a\




THE
TROTTING HORSE OF AERICA:
HOW TO TRAIN AND DRIVE HIM.
WITH
REMINISCENCES OF THEITROTTING TURF.
BY
HIRAM WOODRUFF..
EDITED. BY CHARLES;J. FOSTER
OF "WILKES' SPIRIT OF THE TIMES."
INCLUDING AN INTRODUCTORY NOTICE BY GEORGE WILKES, AND
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BY THE EDITOR.
NEW  YORK:
J. B. FORD AND COMPANY.
1871.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year x868, by
J. B. FORD AND COMPANY.
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York.
UNIVERSITY PRESS: WELCH, BIGELOW, & CO.,
CAMBRIDGE.




IN
CONFORMITY WITH THE INTENTION AND DIRECTION
OF
THE AUTHOR,
AND
MUCH TO THE GRATIFICATION OF THE EDITOR,
THIS WORK
IS, BY PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED TO
ROBERT BONNER, ESQ.,
BY WHOM ITS COMPOSITION WAS
FIRST SUGGESTED.








EDITOR'S PREFACE.
T HE composition of this work was first suggested
by Mr. ROBERT BONNER, who fully appreciated
the original views and vast experience of HIRAM
WOODRUFF in all matters pertaining to the art of
training and driving the trotting-horse. At the
earnest solicitation of Mr. GEORGE WILKES (the editor
of " The Spirit of the Times "), and of some other of his
friends, HIRAM agreed to undertake it. They believed,
and their arguments induced him to believe, that such
a work from him would be a public benefit to the
owners of horses, and a service to the horse himself.
From the nature of the avocations to which he had
devoted himself with unparalleled success for forty
years, HIRAM WOODRUFF was not a ready penman; and
therefore it was not until the writer of this introduce
tory preface had promised to act as his amanuensis,
and to edit the work, that he consented to go on with
it. Its reception, when some chapters had been published, was such as to establish its value; and all those
who had been long acquainted with the author clearly
V




vi            EDITOR'S PREFA CE.
recognized his strong, original turn of thought, and
painstaking anxiety to make it eminently practical and
useful. During its composition, there were some delays caused by the great application necessary on the
part of the author to his business as trainer and
driver of horses. He had sometimes as many as
twenty in his charge; and he felt that at such periods
he could not, with justice to the work itself and to
them, continue its composition.
To suggestions that the public was eager for the
book, and wanted it completed early, he commonly
replied that he wanted it completed well. There was,
he said, no more reason for hurrying out this, his only
work, than there would be in his hurrying on the education of a horse that he deemed certain to make a
trotter. He was no believer in the "forcing" process, and always contended that the book would be
all the better for the extra time he had resolved to
devote to it. Nothing could exceed his anxiety to
avoid any thing that by misapplication might be mischievous. He was eminently a man of clear, strong
views, and of few, terse words. Many of the most
valuable and well-tried conclusions of his genius and
experience will be found set down in his literal
words in a very few lines. I have never met with a
man who was so quick and direct in coming at the
kernel of a question, and who threw away the husk
and shell so promptly as utterly worthless.
Just before his last illness, the materials for the com



EDITOR'S PREFACE.              vi
pletion of the book were all arranged, and I received
his directions to that end. During the progress of the
work, I had some hundreds of interviews with him,
during which he dictated the matter now presented
to the reader in this volume. It was his custom to
read carefully every chapter as it appeared in "The
Spirit of the Times," and he gave a few directions for
emendations. These have been strictly followed. His
memory was marvellous, not only of events, but of
the little details connected with them; and he had such
a graphic way of describing matters and things, that
his hearers and his readers were carried to the scene
and time, and virtually made spectators of the things
themselves. He was utterly intolerant of quackery in
any shape; and his readers may rely upon it that the
only way to develop the gifts and capabilities of the
trotting-horse is to employ those elements which
HIRAM WOODRUFF brought to the composition of this
work,- judgment, conscientious painstaking to be
right, and much perseverance.








CONTENTS.
EDITOR'S PREFACE,  ~   ~  ~...        t
HIRAM WOODRUF.....   XV1i
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR... 
Reason for writing the Book. -Necessity for Practical Experience in Training. - The Author's Experience. - Improvement in Tracks and Vehicles.
-Causes of Improvement in Time.-Originality of the American System. - Its great Superiority to the English System. - Rules as to Breaking fromthe Trot...... 37
II.
Handling of the Colt. - The Trot a Natural Gait. - Great Speed the Result
of Long Handling. - Method for the Colt. - Moderation best in Feeding.
-Early Maturity followed by Early Decay. -The Trotter should last
Many Years. - Feeding of Weanlings. —No Physic unless the Colt is
Sick. -- Feeding of the Yearling. -The Starving System worse than
High Feeding..,. 44
Feeding of the Two-Year-Old. -M outhing and Bitting. - Lounging. - Temper. -Leading on the Road. -Much Walking to be avoided. —When
harnessed, a Wagon better than a Sulky. -Amount of Work to depend
on Constitution and Condition. - Remedy for Broken Gait. - Pulling to
be avoided. - Increase of Feed.                              51
IV.
Effects of Early Development. - Colts often overworked. -Fast Three-YearOlds and Four-Year-Olds. — Risk of hurting Stamina. - Earlier Maturity
of Running-Horses. -Evils of overtraining Colts...       69
V.
Actual Training of the Three-Year-Old. -No Physic and no Sweat at first.
- Danger of I' Overmarking.22 - Strong Feed of Oats and Hay. — Bran



r                           CON TEN TS.
Mashes.-Rubbing the Legs.-Full Supply of Water.-Management
before and in the Race. - Strains likely to stand Early Training. — The
Abdallahs...67
VI.
Characteristics of the Stars. - Of the Bashaws. - The Clays. - The Trustees. —Natural Trotters in England. —Of Trotters that paced. —To
make Pacers trot..                                              75
VII.
Horses that pace and trot too. - Not to be trusted on the Course.- Trotters
that amble off in a Pace when first out of the Stable. -Speed, and its
Relation to Stoutness. - The Gray Mare Peerless. - Styles of Going. -
Gait of Flora Temple and Ethan Allen. - Bush Messenger's Get. - Vermont Hambletonian's Get. - Influence of Messenger. - Hobbling in
Jogging., 8,
VIII.
Treatment the Winter before Training. -Frozen and Slippery Roads Bad.
-Fattening up, an Evil. —The Feed in Winter.-Treatment in complete Let-up. - Clothing. - The Feet. - "Freezing out," Mischievous. -
Horses that need Blistering. -Food and Treatment. - Stabling all Winter.- Treatment and Exercise. - Constitution to be kept in View. —
Shedding-Time. - Walking Exercise. - Jogging. - No Fast Work at
First.-No Physic commonly required.                             90
IX.
Feed while Jogging: —Brushing in the Work. —Length of the Brush.Advance of Condition to be noted. - The Feed. - The First Trial. - Of
the Sweats.-Feed and Clothing afterwards.-Tight Bandaging bad.. 99
X.
Work after the Sweat. -Trial after the Sweat. -Preparation for the Trial.
-Amount of Work.-No Arbitrary Rule possible.- The Mile-Trial. -
Of Condition, Game, and Bottom. -Work after the First Race. -Preparation for Three-mile Heats. —Much Slow Work reduces Speed.Time of Three-mile Preparation. —Of the Trials. -Work after the
Final Trial.                                                    106
x.I.
Stout Horses stand a strong Preparation. - State of the Legs to be watched.
-Idlewild and Lady Palmer.-No Device a Substitute for Work.Ten-mile Preparation. -A Steady Rating Capacity wanted. -The Preparation to be Long. -The Feed to be Strong. —Effects of the Work to
be watched. - The Trials. — Management of the Race. - The Races of
Kentucky Prince and Hero the Pacer...... 118




CONTENTS.                               xi
XII.
Early Reminiscences. -My First Race. -My Second. - Lady Kate against
Time. -Paul Pry against Time. —The Riders of Thirty Years ago. -
Requisites of a Good Rider. - Drilling Horses. - Lady Sefton... 12
XIII.
Messenger's Son, Topgallant. - His Wonderful Endurance. - My Uncle,
George Woodruff. - Topgallant's Race when Twenty-two Years Old. -
His Race when Twenty-four Years Old. - Three-mile Heats. -His Race
of Three-mile Heats the next Week.                               128
XIV.
The Indian Horse Lylee. —Runjeet Singh's Passion for Horses —The Battles fought for Lylee. - Description of him. - Lady Blanche. —Awful.His Race with Screwdriver. — Blanche, Snowdrop, and Beppo. - Death
of Blanche. —Ajax and Oneida Chief.-Their Road-Race to Sleighs.Brown Rattler......... 135
XV.
The Trotter Dutchman. - Description of him. - Pedigree doubtful. - Dutchman and Locomotive.-Dutchman and Yankee Doodle. -Dutchman,
Fanny Pullen, and Confidence. - Dutchman and Lady Slipper. - Dutchman, Lady Warrenton, Teamboat, and Norman Leslie. - Dutchman and
Greenwich Maid. -Dutchman and Washington. - Dutchman, Lady Suffolk, and Rattler. -Description of Lady Suffolk and Rattler..    142
XVI.
Dutchman and Lady Suffolk. - Dutchman, Lady Suffolk, Mount Holly, and
Harry Bluff. - Dutchman and Awful. - Dutchman against Time, Three
Miles. - The Race and Incidents.                                 149
XVII.
Dutchman and Washington. -Dutchman, Washington, and the Ice Pony. -
Washington's best Mark. -Dutchman and Rifle. - Dutchman, Americus, and Lady Suffolk. -A Great, Race in a Great Storm. -Dutchman,
Oneida Chief, and Lady Suffolk. -Dutchman's Last Race..-His Death. 156
XVIII.
Other Performances of Dutchman.- Application of Facts to Principles. —
Dutchman's Steady Improvement.- Endurance of Trotters and Running-Horses compared...               163
XIX.
The Story of Ripton. - Description of him. - Ripton and Mount Holly. -
Ripton and Kate Kearney. - Peter Whelan and George Youngs. - Ripton and Don Juan. - Necessity of Work and Practice. - Ripton, Dutchman, Confidence, and Spangle. - Ripton, Duchess, and Quaker. - Ripton
and Revenge. - Ripton and Lady Suffolk. - A Fast, Close Race.,.1 1




IIP                        CONTENTS.
XX.
Ripton, Brandywine, and Don Juan. - R;ipton and Quaker. - Ripton and
Spangle. - Ripton, Lady Suffolk, and Washington. - Ripton and Confidence. - Ripton and Americus. - Ripton's Performances in 1842 recapit.
ulated. - Conclusion enforced. - Time wanted for Maturity. - Ripton
required much Work.....  178
XXI.
Ripton's Three Matches with Americus. - Ripton in Mud. - Ripton in Snow.
- Sleighing on the Harlem Road. - Ripton and Confidence. - Owner's
Instructions.- An Old Horse to be kept Warm between Heats. -Match
with Bay Boston.                                             185
XXII.
Ripton and Lady Sutton.-Lady Button and Lady Moscow.-Death of
Lady Moscow. -Her Burial-place. -Her Produce. -Horses she trotted
against. - Ripton and Lady Suffolk. - Ripton, Sorrel Ned, and Snake.
— Ripton and Jersey.- Ripton's Last Race.                    192
XXIII.
Ability to pull Weight considered.-Form best calculated for it.-Mere
Bulk useless. - Long Striders seldom Weight-pullers. - Kemble JackSon. - Description of him. - Kemble Jackson and Washington. - Kemble Jackson and the Nelson Colt. —Kemble Jackson and Black Harry.-:Kemble Jackson, O'Blenis, Lady Brooks, and Pelham. - Kemble Jackson, Mountain Maid, and Flash. -The Kemble Jackson Check. - Kemble Jackson, O'Blenis, Pet, Iola, Boston Girl, and Honest John..  199
XXIV.
O'Blenis against the Field. -Immense Attendance at the Race. -Expectations that Kemble would break. -His Great Victory. -His Early Death.
- Weight-pulling Mares. — Lady Palmer. - Peerless. - California Damsel. -.-English Theory about Trotting-Weight. -.205
XXV.
The Gray Mare Lady Suffolk. -Her Pedigree.- Place of Breeding. — Sale
to David Bryan. - Description.of Lady Suffolk. - Her Performances. -
More than Fifteen Years on the Course. - Trotted 138 Races and won 88
Times. -Suffolk and Sam Patch. -Suffolk and Black Hawk. - Suffolk
and the Virginia Mare. - Suffolk and Rattler. - Suffolk, Dutchman, and
Rattler. —Suffolk and Awful. — Suffolk, Napoleon, Cato, and Ion.Suffolk, Dutchman, and Rattler again. -Suffolk and Dutchman... 211
XXVI.
E t.garding Early Maturity. - Lady Suffolk and Apollo. - Lady Suffolk and
Dutchman. - Suffolk and Cato. - Suffolk, Lady Victory, and Lafayette.
- Suffolk, Henry, Celeste, and Cato. - Suffolk and Don Juan. - Suffolk




CONTENTh.                             xiii
and Ellen Jewett. - Suffolk and Independence. - Suffolk and Dutchman.
- Suffolk, Celeste, and Napoleon. - Suffolk against Time. - Suffolk
against Bonaparte. - Suffolk and Aaron Burr.                   218
XxvII.
Suffolk, Confidence, and Washington. - Suffolk, Confidence, and Aaron
Burr. - Suffolk, Awful, and Aaron Burr. - Suffolk and Ripton. - Suffolk and Oneida Chief the Pacer. - Suffolk and Americus, Five-mile
Heats.- Suffolk, Ripton, and Confidence.- Suffolk and Rifle, vs. Hardware and Apology. -Long Tails and Docking.- Suffolk and Ripton. -
Suffolk, Beppo, and Independence.- Suffolk, Beppo, and Oneida Chief.
-Suffolk, Americus, Ripton, Washington, and Pizarro. — Suffolk, J. C.
Calhoun, and Fairy Queen-.                                     225
XXVIII.
Suffolk, Brown Columbus, and Americus.-More Races with Americus.Suffolk and Duchess. —Suffolk and Moscow.-Suffolk, Moscow, and
Americus. —Suffolk and James K. Polk the Pacer. - Suffolk and Hector. -Suffolk at Saratoga. - Suffolk and Roanoke the Pacer. —Suffolk
and Lady Sutton. - Suffolk and Ripton, between Christmas Day and
New Year-s.-Suffolk, Lady Sutton, and Lady Moscow. —Moscow's
son, Privateer. —Suffolk, Sutton, and Americus. —Suffolk and James
iK. Polk. - Suffolk lamed at Saratoga.                         233
XXIX.
Suffolk and Lady Moscow. - Suffolk, Mac, Gray Eagle, and Gray Trouble. -
Suffolk and Pelham.- Suffolk, Pelham, and Jack Rossiter. -Lady Suffolk, Lady Sutton, and Pelham. - Suffolk, Trustee, and Pelham. - Breeding of Trustee. - Description of Trustee. - Suffolk and Long-Island
Black Hawk. -Description of Black Hawk. —Death of Trustee... 240
XXX.
Lady Suffolk in 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853. —Her Retirement and Death.-The
Story of Flora Temple. —Opening Chapter of her History, by George
Wilkes........247
XXXI.
Capacity of Small Horses to pull Weight. -Flora Temple and Centreville. -
Flora and Black Douglas.-Flora and Young Dutchman.-Flora and
Lady Brooks. - Flora and Highland Maid.- Breeding of Highland
Maid. - Description of her. —Her Races with Flora.,.    258
XXXII.
Flora Temple and Tacony. - Description of Tacony. - Flora, Green-Mountain Maid, and Lady Vernon. - Description of Green-Mountain Maid. --
Flora and Rhode Island. -Flora goes to New Orleans, comes back, and
is purchased by Mr. Pettee. - Flora and Mac. -Flora and Jack Waters.




xiv                          CONTENTS.
-Flora and Sontag. - Flora's Match Twenty Miles to Wagon. -Flora
and Know-Nothing. -Description of Know-Nothing, afterwards Lancet.
-Flora and Lady Franklin. -Flora and Chicago Jack. -Flora, Frank
Forrester, Chicago Jack, and Miller's Damsel.                     260
XXXIII.
The Time-Test. — Saddle-Horses.- Riders of Trotters. — Mace, Murphy,
and Doble.-Flora and Lancet.-Trusting to Trials.-Flora and Tacony. -Flora distances him in 2m. 241s.- The True Explanation of
that Heat. —Caution to Young Drivers.                            274
XXXIV.
Flora and Lancet. - The Morgan Horses. -Ethan Allen. -His Breeding. -
His Produce.-Flora and Ethan Allen. —Flora's Winter-Quarters.Flora and Rose of Washington. -Want of Condition sure to beat any
thing. — Value of a Race in Public to produce Condition.... 281
XXXV.
Introduction of Hippodroming. — Flora, Lancet, Miller's Damsel, and Redbird.-Flora and Brown Dick. —Flora purchased by Mr. McDonald. -
Hippodroming again.-Flora and Prince. -Flora and Ike Cook.-Flora
and Reindeer. -The coming Horses, Princess and George M. Patchen.. 288
XXXVI.
Flora Temple and Ethan Allen. -Flora and Princess.- Description of Princess.-I-Ier Driver, James Eoff. —His Artful Strategy and Inveterate
Humbug.-Princess beats Flora Two-mile Heats.-Flora wins, MileHeats, Three in Five. -The Best Previous Time beaten in all the Heats. 295
XXXVII.
Flora Temple and Princess again. -Flora wins Two-Mile Heats. -They go
Hippodroming. -Flora trots in 2m. 21 s., with Ike Cook, at Cincinnati.
-Her Performance at Kalamazoo. -2nm. 19's.                        303
XXXVIII.
Flora Temple and George M. Patchen. - Description of Patchen. - His
Pedigree. - Patchen's Early Performances. - Dan Mace as a Driver and
Rider. - Flora and Ethan Allen.- Flora and Patchen again. - The best
Race ever made by Flora, and the best a Stallion ever made... 309
XXXIX.
Flora Temple and Patchen, Two-mile IIeats. —Flora and Patchen at Philadelphia. - Outside Interference... 316
XL.
Flora Temple and Patchen again. —A dishonored Check. -Appeal to aid
Decision of the Judges. -Flora and Brown Dick.. —Flora and Ethan
A.llen.-Fl3sa and Patchen again. -Flora against Dutchman's Time.. 322




CONTENTS.                              XV
XLI.
Flora Temple and George M. Patchen on a Tour. -Flora and Widow Machree.- Description of Widow Machree.- Flora and Princess again.Flora and John Morgan. —Breeding of John Morgan. — Description of
him...329
XLII.
Flora Temple and John Morgan. — The Fastest Two-mile Race that had
been trotted. - Remarks upon the Race.-The Three-mile-heat Race.
-Flora against Ethan Allen and a Running-Mate. -Flora before Gen.
Grant. -The Widow Machree....... 335
XLIII.
The King of the Trotters, Dexter. -Description and breeding bf him. -His
Purchase by Mr. George Alley. —His History prior to his coming to me.
-His First and Second Trials. - Dexter's First Race. -He beats Stonewall Jackson, Lady Collins, and Gen. Grant. -Dexter and Doty's Mare.
— Dexter, Shark, and Lady Shannon. —Dexter, Shark, and Hambletonian.- Dexter hits himself, and is drawn. -Evil of much Scoring.Dexter's Trial in November, 2m. 231s.. 341
XLIV.
Dexter's Three-mile Heats Match with Stonewall Jackson of Hartford. —
Description of Stonewall. - Dexter and Gen. Butler. - Dexter and Lady
Thorn. — Description of Lady Thorn. — The Three-Mile-Heat Race under
Saddle. — Dexter and Gen. Butler under Saddle. -Dexter, Butler, and
George Wilkes. -Dexter against Time, to beat 2m. 19s.... 355
XLV.
Dexter and Butler to Wagons, Mile Heats.- Two-Mile Heats to Wagons. -
The Best ever made. - Remarks upon the Race. -Dexter at Astoria. -
Eoff and George M. Patchen, Jun. —Dexter offered for Sale. —Dexter
and George M. Patchen, Jun. — Eoff's Strategy.                 362
XLVI.
Dexter sold to George Trussel. —Dexter, Gen. Butler, and Commodore
Vanderbilt. -Dexter goes to Budd Doble.-Dexter and George M..
Patchen at Philadelphia.. 371
XLVII.
Dexter, Gen. Butler, and Toronto Chief under Saddle.- Dexter and George
M. Patchen, Jun., at Avon Springs. —The Track Short. - Short Track no
Record. -Dexter, Patchen, Jun., and Rolla Golddust at Buffalo. - Dexter and Butler under Saddles.- Dexter trots in 2m. 18s.- Dexter,
Patchen, Jun., and Butler, at Cleveland. -Dexter and Patchen, Jun., at
Detroit. -Dexter and Patchen, Jun., at Chicago. -Dexter and Butler




xvi                         CONTENTS.
under Saddle. —Dexter and Patchen at Milwaukee.-Same at Atrian,
Toledo, Kalamazoo, and Wheeling. -Dexter and Magoogler the Pacer
at Pittsburg...                       379
XLVIII.:bexter, Polly Ann the Pacer, and Patchen, Jun., at Philadelphia. -D,' ter,
Silas Rich, and Patchen, Jun., at Baltimore. —Dexter under Saddle
against Time. -Dexter and Silas Rich at Washington. - Dexter's Performances that Year considered.- Integrity and Capacity of Budd
Doble. -No Reason to believe that Dexter then reached his best. -His
Fine Points. —Dexter compared to Peerless. —The Auburn Horse.Grand Combination of Qualities in Dexter.                      385
XLIX.
On Driving. - Difficulty of laying down Rules. -Importance of a Sensitive
Mouth. -The Bit proper for a Colt. -Much Use of" bitting" Apparatus
mischievous.- The Bits in cold Weather to be warmed before Use.- A
light, fine Hand required. - Pulling to be avoided. —Gentleness and
Firmness. - The Horse to be harnessed so as to be at ease. - Dead Pull
an Evil. -Proper Position of the Driver. - The Shift of the Bit.- How
to hold the Reins.-Severe Bits bad..31
L.
Of Breaking in Trotting. -A Gaining Break. - Snatching to be avoided. -
How to catch the Horse to his Trot. -Nature of the catching-pull. —
The Horse to to be steadied when he has caught. -A Break sometimes
Desirable. —How to bring it about. —Confidence of the Horse in his
Driver. —Sagacity of Horses.-To prevent a Break. —Signs of one
coming...... ~.. 398.PPENDIx.........05




HIRAM WOODRUFF.
IT has been remarked by philosophers, that the progress of the
human race is to be traced more distinctly in the individual history of its great men, than by any other process known to the human
observation. It has even been held by some writers, and among
them by Napoleon the Third, that the most familiar method by
which Providence confers his greatest benefits upon mankind is in
the raising up of favored men at certain periods, who, being imbued
with the new principles which are to advance the fortunes of their
era, are enabled "to stamp the age with the seal of their genius,
and to accomplish in a few years the labor of many centuries."
If this agreeable theory is correct, the humble trainer and driver
who departed this life at Jamaica Plains, Long Island, on the
morning of the 15th of March, 1867, may fairly rank among
the great men of his period, and be frankly awarded a full share
of the honors which are due to those who have been benefactors
to their country. We measure genius, not merely by a man's social
status, but by "the empire of his ideas," the results which they
enforce, and the benefits which inure through them to the world.
To bring this principle to its test for the purposes of our theme, we
find that there are but two nations of the earth which possess a race
of animals known as the trotting-horse. One of these nations is
Russia; the other, the United States. In the first-named country,
we find an animal proceeding from the Arabian fountain, fused, it
is said, upon the Flanders stock, whlich is called the Orloff trotter;
but this breed, though bending the knee when striding, and though
having in other respects the trotting action, is considered by good
judges as being only half-developed. In this country, on the other
hand, we have " a paragon of animals," which is already the wonder
2                             xvii




xviii              HIRAM  WOOiR UFF.
of the world; and which, from the familiar, affectionate, and
almost universal use made of him on this continent, and from the
growing demand which is made for him in other countries, has
already become an American commercial product, of vast importance and proportions.  It is certain that this animal is an
American production; as much so, in fact, as the thorough-bred
horse, which disdainfully gives weight at Goodwood and Ascot to
the purer descendants of his Arabian ancestry, is a creation of the
English breeding-stable and the English race-course. And it is
also certain, that the development of the American trotter to its
present marvellous pre-eminence over all other breeds of horses
used for harness and road purposes is more due to Hiram Woodruff than to any, if not than to all other men who ever lived.
Those who know the history of trotting in this country, and who
recall to mind the average speed of the fast harness-horse when
Hiram identified himself with its advancement, will not hesitate
to say, that he doubled the value of the original element on which
he worked, and, at the end of a few years, gave a great animal to
the country, in place of what had been only a good animal before.
It is recognized by those who are versed in the origin and characteristics of the American trotter, that the highest type of that
invaluable breed descends from the English thorough-bred horse
Messenger, which was imported into this country in the latter part
of the last century. Indeed, so widely is this fact acknowledged,
that breeders of experience, in view of the excellence of which he
was the founder, and of the vast extent of the interest which has
proceeded from his loins, have been heard to declare, that, when
that old gray came charging down the gang-plank of the ship
which brought him over, the value of not less than one hundred
millions of dollars struck our soil. If that be true, the man who
developed Messenger's value through his progeny can hardly be
regarded as less than a genius, as well as a public benefactor. It
cannot be doubted, therefore, that HIRAM WOODRUFF was the
man of his period for the development of the interest with which
he identified himself; and in proportion to the importance of that
interest will his merits be valued by posterity. In all the future
of our particular turf-history, his figure will loom up to the contemplation of its followers, as the sole great man who had been produced? in connection with that interest, down to the day of his de
cease.




HIRAM  WOODR UFF.                   xiZ
But HIRAM WOODRUFF brought something more tc his vocation
than a mere intuitive perception of the new principles by which
the trotter was to be improved. He brought a generous, cheerful,
kindly nature; and his faculties were insensibly buoyed and sustained by that invariable accompaniment of true genius,- a good
heart. He had, moreover, one of those happy dispositions of
mixed simplicity and candor, which commands at once the confidence of men, and which, when its influences are applied to the
secondary animals, fascinates and subjects them completely to the
owner's will.  There is nothing which recognizes the subtle instincts of affection so quickly, and which knows them so unmistakably, as a horse; and much of HIRAM'S facility of communicating his purpose to the animal he rode or drove or trained pro.
ceeded from his power of making it love him. Like RAREY, his
doctrine was kindness; and, when he walked through his stables,
the undoubted accord which he had established with its glossy inmates was at once evinced by the low whinnies of welcome which
would greet his kindly presence as he went from stall to stall.
They knew him for the friend who mixed among them, almost as
if he were an equal, and who never ceased to talk to them as if
they were his equals when he took them out for their exercise, or
even when he encouraged them during the strife of the arena.
What would they not do for that man, which he could make them
understand? and how could they fail to know his wish, when, inspiring them with his chirrup, and shaking the bit in their mouths,
he " lifted " them, as it were, and sent them whirling with an unknown
velocity along the course? Perhaps Flora Temple was the most
remarkable instance of the great horseman's conquest over animal
affection during his career. She loved him with an unmistakable
cordiality; and when he and she were engaged in some of their
most notable struggles, the man and horse seemed to be but parts
of the same creature, animated by the fury of a common purpose.
Many drivers have been heard to wonder how it was that HIRAM
obtained such a mysterious mastery over his horses on all occasions; but the secret was, that he gained their confidence through
their affections; and, after that, every thing was easy. The reason
why women so easily fascinate a horse is because of the tenderness
of their approach; and, so far as gentleness went, IIRAM WOODRUFF had the nature of a woman.
Commanding the horse, therefore, to the absolute extent he did,




XX:.               HIRAM  WOODR UFF.
there is no reason for wonder that he made his steed understand
himself, as well as know his master. One half of a horse's speed
is in the mind of his rider or driver. When it is known to the
world that a horse has'made a mile a second or half-second faster
than it was ever made before, some rider of some other horse,
nerving himself with the knowledge of the fact, and infusing that
knowledge into his horse by dint of his own enthusiasm, sends hin
a second or two faster still; and the result of the mental emulation is a permanent improvement which never is retraced. HIRAM
WOODRUFF was the first to take this mental grip of the powers of
the trotting-horse; and the result, in his case, was, that, by dint-of
his own mind, he carried him triumphantly over the gap which
lies between 2.40 and 2.18.
There are yet other characteristics of HIRAM WOODRUFF,
which, in bidding him  farewell, we are called upon to notice.
Viewed in connection with his peculiar walk in life, these traits are,
if possible, more remarkable than his genius; and they arrest the
attention as matters of surprise. We allude to his incorruptible
personal integrity under the usual temptations of his station. It is
not enough, therefore, to say that HIRAM WOODRUFF was an honest man. He was more than that; for he was utterly incapable
even of sharp practices, or meannesses of any kind. Happen what
might, he would not conceal any of his opinions from an employer,
or retain an employment by misrepresenting the merits of an aninlal intrusted to his care. And, when he brought his horse to the
arena, it was certain he would be honestly driven, however the
money might be on.  The most abandoned men who frequent
the trotting-tracks dared not, even after he had been on the turf
but a short time, venture to approach him with a dishonorable
proposition; for they had discovered his invincible integrity, and
felt, that, in such case, their exposure was inevitable. In this respect, and taking all things together, HIRAM WOODRUFF may be
regarded as a phenomenon. Here is a man, born, as it were, in
the very dregs of the stable, thrown constantly among the vicious
and depraved, and frequently tempted by the most alluring opportunities of profit, who preserves his integrity intact, in the midst
of a general society largely tainted with corruption, and during a
period in which the honesty of almost every public officer is touched
with suspicion. It is not singular, therefore, that no trainer or
driver ever envied HIRAM his business or disputed his superiority.




HIRAM  WOODRUFF.                     xxi
1His virtues were above the aim of jealousy; and his mission was as
much to prove to Bad men the value of leading a good life, as to
improve the condition of the horse. He was a boon not only to
those of his own order, but to society at large. Hie never betrayed
his trust; never was suspected of a lie; and, if good deeds can
charter a man to be regarded as a Christian, HIRAM WOODRUFF
certainly was one.
On the 22d of February, he celebrated his fiftieth birthday
with his friends at home; and he exhibited on that occasion,
while alluding to the " events " for which he stood engaged, the
same cheerful confidence which marked all his expectations. He
now lies on that slope of Cypress Hill which looks toward the
course on which he has earned so much of his renown.
Many a throng which will gather during the coming seasons
to witness the contests of the horses he had in part prepared will
turn gloomily to that cold hill; and there will be none among them
who will not feel that there is a great void in their midst, and that
the Master has gone.
GEORGE WILKES.








BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR.
BY CHARLES J. FOSTER
"He was a man! take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again!"
O UR dear, esteemed friend, Hiram Woodruff, died on the morni ing of Friday, March 15, 1867, and was buried on the following
Sunday, in the Cypress-hills Cemetery, between East New York
and the house he kept so long. It has become our mournful duty to
sketch, as nearly as we may, some incidents of his life, and to show
what manner of man he was. Hiram Washington Woodruff was
born on the 22d of February, 1817; and consequently, at the time
of his death, he was fifty years and twenty-one days old. His
father, John Woodruff, afterwards called by his friends and familiar
acquaintances "Colonel Ogden," lived at Birmingham, a small
place near Flemington, in Huntington County, New Jersey, where
his wife bore him his second son, Hiram. The eldest son was
Isaac, and the youngest William. These brothers, with their sister
Margaret (Mrs. Nelson), still survive. The Woodruffs were a
farnily of horsemen. The old colonel was noted as a trainer. His
brother, George Woodruff, was still more famous in that capacity,
and was without an equal perhaps, except Peter Whelan., as a
rider of trotting-horses, until his nephew appeared, and surpassed
them both. It was at one time intended that Iliram should learn
a trade, and that of a hatter was thought suitable. But in him,,
boy as he was, the call " to horse" was already like that of the
xxiii




Xxiv             BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
trumpet to the trooper when it sounds "boots and saddle."  Very
early in life he began to ride; and the foundation of his future
immense and accurate knowledge of horsemanship, in all its
branches and in all their details, was laid while he was a little boy.
He was but fifty years old at the time of his death; and, forty years
before, he had ridden the famous trotting-horse Topgallant- a
son of imported Messenger - at his exercise. Thus the first horse
with whom we can certainly associate this most celebrated of
trainers, riders, and drivers, was one worthy of his own high renown. Upon the. merits of this game old horse, who'was spavined
in both hind-legs, and yet in his twenty-fourth year beat Whalebone three-mile heats, Hiram loved to dwell.
Top-Gallant was one of a lot of famous horses in the stable of
George Woodruff, and Hiram learned his first regular lessons in
horsemanship from his uncle. His first race was ridden at the
Hunting-park  Course, Philadelphia, where George had Topgallant, Whalebone, Columbus, and others of great note, in training.
The gentlemen who frequented the ground one afternoon offered a
purse, to be trotted for by any horses that the boys could pick up.
Young Hiram (he was then fourteen years old) knew that there
was at plough in a field hard by a horse called Shaking Quaker,
that had trotted on Long Island. This horse he got, and with him
he won the purse. In two or three weeks it was followed by
another race for a larger amount, Mr. F. Duffy having backed his
mare Lady Kate to trot fifteen miles an hour.  He selected
Hiram and another boy to ride, never imagining that one of them
could ride a fast trotter a whole hour without a rest. Duffy, in fact,
played a keen game; for he led the mare up and down by the bridle,
with a heavy saddle on, and induced the backers of time to believe
that he was going to ride her himself. His money was well laid,
and the time for the start was near, when the backers of the watch,
to their surprise and confusion, saw little Hiram come out of the
bushes, with his light saddle on his arm, to ride the mare. She
trotted sixteen miles in a trifle less than fifty-seven minutes, and
Hiram rode her eight-miles and three quarters only.
Two years later he rode in another time-match, and acquired still
higher distinction. His father was then keeping the Harlem-park
Course; and there Mr. William Niblo had in training, under his
own supervision, a gray gelding called Paul Pry, a grandson of imported Messenger.'lhis horse was matched for two thousand




OF -THE AUTHOR.                    xxv
dollars a side, to trot sixteen miles an hour, with two hundred and
fifty dollars a side on every quarter over that distance up to
seventeen and three-quarter miles. Hiram rode Paul Pry at his
work, and was chosen to steer him  in his race on the Union
Course.  The confidence Mr. Niblo had in the strength, endurancre, and judgment of the lad of sixteen was signally justified
by the event. Hiram rode the horse eighteen miles in a fraction
less than fifty-nine minutes, and the last quarter was jogged out at
that. Considering the great difficulty there is in riding fast
trotters many miles at a time, and recollecting the fact that Paul
Pry was a puller, this was a very remarkable feat; and those
among the trainers and amateurs who looked ahead must have
concluded that in this lad there was the stuff of which great men
are made.  Some have said that Hiram  Woodruff first distinguished himself by riding Dutchman; but it is an error. He
was famous before Dutchman had left the string-team which hauled
the brick-cart.
At this time, and for many years afterwards, Hiram was a
model of strength, grace, activity, and suppleness. He was a
swift runner and a mighty jumper and leaper, as well as a bold
and skilful rider; and his stamina was afterwards found to be
such, that Jack Harrison, a noted matchmaker of those days,
publicly offered to back him to ride different horses a hundred
miles in five hours. The offer was not accepted; for the sportsmen had already learned, that, with uncommon fine constitutional
stamina, young Woodruff possessed sinews of steel, nerves that
could not be shaken, and an intuitive sagacity which made him
master of almost any situation, and capable of accomplishing
almost any feat. All this, too, was accompanied by a cheerful
modesty of dispositioni, which endeared him to his associates, and
a high rectitude of principle, which his friends can now justly
boast was never in his whole life impaired. His integrity, indeed,
through life, has been of that adamantine and obstinate degree
that it never took the seeming of a flaw. It was of that high
quality which may be compared to the constancy and courage of a
bull-dog of true English breed, which may be cut up piecemeal,
but can never be subdued.
It was while here at Harlem that Hiram was fortunate enough
to win the affections of Miss Sarah Ann Howe, a young lady of
great personal beauty and much sweetness of disposition. His fa



XXvi             BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
ther soon movedto the old Centreville House, near the Centreville
Course; and Hiram went with him. On Christmas Day, 1836, and
therefore before he had quite arrived at his twentieth birthday,
Hiram Woodruff was married to Sarah Ann Howe, at Jamaica.
HIe took his young bride home with him to his father's; and now,
over his grave, after his more than thirty years of wedded life have
ended, his friends can truly say that never was man more blessed
in an excellent wife than he, in her he loved so well, and has left
to mourn behind him.
It was not long after his marriage when Dutchman came into
his hands. The first race he won with him was against Lady Suffolk and Rattler. The latter was trained and ridden by William
Whelan, brother of Peter of famous memory, and himself now survivor of his old and valued friend Hiram. Out of this race grew
that at three-mile heats between Dutchman and Rattler, which
was won by the former in four heats. The two friends latterly, in
their reviews of what happened thirty years ago, used to ride this
race again. Hiram would show how it was won; and Whelan
argue that it was lost because Rattler was a poor feeder, and so, at
that time, not quite equal to Dutchman in lasting qualities. These
young riders and trainers were now " the coming men." George
Woodruff and Peter Whelan were to have successors as great, if
not greater, than themselves. The seas soon separated the young,
men. Whelan went to England with Rattler, where he beat every
thing with ridiculous ease, and issued a challenge to the world.
Thereupon an English merchant of New York sounded Hiran
Woodruff, to ascertain whether he would go to England to train
and ride Dutchman if the horse were purchased. Hiram was not
very anxious to leave his home and his young wife; but his confidence was great in Dutchman, and he consented to go. But the
bargain for the horse went off.  His owners were offered two
thousand seven hundred dollars and a black mare, then in
Hiram's hands, for him.  They wanted three thousand dollars
and the mare.  Whelan thinks that Rattler might have defeated Dutchman in England, as the former had got to feeding
strong there. But Hiram has often told us that the probabilities
were all the other way, as Dutchman's great speed was only just
coming to him when he beat Rattler in the race of four heats. In
Hiram's hands, Dutchman performed three great feats. The first
was the defeat of Rattler in the great race of four three-mile heats.




