Chapter Fifteen
King of the Stallions
A few days after the August meeting was concluded, the town began to settle down into a normal routine once again. The two young couples decided to take an afternoon and have a picnic. They planned to spend the time at a secluded place north of town along the river. Gilbert and Barney hitched Ginger to the buggy and off they went to meet the girls. Katie and Clara met them outside the Vienna Café. The girls were sitting on the window ledge along Main Street.
They had two picnic baskets and a blanket. The boys had a rope, a large water jug and a whiskey barrel full of crushed ice. The day was unseasonably hot and no clouds to block the stinging sun’s rays. They were thankful for the light breeze out of the south. The town was quiet for a change. Most of the citizens were tucked away in shaded areas resting after the week race meeting.
As Gilbert helped Clara into the buggy he noticed a group of men sitting at a table inside the café. He recognized most of them and overheard something about Allerton. As he stood their transfixed listening, Clara yelled out, “Come on,” He noticed his three companions sitting in the buggy waiting for him.
“Sorry,” he said as he hurried to get aboard. He flipped the reins and Ginger leaped forward throwing the passengers off balance, except Gilbert who had anticipated the sudden movement.
They arrived at the secluded area as the sun was high in the sky. The steady wind rustling through the leaves in the trees. Clara and Katie prepared the picnic by placing the large blanket on the ground. They proceeded to unpack the food they brought. Gilbert and Barney got out some tin cups and filled them with ice and water.
Gilbert brought a cup to Clara. She took a few swallows, “Thank you.” Then she handed the cup back to Gilbert, “Would you put this on the stump there?” She pointed to a stump several feet away.
Once the men had properly cared for their women, they looked at each other with grins on their faces. They bolted for the buggy and pulled out a long thick length of rope. Without saying a word, they ran to a large tree with a limb hanging out over the river.
They looked over the tree when Gilbert suggested, “Try to loop it just past the small limb that sticks straight up.”
“The de-dead branch?” Barney asked.
“The one just beyond that.”
“That’s a long wa- wa- wa- ay out there, Gilbert.”
Katie yelled out to the boys, “Come and get it.” The two boys dropped the rope and ran to the blanket. They sat down and ate anxiously without saying a word. The girls had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, raw garden green beans and peas, fresh baked bread and butter. They also had four peppermint sticks for after their meal.
‘Raw peas?” Clara asked.
“There the best,” Katie said, “when I pick peas from the garden I can never resist eating some. They lose so much flavor when you cook them.”
Clara tried one, “I love them, but are they safe?”
Katie responded, “I don’t know. I cleaned them well, and I’ve never gotten sick from them before.”
Clara popped a few more in her mouth, “They are tasty.” The boys watched Clara eat the peas as they continued to hungrily eat their chicken. The girls ate their meals with dignity and grace, while the boys ate like field hands on a time limit. The boys ate so well there wasn’t a morsel left for the ants. They excused themselves and went back to the task of getting the rope over the limb. The girls stayed behind to clean up.
“What’s the plan again?” Clara asked Katie.
“You need to ask Gilbert to show you the lagoon.”
“All right and you will be doing what, again?” Clara asked anticipation of a clever scheme to get the boys alone.
“I will suggest to Barney that we try to find the old lost cabin.” Katie said, “You know so we can be alone, with our men.” Clara smiled and shook her head, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know, it just seems so naughty.”
Katie was surprised by her comment. “Heaven sakes Clara, haven’t you and Gilbert done anything?”
Clara suddenly had a rush of embarrassment, “Well, we have kissed and stuff.”
“So, kiss and stuff.” Katie shook her head, “It’s just good peaceful time alone with one another. You won’t have to worry about anyone seeing you. Do whatever you feel comfortable doing.” Katie caught a glimpse of the two boys. Barney was attempting to throw the rope over the limb.
Clara noticed her interest shifted to the boys activity. “What are they doing?”
“Oh boy,” Katie sighed, “if they get that rope looped and start swinging on it, our plan is ruined.”
Clara lost concern for what the boys were doing and went back to the subject they previously were discussing. “Have you and Barney ever,” Clara asked quietly. Katie looked at her blankly, “You know,” Clara was hesitant to come right out and ask the question directly. Katie suddenly felt embarrassed when she comprehended what Clara was referring to. Her face turned red.
Katie turned away fiddled with her sleeve before she answered, “Of course,” then as an after thought added, “not.”
Both girls looked away from each other and began to quietly pick up scraps lying around. They threw all remaining items back into the buggy, Katie again spied the boys activity. “Oh, my god.”
Clara looked and saw Barney had crawled out on the limb and was tying the rope around it. He had just finished tying the rope when, he seemed to just roll off the limb back first into the water. Gilbert laughed.
Katie, not sure Barney could swim, made her way toward the river. Barney quickly recovered and swam back to the edge where Katie stood. He climbed out of the water as Gilbert extended a hand to assist him. He climbed up the bank to a grassy area.
“The water is c-c-c-cold,” Barney said, “and I wasn’t stu-stu-stuttering because I was stuttering, either.” It took them a few seconds to comprehend what he was saying. “You go-go-go in there and ya-ya-ya-ya-you’d be stuttering too.” Barney handed Gilbert the rope.
Gilbert tugged at the rope testing it to make sure it was securely fastened to the tree. “Did you get her tied up good?” He looped it over a stump so the end would not fall into the river.
“Yeah,” Barney smiled as beads of water dripped down his face.
Without even a thought about the girls being there, Gilbert said, “You had better get your clothes hung out to dry while we swing.” With that statement completed, the two boys started to remove their suspenders and shirts. The girls stood close by watching them undress to bare top status. The boys sat on the bank to the river and began to remove their shoes and socks.
Katie shook her head and told them, “We want to take a walk.”
“All right, we’ll be right here,” Barney told her.
“Yeah, you two go have fun,” Gilbert added.
