PROFESSOR SHALER 



I be'ieve it was in 1866, — he became much 

 interested in the task of comparing the skeletons 

 of thoroughbred horses with those of common 

 stock. I had at his request tried, but without 

 success, to obtain the bones of certain famous 

 stallions from my acquaintances among the 

 racing men in Kentucky. Early one morning 

 there was a fire, supposed to be incendiary, in 

 the stables in the Beacon Park track, a mile 

 from the College, in which a number of horses 

 had been killed, and many badly scorched. I 

 had just returned from the place, where I had 

 left a mob of irate owners and jockeys in a 

 violent state of mind, intent on finding some 

 one to hang. I had seen the chance of getting 

 a valuable lot of stallions for the Museum, but 

 it was evident that the time was most inop- 

 portune for suggesting such a disposition of 

 the remains. Had I done so, the results would 

 have been, to say the least, unpleasant. 



As I came away from the profane lot of horse- 

 men gathered about the ruins of their fortunes 

 or their hopes, I met Agassiz almost running to 

 seize the chance of specimens. I told him to 

 come back with me, that we must wait until 



[16] 