OF THE AUTHOR.                    Xxvii
The second was the distancing of Awful, three miles in harness, in
7m. 41s. The third was the time-match, three miles, in which the
mark, still standing at the head of the record, 7m. 32Is., was made.
Hiram has always maintained, and no doubt with good reason,
that Dutchman could have greatly surpassed this. In the second
mile, which was trotted in 2m. 28s., Isaac Woodruff, who was on
the running companion, conceived that Hiram was going too fast,
and called to him to pull. The third mile was in 2m. 30s., and
Dutchman was pulled all the way. It was Hiram's conviction that
he could have trotted this in 2m. 26s.  This very remarkable
horse was not coarse, as many suppose him to have been. He
showed breeding in form as well as bottom, and was savage in disposition.  After his time-match he went to Philadelphia, and
Hiram beat him two or three times with WVashington. But he
returned into Hiram's hands, and trotted his famous races with
Americus under his direction.
Hiram Woodruff had then just reached his twenty-sixth year,
and had fully entered upon that career of hard work and usefulness which was increasing in importance every day, which finally
made him one of the best known and most renowned men in
America, and in which his genius, his faithfulness, and his sagacity
enabled him to do his country weighty and honorable service.
The greatest nations, and many of the greatest men that have existed in the world, have held, that, next to the improvement and
culture of mankind itself, the improvement and cultivation of the
horse is one of the best and mightiest of tasks. Our country is
distinguished abroad, as well as at home, for having effected the
greatest and most surprising improvement in the horse of daily
use, the trotter, that is mentioned in the annals of horsemanship,
from the period of the misty fables of Castor, Pollux, and Chiron
the Centaur, down to this day. Now, for this improvement the
country is more indebted to Hiram Woodruff than to any other
man -or any ten men. Nobody with any character for sense and
veracity will dispute tlhis.
Before he had done with Dutchman on the turf, Ripton had
come to Hiram Woodruff; and this "white-legged pony" soon
became as great a favorite with him, as great a prodigy with the
public, and as great a scourge to those who stood against him, as
Dutchman had been. He it was that first made two miles in 5m.
7s., in harness, going against Lady Suffolk; and he finally became




xxviii           BIOGRA PHICAL SKETCH
such a thorn in Bryan's side, that he declared the mare should not
trot against him any more, unless it was under saddle. It was in
driving Ripton against Americus, that Hiram displayed one of his
finest exhibitions of coolness, craft, and science. He won the race
against Ameri us when a hundred to five had been laid on the
latter horse. Ripton was one of Hiram's prime favorites. Iis
fine speed, his stoutness, his grand action, his turbulent spirits, and
indomitable game, were themes that Hiram never tired of when he
had once begun. To hear him and Dan Pfifer, who took care of the'white-legged pony," go on about him, with Sim Hoagland and
Whelan to drop in suggestive and sage remarks here and there,
was a treat indeed. The " white-legged pony" was also a prime
favorite with Hiram's devoted friend Oliver Marshall. Friends!
when shall we truly realize that the tongue which spoke with such
wisdom, enthusiasm, and terse eloquence, at these, our well-remembered sittings, is silent now forever?
It is beyond the scope of this sketch, even to mention by name
all the horses which Iiram trained, rode, and drove. His own
work (which follows) may be referred to as regards those of most
renown who preceded the era of Flora Temple. He was always
fond of the Messenger blood.  Beginning with old Topgallant,
and coming along down with Paul Pry, grandson of Messenger;
Lady Suffolk, his granddaughter; Ajax and Hector, sons of Ab-dallah; and then to the Hambletonians, of whom he made the
wonder, Dexter, - what famous horses of that famous strain came
to his hands to have their excellencies made manifest I Flora herself has a dash of the blood; and she, too, was the work of Hiram's
strong, patient, and cunning hand. When he was twenty-eight
years old, Hiram removed to Harlem, and became proprietor of the
track there which his father had had. He kept it two years, and
then removed to Boston, where he was proprietor of the Cambridge
Course from 1847 to 1850. When he returned to New York, he
went into business in the Union Saloon, Broadway; which he kept
in partnership with Albert Losee. But the City was not by any
means the place for Hiram. His was a spirit which delighted in
the country, by hill and stream, and where, with hand upon the
shoulder of his horse, he could hear the booming of the wild waves
on the beach. So, near "old Long Island's sea-girt shore," in the
spring of 1851, he took the house at the foot of the hill, on the
Jamaica Road, between Eas't New York and the Corners; and this




OF TIlE A UTHOR.                  xxix
was known far and wide for two or three years as " Hiram Woodruff's." When he left that, it was to remove to the house in which
he died; and here his friends of late years were wont to assemble
in great numbers around him. He had now reached his prime,
and gained a station and esteem with the world.at large such as
no other man in the like capacity had ever attained to. Hundreds
of thousands who had never seen the man held him in regard; and
all through the regions of the West his name was in their mouths,
familiar as a household word. In the Eastern States, too, he was
very much respected and beloved. He often visited Boston and
Providence, and these trips were his great holidays. His arrival
at these places was the signal for general rejoicing. Troops of
friends crowded round him to express their satisfaction, and manifest their attachment. When thus away from home, the deep and
abiding love he cherished for his wife was seen by his nearest
friends in his behavior. She was never out of his thought; and
when his friends got him to stay a day or two longer, he always
sent despatches home. He loved music; and one there was in the
Eastern States who used to sing a song called " My Sarah." This
never failed to move Hiram to tears.
One other recreation he greatly enjoyed. It was his custom to
go down upon the shores of Jamaica Bay, in the summer time, and
there, camping out in a shady grove with a few friends, spend the
days in fishing. Oliver Marshal and Henry Collins were commonly his associates in these excursions. Dan Pfifer was often there;
and Sim Hoagland drove over to the camp most days. Hiram and
Dan had matches at fishing as they had at training and driving.
Hiram took great catches of blue-fish when they were running;
but in spite of all his delicate manipulations of the line, - and he
had a finger as true as that of a player on a harp-string, —he
could never catch a sheep's-head. Pfifer caught a few; but there
was another of their friends who beat them both, far and away, in
catching this delectable and noble fish.  It was William  Shaw,
another fine horseman, whose youth and manhood had been mostly
passed in training runners. His death, some time ago, was suitably noticed. He went home ill from a party at Hiram's, given to
celebrate the wedding of his daughter to young Hiram Howe, and
never left his bed alive. He died of a relapse of fever, contracted
in the service of his country at New Orleans during the great war.
Henry Collins was always on the fishing-excursions, and amused




XXX              BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
the others by his sallies of dry, quaint wit. His death was not
long after that of Mr. Shaw; and it was a heavy blow to Hiram, Collins had been such a loving, faithful friend and companion. It is, indeed, to be especially remarked, that Hiram Woodruff had, above most men, the gift of inspiring true affection. It
was the pure sincerity and simplicity of his nature which effected
this. He was as open and frank as a child: he could not even
think a rascality;'and rascals as well as honest men knew it. Then
his kindliness of disposition, and generosity, won the heart at once.
If a neighbor wanted any thing, —if the poor, the sick, the aged,
or the feeble wanted aid, - he gave it; not patronizingly or pompously, but just as though he was paying them  something that
he owed. Alas I we have looked our last upon this great, loving,
charitable, child-like man.
He was not of a demonstrative nature, except among his cherished and trusted friends; but the least sign of suffering, or need
of sympathy, in any one, opened the flood-gates of his heart. His
face was square, with immense firmness about the jaw. His f6reh'ead was broad and lofty; his eye, a deep, dark gray.  It was
eminently a thoughtful face; and there was a sweetness in his
smile which will not be forgotten. Of late years the writer of
this has been closely intimate with Hiram, and has often pondered
over his virtues and great parts. His scrupulous regard for the
feelings of others was always shown when he mentioned other
trainers and drivers. In the composition of his book he carefully
avoided any thing that could by possibility wound or injure any of
them. It was, too, his pleasure to mention them individually, so
that he might leave a testimony to their capacity and worth. This
was so like the man 1 He would do good by stealth. He began
his work on the American Trotter at the earnest solicitation of
Mr. Wilkes and other friends, who felt convinced, and at last convinced him, that, out of his vast store of wisdom and experience in
relation to trotting-horses, he might set down much that would be
of value to the world.  It was highly appreciated.  The people
hailed it all over the country. English papers copied chapter after
chapter at length; and his old horsemen friends harangued each
other about it, declaring, "it's capital, I tell you; and every
word jest like Hiram!  I didn't know that he could write any
thing more than a letter; but, in writing about horses, he can be at'am all I"  Hiram himself took pride and interest in it; and hsre



OF THE AUTHOR.                    Xxi
in again he manifested another trait in regard to his wife. As
soon as the paper arrived, containing his latest chapter, he peremptorily ordered it to be taken up to Mrs. Woodruft. "For," said he
to us, " she reads it out to the ladies that call upon her; and, between you and me, she thinks it good I " Poor friend I he had great
and just confidence in his wife's capacity; but when ordering
"The Spirit" up-stairs, as soon as it arrived, much to the dissatisfaction of some who wanted to read it down-stairs, it never
occurred to him that he could have as many copies as he pleased.
His uncle George and Crepe Collins were much pleased with the
work as it progressed; so were Oliver Marshall and Sim Hoagland. Some fools thought he was not the author of it; as if any
other living man but he, no matter what might be that man's capacity, could have produced it.
His opinions about horses and horse-matters were decided when
once formed; but he was far-seeing and cautious in the making or
them. Mr. Bonner's gray mare, Peerless, was at the very top of
his esteem, —his model of a fast and lasting trotter. Like Ripton, Kemble Jackson, Flora Temple, and so many others, she wasformed by him. Dexter stood as high as any for racing-purposes.
Hiram amazed us when, early in that famous; horse's career, he
predicted that he would beat the world. Many thought him almost crazy to match Dexter against Stonewall Jackson of Hartford, three-mile heats.  Dexter's two greatest races in his hands
were the two-mile heats to wagons; in which he beat Butktr the
second heat in 4m. 56Is.; and the mile heats, three in five, in harness, in which he beat Butler and Vanderbilt in five heats. Butler won the first and second heats, and Eoff considered that he
had the money in his pocket. Odds of ten to one were laid upon
the black horse, and great sums were pending. Dexter was sore
and lame.  Nothing but a mighty effort could save the race; but
the great master of the art, the King of American Horsemen, was
behind the brown gelding, and he now displayed one more of his
grand masterpieces. He won the third heat. The fourth he won
in the unprecedented time of 2mn. 24~s.; and Vanderbilt was distanced. The backers of the Contraband stood aghast. The men
fiom the South Side gave a roar that mlight have been heard at
Jamaica Bay. "We have got you," they cried to the friends of
Butler: "Eoff is a captain, but this is the Old Field-Marshal here
behind Dexter 1"  Thousands were present; but there was not a




rxxii           BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
sound to be heard, save the tramp of these famous horses, as their
more famous drivers brought them along, in scoring for the deciding heat. Eoff drove with immense resolution and skill; but the
hand of the great master was upon the reins of Dexter, and he
won the fifth heat in the marvellous time of 2m. 244s. " Now; I'll
tell you what it is," said a gentleman who had lost heavily on the
race: "it is twenty or thirty per cent. in favor of any horse that
Hiram Woodruff drives, - I don't care who drives the other Il
I've paid dear enough for that opinion; and it's mine I "
Lady Emma was another held very high in the judgment of
Hiram, and her owner was fast in his dearest esteem; but, at the
end of the last season that the great trainer and driver was ever
to see, the horse of his heart was Mr. Bonner's chestnut, the famous Auburn Horse. Very late last fall we took one of our accustomed drives over to Hiram's, and found all about the place in
a sort of pleasant commotion. Hiram Howe, Pelham John, Long
Tom Farrell, Dan Delahay, and several others, were full of what
the Auburn Horse had done that morning. Nothing was ever
seen like it, they averred, since old Pocahontas the pacer distanced Hero in 2m. 171s. The horse had, unquestionably, come
up the stretch with such an electric burst of speed as had amazed
the spectators. It never was Hiram's practice to talk about his
horses to Mrs. Woodruff; but, on this occasion, he had no sooner
returned from the course, than he went in, and told her thatjhe had
never ridden so fast behind a trotter in his life as on that morning.
This we had from Mrs. Woodruff the same day. When we
reached Hiram, in the stable-yard, he made use of the very same
expression. While we were talking, Mr. Bonner drove up. We
all three went to the box, and Hiram stripped the chestnut. " He
is," said he, "the best balanced big horse in America I"  Afterwards, we all three stood in the autumn sun, by the garden-gate,
and a conversation ensued. Hiram said, "I rode faster behind
him this morning than ever I rode in my life."
Mr. Bonner was silent; and, it being our custom to stand up for
the absent, we determined to put in a word or two for the gallant gray. So we said, "Now, look here, Hiram: you rode at the
rate of two minutes to the mile behind Peerless for a quarter.
Capt. Moore will swear to it. Do you mean to say that you
rode faster behind the Auburn Horse than behind the gray
mare? "




OF' THE A UTHOR.                xxxiii
" Faster than behind the gray mare? Faster than I ever rode
behind any horse I" said he, with his resolute eye and grave
smile.
Mr. Bonner was silent as Hiram said this with his hand up.
raised; but we determined to have another word, so we at it again
argumentatively. Hiram looked over toward the sea, where the
sun was shining in the southern board; and he said, "If the
weather holds good a few days longer, and there is a fair day and
track next week, something will be done I"
" What do you think it will be? "
He smiled and said, " Mr. Bonner wants to know what I think,
no doubt; and I don't mind telling you what I expect, because
you never blow things."
" Yes, yes: now, what do you expect?"
" To wipe out all that has ever been done on this island."
"' You mean all that has ever been done in harness? "
s" All that has ever been done at all. Listen, now: I am not
given to exaggeration, and I want to keep within limits. I am
confident that I can drive that horse the first half-mile in lm. 8s.
If I can't bring him home the other half in im. 10s. I ought to be
horsewhipped. That will be 2m. 18s."
It happened that the weather got cold and bleak immediately
after that delicious afternoon, and the course was not in order
again; so the great trial never came off. Knowing the care,
knowledge, and vast experience which Hiram brought to the
making up of his opinions, and having witnessed the gravity and
earnestness with which he advanced this as his settled conviction,
we fully believe, that, under favorable circumstances, the chestnut
could have done what he said. Therefore, we say that the Auburn Horse filled his eye at the last moment when there was great
ambition and speculation in it; and was the last, as well as the
greatest, in point of speed, of those world-renowned trotters
which were stabled in Hiram Woodruff's vast brain and mighty
heart.
During the winter, Hiram's health had not been good. HIe had
several attacks of illness; and when he got a little better, he
would get up and go about as though he had not been sick. This
made strong calls upon his constitutional stamina, which had once
been as good and perfect as his honesty and pluck. At his birthday, on the 22d of February, he was well, and singularly happy




xxxiv           BIOGRAPITICAL SKETCH
and genial. He dined with his friends; consented to the wish of
Mr. Parkes, of Brooklyn, to sit for his portrait, to be presented to
his wife; and, finally, had the pony (the fifty-miler), brought into
the parlor, among his friends, in order that he might expatiate
upon his rare merits. Six days after that we saw Hiram for the
last time, a fortnight before his death; and never, since our friendship began, did we see him more cheerful, bright, and genial than
he was upon that day. It was a spring day, light and mild: we
found Hiram in the yard, and he hailed us with a cheery halloa,
"I'm glad you've come: I'm getting ready for the next campaign I
First of all, come and look at Quicksilver and Rosamond.>'
We answered that we were impatient to look at Pocahontas and
Strideaway.  He said, "Time enough."  We looked at the
horses. We looked at his hogs. We surveyed the renowned
mare and her son. He never was more happy, never more pleasant and wise. We said how we rejoiced to find him looking and
feeling sowell. He put his hand upon our shoulder; and, with the
smile we all knew and loved so well, he said, "I am not as well
as I look, but I am better than I was most of the winter."
We then went and looked over his wagons and sulkies, which
had all been painted and put in order for the season he was never
to see. We talked about his book, and the plan of its conclusion
was settled. " You must come here often," said he: "I want to
see you very often."
We replied, that, when the roads got good, we would often drive
over: but he replied that there was no need to wait for the roads.
He had a plan to meet that difficulty: it was, that he would get a
saddle and bridle, and we must ride over on horseback. "You
can jump up and slip over here any time on horseback; and I'll
see about the saddle and bridle to-morrow."
It is in some sort a consolation, that, at our last parting from this
valued friend, he felt so happy, and was so kindly disposed to us.
On the Sunday week following, he was taken sick with bilious
vomiting in the middle of the night. Andrew Howe, his relative
and confidential steward, was lying in the house sick, and died the
next day. Hiram got worse; and a despatch was sent for his
friend Mr. Marshall, who arrived on Thursday morning at daylight. Sim Hoagland had been constant in his attentions to his
friend. Mrs. Woodruff was, of course, in sore distress, but still
hopeful. The doctor, as Mr. Marshall entered, declared that a




OF THE A UTHOR.                  xxxv
change had taken place, and that he had great hopes. But this
was fallacious. Even then the
"Single warrior, in sombre harness mailed,
Dreaded of man, and surnamed the Destroyer,
The rampart wall had scaled."
Hiram was anxious to talk then, but Mr. Marshall wanted him
to keep quiet; so he left him with Mlrs. Woodruff, who had made
him some beef-tea. Towards night he grew weaker and weaker.
Through the long, sad watches of that mournful night he failed
gradually, but retained his consciousness. Fondly pressing the
hand of his dear wife, and with many a look of affection cast upon
the brother of his heart, Marshall, and Hiram Howe, he gradually
sank away, and died without a groan or pang, as a baby falls
to sleep. It was ten minutes to four o'clock in the morning when
he died; and the last clearly articulate word that he spoke was
" HonsE I"
The news of his death caused an extraordinary sensation.
Thousands who had never seen him —business men, professional
men, and idlers - spoke of it as the event of the time, and always
with kindness and regret. It was the same all over the country,
for there was not a man in America, except perhaps General Grant,
esteemed by a greater number of people than Hiram Woodruff.
The funeral was held on Sunday, in the afternoon. The weather
was terrible for the season; and the roads so bad, that it was only
by work like that with which pioneers precede an army, that the
house of mourning was reached by many from a distance. The
snow lay thick and deep, and fell all day. The wind howled from
the east. WVhite-bearded Wlinter had come back to shiver over
the grave of this great, honest man. Nevertheless, there was a
great concourse of people at the funeral. Full of attachment and
regret, they had come from all parts to pay the last'tribute of love
and respect to their friend. The place was crowded in every part.
About a hundred and fifty carriages and large. sleighs were under
the sheds all about. Some of them had been drawn by four horses;
and this was a wise forethought on the part of their owners.
tIiram lay in the parlor, in a handsome coffin of rosewood with
silver-plated furniture. We say HIRAM, because, as he lay there,
he looked so natural and composed, that he seemed no cold corpse,
but a composition that still had life in it, and might awake and




xxxvi BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR.
speak at any instant. The scene was very affecting. The country people, who knew and loved Hiram well, had come from their
farms and villages. When these stout yeoman looked upon his
calm, quiet face, with its sweet smile, they broke down at once;
and "eyes albeit unused to the melting mood " swam over with
tears. Some few, including Dan Pfifer, could not trust themselves
to meet him face to face. All the trainers and drivers were there,
with most of the eminent owners of fast horses. The ladies were
there in great numbers; and this was truly fitting, for Hiram was
always distinguished for his ceremonious politeness to them. He
was, in fact, when seen at his best, in person, in dress, in manners,
and in mind, a thorough gentleman. The service was performed
by the Rev. Mr. Munn, of East New York, in an impressive manner. And then the procession, with its mourners, and Oliver
Marshall, Simeon D. Hoagland, William Whelan, Joseph Crocheron, John Crooks, John I. Snedeker, and Wellington Simonson
as pall-bearers, streamed along through the snow, to the cemeterygate, and wound its way up the hillside, and past the lofty monument, to the grave. It was a long time ere the most had reached
the place; and many, indeed, never got there at all until after the
clods from the spade fell on the coffin, and smote upon our ears
all mortal fate. Hiram Woodruff lies near the summit of a lofty
hill, which overlooks the south side of the Island and the great
waters upon which he loved to sail. The beauties and the
grandeur of nature are all about his last resting-place. When
it is bleak and stormy, as it was that day, the sough of the wind
seems to bear with it the deep roar of the majestic ocean. When
it is fine, there is no lovelier spot on all the Island; and, standing
near his place of rest, one can look out far and away over a world
of life and fertile land and busy waters. Peace to him who sleeps
on that halloWed summit I




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
Reason for writing the Book. -Necessity for Practical Experience in Training. - The Author's Experience. - Improvement in Tracks and Vehicles.
- Causes of Improvement in Time.- Originality of the American
System. - Its great Superiority to the English System. - Rules as to
Breaking from the Trot.
HAVE often had applications from gentlemen in various parts of the country for advice and instruction in
regard to the treatment of their horses, to which I have
been unable to make satisfactory replies. My time has been
too much taken up in training and driving the large number
of horses placed in my care to admit of my writing letters,
though I have always been willing to give such information
as I could to those who sought it of me. In the course of
the work I have now undertaken, the gentlemen who have
applied to me, and those who might wish to do so, but yet,
knowing my constant occupation, have refrained, will find
all that it is in my power to communicate in regard to the
management of trotting-horses. The persuasions and assurances of some of my friends have induced me to believe that
the results of my thoughts and experiences, plainly set down,
and illustrated here and there by such anecdotes and recollections of our famous trotters as, being in point, may most
readily present themselves to my mind, will be interest3ng to the readers of this my work, and useful to the
87




38       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
vast number of persons who now keep good road-horses,
if not fast trotters. It was not without some hesitation that
I agreed to devote a whole winter to the work I have
begun. I found, upon reflection, that it would not be very
easy for me to convey in print my own ideas upon the subject of training and driving; and my own experience with
some hundreds of trotting-horses has convinced me, that any
hope of teaching a man how to put a horse in condition by
rule would be entirely fallacious.
I say, then, at the outset, that this work is to be taken
more as a guide and finger-post, showing the way to practical
experience, than as a substitute for experience itself. Suchb
general method as I have pursued with good results, I shall
communicate; but I cannot undertake to relate the circumstances constantly arising among horses in training, which
have called, and always will call, for varied applications and
abatements of the rule. Of these, the man in charge of the
horse must be the judge as they present themselves; and, if
he is not able to determine how far the general method may.
be intensified or relaxed in the case in hand, it is safe to say,
that it will be'more a lucky accident than any thing else if
the trotter is fit when he comes to the post. I say, without
any qualification, that a man can no more train horses by
means of rules ascertained beforehand by other people than
one can cure thecomplaints the human frame is subject to
by books written by the most learned of the faculty. It
would be a great deal easier for a clever man to write a good
book upon a given complaint than to cure a case of it; and,
if the writer was taken with the disorder himself, I have no
doubt he would pitch his book on one side, and send for a
practising physician. The fact that the man who is his own
attorney has a fool for a client has passed into a proverb;
and this is another instance of worthlessness of book-learning, taken by itself.
Yet books are very necessary for the making of doctors
and instruction of lawyers; and so, when I say that the work




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.             39
I am going to produce is only calculated to be useful when
used as a stepping-stone to experience, I do not really undervalue it, as some may think. Besides, I intend to make it
interesting to the general reader, as well as to him who is
in quest of the rules and maxims of the trainer's art. I
also wish it to be understood at the outset, that very many
clever horsemen will differ with me in regard to some of the
things I shall lay down as proper to be pursued. I know it
will be very often said by some of my associates of years
gone by, as they read these pages, "' Old Blocks' is wrong
in regard to so-and-so;" but I can assure the reader that I
shall recommend nothing but what I have tried, and in a
measure proved myself.
It is more than thirty years since I began to handle trotting-horses, and more than five-and-twenty since I had
charge of Dutchman, the best, take him for all in all, of the
old-time trotters. Some things are done differently now from
what they were then; yet there has not been any great
change in the method we then pursued, nor has there been,
in my opinion, as much change and improvement in our
horses as some imagine. It is true that there are more fast
trotters now than there ever were before, that the best time
has been much cut down of late years, and that the driving
on the road is a deal more rapid now than it was then. But
then it is to be remembered that the tracks are now much
better ordered than they were in former times, that the
vehicles for trotting have been much lightened and improved,
and that a corresponding improvement in roads and roadwagons has taken place. Besides, there are hundreds of
horses trained nowadays to one that was handled by a really
competent man then; and'thus a greater amount of speed
is developed in the multitude. And though it is not altogether clear why it should be so, there is no doubt in my
mind about this, viz., that, as the excellence of the multitude
increases, the excellence of the best among them will reach
a higher standard. Except in exceptional cases, it is easier




40       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
to be the best among a few than the best among many; for
the reason that among the many the mark necessary to be
attained will generally be higher and more difficult. The
improvement in the time of our trotters is, then, to be laid
to the account of several causes; which include improvement
in courses, vehicles, methods of training, style of driving,
and in the trotting-horse himself.
The system of teaching, training, driving, and riding the
trotting-horse of this country has long been an art of itself,
quite different, as far as I have heard, from that pursued in
other countries. I look upon the English as a nation of
horsemen, and their success with hunters and racers has
been very great: but, ever since I can remember, we have
been as much superior to them in handling the fast trotter
as we are now. When Rattler was taken over there, twenty-five years ago, the gentleman who had the horse took
good care to take William Whelan along to steer him; and,
when the party got above themselves, and challenged the
world, it was not resolved to buy Dutchman, and carry him
across the water to clip their combs, until, after much pressing, I had agreed to go, too, to drive him. A difference of
only three hundred dollars in the price of Dutchman prevented our voyage to England. The gentleman - he was
English, but had lived some years in this country -offered
twenty-seven hundred dollars, and a black mare I then had
in charge, for the horse. The Philadelphia party wanted
three thousand dollars and the black mare; and so the deal
fell through. If it had been consummated, the challengers
in England, with Whelan and Rattler, would soon have
found Woodruff and the Dutchman in the little island, come
to take it up. So there we should have been, -a real
American party, — disputing across the Atlantic, in the
land of our ancestors, for pre-eminence in the sport our own
country had already exalted and dignified at home. The
handling of the English trotting-horses at that time was as
much inferior to the American system as their horses were




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.             41
to ours; and, though I say it myself, who belong to the profession, it is not unfit to be said, that the American system
of breaking, training, and driving, has mainly made our
trotters what they are. The English had the stock all along,
just as much as we had; and it is our method of cultivation
and perseverance that has made the difference betweentheir
fast trotter of a mile in three minutes and ours of two
minutes and twenty-five seconds, or thereabouts.
According to the best information at my command now,
I find that a three-minute trotter in England is about as
scarce an article as a two-thirty horse is here. This is the
result of our method of breeding, training, and driving the
trotting-horse in this country, aided by the enterprise and
ingenuity which provide vehicles, harness, and all the paraphernalia of that combination of lightness with strength
which is upon the plan of the best trotting-horse himself.
It is, however, only fair to observe, that the English have
had some rules in their match-trotting which probably acted
as a hinderance to the making of the best time of which their
horses were capable. The- penalty of a break was such that
the rider or driver would be afraid to push his horse up to
the top of his speed. If it was a harness or wagon race, the
driver was compelled to pull up, and back the wheels when
his horse broke. Ever so little backing of the wheels would
do' but he was compelled to back them some. If it was
under saddle, the rider had to turn his horse round when
he broke. These rules must have been detrimental to the
making of fast time, though as fair for one as another of the
parties engaged in the match. Our American rule on this
sulbject favors speed; and some think, indeed, that, as often
administered, it favors breaking and running, to the disadvantage of the steady, honest horse that keeps to his gait,
and wins, if he wins at all, by trotting.
Our law on this point is good enough, however, provided
it is lawfully administered; and it does not operate as a
check to the driver in obtaining the best speed of which his




42       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
horse is capable. I do not myself admire those horses
which are more relied upon to win for aptness in breaking
and running a little when in a tight place, than for downright speed and bottom at a fair trot; but, as I have said to
gentlemen who have complained that such was the case,
the remedy is sufficient, if the judges will fearlessly apply
it. If the judges did this, we should soon hear no more
about drivers "learning horses to break."  I think that the
pride of our art in training and driving is to teach them to
maintain their trot, and not to break. If the horse may
break and run, I can easily see how it may be beneficial to
teach him to break; but if, when he breaks, he is to be immediately pulled to a trot, or pulled up, I think it will be
better to teach him not to break.
My remarks in this chapter are merely prefatory, as will
be seen. Indeed, we must jog along gently with this matter
until we have got through certain preliminary work, and put
the fast trotter into regular training. I purpose, then, to
take a firm hold of the reins, and increase the speed until
the parties interested in the performance think that we are
going along fast enough, and can stay the distance, even
though it be three-mile heats. It must, however, never be
lost sight of by the reader, in the course of this work, that
I am a practical man, one mainly governed by the teachings of experience, and therefore not inclined to the layingdown of mere theories in regard to the training and general
treatment of horses. If I had had less to do with them for
nearly forty years, I might be more positive in my assertions than I now intend to be. Between the outward forms
of such trotters as iDutchman, and Peerless, or Flora Temple, there is a vast difference; and between these types,
more or less nearly approaching the one or the other, the
variety of form is immense. I have been led to believe
that the constitutional differences, including temper, disposition, and that intangible but very potent quality called
pluck, are as numerous as the varieties of form. Now, in




THE T.ROTTIiG-HORSE OF AMERICA.          43
the management and training of the horse, the general
rules which are applicable in nearly all cases must be relaxed, or stringently followed, according to the constitution, disposition, and capacity of the individual horse in
hand. It would be easy enough for me to say, "Give the
horse in training plenty of work, but not too much." The
advice would be good, though general. The trouble would
be in finding out how much was plenty and not too much.
Here the judgment and experience of the man in charge
would have to be carefully exercised; and if, by perusing
this work as it progresses, the reader can master some of
my experience, and make it his own, I shall be satisfied.




II.
Handling of the Colt. - The Trot a Natural Gait. - Great Speed the Result
of Long Handling. - Method for the Colt. - Moderation best in Feeding. -
Early Maturity followed by Early Decay. - The Trotter should live
Many Years. —Feeding of Weanlings. —No Physic unless the Colt is
Sick. -Feeding of the Yearling.- The Starving System worse than
High Feeding.
IHE training of the trotting-horse is really to be commenced from the time he is handled when a colt; for it
is not simply the putting of him in such bodily condition as
may enable him to exert all his powers, but also the careful
and continued cultivation of his gifts as a trotter. Whatever encourages his tendency to make the trot his best way
of going, is a part of his training; and therefore the natural
disposition to trot must be improved from the very first.  I
have heard it said by some that there is no natural disposition in a horse to trot, or rather was none until men had
handled him, and induced him to use that mode of action. It
is a very common notion that the horse has but two natural
paces,- the walk and the gallop,- and that trotting is wholly
artificial. I have seen this set down in some books, but I
venture to deny it. My conviction is, that the trot is natural to the horse; and I feel bound to give some reasons for
my belief.  In the first place, then, I ask whether a colt
can now be found any where that does not trot sometimes,
and that when he is by the side of his dam, before ever the
hand of a man has been laid upon him? If it is said that
this results from the long domestication of his ancestors,
my reply will be, that it happens among the produce of
horses whose ancestors for more than a century -ay, for
44




THE TROTTIN~G-HORSE OF AMERICA             45
more than two — have never been used for trotting purposes, and never were taught to trot at all, if it is true that
the Arabs of the Desert only use their horses at the two socalled natural paces,- the walk and the gallop. Besides,
although I have never been in foreign parts myself, I have
been informed by gentlemen of observation and credit,
whose means of noticing this point have been wider if not
greater than my own, that wild horses trot when moving
about at ease, or at play, or coming towards an object. It
is true, that, if they are at all alarmed, they immediately
strike into a gallop; but this only shows that the gallop is
the best natural pace for speed, and not that the trot is no
natural pace. I am also informed that other wild animals
of desert places, such as wild asses, zebras, quaggas, and
the like, sometimes trot; and, if I had not been told so, I
should have inferred it from the fact that almost every animal that goes on four legs, whether domesticated among us
or wild in our country, trots at times. Deer trot in the
woods: I have seen them do it. The largest and noblest
of our native animals is the elk, and he is a trotter.
If any of my readers, when riding in the Central Park,
will take occasion to observe the elk that was sent to Mr.
Wilkes from St. Louis for that institution, I will bet a trifle
that they will see her trot, and go a pretty good trot, too,
if she is put up to her best pace. Away, then, with the
notion that the trot is wholly an artificial gait. If it were,
I think the attempt to breed trotters would have been a
failure; whereas, everybody knows that it has been successful. There is, however, a mixture of truth in the assertion
that the trot is an artificial gait. It is not the readiest way
for the horse to go at speed. A very poor running-horse -
I mean a turf-horse - could distance the best trotter that
ever was started; and the best trotters never reach their
best speed until they have undergone a good deal of handling and cultivation. This handling, from  the very first
day that the colt begins to eat, should be very different, in




46       THE TROTTING HORSE OF AMERICA.
my judgment, from the method I have seen the best breed.
ers and trainers of thoroughbred runners adopt with their
stock.
Now, to begin with the colt. Just as soon as the mare
is quiet while you are doing so, you may handle the colt.
Do it in such a manner as to make him tractable and kind.
Speak softly to him, encourage him to come up and smell
of your hand; and, when you touch him, do so gently and
soothingly. From the first week of the horse's life until
the last, you will find that he will be inclined to do what
you require of him, provided you can make him understand
what it is. Some men that have hold of horses apparently
don't know themselves, and therefore it is not to be wondered at that the horse don't. Just as soon as you get
familiar with the colt, which will be very soon if you commence while he is very young, rub his head occasionally, pat
him, and sometimes pick up one of his legs. Do it gently;
and by so doing you will teach him to let it be done quietly
when the time comes at which it must be done somehow.
It is understood, of course, that the mare and colt have
shelter at night, and run out during the day, —on fine days,
at any rate. Now, if the young one is never touched until
you want to take hold of him for some needful purpose, you
will find that he has become wild, and will try to break
things-before you can manage him.
The breeders of race-horses understand this very well,
and they commonly take great pains with their colts. But
as to early feeding, their method is one which I advise the
breeders of trotters not to follow. It is, that as soon as the
colt will eat bruised oats, which will be at less than two
months old, he is to have all that he can consume. Nay, I
find that one gentleman, and one of a great deal of ability,
too, in that line, advises to begin with giving him oatmeal
in gruel before he can eat the bruised oats. This is to be
followed up with four quarts or more of oats a day, when he
is weaned, besides the pasturage. I say to the reader of




THE TROTTING-IORSE OF AMERICA.              47
this, do no such thing with the colt that is to be a trotter, -
or, rather, do it with great moderation. Never mind oatmeal gruel; never mind bruised oats while he is with his
dam. The milk of the mare, she being kept in good heart,
and the grass, will afford her colt all the nourishment he
needs, and ought to have. This is Nature's plan: the other
is the'"forcing system," and ever so much more artificial
than the trotting-gait.  I do not undertake to disparage the
method pursued by the race-horse men, so far as it only
concerns their own purposes.  That purpose I take to be
early maturity; and I am convinced that very early maturity
will not be advisable in the case of the fast trotter.  Early
maturity means early decay, in nineteen cases out of every
twenty.
Now, in order that a horse may become a first-rate trotter, it is necessary that he should last a good while. He
won't jump up to his greatest excellence at three years old,
or at six either, if his excellence is going to be very
great; but will probably be improving most when the
thoroughbred horse of the same year has been long gone
from the turf. I don't know of a single thing in nature
that comes to maturity early and lasts long. This system,
then, is not calculated for the trotter; because to be great
it is absolutely necessary that he should last long. The
case is different as regards the running-horse; for his career
may be brief, and yet very brilliant. It is to be considered,
too, that the constitution of the colts is different. The
thoroughbred horse is naturally inclined to- mature at an
earlier period than any other, I think; and it is certain,
that, being of a leaner and more wiry build, he may stand
high feeding at an earlier period than the half-bred trotter.
And besides all this, I have other reasons against giving
young colts much grain. The physiologists all agree, that,
in order to thrive, the horse, young or old, must not only
have his stomach supplied with a sufficient quantity of
nutritious food, but also with enough matter not so highly




48       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
nutritious to distend it. A horse or a colt fed only on the
substances which go to make up his substance would starve,
though you gave them to him in the greatest abundance.
Why this is they do not know, and I am sure I don't; but
it seems to me that it is a reason for not cloying the young
animal with all the highly-nutritious food he will eat. If
his appetite is satisfied with oats, he will not be likely to
eat the grass and hay that nature requires. There is
another thing on this point which has occurred to me, but I
only throw it out as a suggestion. While the animal is
young, a good distension of the stomach is calculated to
produce that roundness of rib which we see in so many of
our best horses. Now, this capacity of the carcass, if it
proceeds in part from proper distension of the stomach,- and
by that I do not mean the paunch,- is not going to be
obtained by the feeding of food in the concentrated shape.
Bulk is required; and the pulp and essence need not be
given in large quantity until the organization is formed,
and extraordinary exertion is required of the horse.
When the colt is weaned, I should give him from three
pints to two quarts of grain a day. The quantity may be
varied according to his size; for, if he gives indications of
a large frame and loose habit, he will require more than a
compact colt, who keeps in good order, and fills out with
substance as he grows up. The pasturage is still the main
thing; and,- if that is good, two quarts of. grain will be
much better than more of the latter, and little or nothing
to be picked up on the bare herbage. With proper care
and attention, a good bite of grass may be secured for the
colts until very late in the fall; and they should have all
the hay they will eat when it begins to fail. The grain
should be oats of good quality. I do not like to let colts
have corn At all when young; and even to old horses I
think it should be fed very sparingly. In the winter of the
first year, the colt must have a good place to run in, and be
well housed at night, and regularly fed and watered. It




THE TROTTING.HORSE OF AMERICA.            49
must be understood, from what I have said above, that he
is never to be turned out to take his chance among a lot of
promiscuous stock, old horses, cows, calves, heifers, and
what-not. If he is, you may look for a wretched young
thing, standing shivering on the hillside, and hardly able to
put one leg before the other, instead of the gay and frisky
colt that you had when he nibbled the growing grass by the
side of his dam. All along, from the time of his weaning,
it will do good, and can do no harm, to give him a nice,
warm mash, with a few oats mixed through it, now and then.
It does the whole system of the alimentary canal good, improves the digestion, and increases the nutrition. There
need be no fear of its scouring the colt; and, in cases of
scouring, I have very often found that it cured it. Give
the colt no physic unless you are sure that there is something
the matter with him. Physic is to cure sickness. Its prevention belongs to diet, careful observation, and general
treatment.
When the colt is a yearling, his allowance of oats may be
increased to four quarts a day. His other food must be
good and abundant; and that is to be the main-stay. My
principle is to give oats sparingly until the time comes to
put the horse to some work; and I think it will commonly
result in this: that the horse will have all the size that in
the order of nature he should have had, and be of a much
hardier, healthier, and more enduring constitution than he
would have been if he had been forced along rapidly by
means of all the highly-stimulating food that he could be
got to consume. It will take longer to mature him by feeding only moderately of grain at this early period, but he is
meant to last longer; and I repeat that early maturity is
not favorable to long endurance. By the other method,
you may show me a colt at two years old that looks more
like a horse than mine will at three; and at three more like
a grand horse than mine will at five. But now I shall
begin to overtake you. When yours is five or six, he is at




50       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
his very best, perhaps past his best. Put them together at
eight, and I have got by far the best and most useful horse.
At ten, you have probably got no horse at all worth mentioning: while mine is now "all horse," and in his true
prime.
If anybody thinks to follow the old starving, corn-stalk
fodder, fed-in-the-snow system, under cover of what I have
said on this subject, he must go to the devil his own road.
My system is one of generous feeding, but not of stuffing a
young colt with all the highly-stimulating food he can possibly be got to swallow. Above all, avoid Indian corn in all
shapes for young colts, and take care that they have plenty of
pure water. If there is not a running-stream in the pasture
where they are kept, be sure that they are watered at least
three times a day, and that they have all they want.
We shall next come to the regular breaking, harnessing,
and driving of the young colt in his two-year-old stage,
which is of very'great importance to his after character.




