kentucky 

 show- rings, were distributed, and bottles of 

 old bourbon, the contents of which were trans- 

 ferred to the cups, in which we drank each 

 other's health in friendly terms. 



DR, ORLANDO BUSH, SHELDON, ILL, 

 (Ex-Presideut American Hereford Cattle Breeders' Associa- 

 tion, the friend of all Hereford breeders.) 



We adjourned to Mr. C. M. Clay's tent for 

 lunch, which was amply displayed on the grass 

 in true picnic order, characteristic of true Ken- 

 tuckian style at agricultural fairs. Those not 

 acquainted with Mrs. Clay and her daughters 

 were introduced; here we again met Mrs. and 

 Miss Watts, and a more happyand a more merrv 

 party never met together. We separated to 

 look after our own interests in the show rino-. 

 . I took all the premiums m Herefords, as I 

 had no competition, which paid my expenses. 

 I drew the two hundred dollars in a draft on 

 New York, payable to Mr. Pumpelly, and had 

 it enclosed to him. Sold my yearling bull to 

 the well-known Hon. Robert Wickliff of Lex- 

 ington for $100, which was then considered a 

 high price, and my bull calves at $80 each; 



