288 LIFE 'WITH THE TEOTTEES. 



very anxious to have a scoop on all the rest of the boys. 

 He asked me if I had any difficulty in winning with Tom. 

 I told him no, that Mr. Phillips in driving the horse had set 

 speeches that he made to him at different parts of the track, 

 and for fear that I would get tangled up in it, he wroto 

 them out for me, I pinned the paper on my knee and when 

 the word was given kept Tom's head steady and read the 

 instructions and in that manner won the money. The re- 

 porter published this and I received many letters of inquiry 

 asking me if such was the case; if I had driven Tom by the 

 paper. Phillips sold the horse at a long price, retired to 

 his rural home, bought himself a farm, was I believe elected 

 sheriff, a position I think he would have been well fitted 

 for as it would have taken a pretty hard prisoner to have 

 gotten away from Steve. 



Joe Rea had the love of the trotting horse bred in him. 

 A native of Indiana, the home of the pacer, I have often 

 heard his father tell of races that had happened before Joe 

 was bom. Joe made his greatest success in connection with 

 R. C. Pate's stable when that gentleman occupied a promi- 

 nent position on the trotting turf. He also gave the boys 

 a general shaking up with Amy King, going through the 

 grand circuit with her and winning a majority of the races 

 in which she started. Charlie Forth, also a native of In- 

 diana, gave Rowdy Boy his reputation and record of 2:13f, 

 driving him in many a well-contested race with Mattie 

 Hunter, Lucy and Blind Tom when they constituted what 

 was called ' ' The Big Four.' ' Sam Keyes, of Pittsburgh, needs 

 no introduction from me. He is considered the father of 

 all pacing-horse men, as years ago, when no one but a 

 butcher cared to own a pacer, Sam was the only profes- 

 sional man who took an interest in them, and as the public 

 gradually became interested in that style of racing Sam 

 still continued his connection with the side-wheelers, and 

 he and his gray mare Lucy probably did more toward mak- 

 ing pacing races popular with the public than any other 

 pair. Sam is a character, true to his friends, had a deserved 



