Book Backdrop for Step Right Up by Donna Janell Bowman – Object #2

“Beautiful Jim Key is now thirteen years old, and is of a handsome mahogany-bay color, of the Arabian type, with a long black tail and mane. He has a thoughtful and knowing expression in his black eyes which speaks the kindness that he expresses by his belonging to the ‘Jim Key Band of Mercy.’ This Band tries to benefit all animals, and surely ‘Jim Key’ was sent here to help all his four-footed friends…The pledge to this Band is, ‘I will try to be kind to all harmless living creatures and try to protect them from cruel usages.’…Beautiful Jim Key was born in Tennessee, and was faithfully cared for by his old master, Dr. William Key, who although nearly seventy years old, still exhibits him. These two have been constant companions, and it is a touching sight to see the love between this good, kind gentleman and his trusting horse. ‘Jim’ showed unusual traits from the time that he was a colt, for he would follow his master around as a dog will do, and he was so curious to see and to know what everything was that he soon learned how to do many things…First. Jim opens school, that is, he rings the bell for school to open. Jim goes to his little trunk and pushes up the cover with his nose, takes out two bells by the handles, and holding them tightly in his mouth, he shakes them while walking around the stage, and so he rings his class to order. Second. Jim picks out any letter of the alphabet, paying-card, or number asked for. On a tall rack behind him are alphabetically arranged all the letters on white pasteboard cards, about the size of a playing card, with each letter printed in large black type; and when any one in the audience asks him for a letter, he walks to this rack and with his mouth gently takes the one asked for, and brings it right side up to the front of the stage…Third. Jim shows his proficiency in figuring, adding, multiplying, dividing, and subtracting in any numbers below thirty. This is really the most marvelous test of horse intellect that I have ever seen performed…Fourth. Jim spells any ordinary name asked him…Fifth. He reads and writes. Sixth. Jim goes to the postoffice, gets the mail from any box requested, and files the letter in a regular letter-file under any letter asked him…Seventh. Jim distinguishes various pieces of money, and goes to a cash register and rings up any amount asked for, bringing the correct change… Eighth. Gives quotations from the Bible, where the horse is mentioned, giving chapter and verse…Tenth. Uses the telephone…I hope that after the little readers have become acquainted with this wonderful horse, they will think of him always, and help all poor animals who are in need of homes and kind treatment, and above all report all cases which they may see of abuse in horses, either by whipping them or by making them draw overloaded wagons. And try to keep water in your yards for the dogs, cats, and birds, and do what you can to have watering-places for horses in the streets. All this will help ‘Beautiful Jim Key’ in his work of befriending animals, and please remember that this educated horse was taught by kindness.”