WHAT LONDON HARNESS AND SADDLE CO, Postal BmUhm, NEW YORK. 1 20 Sudbury Street, BOSTON, MASS, LETTERS COMMENDING THIS WORK. Extract of Letter from His Grace the Duke of Beaufort. " It is nicely written and admirably illustrated, the drawings show clearly what they want in the position of the hands and reins. I think the work excellent." "Badmington." BEAUFORT. Extract of Letter from Col. De Lancey A. Kane. "■I like your book exceedingly, and I congratulate you on the admirable way you carried out, in every detail, your self-appointed task. Besides the valuable information it imparts, I am sure all will read it with interest." "The Paddocks, New Rochei.le." De LANCEY A. KANE. Extract from " Town Topics." (N. Y). " The chapters upon driving single horses, teams, tandems, and six-in-hands are admirable for their clearness and practical work. "Considerable fragmentary information of this kind is supplied in most of the books on the horse already known to the Public, but nothing as comprehensive and as plain has, as yet, been put into print as these instructions, which are illustrated by a number of capital woodcuts." Extract from "'The Field." " It is scarcely too much to say that more directions are given than in any other work. In many points it is the best book on driving that we have seen. "ff^ADE MARK- London Harness and Saddle Co. Postal Building, 120 Sudbury Street, Cor. Broadway and Murray St. BOSTON , NEW YORK. MASS. ■'■Rade mark- London Harness and Saddle Co, Postal Building, Cor. Broadway and Murray St. NEW YORK. 1 20 Sudbury Street, BOSTON, MASS. DRIVING AS I FOUND IT, BY ILLUSTRATED BY WALTER PETTEE. LONDON BRENTANO'S PARIS, WASHINGTON, CHICAGO, NEW YORK. 1891. Copyrighted by John T. Burgess, 1891. FEINTED IN NEW YORK CITY, U. S. A. To Colonel DeLancey Kane. In recognition of his rare, good qualities as a gentleman, whip and sportsman, the appre- ciation of which can find no more ardent admirer than his humble servant, who with his permission respectfully dedicates this work to him. FRANK SWALES. ~^^^r CONTENTS. PAGE. Observations 1''' Gentlemen Dealers 30 Tattersalls 34 Horse Dealers 4G Buying Horses 52 Higli Steppers 60 Cappers 65 Feeding 69 Shoeing T3 The Auction Marts 76 Horse Shows 81 What to Drive 85 How to Drive One Horse or a Pair 94 The Whip 104 The Tandem 109 How to Drive Tandem and Four 119 Four in Hand 132 Six in Hand 163 The Old Times (Song) 1T2 Coaching in America 175 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE. Colonel DeLancey Kane Frontispiece Sale Day at Tattersalls, N. Y 35 Interior of TattersaUs, N. Y 41 Exterior of Tattersalls, N. Y 53 A Good Sori; 61 Inclined to be Tricky 79 A Roadster 87 False Breeching 91 Tandem, Mr. Benton Manslield 107 No Thoroughfare 112 Showing Off 113 Sleigh Tandem 117 A Professional 133 Above His Business 141 Break Blocks 158 Outing Break 161 Chain Trace 162 Coach "Mohican" 165 Coach "TaUy Ho " , 173 TWENTY-ONE DKrVING LESSONB. FIG. ONE HORSE OR PAIR. PAGE. 1. Starting Off 9i 2. Pulling Up 96 3. Shortening Reins 97 4. Turn to Near Side 98 5. Turn to Off Side 99 TANDEM AND FOUR. 6. Taking Keins in Hand 119 7. E«ins iu Left Hand 120 8. Change to Right, Before Getting on Box Seat.. 120 9. Ready to Start 121 10. Old Style Way to Start 122 11. Turn to Left 123 1 2. Near Lead Rein Looped 13. Turn to Right—Loop Made 125 14. Near Side 126 15. Off Side. 120 16. Steadying Leaders 127 17. Shortening Lead Reins 128 18. " " " 129 19. Shortening Wheel Reins. 130 20. Throw Out Off Reins 131 21. Six in Hand. 1G9 INTRODUCTION. Whether a regular preface is of any advantage to a book I am not sufficiently versed in literary matters to determine; still I consider that a proper feeling of re- spect for the driving public calls for something in the shape of an introduction. I trust that the public will look over whatever errors may have slipped into this book, and accept it as a general treatise on driving, with the observation and opinions of a practical man, committed to paper as the ideas suggested themselves, which, if they are taken together, may be thought in some parts useful, in others occasionally amusing, I shall have realized all I could anticipate or wish for. The hints, observations and illustrations contained in this book are not merely those of one who learned for pleasure, but were gathered dur- ing many years' experience as professional coachman, both in England and in America. DRIVING AS I FOUND IT OBSERVATIONS. On nearly every art or science practised by man there lias been instructions, treatises, opinions, criticisms, and I know not what, repeatedly published. They rank from the highly intellectual study of astronomy to the more manual art of making a horseshoe. Nothing scarcely has been thought too insignilicant to fix the attention and call forth the written opinions of those conversant with their subject. Horsemanship produced writers of a very early date, varying theu^ instructions and terms used according to the age in which they lived and wrote. But I am not aware that any really good