Katie tried again, “Barney, I want you to help me find the lost cabin.”
Clara added, hoping to get their attention, “I want to see the lagoon, Gilbert.”
The boys seemed to take no notice of the girls. They were getting up and started to remove their pants.
“Oh my god!” Katie yelled as the two girls turned away covering their eyes from the ghastly sight.
The boys were unaffected by the response the girls were giving. They had their pants off and tossed in a pile on the grass. They left their underclothes on, as they readied themselves to use the rope to fly into the river. The girls walked away toward the buggy afraid to look back, wondering if the boys were completely exposed to the world or not.
Gilbert tied a knot at the end of the rope. He handed it to Barney. “You have the honors, my good friend.”
Barney took the rope in his hand and without hesitation leapt off the bank and swung out over the river. “Ya-hoo!” He yelled letting go of the rope then splashed bottom first into the river.
The rope returned to Gilbert and he grabbed it. When he saw Barney was all right and out of the way, he swung himself out, “Yahoo,” as he dropped into the river.
The girls still did not turn to look at the boys. Finally Katie said, “Are you going to look or am I going to.”
Clara shook her head, “I don’t wanna look.”
“I really don’t want to know.” Katie said trying to appear indifferent.
“Yes, you do,” Clara prodded.
“No,” Katie shook her head, “I don’t.”
“They’re far enough away that we couldn’t really get a good focus on any particular item.” Clara reasoned, “If that item happens to be exposed.”
Katie looked to Clara, “A quick inquisitory look wouldn’t be wrong.”
“No, not at all,” Clara agreed. “We really shouldn’t be held prisoner all day wondering if they are sporting a new look or not.”
“I’ll look, if you will.” Katie raised her eye brows.
“You mean look together, at the same time?”
“Yes,” Katie said with great interest to the answer. When Clara hesitated, Katie couldn’t resist herself, “Are you afraid you might be disappointed?”
“About what?” She asked.
“Nothing.”
Clara looked at her strangely for a few seconds. “All right, you say when.”
“All right,” she said, “we’ll both look on three.” Both girls took a deep breath, “One, two, three.” They turned their heads to look at the boys, then turned back away from them.
Clara asked, “What did you see?”
“Heads in the water.” Katie stared straight ahead away from the river.
“Me too,” Clara acknowledged. “All right, did you notice that the tree creaks when they are swinging on the rope.”
“Yeah.”
Clara reasoned, “So, it should be safe to say, they would be swinging away from us into the river when the tree creaks. So, we would see them out of the river and they would be showing their backsides. Which is more acceptable then to see the front side, wouldn’t you agree?” Clara reasoned.
“Agreed.”
“But,” Clara reluctantly added, “If one of them is swinging, then the other one may be facing us getting out of the water.”
“That would be a little uncomfortable,” Katie reasoned. She thought for a second before she added, “You know if we see anything hanging there, our lives will never be the same for as long as we live.”
“Ummm,” Clara thought, “I would suppose, it will be a sight that will remain etched in our minds for a long time.” She began to get angered at the boys, “They don’t seem to care if we see them. Why should we care?” There was a flurry of laughter from the boys as they heard another creak and a flopping splash in the water.
Motivated by the boys laughter, Katie was determined to check it out. “Good point.”
“At the next creaking of the tree we turn and look,” Clara took a deep breath. “And whatever we see, we see.”
“All right,” Katie agreed. “And it is too bad, to whomever, may be exposed.”
The wait only took a few seconds before the creak was heard. The girls again turned their heads, then turned back away from the river once again. Clara asked anxiously, “What did you see?”
“Their covered,” Katie responded, “Underclothes, covering all potential mind etching parts.”
The splashing and laughing at the river continued. Clara said, “Sounds like they’re having fun.”
“Yeah.”
Clara asked Katie, “Would you want to go to the rivers edge and watch them?”
“I think I can handle that.”
They stood up together and marched over to the rivers edge. Gilbert noticed them coming down toward them. “You can join in if you want.”
Katie responded, “We’ll just watch. If you don’t mind?”
“That’s fine,” Gilbert agreed.
Barney stood up in the water, “It’s fun Katie, try it.” His teeth began to chatter from being chilled by the cold water.
“We are not taking off our apparel,” Katie said, “we are ladies.”
“Oh, darn,” Gilbert said without showing any real disappointment.
“Shame on you, Gilbert Fenny, trying to get us in a compromising state of undress.” Clara said sternly.
“Nonsense, my thought was getting more flying time, if you aren’t taking a turn.”
The two girls continued to watch the boys have, what obviously was great fun. As they watched they became more bored and jealous of their fun.
Clara said unenthusiastically, “It would have been different if they would have told us they planned to swing all day.”
“I would have brought a book or something.” Katie said, just as unenthusiastically.
Clara excitedly responded, “Oh,” She looked at Katie happily, “I brought a book. Would you like it?”
“No,” Katie said mournfully. She looked lazily over to the boys as they played, “It certainly is nice to see that they wore clean underclothes.”
Clara looked over to them. She suddenly turned away and covered the side of her face so she could not see them. “Don’t look too closely.”
“Why,” Katie asked amusingly, as she looked intently.
Clara hesitantly said, “I think, I saw, an outline.”
“Outline?” Katie questioned. “What do you mean by, outline.”
“You know, his thing.”
“Who’s what thing?” Katie asked in wonderment as she anxiously looked over the boys playing, almost hoping to see something.
“I see the outline of Barney’s thing through his underclothes.”
Katie looked at Barney intensely, “Barney, blow some bubbles in your pants!” Barney looked at her blankly holding his hands out.
“Oh, don’t tell him,” Clara pleaded with her. “I don’t want to embarrass him.”
Katie nodded to Clara, then shouted to Barney, “Just kidding honey!” The two boys, were puzzled by the statement. They slowly began to continue with their frolicking.
