They wore their pantaloons in their boots; their hair was long, bushy and untrimmed; their faces had evidently never made the acquaintance of a razor.

They seemed determined to win the race by fair means or foul.

They did a great deal of swearing, and swaggered about in rather a ruffianly style.
All these incidents attracted my attention--everything being new to me--and became firmly impressed upon my memory.

My father, being unaccustomed to the ways of such rough people, acted very cautiously; and as they were all very anxious to bet on their own horse, he could not be induced to wager a very large sum on Little Gray, as he was afraid of foul play.
"Wa-al, now, stranger," exclaimed one of the crowd, "what kind o' critter have you got anyhow, as how you're afraid to back him up very heavy ?" "I'll bet five to one agin the emergrant's, gray," said another.
"I'm betting the same way.

I'll go yer five hundred dollars agin a hundred that the gray nag gits left behind.