instructions in the art of driving have yet appeared in print. Why driving should have been hitherto con- sidered less worthy of attention as a subject to be written about than horsemanship I cannot explain. That it should be done well, if done at all, I consider most important. If a man rides he rides alone, and has most unquestionably a right to break his own neck if he pleases, but if he is driving others, he certainly 18 DRIVING AS I FOUND IT. h.as no riglit to break their necks. It is singular enough that, though huiidi-eds of men who ride on horseback, willingly allow that thej are very indifferent horse- flien, but you will rarely iind a man who drives even a buggy w^ho does not conceive he does it as well as it can be done, or who for one moment thinks he is in danger through his ignorance. Xo doubt there is no great exertion or art required to sit in a buggj', hold the reins and guide a steady horse the way you wish him to go, but even in this humble attempt at coach- manship the Avay it is many times done would, to a practised eye, at once show that, while one man is capa ble of greater thiugs, another was not capable of doing \Vell the little he did attempt. It is true a man may drive one horse well, but this does not prove him to be a good pair-horse coachman. In the same way many may also drive a pair well but be quite astray with four. But whether with one horse, a pair, a nnicorn, or regular team before him, the coachman is to be de tected at once. His manner of taking up his reins and seating himself will be qnite sufficient proof. Coolness, light hands and good temper are the essential qualities requisite to make a good coachman. These are much more necessary in a coachman than in a horseman if for nothing but for the sake of others. An irritated )iorse bolts off with his ri4er or throws him, or both. OBSERVATIONS. 19 he alone then pays the penalty of his fault, but an iiTitated horse in harness, particularly in light priyate carriages, is dangerous to a degree. We may and can manage liini as wheeler to a coach, the weight and his companion holding him in check, but in a light car- riage let mi' tell young coachmen who may think they are in littl3 danger, that no man living can hold two horses determined to run away, and as to four all in the sam«.' mind they are no more to be held than a locomotive engine For this reason their steam should never be got uj) too high. Having got so far I must now do ^\hat I ought to have done at the commencement, — show my moti\'e for commencing at all. It was neither more nor less than that I considered a regular ti'eatise on driving, in the general sense of the word, Avould be a work of great utility, and all I intend, or hope to do, is to show that (iriving is not quite comprehended by sitting be- hind a horse or given number of horses, with the reins in the driver's hand, trusting to Providence and good Inck for getting along in safety. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," I really flatter myself that T possess comparatively a good deal in these matters, yet this teaches me that I do not know quite half enough, and also that many who profess a great deal really know nothing at all. 20 DRIVING AS I FOUND IT. If a man from inclination or circumstances is des- tined to drive on]y one description of vehicle and one description of liorse it would be sufficient for liis pur- pose that he drives that vehicle well and safely. The private servant who drives a brougham or a landau or any description of one horse or pair-horse carriage, may do very well for this, and doubtless flatters himself he could do very well for any other description of coach- manship. He would, however, And himself, or at all events, others would find him, woefully deficient when put to the test. The different description of knowledge and practice required in driving different descriptions of carriages, different descriptions of horses, and those in different descriptions of situations, is much more varied than people are i\])t to imagine. The finished coachman can drive anything, and drive it well, but he will not, nor cannot drive anything equally well. There can be no doubt but the stage coachman requires, and fortunately acquires, generally speaking, more diversified knowl- edge in coachmanship than any other votary of the whip, particularly when driving sixty or seventy miles across a country. Here he will have perhaps nine or ten teams to drive, and to learn how to manage the tem- pers of from forty to fifty different horses, independent of the chances of these horses becoming lame or ill from accidents and various other circumstances which OBSERVATIONS. 