There were several minutes of silence before Clara commented in a bored monotone voice, “Looks like fun, doesn’t it.”
“Yeah,” Katie said, “We should dump these guys and come back later.”
Clara nodded, “Yeah, but by then it will be too late.”
Katie added, “They will take the rope back with them anyway.”
“Yeah,” Clara lazily responded.
“It sure looks like fun.” Katie squinted as she looked up into the sun. “Not much sunlight left this time of the year.”
“Probably won’t have a nice day like today the rest of the year.” Clara said then added, “And I have to go back to Dubuque in a few days.”
“It’s now or never isn’t it,” Katie said.
“I’m afraid so,” Clara said distastefully, “we have to swallow our pride.”
“Lose our dignity,” Katie added.
“Yes, our dignity,” Clara nodded in agreement, “but I think we should make them pay for this, somehow.”
“Yes, we will have to think of something,” Katie nodded in agreement. “What are we going to do to make their lives miserable?”
“I don’t know, but let’s not think about that right now. It will be a waste of precious time.”
“Right, it would be wasting time.” Katie started to undue her shoes. Clara quickly followed her lead. “I wish we had a button hook.” When they had their shoes and socks removed, they stood up and threw off their bonnets. The grass felt scratchy and warm on their bare feet. Katie untied Clara’s strings on the back of her dress. Then the two flipped around and Clara untied Katie’s dress. They stepped out of their dresses and began to repeat the process to undue each of their corsets. They were soon down to their undergarments.
When the girls had stripped to their undergarments and approached the boys. The boys were struck with humility, they hadn’t experienced prior to that moment. They stopped their fun to turn away from the girls, speechless at the sight.
Katie went right to the rope Gilbert was holding and took it from his hands. “What is with you two? It was fine for you to go half naked, but not us? What did you expect us to do?”
“Yeah,” Clara interrupted, “go swimming in our dresses.”
“Bu-bu-bu-but Katie, I c-c-c- can see the top of your- your- your bosom.” Barney said as his face turned red and he turned his head away.
“Barney,” Katie put her hand on his face, “If you don’t like them, don’t look.”
“I don’t think he doesn’t like them,” Gilbert said as he looked at her chest, “he thinks you shouldn’t be showing them.”
Clara gave Gilbert a striking glare, “Well, you certainly shouldn’t be looking.” She then slapped him playfully on the face.
“Sorry, Katie,” Gilbert apologized. “I am truly ashamed.”
Katie looked down at herself, “You can hardly see anything.” She pulled her garment away from her chest and looked down at herself. “Nothin’ there to see.” She was making light of the situation, since she was obviously well bless with a healthy set of breasts. She ran off the bank of the river holding the rope, but slipped off the rope prematurely belly flopping into the river. Her head popped out of the water coughing and spitting out water. The other three started to laugh. Gilbert grabbed the rope as it returned to them on the bank.
Gilbert hollered to her, “That was graceful!”
Katie screamed as soon as she caught her breath, “The water is freezing, why didn’t you tell me!” She started coughing again as she dragged her drenched shaking body out of the water.
“Did you not see us shivering?” Gilbert said in their defense.
“We did notice that,” Clara admitted. Gilbert handed her the rope. She took it in defiance to show she wasn’t afraid. She ran off the bank and swung magnificently over the river. They heard a undistinguishable scream from her as she flew majestically up. As she reached the peek of her swing she let go and fell into the river with an awkward looking flop. Her head popped out of the water, then immediately swept the water off her face as eloquently as possible. She smoothly swam toward shore, then stood up with chattering teeth.
“Fun?” Gilbert asked.
“Wow,” she said, “That was fu-fu-fu-fu-fu-n.” She could hardly talk with her uncontrollable shaking.
“Give me that,” Katie said as she grabbed the rope.
“Hey,” Gilbert protested.
Katie jokingly spued out, “Oh, go dry off little boy,” Katie said, “you two have been having your fun. Now it is our turn.”
Clara chattered out in an inflamed anger, “Don’t ca-ca-ca-call him a little boy!”
Katie was hurt by the attack since she sincerely didn’t mean it in a mean sense. “I’m sorry, Gilbert, I was just kidding around.” She genuinely apologized, “You are really a big man in my eyes.”
“Mine too,” Barney added.
Clara relaxed and quietly spoke to Katie, “Sorry, I overreacted.”
“Forget it,” she smiled and ran off the bank, “Let’s have fun!”
Gilbert and Barney sat down on the bank to watch their girls have fun swinging over and flopping into the river. Clara one time didn’t let go and swung back over the bank. She ended up flopping lazily near the bank of the river. She got up laughing with a face full of mud.
Gilbert wasn’t really bothered by Katie calling him a little boy. He knew she was just kidding around. But it was hauntingly apparent to him that it bothered Clara. He could understand she would wish he was taller. That thought seemed ridicules to him. She wouldn’t be ashamed of his height, would she?
The afternoon went by much too quickly for all the fun they were having. They stayed out of the water for a while to let themselves dry a bit before returning to town.
When Clara left for Dubuque, Gilbert found it much easier to work with the horses and not feel anxious to get done. He hadn’t, by any means, neglected his duties. He spent much of his time working with Allerton. Mr. Williams wanted to capture the World Stallion Record like he had with Axtell.
Axtell had held the record for sometime, before it was broken by a horse named Nelson, who turned a mile in 2:11½ in Kankakee, Illinois. The Kankakee track was a kite shaped track built shortly after the track in Independence. That track was not regarded as being as safe because the turf there was not as elastic and kind to the horses. Then later Nelson broke his own record when he trotted 2:10 3/4 at Cambridge City, Indiana. Nelson was owned and driven by his owner C. H. Nelson.