Feeding of the Two-Year-Old. — Mouthing and Bitting. - Loungirg. - Temper.-. Leading on the Road. - Much Walking to be avoided. - When
harnessed, a Wagon better than a Sulky. - Amount of Work to depend
on Constitution and Condition. - Remedy for Broken Gait. - Pulling to
be avoided. -Increase of Feed.
IN the two-year-old, in spring, the grain is to be increased
to five, or even six quarts, of good oats a day; and now
the colt is to be mouthed and bitted.  He should have a
good loose box, with an outside lot attached.  It is unnecessary to describe the processes of mouthing, bitting, and
lounging.  The latter must not be continued long at a time.
Half an hour will be enough; but, if he takes it well and
steps off gayly, you may keep him moving a little longer.
He must be lounged round both ways, changing the direction from time to time; for so giddiness will be prevented,
and the bit brought'alternately to both sides of the mouth.
Great care must be taken not to overdo the thing at this
time; for, when the colt gets fatigued and worried, his temper begins to suffer as well as his condition.  It would be
easy to repair the latter, but the mischief done to the
former in early life can seldom be repaired. I am convinced
that nine out of ten of the horses we find mischievously disposed, or even positively vicious and treacherous, are so by
reason of having'been improperly handled when young.
There was Dutchman-he was not a sulky horse nor vicious by nature. You could get him to do his best whenever you called for it on the course or the road, but in
the stable, look out! He wanted a great deal of watching.
If a man attempted to put his harness on or take it off,




52       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
without tying him up, he was lucky to get away with the
loss of most of his clothes. Dutchman would take hold like.
a bull-terrier, and shake till his hold came away. He was
also a kicker. In ordinary cases, I would not give much
for a horse of this temper for the performance of any thing
very great upon the course; but like Flying Childers and
English Eclipse, both of whom, I am told, were ill-tempered, and ill-formed in some points, Dutchman was "a
horse above ordinances."
In handling the two-year-old trotter, then, the utmost
care, as well as gentleness and firmness, should be exercised. In former times, it was not customary to hlandle
colts until they were five years old; but experience has since
shown that they can very well be broken at two years old,
and can be got to trot at three. The matter depends not
upon the doing, but upon the manner of its doing. If the
breaker or owner finds that the young thing can trot a little, and is always hankering to see him "do it again," or
do a little better, he will soon have one that can't and won't
do any thing worth his or anybody else's seeing. Progress,
to be good and safe, must be gradual, but it should be continual. There is no sense at all in working a colt along so
that he can trot well at three or four years old, and then
turning him out until he is five or six. He should be kept
at it gently, so as to hold fast all he knows at least; and
this he is sure to do if not forced off his legs.
When the colt has been mouthed, bitted, and lounged in
the lot, he will be led out upon the roads, and thus accustomed to meet and pass vehicles, horsemen, cattle, and the
like. He is then to be broken to the saddle; during which
process he should be ridden about the country roads, and
not kept out so long at a time as to become leg-weary. The
weight upon his back must be remembered; and the rider
should often ease him by dismounting, and leading him. A
great deal less walking is now given to horses of all ages
than was formerly the case. When I was a boy, and riding




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERII.. 53
for my uncle, an immense deal of walking exercise was
thought to be beneficial. I used to ride horses as much as
twenty miles a day, at a walk; and it was deemed needful
to do this all along during their preparation. I have long
seen the fallacy of that, and discontinued it. The old notion was, that it improved the horse's bottom; but I am satisfied that the usual effect was to make him leg-weary, to
dog the heart out of him with this monotonous, tread-mill
sort of work, and so take away his spekd. He might go a
distance then, in the race, because he went comparatively
slow. It must always be remembered that a slow horse
can keep at his best pace longer than a fast horse can at
his, though in condition, bottom, and game they be equal.
In training horses now, I usually walk them but once a
day, and then only for a comparatively short distance.
When the colt is broken to the saddle, his work in harness is to be commenced. It should be to a skeleton wagon, not to a sulky; for the reason that, with the four wheels
to the former vehicle, the weight will be kept off his back.
Many use the sulky, but I am satisfied that the wagon is
best. There will be no difficulty in getting the colt to
draw if he has been handled rightly up to this time. Our
system in this is radically different from that of the English, as I am informed. Instead of putting the colt into
the shafts of a single vehicle, and coaxing him to go off
nicely with it, by which means, when he starts, he feels
that he is doing something, and soon becomes satisfied and
likes it, the English begin his harness-work by putting him
into a double-break wagon, which weighs about half a ton,
by the side of an old horse. When the colt is at home between the shafts, begin to drive him moderately. Take
him sometimes on the track, and at other times on the road.
Don't keep him dogging along at the same rate, but give
him lively spurts now and then. By this means he will
extend himself without hurting himself, and will improve
in speed. As long as he does this, you are doing right, and




54      TTHE TROTTING-HORSE OF AME'JCA.
he is doing well. As soon as he seems to get tired of it,
and appears to be either restive or sluggish, let him up a
little. - You must watch for these symptoms carefully; for
this is a critical time. If you overdo him much now, it
will be a long while before he is himself again.
The work must be according to his constitution, to the
rate of his growth, and to his heartiness of feeding. This
jogging will probably be about five or six miles a day, and
the spurts not above a quarter of a mile. He must be carefully watched to ascertain whether he improves or not. If
not, he is to be let up a bit; for his improvement at this
age ought to go on all the time, and will if he is all right.
Rapid improvement, however, must not be expected: ever
so little will do, but it ought not to stop altogether. At
this time, you will often see him break his gait; and this is
an indication that he has had too much work for his age,
and has got sore on it. But it may not arise altogether
from overwork; therefore, put the rollers on, and work him
gently, changing them from leg to leg as required. The
colt now finds something on his legs, besides the boots, which
was not there before; and it will alter his way of going. He
must be nicely handled now. You must use all your observations and best judgment, with a light but firm hold of
the reins. In all probability, he will trot square again with
the rollers on; and, as soon as he does so, let him up for a
little while. When the broken gait shows, he must not on
any account be kept on without a change; for, if he is, it
may become confirmed. On the other hand, I never like to
let them up until I have got them to trot square again; for,
if they are so let up, they may not trot square again when
their work is resumed. In all his work, -the colt is to be
taught to go along-without being pulled hard. His mouth
may be easily spoiled for life by teaching him to tug at the
bit now; and he is not at all likely to make a fast trotter,
if to trot he must always have his weight upon the driver's
arms. There have been some fast trotters and stayers that




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.             55
were hard pullers; but they would have been better horses
but for that fact. Still, it is to be remembered, that, when
going fast, the colt or horse will often want to get his head
down, and feel the bit sensibly. He will not, in nine cases
out of ten (or cannot, which comes to the same thing), do
his best without it. The object of the driver should then
be to support him with as little pull as possible, but still to
support him. The horse with a good mouth will always
feel the driver's hand; and, when the latter is as skilful as
he ought to be for the handling of the first-rate, fast trotter, he may play upon the rein with a touch like that of a
harper upon the strings, and the horse will answer every
touch with the music of the feet and wheels.
On the other hand, if, when the colt takes hold of the bit,
the driver does nothing but hold on like grim death to a
dead darkey, it soon becomes a pulling-match between them;
and, before the colt is of age to trot fast and stay a distance,
his pulling has become a vice of the most troublesome and
mischievous description, his mouth has become so callous
that he pulls a wagon and driver along by the reins instead
of the traces, and, by the dead drag between him and the
man behind him, he loses a great deal of the power that will
be wanted to sustain him when the pinch comes. It is not
to be forgotten, however, that many trotting-horses must be
pulled considerably to get them to trot fast, and keep trotting. When this is the case, it is utterly useless to expect
to get rid of the pull and preserve the trot by means of substituting a severe bit for the plain snaffle..  It will not do at
all; because it is not a certain amount of severity on the
mouth that the horse wants, but a sort of stay, upon which
he can fling himself in the flying trot, and without which he
is either unable or unwilling to put out his best efforts.
There was a notable instance of this in the trotting-horse
Alexander, which was taken to England many years ago,
and could not be got to trot a bit by those who had purchased
him, expecting great things. Afterwards Bill Whelan went




56      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
over with Rattler; and the gentlemen who had Alexander
no sooner saw him ride the former against the Birmingham
mare than they got him to go and look at Alexander.
Whelan found the horse in his stable, well taken care of,
and in fair condition; so that, at first, he was at a loss to
know why he would not trot. However, he told them to
throw a saddle on him, and let him take a little jog with
him. Forthwith, the groom came out of the harness-room
with a bridle and bridoon-bit; whereupon says Whelan,
"What are you going to do with that?"
"Put it on Alexander."
"CCNo, you don't! " says Whelan, and went into the room
to look out a bridle and bit for himself. There was, he says,
a tremendous array of all sorts of bits, and instruments of
torture, that had been got together "to hold Alexander."
He managed, however, to find a plain snaffle, and put that
on him. Everybody there looked at him as if he was a lunatic; but Bill jumped into the saddle, and jogged away with
Alexander. He coaxed him, and clucked to him; and by
and by Alexander, as he lengthened his stride and quickened his action, began to pull upon the plain snaffle. But
Whelan was something of a puller himself; and, instead of
his pull being the main haul of strength and stupidity, the
hand of a master was upon the bridle. He warmed Alexander up in a good stretch, and then brought him back by
the starting-place at such a rate as amazed the Englishmen
present.
" That's the way we ride our trotters in America," said
Whelan. "Alexander is as good as ever he was. You may
match him against any thing in this country but Rattler;
and I'll engage he won't lose it, if I ride him."
A match was soon made; and the American horse Alex-.
ander, ridden by Whelan, won it with ridiculous ease. I
have mentioned this for the purpose of impressing upon the
reader the immense importance of a light, firm, sensational
hold upon the reins. Mere dragging is of the utmost mis



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           57
chief. There is a kind of magnetic touch which the horse
no sooner feels than he seems inspirited and animated with
new life; and this is especially the case when he is a little
tired. The right kind of touch and movement of the reins
and bit is worth more in an emergency than all the whipcord and whalebone in the world.
As the training, or rather breaking, of the two-year-old
goes on, and his growth advances with the season, his feed
may be increased. He may have six quarts of oats, or even
eight, if he is large and a good worker, with as much good
hay as he will eat up clean. This, however, is to be reduced
when there is occasion to stop his work and exercise; for
instance, when he has been let up after having been going
with a broken gait. He ought to be allowed to nibble a little fresh grass night and morning, and should sometimes
have two or three carrots sliced up with his feed. Some will
say, "When he has been let up, there is a fine chance to
physic him: " but my maxim is, that, if the colt is in good
bodily health, and the operations of the internal organs are
going on right, he does not need physic; and there is no use
in a violent interference with the course of nature. In the
morning, before the colt is hitched up to go to work, give a
slight feed, - say a quart and a pint of oats, - and let him
drink- about two quarts of water. On days that his work is
not to be done early, his feed in the morning may be increased; but its quantity should be regulated by the hour at
which he will be driven. At night, he is always to have all
the water he wants. His temper and disposition are to be
carefully watched, and so are those of the lad who takes care
of him. The boy ought to have a pride in, and an affection
for, a colt in his charge; and, if he has not, he shall not be
long about a colt of mine. A lad who does not show an
active liking for the horse he looks after almost always neglects lIm; and, wherever I detect the absence of this feeling
in one about my stables, I change his occupation, or send
him away altogether. But, as a general rule, the boys are




58       THEE TROTTINTG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
very fond of their horses, especially of colts that show promise; and, in these cases, it is more likely that they will do
harm by over-feeding than by neglect. This is to be looked
after; for, though the amount of feed be measured out to
each lad, I have known many that will be always watching
slants to get an extra quart of oats for their colts, or will
even carry ears of corn about in their pockets to shell into'
the manger. See that the colt is fed as you wish him to be,
rather than as the boy who looks after him wants to feed
him.




IV.
Effects of Early Development. - Colts often overworked. - Fast Three-Year
Olds and Four-Year Olds. - Risk of hurting Stamina. - Earlier Maturity
of Running-Horses. - Evils of over-training Colts.
T   HE question as to whether the early development of
trotting-horses will have a tendency to impair their
endurance in point of time is one of great interest and importance. Theoretically, some years ago, it was generally
held that it would do so; but there is some reason to believe
that this was a mistake. Still, I am satisfied that unless
the work is given in a limited and judicious manner, there
will be very great danger of its having a pernicious effect
on the young colt. At present, we have hardly seen enough
of the young trotters trained at three and four years old to
determine, absolutely, whether the practice is altogether
prudent or otherwise. A great deal depends upon the constitution and development of the colt himself; and still
more, perhaps, upon the sagacity and care of the man who
has him in charge.' In many cases which have come under
my observation, young things have been overworked; and,
when it was found that they began to hitch and hobble,
a good let-up would do more to restore the stroke than
any thing else. It is quite certain to my mind that there
is some risk in the training of colts to such a mark as shall
fit them to trot mile heats at three years old; and some
that have displayed uncommon fast time in public at their
three and four year old stages, would probably have been
much better off to-day, if they had never been put through




60       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA,
the strong preparation necessary to the accomplishment of
those feats.
lit does not follow, however, that a subsequent failure
of a horse to carry out his early promise resulted from
the fact that he was trained at an early age. These colts
are liable to the vicissitudes which attend other horses; and,
therefore, they may go amiss in a manner which in nowise
depends on their early work. Still, there is a presumption
where a fast colt gives out at a time of;ife when he ought
to improve, that he had too much work for his stamina at
three or four years old; and, with one of much promise at
three, I should decline to match him, unless I was convinced
that I had a tolerably easy thing. It is not the fast trotting
that will do the mischief, but-the amount of work needful
to put the youngster in fix for a repeating race. Yet it is
well known that some colts and fillies who did great things
in public at three and four years old have since turned out
good horses.
It will have been gathered from what I have said heretofore, that my system contemplates the development of much
speed without much work.  Some may say that this is
impossible; but my experience is that it is quite practicable,
and a great deal more likely to be followed by the result
desired, than keeping the colt continually hammering at all
he knows. The system which I have laid down heretofore
for the management of the two-year-old is still to be followed in its general principles when he is three, with such
modifications as his increase of age justifies. It will be
much better to err on the side of a little indulgence, than
to run the risk of knocking him  off his legs and so overboard, by too much work. The first race that I remember
between three-year-old trotters was some thirty-four years
ago. It took place on the Hunting-Park Course, Philadelphia, and there were three engaged. Peter Whelan had
Gipsy, George Woodruff had a gray filly that I looked
after, and there was another one. Gipsy won it in two




THE TROTTLVYG-HORSE OF AMERICA.           61
heats, and the time was somewhere about three minutes
and seven seconds. We thought it good at that period,
and so it was. In considering the fast time made by our
best trotters of late years, we ought not to forget that the
tracks and all the appliances have been improved, as well
as the horses. Go upon the Fashion ani Union courses in
the trotting-season, and you will find them so ordered as to
be as smooth as a bowling-alley. It is scarcely necessary
to say that the courses thirty years ago were very different.
The next very prominent trot between young horses was
that in which Ethan Allen defeated Rose of Washington
when they were four yoars old. It was the first time that
a young stallion had appeared in public at that age; but
Holkam and Roe had great confidence. Ethan was indeed
a superior colt, and has since turned out a superior horse.
He had a good one to beat, too, in Rose of Washington;
and she has also turned out well. It cannot be said that
their training and race hurt either of them; but it must
not be forgotten that both were in the hands of, wary and
experienced men. Their time (2m. 36s.) was the best then,
but it has since been very much reduced in Kentucky.
Lady Emma affords another instance of speed and handling
when young, with subsequent improvement into a first-rate,
fast, and lasting trotter. At three years old she went half
a mile in public in one minute nineteen and a half seconds,
and a mile in two minutes fifty-two seconds, or thereabouts.
The training and racing she had as a three-year-old did not
at all impair her bottom, as her more recent performances
have abundantly shown. In this regard, I look upon Lady
Emma as a strong case in point. She steadily increased her
speed every year of her training, and in bottom she was
second to none.
A friend of mine, who is a noted admirer of runninghorses, has always insisted that this mare was thrown back
to some ancestor in the pedigree of Old Messenger — very
likely Flying Childers himself, he says. It is true that she




62       THlE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
looked like a thoroughbred four-miler; but I would not take
it upon me to affirm that the: likeness came from such a
remote ancestor. Shepherd Knapp and Jessie were another
pair that were trained early, and with no ill-effect, even
though their rwace was one of uncommon severity. They
were four years old, and trotted five heats, the best of which
was two minutes and forty seconds. It was the second
heat, and was won by the filly after she had previously won
the first. Upon seeing the time of this heat, I concluded
that the colt could beat her; and he won the three subsequent heats, the best of them being in two minutes fortyone seconds. But though, in view of his recent doings in'France, it cannot be said that this severe race did the colt
any permanent injury, it would be too much to affirm that
it did him any good. Next year, while in training for his
match with Harry Clay, he continually hit himself in the
elbows, by reason of excessive knee-action as it appeared;
and this prevented the bringing of him up to the mark.
This horse recently trotted two miles and a half in France,
in six minutes and fourteen seconds; which is a trifle better
than the rate of two-thirty to the mile.
The mare Cora was another very fast trotter at an early
age. She went in two minutes and thirty-seven and a half
seconds, at three years old, in Kentucky; and her improvement since has been very marked. She was sent to me by
her then owner in 1866, but did not remain long enough
to be put in condition. Within a week or ten days, she
was sold for a very large sum to a gentleman of great experience and knowledge in respect to trotting-horses. Like
Lady Emma, this mare is noted for bottom as well as, speed,
— a proof, I think, that her early training never hurt her
stamina. But I do not say that she would not have been
just as good without quite so much of it as she had at three
years old; and, unless there is some great object in view, I
should not subject a good three-year-old to a strong preparation. If, however, a man can sell a colt at three or four




THE TROTTING-1EORSE Op AMERICA.            63
years old, for eight, nine, ten, or eleven thousand dollars,
by being able to show great speed and ability to repeat,
it is an object worth some risk and trouble. It is by no
means certain that the colt will ever attain to the rank of
a first-rate trotter, even though he be very fast at three or
four years old, and the training by which his precocious
speed was developed has not hurt his stamina, his temper,
or his legs. I think that the first class of trotting-horses
will still be very select; though, other things being equal,
a fast four-year-old is more likely to reach it than one not
so fast.
The instances we have had, however, of wonderful trotters that never exhibited any extraordinary speed until they
were from six to ten years old, cannot be disregarded. I shall
have occasion to particularize them hereafter, when we come
to speak of the training of the matured trotter. Meantime, I need only mention Flora Temple, Mr. Bonner's
mares Peerless and Lady Palmer, and the late little horse
Prince. But as long as customers are to be found for fast
three and four year olds at very high rates, they will certainly be trained; and my object is to induce the owners
and handlers to guard against the forcing severity and the
heart-breaking dogging with which the process is too often
accompanied. There is another reason likely to be sufficient
to induce gentlemen to train three-year olds; which is, that it
is often desirable to show the produce of stallions at as early
a period as possible. This has no doubt operated quite as
strongly with the Kentucky breeders as the desire of getting high prices for the colts they trotted. All the fast
colts that they have shown there have not, however, been
equally fortunate with Cora. [Ericsson, who made the best
four-year-old time, and another that went with him, have
not improved upon their colt form. The gray colts raised
by Mr. Alexander, and recently sold at high figures to gen.
tlemen in this vicinity, may have better luck.
Another gray that showed much speed and cleverness at




64       THEY TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
a very early age was Mr. Hall's colt, Young America, by
Hoagland's Gray Messenger. He trotted two races at two
years old, on this Island, and won them both. In the first
trot he beat a colt by Ethan Allen, and in the next defeated
Rocky Hill. The time of this last was about three minutes and six seconds. The produce of this gray horse of
Hoagland's inherit the trotting gift very strongly from
him, together with the* hearty constitution and cast-iron
legs that have commonly been found united in the descendants of Old Messenger. Another thing was, that he got most
of them gray and in his own likeness. The premature death
of this horse was much to be regretted; for his cover seems
to have been almost, or quite, as sure to bring a trotter as
that of Hambletonian. His colt out of the Flatbush Maid,
and another one of the same age out of Lady Moscow, have
had the benefit of a good sound tuition without any forcing
and they are a very good example of what may be done with
four-year-olds without hurting them in the smallest degree.
Blonde is another of the same strain and stamp, and there
is a suspicion out that she is very fast.
The colt Bruno, by Hambletonian, out of a mare said to
be of French origin, is another very remarkable instance of
great trotting speed early developed. There is no question
in my mind about his ability to have beaten any thing that
has yet appeared upon the trotting-turf at four years old;
and as there is no reason to believe that he has been at
all injured by his training up to this time, the presumption is that he will be in the first class of trotters. Taken
altogether, I look upon Bruno's three-year-old race as more
remarkable than that of Cora in Kentucky, though her
three-year-old time was about a second better than he
made. The long-scoring, the repeating of the heat, and
the shutting-up of an enormous gap during the last, contributed to enhance the marvel of the performance.
It may be doubted whether the taxing of a three-year.
old's speed and endurance with such severity ought not to




THE TRG2'TING-HORSE O-' AMERICA.           65
be avoided. My own opinion is against it; and therefore I
should not make a match in which a colt of that age was
likely to be called upon to exert all his powers, unless the
circumstances were extraordinary. A great deal, however,
depends upon the constitution and forwardness of the colt.
A handy, vigorous, clean-actioned little fellow like Bruno,
may be more fit to trot a race at three years old than- a
gangling, loose horse would be at five. The trainer and
owner, with all the circumstances before them, must judge
for themselves: but, as a general rule, do not treat your
colts worse than you do your criminals; if the matter is
doubtful, give the colt the benefit of the doubt,- refuse to
conclude the match if it is not made, and pay forfeit if it is.
When I say doubtful, I do not mean the winning of the
money, because that is always doubtful, but the inflicting
of an injury upon the colt, either to his legs, temper, or
stamina, by too much exertion in preparing or in trotting.
If, after all, a man makes up his mind to risk young
things in tight places, where the violent and continued
exertion of all their powers will probably be called for,
it may be well enough for him to approach in his system
of raising and feeding his colts, the forcing method of the
running-horsemen. In order that the colt may be able to
stand up under the treatment calculated for an older horse,
he must be made old as soon as possible; and strong feeds
of oats from the first time he can be got to eat them is the
way to do this.. Thereby the time of maturity may be
anticipated; but at the expense of the thoroughness of the
maturity, I think, and certainly at the great risk of its
endurance. As I before had occasion to state, rapid arrival
at maturity is almost always followed by premature decay,
and this is especially the case with things forced by high
feeding when very young. It is also to be kept in mind
that the running-colt, during his training and his race, has
some compensation for his youth in the way of weight,
which the young trotter cannot have. A two-year-old colt




66       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AM:ERICA.
running in this country will only carry a very light boy,
and the three-year-old weight is but ninety pounds for colts
and eighty-seven for fillies; whereas the young trotter will
have to pull as much as George Wilkes, Lady Emma, or
General Butler, in a race in harness. Moreover, the running-race for two-year-olds is commonly but a short dash;
while the three-year-old trotter is called upon to go races
of heats, and the four-year-old mile heats, three in five.
But if, after all is said, the owner of the promising threeyear-old determines to match and train him, he had better
be sure that the preparation is not too severe. It will be
better to rely upon the speed and goodness of the colt, and
the ability and management of the driver to win, than to
screw the young thing up to the pitch of condition at the
risk of upsetting him. If the colt is overtrained now, he is
not only damaged for the time being, but the injury to his
legs, temper, or constitution, will very likely be permanent.
There are colts, just as there are some old horses, that will
stand almost any thing, and no amount of ignorance and recklessness seems sufficient to spoil them; but these are the exceptional cases, to be avoided, not imitated. With all the
care that we can take, and all the caution that we can exercise,
we shall find enough of our promising youngsters disappoint
us in the expectations we have formed, without running the
risk of ruining them by tasks too severe for the immature
condition of their bones and sinews, and for that lack of
seasoning which accompanies their early years. I admit,
that, when a man has a fast colt, the temptation is strong to
earn honor and profit by the public display of his powers:
but in almost every instance it ought to be resisted; for its
premature indulgence is too often like the conduct of the
improvident savages, who cut down trees to get at the
fruit.




V.
Actual Training of the Three-year-old. — No Physic and no Sweat at first. -
Danger of " Overmarking." - Strong Feed of Oats and Hay. - BranMashes. - Rubbing the Legs. - Full supply of Water. —Management
before and in the Race. — Strains likely to stand Early Training. - The
Abdallahs.
H'AVING given my views as to the prudence of training a three-year-old colt for a race, I shall now make
some remarks upon the course advisable to be followed
where the match has been made and the race is to come off.
The colt may have been kept in the stable all the winter,
or he may have had the run of a lot on fine days, with a loose
box at night.  In either case, his work in the spring is to be
exactly like that which he was called on to do in the fall
of his two-year-old stage, beginning very gently, and taking care never to keep him so long at it as to fret ana
discourage him. No physic is required, nor is any sweat
demanded to begin with. It is to be remembered that the
growing animal does not make internal fat like an old horse,
and that the system has not attained the firmness and hardness which will bear scraping and squeezing to be drawn
fine. If a colt is stripped of his fat and reduced in flesh as
old horses are, his growth is stopped, and the muscular
development that is now in-process is interfered with to the
lasting disadvantage of the animal. Therefore, the utmost
caution is required in dealing with them; and the effect of
the work is to be carefully watched from day to day by the
person having them  in charge. Before the work is begun
at all, it must be apparent that the colt is full of health, and
67




68-      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
possessed of that buoyancy and elasticity of spirit which a
young thing ought to have anyhow, and which are absolutely necessary to bear him up utnder the treatment to
which he is now to be subjected. If he is bold and familiar,
and a little given to mischief, so much the better; that is a
very different thing from vice, and much to be preferred to
flightiness and nervousness.
Begin with a little walking exercise every day, and from
that proceed to moderate work in harness. See that every
thing is done to make the colt enter into his work with
good pluck, and take care that the jogging is not carried so
far as to make it monotonous and disgusting to him. It
should not be confined to the course, but he may be driven
about the country-roads when they are good; and the spurts
of speed in which he is indulged should be lively but short.
By this means he will always leave off with a desire to go a
little farther, and will dash out with alacrity when he is
called upon to go again. The speed will be increased, in
nine cases out of ten, by this treatment; and the gait will be
maintained square and open. Speed can neither be created
nor preserved by forcing when young. If the colt goes
frisking and playing along, he feels well at his jogging, and
you may send him a trifle farther in his spurts. But if, on
the other hand, he looks dull and jaded, and requires to be
urged, save him. It will do harm instead of good to keep**
him at it: for he is in danger of being " overmarked;" and,
if that once takes place in the course of this his first preparation, you had better pay forfeit, and give him a long
let-up. So, also, if he begins to hitch and hobble in his
gait, you must let him up in his work. It is of no use to
keep on in hopes that he will go square again. The more
you keep on, the worse the mischief will be. Study the
disposition of the colt. If you cannot understand him, it is
not at all likely that he will understand you.
I have seen many very promising three-year-old colts
broken in their gaits, and got to paddling, solely by the




TEIE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.            69
obstinacy of the man in charge, who had determined to
"make trotters out of them."  It was this foolish attempt
at "making" that prevented their being trotters in
good time. The three-year-old colt, of the two, is more
difficult to deal with than the two-year-old. The former
is shedding his colt's teeth, his mouth is broken, his gums
sore, and his system more or less fevered. His food is not
thoroughly masticated, and sometimes he will not consume
his usual quantity. There is a vastly greater difference
between him and an old horse, than between him and a
two-year-old, in solidity of bone, in duration of sinew, and
development of muscle.  The difference between the two
and three year old, in reference to their ability to stand work,
is one of degree only, and not of kind. When the twoyear-old is well formed, hardy and lusty for his age, he is
more fit to take work than a three-year-old with a broken
mouth and fevered system. It being discovered, however,
that the colt in training is doing well, the system I have
indicated is to be pursued in such degree as his constitution and disposition call for.
The feed is now to be according to his size, appetite,
and work. Eight,' nine, ten, or, in some extraordinary cases,
even twelve quarts of oats a day may be given. Once in a
while he may have a very little corn; but there is no real
occasion for it, except in case of a poor feeder. There is no
doubt at all about the fact that oats are the best food for a
horse. They supply the greatest quantity of the'constituents of the muscular fibre which the horse is always
expending, while corn supplies the fatty matter in greatest
quantity. Therefore, keep the corn for the bullocks and
hogs, and give oats to the horses. Some say that ccra may
be fed to colts, because its silicious particles go to make up
bone; but enough of these earthy matters will be found in
the hay, in the husks of the oats, and in the water. In
this training the colt is to have: all the hay that he will eat'
up clean.  His general health'and the condition of his




70       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
bowels are to be watched, and a bran-mash is to be given
when it is thought that it will be beneficial. It may usually be ventured on at least once a week, unless there is a
tendency to looseness. Its effects are comforting and soothing, and it promotes the secretions as well as empties the
bowels. He is to be fed and to have a little water before
going to work, in the same way as I have laid down in
regard to the colt at two years old.
The legs of the colt may be hand-rubbed a little during
his course of training; but they do not want it like those of
a battered-up old hborse: and my motto is that what is not
wanted ought not to be attempted. Water is to be kept
away from the legs of the colt as much as possible: they
are to be kept clean by means of the brush and cloth. As
his work goes on, his brushes may be extended to a quarter
of a mile; but he is always to be kept well within himself.
It is to be borne in mind that there are no great things to
be done with him this year,:except to develop his speed,
and see to it that he is kept in good health..More will
have to be done in conditioning by and by; but it will be a
year or two, perhaps three, before he is fit to stand the
"grand preparation," as our friends the race-horse men
call the thorough-training process. Meantime, it is to be
thought, that if he has had his health, has stood his work
well, and has shown an increase of speed, you will be wanting to see what he can do towards the race. But you must
withstand the temptation to do any thing like what he will
be called on to do in public; for, if he does it for you now,
it is likely enough that he will not be able to do. it on the
day in question. Eight or ten days prior to the race, having
ascertained that he feels in good health and strong heart,
brush him half a mile. You can tell by the way he finishes,
and by how he feels afterwards, whether he will be likely to
stand the mile-heat out and to repeat it. Unless the
trainer can form a judgment in this matter, there is very
little chance for the colt in the race, except the other man




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           71
is equally incapable of forming an estimate of Lis colt's
stamina without repeating him. During the whole course
of the work, the colt is to have a full supply of water every
day; but he is to have it at different times, and not to be
allowed to distend himself with a great quantity of water
at one time. The night before the race, the muzzle is to be
put on, if he is a gross feeder, and is likely to eat the straw
of his bedding. Before this, the usual quantity of oats and
about a pound and a half of hay may be given. If the
colt has been in the habit of drinking a large allowance of
water, he may have two-thirds of a pailful before he is
muzzled for the-night; but, if he has usually only consumed
a small quantity, do not give him quite so much. This
water will all have been absorbed and thrown out of the
system again before he is called upon to act. Next morning early, before he goes out to walk, let him have two
quarts of oats, and about the same quantity of water.
Usually, he need only take walking exercise on this morning; but if he happens to be a strong, hearty fellow, and
given to be riotous in disposition, he ought to be jogged
four or five miles. At about eleven o'clock feed him from
a quart to three pints of oats, and from half a poundto a
pound and a half of hay. Less than half a pound is not
sufficient to stay the stomach; more than a pound and a
half is likely to be mischievous, and to interfere with the
wind.
Between those quantities, the trainer must judge according to the disposition and constitution of the colt.- He is
not to be drawn fine and reduced like an old horse; but, at
the same time, he must not be called upon to perform the
unusual feat before him with any thing like a full stomach.
If he is distressed after the heat, and seems weak, give him
a little gruel, or a small quantity of wine and water; or you
may even administer a little good brandy. It is astonishing what a dose of brandy will sometimes do for a horse
when he is badly off, and it looks as if he was going to bo




72       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
beaten. It will not do, however, to be giving brandy unless
it is clearly required; and here, again, the trainer must use
his own judgment, and have firmness enough to follow its
dictates. There are always enough outsiders, who, having
nothing at stake and no responsibility, will give advice
gratis; but it is commonly to be disregarded.
In deciding upon what a colt may be safely called upon
to do at an early age, his breed, as well as his form, disposition, and constitution, must be taken into account. Those
strains which are related'more or less closely to the bloodhorse may be trained at an earlier period, and will stand
more work, than the colder-blooded sorts. This is well
understood by those who prepare the steeple-chasers of
England and Canada. Some of these horses are quite
thoroughbred, some nearly thoroughbred, and some not
above half-bred. Now, it has been found by experience,
that of two horses apparently alike in stoutness and excellence of constitution, but one nearly thoroughbred and the
other only half-bred, the amount of work which will improve
the wind and speed, and harden the condition, of the former,
will almost certainly overmark and ruin the chance of the
other. Then the muscles shrink, and become soft and
unstrung, instead of increasing in volume and consistency;
then the eye is dull, and the feed is no longer consumed
with relish in sufficient quantity. The breed is therefore
to be considered as well as the natural constitution of the
individual horse in hand.
The stock of the famous horse Abdallah, who was by
Nl~ambrino, a thoroughbred son of imported Messenger,
would almost all stand training at an early age; and what
is, perhaps, more important, it did not appear to impair
their future durability. It is now thirty years ago since I
rode two famous trotting-horses of his get. One of them,
Ajax, was foaled in 1834; the other, Hector, the next year,
1835. At five years old, they were both capital trotters;
and by and by, when we come to speak of the trotting



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AM~ERICA.           73
horses with which I have had to do in the course cf my
career, I shall have more to say about them. Fourth of
July, a gray horse by Abdallah, was another good trotter
at five years old. Medoc was another of his get that was
justly noted; and there was Brooklyn Maid, a very fast
mare, and a noted sticker. In 1840, when she was only
five years old, this mare trotted a fifth heat in two minutes
and thirty-six seconds. Considering that this was twentyfive years ago, it must be regarded as a capital performance.
The Abdallahs came on early, and lasted long. They were
commonly full of spirits, wild and playful as kittens, with
first-rate stamina, and always ready to trot. Through this
grandson of his, the strain of old Messenger was diffused
east and west in this country; and at this day it seems to
have parted with none of its blood-like, speedy, and enduring qualities. His son Hambletonian also gets produce
which stand work early, and promise to be in nowise deficient in endurance. During the time he was in Kentucky,
Abdallah did a great deal for the trotting-horse out there;
and they have wisely re-enforced the infusign by further
importations of the Messenger blood.
When it is considered that their trotting-stallions have
been very often well-bred, and then put to thoroughbred
mares, it must go far to account for the extraordinary feats
performed there by colts that were only four years old. I
see no absolute reason to deny the statement made, that Mr.
Alexander's colt Bay Chief, by Mambrino Chief, out of a
thoroughbred mare, trotted half a mile, at four years old, in
one minute and eight seconds. It is to be regretted that
the wounds he got in the battle with the guerillas have
ruined him. Ericsson's mile - the fourth heat - in two
minutes thirty and a half seconds was an astponshing thing
for a four-year-old, especially when it is added that it was
done tQ a wagon. It does not appear upon the record that
this was the case, for the way of going is not set down;
but I learn from a gentleman of unquestionable veracity,




7-4     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
who had to do with the colt at the time, that he trotted to
a wagon.
Kentucky Chief, who won the first heat, and afterwards
went to California, where he died, was another good one.
lie went in harness. Idol was another very fast one when
young; and Brignoli was thought to be about as good as
they are made. Royal George was another very fast one;
and quite recently there have been Mr. Alexander's gray
geldings Dudley and Bull Run, and his bay stallion Bay
Chief. The information as to Morgan Chief, or Ericsson, as
he is now called, having trotted that mile in two thirty and
a half, to wagon, came from a gentleman who had an interest in him at the time, and brought a trotter from Kentucky
to me to be trained last fall. He said, too, that he was a
great, overgrown colt, standing about sixteen and a half
hands high, and could trot faster to a wagon than he could
to a sulky. That was the same meeting where Cora made
her two minutes thirty-seven and three-quarters, and
Medoc, since called John Morgan, won at two and three
mile heats.