21 may from time to time occur. He will have to know how to get over all sorts of ground with tlie greatest advantage as to time, the ease of his horses, and the safety of his passengers, clearly showing that driving the same vehicle, I mean here a coach, in different sit- nations and under different circumstances requires quite different management. I wish my readers to understand that a man is not merely a coachman who, with everything put right for him, can contrive to turn corners without running against a post, or who can manage to wend his way along a road oo;- moderately fiiequeuted street. He should understand his carriage, know its component parts, and their effects on its safety and running. If he does not know all these he might be driving with something about it loose, cracked, strained, broken or misplaced at the imminent risk of his own and his com- panions' lives. If not a judge of its running weU or ill his horses will suffer. I need scarcely say it is also necessary that a good coachman should understand the full effect of every strap and buckle about his harness, for on properly harnessing and bitting horses all their comfort and that of the driver depends. More accidents happen from the want of this than from any other cause, and horses are also often very much punished in their work from such neglect. A man ignorant of all 22 BRIVING AS I FOUND It. tliese matters does not know what is likely to lead to danger, and of course when once in it, he is as helpless as a child in adopting the best or perhaps the only means of getting out of it. The reader has doubtless often seen a coachman, before taking hold of the reins, go to all four of his horses' heads, lay hold of their bits and feel that each horse is properly bitted. Probably this to some has appeared a useless precaution. The coachman, however, knows better, for upon this a great part of his own and passengers' safety depends. I may perhaps surprise many persons by stating that a horse improperly bitted will sometimes set ihim kick- ing. Some may say what on earth has his mouth to do with his heels? A great deal with some horses. They say "the devil is good-tempered w^hen he is well pleased." So am I, and so is a horse, and wdiile he is he goes pleasantly and quietly, but put a too severe bit in his mouth, and what is ten times worse, put the reins into rude hands, his mouth gets punished, which naturally irritates and puts him out of temper. If under these conditions any little thing occurs that at another time he would not have cared for, he sets to kicking at once. The guarding against every probability of getting into difficulties or danger I consider the first duty of a coachman, knowing what is likely to lead to either is OBSERVATIONS. 23 an indispensable part of the qualification to become one, and when in difficulty a fine hand, strong nerve, a quick eye and presence of mind are all necessary to ex- tricate hun from it. Here the coachman shows him- self, and here the dummy universally fails. The latter sees the effect plain enough, but knows nothing what- ever of the causes, consequently he either sits still and does nothing, or if he does anything, in all probability does the very thing that increases both the difficulty and the danger. In proof of what presence of mind and knowing what to do in an emergency will result in, I may mention a circmnstance that occurred whilst driving, in fact, breaking a well bred pair of horses to harness. They had both become perfectly handy and were good- tempered, but from youth, high blood and high con- dition, ready to avail themselves of any excuse for a lark. I had driven them all about town perfectly well and aU right, until coming down a hilly street up went the pole nearly to their ears, my toeboard nearly coming on the hind quarters. 1 now found something was all wrong, and guessed the cause. I immediately struck them both sharply with the whip. Off they went like two startled deers down the hill at about eighteen mUes an hour, feather edging everything we passed, I expect- ing however, to give something an '^insider," but escaped. 24 DRIVING AS I FOUND IT. Ascending the opposite hill enabled me to pull up, when I found sure enough the pole pin had been left out. Since 1876, when Colonel DeLancey Kane started the well-known coach "Tally Ho" from the Hotel Bruns- wick, New York, to New Rochelle, which first gave that impetus to coaching and mania for driving in this country, a great improvement in everything relative to horses, carriages and harness has been the result. The drive in Central Park can now compare favorably with tlie Row or the Bois de Boulogne, both for quan- tity and quality, except in one most particular point, and that the most essential point of all — the private coachman. ^Tien I speak of a coachman I mean one who has been brought up from boyhood in good stables, under good men, and knows his business thoroughly. The first coachman to a lady of fashion requires much more knowledge of his business than people generally suppose. Here eveiy jolt must be broken, no swinging of his carriage over the crossings in the street, no sud- den pulls up or hitting horses with such bad judgment as to cause a sudden backward jerk to the carriage. There should be no stopping at doors so as to leave it swaying backward and forward to the full extent of the check braces and the discomfiture of its delicate and fastidious inmates. The carriage must start, go on OBSERVATIONS. 