After Allerton had lost his race to the ‘Queen of the Turf’, Nancy Hanks, Mr. Williams was inclined to get him back into prominence. It was Mr. Williams’s intention to keep Allerton and Rush Park in the trotting world news, so he took every opportunity to make news. He wanted to keep Allerton using the safer track at Independence to race against time. He also was not fond of the dangers of traveling by rail. Especially after experiencing the train accident the previous winter.
Allerton was raced against time on August 31, 1891, soon after the big meeting and the loss to Nancy Hanks. He was able to beat his own personal best time of 2:12 by doing the mile in an official 2:11. This was still a quarter of a second slower than the record held by Nelson at 2:10 3/4.
He was given a few days rest before they tried again on September 4th. This time Mr. Hussey would accompany Allerton with a runner to push the stallion. He would be riding Ned Gordon, a thoroughbred from Mr. Williams stable.
Before the start, Allerton showed signs of eagerness to go and the large crowd came to witness the event were equally as eager to see him regain attention. He did not need any coaxing from Mr. Williams when he started. They received the word for a good start, and Allerton trotted the first quarter in :32 1/4. It was a great start, and everyone expected the pace to get faster as the race went on.
The second quarter was fast but slightly slower when compared to the first quarter. The half mile was trotted in 1:05 ½. The crowd knew Allerton normally performed his best in the quarters still to come. He completed the three quarters of a mile in 1:38. The crowd realized Allerton would have to finish the mile in a 2:00 gait to beat the record. Mr Hussey brought on Ned Gordon to push Allerton to his limit. Allerton seemed to respond and did not break his stride as he pushed for home. He sped past the wire at his strongest pace ever. The crowd cheered with excitement knowing he had to be close to beating the record. When the judges made their time official they put up the numbers, 2:10.
The crowd went into a wild frenzy as the proud Mr. Williams brought his cherished horse around to the front of the stands. They cheered as he bowed and tipped his hat. He now held the stallion record himself, just as his former stable mate Axtell had done two years before.
The city went wild with excitement. The citizens had been quiet and serene after the big race meeting in August. It had been very exhausting effort for them to accommodate the needs of all the visitors. Now the streets were full of happy proud people again talking about horse racing and preparing for the meetings in October.
The exuberance was short lived when in the following days, horsemen around the country were critical of the biased treatment Allerton was getting from hometown favoritism. They felt the Independence track was not a regulation track. In other words, Allerton’s record was not regarded by all as an official record. The record was further disputed when Nelson matched the 2:10 time in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on a regular mile oval track. The majority of horsemen around the country, were more willing to accept the record set by Nelson in Grand Rapids. It was considered more authentic since it was set on a regulation track.
There was an offer from C. H. Nelson for Mr. Williams to bring his horse to Grand Rapids for a head to head race between Nelson and Allerton. It would be the race of the century many said. Mr. Williams still reluctant to travel with his prize horse politely declined the offer. He invited Nelson to come to Independence for the race. This offer was turned down by Mr. Nelson. So, the battle would continue from hundreds of miles apart.
Mr. Williams felt forced to prove Allerton was the greatest stallion in the world. He again raced Allerton against time at Independence on September 19th. This time he had all different and impartial judges brought to Independence to conduct the attempt.
Before the race started Gilbert felt Allerton could sense the importance of his performance. An hour before the exhibition, Gilbert jogged him around the half mile track, but could not hold him to a jog. He stood still to let them shoe him. He didn’t fight the wrapping of his ankles as he had before. He appeared to be focused entirely on the business at hand.
Mr. Hussey accompanied Mr. Williams around the track to check it out. They determined the track was in great condition, the wind was calm. They felt things couldn’t be looking better for setting a new record. Gilbert and Barney brought Allerton out to the track. The crowd clapped for several minutes as Mr. Williams talked to Allerton, then mounted the sulky seat. Mr. Williams held out his hand for the reins given to him by Gilbert.
“Thank you, Gilbert.”
“Good luck, sir.”
“We’re going to do it. I can feel it.”
Gilbert patted Allerton on the neck, “So can he.”
Mr. Williams flipped the reins and Allerton started to jog around the track. He kept wanting to go faster and faster. Mr. Williams had to hold him back. He knew holding a horse back was more exhausting for the horse than if he were to let him go. So halfway around the track Mr. Williams let him go at the pace he wanted. As they came to the judges stand Mr. Williams indicated he and Allerton were ready. The announcement went out to inform the crowd they were ready to go.
The crowd scurried to get into a place to watch. A few minutes later, Mr. Williams started Allerton around the small loop. The crowd stood on their feet and cheered as they came toward the judge’s stand. Mr. Williams looked intently for the judges to give the word. It was given and he pushed Allerton hard at the start. Allerton needed no coaxing from Mr. Williams to show his brush early in the race.
There were so many watches at the track everyone knew the time. Allerton’s gait was fast and proud as he headed for the first quarter mark. Gilbert had made his way to the top of the fence in the infield of the track near the finish line. He could see Allerton get smaller in the distance, then the judge at the first quarter mark raised his flag as Allerton passed. Gilbert looked briefly at his watch. It looked as though he was around .33. Soon the official time was placed on the board: :32 3/4 for the first quarter.
Mr. Williams let Allerton pace himself and he concentrated on keeping him close to the rail. Allerton trotted easy and forceful. The half mile mark was passed in a great time of 1:05 ½. Gilbert felt Mr. Williams would have to push Allerton hard when they come around for the final stretch. He was in fear Allerton would break and the whole attempt would be lost. They rounded the curve and now Allerton was coming right at him as he watched in wide eyed excitement. Cheering of the crowd grew with every step closer to the finish.
The flag went up for the three quarter mark. It was obvious Allerton had characteristically picked up the pace with a time of 1:37 ½. He would still have to trot his fastest quarter to the finish to break the record. Mr. Williams brought down a soft whip to Allerton’s back and he responded with determination. Gilbert was so excited he kept losing his balance, so he jumped down from the fence to watch. The crowd was deafening as Allerton stayed with a strong steady pace passing the wire. There was excited anticipation for the results. Gilbert was sure he had done it. His watch had read he had done it. The judges conferred briefly before announcing a new world stallion record time of 2:09 1/4.