VI.
Characteristics of the Stars. —Of the Bashaws.-The Clays. -The Tru.tees. - Natural Trotters in England. - Of Trotters that paced. —To
make Pacers trot.
T.HE produce of American Star are hardly as safe to
train early as those of Messenger through Abdallah,
Mambrino Chief, &c., by reason of their being more fragile
about the legs. When, however, the two lines are combined,
this is rectified; and the cross seems to make a very fine,
fast trotting-horse, as near perfection as may be. Such is
Mr. Bonner's gray mare Peerless, who was by Star out of
a gray mare full of the Messenger blood. She is the fastest
that I (or, indeed, anybody else) have ever driven to a wagon.
Dexter is another capital instance of the value of this cross.
Some of the Stars have given out in the legs; but their
pluck is so good that they stand up to the last, when little
better than mere cripples. It is no wonder that they have
great game and courage; for Star's grandsire was the thorough-bred four-miler Henry, who ran for the South, on the
Island here, against Eclipse, in 1823. I went to see the
race, and got a licking for it when I came home. The Messenger cross gives the Stars size, strength, and bone, and
counteracts their hereditary tendency to contraction of the
feet. It would not do to breed the Stars in-and-in, as has
answered so well with the descendants of Messenger. Widow Machree, a daughter of Star, was a very fast, game mare,
and an all-day trotter. The little horse Bolly Lewis was
another good one by him, and Goshen Maid still another.
She went the fourth heat to a wagon in 2.321.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
The Bashaws were not commonly trained early; and they
were not natural trotters in the same degree as the horses
of the Messenger line. The Bashaws originated from Grand
Bashaw, a horse imported from Barbary; and they have been
principally represented through his son, Young Bashaw, and
his sons, Black Bashaw, Andrew Jackson, and Saladin.
Black Bashaw did not trot in public; neither did Abdallah,
Messenger's grandson. The latter never was in harness in
his life[;.but you could jump on him bare-backed, and he
would go right away a fifty-clip. In those days, entire
horses were not trained. It was thought that they would
be'ruined for service- if they were "put through the mill"
for racing purposes; and so, when they showed a good gait,
they were' reserved- for the stud. The notion also prevailed,
that it would:ruin a trotter to train him before he was five
or six years bold. — The only Bashaw that I know of that
trotted at three' years old was the gray filly before mentioned,
beaten by Gypsy in 18'30. My uncle, George Woodruff, had
a very high opinion of the Bashaws.'He handled more of
them, including Lantern and George Washington, than any
other man, I think. He'had old Topgallant, a son of imported Messenger, and a noted old-time trotter. More will
have to be said about that class of horses hereafter.
Young Bashaw became much noted through his son Andrew Jackson, who was one of the first stallions that ever
trotted in public. His best performance was at Centreville
some thirty years ago - it was 1835: he went two miles in
5.18. He got Long-Island Black Hawk, who was the first
horse that trotted a mile in 2.40 to a 2501b. wagon. It was
against Jenny Lind, who went to a skeleton wagon, and
won the second heat in 2.38. The stallion beat her the
race, which was the first he ever went. Black Hawk won
the stallion stake on Union Course in 1849. He beat Cassius M. Clay; and St. Lawrence paid forfeit. This LongIsland Black Hawk was a capital horse. He could pull any
weight, and was good for a long distance, as the race of




THE TROTTING-IORSX   OF AMERICA.          77
tlhree-mile heats in which he beat Americus showed. The
wagons and drivers weighed 350 lbs. He is not to be confounded with the tribe of Black Hawks that left the troting-place up in Vermont, and flew all over the Western
country, some years ago. This was a horse of another
stamp altogether. I have said that I did not think the
Bashaws quite equal to the Messenger line for natural trotting. It is, however, hard to separate them, as the dam of
Young Bashaw's dam was a Messenger mare; and the lines
have been otherwise closely mingled. George Woodruff is
of opinion that Black Bashaw, who was the sire of Awful,
Lantern, &c., would have got as many fast trotters as any
horse that ever lived if he had had good mares. He stood
at ten dollars, and hardly ever'received a good mare. Afterwards, his fee was raised to twenty dollars; but he still had
common mares. The Monmouth-Eclipse mare, that was the
dam of Lightning, was an exception. Awful was a capital
trotter -perhaps the best of the Black B.ashaws. George
Woodruff drove him in 2m. 25s. over Point-Breeze Park, in
a trial, before he brought him on here.
It is said that Henry Clay, a son of Andrew: Jackson, is
still living in this State. He got Cassius M. Clay, who
was the sire of George M. Patchen. The dam of this last
famous trotter was said to have been got:by a son of imported Trustee. Trustee got but few trotters. The chestnut horse, so-called, who went twenty miles in harness, was
by far the best of the few he got; and I believe that his
dam, Fanny Pullen, put the trotting action into- him.
There was another got by imported Trustee, called Trustee, Jr., who trotted ten miles well. There have been other
Clays who got a few very good trotting-horses about here;
but, as their produce was not trained early, it is unnecessary
to mention them in this connection. And there have been
some whose reputed pedigrees were too uncertain to be
relied on.  Prince, the Buffalo horse, burnt last fall in
Massachusetts, was one that nobody can tell any thing




'78      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
about. The other Prince, the chestnut horse tnat beat
Hero the pacer ten miles, was a thoroughbred, according
to the accounts I have had. I had supposed that Lady
Palmer was the only thoroughbred trotter in this country;
but they say that Prince was got by Woodpecker out of a
thoroughbred mare:by Langford, and was first trained to
run.
Little attention as there has been paid to the cultivation
of the trotting tendency in England, I find that there have
been some thoroughbred trotters there, and some that were
very nearly thoroughbred. A gentleman who is well informed in the matter tells me that a large number of the
horses got by Lord Grosvenor's Mambrino, the sire of Messenger, had the natural trotting gift; that Infidel, by Turk,
was a natural trotter, and, after he was put out of training
as a race-horse, trotted -fifteen miles an hour on the road
between Newcastie and Carlisle; Scott, by Blank, was
another; and Pretender, by Hue and Cry, out of a thoroughbred Pretender mare, another. And further, that he
saw Von Tromp, half-brother to [Flying Dutchman, whipped
and spurred above an eighth of a mile before he could be
got out of a fast trot into a gallop. This horse is now in
Russia; and it is a reasonable opinion, that, if he were here,
he would get good trotters out of trotting-mares, and put
the staying stuff into them. Having been got by Lanercost, out of Barbelle, his blood is very stout. I think there
can be but little doubt of the fact, that the only infusion of
thoroughbred blood into the trotting-horse to be relied on
to improve the latter as a whole ought to come from families, who, as thoroutghbreds, have shown a disposition to
bend the knee, and trot. Those having a strong dash of the
Messenger blood would be apt to succeed; and it has succeeded in some notable instances. John Morgan was out of
a Medoc mare; and Medoc was by American Eclipse, who
was out of Messenger's daughter, Miller's Damsel. I know
of a thoroughbred colt now in training as a runner, that




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.            79
shows right smart trotting action. It is believed that he
can go a four-minute clip, and that without the least education. I attribute it solely to the Messenger blood there is
in him, Eclipse having been his grandsire.
It is a circumstance not to be passed over without notice,
that a number of our fast trotters were pacers first, and
were trained as such before they struck a trot. After some
time they changed their gait, and not only went fast, but
were squara and steady as well. Pelham was a notable
instance of this. He came off the ice from Maine, where
he had been a very fast pacer; and, in 1846, I got him in
Boston. From the time he struck a trot he improved right
along, and soon became an uncommon good one.. Horace
Jones had him afterwards, and then Whelan. He made
the best time on record, in harness, in a race against
Lady Suffolk and Jack Rossiter, - 2.28. The mare won it,
but Pelham got two heats. He was a square-gaited horse as
a trotter. Pilot was another pacer that quitted it for a better gait, and went like a humming-bird as a trotter. When
he first struck a trot it surprised his owner; but he improved
so rapidly, that, before very long, he trotted in 2.28k at
Providence.
Another very remarkable instance was that of Cayuga
Chief.. This horse was not only a pacer, but single-footed
when at a moderate rate, like the old Narraganset pacers.
He belonged to a livery-stable keeper at Worcester, Mass.,
and was let out as a hack. His easy gait and fine appearance -he was brown, with a blaze in the face, and very
handsome -made him a great favorite with the ladies;
and, whenever there was a riding-party, he was spoken for
beforehand by some of the belles. He paced fast when
called upon; but, carrying a lady, he always went ambling
off single-footed, in the easiest and most gentle style. He
was at this until nearly the fall of 1839, and then the ladies
of Worcester had to say good-by to their favorite as a sad.
dle-horse. One day he struck a trot, and went very fast.




80       THE TROTTIAG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
His improvement was as rapid as that of Pelham and Pilot,
perhaps more so; for in 1840 he trotted his first race at
Centreville, and did two miles in five minutes and fifteen
seconds.
Tip was another fast pacer that saw the error of his way
of going, and took to trotting. He belonged to Rochester,
and was afterwards sold to a gentleman in Jersey. As a
pacer he was very fast. After he had begun to trot, Spicer
got him, and he trotted in public low down in the thirties.
As a general rule, those horses that have been pacers have
been very steady, and, when trotting fast, have seemed
afraid to break. But some of them have caused a good
deal of disappointment and some profanity by taking to
pacing again all of a sudden, in the middle of a race, or
even in the middle of a heat. There was a roan horse
called Dart, that had been a pacer, but had struck a trot,
and he was in my charge. He could go like a bullet; for I
have driven him a quarter of a mile to a wagon in thirtyfour seconds, with my watch in my hand. Finally he was
matched, and we thought we had a good thing of it; and so
we should if the brute hadn't kicked over the milk-pail.
He won the first heat easily; but in the next, when quite
within himself, he suddenly struck a pace, just as if he was
determined to show the company that he could go both
ways. All my efforts to get him down to a trot were fruitless. Dart wouldn't trot; and so, when we came to the gate,
I just made him dart out of the course, without going near
the judges. Still, I should not be afraid of this in a pacer
that had taken up a trot and gone that gait a reasonable
time with steadiness. A trotting-horse is so much more
valuable than a pacer, that, if I had one of the latter that
could go in 2.20, I should watch carefully for the chance to
make a trotter out of him.
Any pacing-horse can be made to trot by putting rails
down, and making him move over them. His fore-feet will
get over clean; but he cannot shuffle his hind-feet over at a




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERIC'A.           81
pace without hitting, and he must trot very soon or fall
down. This method is sometimes adopted; but it is much
better when the horse strikes a trot himself without these
impediments. This he is most likely to do after having
been driven a good distance and got tired. The reason
that should prevent us from adriving a trotter when tired,
for fear of making him", break his gait, will rather be for
driving the pacer when a little tired; for his gait is not one
that we wish to preserve, and this is a means towards
the changing of it. It is more laborious than any other
way of going. The trotting-horse, moving the near foreleg and the off hind-leg together, and then the off fore-leg
and near hind-leg together, keeps upright, and-is like a ship
sailing steady on an even keel.' The pacer, moving both
near legs together and both off legs together, has a rocking
motion, like that of a ship in a rolling sea. The pacer,
though knowing no other gait but a gallop or:a walk bet
sides his pace, is likely to change it for the first time when
he has been driven so far with that movement as to become
tired. If he then strikes a trot it eases him; and it then
becomes the business of the driver to encourage him in his
new gait by every means. The best way to proceed with a
pacer that has struck a trot in this manner is put the rollers on him the next time he goes out. The effect is the
same on him as on the young trotter whose gait has been
broken. They must be changed from leg to leg as occasion
may require; and when a pacer is got to a square trot, he
is to be kept at it by the nicest kind of handling. Other
fast pacers beside those I have mentioned have made trotters. Among them there was American Doe. Sim IHoagland handled her; and drove her trotting in 2m. 39s., he
weighing more than two hundred pounds.
6




VII.
Horses that pate and trot too. -Not to be trusted on the Course. —
Trotters that amble off in a Pace when first out of the Stable. - Speed,
and its Relation to Stoutness. - The Gray Mare Peerless. —Styles of
Going. — Gait of Flora Temple and Ethan Allen. - Bush Messenger's
Get. - Vermont Hambletonian's Get. - Influence of Messenger. - lobbling in Jogging.
LAST spoke of the natural and fast pacers which had
afterwards taken to trotting, and made fine horses for the
course at that gait. It must be added, that much care and
patience are necessary in the treatment and handling of
them while they are in the time of transition between the
pace and trot and not thorough at either. Some remain all
their lives capable of pacing and trotting: and these are
useless for the course, by reason of the fact, that, if matched
to pace, they may strike a trot, and so lose; and, if matched
to trot, they may fall into a pace, and lose that way.  But
they are often fine, lasting road-horses, able to go a distance,
and to make such fast brushes by pacing that no road-trotter can get by them. It was one of this sort that beat the
dam of Flatbush lfaid on the road; and it was only by
changing the gait that it was done. That mare, the dam
of the Maid, was a good one. The horse who got the little
bay out of her was a pacer, - a chestnut. I recollect- his
winning a race here years ago. He had good blood in him,
and could trot as well as pace. The mare was one of the
Miessenger tribe,-a gray, flea-bitten about the head and
neck.
Besides those who pace and afterwards make reliable
trotters, aad those who pace sometimes and trot sometimes,
82




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           83
there is a class that begin from a walk in an ambling pace,
and go from that into the finest kind of a fast and steady
trot. Some of our very best trotters of old times, and
modern days as well, have had this habit of going off in a
little pacing amble before they squared away in the flying
trot. I like this kind. They begin with this kind of
dainty amble, and some might think that they couldn't trot
much; but it is only like the play of the tiger before he
makes his spring. It is interesting to note the difference
in trotting-horses as they begin, before they get into the
stride. Old Topgallant was one of those that go ambling
off, though it was not invariable with him: it was with
Tacony and with Lady Moscow. Duchess, who beat Lady
Suffolk, was another that began with this sort of amble.
Sontag was another; and, more than that, she was a natural
pacer before they made a trotter of her. It may be judged
that she was a good trotter; for when Whelan had her she
beat Flora Temple, who was in Warren Peabody's hands.
But Flora did not stay beat long. The very next week I
took her, and beat Whelan and Sontag without much
trouble. Three of the best mares in the country now may
be noticed as going off with the kind of dainty amble that I
have mentioned as a characteristic of Topgallant, Tacony,
Lady Moscow, and Sontag.  Mr. Bonner's gray mare
Peerless always does it, and so does the famous chestnut
Lady Palmer  The other I now call to mind is the young
gray mare that Dan Pfifer has, - Mr. Lorillard's Blonde.
She goes off in just such a way. This young mare is going
to be very remarkable if she has luck. She was by Hoagland's Gray Messenger, and her dam by Old Abdallah.
The old mare was a vicious jade, and of no use whatever
except for the blood that was in her. She could kick
higher than a man's head, and frightened one or two in this
neighborhood, who tried to drive her, into fits. But the
union between her and Hoagland's horse just hit the bull'seye. The produce, Blonde, has been in Pfifer's hands ever




84       THE TROTTINTG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
since she was broken, and she is now "as fast as a ghost."
She is only five years old, and has trotted a quarter of a
mile in thirty-two seconds and a half. If she gets steady,
as there is reason to believe she will with further handling,
experience, and age, she is going to be one of our very best
trotters.
Some people say, "What's the use of a horse going a
quarter fast?"  Now, they must go a quarter fast before
they can go a mile fast; and, when I have one that can go a
quarter at that rate at five years old, I shall take very good
care that she don't go that lick any farther just then. I
drove Mr. Bonner's gray mare Peerless a quarter of a mile
in thirty seconds, and it was to a wagon. I mentioned
before that she was the fastest I ever drove to a wagon, or
that anybody else ever did. It was on the Union Course.
Capt. Moore timed her, unknown to me, or to any one
else but himself. He had his race-horses there then, and
almost slept with one eye open. Afterwards he came up to
my house, and began to question Crepe Collins, and some of
the others, about the gray mare "that Hiram had been
driving." The opinion of many then was, that, though fast,
she could only go a quarter of a mile; and I wanted them to
think so. Crepe knew it, and made some misunderstand —
able sort of an answer. The others assured the captain
that she was of "no account." But he was certain that he
had timed her right; and, to make sure that there was no mistake in the distance, he went and got his chain and boy and
measured the ground. This mare, that people thought then
could only go a quarter, carried me afterwards two miles to
a wagon, Hoagland's weight some three hundred and eleven
pounds, and finished well up with Lady Palmer, who is the
best-bottomed mare to weight in the world, and one of the
fastest.
Gray Eddy was another of the kind that always amble
off; and a capital horse he was. Flora does not amble to
begin; but, in jogging off slow, she goes rolling and tumbling




THE TROTTIN'G-HORSE OF AMERICA.           85
along, as if she had no gait at all, and was capable of none.
But when she squares away, and begins to deliver the real
stroke, she-has as fine and even a trot as any horse in the
world. Her gait, in the rushes of lightning-speed when
she darts up the stretch, is as square as ever was seen. It
would be impossible for her to go as fast as she does if there
was any hitch about her then. Ethan Allen goes right out
of his tracks in a square trot from the beginning, and very
few can head him for half a mile. Ned Forrest and Daniel
D. Tompkins, the two that trotted at Philadelphia for $5,000
a side, went square from the walk like Ethan. That match
was three-mile heats, to go as they pleased, on the Hunt-ing-park Course, at Philadelphia, in 1838. General Cadwalladt;r owned Ned Forrest, a black horse of unknown
pedigree. Mr. Walton owned Daniel D. Tompkins, and
George Youngs rode him. HIe came from MlVassachusetts,
and was of the Maine, or Bush-Messenger, blood. That
Bush Messenger was one of the last colts that old Messenger got, if not the very last. James Hammil rode the
black horse; but Daniel D. won the first heat in such style
that General Cadwallader sold out his chance in the race
for five hundred dollars. Anderson & Spicer, of New York,
bought it, and put Forrest in harness. Spicer got in and
drove him, but the other won it without any trouble.
Daniel D. Tompkins was brought from Massachusetts to
New York in 1834. I handled him then. He was a good
little horse, a chestnut, under fifteen hands, with pluck
enough for the biggest that ever trotted.
This Bush, or Maine-Messenger, line was another very
good ramification of the Messenger blood, and of great
value to Maine and Massachusetts. The horse got a large
number of fine trotters and some first-rate ones.  The
latter were nearly all chestnuts. I mentioned this fact to
the friend who sometimes comes here to " talk horse " with
me; and says he, "Now here's a glorious confirmation of
the old maxim,' Like produces lile, or the likeness of some




86       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
ancestor!' The Gray Messengers take after Mambrino,
old 3Messenger's sire; these chestnut-Bush Messengers take
after Blaze and Flying Childers, the sire and grandsire of
Sampson, who got Engineer, Mambrino's sire. Now, here
you see, Hiram, is a proof."
"Stop!" says I. "What you say is all very fine; but I
think  it just as likely that the Bush Messenger's dam
was a chestnut, as that his colts were thrown back to
Flying Childers."
The Bush Messenger, besides Daniel D. Tompkins, got
Gen. Taylor, a very famous trotter and sticker: he was
also a chestnut. Henry was another of the tribe, and the
same. Independence another, and a chestnut. And Fanny
Pullen another of the same color. She had Trustee, the
twenty-miler, by imported Trustee; and he was also a chestnut horse. Considering the good blood he inherited on
both sides, it is no great wonder that he was a horse of
such bottom and endurance. The Eaton horse, in Maine,
is a near descendant of the Bush Messenger; and he has
kept up that line of trotters. Shepherd F. Knapp is one
of his colts.  While Maine had the Bush Messenger,
Vermont got the blood of the old imported horse through
Hambletonian, who  was really  a  grandson  of his.
This horse got as good trotters as the Bush Messenger.
He was the sire of True John, Green-Mountain Maid,
Gray Vermont, and Sontag, - all first-rate horses. So it is
clear, that besides the lines through Mambrino and Abdallah, and through Mambrino, Mambrino Paymaster, and
Mambrino Chief, which diffused the blood of Messenger
over Long Island, through New-York State at large, and
in the blue-grass regions of Kentucky, there are to be
taken into account those of the Bush Messenger and Hambletonian, who carried the strain into the Eastern States.
It is curious to estimate the influence of one horse,
especially if he lives to a great age, gets stallions that
become noted, and stock distinguished for fine constitution




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.             87
and longevity. Messenger covered some twenty seasons in
this country; and as he had plenty of mares, and was a
sure foal-getter, he must have been the sire of about a
thousand horses. Then comes the fact that his sons were
as long-lived and as thoroughly employed in the work of
increase as himself, and that his grandsons continued to
possess the fine qualities and peculiar gifts which he owned
and conferred. In this way, and taking into account the
singular faculty these horses have had of stamping the
living image of their line upon their produce, and of infusing into their sons and daughters the less tangible but not
less real attributes of pluck, resolution, and endurance, we
shall be enabled to make some.estimate of the incalculable
influence Messenger has had upon the trotting-stock of this
country.
It has been found that the blood of this famous horse
"hits" with almost any other strain; perhaps it would
be more correct to say, that the constitution of the Messengers is so good, and their individuality so strongly marked,
that, in the produce of their crosses with other families, their'blood always predominates. With the Stars it is of the
greatest value. The noted horse Brown Dick, whose trotting education was received during the three or four years
he was in the hands of Dan Pfifer, was the first of this
cross that attracted my notice. His history is this: A man
named Dubois, who lived up in  Orange or Duchess
County, had a colt by Star, that was wicked, and not
thought much of. Dubois, being in New York, bought
an old gray mare of the Messenger blood, out of a
cart, and, taking her home, had her covered by the Star
colt before he was made a gelding. The produce was
Brown Dick. His dam was a pacer; but the colt soon
became a fast and reliable trotter under Pfifer's management. He first trotted at six years old. His best race
was against Patchen; and he won it in 2.28, 2.254, 2.28.
He and Patchen and Miller's Damsel -trotted another




88       TIIE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
famous race on the Union Course. There were five heats;
and' the time was 2.261, 2;26-,-2.29, 2.281, 2.29.  Five
heats all inside of 2.30 was no common performance. The
stallion finally won it, which was a proof of his staying
powers.
To conclude with the different ways trotting-horses have
of beginning, it will be as well to mention, that I have
known some who hobbled off at first as if they were lame.
I could name some who would have been pronounced lame,
when led out with a halter or driven at a slow jog, by
almost any horseman,- but were, nevertheless, perfectly
sound, and only required to be suffered to go along at a
good gait to establish the fact. I have known one or two
very famous trotters that went as if they were lame all
round when jogging slow. I have heard of running-horses
of whom the same was said. The Queen of Trumps, a
famous-English mare by Velocipede out of Princess Royal,
had this peculiarity. I am told, that, when she was saddled
for the Oaks, any man who did not know of it would have
made oath that she was lame on all-fours. But she won
the race with ease, and afterwards carried off the St. Leger
"in a walk," as our friends over the water say. A. J.
Minor, the able and clever gentleman who trained for Mr.
Ten Broeck in England, and now has charge of Kentucky
and Mr. Hunter's horses, tells a good story about that
saying. A horse called Tom something,- I forgot what, -
ran a race for a cup at a country meeting, and, with a very
large allowance of steel and whalebone at the finish, got
the award in his favor by half a head. Minor says he had
about a hundred stripes in the last fifty strides. As he was
being led off to the stable, some of the trainer's friends,
who had not seen the race, met them, and cried out, "How
about t' race for t' coop? "- "Oh, the cup!" says the
trainer, swinging his hat in the air, "why, old Tom wo n in
tz walk."
I have found some horses that were not lame, but went




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.             89
as if they were, by reason of one leg being a little shorter
than the other. Sometimes there's a difference in the forelegs; at others it is in the hind ones. Careful observation
by a man of experience will detect this, and the remedy is
easy. The horse must be levelled by a thicker shoe on the
short side.




Treatment the Winter before Training. - Frozen and Slippery Roads Bad.
- Fattening up, an Evil. - The Feed in Winter. - Treatment in complete
Let-up. - Clothing. - The Feet.-" Freezing out " Mischievous. -
Horses that need Blistering. —Food and Treatment. - Stabling all
Winter. - Treatment and Exercise. - Constitution to be kept in
View. - Shedding-Time. - Walking Exercise. - Jogging. - No Fast
Work at First. —No Physic commonly required.
B    EFORE entering upon the training of the trotter, it
will be necessary to say something in regard to his
treatment during the preceding winter; for upon that a good
deal depends as to the method and time which will be required to get him into condition.  If he has been trained and
trotted in the previous summer and fall, his system at the
beginning of the cold weather is sure to be somewhat in an
inflammatory state from high feeding; and it is probable that
his legs will be a little stale from the amount of work they
have undergone, and the severity with which he has, perhaps,
banged them about. Various methods and degrees of treatment may be adopted, and the choice of them should depend altogether upon the state and constitution of the
horse. If he is of a hardy habit, is in robust health, and
his legs are all right, he may as well be driven moderately
during the winter, and kept as road-horses are. Care is to
be talken, of course, that he is not suffered to extend himself upon rough, hard roads; and I think those who have
him in charge should be wary of sleighing, and of driving when the roads are frozen and slippery. The horse
may be shod how you please; but ingenuity cannot prevent
his slipping and sliding to some extent, when before a sleigh
90o




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           91
or a wagon, upon a frozen road. He is therefore liable at
such times to wrench and strain the muscles and ligaments;
and, though no mischief may be apparent, the wear and tear
is by no means as moderate as it is supposed to be, even
though he is driven slow.
Care must also be taken that he is not fattened up.
Some horses make flesh very fast when their work is
small and irregular, and load the intestines and heart to
such a degree, that the trainer has no end of trouble and
anxiety to get it off. It is not only useless, but positively
mischievous; and hence the grain is to be reduced in winter to a little more than half the quantity he was accustomed to consume when in training. With this he may
have a few carrots now and then, and a bran-mash occasionally. The hay he has should be good, clean, and sweet.
Sufficient attention to this matter will well repay the
little extra expense and trouble which may be called for to
secure it.
Should it be found, at the end of the season, that the
trotter is stale, that his constitutional health and vigor are
somewhat impaired, and his legs the worse for wear, it will
not be wise to drive him during the winter. Instead of
that, he may have a complete let-up, with a loose box, and
a small outside lot to run in. The good rest is Nature's
great restorative, when the constitutional powers have been
heavily taxed by a long course of training, and severe
work upon the course in the engagements the trotter may
have been called upon to fulfil. To prepare him for his
wintering, you should begin by gradually removing the
clothes in which he has been accustomed to stand- in the
stable; for during the time he runs out he is to have no
artificial protection against the weather but that which the
shelter of his box will afford when he seeks it. His own
coat is to be his only clothing. His shoes should be pulled
off; and his feet may be pared down, so as to remove the
bruised and broken edges of the crust and prepare for the




92       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERIC'A.
even growth which will follow. A pair. of -short tips may
then be put upon the fore-feet, which will prevent the hoof
from being broken, and let the horse down upon his heels so
as to make them expand, and prevent any tendency towards
contraction. During the period that he thus runs out, all
grooming and dressing of the coat may be dispensed with;
and the grain fed to him is only to be about half of that
which he has had when training, and was kept up to the
trotting-mark.  In this way the horse may be expected to
winter well, and to renew, in a measure, the freshness and
elasticity of youth. In my opinion, this system is much to
be preferred to that often adopted of turning the horse out
into a field, to endure the bitter blasts and intensely cold
nights of a severe winter, with nothing but' a hovel for
shelter,- and sometimes not that. Because training or the
performance: of difficult feats requires high feed, sweats, and
some deg'ree of artificial warmth, I can see no reason why
the horse should be subjected to another violent extreme
when let up.
A horse turned loose to undergo this "freezing out," as it
is called, is apt to be neglected as to feed as well; and,
though he may escape any violent active disorder, he is
liable to come up in the spring reduced in flesh, general
health and vitality, much and permanently impaired in the
wind, and worse off in every way than he would have been
if treated according to the other system. Besides this,horses turned loose upon the frozen turf are apt to do more
hurt to their legs than the treatment is at all likely to cure;
and I can see no advantage to be gained by the "freezingout" plan, in any point of view.
Another. class of horses whose case must be considered
embraces those whose legs are in such a state that blistering. or firing has to be resorted to.,:These: should be kept
in the stable altogether during the active part of: the'treatment; and their food should be of a light, cooling description, consisting -of mashes and carrots to a considerablo




THEE TROTTING-HORSE- OF AMERICA.          93
extent, and without oats while the feverish, inflammatory
symptoms:prevail. Physic is not required, as a general
rule; but cases will arise in which a fevered and an inflammatory condition may demand the use of a ball, or other
light dose of medicine. When the immediate effects of the
active treatment by the blister or firing are over, the horse
may have a loose box and a lot outside the same, as is recommended for those not fired or blistered. Care must be
taken while the blister is on that the horse is securely tied;
for, if not, he may rub and even gnaw the part so as to
injure the sinews under treatment. His food should be
altogether soft, unless he has engagements in the spring.
In that case, he must be given from four to six quarts of
oats a day, according to his constitution and the existing
state of his system. On the one hand, he must not be suffered to get flabby and washy by too much soft food when
engaged; and, on the other, care must be taken that he does
not put on flesh and make much internal fat during this
time of rest. If the former error is fallen into, he will be
unable' to stand the work of an early preparation, and will
come to the post weakened and with poor wind. If the latter mistake is made, and he is found loaded with too much
flesh when taken in hand in the spring, he may be overdone
-in the getting of it off, and come up to trot in bad heart,
sore all over, and deficient in speed. The feed of moderate
quantities of oats, with mashes, hay, and some carrots, will
commonly answer best. The horse will make flesh then, if
he is in health and his stomach has. recovered its tone; but
the ~superfluity resulting from this diet will be more easily
got off than that produced by a higher allowance of strong
food. There is plenty of room for the exercise of sounld
judgment in this matter; and the discretion therein should
not be left, as it too often is, to some well-meaning but inmexperienced person,:whose only plan is to give the horse all
he will eat of all sorts of feed.
It is my conviction that flesh can only be got off in the




94       TEE- TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
spring by slow dclgrees with safety.  The physicking and
sweating sometimes recommended, and often resorted to, are
mischievous, in my opinion; and I know that any thing like
rapid work and hurry at the beginning, with a horse overfed during the winter, and very likely infirm in his legs,
will be apt to knock him off before he has got the use of
them, or the muscles and sinews have recovered much of
their tone. There is another way of wintering trottinghorses, which, having engagements in the spring, are to be
prepared at an early period to fulfil them. When such a
horse is found to be clean and strong upon his legs at the
close of the season, and the trainer knows that he was then
all right and in fine health and freshness, as well as in hard
condition, an intermediate way of wintering may be wisely
adopted. Instead of being driven on the road as was first
mentioned, or turned into the loose box with run of the lot
as was next described, the horse may be kept in the stable
all the winter, which is to say in a loose box. His clothing
is to be reduced to a thin sheet; and the.food, according to
his constitution and heartiness, will be regulated pretty
much like that of the one that runs in the box and lot.
He may have soft food enough to cool him out, such as a
few carrots every other day, and a bran-mash now and
then.  Large quantities of carrots are not to be given;
and car. is to be taken that he has stout feed enough to
keep his flesh firm and elastic. Exercise, every day that
the weather will admit of, under saddle or by leading, is to
be given; and his coat may receive a nice little dressing
once or twice a day.
This horse being directly under the trainer's eye all the
time, and treated with a view to his early preparation and
trotting, will be kept much nearer the mark of condition
than those before mentioned, and will be apt to take his
work in the spring of the coming year with better pluck
and less risk than any of them. It remains to be added
here, that horses turned out into the field should have a




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.'          95
good feed of oats twice a day.  Their exposure to the
severity of the weather demands food calculated to keep
up their animal heat, and compensate for the rapid waste
which must be going on through the efforts of nature to
supply adequate warmth. Yet it is too often the case that
the horse gets no grain at all, and that the hay fed to him
is of poor quality. Reduced vitality, and loss of strength,
are sure to follow a course of modified starvation, and very
frequently worms and the heaves are among the consequences which it entails. For these reasons, in addition
to those before mentioned, the turning-out of horses used
to good stabling, high feed, and warm clothing into the
field, to rough it during the winter season, is to be avoided.
With reference to the feeding of those either driven on
the road, kept in the stable and exercised, or run in the box
and lot, I repeat that the loading up with flesh.and internal
fat is to be guarded against. The constitution of the horse
himself is to be the main guide of whoever may have him
in charge, as to the amount of grain to be fed. If he is
naturally washy and soft, and given to sweat easily and
profusely, he should be kept on stronger feed and have
fewer mashes and carrots than one of the opposite tendency.
In all cases, however, the diet may be cool, and the bowels
kept easy during this period of rest. The system of each
horse must be studied and understood in order to profitable
and proper treatment in this regard; for the conclusion of
every man of sense and experience touching it is, that there
are hardly any two alike.
As I have before remarked, the horse who is turned loose
to run in a lot, with a box to go into when he is inclined to
do so, will be altogether without clothes. The one that has
been under treatment by blister or actual cautery will be
better for a light blanket without a ho6d. And that kept
in a loose box, and exercised upon the road or an exerciseground, under saddle or in leading-reins, will require nothing but a thin sheet




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
In the spring, the shedding of the coat is rather a critical
time with the horse;: and it is a bad practice to attempt to
hurry this operation of nature. Many people are overanxious to see their horses shed early; and it is true, that
to be backward in shedding is not a sign of a high state
of health. But it does not follow that means shall be
taken to loosen and remove the old coat before the constitution is quite ready to renew it, and has, in fact, begun to
do so. The hair should be suffered to come off naturally;
and as the lads in care of good horses are anxious to get
rid of it early, so that they may present a fine appearance
the sooner, it will be proper to see that they do not rub it
off. Some people give boiled flaxseed or linseed-meal and
the like to make their horses shed early; but I am opposed
to the. practice, being convinced that it is dangerous and
mischievous.  This sort of poulticing inside opens the
pores, starts the coat, and sets the horse to sweating before
the season is sufficiently advanced to warrant it; and the
risk of coughs, and inflammation of the lungs, is thereby
needlessly increased. The bran-mashes, by which the
horse's bowels have been kept in regular order, may be
adhered to, but the flaxseed and linseed should not be given.
The tendency of them is to relax the system suddenly,
and to cause the old hair to come away before the new coat
is well started to take its place.
As the weather gets bright and favorable, the horse's
exercise may be increased under saddle, or in leading-reins,
from two to four miles. The mettled, high-strung horse
must have more of this walking than the others; but they
should all have enough to moderate their exuberant spirits
at coming out, and to stop their dancing, capering, and
setting their backs up at every thing they meet. This is
not to be regarded as'a part of the training proper; but still
it is necessary that it should be attended to, for in these
walks the muscles are gradually;getting their tone, and the
horse is being thus prepared for thejogging with which his




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           97
training really begins. We have all of us experienced how
soon we get tired with walking, and how even standing up
for a considerable time pains the muscles of the legs at
first, after a season of repose and inactivity. This should
convince us, that, after the rest the horse has had during the
winter, the change to work should be gradual and slow at
first. As soon as the horse has been thus prepared, and
the roads and weather have become sufficiently favorable,
he may be put in harness or to a wagon, and his jogging
may begin. Whether he shall go in a sulky or to a wagon
should depend upon his disposition, in a great measure; but
it will be also necessary to consider the nature of the
engagements he is under in the early part of the coming
season. The distance he is to be jogged must be according
to his constitution and ability to perform without fatigue;
and of this the trainer must judge from what he knows of
him, in reference to former experience, and what he
observes as the horse goes from day to day. A good deal
of caution is necessary at first; for, until hardened a little by
custom, the horse will be easily overdone, and a great deal
of time will be lost solely by reason of having been in too
great a hurry. No rule can be laid down for the amount
of jogging the horse should have: it is a matter for the
judgment of the trainer, in view of the nature of the
animal being trained, and of the effect that it is observed
to have on him as it is carried on.
For the first week or ten days, there is to be no fast work
at all; but, at the expiration of that time, the muscles and
tendons ought to be seasoned enough to justify the trainer
in indulging the horse with slight spurts. In these he may
be permitted to move along lively without over-taxing his
powers or his wind. No rule can be given as to t]heir
length. The only thing to be said is, that they ought not
to be very frequent and never long.' The judgment of the
trainer should enable him to determine how frequent they
may be, and to what distance he may venture to send him




98       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
without danger of overdoing the thing. It must be remembered, that, at this early stage of his preparation, the horse
can bear very little compared with that which he will
endure with ease, and which may be undertaken with impunity, when his condition has become forward. It is a
rule with some to administer physic before the work of the
horse is commenced, but I have never been able to perceive
the wisdom of such a course. It is to be supposed, that, if
the horse has been wintered well, the secretions will be
moderately active, and the bowels regular when the time
to commence work comes. In such a case, what necessity
can there be for physicking?  It may be apparent that
some medicine is required to abate internal heat and humor,
or it may happen that the horse is gross and fleshy from
having been overfed while standing still. In such cases a
mild dose of medicine may be given with advantage; but,
instead of administering it before the work is begun, I
commonly prefer to jog for a few days, then let up, and give
the medicine. The work, of course, is not to be resumed
until the effects of the mild course have passed off; and then
it is to be carried on with quite as much care as in those
cases where there was no necessity for physic perceived.




