Henry Spalding

“ It was easy to follow the trail, as it was still fresh. He urged his horse on as fast as it could go, shouted to the dogs, and cursed the fugitive slave. In his hand he held a long, blacksnake whip to administer punishment. His eyes sparkled with cruel expectation. His hand grasped the whip firmly, while on, on he rode. The hounds increased their speed. The trail was growing fresher. They would overtake the wretch soon. The heartless master plunged the spurs into his horse's sides, for the dogs were out-distancing him. They passed the Howard house. ”

“ Look at it; its head is moving as fast as the spindle of a spinning-wheel."
"Try it, Owen," put in Martin. "I have seen you make harder shots than that."
While Owen was loading his rifle, the yellow-hammer flew, passing over the head of the trapper. Up went his rifle—crack—and the bird fluttered to the ground.
"I reckon you can't beat that, youngstars!" exclaimed Jerry, with evident satisfaction. "I've been practicin' for the shootin'-match next month. I ain't been there since Coon-Hollow-Jim, as they calls him, is been takin' the prizes ”

“ I ain't goin' to fight nobody. I ain't goin' to kill nobody. I won't steal nothin' but mail. We'll just see if thare's a letter for Squire Grundy; and if thare ain't, well, we'll let the mail go, and the stage go."
"You are right, Jerry; we won't take a cent. Robbing and stealing are not in our line. We'll leave that kind of work to such men as Tom the Tinker."
When their preparations were completed the two men left the cave for their hazardous adventure.
CHAPTER XXII. MR. LANE FINDS A SOLUTION TO HIS DIFFICULTY.
"Here, Bounce! ”

“ Here he entertained the boys until Stayford could gain the path still farther up the Beech Fork. For this reason he pretended to look for the red-squirrel, and proposed to devour it whole if Owen succeeded in bringing it to the ground.
When Jerry and Stayford met they congratulated each other on the happy success of the ruse by which they had just tested the veracity of the two prisoners whom they had restored to liberty.
"They're all correct," said the trapper. "They ain't none of your gray foxes what one hound can ketch; but genuine red foxes, what can't be cornered by a whole pack." ”

“ He spoke of the years that he had used the rifle, of his many victories in different parts of the State, and concluded by frankly owning that he had met his superior. With this acknowledgment he removed the pistol-strap from his own waist and handed it to Owen, and upon his refusal to take it, despite all protestations, secured the belt around the boy's waist. Coon-Hollow Jim never again appeared at a shooting match.
Years afterward old men were wont to speak of this eventful day, when a youthful hero took the prize from the best marksman in the State. ”

“ This applies especially to Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guide and Spalding’s Official Base Ball Record, both of which receive the personal attention of Mr. A. G. Spalding, owing to his early connection with the game as the leading pitcher of the champion Boston and Chicago teams of 1872–76. His interest does not stop, however, with matters pertaining to base ball; there is not a sport that Mr. Spalding does not make it his business to become familiar with, and that the Library will always maintain its premier place, with Mr. ”

“ From his place of concealment Stayford watched this exhibition of skill. "It is well for me that I am not here to meet those boys in a fair fight with pistols," he thought to himself. "How quick it was done, too. Of course it was that young Owen. He seems to handle a pistol as well as he does a rifle, and the very pistol he won at the shooting-match. How I would like to have one of that make," and Walter Stayford examined the rusty cap and ball revolver which hung at his side.
"Your bullet hit him," said Owen, who thought that in his eagerness to fire rapidly he had shot above the turtle. ”

“ Never did Owen's rifle-craft prove more useful to him than at that moment. Conscious of his power, he raised his rifle. His aim was long and true and steady. Then a sharp, clear ring, followed by the deep, loud report of the highwayman's pistol, discharged by the shock of his bullet. For a moment both robbers and passengers were dazed. No one seemed to know what had happened or to have noticed that a rifle had been fired. ”

“ Spalding, together with seventeen other emigrants who had stopped to winter, were brutally destroyed in 1847 by the Indians, and the American settlements in Middle Oregon broken up, and a bloody war to exter minate the Americans on the Pacific coast commenced. ”

“ Climbing a few feet up the trees and opening their sacks, Owen and Martin commenced to capture the affrighted robins. Many of the birds were so dazed by the light that they sat perfectly quiet, and were thrust into the sacks as easily as if they were apples hanging from a bough. Many, too, startled by the swaying branches, flew madly into the thicket, and by their cries spread the alarm throughout the evergreen domain.
Soon the whole glade was alive with the flutter and cries of the robins. Darting from tree to tree, they frightened those yet undisturbed. ”

“ But two now remained, Owen Howard and Coon-Hollow Jim. So Father Byrne's prediction was verified,—David and Goliath came forth to combat.
"Great pos—sim—mons! Youngster!" cried the old marksman, when he saw the size of his opponent. "You is a brave boy to fight a feller like me!" With these words he lifted Owen from the ground and carried him to the place of battle.
Since Goliath's name was called first, he stepped to the front, and raising his rifle sent the ball into the center of number one. Owen was encouraged by the giant's familiarity. ”

“ Howard; "there is a friend of mine by the name of Sims, who lives twelve miles beyond Bardstown on the Louisville road; he is a true patriot in whose hands the letter will be safe. The boys can carry the message twenty miles, and friend Sims can take it twenty-eight more."
Martin and Owen were soon ready for their long ride, strapping their pistols around their waists and hanging their powder flasks at their sides.
"This flag for you," said the stranger, handing it to Martin; "and this for you," he continued, giving Jackson's letter to Owen. "Give it to no one except your father's friend. ”