25 its way and stop as smoothly as it went off. Merely passing safely between other vehicles would not be suf- ficient to satisfy a lady accustomed to be driven by such an artist as a first rate body coachman. To any ama- teur of driving it is really a treat to see such men hand- ling their horses on such occasions as a Court day at Buckingham Palace. They may be seen threading the masses of a dense crowd, their carriages gliding about like so many gondolas on the Grand Canal at Venice. No fuss, no pulling and hauling; a turn of the wrist is sufficient for horses accustomed to be driven by such coachmen. All seems easy to the bystanders, no difii- culty appears, but this apparent ease shows the mas- terly hand that is at work. There is a kind of free- masonry among such men that enables them to detect the perfect coachman at a glance. A cast of the eye at the hands of each other on meeting is sufficient to show to each what the other intends doing. They know they will each do what they intend, though only an inch of spare room is between them. With confidence in their mutual skill they fearlessly pursue their course with as much precision and certainty as if the wheels of their carriages were confined in the track of a railroad. Mis- haps or even mistakes on such occasions hardly ever occur, and for this reason they are all perfect artists. But go to the theatres, the scene is widely 26 DRIVING AS I FOUNt) IT. different. Here is to be heard swearing, whipping, smashing of panels, hacking of horses, vociferations of coachmen, cabmen and policemen, the whole place a perfect pandemonium. This contrast arises from the fact that in the latter case there are a num- ber of men employed to drive carriages who have little claim to the name of coachman. These clumsy Avorkmen often fall to the lot of ladies, and nearly always to merchants and business gentlemen who keep carriages, the owners not being competent judges of driving, take a coachman from the recommendation cf others who probably know as little of the necessary elements of a good coachman as themselves. Here let me strongly ;recommend ladies never to take a coachman on mere recommendation, unless they know the person who gives the recommendation to be a perfect judge of the requisite qualities of one. If they consider a man to be a promising candidate, before finally engaging him let them get some one of their acquaintances who thoroughly understands such matters to sit by his side on the box for half an hour. He will then either be at once disproved of, or they will be cer- tain of having a servant who understands his business. Ten dollars a month more in wages will be amply made up by avoiding coachmakers' bills for repairs or those of veterinary surgeons for accidents to horses. They OBSERVATIONS. 21 will also have their carriage horses and harness neatly turned out, be i)rox)erly and safely (h-iven by a man who , looks like a coachman, instead of getting^ one who does not know how to do either, and who will probably be asked by some knowing fellow, "Hello, there, who feeds the pigs when you are out?" Or, "I say neighbor, how much extra does your boss give you for milking?" An untaught, stupid house ser- vant plagues and mortifies one by his awkwardness but a coachman with similar characteristics, should never be trusted at large without a string and collar about his neck to keep him off coachboxes. I have in the foregoing page only paid a just tribute to the merits of the coachman of ladies or men of large fortunes, but I must at the same time remark that I never yet saw a gentleman's coachman who could drive four horses that he had been unaccus- tomed to drive. They make the worst stage coach- men of any men who have been in the habit of driving at all. They have been so used to horses all matched in step and temper that they aie absolutely lost with any other. Coachmanship is therefore to be shown in various ways as well as the want of it, and is exhibited under as various circumstances. Take, for instance, those well-knowTi knights of the whip, Fownes, the late Selby, Cracknel, Huble and others too numerous 28 DRIVING AS 1 FOUND IT. to mention, there were none of them to my knowledge at any time during their career, private coachmen, but they, served their apprenticeship and learnt the art which brought them prominently before the public as stage coachmen, or imore commonly .'speaking, omni- bus drivers. The Petersburg driver with his bells and sleigh is equally a coachman in his way. The Canadian, reck- lessly as it appears to us, crosses his corduroy roads, drives over half-formed bridges or down declivities with his pole three feet above his horses heads in a way none here could do it. The "conducteur" of a Paris diligence brings his five horses with his "town" behind them in a trot into the inn yard at Calais. All three are coachmen in their way and yet none of them could perform the parts of the other. I have no doubt but to perform each of their duties well requires about an equal share of intellect and practice. It is quite evident by what I have already said, that driving, to do it well, should be learned scienti- fically, and that there is much more danger in trusting ourselves in the hands of persons ignorant of these matters than is generally supposed. The starting of the Coaching Club in New York has been the means of bringing out some very excellent gentlemen coachmen which undoubtedly renders those OBSERVATIONS. 