Feed while Jogging. - Brushing in the Work. - Length of the Brush.Advance of Condition to be noted.- The  eed. - The first Trial. -
Of the Sweats.-Feed and Clothing Afterwards. —Tight Bandaging
bad.
Y~7-HIL    E the jogging, the first part of the trottinghorse's preparation, is in progress, the strength of
the feed may be increased, though not up to the extent that
will be requisite when the work is made longer and sharper.
He may have, during this first part of the preparation,
from eight to ten quarts of oats a day, according to his
capacity as a feeder, and the demands made by nature for
supply of strong food under work. As the oats are increased, the horse will want less hay, but may still have all
that he will eat up clean. After taking his feed of oats,
he will not consume as much hay in general. But some
horses are such gluttons that it is necessary to limit them
as to hay, almost from the first.  There are even some who
will eat the straw of their bedding when they have had all
the grain and hay that ought to be fed to them; and, with
these, it sometimes becomes necessary to put on the muzzle
long before the time for the trial or the race. No carrots
are now to be given, and I believe corn to be unnecessary
and often mischievous. It is heating, and does not contain
as much of the stuff that goes to make up hard flesh and
elastic muscle as oats. There may be instances, however,
in which a light feeder can be got to eat up his oats and a
handful of corn as well, when the latter is mixed with
them. In such a case it is well to give it; but in no case-.99




100      THE' TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
should corn be used as a substitute for the allowance of oats
tbi horse in training ought to have.
TWhile the jogging and after-preparation are going on, a
bran-mash now and then will be proper. Probably about
once a week will be often enough, and not too often; but
this will be indicated by the condition of the horse's bowels
and by his constitutional tendencies and requirements. If
his bowels are relaxed, the use of the bran-mash is not
apparent; and if he is of the \light, washy order, never
having much substance, and easily melting away when put
into sharp training-work, mashes are to be given more
sparingly than with one of the opposite character. The
trainer is never to relax his vigilance of observation, or let
his judgment go to sleep and trust to arbitrary rules.
After the week or tea days of moderate jogging, which
has been directed to begin with, the muscles, tendons, and
joints will have got some tone, and the wind have improved
sufficiently to allow of the horse being sent along at half
speed; and he may be started up and moved at three-quarter speed for about half a mile. This brush of half a mile
at three-quarter speed may be increased if the horse feels
fine, wants to do all he knows, and improves under his
work. The next step will be, as soon as you perceive that
he stands up well to his work, comes out cheerfully, and
takes it with a relish, to brush him along at speed for a
quarter of a mile, or even for half a mile, according as the
distance is indicated in the individual case. This brush will
open his pipes, and, by making him blow, set the machinery
in motion which is to give him wind and throw out the
blood from the internal organs when he is called upon to
make his extraordinary efforts in the race. He is not, as a
matter of course, to be forced in pace up to the extreme
that he may be capable of in a close brush with another
horse, when the stakes are up and the heat hangs in the
balance. Care is also to be taken that his natural ardor
and willingness are not suffered to lead into difficulties.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.            101
High-strung, generous horses are apt to want t) do more
work and to do it faster than is good for them; andl this
frequently misleads inexperienced persons, who seeing them
all on fire to go, and never satisfied unless suffered to cut
loose, imagine that it can do no harm to indulge them when
they feel so fine. These are just the horses that require to
be watched narrowly, and taken in hand; for their
exuberant spirits and eagerness to perform are not often
accompanied with the power to keep on and stand up under
a severe preparation at such a rate. On the other hand,
there are others lazily inclined, but requiring a great
amount of work to make them fit. These are commonly
able to bear as much as it is deemed necessary to give them
and they must be wakened up from time to time, so as to
make them  get out of their sluggish habit and square
away.
As the training goes on, the improvement in the condition of each horse is to be carefully watched and noted, so
that the time when it will be safe and useful to give the
first trial may be observed. Those that were in stable
condition at the commencement of the preparation will be
ready for this test before the ones that were turned out;
but no rule can be laid down as to the amount of work the
horse ought to have before the trial may be ventured on.
His condition as he appears while at work, and during and
after his speedy brushes, is to be the guide by which the
trainer's judgment in this matter must be directed. During
the fast work, preparatory to the coming trial, the horse
will have been put upon his largest allowance of strong
food. Some will not eat more than eight or ten quarts
of oats a day; and it is necessary to be very vigilant and
careful that these light feeders are not over-marked in
work.  Twelve or thirteen quarts is about what a good
feeder ought to have. Some will ea t sixteen quarts of oats
a day, but my belief is that three quarts of it does more
harm than good. With such an extraordinary consump



102      THE. TROTTIiVG-HORSE OF AMERICA
tion of strong food, there must needs be an extraordinary
amount of strong work done to keep the flesh down and get
rid of these superfluities, inside and outside, which experience has shown must be eliminated before the horse is
capable of his best achievements. Now, if it were a mere
question of bodily health and vigor, we might say, the more
oats the horse eats the more work he can do with impunity,
and the better his condition will be on the day of the race.
But it is not a mere question of bodily health and vigor;
for the extra amount of work made necessary to get off the
effects of the extravagant quantity of food consumed, and
keep the horse only in proper flesh at the same time,
imposes a terrible task upon the legs, which are commonly
the first part of the machine to give out in horses whose
work is fast and severe. This is a consideration which has
made me averse to giving any horse in training more than
thirteen quarts of good oats a day, unless there is something peculiar in the animal and the circumstances of the
case.
During the preparation which precedes the first trial, it
will be necessary to give the horse one or two sweats.
Whether it ought to be one or two must be'indicated by
the condition and nature of the animal, the races in which
he is engaged, and resolved by the judgment of the trainer.
The amount of clothes in which he shall be sweated must
be determined by the same considerations. Some may
require a blanket and hood, and a wrapper round the neck
to start the perspiration out of them; while there are others
that will sweat freely with but little clothes, and scrape
well. when more have been thrown on at the end of the jog.
One thing may certainly be said, that a sweat obtained
without the use of heavy clothing is more satisfactory and
better than one with it, provided the latter method does not
include a good deal more work to get the sweat., Only a
moderate quantity of clothing and little work while the
horse is going, are the beet for a sweat, if a good scrape




THE TR,TTING-HORSE OF AMERICA'.    103
can thus be obtained. When the horse comes from the
drive, and is taken out of the wagon, he will soon be ready
to scrape. That done, he must be blanketed up again, and
walked about out of the draft. A favorable day for the
sweat ought to be taken advantage of, as a matter of course.
Another light scrape may probably be had after some little
time spent in walking in the blankets; but, if the perspiration does not continue so as to give this second scrape, it is
not to be forced by more work in the clothes. To be of
use in itself, and as a satisfactory indication that the condition of the horse is advanced, it must come of itself.
During the time this sweating and scraping process is in
course of operation, the trainer having the conduct of it
should not be in a hurry. The same things that are said
to cure a man's cold - patience and a little water-gruel —
will often do wonders in procuring a good sweat.  Commonly, however, it is easy enough' to get the sweat and
scrape, but more difficult to cool the horse out properly.
In order to do this well, he is to be clothed again, and led
very gently about for a considerable period, so that he may
become cool gradually, and the perspiration may dry away
by degrees. This walking is to be out of all draft as much
as possible; and it will not do to hurry it over, and go to the
stable, until the horse has cooled off well and gradually.
When the proper state has been reached, the horse is to be
taken into the stable, and his body is to be well dressed.
This done, he is to be re-clothed, and again led into the air.
A few sups of gruel, made of Indian meal or fine shorts,
from half a pint to a pint of the meal stirred into a bucket
of water, may now be given to the horse, or water with the
chill taken off it may be used as a substitute for the gruel.
When taken into the stable again, which will be after a
little more walking about in the air, the legs are to be put
in tubs of warm water, the body clothing being kept on.
The legs are then to be well washed with the water and
castile soap, and when dried off to be bandaged. Theseo




104      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
bandages should be of light flannel, and it is immaterial
whether it is red or white. They are not to be put on tight.
The legs of a horse ought never to be bandaged tight, for
such a course impedes the circulation into the feet, where
there is a great necessity for it; but, losing sight of this,
the bandages are sometimes pulled so that it looks as if
tlhey were intended to serve as a tourniquet, and stop the
circulation of the blood altogether. Neither can it serve
any useful purpose, that I can see, to bind the suspensory
ligament up to the bone of the leg. Nature intended that
in the horse it should stand out from it, as we see in the
fine flat legs of the best runners and trotters. Whatever
support is required may be obtained with only a moderate
degree of tightness; and I have sometimes thought that an
elastic stocking, such as our best surgeons use in cases of
bad strain to the nerves and muscles of the human foot
and ankle, would be a very useful article in a trainingstable.
The difference between tight bandaging and elastic support was brought very prominently to my notice not long
ago. A lady seriously injured her foot and ankle by falling
down stairs, when coming in a hurry to receive a friend.
She was unable to walk for months, and finally could not
bear the injured foot upon the floor ever so lightly.
Treatment by various lotions and liniments was adopted,
and tight bandaging was prescribed by the surgeons of the
city where this accident happened. But the foot got no
better; and, fearing that permanent lameness might be the
result, the lady came to New York, and was treated by
Dr. Carnochan.  He  abolished  the tight bandaging,
substituted an elastic stocking made by a very clever
mechanic, and insisted that the foot should be put down,
and used a little every day without crutches. The result
was a perfect cure, in an astonishingly short time. Had the
numbing process by means of the tightened bandages been
persevered with much longer, the use of the member would




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          105
have been permanently lost, and the lady a cripple for life.
This was a suggestive case to me. Tight bandaging of the
legs of a horse is a very bad practice, and therefore you
should see that they are properly put on and not drawn
tight.
When all is done, and the horse nicely cooled off, he may
have a good scald mash, and less hay than on other occasions for the night. On the morning of the day after the
sweat the horse ought to feel limber, elastic, and buoyant
in spirits. In his jogging, which must be of two or three
miles, as you judge him to need, he may have a couple of
brushes of a quarter of a mile each, at nearly or quite full
speed, to open his pipes, and enable him to stretch himself.
When horses have been well sweated, and have got well
cooled out of it, they are full of alacrity and ardor, and feel
like going fast with ease and pleasure to themselves.
Therefore, the time is proper to put in these short and
sweet brushes, during which the horse may be expected to
go a little faster, without urging, than he has at any other
time during his preparation.




x,
Work after the Sweat. - Trial after the Sweat. - Preparation for the Trial
- Amount of Work. - No arbitrary Rule possible. - The Mile-Trial. -
Of Condition, Game, and Bottom. - Work after the First Race.- Preparation for Three-mile Heats. —Much slow Work reduces Speed. -
Time of Three-mile Preparation. - Of the Trials. -Work after the
Final Trial.
A FTER the horse has had the sweat, as before directed,
the regular work is to be resumed and carried on as
before, and the feed is to be the same as it was before the
sweat.  It will be well to bear in mind the object of the
sweats, which is to loosen the flesh, and to remove- the fat
and other superfluities which add nothing to the horse's
strength, impede his wind, and make so much more weight
for him to carry in his training and in his races. On the
other hand, the regular work is not to take away the substance, but to increase the volume of muscle, harden its
consistency, and increase its elasticity and strength. Thus
the sweats merely reduce, while the regular work reduces
the soft parts to some extent of itself, but builds up and
develops the moving powers. It follows, that, when the
horse in hand is of a weak and soft habit, great care must
be taken that he is not sweated too much in clothes; for, if
he is, he will shrink in the course of work, and become thin
and dry after one or two races. If the time of training
could be extended, and there was no danger to the legs and
constitution in making the work severe, the sweats might
be'dispensed with almost or quite altogether. But this is
not the case; and therefore the sweat in clothes is resorted
106




THE TROTTIAG-IIORSE OF A[MERICA.          107
to in order to get rid of the superfluities more rapidly and
with less risk to the legs than the regular work would do.
Where the horse is of good constitution, but positively
infirm in his legs, there must be more sweating in clothes
and less work without them than in other cases. In five or
six days after the sweat, the horse should be ready to stand
a half-mile trial. Unless something has gone wrong, he
ought to be fit to go that distance under the watch, and
thus afford a certain indication as to his speed. and advance
toward racing condition. It will not be necessary to muzzle him over night for this short trial, unless he is a rank
feeder. His oats are not to be reduced in quantity; and he
may have his usual allowance of hay, unless he has been
accustomed to eat a great deal. -His morning feed before
the trial may be a little less than usual, and the water reduced to correspond. The half-mile trial being found satisfactory, the work will be carried on as before. Let him
jog till he has emptied himself, then move him at threequarter speed, with sharp and lively brushes to make him
square away and get up to his best rate.  The amount of
work must be gauged by the judgment and skill of the
trainer, in view of how the horse goes on and improves, and
of his known breed and character. It is quite certain that
the thoroughbred horse will improve under an amount of
work that will overmark and utterly destroy the chance of
almost any horse coarsely bred. Therefore, it is to be expected that a well-bred trotter will take more work with
advantage, provided his legs stand, than one of a poorer
grade in blood. But, beyond this, it is found by experience
that there is a great disparity in the capacity of horses of
the same grade to stand work and improve in condition.
No rule can be laid down beforehand by which it can be
useful and safe to regulate the amount of work it will be
proper to give. Until the horse has been trained, it is im-,
possible to say what he may bear, and what is required to
bring him quite fit on the day that he is to trot for money.




108      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA
Therefore, the trainer must be vigilant as the work goes on
from day to day; and, if the slightest symptoms appear to
indicate that the limit has been reached, the horse must be
eased. Experience, judgment, and skill are imperatively
demanded at this juncture; and, where they do not exist in
fair degree, it will be the best course to keep on the safe
side, and be sure that the horse is well within himself. It
is true that he may not be up to the keen edge of which he
is susceptible; but there is no remedy for this except at the
risk of overdoing him altogether, which risk is great in such
circumstances in any hands but those of a skilful and
watchful trainer. It will not do to carry on until the horse
is off his feed, dull in the eye, and his coat begins to stare,
because the game is up when this is the case. The point
at which his work ought to have been eased is passed, and
it will take some time of nice handling and gentle work to
get behind it once more.
In five or six days, or a week after the first trial, the
horse will be fit to be tried a mile, if he has been doing
well. It being found that he is " all there," this will commonly be sufficient for a mile race. Even if the race is
two miles and repeat, it will sometimes be best to avoid
further trial. It depends upon the condition and character
of the horse and the state of his legs and feet. If he is
known to be a stout one, and his legs are all right, another
trial may be had prior to the two-mile race; and in this the
horse may be repeated. But if the speed is there, and the
trainer is satisfied with the condition, it will be safest to
take a good deal on trust rather than insist on its exhibition
before the race. If the trainer knows his horse, he will
have a safe rule to go by; if he does not know him, he must
rely, to a considerable extent, upon his own judgment; for,
when the horse is not known to be stout, there is all the
nmore danger of giving him too much in the trials. The
horse that is fit to trot mile-heats, three in five, in which
the heats may be broken, is able to trot a two-mile race, so




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          109
far as condition is concerned. Natural stoutness and game
are demanded for long races. Now, without condition the
horse cannot have "bottom," which is simply capacity to
endure. Without game, which is the pluck to try till the
last chance is out, the bottom may exist to very little purpose. Therefore, though the horse cannot have the bottom
without condition, he may have the condition without the
bottom and its necessary concomitant - game. It follows,
that the saying often heard, " condition makes bottom," is
only true to a limited extent. It enables the game and naturally stout horse to make avail of all his bottom, and put
forth his powers to the uttermost degree. Again, it is said
speed makes bottom; but this is next kin to' nonsense. As
long as there is nothing like equal speed against it, it enables the fast horse's driver to keep him well within himself,
and thus to dispense with the bottom which, against another
of nearly equal speed, would be necessary to save the heat..And speed is of very great importance in another point of
view. It enables its possessor to go ahead, take which part
of the course he pleases, and fret and worry the other horse.
Very few horses have the courage and temper to go on behind at their best pace; and persevere to the end without
breaking. Therefore, the horse of known bottom may act
bad when he finds himself out-trotted from the score in a
long race, and is urged all the way; and if the driver pulls
him together, the other may steal away and open such a gap
that the closing of it at the end of the heat will be a terrible up-hill task, unless the other "comes back."  Speed,
then, may be an available substitute for bottom; but it cannot be bottom itself in any sense. The slow horse in condition can keep at his best rate longer than the speedy
horse can at his. Hence the old saying, " He can't go fast
enough to tire himself."
When the horse has appeared in his first race, showed
the speed you might reasonably look for, and given evidence
of satisfactory condition, he is not to be treated exactly as




110      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
before in getting ready for the next. It is proper now to
reduce his work; for if he is kept at it, just as he was before
his first engagement, he is almost certain to lose speed.
The condition is about there, and what it lacks may be
looked for to follow the means taken to increase the speed
after the first race. The work is to be less in quantity, but
with numerous short brushes and merry rallies, leaving the
horse in good heart and high spirits, thinking well of himself, and on good terms with his daily training-ground, the
course.
Should the race for which the horse is in preparation be
three-mile heats, the work must be longer and not so sharp
as for mile heats, three in five, and two-mile-heats. The
lasting qualities are to be developed by more jogging, and
not so many spurts of speed in comparison. Still, the work
is not to be so slow and monotonous and extended as to take
speed away. Many a race is won by a good brush on the
stretch, which would have been lost if-the speed had been
dogged out with a great deal of walking and slow jogging.
I have found it so often the case that a large amount of
slow work has knocked off the speed, that I deem one of
them incompatible with the other, and look upon this as an
established principle. Therefore, there are to be lively
spurts from time to time, when the preparation is for threemile heats, and the jogging is not to be carried on so as to
take out the heart and inclination of the horse for these
spurts. To produce the horse full of staying condition, and
with all his speed, is the proper aim of the training art. To
have him capable of going on for a long while, but deficient
of his known rate of speed, is not art; and to have him
speedy for a little way, but unable to stay the distance
which he is known to be able to endure, is not art either.
For the three-mile race a longer time will be taken in
training than for one of mile-heats, three in five, unless a
shorter engagement has intervened; and, when the horse is
brought to the post for the long race, he ought to be as near




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           111
the pitch of condition as art can get him. About three
weeks before the race is to come off, he may have his first
trial, which will be a mile. Half-mile trials are to be dispensed with here; for the object was to get the three-mile
distance-'" into the horse," and a performance of half a mile
would afford no useful indication. It would only tell that
he had certain speed.
The mile trial having been satisfactory, the work is to go
on; and in ten days more, or thereabout, the horse will be fit
for his final trial. In getting ready for this, his hay and
water over night may be somewhat reduced, and the muzzle
is to be put on. The full allowance of oats is to be given.
At the actual trial, commence with a mile at good speed.
At the end of it, blanket up and scrape, and walk about for
thirty-five minutes. Then repeat two miles out.  If in this
the horse does well, shows speed and freshness, and finishes
with go in him, you may be pretty well satisfied that he is
in good condition and capable of making his race. A further trial is unnecessary, and would be likely to result in
mischief.
The trials are never to be as long as the race for which
the horse is being trained. In the three-mile preparation
there will be walking exercise, probably five or six miles a
day, and three or four of driving, with spurts of speed
therein; but, as I said before, no rule can be laid down
for the actual amount of work; that must depend upon
the horse. I mention the above as a probable amount, because it is not likely that a horse unable to stand up
under something like it will be matched three-mile heats.
If he is, his owner may look to lose, unless the other is inferior in speed and of the same kidney. From the time of
the final trial to the race, the work should be the same as it
was before, unless the wisdom of a change was indicated by
what took place in the trial. If in that performance the
horse showed plenty of speed, but pulled up distressed at
the end of the two miles of repeat, it would be an evidence




112      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
that he is not up to the mark in condition, and the work
should be increased. In any case, it will be of great ima
portance to have the wind clear for the race, and four or five
days prior to that event the horse should have a light
sweat. A jog with hood and wrapper, so as to get a nice
scrape, is all that will be required, the cooling-out to be as
before directed. All through the preparation, if the race is
to be in harness, it will be advisable to change the sulky
for a skeleton wagon occasionally, so as to get the weight
off the back. If the race is to be to a wagon, the horse is
not to be worked in a sulky at all.




XI.
Stout Horses stand a strorg Preparation. - State of the Legs to be watched.
-Idlewild and Lady Palmer. - No Device a Substitute for Work. —
Ten-mile Preparation.- A steady rating Capacity wanted. - The Preparation to be Long. - The Feed to be.Strong. - Effects of the Work
to be watched. - The Trials. - Management of the Race. - The Races
of Kentucky Prince and Hero the Pacer.
IT will have been gathered from what I have said, that,
even when good condition has been attained, there will
still be a great difference in the performance of horses as
soon as the distance they are required to go is long; and
that, in getting a whole stable of horses into fix to trot
races, there will seldom be two whose treatment during
their preparation ought to be the same. The natural game
and stout horse will stand a stronger preparation, and may
be relied on for a greater performance than another will
ever be capable of, with all the aid that the trainer can
give him, provided the legs of the former stand. There is
a small class of trotting-horses, and of thoroughbred running-horses, too, who require an immense amount of work
to get them fit to do their best, and who cannot be relied on
to do any thing like their best without it.  The training of
these, seeing that they can hardly have too much work,
judiciously given, for their constitution, would be much
simplified, if it were not for the danger that their legs and
feet may give out, while their appetite and general health
remain good. In preparing them the state of the legs must
be particularly watched; and if any weak or inflammatory
symptoms manifest themselves under the severe work which
is necessary to bring them to the wiry condition in which
8                              113




114      TIlE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
they will do their best, the sweats must be more relied on
to reduce their superfluities than the strong work they
would otherwise demand and might have with entire
safety.
If the legs of these horses stand, so that with the ordinary amount of sweats and the extraordinary amount of
work they can be brought to their best condition, they
may be relied on to last: they will trot all day and the
next day too. But when the danger to the legs has been
such that it was necessary to give many and heavy sweats,
and only an ordinary amount of work, there is always some
chance that they may cut up soft, for them. There is still
the condition, so far as the absence of internal and external
fat and other gross superfluities is concerned; but the muscular system has not had the great amount of work to give
it tone and power to endure, which their particular hardy
and high-strung organizations, and the extraordinary tasks
they are called on to perform, above all others, require.
There have been two notable instances of this about here,one of them a thoroughbred runner; the other thoroughbred also, but a trotter; and both mares. The first-mentioned, Idlewild, required a vast amount of hard drilling to
make her fit; and it was not safe to bring her to the post
against a good horse without it, although her speed was
something wonderful. The other is Lady Palmer, Mr.
Bonner's chestnut mare by Glencoe, and therefore a sort of
aunt to Idlewild, whose dam was by Glencoe. In spite of
excellent bodily condition, apparently, it would not do to rely
upon this mare to make one of the extraordinary performances of which she is known to be capable, unless she had
had a great amount of severe work in the attaining of it. The
wind in her and Idlewild might be good enough- though
it would be more likely not to be good without the hard
drilling; for what is called "good wind" depends largely
upon the muscular action of the heart -and still, for want
of sufficient work to build up and'give lasting tone to the




THE TROTTING-HORSE OP AMERICA.             115
wiry, harp-string powers, there might be a failure to come
up to expectation in a really great task.
Hence we see where the sweating in clothes would fail to
make these horses fit, though they might be in " bodily condition;" and thus the futility of substituting the Turkish
bath, or any thing of that kind, for natural work in the
training of horses, may easily be perceived. As a rule,
the best horses take the most work, for two reasons. One
is, that they do not part with their hard flesh half as easily
as those do who are naturally soft and more vascular. The
other is, that the great performances for which these horses
are likely to be called upon can never be expected until the
moving powers have been well-seasoned, and have come to
possess their lasting tone. I am assured, that, when the flatrace trainers first began to fit horses for steeple-chase running in England, they were amazed to find that they gave
out suddenly, dead beat, when they would have sworn that
their condition was good. They soon found that the failure
was a consequence of want of work for the jumping powers.
They had only been worked over the flat; and, though their
bodily condition was as fine as could be, there was a want
of power in the muscles which send the horse up and forward in taking leaps. That power they soon learned could
only be gained by leaping-practice in the training. Thus
it will be perceived that custom, as long as the constitutional health and the. legs remain sound, is the great agent
in fitting all sorts of animals for the performance of extraordinary feats. It is said that Milo of Crete could carry
an ox, but it was one that he had carried every day after it
was a calf. All that time he had been "in training;" and
as training without any let-up for a long period must exhaust the sources of vitality, and impair the constitution
prematurely, it is very likely that Milo died before the
ox did.
In the preparation for a ten-mile race, there must be an
increase of work even over that indicated for the three-mile




116      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
heat engagement. A great burst of speed is not to be
looked for anywhere in a race of ten miles; but victory is to
be expected more from a steady rating-trot, which can be
taken up at the beginning and maintained to the end. In
nineteen cases out of twenty, this will cut down the opposing horse in a race of this length, even when his speed is
greatly superior, unless he has been taught to keep this
even rate in his preparation. If this tuition has not been
given, he will either make bursts above the distance-rate
every now and then, or he will pull and fight at his driver
in his efforts to do so. In either case, the rating-horse has
got him, provided his driver keeps up the rate, and does not
let the other have a chance to recuperate when he begins
to tire.
Of course, no horse who is not naturally stout and well
on his legs ought to be matched ancd trained for a race of
ten miles. This being found to be the case, the work must
be given like that for the three-mile heats, but larger in
amount. Thus, on two days in a week, make it a fourth
longer, and on other days an eighth longer. At the same time
that care is to be taken not to dog and worry the speed out,
there is no occasion for the ripping spurts which intervene
in the other training: the horse is only to have enough of
them to keep him cheerful and lively, and to vary the partial monotony of the steady work. This preparation will
be greater in length than any of the others, for a horse is
not to be got up to the ten-mile mark at a good rate in a
few weeks. While he is undergoing it, he may have all the
grain he will eat, even if it is fourteen or fifteen quarts;
but you must see that he eats all up and keeps the manger
clean.  Long and strong work demands strong feed and
plenty of it. A horse may do a long day's work now and
then in stable-condition, but this is as nothing to being
called upon to do a large amount pretty rapidly every day.
The strong feed and strong work, as I said in a former part
of this work, are dangerous to infirm legs; but a horse to go




THE TROTTING-HORSE O' AMERICA.            117
ten miles should be one of well-tried strength in this particular. Therefore the strong work and all the oats he
will eat may be ventured on in his preparation for this
distance.
In the course of it, before his first trial, it will probably
have been deemed necessary to give him a couple of sweats;
and, after he is well over them, his work may often be
increased with advantage. But vigilance is to be exercised
all along to see that the point at which the work begins to
be too severe is not reached. The trainer's judgment as to
the effect the increased work has upon the constitutional
health and legs is all in all here. He will still have a guide,
-the horse's known habit and breed; but it will not do to
trust to these alone. That would be like steering by the
stars at sea, to the neglect of the compass. Now, the stars,
as seen by the helmsman, will give a general indication of
the course, but not the exact course by compass. And so
the habit and breed will furnish general probabilities, but
not the particular niceties to be arrived at by carefully
observing the effect of the increased work from day to day.
The horse will not feel any the worse, in all probability,
after the first day or the second; but, as it goes on, the likelihood of overmarking him is increased. Five weeks before
the race the ten-mile horse may have his first trial, which
will be two miles, at two-thirds speed. A scrape may be
taken; and the horse will be cooled out in conformity with
the directions before given, by slow walking in clothes in
the air, but out of a draught of wind.
In ten or twelve days after the first trial, he ought to be
ready to go two miles and repeat. Let him go the first
two miles at two-thirds speed. Then blanket and scrape,
and walk about for twenty-five minutes. In the second
two miles he may go his best; that is, his best rate for two
miles. Then clothe him well and get another nice scrape.
Supposing the horse to have done well all along, he will
now be near fine staying condition.  Let the work be




118      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
carried on according to your best judgment, from what you
observed in the last two miles of the repeat, how he finished
it and behaved afterwards. Ten days before his race he
will be ready for his final trial, five miles out. From his
performance of that, and its effect on him, the trainer ought
to be able to form a definite judgment as to his condition;
and here condition is as absolute a necessity as stoutness.
The most skilful and experienced man may be deceived as
to the stoutness of a horse in a ten-mile race, when he has
not proved it by going one; but the trainer ought not to be
mistaken in his condition.
Upon the judgment to be formed now, the tactics to be
adopted in the race will mainly depend. If the horse is
known to be a stout one, and his condition is as good as can
be, the policy will be to go along at a good rate, not caring
if the other goes faster at first, but to keep up at that rate,
or thereabouts, and force the other to keep at it too, when
he would rather slacken up a little. By this means any
extra speed your opponent may have had at the start will
have disappeared long before the finish. You will have got
him down to your speed, and have your extra stoutness to
win with. It is to be remembered that the speed of a
speedy horse diminishes very rapidly when he begins to
tire; and that keeping him going at a steady rate for a
great distance, even though it is much slower than his best
rate, tries his stoutness. If there is a soft place in him,
this plan is much more likely to find it out than any other.
If he could go part of the way fast, and another part a
moderate jog only, he would be apt to recuperate, and
recover speed for the finish; but when the rating-horse
follows steadily, mile after mile, as sure to come to time as
a clock, the other is not able to make his own pace, except
it be a moderately fast pace all the way, and this is sure to
cut down his speed. Speed can only be made an available
substitute for bottom in races of moderate length. Ten
miles is: toc far for it.




THE TRO'TIING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         119
In the year 1853, the horse Kentucky Prince was
matched in two ten-mile races against Hero the pacer, in
harness, and placed in my hands by Mr. R. Ten Broeck to
be prepared. Prince was a chestnut with one white heel,
and very nearly thoroughbred if not quite. He was by
Woodpecker out of a mare by imp. Sarpedon; which horse
also got Alice Carneal, the dam of Lexington and the mare
that was the dam of Lady Palmer.  Prince showed his
breeding in every point but his lop ears, in which he was
like the Melbournes in England. He took his work well,
and a great amount of it. The first race came off on the
Centreville Course on the 1st of November.  It was for
$5,000 a side, in harness, drivers to weigh 165 pounds. Mr.
Joseph Hall matched Hero, and Spicer drove him. Prior
to the start, Mr. Ten Broeck, who was then and still is a
very good judge in such matters, advised me to trail, and
let Hero make his own pace until the end of the seventh
mile, believing that the last three miles would do to cut
down Hero's speed. But I replied, that his speed was very
great, he having gone a mile in 2.181, and that it would be
better to take the starch out of him  to a considerable
extent earlier in the race.  I did not then suppose that he
would make the pace quite as good as he did from the start;
but I was convinced, that, if he did so, it would be my best
policy to keep it good. Mr. Ten Broeck, however, adhered
to his opinion; and, at starting, I set out to conform to it.
The pacer took the lead, and made the first mile in 2.44.
The next was still better, 2.36; and the third, 2.331. This
was pretty hot for the distance we had to go, and I lay well
behind. In the last quarter of the third mile, I saw indications that the pacer was going to slacken his speed; and I
felt like pulling out and making him keep it up, or thereabouts, for fear that I should slip by and take the track.
If I merely lay in his wake for four miles, he could go as
slow as he pleased, and have three miles of fast work in for
the; end. Half way up the stretch stood Mr. McMann, a




120      THE TROTTING-LHORSE OF AMERICA.
great friend of Mr. Ten Broeck's.  He had a deal of
money bet, and so had I. As I got abreast of him I said,
"I shan't win if I stay here."  "Then go on," he replied;
and, pulling out, I went on as though going to try for the
lead. This compelled Hero to keep the pace -good. The
fourth mile was done in 2.39, and the fifth in 2.37. Five
miles in 13.091. The sixth mile was 2.46; and now it became
clear enough to me that Hero was tiring, and the race safe.
It will be remembered, that, in the early part of this
work, I remarked that the pace was a much more laborious
gait than a trot, for a long distance. It results, that, when a
pacer begins to tire in the legs, he gives out, and goes.
altogether unless he gets rested. Hero had had no ease, and
in the early part of the seventh mile he was beaten. The
rating for six miles, though nothing like his highest speed
for one mile, had "cooked his bacon," to use a common
expression. I took the lead, and jogged round this mile in
5.08 1-2, the next in 6.16, and the ninth in 6.19. The last
mile I drove in 2.39.  Hero had been stopped in the
seventh mile. Mr. Ten Broeck had money laid that Prince
would trot the tenth mile in three minutes; and, when I
started the horse up to win it, he felt so well that he went
much faster than I supposed him to be going. If the pacer
had been suffered to slack up when he began to get a little
-tired, he might not have got so completely tired as to go
all to pieces. Ten days afterwards we went a race of the
same kind on the Union Course, for $5,000 a side. This
was play or pay, and had been made before the other race took
place. I took the lead in this, Hero making it a waiting
race from the start. The first mile was 3.01, the second
2.52, the third 2.49, the fourth 2.45 1-2, the fifth 2.41, the
sixth 2.46 1-2, the seventh 2.38 1-2, the eighth 2.42 1-2,
the ninth 2.40, the tenth 3.12 1-2. Hero quit in this mile.
The total time of this was 28 m. 08 1-2s., and Prince won
it easy. Hero made a good race too; for the nine miles in
less than twenty-five minutes showed good rating, and great
power of lasting at the pacing-gait.