“ Lane. "Every time that there boy raises his rifle somethin' drops; I never seen the like of it in my born days!"
"So you think that young Howard happened to be on the bluff overlooking the road."
"He was up there, sure as a gun. He's the only one who could have done the work so clean and sharp. Just look at this," continued the sheriff, as he held the pistol in front of the driver. "Just look at this mark! The ball struck the barrel in exactly the right spot. ”

“ William Spalding was born on the 22nd of May in the year 1809, at Aberdeen. His father was a practising lawyer as a member of the Society of Advocates in that town, and held office as Procurator Fiscal of the district, or local representative of the law officers of the crown, in the investigation of crimes and the prosecution of criminals. Spalding's mother, Frances Read, was well connected among the old and influential families of the city. When he went to school, Spalding was known to be the only son of a widow. He had one sister who died in early life. ”

“ Her home was at Philadelphia, and she naturally wanted her husband at her home. A most tempting increase of salary, if he would remain, added its allurements to the situation. Anson decided that he must not go to Chicago and wrote to President Hulbert for his release. Mr. Hulbert showed me the letter. I told him to pay no attention to it—and not to release the player.
"Oh, what's the use?" said Hulbert. "He'll break his contract. We've lost Sutton; we'll lose Anson."
"It is true," I replied, "that we have lost Sutton; but we haven't lost Anson." ”

“ Hulbert going into his pocket and giving the man fifty dollars. He said: 'Devlin, that's what I think of you personally; but, damn you, you have sold a game; you are dishonest, and this National League will not stand for it. We are going to expel you.'
"I have lived in those days. I have seen the result of such action. The New York and Philadelphia Clubs were expelled and you are enjoying the fruits of it; it gave a standing to this national sport. The expelling of those players has preserved the integrity of professional Base Ball, and you have not had a case since. ”

“ Paul Jeffreson had genius, Mr. Spalding didn’t deny it; immortal genius; but he had no morals; he drank; he drugged; in Mr. Spalding’s decent phrase, he did everything he shouldn’t do.
You would have thought this overwhelming disaster would have completely outweighed the other trouble. But no; Mr. Spalding had a balanced mind; he mourned with equal sorrow the loss of his wife and the loss of his Absolute. A flaw in a metaphysical system may seem to you a small thing ”

“ I was complimented by both the learned pundits, as though I had added a great item to the aggregate of human knowledge."
"You did do a great thing, my friend," said Spalding, "you solved a mystery about which men, wise in the learning of the books, had perhaps been disputing for centuries. What are the peepers? asked the naturalist, who listened to their piping notes from the marshy places in the spring time. It was a matter of small practical importance, what they were. Still it was a question which MIND wanted to have solved. Its solution would do no great amount of good to the world. ”

“ He is 52 years of age and served as umpire for eleven years, part of the time for the Eastern League, and for the National League from 1896 to 1899, when he retired from the game until his election to the presidency. He has an excellent record as umpire, both for his ability to make accurate and prompt decisions, and for his unswerving integrity in his treatment of players, management and the public. ”

“ It was quite evident that the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was no better equipped to deal with the situation than had been its predecessor. The abuses that had played havoc with the old association were not only continued, but were rapidly increasing in numbers and strength under the new organization. It was not conceivable that the men who were depending upon the game as a means of obtaining a livelihood were desirous of deliberately wrecking it. ”

“ At the end of the first innings the score stood 3 to 0 in favor of the Red Stockings, who were playing with their usual confidence and in splendid form. In the next three innings, however, the Atlantics got in four runs and shut out the visitors, thereby securing a lead of one run. Friends of the Atlantics began to enthuse over the situation; but the Cincinnati players, with the sublime courage that ever characterized their game, rallied, and in the next two innings gained two runs to one for the Atlantics, tieing the score, which remained unchanged in the ninth. ”

“ New York, the greatest sporting city in the world, and loyal to the game to the very core, has been subjected to the most wretched management in its Base Ball affairs. It is unfortunate that Mr. Spalding, upon assuming the Presidency of the National League, must enter upon a law suit, but perhaps matters will straighten out ere the season opens. There is one thing to be remembered, however, and that is: Mr. Spalding will have the American public back of him, which Mr. Freedman, even if triumphant in the legal battle, never can hope for. Without the support of the public success is impossible. ”

“ Without disparagement to others, it is safe to say that public opinion accords to Mr. Spalding a foremost place among the ministers of New Hampshire. Certainly no pastor of the ancient First church ever had a greater public respect or a deeper personal affection. His administration of a strong and thinking society goes on without even a ripple. ”

“ In New York, batsmen were out on balls caught on the first bound; in New England, base runners were out by being "soaked" by thrown balls, and everywhere a batsman might wait all the afternoon for a strike ball, he alone being the judge of what he would strike at.
The organization of the National Association of Base Ball Players, in 1858, therefore marked a new era in the history of the game, for it was then that there was put in operation for the first time a code of rules, framed by a special committee of the new association for that express purpose. ”

“ At Sheffield the Americans defeated a Sheffield team by 130 runs in one inning to 43 and 45, a total of 88 in their two innings. At Manchester they defeated the Manchester twelve by 221 to 95 in a two-innings game. In playing against an "AllIrish" team, at Dublin, the ball players won by 168 to 78.
The American ball players who accompanied me to Great Britain upon the occasion of this first visit of such an organization to foreign shores constituted two teams that had demonstrated their superiority in many hardfought contests. ”

“ I told him she would be happier in Chicago. He referred to the offer of $2,.500 a year—far more than he had ever received—and said:
"I can't afford to lose the money."
"You can't afford to break your contract," I replied.
"That's about so, too," he acknowledged; but still he held out. Meanwhile, in his determination to remain at Philadelphia, Anson had subjected himself to daily interviews in the Chicago papers, in which he stubbornly declared his intention of remaining and playing in the East. Mr. Hulbert was convinced that Anson was lost. I told him not to fear. ”