29 who participate in this kind of sport good judges of the quahfications, powers and merits of the horse for such purposes, and by constant buying and selling such horses, it makes them judges of their relative value. Long may sucli men live to enjoy the amuse- ment which their ample fortunes render possible. There are without doubt pursuits of a higher order, pursuits tJiat produce more beneficial results to mankiud in geueral, but every man of fortune lias an undoubted right to spend that fortune in such piu'suits as he conceives affords him the most gratification, and pro- vided that the pursuit be a harmless one, no one has a right to interfere with it. The pursuits of the sports- man while carried on by the gentleman, are generally not only harmless, but beneficial to others, they give employment to many and occasion a great deal of luoney to be expended. 30 DRIVING AS I FOLTND IT. GENTLEMEN DEALERS. There is oiie point I must respeccfiiUj impress upon my readers, i. e., being a first rate judge of a horse will not enable hiin to be a horse dealer. A gentleman may know perfectly well the relative value of horses and may easily ascertain the value of any other article of merchandise so far as buying and selling goes. He may even learn where in some measure how to buy and sell a horse to the best advantage, but this does not qualify him for a horse dealer. I am sure that no gentle- man ever has or ever will succeed as a regular horse dealer. That there are however many who in a private way do to a very considerable extent deal in horses, is a notorious fact and a fact ver}' much to be regretted. It is a subject of still further regret that among them are found those who in every other transaction are men of unblemished honor and integrity. If these gentlemen conceive that they carry on this underhand kind of private trade without it calling forth very severe animadversion from those who abstain from it they very much deceive themselves, and they labor under the influence of a still further error if they suppose GENTLEMEN DEALERS. 31 that they can continue this practice, without losing very considerably in point of character and prestige in the estimation of theii* friends and acquaintances. Placing them in comparison Avith the regular horse- dealer, I have no hesitation in saying that so far as this pursuit is concerned, 1 consider the latter the most respectable man. He sells you a horse openlj^ as a dealer, as a man avIio dis])oses of liiui entirely for profit; you probably place no reliance upon his T\ord, or confi- dence in his honor, he does not ask you to do so, nor is he offended if you do not. You purchase of him in jiiost cases under a written warranty. If the horse does not answer the description given of him the law is open to you for redress. If you have just cause of complaint he generally at once takes the horse back. But if you buy from a gentleman dealer in horses you trust to his word and to his honor. If you are deceived, which by the b^^, you will find no uncommon case, what is your resource? You must either keep your bargain, or, if you hint that you have been taken in, a quarrel ensues, and you are called out for presuming to doubt the word and honor of a man who, however, in such cases, forfeits both perhaps twenty times in a year. Such men, are, however, rare among gentlemen, and T trust may long reanain so. From the moment a gentleman first harbors the idea of malving money by 32 DRIVING AS I FOUND IT. buying and selling horses lie has taken the first step toward degradation. He possibly at first, Indeed mogt probably, had no further view than in an honorable way availing himself of his superior judgment and taste. He is "unfortunate" enough to sell three or four horses to advantage. This gives him encourage- ment and probably for the first time in his life he feels the pleasure of making money in a peculiar and in- teresting manner, and he continues to speculate with success. Hitherto he has done nothing wrong. His horses have all turned out as he represented them. He now, however, happens unfortunately to get a horse not quite what he should be. AVhat is he to do with him? Is he to sell him at a loss? A very short time ago he would have done so, but now the itch for making money has taken too firm a hold upon him. He enters into a kind of compromise with his conscience and the horse has really perhaps nothing material the matter mth him. He avails himself of his position in society and sells him on his word, as a perfectly sound horse. If he proves otherwise he does not allow lie has been guilty of of a deception, but places his word of honor that he was sound when he sold him. This closes the transaction. Having thus escaped with impunity, instead of taking it as a salutary warning of the dangers of such transactions and having once been GENTLEMEN DEALERS. 