From this day on everyone in Independence declared Allerton as ‘King of the Stallions’ no matter what the rest of the world thought. But, the rest of the world still had the skeptics. It appeared there was no way Mr. Williams would ever convince the world Allerton was the greatest stallion that ever lived, unless he went head to head with all challengers.
The skeptics main claim against Allerton, was the track in Independence was not a true mile in length and at least two seconds faster than the track in Grand Rapids. Once again, to dispel this claim, a team of impartial engineers was hired to confirm that the track was actually slightly longer than a mile.
Allerton was raced against time pulling a wagon. He was able to set a new world record at 2:15, beating the mark Delmarch had made in Independence in 1890 at 2:20.
Once again the challenge was set forth to have the two horses, Nelson and Allerton, meet to determine the ‘King of the Stallions’, once and for all. They would go head to head against one another. There could be no critics to try and strip away the titles and/or any records set. It was arranged to take place in Grand Rapids for a purse of $10,000. This time Mr. Williams accepted the offer.
On the day of the race in Grand Rapids, the townspeople in Independence flocked to the newspaper offices and the office of ‘The American Trotter’, to wait for the results. They stayed calm and silent, aching to hear the results as they came in from Grand Rapids. Independence citizens were not the only ones gathering to hear the results of the race; people around the country were waiting anxiously as well.
They expected a crowd of nearly twenty thousand people to witness the race of the century. The favorite of the bettors the night before the races was Allerton at $100 and Nelson $66.
The conditions favored the horse from Waterville, Maine, who had raced all year on oval tracks. Allerton, with his limited travel, had only raced on an oval track once that year. The track in Grand Rapids was new and was built on clay loam. The track had to be kept wet or it becomes mealy and cuppy.
Allerton had been brought out to the track early in the morning and jogged around it several times. It was determined to re-shoe him. Seven and one- half ounce shoes were placed in front and five ounce shoes in back. These were heavier shoes than usual for the horse, but according to Mr. Williams and Mr. Hussey, they were the shoes best suited for that day’s condition.
People started showing up at the track by nine o’clock in the morning in anticipation of a great race. The stands were grand with chairs for ten thousand and another five thousand could be seated in another section on chairs. The stands and grounds were packed by one o’clock that afternoon. The rails were lined with spectators for the entire length.
Nelson appeared at one o’clock, receiving a great applause from the crowd. He was jogged around the track the wrong way by his groom. He looked strong and energetic as he came around to the judges’stand. Allerton entered a minute later with Mr. Williams driving greeted by a polite applause. Mr. Williams lifted his cap cordially. The crowd sentiment was certainly with Nelson, which was understandable under the circumstances. Nelson had set his record there, and the people knew him.
The judge, Mr. Leathers, rang the bell at 1:30 p.m., and then he addressed the crowd. He referred to this race as the greatest contest ever witnessed. At two o’clock the two driver’s, Mr. Williams and Mr. Nelson, weighed in. Betting pools had fluctuated that morning, but Allerton remained the favorite.
After the weigh-in another announcement was made by the judge, “The rules of the Association state, that when drivers are twenty pounds overweight that it shall be announced. We find that Mr. Nelson is one hundred seventy pounds and this is twenty pounds overweight. Mr. Williams weighs one hundred sixty-five pounds and this is fifteen pounds overweight.”
The two owners and drivers chatted to one another in a gentlemanly fashion as they waited. Mr. Nelson wore bright colored clothing for the race and Mr. Williams wore his normal plain grey suit. They mounted their sulky’s and prepared for the race to begin.
Nelson had drawn the pole, and they were sent off on the third score at a fast trot. The crowd involved themselves verbally from the very beginning. It was obvious any encouragement the drivers wanted to express to their horses, would have to be in a physical manner. Nelson trotted a fine start holding a half length lead along the rail to the first turn. The first quarter of the race was timed at a blistering :32. Allerton fell to a full length behind Nelson at the half in a slightly slower pace for a time of 1:05 1/4.
Nelson continued to increase his lead to two lengths before Allerton raised the crowd to their toes as he closed to within a half length at the three quarter post. They were both trotting hard as the time at the three quarter was 1:39 ½. Allerton suddenly broke, giving Nelson a three length lead. His driver Mr. Nelson, sure of a victory rejoiced, but his exuberance was premature. Allerton hadn’t given up as he regained his gait and with a burst of speed closed in on Nelson’s lead. Allerton ran out of real estate, and Nelson wins the first heat by a half length in the time of 2:13.
The crowd was not persuaded that Nelson should be the new favorite. Nelson had won the first heat, but Allerton’s speed was very apparent. If Allerton could keep his feet, he could easily win any race. Allerton sold for $25 to Nelson’s $17 in the betting pools following the first race. The second heat was started on the first score, and the heated battle was renewed. Nelson again burst to a half length lead as they passed the first quarter mark at :32 1/4. As they passed the half Nelson’s lead had increased, over Allerton, to two lengths in a time of 1:06. By the three quarter mark Nelson still held the lead in a time of 1:41 1/4. The stretch found Nelson under the whip, but he could not keep his pace as Allerton caught him twenty yards from the finish. Allerton won the heat by a half length in a time of 2:14 ½. There were cheers for both horses as they gathered for the third heat.
The two heats were now split, and Allerton remained the favorite, bringing $25 to Nelson’s $6. It was well known that all Mr. Williams horses were always trained to enable them to endure long races. Nelson showed a great burst of speed for short times, but it was the consistency of performance from Allerton that carried the second race. Before the next heat, Mr. Nelson placed blinders on his horse.
