A decendant of Deputy Sheriff Banks has been forwarding material to me
recently that relates to the Banks family and Twain...he sent the photo of
the "new" Stormfield Construction Crew this past summer. This one comes via
a 40 pager that covers the life of Howard Platt.

Howard here describes a horse he got from the Twain estate...Jean's horse.
Thought it was a good story to share....

"One of the best horses I ever owned was a horse that Mark Twain had sent
over from England for his daughter to ride.  She never rode him much as she
died shortly after.  That horse would do anything you asked him to do.

Scotty, that was his name.

One morning I took milk over to the Ridge with Scotty.  After I unloaded the
milk and picked up my eight empty cans, I drove up to the platform of John
Munich's store to get some groceries and, as I stepped from the wagon onto
the platform, John drove up with his car and the horse started down the
hill.  I asked John if he would go after him.  He said he was no cowboy but
he would.

We got down to Little River and there stood Mr. Tucker holding the horse.
Tucker said he saw him coming and tried to stop him but, when he got into
the road, the horse threw himself.  The lines had got caught in the wheel
and rolled up so tight that they threw him.  Tucker cut the lines and that
let him up.  It did not do much damage but it cracked the shaft.  I tied up
the lines and we went back up to the store...

I met Milo Osborn who lived at the top of the hill.  He said, "I never, in
all my life, seen a horse run as fast as that horse did.  He was just
flying."

The finish of Scotty

I went to harness him one morning and he was bleeding from the nose.  I put
a wet bag on his neck and head and called the vet.  He came down and said,
"I can stop it.  You keep those bags wet."  He blew some powder up in his
nostrils and the bleeding eased up.  I told the vet that was the end.  He
said, "No, he has not laid down yet."  I told him when he laid down that
would be the end and, about that time, he laid down and that was the end.

I threw a blanket over him as I had to go to Danbury the next day. The
doctor came up as he was the Board of Health, and asked me if I had a dead
horse up back of the barn.  I said, "Yes."  "Well, I had a compliant this
morning that he smelled bad."  He said I would have to bury him that night.

I drew him over back and buried him and put a heap of hay and the blanket
over where he was as I knew who made the complaint.

The next day the doctor came up again.  "Now, Howard, I don't want to make
any trouble for you but you will have to dispose of that horse."  "You get
in the car and I will show you where that horse is." I said.

We got in and started over back.  We got about half way there and he asked
me if I was taking him for a ride.  We finally got to where the hay was with
the blanket over it.  The doctor said, "Well, that's something."  I knew
very well who made the complaint but the doctor would not tell me.  I left
the pile of hay there with the blanket over it so the old maids could see
because I knew they was the only ones that could see where the horse died."