33 guilty of a dereliction of honor and integrity he goes on until he unblushingly (in dealers parlance) ''sticks a screw" into a friend whenever he can find the oppor- tunity. This is a fair sample of the usual oaioer of tiiose who commence privately dealing in horse.^,. It is a pursuit that every gentleman should avoid. It is as demoiallz- ing in its influence on the mind and eventually as fatal in its effects on the character as is the pursuit of the prcfessed gambler. (''AH fair in horse-dealing'^ is an idea that some persons profess). It is a very erroneous one. It is an idea that no sensible or honorable man can seriously entertain. There is no more excuse for premeditated deception in the sale of a horse than there is in any other transaction. The moment a man can bring himself to think there is he will steal. 34 DRIVING AS I FOUND IT. TATTERSALLS. If any one imagines from what I have previously writ- ten on the subject of horse dealers that I wish either to consider or intend to represent horse dealers as men in whom we may place perfect confidence, the fault must be attributed to my peculiarity of expression and not to any intention of mine, as I consider them in no such light. Confidence may be reposed in many dealers in the same way as dealers in wine or in pictures. If a man, how- ever, is not a judge, and is not posted, and goes to either making his own purchases, he is certain to be more or less taken in; that is to say, he will not get the best value for his money. If first-rate dealers they wiU not venture to give you an absolutely unsjound horse in the face of a warranty to the contrary, a decidedly pricked wine for sound, or a pirated copy for a genuine i)icture, but you will be i)retty sure to get an inferior horse or wine or painting. They are tradesmen, and are in business to make money, and, while they do not dare to do anything which is absolutely dishonest, their consciences are some- thing like that of the old Irish lawyer who considered that there was nothing dishonorable that was not contrary Sale LDay at" Tattersalls, New York. tATTERSALLS. 3? to law. I have previously stated that I am convinced that a respectable dealer is, in the end, all things being con- sidered, tlie best medium by which a gentleman can supply himself with a horse, and possibly the cheapest. If he is not a judge of a horse he has no business going personally to dealers in horses. it is far better to take some one with him, who is a judge of what is wanted, and wlio will l^eep his eyes open, and he will want both of them wide open, even in buying from reliauble sources. Another point in favor of the regular horse dealer, par- ticularly one who has a good connection and large de- mand for them, is the fact that he does not limit his buyers to the i)rice paid for them, but gives them strict instructions to buy the best. It is stated that one gen- tleman horse dealer, who a short time ago went West — Philadelphia or Newark — with |2,000 and brought back eighteen horses, was credited with a great feat of buying them at less than |50 a head than their minimum price, which was that paid by the horse car .companies for what is called "streeters.'^ What this gentleman wanted with this class of horse is hard to determine, excepting it was to play false on intended purchasers, something like in this manner: "For Sale, the property of a gentleman; several pairs of horses of quality; all in good working condition ; well broken to four-in-hand and ^S BEIVING AS 1 FOUND IT. tandem." I do not doubt for a moment that they were in working condition, many of them having worked long enough to become a bit " shovey " in front (bent in their forelegs). Such horses were entirely unsuitable for the I)urposes for which they were intended, and ought to have been in the hands of peddlers or runners of junk carts. fSuch pitfalls for the unwary buyer are, of course, un- known in dealing with a firm like Messrs. Tattersall, of London. That great house, which for a century and a half has maintained its pre-eminence, and has achieved a financial success and stability of the highest, has rigidly observed the rule never to buy at its own sales for re- sale, and never to allow a bid by an owner or on his part, except in the case of an entry with a reserve price. At the top of each regular weekly catalogue of Messrs. Tattersall the following notice appears: "The owner re- serves the right to bid through his agent, the auctioneer, as often as he sees fit." The plain English of this is that there may be reserve prices, up to which point the animal will be protected by the auctioneer, and the object is to prevent the appearance of active bid