Keeping as many sports as Ben did in his place it became necessary, at times, to devise some means of entertaining them--for Babylon was not a very big town, and the sights were limited. On one occasion Ben enlivened Sunday by getting up a hurdle-race, which was contested by girls in short skirts. Of course a big crowd turned out; the girls never troubled themselves about the purse of one hundred dollars which had been offered (on paper), and Ben did a flourishing business over the bar. At another time he dressed up fifteen of the boys in girl's clothing, mounted them upon horses, and, acting himself as the general of this feminine army, made a week's tour of the oil regions. Every town that was then of any importance was visited, and it need hardly be said that the company picked up a good deal of stray money. Perhaps one of the most amusing dodges which Hogan originated, was his pulley-weight trick. He had a set of ordinary weights, such as are found in every gymnasium, but he made them pay more than such apparatus ever did before. This is how he worked it: Taking the occasion when the place was full of loungers, he would walk up to the pulley-weights himself, and placing his back to the board draw them out, at the same time pretending to use a great deal of strength. Then he would step back, remarking: "I don't believe there's anybody in the house that can do that!" Somebody would immediately try it, and, of course, pull the weights up with perfect ease--they weighed only thirty-six pounds. Then somebody else would want to try it, and after a dozen or so had shown off their strength, Ben would say: "Well, by thunder, you're a muscular crowd! But I tell you--it's one thing to lift up the weights, and another to keep 'em up. Now I'll bet the drinks for the house that you can't hold the weights up, say for two minutes!" There would always be enough ready to accept this bet. Having got somebody holding on to the weights, Ben would have a negro, who was trained for the purpose, go around outside of the building, where the ropes came through, and just as the fellow inside had braced himself for the pull, the darkey would give such a jerk as to hurl him back with a good deal more suddenness than was pleasant. Of course the victim had to stand the drinks for the party, and the money went over the bar.