The third heat was started as the same as the others had, with Nelson taking a half length lead. Mr. Nelson steered his horse to the rail, cutting Allerton off at the turn, forcing Mr. Williams to pull Allerton back. The judges assessed a foul for the infraction. Allerton fell back by three lengths and Nelson reached the quarter in an outstanding :32 seconds. The followers of Nelson were ecstatic with the event as Nelson continued to increase his lead. They reached the half mile mark with Nelson’s time of very fast race of 1:05 1/4, with Allerton passing the half in 1:07 ½. At the three quarter mark, the race was 1:40, with Nelson maintaining a solid lead.
The friends and followers of Allerton were very nervous at this point, but the favored stallion struck a 2:00 gait, and with the speedy Nelson tiring quickly, Allerton flew past him. Mr. Williams was able to jog Allerton to the wire and win by three lengths in a time of 2:15.
The fourth heat was started, and they were even at the first quarter timed at :33 ½. They stayed together to the half with a time of 1:07 ½. Allerton began to pull away from Nelson. C. H. Nelson called on his horse for more speed, but he could see his stallion had nothing left to give. He called out to Mr. Williams, “You’ve got me beat.” At the three quarter mark, with Nelson staying at Allerton’s wheel at 1:42. As they hit the back stretch, Allerton drew quickly away and won the race in a jog of 2:16 ½.
Allerton had won the largest purse ever awarded for a trotting race, but no records were broken. It was declared unofficially that Allerton is crowned as, ‘King of the Turf’. The crowd cheered to a deafening climax with hats and cushions being hurled into the air. Allerton was presented with a fine blanket of cut roses, donated by the Amul Ree Stock Farms. Mr. Nelson spoke to Mr. Williams later, to thank him for not showing up his horse as he could have.
In Independence, the crowd that had gathered to here the results cheered and hit the streets with excitement. Within minutes of the wire from Grand Rapids race, everyone in town knew the results. A bonfire was set in the middle of Main Street. With the constant chatter about the race ran from the mouths of everyone of every age and sex. A banquet, sponsored by, ‘The American Trotter’ was given for the horsemen in town.
Mr. Williams and his group of followers weren’t coming back to Independence right away. They were on their way to Lexington Kentucky for an October 15th, rematch between Allerton and Nancy Hanks. The purse for this race was set at $8,000. It was a chance for Allerton to redeem himself. When the day of the race with Nancy Hanks came, she was withdrawn ostensibly because of an injury. A substitute horse named Delmarch, who’s best time was 2:11 ½ and who had held the wagon pulling record of 2:20, that was recently beaten by Allerton, was offered in her place. Mr. Williams was very disappointed he could not face Nancy Hanks once again. At first he refused, but decided he would except the challenge in a gentlemanly manner.
Delmarch had proven himself as a great trotter, but not to the extent of Nancy Hanks and Allerton. A crowd of 25,000 people crammed onto the grounds. Allerton carried the favorite pools with $100 to Delmarch at $65. The odds evened out just before the match was to begin. Many felt Allerton’s history of poor performance in the first heat would give Delmarch an edge since Delmarch also generally had the stamina to endure a long race.
Allerton was dressed up this time with a ribbon of blue on his mane and foretop. He was given a great ovation from the crowd as he entered the track. Delmarch drew the pole for the first race and the odds edged in his favor. They were able to get the race underway on the fifth score. The great driver and trainer, Budd Doble, was driving Delmarch, drove him hard at the start pulled away to set the fast pace. Mr. Williams was content to stay close behind at the start of the race.
They remained in that position until the distance mark when Doble called on Delmarch who did not respond. Mr. Williams had to whip Allerton, uncharacteristically, three times before he responded to win the heat by a length in a time of 2:13 1/4.
It was obvious that Delmarch was not performing as he had the week before in Cambridge City and the betting showed little chance for him to beat the, ‘King of Stallions’.
While they awaited the second heat of the race, a United States Marshal served Mr. Williams a notice of suit against him brought by George Martin of Versailles, Kentucky. He was claiming for a payment of $25,000 for injuries suffered when the bandstand collapsed at Rush Park in August.
This concerned Mr. Williams, but did not alter his determination to take care of the business. He drove Allerton to two more heat victories in times of 2:15 and 2:15 ½.
After the race, Mr. Williams was offered $200,000 for Allerton and turned down the offer. Money was not something Mr. Williams wanted from this horse. He was looking forward to a possible race, he had been trying to get arranged for years. A race in 1892 between Axtell and Allerton.
After the race in Lexington, it was time to retire Allerton for the winter. He had accomplished a great deal in the last month.
He held the record for Stallion trotters at 2:09 1/4 and had beaten the two top contenders for ‘King of the Turf’. They returned to Independence with a great deal of celebration from the citizens there. Upon the return to Independence by Charles Williams and his horse a poem was read at the station.
All hail to regal Allerton!
The king is on his throne;
For power and pluck and speed combined
He simply stands alone.
A race horse! Yes, from wire to wire:
Majestic, perfect grand,
He stands without a par on earth
In any clime or land.
Once again in the California racing season would come back to haunt a record holder from Iowa. The great Leland Stanford’s horse, Arion, was able to drop the two-year-old record from 2:18 at the beginning of the year to 2:10 3/4. Truly a great achievement considering Axtell was three when he set a world stallion record at 2:12. Axtell’s best two year old record was 2:23 ½. Arion was the son of Electioneer and Manette, by Nutwood. This propelled the Palo Alto Farm and Arion to the talk of the country, overshadowing Sunol, Nancy Hanks, Allerton and Nelson.
Months earlier J. Malcolm Forbes had visited Palo Alto and was impressed by the farm and purchased several horses. J. Malcolm Forbes was involved in trotting horses, but he did not breed and train his own horses. The performance of Arion prompted the wealthy J. Malcolm Forbes to ask Leland Stanford to give him a price for his horse. Leland responded that there was no purpose to give you a price because no one would pay it. A second inquiry asking for the price was forwarded to Mr. Stanford. He replied with a figure higher than any other price paid for a horse of $125,000. Forbes accepted immediately and went to California to check out Arion.