XII.
Early Reminiscences. — My first Race.- My Second. - Lady Kate against
Time. - Paul Pry against Time. - The Riders of Thirty Years Ago. -
Requisites of a Good Rider. -Drilling Horses. - Lady Sefton.
T'  EFORE we proceed much farther, I purpose, in answer
) to letters which I have received, to say a little about
-the commencement of my career among horses, and some of
those events in which I then participated. The writers
have been good enough to say that they think some of my
personal reminiscences and recollections of the horses of old
times will be of great interest and some use. The first
race for money in which I was engaged took place thirtyfour years ago, and I was then fourteen years old. It was
at Philadelphia in 1831; I being then with my uncle, the
trainer, George Woodruff, at the Hunting-park Course.
We had Topgallant, Columbus, and a number of other
trotters in the stable. The course used to be a favorite resort of'such gentlemen as Gen. Cadwallader; Mr. William
Fetterall, who owned Daniel D. Tompkins;:Mr. Jeffries,
who afterwards owned Dutchman; and the like. These
gentlemen were always anxious to see a little sport; and one
day they got up a small purse, to be trotted for under saddle by any horses that we boys could pick up. I started
off from where they were all assembled, and took a horse
out of the plough in a neighboring field. It was Shaking
Quaker, who had belonged on Long Island prior to that
time, and could go a little. Opposed to me, there were
Peter Whelan and James Hamill, both of whom had got
horses taken promiscuously out of some of the vehicles on
121




122     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AJIERICA.
the course. We started; and I won it with ease in two
heats, the best being 2.57.
I very soon had another mount, and this was of more importance. Mr. Frank Duffy had at that time a little mare
called Lady Kate, that was a good goer. He had gone
from Philadelphia to Baltimore, and matched her against
time to trot fifteen miles within the hour. This Lady Kate
was a handsome little thing, about Flora Temple's size, and
a good deal like her in appearance. She was good under
saddle; and the notion prevailed that Mr. Duffy was going
to ride her himself. But this was a slight mistake on the
part of the backers of Time. The match had been made
catch-weight, and Mr. Duffy came on for me and another to
ride her. He was very much afraid that one of us would
not be able to ride the distance out, and do justice to little
Lady Kate. It was on the Central Course, Baltimore; and
Mr. Duffy, with the mare's bridle thrown over his arm and
a big saddle on her, was a sight to see, as he led her up and
down, and took all the bets that were offered on time. But
the backers of the "old devourer" saw another sight prior
to the start; for, just when they had expected Mr. Duffy to
mount, I stepped "out of the woods," with a little saddle
all ready, and changed it for the heavy one that was on
her.
There was a terrible time among those who had laid
against Lady'Kate; but they could not deny the fairness of
the strategy that had been practised to get bets, and so I
mounted without objection. The little mare and I got the
word, and away we went as well as could be. On the backstretch in the eighth mile, Mr. Duffy asked me if I couldl
ride it out without tiring; to which my reply was, that I
could ride the little mare the fifteen miles within the hour,
and a little more to boot. I was just as easy as I had been
from the -start, and she was going along in the prettiest
winning manner. The other boy's friends, however, were
very anxious that he should have a share of the riding; and




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           123
so, at the request of his father, who had come on from
Philadelphia with him, I got off at the end of eight and
three-quarter miles. At the end of the twelfth mile, money
was laid that the mare would do sixteen miles within the hour,
and she accomplished it with great ease. The sixteenth
mile was made in 3m. 10s., and she had three minutes and
nineteen seconds to spare out of the hour. She could have
gone eighteen miles in the hour just as well as not. The
race took place about four weeks after the one in which I
rode Shaking Quaker from the plough; and, if I had not ridden that, I do not think I should have been selected to ride
Lady Kate. I shall now describe a big time-race; which is
all the more interesting because it was done by a grandson
of the imp. horse Messenger, who was gray like himself,
and had most of the prominent characteristics of that celebrated breed. I think it of the more importance because
of the theory now started by some, that a cross to the
thoroughbred stallion is not the way to breed trotters. It
has not been the way up to this time, except in the case of
those got by this thoroughbred horse Messenger in this
country, and by his sire, Lord Grosvenor's gray horse Mambrino, in England. I do not mean to commit myself, just
here, to any theory of breeding; but will point out the indisputable facts, that here was a thoroughbred stallion that
got trotters of true action and bottom to stay all day, and
that his sire had got plenty of them before him, they both
being trained and successful running-horses.
Now let us pass to the race and its pyreliminary history.
It was in 1833, when my father kept the Harlem-park
Course, at its first opening, that a Scotch gentleman named
MlcLeod owned a gray gelding called Paul Pry. This
horse was about twelve years old, sixteen hands high, coarse,
and raw-boned, but with a blood-like head and neck, and all
the points good, though very plain. He was a flea-bitten
gray, and was thought to have been got by imp. Messenger himself. B lt this was not possible, as Messenger died




124     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
in 1808; and the truth no doubt was, that Paul Pry was
either by one of Messenger's sons or out of one of his
daughters. This gray gelding belonging to Mr. McLeod
was matched about this time for $250 a side to trot sixteen
miles within the hour, and then $250 more a side for every
quarter of a mile from sixteen up to seventeen miles and
three-quarters. Thus the whole amount at stake was
$2,000 a side. Paul Pry was trained for this performance
on the Harlem-park Course, under the management of Mr.
William Niblo. I gave him his work under saddle. He
had it all that way of going, for he pulled so hard in harness as to make any work that way unadvisable. The
training lasted from seven weeks to two months; and, after
having got him into shape, we felt confident that he would
win all the money up. His even rate and staying qualities
were what we depended upon; for Paul Pry was at no time
a horse of brushing speed, and for this match he had been
trained to get the distance into him, rather than develop
his speed. He could not go better than 2.45 or 2.46 to a
mile; but, what he could do, he could keep on doing for a
long time when up to the mark in condition.
The trot came off on the Union Course on the 8th of
November. I rode the horse, and rode him all the way.
He won it easily. At the end of the seventeen miles and
three-quarters I jogged him another quarter, making
eighteen miles; and he had a minute and some five or six
seconds to spare out of his hour. I am persuaded that I
could have-ridden twenty miles within the hour if it had
been needed. At the end of his fourteenth mile, up to
which the horse had been going very easily and evenly, and
not pulling at all, a gentleman struck in to keep me company. But Paul Pry was immediately on his mettle; and I
was compelled to beckon the gentleman to keep back when
he was at least one hundred and fifty yards behind me.
Seeing that he finished his eighteen miles fresh, and that
at the end of thN fourteenth he would not let another come




TIlE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         125
within a hundred and fifty yards of him, I have reason to
think that he could have trotted twenty miles within the
hour. But Paul Pry was better in a race against time than
in one with another horse; for, when he had company, he
would pull desperately, and fight with his rider or driver.
There are not many riders nowadays that a man would
like to rely upon to ride eighteen or twenty miles in an
hour, the horse to trot. At the time I speak of we had a
number that could ride trotters sixteen, seventeen, eighteen,
nineteen, and even twenty miles within the hour. We
had some that would have been backed to do much'better
than that. George Spicer offered a bet that he would ride
one hundred miles on trotting-horses in five hours' time
and, Jack Harrison offered to back me to do the like.
Nearly all the trotting at that time was done under saddle.
Consequently, we had fine saddle-horses, and a great number of good hardy riders, who could maintain their clip
with the knees and thighs, and give their horses all the
support they needed with their hands. The number of men
among us that can now ride a fast trotter twenty miles an'hour is not large. It is to be regretted, I think, that the
saddle-work and use of trotters in that way fell so nearly
altogether into disuse. It is very fine to see a lot of good
trotters go away under saddle in the hands of competent
riders, and make a fast race. The young men and lads now
have but little chance to learn the art of riding the trottinghorse strong and well, for they have next to no practice.
As those who were brought up in the old school got too
heavy for the business, there were no others coming up to
supply their place; so that it would be difficult, at this day,
to get three or four competent riders of trotting-horses
together.  It requires a combination of qualities.  The
rider must have good judgment; he must be very strong
and lasting, or else there will be danger of his giving out,
and, when he does so, the best horse in the world would be
likely to follow suit.




126      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
When Capt. Moore offered to put Idlewild into a stake
against George Wilkes, Lady Emma, Gen. Butler, or any
other trotters that might choose to enter, the old mare
to go four miles while the trotters or any one of them went
three, he relied upon the notion that riders of the right
weight could not be found to ride the trotters. In England
they formerly had an idea that weight made but little
difference to a trotter, and that a light-weight was not
calculated for the trotting action. Thus it will be found,
that, in many of the old English trotting-matches, the
horses carried as much as 168 pounds, even when they were
made catch-weight. This was never our opinion in America,
as the doings at Baltimore with Lady Kate showed; but
there was this truth about the notion - it was better to
carry the weight with a good rider that could last all the
way, than to put up a light boy who could do nothing after
the first two or three miles but just sit on the horse.
The trotting-horse, to do his work well under saddle, has
got to be extended so as to go with ease to himself and
without danger of breaks. A very considerable pull is often
required; and some of those which are not "pullers," in the
language of horsemen, would be thought by an amateur to
have a great deal of weight on the bit by the time they had
gone two miles. They are seldom to be found without a
disposition to pull somewhere in the race; and, with a very
light boy on the back of them, it would probably be all over
then. I find, in looking back at an old English book with
which I sometimes amuse myself, that, when Robson's
mare trotted seventeen miles in fifty-three minutes, she was
ridden by a boy out of the racing-stables, who could ride a
trotter, and only weighed about seventy pounds. Now, this
mare could not have been a puller, and in that particular,
with ability to go a distance, it would be hard to find one
like her. Still I venture to say that it would be easier to
find such a mare than such a boy. I was light when I rode
Ia(ly Kate and Paul Pry, but not so light as that by a great




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         127
deal.  I have said that Paul Pry did not pull in the
eighteen-mile race except when the gentleman struck in to
keep us company and excited him. That means, that he
did not pull so as to distress himself or tire me. He always
went up to the bit. In harness, he would pull a man out
of the sulky, whether there was company by him or not.
Two years before I rode him the time-race, he went
against Lady Seyton, three-mile heats in harness. The
Lady was the queen of the trotters of that day. She was
a chestnut, about fifteen hands two inches high, and bloodlike in appearance. My father had her in charge, and I
took care of her. Joel Conkling drove, and Matt Clintock
drove Paul Pry. The race was over the Centreville. When
they started, the gray settled down upon Matt's arms, and
pulled about a ton. Lady Seyton went on, and distanced
him the first heat in 8m. 11s. That was the first time it
was ever made in harness, and the mare was the best of her
day.




XIII
Messenger's Son, Topgallant.-His wonderful I-durance. — My Uncle,
George Woodruff. - Topgallant's Race when Twenty-two Years Old. -
His Race when Twenty-four Years Old. - Three-mile Heats. - His Race
of Three-mile Heats the next Week.
SHALL now proceed to say something about one of the
most remarkable trotting horses that this country ever
produced.  He was in fact, in some respects, the most
extraordinary trotter that ever came under my observation.
In the capital points of longevity and endurance, I never
knew quite his equal, all things taken into account. When
I say longevity, I mean length of days while serviceable as
a trotter, and able to meet and beat, very often, the best of
his time. I do not mean vegetating about, half dead at the
root and rotten it the trunk, as many of the horses spoken
of for their longevity have been. It will be remembered
that in the early part of this work, while speaking of the
best method to be adopted in the raising of colts and the
treatment of young horses, I declared my conviction, that, to
a certain extent, early maturity and early hard work in
training and racing were nearly always followed by premature decay. I have also spoken of the iron constitutions
and uncommon durability in point of time, as well as endurance in going a distance by reason of natural stoutness,
which were inherited in a remarkable degree by most of
those closely descended from the famous horse imported
Messenger.  That horse I never saw, for he died about
seven years before I was born; but, with one of his best
sons I had no little acquaintance.
128




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          129
I speak of old Topgallant, one of the best and stoutest
that ever looked through a bridle. It will soon be forty
years since I first rode the horse at his exercise; and, after
he began his racing-career and went into my uncle's hands,
we had many a long day together. As I have said, Topgallant was a son of imp. Messenger.  He was a dark bay
horse, fifteen hands three inches high, plain and raw-boned,
but with rather a fine head and neck; and an eye expressive
of much courage. He was spavined in both hind-legs, and
his tail was slim at the root. His spirit was very high;
and yet he was so reliable that he would hardly ever break,
and his bottom was of the finest and toughest quality. IHe
was live-oak as well as hickory, for the best of his races
were made after he was twenty years old.  Topgallant
was raised on Long Island. He was more than fourteen
years of age before he was known at all as a trotter, except
that he could go a distance - the whole length of the NewYork road - as well as any horse that had ever been extended on it. Topgallant then belonged to a gentleman named
Green; and 5Mr. M. D. Green, who now resides in the city
and is well known, must be acquainted with many particulars about the horse. After a time, when he was well
stricken in years, Topgallant was taken to Philadelphia,
where he was engaged in many races. It was prior to this
when I used first to ride him for exercise.
In the year 1829, when in his twenty-second year, Topgallant trotted four-mile heats against Whalebone, over
the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia;, and there were
four heats "before it was decided.  Like Topgallant,
Whalebone was a New-York horse. Prior to that time he
had been owned by Capt. Dunn, one of the partners of
the firm of Brown & Dunn, livery-stable keepers. Whalebone was a remarkably handsome horse, - a fine blood bay,
sixteen hands three inches high, and he had but one eye.
He ought to have been called Wax-,, instead of Whalebone; for in all these particulars he resembled the famous




130      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
English thoroughbred of that name, who was the son of
Pot-8-os, and the sire of Whalebone, Whisker, Woful,
Web, Wire, etc.  Of his pedigree nothing was known.
He looked like a thoroughbred horse, and was one of the
most splendid geldings I ever saw. At the time of the
race, Whalebone belonged to Mr. Coddle of Philadelphia,
and George Spicer rode him.
Topgallant was trained and ridden by my uncle, George
Woodruff, who was then a young man. He was then five
feet ten inches high, and one hundred and forty-seven
pounds in weight. A finer rider of a trotting-horse was
never seen.  He was straight, spare, and sinewy, very
strong and lasting. He is still the same upright, spare,
sinewy man, and as spry as ever with a horse, though more
than sixty years of age. Topgallant won the race after a
desperate struggle.  Whalebone got one heat, and there
was a dead one. The time of the heats in this famous
race was as follows: 11m. 16s., 11m. 06s., 11m. 17s.,
and i2m. 15s. Forty-five minutes and forty-four seconds
for the sixteen miles, which is just 2m. 52 1-8s. to the mile!
Now, was there a horse before, or has there been one since,
that in his twenty-second year could beat it?  I might go
further, and ask whether there will ever be one that can do
it again.
The rate of this race was better than twenty miles an
hour; and it- may well be thought that the old horse of
twenty-two years old, who could trot four four-mile heats at
a gait that would have made twenty miles in less than
fifty-eigllt minutes, could have gone the twenty in an hour.
He could have gone along at an even rate, had it been
twenty miles against time, and would not have been pushed
along so as to make four miles in 11. 06s., which was at the
rate of 2m. 461s. to the mile.  In long performances
against time, it is the level, even rate that wins. If Capt.
McGowan  had been  made to  go  his fifth, sixth,
seventh, and eighth miles in 11m. 06s. instead of 11m.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          131
34-s. in which he trotted them, it might have a vast difference at the end of his twenty miles.
But we have not done with this gallant veteran yet.
True, he was then in his twenty-second year, and spavined
in both legs; but he was a young one compared to some of
the poor decrepit animals we sometimes see staggering
about, overkneed, and twisted up and knuckled behind, and
utterly ruined in constitution, as well as in their legs, before
they are ten years old. We must follow the evergreen,
live-oak, old Topgallant into his twenty-fourth year, and
see what he did when his days were nigh unto those of a
quarter of a century. It was in 1831, two years after the
race above mentioned, and when the old horse was in his
twenty-fourth year, that he and Whalebone and six others
met on the Hunting-park Course at Philadelphia, and
trotted a race of three-mile heats. Thus there were eight
trotters in the race: Dread, ridden by George Spicer;
Topgallant, ridden by Matt Clintock in the first three
heats, and by Uncle George Woodruff in the fourth;
Collector, ridden by Peter Whelan; Chancellor, ridden by
Frank Duffy; Whalebone, ridden by Frank Tolbert in the
first two heats, but in the third by George Woodruff;
Lady Jackson, ridden by John Vanderbilt; Moonshine, by
James Hammil; and Columbus, by George Woodruff, until
he broke down in the second heat. Dread was a handsome
bay gelding, about fifteen hands and an inch, a beautiful
goer, and a horse of capital bottom.  Columbus was a
bright bay horse, sixteen hands high. In the first part of
his career he was called the Acker Colt, and at that time
George Spicer took care of him. He afterwards went to
Philadelphia, and passed into my uncle's care.  He was
the first horse that ever beat eight minutes in a three-mile
heat.  Peter Whelan rode him in 7m. 58s.; James Black
of Philadelphia owned him at that time. Chancellor was
a handsome dapple gray, with a long tail. At that time
most of our horses were docked. He was about fifteen




132      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
hands two inches, and had a deal of style. A little after
this race, in the same year and on the same course, he
trotted thirty-two miles in two hours; and in that Harvey
Richards rode him. Lady Jackson was a red gray mare,
fifteen hands and half an inch high. She was quite handsome. Moonshine was a dark gray gelding, fifteen hands
and a half high with a long tail. HIe was a fine, stylish
horse.
The odds at the start for the first heat was on Columbus,
a hundred to seventy against the field. It was one of the
finest sights I ever saw when these eight splendid bays and
grays, all in the finest order, and their jockeys in the
richest and most varied colors and beautiful costumes, came
thundering along for the word, in a group, at the flying
trot. Eight such horses and such riders had never met
before, and it is doubtful when they will again. Never,
certainly, until the good old customs of using trottinghorses under saddle, and requiring the jockeys to ride in
dress, are revived.
At the period I speak of, and prior to that, the riders of
the trotters had always to be dressed in jockey costume for
the race; and there was a great deal of expense and taste
laid out in the rich velvets and silks of vivid hue of which
the jackets and caps were made up. The word being given,
away they went for the first heat of three miles;'and Collector had [he speed of the party.  Columbus did not
go as well is usual. At this distance of time, and referring
to nothing but my own memory, I do not venture to place
all the horses. If it be required, with some further consideration and a look at a document or two calculated to
freshen my recollection, I may hereafter do that. I know
that Collector won the heatwith great ease in 8.16; and
that Peter Whelan said afterwards that he could have
distanced the whole of the others, in his opinion, if his
party had let him go along. The next heat was won by
old Topgallant; and in this Columbus broke down. There



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          133
upon, George Woodruff mounted Whalebone for the third
heat.
The excitement was very great, and away they went
again. This time Dread won; and Whalebone, not having
won a heat in three, was ruled out. Now, then, George
Woodruff mounted old Topgallant for the last struggle.
At that time there was no rule against having more than
one horse entered and started in a race of heats from the
same stable. In this race we had three,-Topgallant,
Whalebone, and Columbus; and such were the vicissitudes
and fortunes of the day, that, before it was over, my uncle
had ridden them all three. The only horses that had won
a heat were Collector, Topgallant, and Dread; and, of
course, these alone came to the post for the fourth heat,
the great riders, Peter Whelan, George Woodruff, and
George Spicer, being on them respectively. The veteran
of twenty-four years, old Topgallant, went away under full
sail, and led them for two miles and some two or three
hundred yards; but Dread then came along and passed him,
and won the deciding heat easily.
These horses, it will be perceived, trotted twelve miles;
and here was old Topgallant, beaten in the race, it is true,
but winner of a heat, and second in the last heat, thus
getting second place in the race. The following week, after
this great race at Philadelphia, we went to Baltimore, where
they gave a purse of three hundred dollars, three-mile heats.
Topgallant and Whalebone contended for it; George Woodruff riding Topgallant, and George Spicer, Whalebone. Topgallant won it. This shows the tremendous endurance and
recuperative energy of that wonderful horse's constitution.
One week a very hard race of four three-mile heats, against
all the best horses of the day: the next week another race
of three-mile heats against Whalebone; and this Topgallant won easily, being, as I have before said, but which
cannot too often be repeated, in his twenty-fourth year.
It is here worthy of remark that Whalebone himself was




134      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
driven by my uncle, George Woodruff, thirty-two miles in
two hours, over the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia.
In the course of this race against time, the first sulky used
broke down on the backstretch of the course, and another
had to be sent for and taken to the spot. This caused a
delay of four minutes; but nevertheless, when hitched up
again, Whalebone went on, and won the race easily. For
my part, I admired Whalebone greatly, but I was muchb.
attached to old Topgallant.  I took care of him  at the
time of the great race between the eight at the Huntingpark Course, and the one the following week at Baltimore;
and I have always been proud, that, so early in my experience of trotting-horses, I knew this almost everlasting son
of the renowned Messenger. I have said that this famous
trotter was spavined in both hind-legs, and so he was; but
the spavins never made him lame, and were really no
detriment to him. As a rule, no horse, ever had better legs
than the Messengers.
So far as I am informed, there is not another instance in
the annals of either the running or the trotting turf, of a
horse which has raced and won, especially three and four
mile heats, when upwards of twenty years of age. The
oldest I can find on the running-turf was Buclkhunter, a
gelding by the Bald Galloway, who ran in England when
upwards of sixteen years old, and might have run on some
time longer if he had not broken a leg. The Messengers
were always a lasting and long-lived breed of horses. Topgallant was twenty-eight when he died. His sire, Mambrino, was upwards of twenty when last advertised to cover
in England, and was eleven when he ran -his last race. His
sire, Engineer, ran till he was ten, and died at the age of
twenty-seven.  In this country a daughter of the tribe,
Lady Blanche, the first filly that Abdallah got, went a
trotting-race when she was about twenty. These things
must be borne in mind.




XIV.
The Indian Horse Lylee. - Runjeet Singh's Passion for Horses. - The Bat.
ties fought for Lylee. - Description of him.- Lady Blanche.- Awful.
- His Race with Screwdriver. - Blanche, Snowdrop, and Beppo. - Death
of Blanche. - Ajax and Oneida Chief. - Their Road-Race to Sleighs. -
Brown Rattler.
A  LTHOUGH  Topgallant was the most remarkable..LX  instance of extraordinary trotting power and endurance, when at a great age, that ever came under my notice,
he was not the only one. Most of those which have been
celebrated for this capital excellence were of the Messenger
blood; and it will be remembered that I noticed this point
in that strain of horses when mentioning them in the prior
chapters of this work. Singularly enough, it happens that
I took up an old book of travels a day or two ago, which
made mention of a very celebrated horse, one who is indeed
historical, that had all the external points of that family.
I do not, of course, pretend to say. that he was of the blood,
for the horse in question was in the East Indies; but, as he
was undoubtedly produced by a union of the Arab or other
Eastern breed with some horse either English or of English
origin, he may have been more nearly related to Messenger,
Mambrino, and Engineer, than one would at the first suppose, when I say that he lived and died on the banks of the
Indus. I allude to the old horse Lylee, the prime favorite
of the Maharajah, Runjeet Singh, the old "Lion of the
Punjaub" as the British called him. This great warrior
prince had, in common with many other remarkable men,
an extraordinary passion for horses. It was so strong, that
136




136      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
it passed into a proverb in the East, and some said amounted to a species of insanity. His name was great among all
the teeming myriads of that ancient land; and whenever
it was mentioned, either by Brahmin, Mussulman, or European, it was almost always coupled with that of his favorite
steed, the gray horse Lylee.
Old  Runjeet spent untold millions upon his stud; and
his horses were caparisoned in so sumptuous a manner that
it would have raised the envy of a Broadway belle. Bridles
and saddles inlaid with gold and studded with precious
stones; necklaces of costly gems, fastened underneath with
onyx (believed to possess talismanic virtue); and hangings of
the richest stuff which goes to make the famous shawls of
Cashmere, - were the trappings of the celebrated stallions.
But though more richly adorned than the steed of Caligula,
the horses of Runjeet Singh were kept for use as much as
show. The old monarch was a desperate rider, as well as
one of the greatest warriors that India has ever seen. He
computed, that, from first to last, Lylee had cost him no
less than three millions of dollars and the lives of twelve
thousand men. The horse, when he first became celebrated,
was the property of Yan Mohammed Khan, who ruled a
great tract of country, and had his capital at Peshawur.
The fame of Lylee soon spread through all the vast regions
watered by the Indus and its tributaries; and Runjeet
Singh, unable to obtain him by negotiation, went to war
for him. After a long contest, the arms of the Maharajah
prevailed; and he made it a preliminary condition of peace
that Lylee should be delivered to him.
Mohammed Khan had failed to defend the possession of
Lylee by the sword, and now sought to evade his delivery
by chicane. He at first pretended that the horse was dead,
and, when Runjeet was not to be put off by that subterfuge,
sought to impose another horse on him instead of the real
Lylee. Before Runjeet Singh had obtained possession of
the horse, Yan Mohammed died, and his brother, Sooltan




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          137
Mohammed, succeeded to the throne at Peshawur. He
continued to interpose prevarication and procrastination to
the demands of the Maharajah; but the matter was finally
brought to an issue by one Ventura, an Italian soldier of
fortune, and a general in  Runjeet's service. Having made
another formal demand for Lylee, he was met, as all the
other negotiators had been, with quibbles from Sooltan
Khan; whereupon, calling up a lot of soldiers whom he
had instructed to straggle after him into the courtyard
of the palace, he declared Sooltan his prisoner. Thereupon
Lylee was delivered up; but, to maintain possession of him,
the Maharajah was obliged to fight another war.
In 1839, this horse was seen by some English officers.
He was then very old - they could not say how old - and
feeble; a flee-bitten gray, standing over sixteen hands high,
and with all the plain strength of a coarse, thoroughbred
horse. So much for Lylee, whose description would answer
well for one of the Messengers.
We will pass from him to one that was unquestionably
of the Messenger blood, - the gray mare Lady Blanche, by
Abdallah. This mare was raised by Mr. John Treadwell,
who also raised her sire Abdallah, on the island here. She
was certainly one of the first foals, if not the very first,
that Abdallah got.'According to Mr. Treadwell, and the
unbroken tradition of his men, she was the first got by that
grandson of imported Messenger. Lady Blanche was a
handsome gray mare, fifteen hands two and a half inches
high, with a long tail. She was foaled in 1829, and, when
rising six years old, was matched against Awful to trot
under saddle for two thousand dollars a side, half forfeit,
over the Centreville Course. At that time, Awful was
owned by Mr. S. Neal of New York. He cut his quarter,
and was compelled to pay forfeit. He was a bay, fifteen
hands two inches high, and a lofty goer.
After this match, he was sold to the Messrs. Anderson of
New York, and matched against Screwdriver, a sorrel pony,




138      TITE TROTTING-HIORSE OF,AMERICA.
the property of Washington Costar of New York. The
race was three-mile heats, in harness, over the Ceritreville
Course, for one thousand dollars a side; and Awful won it
easily in two heats. I afterwards beat him several times
with D.utchman, but shall reserve reciting the facts until
we come down to the career of that horse. On the day set
down for the race between Lady Blanche and Awful, the
mare was led on to the course by Mr. Treadwell, his farmer
John being already in the saddle to ride her. Much to the
disappointment of many, forfeit was declared on the part
of Awful. After that lMr. Treadwell used to drive Lady
Blanche on the road, in an old stick sulky that he had got,
and he put her through some sharp work. At a later
period, Tom Hyer had her, and banged her up and down
the roads and all about New York for a long time. He
always thought a vast deal of this gray mare; and, if she
had not inherited the cast-steel qualities of the Messenger
tribe, I doubt whether she would ever have recovered from
the effects of his system of driving.
The mare was getting on in years, all battered up, and
apparently worn out; so Tom Hyer sold her in the ring at
Tattersall's for less than one hundred dollars. Mr. George
Hopkins bought her, and sent her to the West, - to Wisconsin, I believe. She was there until she was more than
twenty years old, when he got her back, and sold her to Mr.
S. D. Hoagland. Her capacity as a trotter at such an age
was very remarkable. She was either twenty-three or
twenty-four years old, - probably the latter, - when she
went against Snowdrop and Beppo on the Union Course.
Snowdrop was a white gelding, fifteen hands high, -a
handsome horse: I drove him. Beppo, a chestnut, scant
fifteen hands, and a stylish stepper, was driven by Dan
Pfifer. The old mare, driven by Sim Hoagland, won it in
four heats, the best of which was 2.43, or thereabouts. The
next week, Lady Blanche and Beppo went to wagons, the
same drivers. Hoagland's weight at that time was from




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          139
two hundred and five pounds to two hundred and ten
pounds; but old Blanche was well put up to pull it.
Blanche won the second race. Prior to those, she won one
on the road, ridden by Harry Jones; but I did not see it.
In i855, this famous old mare literally "died in harness."
Mr. Hoagland had been working her with the intention to
take her to Baltimore to trot against Sorrel Fanny, who
had challenged the world, for her age. She was twentytwo; Blanche was twenty-five, and would certainly have
warmed her if she had lived a little longer. Mr. Hoagland
had been at the track that morning with Blanche, and she
never went better. She looked as fine as silk, too, considering her great age and what she had gone through. He put
her under the shed at John I. Snediker's, and all at once
saw a spasm go through her. As soon as the mare could be
got out of the shafts, she laid herself gently down, and died
of enlargement of the heart. You may see her picture at
Hoagland's, at East New York. It represents her doing
all she knows; and Sim is well painted, with a look of satisfaction beaming on his face, driving her.
Another instance of great staying power at an advanced
age was Ajax, who was also by Abdallah. He was out of a
good little road-mare, and was a handsome, stout, brown
horse, fourteen hands three inches high, with a long tail
and slim at the root like his sire. This little horse had
immense power. He was built a good deal like his nephew
Dexter, by Hambletonian, but was even thicker through
behind. When Ajax was sixteen years of age, he was
matched to trot against Mr. Charlick's bay mare twenty
miles under saddle, for one thousand dollars a side. Stephen Weart owned Ajax; Isaac Woodruff rode him.
C. S. Bartine, who afterwards drove Trustee the twenty
miles within an hour, rode Mr. Charlick's mare. Ajax beat
her very handily. The mare was pulled out before the finish;
and the little horse went on, and completed the distance.
Ajax was foaled at Bath, Long Island, in 1832. In




140      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
1836, when he was four years old, I drove him a mile on
the Centreville Course in three minutes and thirty seconds.
At that time he belonged to Mr. Edwards of Philadelphia.
Being disposed of, he fell into the hands of Mr. Samuel
Coope of Brooklyn, and was used by him on the road for
some years. In the winter of 1842, I drove him a noted
match to sleighs against the celebrated pacer Oneida
Chief, who was afterwards taken to England. The Chief
was the best pacer we had had at that time; but, nevertheless, Ajax was matched to go the length of the road against
him, from Bradshaw's, near Harlem Bridge, to the pavements at Twenty-eighth Street. Oneida Chief was a handsome chestnut, with three white legs and a blaze. He
stood about fifteen hands and half an inch. The match
was made one afternoon to go the next day. Mr. Harry
Jones drove the pacer. It was a very cold day, and the
snow somewhat drifted. At that time there were but few
houses along the road, except for public accommodation.
Where the Central Park now is was a rough, desolate tract.
At the start from Bradshaw's, I went away at a good
rate, for I knew the bottom of the gallant little Ajax, and
relied upon it to cut down his opponent in the length of the
road. It was lined on both sides, from Bradshaw's to the
city; and I question whether there were ever as many out
at one time since that day. There they were in the snow,
buttoned and muffled up, and their noses blue with cold, or
red from the effects of the hot apple-jack they ran into the
houses every now and then to take. At last we came,.squaring away, and going through them pretty fast. The
snow flew where it had drifted; and the runners of the
sleighs made it shriek again, as they slid over it to the
music of the bells. I kept ahead, making the pace hot;
and, when we had gone two miles and a qi arter to Yorkville, Jones gave it up, and stopped the pacer. After that,
many others turned in to brush with me as I went along;
but none of them could live far with Ajax. As we neared




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          141
the city, the crowds grew greater; there was more noise
and cheering, and more furious jangling of the sleigh-bells
as the gentlemen drove their horses about, up and down the
sides of the road. The more the noise and confusion, the
greater the speed of Ajax. He got upon his mettle; and
towards the last of it, we went so fast, that the people
could recognize neither him nor me, and remained in doubt
what it was that had gone by like a flash, through the
crowd, and won it. There was not a horse in America
capable of beating Ajax from Bradshaw's to the pavement
on that day. That was sleighing!
In the following year, Ajax, being then eleven years old,
was matched against Brown Rattler of Baltimore, threemile heats,. under saddle, on the Beacon Course, New
Jersey. I rode Ajax; James Whelply rode Brown Rattler.
The day was rainy, and the course very heavy. Ajax carried fifteen pounds over weight; for, with the saddle, I was
a hundred and sixty pounds. We distanced the Baltimore
horse the first heat; the time of the miles being 2.44, 2.42,
2.37, — total three miles, 8.03. Ajax was a wonderful little
horse to carry weight and stay. Indeed, he was only little
in height, being a big horse on short legs. Ajax went
another race with a horse that was afterwards taken to
England, besides the one with the pacer Oneida Chief. It
was Sir William, a chestnut gelding, fifteen hands and an
inch high, and with one white foot behind. He was a finelooking horse, and a great strider. Whether they put him
to good use in England, I have never learned. The race
between him and Ajax was three-mile heats, under saddle,
on the Beacon Course. Sir William was handled by George
Spicer, and ridden by John Spicer. Ajax got one heat,
but lost the other two and the race.




xv.
The Trotter Dutchman. — Description of him. - Pedigree doubtfuil.
Dutchman and Locomotive. - Dutchman and Yankee Doodle. - Dutch.
man, Fanny Pullen, and Confidence. - Dutchman and Lady Slipper. -
Dutchman, Lady Warrenton, Teamboat, and Norman Leslie. —Dutchman and Greenwich Maid. - Dutchman and Washington. - Dutchman,
Lady Suffolk, and Rattler. - Description of Lady Suffolk and Rattler.
SHALL now give a sketch of one of the most famous
trotters that ever was known.  I speak of Dutchman,
who, for the combined excellences of speed, bottom, and
Constitutional vigor, equal to the carrying on of a long
campaign and improving on it, has had few if any equals,
and certainly no superior.  His time for three miles still
stands the best on the record. Flora Temple and General
Butler, both horses of great speed and bottom, tried to beat
it, but failed; and yet it was not up to the highest mark
that Dutchman could have made that day.  But of this feat
I shall speak as it comes along in the order of his performances, before entering on which it will be proper to give
some idea of his appearance. Dutchman was a bay gelding,
fifteen hands three inches high, very powerfully made, with
every part clean cut, and the very best of legs and feet.
He was raised in New Jersey; but I never knew his
pedigree, nor ever met any one who did.  This is to be
regretted; for he was a horse of such great stamp and high
courage, that it would be interesting to know at least a little
of the sources from which he sprang. This, however, we
never can know. I have seen letters which purported to
give his pedigree, but have never met with an account which
at all satisfied me, or corresponded with that which was said
142




TIHE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.        143
about the horse when I first knew him. It has been said
that he was got by a thoroughbred imported horse, and I
have no doubt that his ancestry was well bred. His form,
temper, and general characteristics denoted a horse of very
considerable breeding; but the definite accounts that I have
heard and seen in regard to it rest upon insufficient authority
to satisfy me. He was not the coarse, ungainly horse that
many suppose him to have been. His points were good,
though some of them were rather plain, and every thing
about him indicated a horse of uncommon resolution and
bottom, with a strong dash of temper.
When I first saw Dutchman he was five years old, and
belonged to Mr. Jeffers of Philadelphia. He worked in a
string-team in a brick-cart, and did his full share of the
hauling. It was found that the bay horse was a good
stepper, and they began to drive him on the road to a wagon.
He could then go a little better than a mile in three
minutes. Mr. Jeffers soon sold him to Mr. Peter Barker
of New York, and he had him pricked end docked. The
operation was performed by George Hazard, and before
Dutchman had entirely recovered from its effects he was
engaged for his first trot. The match was mile and repeat,
in harness, with a horse called Locomotive, to go on the
Harlem track. It was made in a hurry one afternoon, and
Dutchman was taken out of the pulleys the next day to
trot. Harry Jones drove him, and Albert Conklin was
behind the other horse. Dutchman won this in two heats.
The same year, later in the fall, he trotted a match for
$1,000 a side, from Cato's to Harlem, along Third Avenue.
The distance was about four miles, and they went to roadwagons. Mr. Barker drove Dutchman. The other, a brown
gelding called Yankee Doodle, was driven by Mr. Daniel
Costar cf New York. Dutchman won easily. His speed
and bottom were now so well thought of, that in 1836 he
was entered in a sweepstakes with Fanny Pullen and Confidence. Fanny Pullen was afterwards the dam of the




144      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
chestnut gelding Trustee, by imported Trustee, who first
trotted twenty miles within an hour in harness. She was
herself a chestnut, standing fifteen hands high, and was
raised in the State of Maine. Confidence was a handsome
bay gelding, fifteen hands high. Of his pedigree nothing
definite was known.  He was afterwards purchased for Mr.
Osbaldeston, the " Old Squire " of English sporting history,
*and taken over to that country. Mr. Osbaideston drove
Confidence there many years, and trotted him some races.
That gentleman had some of the best racers, hunters, and
steeple-chasers in England; but, when he wanted first-class
trotters, he took good care to send to America for them.
The sweepstakes race was $1,000 each, two-mile heats,
in harness, over the Centreville Course. Joel Conkling
drove Dutchman; Harry Jones, Fanny Pullen; James M.
Hammill of Philadelphia, Confidence. The latter was a
Philadelphia horse then, being owned by Daniel Daniels
of that city. Daniels was called " Deaf Dan " at that time;
and he is the main to whom Dr. Weldon alluded in his
famous letter vindicating the probity of turfmen, and insisting upon the veracity of trainers. The betting ran very
high on the race. The Eastern men backed Fanny Pullen
with great spirit. The Philadelphians put up strongly on
Confidence. The New-Yorkers stuck to Dutchman, and a
very large amount of money changed hands. Dutchman
won it in two heats, and Fanny was second, the time being
5.171 and 5.18'. The first heat was the fastest two miles
that had been made in harness.- Dutchman was in -for
business now. Only a little time elapsed before he was
matched to go four-mile heats under saddle against Lady
Slipper.
It was over the Centreville Course; and the day was that for
the great match between the North and the South, in which
John Bascomb ran against Postboy, four-mile heats, over
the Union Course.  The two races attracted immense numbers of people, for the courses were so near together that




