iteley racin' his horses through the grain and
leanin' over with his long arms to pick the mice's nests from just in
front of the knife," said an old Ohio settler.

The feat that first made Whiteley famous was performed at Jamestown, Ohio,
in 1867. His competitor was doing as good work as he was; whereupon he
sprang from his seat, unhitched one horse, and finished his course with a
single, surprised steed pulling the heavy machine. His competitor followed
suit, and succeeded fully as well. This enraged Whiteley, who at that time
was as powerful as a young Hercules.

"I can pull my reaper myself," he shouted, turning his second horse loose,
and yoking his big shoulders into its harness. Such a thing had never
been done before, and has never been done since; but it is true that, in
the passion of the moment, Whiteley was filled with such strength that he
ran the reaper from one side of the field to the other, cutting a full
swath--a deed that, had he done it in ancient Greece, would have placed
him among the immortals. It was witnessed by five hundred farmers, and
fully reported in the press. One of the reporters, as it happened,
representing the _Cincinnati Commercial_, was a young Ohioan named
Whitelaw Reid, now the American Ambassador to the Court of St. James.

That ten minutes in a horse collar made $2,000,000 for Whiteley. His
antagonist, Benjamin H. Warder, was filled with admiration for Whiteley's
prowess, and at once proposed that they should quit fighting and work in
harmony.

"Give me the right to make your reaper and I'll pay you $5 apiece for all
I can sell," said Warder. "It's a bargain," responded Whiteley. And so
there arose the first consolidation in the harvester business.

Whiteley and Warder did not merge their companies; but they divided the
United States into three parts--one for Whiteley, one for his brother
Amos, who also made reapers in Springfield, and one for Warder. They
united in building a malleable iron foundry and a knife works, so that
they could use better materials at a lower cost. They made the first
handsome and shapely machines.

For twelve years this triple alliance led the way, and all others, even
the mighty McCormick and the sagacious Deering, had to follow. The
"Champion" reaper became the leading machine of the United States, and the
little town of Springfield, Ohio, was known as the "Reaper City." As many
as 160,000 reapers and mowers were sent out as a year's work. In all