Regretfully, the racing season in California does not end as early as in the Midwest and again Mr. Williams’s horse, Allerton’s, record was broken by a Palo Alto Farm horse named Palo Alto. Allerton’s record had stood for two months before Palo Alto trotted 2:08 3/4 on November 17th to set a new World Stallion record in Stockton California.
Mr. Williams and the city of Independence was busy with their plans over the winter months. They had plans to expand the racing dynasty of their small city. A new Illinois Central Railroad Station was built. This was a station considered to be the finest in the state for a city of this size. The Burlington Northern railroad also built a new station on the west side of town.
Mr. Williams purchased a corner of a block on Chatham Street and Mott St. to build a grand new hotel and opera house. He purchased the property, that was at the time a lumber yard, from Mr. J. S. Woodward for $10,000.
He made plans to assist in the transport of people from the Illinois Central Railroad station to Rush Park by establishing an electric trolley rail system. This rail system would run from the Illinois Central Station south down Chatham Street past the new hotel, then turn west down Main Street past the Burlington Northern Railroad Station to Rush Park. They would charge five cents for the ride that could get them from the railroad station to the track in as little time as five minutes. They planned to get electric power for the trolley and the hotel from an electric plant being built behind the hotel.
The ambitious Mr. Williams expected to have the hotel and rail line fully operational before the planned August meeting started. This would certainly be a difficult task to accomplish in such a short time.
He contacted his friend and favorite architect to design the finest hotel found in any town this size in the country. He contracted J. C. Sunderland to design and oversee the work. The building operations manager would be James McIntyre.
Despite the time and energy needed to prepare for all the building taking place that spring, Mr. Williams took time to take several of his horses to Lexington to sell. He needed money to build his dynasty. He sold Barnhart, the full brother of Allerton, for $15,000 and Drextell, full brother of Axtell, for $7,500.
One evening when the family was home relaxing a delegation of citizens stopped in at the Williams home. The local businessman C. E. Purdy presented the Williams’s with a nine piece silver set as a token of appreciation from the citizens of Independence. It was graciously accepted by the Williams’s.
The ground breaking for the Gedney Hotel and Opera House, named after a friend of Mr. Williams from Chicago, took place on May 2, 1892. The task at hand was not without great difficulties to overcome. There was a shortage of construction workers because the prosperous economy had been great and building was flourishing all around the country along with building in the county. However, the enterprising Mr. McIntyre was able to dig up a good crew of workers that would work in shifts around the clock on the hotel.
They did have one incident of labor problems. There was a large crew of men that had to hammer large rocks to pebbles to mix with the concrete. They were paid $1 a day for their work. It was a hard, laborious job, and the men treated their job as a playtime. Mr. McIntyre decided to reduce their wages to $.75 a day, and the workers walked off the job and went home. The next day there weren’t enough hammers to supply all the workers who showed up.
The weather did not cooperate. Abnormally-high rain totals made progress sluggish at times. The flood of June 1892 seemed to dampen the spirits of the townspeople, but the spirit of Mr. Williams was not discouraged, it just made him more determined to be successful. The rain problem subsided dramatically after July 1.
Another problem was materials did not always arrive on time due to shipping or shortage problems. Orders were measured by train carloads of material. They ordered twenty-seven carloads of lumber, eighty carloads of brick, supplied by George Netcott of Cedar Falls. They had an important four carloads of elegant trim work of several types of wood from Chicago. They needed three cars of cut stone, four hundred barrels of cement and one hundred fifty cords of rock for the foundation from Mankato Lime Co.
When orders did arrive, it was not always what they had ordered. Once they were expecting a carload of cement and cloth bags from Mankato Lime Co. of Minnesota. A shipping error occurred and they received a carload of linseed oil cakes. Despite the many problems adjustments were made and progress continued steadily.
There was a boulder that had to be broken up during excavating, and when they split it open, the men went silent as they surrounded the split boulder. Appearing inside the boulder were the apparent naturally carved letters, C W W. This was considered to be a good omen for the hotel and Mr. C. W. Williams.
During the building an artist from Bloomington, Illinois, Mr. A. Montgomery, came to Rush Park to paint a full size portrait of Allerton. He was painting several full size portraits of horses to be displayed at the Illinois State Building for the Worlds Fair. He had already painted Axtell and Nutwood. He still planned to paint Nancy Hanks, Nelson, George Wilkes, Hambletonian 10, and Maud S. There would be four other horses to be painted, but their identities had not been determined.
While the building was going on Mr. Williams had continued to train and condition his horses daily. One day Gilbert and Mr. Hussey stood watching Mr. Williams with Mary Marshall pulling a practice cart. A nervous young reporter from a local newspaper came out to Rush Park to talk to Mr. Williams. Gilbert and Mr. Hussey thought for sure this was his first assignment, and someone had given him this task as a joke.
“Do you think Mr. Williams would agree to an interview?” The reporter asked.
Gilbert was kind to the young reporter, “He might talk to you.”
Mr. Hussey said, “You probably have to go out on the track to get his attention.”
“I’ll just wait until he gets done.” The skidish reporter said.
While Mr. Williams passed he looked toward the three men. He slowed Mary Marshal down and called out to the reporter. “Are you the gentleman the newspaper?”
“Yes, sir!” the young reporter yelled back.
Mr. Williams stopped the cart, “Want to ride along for a few turns?” The reporter didn’t hesitate one moment, he jumped the fence and ran for the cart. Mr. Williams moved over on the seat and the reporter hopped on next to him. As they jogged off, Mr. Hussey grunted and walked back toward the barns.