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          145
both events could be witnessed without any trouble. The
running-race came off first; and, after it was over, the road to
the Centreville was as full of carriages and wagons as it
could be. There were many thousands of people present
when the horses were brought out on the course. Dutchman was the favorite. He was ridden by William Whelan,
and won it in two heats. Lady Slipper was a -white mare,
about fourteen hands three inches high. George Spicer
rode her that day. She was afterwards taken to England,
but I do not know what was made of her there.
The same year, in the fall, Dutchman was entered in
a sweepstakes with Lady Warrenton, Teamboat, and Norman Leslie, three-mile heats, under saddle. It came off
at Trenton, N. J., and was five hundred dollars each.
Lady Warrenton was a white mare from Baltimore, stand
ing about fifteen hands high; and she was a good one.
Teamboat was a chestnut gelding, sixteen hands high, and
so called because he had been employed in one of the teams
that pull the barges along the levels. Norman Leslie was
a black gelding, fifteen hands and an inch high. Lady
Warrenton won this race; and it was the first time that
Dutchman met with a defeat. In the following week,
he was matched with the Lady, three-mile heats, under
saddle, over the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia. In
this race, George Spicer rode Dutchman, and beat the mare
in two heats. It was a rainy day, and the course was
heavy.' This made little difference to Dutchman, who was
a strong horse, able to go in heavy ground, and keep going
with the weights up. He was also a grand horse for all
sorts of weather; and, when once in fine condition, would
stand as much wear and tear, and keep going on, as long as
any horse I ever knew, and this when the races were all of
long heats. Soon after this race, Dutchman fell lame
behind, and was turned out. He ran out for sixteen or
eighteen months. When he was taken up to be put in
work again, he came to me; and this was the beginning of
10




146      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
a long and eventful connection between us. At the firsb
of it we did not meet with success; but I knew, that, if he
kept on, it would be sure to come. He was then ten years
old; and his first trot in my hands was against Greenwich
Maid, a bay mare, fifteen hands high.
The race was two-mile heats, in harness, over the Beacon
Course, New Jersey; and the mare won -it in two heats,
the best of which was 5m. 16s. Shortly afterwards, Dutchman trotted two-mile heats against Washington over the
same course. Washington was a gray gelding, sixteen
hands high, very speedy, but having the peculiarity that he
would go all to pieces if not checked up close. He also
beat Dutchman in two heats; and the best of them was
5m. 16s., as Greenwich Maid's had been.
The same year Dutchman went for a purse over the Beacon
Course against Lady Suffolk and Rattler, two-mile heats,
under saddle. Rattler was a bay gelding, fifteen hands
high, a fast and stout horse, though light-waisted, and delicate in appetite and constitution. At that time he would
sometimes only eat six quarts of oats a day; and the trainer
was doing uncommonly well when he got nine quarts into
him. He was afterwards taken to England, and, take him
for all in all, was the best American trotter that ever went
there. William Whelan went over with him, but not
before we had some desperate struggles between him and
Dutchman.
Lady Suffolk was a gray mare about fifteen hands and an
inch. She was got by Engineer, son of imported Messenger, and was certainly a tremendous mare, well worthy of
her illustrious descent. She was bred on Long Island, in
Suffolk County, and thus got the name of Lady Suffolk.
When she was three years old, David Bryan bought her of
the farmer who raised her, for ninety dollars. In the race
of which I am now writing, Bryan rode Lady Suffolk, Bill
Whelan rode Rattler, and I rode Dutchman. We won it
in two heats, of 5.11-5.13.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          147
Shortly after this, a match was made between Dutchman
and Rattler to go three-mile heats under saddle, for two
thousand dollars, on the Beacon Course. Dutchman was
the favorite, but Rattler was in fine condition that day;
and a desperate struggle ensued between the horses and
thleir riders, William Whelan and myself.  In the first
heat, we went away together; and at any time in the course
a sheet would have covered both horses. It was very close
at the finish; but Rattler won by half a length. Dutchman made a break in the heat, the only one he made in the
race; and that enabled Rattler to win it in 7m. 45's. The
second heat was like the first. We went away together;
and it was hard to say which had the advantage for two
miles and a half. Sometimes one would be a head in front,
and then the other would come up and get the lead by a
neck. But they were never clear of each other; and, at the
drawgate in the third mile, it was head-and-head. But
Rattler now broke (this was the only break he made in the
race), and Dutchman won the heat in 7.50.
I have not since seen such a heat as that which ensued.
Over the whole distance of ground, three miles, it was literally a neck-and-neck struggle. Nothing could have been
finer to the spectators than the desperate and long-sustained
efforts of these capital horses, aided by the exertions and
judgment of the riders. Neither horse was clear of the
other at any time; and, when we had both used our utmost
endeavors to land a winner, if only by half a head, the
judges declared that it was a dead heat in 8.02. In the
fourth heat, the struggle was again as close as could be for
upwards of two miles; but then the unrivalled bottom of
Dutchman obtained the superiority. At the end of the
eleventh mile, the pace and distance began to tell on Rattler; and Dutchman won it handily in 8.24.
Just such a race as this it has never been my fortune to
see since, and nobody had seen such a one before. For
eleven miles the horses were never clear of each other;




148     THIE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
and, when Dutchman left Rattler in the twelfth, it was by
inches only. Moreover, there were but two breaks in this
race, and each horse made but one in his twelve miles.
That was trotting; and, though both the horses afterwards
acquired more speed, they never exhibited more obstinate
game or more thorough bottom than in this race. IRattler
was an honest, fast horse, with a great deal of bottom in
his light, waspy, wiry make. He was a very long strider;
and, when going his best, it sometimes seemed as though
his thin waist would part in the middle. That was the last
time of his trotting before he went with Whelan to England. In that country he beat the Birmingham mare and
Glasgow mare, and challenged the world.
I was within an ace at one time of going over with
Dutchman to take up the challenge, but did not do so
Whelan says he could have beaten me in England; for
Rattler had taken to hearty feeding and gained strength,
and much improved in speed. But the truth is, that Dutchman had shown increased speed, too; and I had no doubt
then, nor have I had any since, about his ability to beat
Rattler, if he had gone to England and done well. I think,
too, that the strong probability of this will appear to the
reader, when we come to review the performances, since
unequalled in spite of all our improvement and latter-day
advantages, which Dutchman afterwards made in my hands.
As I have said above, his three-mile time yet stands at the
head of the record; and, though it is often said that it
would be very easy to beat it, I think we may reasonably
conclude, in view of the failure of Flora Temple and
General Butler to do so, that it is not quite so easy as it
seems. Besides, I always remark, when this allegation is
made, that it would have been easy for Dutchman to do the
three miles faster than he did; and this I shall prove when
we come to speak of the time-race. It would, however, be
easy for Butler to beat it under saddle.




XVI.
Dutchman and Lady Suffolk. -Dutchman, Lady Suffolk, Mount Holly,
and Harry Bluff. — Dutchman and Awful. — Dutchman against Time,
Three Miles.- The Race and Incidents.
NI resuming the history of Dutchman, we begin again
at the close of the great race of four three-mile heats; in
which he won a hard and very stoutly-contested struggle
with Rattler, just prior to that horse's voyage to England,
where, as I have before remarked, he greatly distinguished
himself under the care and superintendence of Winm. Whelan.
It was not only found that he was vastly superior to any
English-bred trotter, but also to those which had been imported into England from this country. Several of these
had been horses of fine speed and bottom. It was, however,
no more than might have been expected, that Rattler
should excel them all; for he was very near indeed to
Dutchman when he left this country. It was a very close
thing between them; and I have learned, that, after he
arrived in the island, the air and strong feed so agreed with
him, that he displayed more vigor and bottom than he had
done while he was in this country.
It was now the spring of 1839, and Dutchman had been
in my hands a year. We commenced the operations of that
memorable season with a trot between Dutchman and
Lady Suffolk, over the Beacon Course, New Jersey, twomile heats, under saddle. As a matter of course, I rode the
old bay horse, and David Bryan rode the gray Lady of
Suffolk. Dutchman won it handily in two heats of 5m. 9s.,
5m. 11s. That was the beginning of the season, and early
149




150     THE TROTTIYG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
for a beginning at that. In the month of Mlay we went to
Baltimore, to trot three-mile heats, under saddle, with three
other horses. There was Lady Suffolk, who was now
developed into a regular campaigner, and was a wonderful
mare; Mount Holly, a white gelding, fifteen hands high —
how related to the Messenger horse of that name, who is
among the forefathers of the Black gelding General Butler,
I am unable to say; and Harry Bluff, a bay gelding,
fifteen hands three inches high. Dutchman won the race
in two heats of 7m. 56s., 7m. 53s.
On our return home from Baltimore, we had a meeting
with Awful, the bay gelding before spoken of as having
been matched with Lady Blanche, the daughter of Abdallah,
when six years old, and paid forfeit to her in consequence
of lameness; and, as having afterwards defeated Screwdriver,
three-mile heats, in harness, over the Centreville Course.
The race between Dutchman and Awful was on the 4th of
July, and was three-mile heats, in harness. Dutchman won
it, distancing Awful in the first heat, in the then amazing
time of 7m. 41s. At the start for this race, the odds were
100 to 25 on Awful; and the result, with the time in which
it was achieved, caused a large amount of wonder and discussion. This' three miles in harness was then the greatest
performance that had ever been made; and it will be
found, upon investigation, that it has very seldom been surpassed since that date, almost twenty-six years ago. Flora
Temple was the first that ever beat it; and, if I am not
mistaken, the only others that have done so are General
Butler —when he went in harness against Dutchman's
saddle-time — and Stonewall Jackson of Hartford, in his
three-mile race in 1866 on the Fashion Course against
Shark.
It will be remembered, in estimating the merit and value
of this performance, that since it was made, above a quarter
of a century has passed away, of an age renowned above all
preceding ones in history for progress; that all the efforts




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          151
of breeders, breakers, trainers, and drivers have been
directed to improve the speed of our trotting-horse to the
highest rate attainable, consistent with the faculty of endurance; that neither pains nor perseverance have been
spared to perfect our modern courses; and that all the skill
and ingenuity of an intelligent class of our mechanics have
been successfully applied to the production of the best
and lightest vehicles for trotting purposes. The sulky in
which Dutchman trotted on that day weighed 821bs. I have
now two that weigh less than 60lbs. each. My weight in
driving was from 1481bs. to 150lbs. Dutchman took the lead
at starting, and kept it all the way. The time of the first
mile was 2m. 34s.; the second was trotted in 2m. 33s.;
and, in the third, we returned to the rate of the first, 2m.
34s. By considering this, we shall perceive the even rate
and great durability of this renowned horse. He put the
miles closer together than any horse had ever done prior to
that race, and finished the three miles in less aggregate
time, taking the whip nearly all the way and never making
a break. I ventured to keep him going from the score, and
to put the whip on from time to time; and for this I had
warrant in three things: I knew he was honest, and would
answer every call to the last gasp; I knew that he was as
stout as oak and as tough as whalebone, and needed no
saving; and I knew that he was in good condition. Whenever the reader has got hold of a horse in whom these good
qualities are united, and who is to trot a long race against
another, supposed to be his superior in point of speed, he
need not be afraid to burst him off and keep going. But he
had better be quite sure that they are all there; because, if
it should turn out that any of them is lacking, it would
probably endanger the race.
It is a matter of course that 7m. 41s. in harness would
not be a great performance at this time; and it is very
likely that a horse or two could be found able to trot three
miles in harness in 7m. 31s., when thoroughly fit and




152      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
properly driven. But it must not be forgotten that the
conditions then existing were very different' from those we
find in operation now.' All these improvements and alterations to which I have alluded above have been in favor of
the horses of the present day; and therefore the champions
of old times are entitled to much allowance in forming an
estimate of the comparative greatness of their performances.
A match was now made between Dutchman and Awful,
to trot over the Beacon Course for $1,000 a side, mile-heats,
three in five, in harness. It took place on the 18th of July.
Dutchman was the favorite for this, and won it handily in
three heats, of 2m. 35s., 2m. 32s., 2m. 35s. That same
evening the match against time was made which has, eversince its performance, been one of the most famous events
in the annals of our turf. Mr. John Harrison backed
Dutchman to trot three miles under saddle over the Beacon
Course, on the 1st of August, for $1,000 a side. Mr. Isaac
Anderson backed time. The horse was to have two trials,
if necessary, and was to be allowed an hour between them.
The time set was 7m. 39s. If Dutchman made the three
miles in that, or in less time, he won the match. He had
gone in Tm. 41s. in harness, as I have before remarked, and
therefore it was a good match for the backers of the horse.
It seemed to me that the only question was whether Dutchman would be fit and well on the day. If he was he could
not lose it. At the time it was made, the horse, as I have
said in speaking of his Fourth-of-July trot, was in condition. Ile was well seasoned; and, between the making of
the match on the 18th of July and the 1st of August when
it was trotted, he had just his usual work. Prior to this
time, Dutchman had been purchased of Minturn, Conklin,
Vooris, & Co., for $3,000, by James Hammil of Philadelphia. He was bought by Hammil for Gen. Cadwallader,
heretofore spoken of as one of the most liberal turfmen
of that day.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF' AMERICA.         153
The 1st of August came; the ardent summer sun rising
bright and clear, and assuming his reign over a very warm
day. We let him sink towards hisx haven in the golden
west before we prepared for the race. The course was fine,
a large concourse of people were in attendance, and the
odds were two to one on Dutchman when we brought him
out and stripped him. At six o'clock in the evening, he
was saddled; and I mounted, feeling fully confident that
the feat set would be done with much ease. We were
allowed a running-horse to keep company; and I had a nice
blood-like mare, she being under my brother Isaac.
VWe went off at a moderate jog, gradually increasing the
pace, but conversing part of the way at our ease. Isaac
asked me how fast I thought I could go the mile; to which
I replied, "About two minutes, thirty-five."  It was accomplished in 2m. 34is., and Dutchman never was really extended.  Now occurred a circumstance which must be
related, because it was curious in itself, and had its effect
on the time. Mr. Harrison, the backer of Dutchman, had
lent his watch to a friend, and was not keeping time of the
horses himself as they went round. As we came by the
stand, some bystander, who had made a mistake in timing,
told him that the time of the mile was 2.38, which was a
losing average. He therefore called out to me as I passed
him, to go along; and go along I did. Dutchman struck a
great pace on the back-stretch, and had established such a
fine stroke that the running-mare was no longer able to live
vWith him. My brother Isaac got alarmed, and sung out to
me that I was going too fast. I replied that I had been told
to go along. It was not my conviction that the horse was
going too fast even then; for if ever there was one that I could
feel of, and that felt all over strong and capable of maintaining the rate, Dutchman did then. Nevertheless, I took
a pull for Isaac, and allowed him to come up and keep
company for the balance of the mile. It was performed in
2.28 very handily.




154      THE TROTTING-.IORSE OF AMERICA.
The third mile we kept the same relative positions;
Dutchman being under a good pull all the way, and able to
have left the running-mare had he been called upon so to
do. The rate was now very even; and it was maintained
until we were within about two hundred yards of the stand,
when I was notified to check up, and come home at a more
moderate gait. I therefore crossed the score at a jog-trot,
and Dutchman was at a walk within fifteen yards of it.
The last mile was 2.30, the whole being 7.321. Great as
this performance was thought at the time, long as it has
since stood unequalled, and great and deserved as has been,
and is, the fame of those who have endeavored to surpass
it, I declare that it was not by any means all that Dutchman could have done that day. I am positive, that, if he
had been called upon to do so, he could have trotted the
three miles in 7.27, or better. This is no light opinion of
mine, taken up years afterwards on inadequate grounds, and
when those who might be opposed, to it had gone from
among us: it was the judgment of those who saw him in
the feat, observed him all through, and noticed how he finished. He as much surpassed any thing that the public had
expected of him as could well be conceived; and yet the
three-mile heat in harness in which he distanced Awful was
warrant to look out for something great. It has always
been my conviction, and will remain so to my dying day,
that Dutchman could have done the last mile handily in
two minutes and twenty-six seconds; and I even hold to the
opinion that he could have done it in 2.25. The people
who witnessed the race thought so too.
As for the second mile, which he made in 2.28, it was
one of the easiest I ever rode in my life. In the great
burst of speed he made when Harrison called to me to go
along, and Dutchman went away from the running-mare,
the horse was strong, collected, and his long, quick stroke
very even. At all other times in the race he seemed
to be going well within himself; and, in setting down his




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          155
mark that day at seven minutes twenty-seven seconds,
I am confident that I allow him quite time enough. The
truth is, that he was a most extraordinary horse. There
have been many trotters that could go as fast for a little
way; but the beauty of Dutchman was, that he could go
fast and go all day. To beat the time he actually made
would be easy enough to a fast horse of good bottom; but
to beat the mark I have set as that of which he was capable, and I know I am inside the truth, would not be so
easy. It is, however, never to be lost sight of, that the
tendency of things ever since Dutchman's day has been
towards increased speed. There has been a general set of
the current in that direction; and horses that are comparatively at a stand-still as regards other horses of their own
day have, nevertheless, advanced in regard to time and the
dead.




XVIL
Dutchman and Washington. - Dutchman, Washington, and the Ice Pony.Washington's best Mark. - Dutchman and Rifle. - Dutchman, Americus, and Lady Suffolk. - A Great Race in a Great Storm. - Dutchman,
Oneida Chief, and Lady Suffolk. - Dutchman's Last Race. - His
Death.
C  HORTLY after Dutchman's great time race, he left my
stable, and was taken to Philadelphia by James Hammil, who, as before mentioned, had purchased him for Gen.
Cadwallader. In the spring of 1840 he returned to New York
in charge of Hammil, and was matched against Lady Suffolk
to trot over the Centreville Course, two-mile heats under
saddle. Hammil rode Dutchman, and Bryant the Lady of
Suffolk. She beat Dutchman the first heat in 4m. 59s., and I
then mounted for the second. She beat him again, the time
being 5m. 3s. I could not quite satisfactorily account for
his being beaten in that time, after what I knew he could
do when all right. Whether he was short of work, I cannot precisely determine, as he was not in my hands, and I
had not seen him in the course of his training that year;
but he did not appear to be as stout and as willing as I had
found him the jprevious season, and afterwards found him
again.
That same summer he trotted with Washington over the
Centreville Course, two-mile heats in harness. Washington
was then in my stable; and with him I beat Dutchman in
two straight heats, the best being 5m. 16s. From thence
we went to Philadelphia, and trotted over the Hunting-park
156




THE TROTTINVG-HORSE OF AMERICA.         157
Course for a purse, two-mile heats in harness. Washington
beat Dutchman again in two heats, the best of which was
again Sm. 16s. In the first heat, Hammil drove him; in
the second, George Spicer got in. Our next meeting was
on the Herring-run Course at Baltimore, where I trotted
Washington against Dutchman and Ice Pony two-mile heats
in harness. The Pony was a brown gelding, fourteen hands
three inches high, and a fine, gallant-going little horse. He
had not what I consider great staying qualities; but he had
the gift of speed in a high degree. He got the name he
bore from having trotted on the ice in Maine, from whence
he came. Col. C. Bartine drove the Pony, Hammil drove
Dutchman, and I drove'Washington. The latter won it
in two straight beats, and the best of them this' time was
5m. 16~s. The pony led for a mile and a half; but I judged
that he would be sure to " come back" to us before he had
got twice round, and so kept my weather-eye on Dutchman.
I must mention here, that, prior to this trip South, I trotted
Washington against Dutchman two-mile heats in harness
over the Beacon Course, and won in two heats, the best of
them being 5m. 16s.
It is rather a curious circumstance, that, when Washington
was all right he could trot two miles in harness in just five
minutes and sixteen seconds; and, if called upon for better
time, he could not make it. That was his best mark; but, if
in condition, he could be relied upon to do it with certainty.
After our return from Baltimore, we trotted two-mile heats
in harness over the Beacon Course, New Jersey, and Dutchman won it in three heats. Washington got the first in 5m.
16s. again. Dutchman got the second and third. Dutchman
now returned to Philadelphia, and met RIifie in two races on
the Hunting-park Course, mile-heats, three in five, one in
harness, the other under saddle. Rifle was a handsome
little bay horse, fifteen hands high. He and Lady Suffolk
performed the first great feat in double harness, distancing Mr. Frank Duffy's bay-team, Apology and Hardware,




158      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
in 5m. 19s. The first mile was 2m. 42s., the second 2m.
37s.
At that time this was considered a very great performance, and it was so. We had not then the number of opulent gentlemen trying to get fast horses for double harness
that we have now. Mr. Bonner's mares, Flatbush Maid and
Lady Palmer, have gone the distance over the Fashion
Course, driven by himself to his light road-wagon, in 5.011,
- an astonishing thing. But it is to be remembered that
Suffolk and Rifle made their performance more than twenty
years ago, and that time, in all ways of going, has been
greatly reduced since then.
The Lady and Rifle were driven by James Whelpley.
The first race between Dutchman and Rifle was in harness.
I drove Dutchman, and Whelpley Rifle; and I won in three
heats. In the saddle-race, he beat me the first heat in 2.34.
James iammil then got on Dutchman, won the second heat
in 2.38, and got the third and fourth handily.
In 1843 Dutchman was brought to New York again, and
placed in my charge. Our first race that season, and it was
the last season that the old horse trotted on the turf, was
against Americus and Lady Suffolk; two-mile heats in harness, over the Beacon Course. Bryant drove the Lady,
Spicer Americus, and I Dutchman. Dutchman won the
first heat, Americus the second, and Dutchman the third.
Lady Suffolk was third in all theeheats. In a week or ten
days thereafter, we went three-mile heats in harness, over
the Beacon Course, and it was a tremendous race of four
heats. The first was won by Dutchman. The second was
stoutly contested, but Americus won it. The third heat
was very hotly contested, and resulted in a dead heat between the old horse and Americus. Lady Suffolk was now
ruled out for not winning a heat in three, and the betting
was heavy, Dutchman having the call.
The long summer day had drawn rapidly to a close. At
the same time the heavens were overcast; and with fading




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA            159
gleams of dim, yellow light, the sun sank into great banks
of clouds. They mounted higher and higher, and seemed
to lie like a load upon the weary earth. The heat was
intense; and not a breath of air was stirring to break the
ominous repose. With the last flicker of day, the swift
scud began to fly overhead, and the solid-seeming clouds to
tower up and come on like moving mountains. It was dark
when we got into our sulkies; and, soon after the start, the
storm burst upon us with a fury that I have never since
seen equalled. The wind blew a hurricane, and the pelting
rain fell in torrents, as though the sluices of the skies had
opened all at once. Nothing could have overpowered the
mighty rush of the wind and the furious splash of the rain
but the dread, tremendous rattle of the thunder. It seemed
to be discharged right over our heads, and only a few yards
above us. Nothing could have penetrated the thick, profound gloom of that darkness but the painful blue blaze
of the forked lightning. I could not see, in the short intervals between the flashes, the faintest trace of the horse
before me; and then, in the twinkling of an eye, as though
the darkness was torn away like a veil by the hand of the
Almighty, the whole course, the surrounding country, to
the minutest and most distant thing, would be revealed.
The spires of the churches and houses of Newark, eight
miles off we could see more plainly than in broad daylight;
and we noticed, that, as the horses faced the howling
elements, their ears lay back flat upon their necks. Between these flashes of piercing, all-pervading.light and the
succeeding claps of thunder, the suspense and strain upon
the mind was terrible. We knew that it was coming so as
to shake the very pillars of the earth we rode on; and,
until it had rattled over our heads, we were silent. Then,
in the blank darkness, as we went on side by side, we would
exchange cautions. Neither could see the other, nor hear
the wheels nor the stride of the horses, by reason of the
wind and rain.




160      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
"Look out, Hiram," Spicer would say, "or we shall be
into each other."
A few strides farther on, and I would sing out, " Take
care, George: you must be close to me."
Now, the noise of the wheels and the tramp of the
horses could not be heard in the roar of the wind and the
patter of the rain, and yet our voices could be and were.
For a mile and a half, in the very centre, as it were, of this
Titanic war of the skyey elements, we went side by side.
Then Dutchman lost ground. The track was clayey, and
he, having on flat shoes, began to slip and slide at every
stride. Americus gradually drew away from him; and,
when I reached the stand at the end of the second mile, I
stopped. I have seen a great many summer storms in my
time, and have been out in not a few of them; but, of all
that I remember, none quite equalled, in terrific fury and
awful grandeur, that which burst over the Beacon Course
just as we began that heat. Spicer says the same.
After this great race upon the Beacon Course, I took the
old horse to Baltimore, and trotted him three-mile heats
over the Kendall Course, against the pacer Oneida Chief
and Lady Suffolk. To the best of my knowledge, that was
the last appearance of Dutchman upon a race-course, and
he was then fifteen years old. The pacer beat us handily
that day, and Lady Suffolk was second. Dutchman was
then sold to lMr. George Janeway of New York, who afterwards purchased Rifle, and drove them together in double
harness as his private team.
In 1846, after Mr. Janeway had owned him and used
him on the road about three years, Dutchman had another
trot in public, going with Rifle in double harness against a
team from Brooklyn. It was the length of the road from
the New-York pavement at Twenty-eighth Street, to Brad.
shaw's at Harlem, to carry two men in each wagon. I
drove the old stavers, Dutchman and SRifle; and we won it
easily, beating them some three hundred yards. So these




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          161
two veterans of the turf and old opponents made their last
race upon the road, and in firm alliance; and, vanquishing
their opponents easily, the golden rays of victory lighted
up the sunset of their declining day.
In the following year, Dutchman died in Mr. Janeway's
stable. I was sent for the night before he expired, and, on
my arrival, found him down, and paralyzed in his hindquarters from an injury to his spine caused by his struggles
when cast in his stall. It was a touching and deplorable
sight to see the fine old horse, game to the last, struggling
with his fore-legs and raising his head, unconquered still,
but totally helpless in his hind-quarters. At times, he
would bend his neck and look round at his haunches, as
though to discover why there was no longer power in the
hips, thighs, and stifles that had sent him along so many
years and never tired. I saw that all feeling in the parts
was gone, and that hope of his recovery had gone with it.
There was talk about cramp; but I knew that it was cramp
of the "silver coi'd," and that Dutchman would never rise
upon his legs again. He died the next morning; and then
departed one of the best trotters, take him for all in all,
that I have known.
It is rather to be regretted that something definite could
not have been ascertained in regard to the pedigree of
Dutchman. He was so fast, so stout, so sound, and so
determined, that a knowledge of the sources from which he
sprang would have been valuable as well as interesting.
Since I commenced this work, I have been shown a letter
from a young man whose father knew where Dutchman was
bred, and remembered him as a colt. According to this
authority, which is vague and uncertain; Dutchman was
got by an imported thoroughbred horse out of a common
country mare. The imported horse had been landed in
Virginia, and had found his way into the south-west part
of Pennsylvania. This was what the father of the writer
of the letter always heard and believed, and told to his son.
11




162     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
It is, as I have said above, too vague and unsubstantial to
build upon; but from Dutchman's form, character, and
peculiarities, this was the sort of parentage that many
would have been inclined to ascribe to him. He was not a
coarse horse, though bony and strong; and there was the
appearance of a deal of breeding in; his head and neck and
his carriage, especially when going at a good rate. His
temper and endurance also indicated that he had good blood
in him; and I have no doi-bt whatever of that fact. But
there is no means that I know of tracing the source of it
at this time; and, though the account in the letter alluded
to may -be true, it does not appear to be entitled to be
regarded as more than probable.




XVIII.
Other Performances of Dutchman. - Application of facts to Principles. -
Dutchman's steady Improvement. —Endurance of Trotters and Running-Horses compared.
FIND, on referring to some old documents, that I have
omitted three races in the career of Dutchman; and
these I now propose to add to his history. It would not
much matter if I let it go as it was; for I am not pretending
to write a complete register of the races in which the
horses I refer to were engaged, but merely give my recollections of the events prominent in my memory, and, for
that reason, most likely to be interesting and useful to the
general reader. But the memory once aroused, the chain
becomes more complete, link by link; and, as I peruse the
result of my labors on the printed page, it often occurs to
me, that something has escaped me which I can supply.
Thus it came into my head, that, besides the races between
Dutchman and Rattler of which I have spoken, there was
another; and going over the piles of papers and odd matters
in my possession, respecting the events of many bygone
years, I find that Dutchman and Rattler trotted three-mile
heats under saddle on the Beacon Course, New Jersey, in
October, 1838. It was for a purse of $300, free for all.
Rattler was distanced in the first heat in 8m. 01s.
Dutchman was the favorite at the start at 2 to 1, his condition being superior to that of Rattler. Besides that, the
course was heavy, which suited Dutchman better than it
did Rattler. Before the trot came off, Dutchman was put
up at auction with his traps — a sulky, blankets, harness,
163




164     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
etc. ie was knocked down to me at $1,500. I bought
him in under instructions from his owners, Minturn & Co.,
not to let him go for less than a price they named in confidence.
In July of the following year Dutchman was matched
against Awful, three-mile heats in harness, on the Beacon
Course. We staked $5,000 for Dutchman against $2,500
on the part of Awful. There was a very large attendance,
many people having come on from Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Boston, and Providence. Dutchman was the favorite at 100
to 40.  The strangers took the odds largely: otherwise
there would have been but little betting, for the New-York
public had a very high opinion of Dutchman. At the start
in the first heat, Awful took the lead, and kept a length
ahead for half a mile. At the end of the first mile, which
was done in 2.34, he was leading half a length. The
second mile was 2.35, and Dutchman had established a
good lead at the end of it. I pulled him all the way in the
third mile; and he won the heat as he pleased, making that
mile in 3.09, the heat in 8.18.  The second was a better
heat. The first mile 2.47, and the others 2.36 each, making
the heat in 7.59. Still, it was quite an easy thing for
Dutchman. On the 7th of May, 1840, Dutchman walked
over for a purse of $200, two-mile heats in harness, at
the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia. This was while
he was in the hands of Mr. Hammil, and before he brought
him back to New York.
I now propose to examine how far the career of Dutchman on the turf goes to support the principles I ventured
to lay down in the early part of this work, when speaking
of the treatment and usage I deemed most proper for trotting —colts and young trotting-horses. It should be the aim
of the breeder and trainer to produce just such horses,
except in one particular, which is that of temper. Dutchman was a little too rough in the stable, and, if not closely
watched, was apt to take the jacket off a man's back at a




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          165
mouthful. Otherwise, he was all that any one could wish
for. He was very fast; he was one of the stoutest horses
that ever was called upon to go long heats, and repeat them
until the day was done; he had one of the best constitutions that ever came under my observation; and he kept on
improving until he was ten or eleven years old, in spite of
the many hard races at long distances in which he was
engaged.  He still remains the champion three-miler;
though I am confident I should have beaten his time with
Dexter in his late race against Stonewall Jackson of Hartford, if we had had a fair day and good track. In fact,
although Dutchman's time has stood so long at the head of
the column, and is pretty hard to beat even in these fast
days, it will not do to let it become a superstition with us.
We should take a lesson from what occurred in respect to
Fashion's running four-mile time on the Island; which was
long deemed invincible by gentlemen of the old school
hereabout, until one fine day, not very long ago, Capt.
Moore's mare Idlewild and John M. Clay's colt Jerome
Edgar met in a four-mile race on the Centreville Course,
and both of them beat Fashion's time all to pieces.
As I have said before, Dutchman did not do his best
when he made his 7m. 32s. He never was fully extended
but once in the race, and almost walked in; I having pulled
him to a mere jog-trot two hundred yards from the stand.
I put down his mark that day at 7m. 27s., or better; and
therefore I certainly think that a good horse in these times,
and carrying only a hundred and, forty-five pounds, ought
to do it in 7m. 32s. My weight, without the saddle, was
about a hundred and fifty pounds. Of course it will take a
horse that can stay the distance to beat Dutchman's time;
for one that is going to come back before the three miles
are accomplished can never do it, no matter how fast he
may be. The fact that it has stood so long unequalled
should admonish us, I think, that we have of late rather
neglected to cultivate lasting qualities in our trotters, and




166     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
that we have almost entirely allowed saddle-races and long
heats to pass out of practice. I am induced to say here of
the two horses that started in harness against Dutchman's
time, they both lost rather by ill-luck and inadvertence than
by reason of lack of ability. Flora Temple would, in fact,
have accomplished the feat, had she been allowed the distance that the Centreville Course is more than a mile, three
times over. But this could not be; for, when gentlemen
have taken a course for a mile at the beginning of a race,
they will have to take it for just that distance, and no more,
at the end thereof.
General Butler lost by reason of his bad breaks in the
third mile. Now, in myjudgment, he did not break because
he was tired, but because of the injudicious striking-in of one
of his managers to go with him with another horse at that
juncture. Had it been left to Butler and young Ben Mace's
running-horse that went with him from the first to finish it
alone, I have no doubt he would have kept on and won it.
I had money laid the other way, and considered it as good
as lost. This General Butler is a very remarkable horse.
He is one that you do not feel confidence in betting on, and
are afraid to bet against. On the day that he made his great
two-mile time to wagon against George M. Patchen, he was
a wonder. I am rather inclined to the belief that he could
have equalled Dutchman's three-mile time that day, and
have done it to a wagon.
In regard to colts, I have previously observed that the
forcing system in the raising of trotters was not advisable. I am satisfied that it is not only expense laid out to
no use, but for a purpose which is likely to be mischievous.
Very early maturity is only to be attained accompanied
with the liability, the almost certainty, of corresponding
early decay; and, to achieve such excellence as that to which
Dutchman attained, the trotting-horse must have all his
powers long after the period at which most running-horses
have left the turf. The reason is obvious. The trotter has




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERIOCA.        167
to be educated up to his best and strongest rate, and the
education takes many years. Dutchman improved until he
was ten or eleven years old, and it may be questioned
whether his very best capabilities were ever brought out-;
for the change into new hands just when he had come to
the highest pitch that we know of was not altogether
favorable to continued advance. Therefore, when a trottinghorse has attained the age of seven, and is aged, or arrived
at natural maturity, he has only just reached that stage
when we may begin to expect the development of his finest
powers; and that development, according to my experience,
is likely to be gradual, and to continue for a long time. 1No
doubt many horses never improve after they are seven; and
in some cases the speed comes to them all at once, as the
saying is. In the former, the constitution, breeding, or
form is probably defective.
A century of work would not improve some horses. They
get to their best early, and only because their best is very
bad. In the other instance, it will commonly be found that
those who have jumped up all at once have been horses who
have changed their gait, and got to going square, or have
changed hands, and in different treatment have done first
what they could have nearly done before with the same
handling. Hence, while there is but little reason for being
in a hurry with a young trotting-colt, and none at all for
the expectation that he may arrive at his best early, except
when his best will be but bad, there is every reason for
giving Nature full time to perfect the hardy, enduring
frame in her own cunning way without forcing.
It is altogether likely that Dutchman might have been made
a bigger horse, though he was big enough in my judgment,
and an earlier horse, by means of strong feeding when very
young; but I am of the opinion that neither his stoutness in
a race of heats, nor his constitutional ability to resist the
wear and tear of the race of life, would have been improved




168      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
thereby. On the contrary, reason and experience, to my
mind, lead to the conclusion that they would have been damaged. Our trotting-horses, as a rule, endure much longer
thanour running-horses. If it be said that the conditions
of training and racing are not the same, I reply, that in old
times the running-horse endured and was kept upon the
turf more than twice as long as he is at —present, and ran
much harder races.
The distance and weights in ELgland used to be three
and.four mile heats, and the weights from about 140 pounds
to 168 pounds; yet the horses used to run until they were
not merely "aged," but old. Whereas, at the present
time, they commonly retire before they are seven; and take
away two geldings, Throgsneck and PRed Oak, there is not
a prominent race-horse in this country, England, or Ireland,
to-day, that is eight. Now, that arises in a great measure
from  the forcing system  adopted to make colts at three
years old as forward as they used to be at five' and, with
regard to the trotter, it ought to be avoided. He must last
many years to make a first-rate one; whereas the runninghorse is commonly as good at four or five years as he ever
would be, if he could run on until he was twenty. There
is nothing in the thoroughbred horse that entails earlier
decay than other strains are liable to. If of good sound
family, such as Messenger belonged to, and not subjected to
severer treatment and greater strain than horses of other
breeds are called upon to endure, I am satisfied that the
thoroughbred is the hardiest as well as the speediest and
stoutest animal that the art of man has been able to
perfect.
Another point against which I warned the owners and
handlers of young trotting-horses was the practice, beginning
to obtain to a mischievous extent, of taxing their powers
severely while they are in the sap and green of youth. We
find that Dutchman never trotted a race until he was six




