68 EVERY MAN HIS OWN TRAINER. 



spread, which gave him great relief, and with a little prepara- 

 tion of ammonia and sweet oil around the coronet I started a 

 healthy growth of the foot. I was careful not to get it strong 

 enough to blister, but just enough to irritate. I found he 

 could then go as many heats as any man's horse, when he was 

 free from soreness and his feet were grown down in natural 

 form. I started him towards fall and gave him a few easy 

 races, one of which was at Oswego against the bay stallion 

 Stevanus, record 2:28. They seemed to think a stallion race 

 would draw a good crowd, so they came up and hired me to 

 go to Oswego with King Almont and Mr. Jenney's Stevanus. 

 My horse had not been going a bit until about ten days be- 

 fore, when he seemed to begin to act quite like a trotter. I 

 thought it a good tiirte to start him, as I was guaranteed a 

 certain amount and expenses. I did not have much confi- 

 dence in the horse, but thought it a good time to experiment 

 with him. When I got down there the Association had heard 

 the talk around town that Stevanus was to win as a sure thing 

 and were considerably aroused about it, came to me to know 

 if it was so. I told them it was not. I should win if I could. 

 But the knowing ones did not think it was necessary to have 

 a job ; they knew Stevanus could win and played their money 

 accordingly. They had Mr. Van Valkenburg from Ogdens- 

 burg there, who had given Stevanus his record over a half- 

 mile track, so that made it doubly sure on their part. We 

 went out and the fun commenced. To their surprise I won 

 the first heat in about 2:32. I won the second heat in 2:31^, 

 and then there was trouble. The wise ones were in the hole, 

 and they began to try to see some way to dig out, and the 

 very men who were so afraid there was a job and thought I 

 was going to pull my horse were the first ones to come to me 

 and asked me to pull him to save their friends' money. But 

 by that time things had got warm. There had been much 

 talk and I had made up my mind that I wanted to win. The 

 owner of the big stallion was there and he wanted me to win 

 if I could, as would be natural, as he wanted reputation for 