The racing season started with Allerton racing as slow, as expected this early in the season. They hoped for great things from Allerton that year. He was taken to Davenport where Allerton was performing in great form leading the race in a good time when tragedy struck. Allerton injured his leg and limped badly off the track. This was a blow to the community and to Mr. Williams, who had to face the fact that this injury unlike the others in the past, would permanently keep Allerton from ever racing again.
Despite the real lose of Allerton’s ability to race, Mr. Williams never admitted he would never race again. Gilbert and John knew it was time to retire Allerton, but they never knew for sure if Mr. Williams could bring himself to admit it. They also knew never say never when Mr. Williams was involved. Mr. Williams increased Allerton’s bookings for breeding after the injury.
On August 10, Mr. Williams telegraphed a supplier to have the furniture, bedding and crockery delivered to the Gedney, no later than August 20th. Bookings for rooms at the Gedney Hotel started to pour into the business office in anticipation of it’s completion by race date.
It took less than four months for the army of workers to complete the hotel in time to receive guests on August 21. The races official starting judge, J. L. McCarthy of Chicago was the first guest to sign the hotel registry. The doors of the dinning room on the main floor of the hotel opened for business on August 25th. The patrons who entered, had delightful smiles and had bigger smiles when they left the dining room.
The building, also included a great elegant opera house. The entire building was one hundred fifty-seven feet in length that ran along Chatham St. and one hundred seventeen feet in length from the corner of Chatham east down Mott Street. The main floor exterior was made in chocolate brown brick, while the second and third floors were in white colored granite brick purchased from Chaskey, Minnesota.
The main entrance to the hotel lobby was near the corner of the building on Chatham. The corner of the building was in a half circular shape with round top windows. This shape continued up the building for it’s three levels. The second floor corner was the Ladies Parlor. The third floor corner had the Bridal Suite. The front desk was to the south side of the lobby. The front desk was ornamented with fluted pedestals and plinth block bases. It was decorated ornamentally with a carved horse head in front of the desk. The desk had a gravity drop annunciator and fire alarm system. On the north side of the lobby was a desk that sold various items such as chewing tobacco, cigars, candy and other items.
There were doorways to a barber shop and a three table billiard room on the south wall of the lobby. Spacious his and hers rest rooms were just off the main lobby.
The walls of the lobby were plaster with designs elegantly sculptured high on the walls and ceiling. Where the wall met the ceiling was uniquely carved crown moulding. There were elegant chairs and benches scattered about the lobby with brass polished tobacco spitting receptors placed around the lobby floor. The stairway going up to the second floor was spindled with elegant wood. The hand rail was ornately curved in an ‘S’ shape at the base and continued to curve, flowing elegantly upwards. The stairway had four steps up to the east, leveling out to a modest sized landing. On the entry to the landing, on top of the rail posts, were two large elegant electric lamps, purchased for $150. The steps turned right after the landing toward the south and up to another spacious landing before making a full turn back north to the second floor of the hotel.
To the east of the lobby was the entrance to the dining room decorated in a hunting lodge character setting. The dining room had a large elegant fireplace with a clock sitting on the mantle. The opening of the fireplace was arched brick design in a half circle. There was a brick face flanked by fluted pillars to the mantle shelf. Between the mantle shelf and the face of the fireplace was a large mirror.
The dining room was thirty-two by fifty-four feet to accommodate a substantial number of people. The kitchen was designed to be the most efficient and modern kitchen possible. It was a spacious thirty-four by thirty feet, making it a joy for the chefs.
The second and third floors contained the seventy-six spacious and lovely rooms. There was a ladies parlor located on the second floor on the northwest corner of the building in a half circular corner of windows in the room. It was decorated in elegant mahogany wood, and the floor was carpeted in axminster. The parlor was furnished with comfortable seating and a elegant hanging chandelier costing $175.
The bridal suite was on the third floor, above the parlor, decorated in birds eye maple. There were five large suites with full bath facilities and were richly decorated in mahogany. The rest of the rooms were spacious and elegant, all with hot and cold running water. They all had electric lighting, axminster carpet and steam heat.
The manager of the hotel was S. A. Hodges who was noted for his pleasurable personality with patrons. He employed two outstanding desk clerks in J. W. Gardner from Storm Lake, Iowa and Ed H. Semple from Keokuk. To make sure the food was the best this side of the Mississippi, three top chefs were hired from the Chicago area.
The opera house was part of the same building with the main entrance in the middle of the building, facing Chatham Street. There were three doors to the opera house with brick arches over each door. The opera house part of the building was fifty-five feet by ninety feet.
The lobby had two entry box office windows and tall elegant doors spanning the width of the lobby to the auditorium. The lobby was paneled decoratively with oak. The auditorium could comfortably seat eight hundred twenty-five in elegant opera chairs and gallery benches. Chairs could be added to increase the seating to over one thousand. There were four private boxes and two loggias located on two sides of the stage. There was a main floor for seating and a band pit in front of the stage. There was a large balcony, including a gallery for benches and added seating. From the floor to the ceiling was fifty-six feet.
There were large fans installed to keep airflow throughout the auditorium. If there was an extremely hot summer day, the fans could blow air over large blocks of ice to cool the audience.
The stage was a spacious thirty-five by fifty-five feet with an elegant drop curtain of twenty-eight by twenty foot. There were eight separate dressing rooms back stage large and elegant as well.
The auditorium was decorated as elegantly as the rest of the hotel. The woodwork in the lobby and auditorium were uniquely sculptured designs. The walls and ceiling were of sculptured plaster throughout the opera house. This was considered to be, by the architect J. C. Sunderland, admittedly himself, as one of his greatest accomplishments.
The opera house was officially opened on August 22nd with a presentation in honor of the man who had built Independence into a harness horse racing capital of the world, Charles Warren Williams.
There was a presentation before the first opera conducted. The last lines of a poem read by Stephen Tabor were, “Where there’s a Williams, there’s a way.”