LIFE AVITH THE TEOTTEES. 21 



by tlie name of John Suydam. He was what you wonld 

 call a country horseman ; at one time had an interest in a 

 stage line and lived in Kingston, N". Y. Through the win- 

 ter I had been telling Mr. Suydam of my hopes and pros- 

 pects, and he said he had two friends who lived in Columbia 

 County on the Hudson River, and that they had a farm and 

 track, and he thought they would like to make arrange- 

 ments with me to go there and train some colts they had. 

 He also said he had a friend of the name of Lasher, a hotel 

 keeper, who had a horse called Black Doctor that could trot 

 a mile in 2:50. Through his influence I was given the posi- 

 tion, and Black Doctor was the first horse I ever had to 

 train under my own management ; also the first horse I ever 

 drove in a race. He was a handsome black gelding, about 

 fifteen and a half hands high. He was a good actor and 

 breaker. I started in to take care of him myself, as well as 

 to train him, rightly arguing that I could not afford to hire 

 too much help, and thinking that with the experience I had 

 I ought to be able to rub him as well as any man I could hire. 

 I soon found that the Doctor could trot a mile in about 2:40, 

 and you may be sure that I kept that to myself, and my 

 first move was to enter him in a race where he would not 

 have to go better than about three minutes. Then I sent 

 word to the owner, and he came over the day of the race, 

 bet what money he could that the horse would win, and 

 when the bell tapped I went out with my war paint on to 

 make the best fight I could for the money, and at the same 

 time to make my bow to the public as a professional trainer 

 and driver. 



The track was laid out on a man's farm, without any 

 fence or grand stand, and there was only a little platform 

 built for the judges to stand on. There was no poolselling, 

 everybody betting his money out of hand, and probably 

 five hundred people were on hand to witness the contest. 

 There were no four-in-hand drags there, no band of music 

 playing French operas or German symphonies, no beautiful 

 club house with its balconies filled with pretty women. 



