Excerpt from Man-O-War Rhymes You men of that unfathomed wild: Where goes no man unreconciled To wrestle with the destinies Ordained upon the seven seas; As one who holds your ills at heart, Has lived of your strange life a part, To you, of every clime and clan, Here I would speak, as man to man; Men hailed from forecastle and poop, On yacht and schooner, bark and sloop, On liner, merchantman and brig, Split-s'l, cat, yawl and full-rig; On gun-boat, cruiser, man o' war - These simple rhymes were written for. I would that each befitting line Might be a tiny, lasting shrine To all your noble, roving kind - And to their deeds I've had in mind. The men who've sniffed the deep sea air; Who've braved the seas with poles stripped bare; Who've heard the free screws pound and race; Who've felt the salt sprays lash the face; Who've lost the lights of shoal and beach, And sailed where lead could never reach About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Man O’ War, or “Big Red” as he was affectionately called, was the greatest racehorse that ever lived. In 1919 and 1920, he won 20 of 21 starts and set eight records, including three world records, while conceding as much as 30 pounds to his rivals. His time in the Belmont Stakes at 1 mile, 3 furlongs stood for an incredible 50 years. On three separate occasions, bookmakers quoted him at an astronomical 1-100. Credited with reviving the sport of horseracing in much the same way as Babe Ruth did professional baseball, Man O’ War’s final contest was a match race against Sir Barton, the first Triple Crown winner, where he vanquished the Canadian horse by seven lengths. He was sire to War Admiral, Crusader, and Battleship, and was grandsire to Seabiscuit, who perhaps most of all inherited the indomitable spirit and great heart of the champion. With his distinctive blazing white star on his forehead and deep red coat, Man O’ War was a major star in the first half of the twentieth century. Bought for the modest sum of $5,000 by Pennsylvania horseman Samuel Riddle, Man O’ War ended up winning more money than any American horse up to that time. He lost only once, in a controversial race, and was so good that on the occasion when he carried the heaviest weight ever assigned to a three-year-old, he set a track record, winning by multiple lengths. Rather than jeopardize the health of his horse under such enormous weights, Riddle elected to retire the brilliant animal at the age of three. Man O’ War lived for 27 more years and sired 379 foals, 61 of which were stakes winners. He was a legend in his lifetime and under the constant care of his groom, Will Harbut, he was visited by legions of fans at his Kentucky farm. “You need not care much about horses or racing, but, by the time you come to the end, you will.”—New York Herald Tribune