CHAPTER V.
YORK—PORT DEPOSIT—BALTIMORE—SUCCESS—DIPLOMA—GETTING WHIPPED—CLASS OF 3,500.
Early in the spring of 1870, I entered the city of York. The roads were bad, making traveling, outside of the city, difficult and unpleasant, so that few came in from the surrounding country. Notwithstanding this, I met with encouraging success, and during the three days of my stay I formed a class of one hundred and thirty members. Amongst my pupils was an old man who had numbered a hundred and five years of life. After studying my system he declared that, during the short period of my stay, he had received more valuable instruction relating to horse education than in all his previous life.
I next pitched my tent in the beautiful village, Port Deposit, and was gratified by receiving a good “deposit” from the hands of the people, as nearly one hundred of them joined my class. It was at this place that I achieved a victory which spread my name far and wide. A horse, notoriously vicious, was brought for me to educate. He was an animal who, as I was credibly informed, had killed his former owner, eaten the leg nearly off his son and fearfully mangled the arm of the groom. I applied my system in all its force, knowing that he would require decided treatment to subdue him, and, to the amazement of the spectators, in a little while the ferocious steed became gentle as a lamb. He stood in the presence of that gazing multitude entirely subdued. When the excitement had somewhat subsided, some of the leading and influential citizens were so impressed with the value of my system as to exert themselves in getting up a testimonial which, after being numerously signed, was presented to me, and which I have since had the pleasure of exhibiting to thousands. The following description of the horse referred to and of the success with which I trained him may prove interesting to the reader:
Port Deposit, Md., August 31, 1870.
We, the undersigned, residents of this place and vicinity, were induced to enter Prof. Pratt’s class for instructions in educating the horse. At first many of us doubted the superiority of his system, especially from the low price he charges for instructions, believing it impossible to learn so much in a short space of time for so little money; suffice it to say, we went in and all were more than satisfied. Illustrative of which we give a brief description of the “Biting Horse,” owned by Mr. Snyder, near this town. This horse is a brown stallion, 15½ hands high, closely built, and an animal of great endurance, for which he is highly valued by Mr. Snyder, who purchased him of a farmer in New Jersey for a very low price on account of his most pernicious habit of biting, the horse having bitten out two ribs of the farmer and broken the leg of the son. Whilst in possession of his present owner he has bitten off the arm of his groom, who brought him into the Professor’s pavilion. We saw and conversed with this groom. The horse had on a strong iron muzzle, a pine stick was inserted in the mouth, which he seized with madness; upon its removal he gritted his teeth most fiercely. In twenty minutes or less, Prof. Pratt had the muzzle off, his hand in the horse’s mouth pulling out the tongue. In a few minutes after he drove the same horse in the street without holdbacks. When he said “whoa,” the horse stopped. When he said “go,” the horse went. Thus proving to two hundred that his system is no fraud, but of all others “excelsior.”
The scholars in this place numbered in three days 87, among whom were the following named gentlemen: