LIFE WITH THE TROTTERS. 73 



dition of the liorse, to refer them to me, which I think he 

 must have done, as I was interviewed by a great many 

 people that morning as to what was the matter. When 

 the betting opened at the track, there were two pool-sellers, 

 Dempsey and Major Barker. Mr. Crawford picked out two 

 friends of his, and sent one to each box, with orders to buy 

 every ticket that was sold on Rarus. The betting opened 

 with Clementine the favorite at $100, Rarus bringing about 

 $80. Mr. Crawford' s friends sent the money in on Rarus 

 in such a shower, however, that by the time the bell tapped, 

 Rarus was the favorite at $100, while Clementine went begging 

 at $15. By this »time the people, especially the pool- 

 buyers who had been squeezed in the deal, were looking 

 for a chance to commit murder. The track was very rough 

 and full of holes, and immediately after the horses got the 

 word in the first heat, Rarus made a break, and I never 

 moved for the heat. Clementine took it in 2:26|, and then 

 Rarus won in straight heats, the time of the miles being 

 2:24, 2:25f, 2:29J; and Crawford's scheme against the smart 

 men about the pool-boxes turned out well. When Crawford 

 stepped up that night to pay Dempsey the thousand dollars 

 that he had played on Clementine with him, Dempsey 

 looked at him. ' ' Well, ' ' he says, ' ' you' ve got me this time, 

 but you will never do it again." As a pointer, I would 

 advise the boys not to try and repeat Crawford' s attempt 

 to deceive Dempsey, as it would be very liable to fail, for 

 since that time the old man has grown as wise as the best 

 of them, and has an eye like an eagle, and a hand like the 

 talons of a hawk, to discover and seize any stray good 

 things that maybe flopping around in the general scuffle 

 during the trotting season. "Dempse" is a character. 

 When he started out on the trotting turf, it was as a buyer of 

 pools; but his education and philosophy soon taught him 

 that the inside of the box, especially in the fall, was more 

 apt to be fur-lined than the outside, and it was not long 

 before he had a stand at the circuit meetings, and a pool- 

 box of his own. He made money at the business, and has 



