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."