Identifier: sportonlandwater01gris (find matches)
Title: Sport on land and water : recollections of Frank Gray Griswold
Year: 1913 (1910s)
Authors: Griswold, F. Gray (Frank Gray), 1854-1937
Subjects: Horses Fox hunting Fishing Horse racing
Publisher: (Norwood, Mass.) : Privately printed (The Plimpton Press)
Contributing Library: Webster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine
Digitizing Sponsor: Tufts University

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ight lay farmland of 20 SPORT ON LAND AND WATER the usual Long Island type — fields ofsomewhat rugged grass, now browned andscorched by the outgoing heat-season, andstubble and dust garden remaining fromlately gathered harvest. The whole isupon a sandy, light loamy soil that neverbakes hard, and so never rebels obstinatelyagainst a horses footfall. Thus concus-sion is minimized; and horses can go jump-ing freely year after year. On the otherhand, it is never very deep or spongy withwet — the descending rain finding its wayrapidly to the water level, some six feetonly below the surface. *Surely you dont ride at a flight ofrails like that.f^ I inquired, pointing to afirst barricade that met my troubled gaze— to wit, a morticed erection of oaken bars,each of them as thick as a mans thigh andthe lot carried considerabty higher thanan ordinary Leicestershire gate. Why,yes! Thats nothing much. The farmersaim at setting their fences at four feeteight, to keep their stock in. I asked no
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THE QUEENS COUNTY 21 more; but held my peace while the horridparallel intruded itself upon my mind, ofthe condemned man in the prison cartcatching a first view of the gallows await-ing him. But I gazed and gazed, as eachsuccessive bone trap hove in view; and,you may depend upon it, the longer Ilooked the less I liked them. And Iwondered who would ride the horses athome in Old England.^ But at the rendezvous were those wewere now to ride. For me a tried andproven hunter — a brown gelding, Ship-mate by name, up to fully fourteen stone,and with shoulders good enough to allayat least some of the qualms engenderedduring my recent drive. For my host, Mr.Roby (I shall make no apology for decorat-ing my little tale with the names thatbelong to it, and that may mark it with itsdue imprint of veracity) — for him was a ^ It is all very well for a man to boast that, in all his life, hehas never been frightened, and believes that he never could be so.There may be men of that nature — I will

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