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           169
years old, and that he had no training to undergo until he
was seven. Does anybody think that he would have been a
sound, fast, strong horse at eighteen, if he had been put
through the mill of hard training, high trials, and severe
races at three or four?  It is the "grand preparation" and
the screwing-up in the high trial that take away the steel
and life of the young horses. Very often the race itself is
an easy one for the winner; but the mischief has been
done before the race was come to, and the young horse is
seriously damaged, if not ruined for life. A horse like
Dutchman. does twenty.times more hard work as a trotter, than twenty of the early, hard-trained, tried, and raced
ones can ever do; and it don't hurt him one bit.
Some will say the comparison is not fair: Dutchman was
a very extraordinary horse. I answer so he was; but, if
you want one approaching his excellence in all points, don't
you go to stuffing your colts with bruised oats and oatmeal
before they are weaned, and ramming them up to the full
extent of their powers, in training, trials, and the like, at
three years old. I know that the man who has got a threeyear-old flyer or two to sell at a high price will call these sad,
old-fogy notions, say that I am behind the age, and that
the early system is the thing. So it is for him, because he
is going to sell the colt that has been hurried along to an
unnatural and fleeting precocity; and when he has been
sold, and the nine days' wonder of the big price has passed
away, that is probably the last we shall ever hear of the colt,
and the seller will have one more of the same sort, or may
be as fast and younger, to dispose of next year. But you
want to produce, if possible, one that in the course of time -
time, that tries all —shall earn a solid and enduring reputation as a good trotter; therefore follow the old racing maxim,
"Wait and win."
You will have to be at the expense of some money and
more patience in the extra year or two that must elapse be



170      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
fore your colt can be put to strong work, and you must wait
for the reward. The opposite doctrine to that which I have
laid down is exactly in point with the resolution of the fool in
the fable: " I'll not wait for the slow operation of this goose
in laying one golden egg a day: I'll kill her, and get them
all at once  "




XIX.
The Story of Ripton. - Description of him. - Ripton and Mount Holly.Ripton and Kate Kearney. - Peter Whelan and George Youngs. - Ripton and Don Juan. - Necessity of Work and Practice. - Ripton,
Dutchman, Confidence, and Spangle. - Ripton, Duchess, and Quaker. -
Ripton and Revenge. - Ripton and Lady Suffolk. - A Fast, Close Race.
B    EFORE my experience was completed with Dutchman,
another horse came into my hands, who was second
only to that famous trotter, in my estimation, for speed and
bottom, and ability to stand wear-and-tear, when he had
had good practice and had come to a ripe maturity. I speak
of Ripton, who became very celebrated just before Dutchman left the turf; for the road had passed into the possession
of Mr. Janeway. Ripton was a very handsome bay horse,
with four white legs and a blaze in the face.  In that particular he was like Dexter, who is now a greatly esteemed
favorite of mine, and brown. Like him, too, he was a little
horse in inches, but good and substantial in make and girth.
He did not stand above fifteen hands high; but he had fine
power, and was a horse of uncommon fire, spirit, and deternination.  His style of going was very fine, - as near perfection as any thing I have ever seen; but, from the fact
that one foreleg was whited higher up towards the knee
than the other, casual observers often fancied, when he was
going fast, that he lifted that foot the highest, and slapped
it down with extraordinary vim. That was a mistake, - a
mere optical illusion.  He went as level as the flow of a
smooth stream that is swift and deep. I cannot say what
his pedigree was.
171




172      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMJERICA.
I have heard something of his having been got by a certain horse; but it is only hearsay, and of no value or authority. In 1835 he was brought to New York from the Eastern States, and offered for sale, being then five years old.
Mr. Peter Barker, who owned Dutchman at the time, agreed
to buy him if he suited in a trial. They tried him on the
Centreville Course in harness; and he made his mile, driven
by Joel Conklin, in 2m. 46s., in great style. He was afterwards sold to Mr. George Weaver of Philadelphia, and
went into the hands of James Hammil. Ripton's first race
was for a sweepstakes, in which Mount Holly and another
were also engaged; but the third did not start, and Ripton
beat Mount Holly handily in two straight heats. Ripton
then passed into the hands of George Youngs, who had very
great celebrity as a rider and driver of trotting-horses, and
deserved it all. He was one of the best horsemen that I have
ever known. Lipton was brought back to New York, and
trotted over the Beacon Course, mile-heats, three in five, in
harness, against Kate Kearney. Kate was a bay mare,
about fifteen hands and an inch high. She belonged to Mr.
Stacey Pitcher. Lipton won the first heat; and then, after
a good deal of consultation between the parties, they agreed
to draw the race. The fact was, that Ripton was very high
strung, and had run away with his driver a day or two before. He had given some indications of an intention to
bolt again, and they were shy of him.
His next change was into the hands of Peter Whelan,
the elder brother of my friend William. Peter, like George
Youngs, was a capital rider and driver. I am told his
brother thinks that he and I excelled Peter and George
soon after, if not at that time; but I have my doubts whether anybody ever excelled either of them much, especially in
the saddle. Peter Whelan died in Philadelphia in 1840,
and Ripton was then sent to me. He was then ten years
old, with all the requisites to make a very fine trotter, such
as he afterwards became, but was not altogether then. I




THE TROTTINVG-HORSE OF AMERICA.         173
had had him some two months, and it was in summer time
when I trotted him over the Beacon Course, two-mile heats,
under saddle, against Mr. James McMann's Don Juan.
The Don was a handsome chestnut gelding, fifteen hands
two inches high, a stylish and fine-going horse. We got
the start for the first heat.  Ripton took the lead, was
never headed, and won it with great ease in 5m. 19s. It
seemed so certain, that the spectators thought he could not
lose it, and odds of 100 to 5 were currently offered and laid.
I remember the circumstances well, not only from the fact
that it was the first time I had ever seen as much odds laid
between two horses, but from the unexpected termination
of the race. In the second heat I took the lead again, anid
it seemed all my own for a mile and a half. I then felt
Ripton going to nothing between my knees. McMann and
Don Juan passed us, and the latter won it handily in 5m.
33s. Ripton was much distressed; and, believing that he
had no chance to win, I drew him.
Now, this was a case showing the absolute necessity for a
good deal of work and practice as a trotter to enable a horse
to endure through two two-mile heats. Ripton was a horse
past the age of constitutional maturity; he was well in
health, apparently in good bodily condition, and he was a
game and stout horse; but he had never been trotted much,
and lacked the practice and seasoning which braces and hardens the muscles, and enables the animal to endure. He
was just like a horse trained over the fiat for a steeple-chase,
which always tires, no matter how good his bodily condition
may be, from the fact that the muscles which have to be
violently exerted when he rises in his leaps have had no
practice of that sort. It was a case which made a marked
impression upon me at the time, and I afterwards found that
the conclusions I had come to in regard to it were correct.
lipton was noted afterwards for his game and bottom, and
also for requiring a great deal of work to bring him out fit
for one of his best performances.




174     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF A[MERICA.
In 1841 I took Ripton to Philadelphia, and trotted him
over the Hunting-park Course, two-mile heats, in harness,
against Dutchman, Confidence, and Spangle. Confidence
was a very fine horse, - a handsome long-tailed bay, fifteen
hands and an inch and a half high. He belonged to Mir.
James Berry, of whose death recently in Cincinnati I was
sorry to hear. Spangle was a horse fifteen hands and an
inch high, and was so called because he was spotted. In
this race, William Whelan drove Confidence, Hammil Dutchman, George Woodruff Spangle, and I Ripton. Ripton won
the first heat in 5m. 19s., Dutchman took the second, and
the third was a dead-heat between him and Confidence.
Siangle was now ruled out for not winning a heat in three;
and I drew Ripton, leaving Dutchman and Confidence to
contend. The former won it.
That summer I went to Saratoga with a stable of horses
belonging to a well-known gentleman named Beach. On
my return to New York in the fall, I borrowed Ripton of
his owner, Mr. Thomas Moore of Philadelphia, and entered
him in two sweep-stakes, two-mile heats in harness, with
the brown mare Duchess and the roan gelding Quaker.
The latter was a one-eyed horse, fifteen hands and an inch
high. Duchess was a plain little mare, scant fifteen hands.
The first of these stakes was to come off over the Huntingpark Course, Philadelphia, and the other in two weeks' time
over the Beacon, New Jersey. At Philadelphia, Ripton
won in two straight heats handily. At the Beacon he was
the favorite against the field at small odds, and won again
in two heats with ease.
His next trot was at Philadelphia, in the winter of that
year. It was in the month of December, over the Hunting-park Course, four-mile heats under saddle, against a
gray horse called Revenge. William Woodruff rode Ripton. The course was very heavy, as was to be expected.
Ripton won it in two heats. He wintered that season in
Philadelphia, and came back to me in the spring.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF.AMERICA.         175
His first trot in 1842 was in 2M[ay (just when the much
talked-of match between Boston and Fashion was pending),
and it was over the Beacon Course, two-mile heats in harness, against Confidence and Lady Suffolk. Whelan drove
Confidence, Brjan Lady Suffolk, and I Lipton.  Confidence was the favorite; but Ripton won in two heats, in 5m.
10s. and 5m. 12-s. He won these heats very easily, and
thus added much to his reputation.
The following week the great four-mile race between
Boston and Fashion came off over the Union Course. It
was a regular carnival all over this part of the Island, and
immense numbers of people attended. The sportsmen had
come from all parts of the country to see this great race
between the famous old horse and the Jersey mare. After
it was over, and the mare had won, almost all the people
proceeded to the Centreville Course, to see Lady Suffolk
and Ripton trot two-mile heats in harness. At the start,
he was the favorite at two to one, but the mare beat him.
She won the first heat in 5m. 10s., and the second in 5m.
15s., in good style.
Ripton did not act as well as I could have wished and
expected; and I was anxious to give the gray Lady of
Suffolk another meeting, that same distance and way of
going. In about six weeks or two months, I was afforded
the opportunity. It was at the Hunting-park Course,
Philadelphia, two-mile heats in harness, and Ripton and
Lady Suffolk were the only ones in it. Lipton went away
at score, and took the lead. He kept it throughout the
two miles, and did the heat in the then unparalleled time
of 5m. 7s. The accomplishment of this feat in harness
caused a vast amount of interest and excitement among
trotting-men. It was like that which sprung up when
Flora Temple outdid herself, and morally distanced. all that
had gone before by making a mile in harness below 2m.
20s. When we started for the second heat, the odds were
large on Ripton; but he met with a mishap, and it was all




176    THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
that I could do to save his distance. The check-piece of
the bit got into his mouth, and he couldn't trot. At one
time he was a full distance behind the Lady; but with a
sudden jerk I drew the bit square in his mouth again, and
got him to going time enough to save another start. The
odds were now two to one on the Lady.
The third heat was one of the closest and finest things,
from end to end, that I have ever seen. That between
Dutchman and Rattler, in their great race of four threemile heats under saddle, was no nearer thing. At the start
we went away together, and kept on almost neck and neck
for the first mile. The second was just the same, - a ceaseless fight all the way, every inch being contested, and
neither having a shade the best of it to all appearance. A
hundred yards from home they were head and head, and
apparently doing all they knew. The struggle was tremendous, and they trotted as if their lives depended upon
it. Bryan used the whip freely; and now, close at home, I
rallied lRipton with the bit, and called upon him for one
final dash. The little horse answered the call very gallantly, and, amidst the most intense excitement of the spectators, beat her home just two feet. The gray mare fought
for every inch, and stretched her neck like a wild goose on
the wing; but the nose of the little bay horse was first
past the post, and he got the heat and race. I do not think
that I have ever seen a better race than this, which I have
briefly described above. The time of the first heat has
since been beaten by Flora Temple as much as sixteen
seconds and a half; but in those days this performance by
Ripton was considered very great, and was great.
The observations I have made heretofore in regard to
improved tracks, light vehicles, better training, higher
breeding, and general advance in speed and speedy methods,
will all have to be considered in this case. If Rtipton had
not got the check-piece of the bit into his mouth in the
second heat, I believe he would have won this race easily.




TItE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         177
As it was, I had a deal of trouble to get him  inside the
distance. The third heat was a close struggle, and anybody's race every inch of the way. Suffolk tried her utmost, and hung on to the last stride, like a dog to a root.
It is not certain to my mind but that she might have won
it, if Bryan had let his whip alone, and helped her out with
the bit. I am of the persuasion, that, unless a horse is a
real slug, the whip does more harm than good in a headand-head struggle. Natural emulation then incites the
horse to do all he knows in such circumstances; and the
business of the rider or driver is to aid his efforts and assist
him, not to keep leathering away at him with the whip;
which is no aid at all, and is more likely to make him
swerve, or give up in disgust. In a tight squeeze, with a
generous horse, the bit is the thing to win with.,
12




XX.
Ripton, Brandywine, and Don Juan. - Ripton and Quaker. —Ripton and
Spangle. —Ripton, Lady Suffolk, and Washington. - Ripton and Confidence. - Ripton and Americus. - Ripton's Performances in 1842 recapitulated. - Conclusion enforced. - Time wanted for Maturity. - Ripton
required much Work.
A T the close of the last chapter, I recounted the incidents of the race between Ripton and Lady Suffolk
at Philadelphia, in which 5m. 07s. was made by him in the
first heat, which was the first time that mark had been
made in harness. The time of the other heats was 5m.
15s., 5m. 17s. Before proceeding further with the history
of the famous little trotter Ripton, I shall make mention
of several races which have since come to my recollection
that occurred prior to the period at which he made the 5m. 07s.
The first of these was a race against Lady Suffolk in the
spring of 1841, mile-heats under saddle, over the Beacon
Course.  Ripton was defeated in the race, and I attributed
it to his carrying extra weight. I rode him myself, and,
with the saddle, weighed a hundred and sixty-seven
pounds. This was.a trifle too much for the litile whitelegged horse; and, after a tight race, the Lady beat us.
Another race I had forgotten was one at two-mile heats
under saddle, over the Beacon Course, against Brandywine
and Don Juan.  Brandywine was a black gelding, about
fifteen and a half hands high. Isatac Woodruff rode him.
William  Whelan rode Don Juan, and William Woodruff
Ripton. The latter won it in two heats. In this race Ripton trotted half a mile in Im. 11}s., which was then
178




THE TROTTINCG-ORSE OF AMERICA.          179
thought an amazing thing. It does not appear upon the
record, as a matter of course; but the time was taken and
immediately announced by so many careful and accurate
gentlemen that there is no doubt about the fact; and it is
proper that it should be mentioned here.
Two more races in 1841 have to be noticed. They both
took place in Philadelphia, over the Hunting-park Course.
The first of them was two-mile heats under saddle, for a
purse of two hundred dollars, against the bay horse Quaker.
The latter was a great bay gelding, seventeen hands high,
Hammil rode him, and William Woodruff rode Ripton.
The little horse defeated the big one in two straight heats.
Late in December of that year, and when there was at
least three inches of snow on the track, Lipton trotted twomile heats in harness, against Spangle. George Youngs
drove the latter; and I drove Lipton, who won in two heats.
I do not remember the time; but I know it was slow, which
was to be expected in that weather and on such a course.
We are now in a position to resume our account of the
doings in which the little horse was a chief actor in 1842,
after the 5m. 07s. time in harness, which concluded the last
chapter. The next succeeding race that year was in the
latter part of June, over the Eagle Course, Trenton, New
Jersey. It was two-mile heats in harness, Lady Suffolk
and Washington being in with Ripton. In the first heat
nothing particularly deserving mention occurred. I won
it handily with the little horse in 5m. 16s., Lady Suffolk
second. The odds had been large on Ripton after the first
heat; and most of those who had taken them were very
vociferous, and in ecstacies of delight; but this did not
last long.
In the first mile of the second heat Ripton acted badly. The
mare was a long way ahead at the end of it; and, as Bryant
passed the stand, he sung out at the top of his voice, " Can I
distance him? " There was such a shout of " Yes! go on! "
in reply, that it seemed as if the whole multitude had an



180     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
swered. Very soon after we rounded the turn in the second
mile, iRipton got levelled, and began to trot in his fine, commanding style. He gained fast on the mare, kept on going to
her, and, about a hundred yards after they passed the halfmile pole gave her the go-by, and won the heat handily in
5m. 18s. The excitement, as the little horse shut up the
great gap, was intense; and, at the end of the heat and
race, Bryant was much disappointed. He declared that he
would not trot Lady Suffolk against Ripton any more,
unless it was under saddle. Early that fall, Ripton met
Confidence, two-mile heats in harness, over the Centreville
Course. We won it in two heats; the time of them being
5m. 132s., and 5m. 14~s.
The following week, they went over the same course
again, two-mile heats to wagons, each weighing a hundred
and eighty-one pounds. Ripton won the first heat in 5m.
15s., and that was the fastest; but Confidence got the
second and third heats. The weight was a trifle too much
for the little horse, but we soon had our revenge. The next
trot in which Ripton was engaged was a sweepstakes and
purse to the amount of $1,150, on the Beacon Course; and
Confidence was also in it, together with Lady Suffolk. It
was three-mile heats in harness. Ripton won the first heat
handily, in 7m. 56~s. The second heat he also took, and
the time of that was 7m. 59s. It was, however, a closer
thing for two miles between the three; and the finish for
second money, between Confidence and Lady Suffolk, was a
very fine and near race. I recollect that I got home
handily enough to turn round in the sulky and see the
struggle, as they came out, for the second money. William
Whelan was driving Confidence, and a very little way from
home Lady Suffolk appeared to have the best of it; but
Whelan shook his horse up, and came with such a rush that
he beat her on the post by a neck.
The next race we went with Ripton was over the same
sourse   It was against Americus, two-mile heats to




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AM.ERICA.         1-8I
wagons. George Spicer drove Americus, who won it in
two heats, the fastest of which was 5m. 14s. I believe that
was the fastest two-mile time to wagons that had then been
made. We went, one more race that season with Ripton,
and it was also over the Beacon Course. It was a match
against Americus, three-mile heats, in: harness, for $1,000
a side. The interest felt in the match was large, and people generally-thought Americus would win it. The attendance on the course was very great.  Americus was the
favorite at the start at 100 to 60. In the first heat, Ripton
went away, and, taking the lead, maintained it for two
miles very handily; but, in passing the stand to go into
the third mile, he unfortunately struck his ankle. This
caused him to fly up as if he had been shot; and he acted
so badly in the third mile that he was nearly distanced. I
managed, however, to avoid that, and saved the right to
start. Most people thought it was of no use, and the odds
current on Americus was 100 to 5. Even at that rate the
layers far outnumbered the takers. The latter were few
and shy.
Nevertheless, when I felt of IRipton in the, second heat,
and "put the question to him," as much as to say, " Can
you do it now?" he said "Yes!"  So, coming up the
stretch on the first mile, I took the lead with him: he was
never afterwards headed in the heat, and won it handily.
There was much excitement and some tribulation among
those who had laid the long odds. Americus still had
the call, the majority depending on his reputation as a horse
of good bottom. ~ I concluded that it would be best to make
a waiting race of it, and so, at the word for the third heat,
pulled behind and trailed. Here I kept for two miles. On
passing the stand the second time, Ripton began to pull very
hard; and the purchase of my foot against the iron of the
sulky was so powerful that it parted, and the end going forward, struck Ripton on the thigh. He gave a wild bound,
and I came very near going overboard. I managed to save




182      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AM.ERICA.
myself, however; and, putting my foot under the iron, I
bent it back, so that it did not touch the horse. I got him
down to his work, and still continued to trail to the halfmile pole. I was satisfied then, from the way Ripton was
going, that the race was safe; and, pulling out, I challenged
Americus to come along and trot for it. He was not quite
willing. As I came up to his head he broke; and, passing
him, I won the heat with ease, and so got the race. The
layers and losers of the great odds were sorely tried by
this result, which was a very good ending to the performances of the little horse in that year. Ripton then left
my charge, and was taken back to Philadelphia; prior to
which, however, three matches had been made for him to
trot in the following spring. They were against Americus,
for $1,000 a side each, three mile heats, tywo-mile heats, and
mile-heats, three in five.
But, before we take leave of Ripton's performances in
1842, it will be interesting and useful to recapitulate them,
so that their quality and amount may be taken in at a
glance and appreciated. He trotted then, in that year, as
follows: two-mile heats in harness, which he won in two
heats, beating Confidence and. Lady Suffolk; two-mile
heats in harness, which he won in three heats, beating
Lady Suffolk; two-mile heats in harness, which he won in
two heats, beating Lady Suffolk and Washington; twomile heats ini harness, which he won in two heats, beating
Confidence; two-mile heats to wagons of 811lbs., which
Confidence won in three heats; three-mile heats in harness,
which Ripton won in two'heats, beating Confidence and
Lady Suffolk; two-mile heats to wagons, which Americus
won in two heats; three-mile heats in harness, which Rip.
ton won in three heats, beating Americus. Here were six
races of two-mile heats, and two of three-mile heats. Four
of those at two-mile heats Ripton won, and both of those at
three-mile heats he won. The two he lost were to wagons.
He trotted fourteen two-mile heats and five three-mile heats
in that season, and of these he won thirteen.




THE TROTTING-HORSE O.F AMERICA.          183
1 have recapitulated these facts for the purpose of using
them to enforce the theory I have laid down, to the effect
that the trotter, if he is going to be a superior one, needs a
long time to mature. It will be recollected, that, when I
first trotted Ripton two-mile heats under saddle against
Don Juan, he died away to nothing in my hands in the last
mile of the second heat, when the race seemed to be all his
own. But, with three years more of work and practice, he
had acquired stamina to make such a season as I have related, and to put a fitting climax to it by beating Americus
in a race of three three-mile heats, winning the second and
third heats after the odds of twenty to one had been current
against him. He had been all the time "a-coming," as we
horsemen say; and it was only now that he could be said to
have reached maturity as a trotting-horse. Yet he was fast
when young and green; for, as I have said, when he was
brought here at five years old, never having been on a track
in all probability, he trotted a mile in harness in a trial
driven by Joel Conkling, in 2m. 46s. That does not sound
so fast now; but this was just thirty years ago, and it was a
very great performance for the young horse, under all the
circumstances. It was seven years from that time before
he made the season of 1842, the trotting of which I have
related. He was then twelve years old, and had only then
come to his best and greatest stoutness as a trotter. In
fact, it was this continual increase of staying power that
made him so formidable, and enabled him to win three-mile
heats against such a bottom horse as Americusj when it was
deemed by the great majority that he had no chance, and a
hundred to five was the current odds against him.
Ripton also affords a fine example of another thing I
have endeavored to impress upon the mind of the reader,
viz., the great difference there is in the amount of work and
general treatment required by different horses. Any man
who pretends to lay down fixed rules for work and feed in
training is either a fool or an impostor, and very likely




184      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
both. The most that can be done is to furnish general
principles, the application of which to particular cases is to
be left. to the judgment of the individual. Ripton, of all the
horses that I have ever had, was one of those that required
the most work. He was so resolute and game, and his spirits
were so high, that, if not kept down by a good deal of steady
work, he was almost certain to run away as soon as he was
suffered to go fast. With the work most horses require, he
would have been almost or quite unmanageable. It was so
when George Youngs had him in his youth; and it was so
still in his old age, when he was broken down and had been
withdrawn from the turf. There was no vice about the
little horse; but the exuberance of his spirits was such, when
he was at all.indulged, that he would run away out of mere.fun,




XXI.
Ripton's Three Matches with Americus. - Ripton in Mud. - Ripton in Snow,
- Sleighing on the Harlem Road. - Ripton and Confidence. - Owner's
instructions. —An Old Horse to be kept Warm between Heats. — Match
with Bay Boston.
A    FTER Ripton's arduous and successful season, at the
close of 1842, ending with his victory over Americus
in the great race of three-mile heats, he went into winter
quarters at his owner's, Mr. Moore of Philadelphia; and when
the time came to prepare him  for his three matches with
Americus, three-mile, two-mile, and mile heats, in harness, he
went into the hands of George Youngs.  The first of these
races was the one at three-mile heats, which came off early
in May, on a Monday.  The others followed after intervals
of a week.  They were all trotted on the Beacon Course.
The three-mile heat race was won in two heats by Ripton;
the fastest of the two being 7m. 53~s. Next week, at the
two-mile heats, it was the same. Ripton won handily in
two heats, having taken the lead at the start in each,
and never being headed in either of them.  The next week
came the mile and repeat race. The track was very heavy,
and the odds large on Ripton. They went sloshing along
through the mud; and the little white-legged horse won
with ease in two heats, the best of which was 2m. 38s.
I may here observe that Ripton was one of the best mudhlorses I have ever seen. From his general characteristics,
one would scarcely have supposed that he would go dashing
185




186      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
along through the mud when his stroke was throwing it all
over him, and the spats were hitting him under the belly
almost in shovelfuls. But so it was. In snow, too, he was
capital,- without any exception, the very best sleigh-horse
that I ever pulled a rein over, and I have driven many of
uncommon excellence. Next to Ripton, Gray Eagle was
the best horse for snow that I have ever known. It made
but little difference to the former whether the sleighing was
good or indifferent, for he would go through icy water and
slush as if he liked it; but it made a great difference to the
driver.
Our principal sleighing-place was from the pavement to
Harlem Bridge, along the road; and many a time I have
driven Ripton the length of it at wonderful speed. Great
fun, sleigh-riding, when the air is keen and frosty, the sky
clear, the snow deep and crisp, and you can dash along at a
rate down in the thirties with confidence that your trotter
will hold out to the end. Ripton was one of these, - the
best of them, the King of the Sleighers! What a peal his
bells would ring as he dashed down Yorkville Hill, pounding away with those white legs of his as if he would strike
down to the ground, no matter how well packed and deep
the snow might lie. Here would be a group at this house,
and another at that, taking their hot toddy to keep the
cold out; and as they heard the swift shaking of the bells,
and the fast stroke of Ripton's feet like a charge beat upon
the drum, they would run to the door and windows, and
crowd the stoop, and cry "Hallo! here comes Hiram and
the white-legged pony!"  It's more than twenty years ago
since those times; and there is no jingling of the sleighbells there now, no matter how good and deep the snow
may be. The street railroads have done for all that.
After these three races of which I have spoken, Ripton
went into William Whelan's hands, and was entered in a
purse to be trotted for on the Beacon Course. But, prior to
the day of action, something became the matter with one




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           187
of the little horse's hind-legs, and he had to pay forfeit.
At first it was feared that he would break down if put in
strong work again; but the leg got better, and he came back
to me. After some little time, but still that same season,
we matched him against Confidence; Lipton to pull a wagon,
and the former to go in harness, mile heats, three in five,
for $1,000 a side, on the Beacon Course. It will be remembered that Mr. Berry declared that some time before,
at the close of a race in which we beat Confidence and
Lady Suffolk with Ripton, that Confidence should not trot
with the little horse in harness again. So we agreed to
pull a wagon.
The match came off on a fine fall day in September, and
there was a very large attendance. Everybody was pleased
to see the old and well-tried favorite, Ripton, on the course
again, and able to contend for the specie. He was not in
the best of fix, though; for he still had a game leg, which
made it a dangerous race for him, to say nothing of his
going to wagon while Confidence was in harness. But, for
all that, the people laid odds on him; and Jack Harrison,
who had made the match, backed him for a large amount.
Prior to the start, he and Mir. Moore gave me instructions
how to drive the race. My own opinion differed from theirs;
but finding them very confident, and obstinate in their
notions, I started out to do as they said. It was upon the
old principle and maxim of the sailor, " Obey orders, if it
breaks owners!"  The result was not favorable. Confidence won the first heat in 2m. 35 s., and the next in 2m.
37s. Everybody now thought it was as good as over; and
the long odds of one hundred to five on Confidence were
freely offered, and no takers. At the close of the second heat,
I remarked to Mr. Moore and Jack Harrison that their
method did not seem  to answer.  "WVell," said they,
"you've no chance to win it now, so do as you please."
But there was a chance, and I knew it. The first thing
I did was to change the wagon. The one I had been driv



188      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
ing was a very nice one, which had been built by Mr. Joseph
Godwin, and -only weighed 741bs. It had got doubled up,
principally from Ripton's hard pulling in the first and second
heats. In order to change it, I borrowed a wagon of Fred.
Johnson, and that only weighed four pounds more than the
other. These two were the earliest of the very light wagons: there was not another like them at that time. Instead
of letting Ripton cool out, I just took him out of one wagon and put him into the other, and jogged him up and down
the backstretch until it was time for the next heat. When
a horse is old and a little crippled, it does not answer to let
him get cool and stiff between the heats. I like to keep
such an one warm and limber. The previous exertion, by
starting the circulation and setting up violent action all
through the system has counteracted, for the time being,
the stiffness, soreness, and lameness which are in a measure
chronic; and, this being so, it seems to me advisable to keep
steam up a little during the interval between heats. Having kept Ripton jogging until we were called up for the
third heat, I gave him a sharp brush of half a mile preparatory to it. In the course of that enlivening brush, I cut him
with the whip twice pretty.hard; and he went away from it
like a bullet. This was the first and last time that I ever
whipped the little horse, except in the finish of a heat. He
was the last horse in the world to want it, save in the nip.
and tuck of a long and desperate race. His style of going
was very free and determined, head up and tail right on end
over his quarters, and cutting through the air with a sharp
swish as he worked it from side to side, just as a fightingdog does his when he has got a punishing-hold.
Ripton was now boiling hot and well settled. At the first
coming up, we got the word; and, shooting him out, I took
the pole from Spicer before we had gone seventy-five yards.
Of course Ripton had now a good lead; and, trotting in his
old style, he was never headed, and won the heat easily in
2m. 38s. Such a shout as there was when the little horse




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF -AMERICA.         189
came slashing in ahead was never hardly heard on any other
occasion at the Beacon. Jack Harrison hugged me, and
tossed his hat up in the air. The odds swung right over.
It had been a hundred to five, and no takers, on Confidence;
and now a hundred men shouted all together, "A hundred
to fifty on Ripton! "
Again I kept the little horse jogging until it was time to
start. He won the fourth heat, taking the lead at the start,
and not being headed in it. The time of it was 2m. 39s.
The fifth heat was a mere repetition of the fourth. Lipton
won it easily in 2.41. This was the second race that he had
won against odds of one hundred to five; and, at this distance of time, I say, with all confidence and without egotism,
that he would not have won it but for the decided "C persuasion"' he got between the second and third heats. The
horse was old and partly crippled, and it don't answer to go
to coddling with such a one when the race is in hand. He
had to have something to wake him up, and let him know
that real business was to be transacted, and he must " do or
die," as the saying is.
A word here may not be out of place in reference to instructions from owner's or backers of horses to drivers. If
the horse is strange to the driver, the latter is in need of all
the instructions the other parties, who are supposed to know
something, can give. But it commonly happens that the
driver knows the horse quite as well, and a little better, than
they do; and, furthermore, he generally knows something
of the opposing horses in the race, which is a very material
consideration in determining the method which ought to be
pursued. In this case of Ripton's, and in that in which I
drove Prince the chestnut horse against Hero the pacer
ten miles, the horses could not have won if the instructions
I received had been carried out to the end. Yet the gentlemen who gave them had experience in such matters, and
were rather remarkable for sagacity, than the reverse. It
ought to be considered that the instructing of a driver in a




190      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
trotting-race is a very different matter to the giving of
orders to a boy in a running-race. The driver is always a
man, with the experience that a man may possess in that
profession. He has also commonly trained the horse, and
therefore knows his peculiarities and disposition; that is,
he ought to know them. It follows that, in most cases, instructions to the driver are unnecessary if not mischievous.
As to whether the driver ought to follow them when he
thinks them wrong, is a difficult question.  But, if I am
convinced that they are wrong) I either disregard the instructions when the pinch comes, or refuse to drive the horse.
My business as a driver is to win races; and if I know, as
well as I can know any thing beforehand, that a certain
method pointed, out is not the way to win, but to lose, I just
follow the instructions as long as it answers and until I can
see a chance to do better. This trot with Confidence was
the last Ripton was engaged in that year, 1843. He started
only four times that season, and won all the races.
In the following year he remained at Philadelphia with
his owner, Mr. Moore, and did not trot in public at all. In
1845 he was brought to New York in the spring, but fell
lame, and was sent back to Philadelphia again. He soon
got right, and was trotted against Americus, mile heats,
three in five, in harness, over the Hunting-park Course,
Philadelphia. The race came off in the first week of June,
and was a very good one of five heats. Of these, Ripton
won the first, second, and fifth; Americus winning the third
and fourth. So Ripton got the race, and purse of $200.
The  time was 2.40, 2.38, 2.39, 2.41, 2.45.  In  the
September of that year I was living at Boston, and made a
match for $500, half forfeit, for' Ripton to trot two-mile
heats, in harness, against Bay Boston, a horse fifteen hands
three inches high, over the Cambridge Course. Having
made this match, I sent to Philadelphia for the horse, and
they started with him. On the way they stopped at New
York, and trotted him for a purse of $300, two-mile heats




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.        191
in harness, on the Union Course. His opponents were
Duchess driven by William Whelan, and Americus by
George Spicer. A. Ten Eyck, formerly and better known
as Brommy, drove Ripton. The mare won the first heat,
Americus took the second, and Duchess was distanced for
foul driving. Several spokes were knocked out of Ripton's
wheel. Americus won the third heat and race. Immediately after this race, Ripton was sent on to me; but I found,
the first time I drove him, that he was lame in the hind-leg
again, and not likely to stand the work and race. I therefore compromised the match by paying something, and sent
the little horse home to Philadelphia.




XXII.
Ripton and Lady Sutton. — Lady Sutton and Lady Moscow. — Death of
Lady Moscow. - Her Burial-place. - Her Produce. - Horses she trotted
against. - Ripton and Lady Suffolk. - Ripton, Sorrel Ned, and Snake.
- Ripton and Jersey. - Ripton's Last Race.
A    FTER I sent Ripton back from Boston with this secondary lameness in the hind-leg, it was a good while
before he was fit to trot again.  A long rest, however, did
a great deal for him; and in 1847 we deemed him well
enough to trot a race of two-mile heats in harness, on the
Centreville Course, for $1,000 a side, against Lady Sutton.
The Lady was a little brown mare, about fourteen hands
and three inches high, stoutly made, and with much speed
and good bottom. She is the only one of RIipton's old
opponents that is yet alive; and she may be seen here any
day, as gay as a lark for an old one, as I shall presently
show. In the race which took place in November, James
Whelpley drove the mare, and I drove Ripton.  The Lady
took the first heat after a stout struggle, and then they laid
two to one on her. But I was satisfied that little white
legs had yet plenty of trot in him, and resolved to do my
utmost to get it out. The second heat was desperately contested. For the last half mile the horses were neck-andneck, doing all they knew under the whip. It was a very
close thing, and a dozen strides from home seemed to be
anybody's heat; but the old horse lasted the longest, and,
lifting him with the bit in the last stride or two, I landed
him before her by three feet.
There was very little to choose between them  now, and
192




THE TROTTINAG-HORSE OF AMERICA.         193
we prepared for the deciding heat. The mare was young
and fresh, the horse old and stiff, and she had the call in
the betting. At the word, she made a rush for the lead,
took the pole, and went on ahead for a mile and threequarters. At the last turn, on swinging into the stretch, she
took the centre of the track, leaving the privilege of the
inside to Ripton. I took it, and, giving him a sound cut or
two with the whip, challenged her for the heat and race.
Another desperate struggle ensued. Both were whipped at
nearly every stride they took, and both answered the call
with the utmost gallantry. The mare had a little the best
of it till we were close at home, but Ripton's perseverance
at last prevailed. He got to her head, and finally succeeded
in beating her two feet in one of the finest finishes ever
witnessed on that course. The time of this race was 5m.
15s., 5m. 15s., 5n. 1Ss.
As I observed just now, Lady Sutton may be seen here
any day. She returned to the Island last spring, after a
long absence, to be put to New-York Ledger, by whom, I
believe, she is now in foal. Here, in John I. Snedicor's
pasture, she had a fond companion, until within these few
hours, in her old opponent, Lady Moscow, another very
famous mare of her own age, or it may be a year older.
W3hen these two old competitors met in the pasture after never
having seen each other for many years, it seemed as if a
mutual recognition took place. Go by when you would, you
would see the two little old mares close together, grazing
aloof from the other horses in the pasturage. rThey both
throve amazingly, and got young again to all appearance,
in their companionship. When anybody went near them,
they would throw zlp their heads together, and stride a trot,
like a spark of the fire of other days. Each had done a
vast amount of hard work, and their years put together
made almost or quite half a century. Lady Moscow looked
the younger of the two, but she has gone first. She was
13




194      THE TROTTINAG-HORSE OF AMiERICA.
taken with a sort of paralysis on Wednesday night, and
died Saturday, Sept. 9, in the afternoon. The seat of
the disease was the base of the brain, and all the veterinary art in the world would have been insufficient to save
her. She was buried on the Union Course, in the spot where
Young Dutchman, George M. Patchen, and other famous
trotters, lie. She belonged to my old friend Sim. Hoagland,
and died within a stone's throw of the spots where he saw
the last of Lady Blanche, the first foal that Abdallah got,
and of his stallion Gray Messenger, whose produce has
turned out so well. So we shall add to the relics we possess
of Abdallah, Messenger, etc., some mementoes of this good
old mare. Dr. Pilgrim is to have her near fore-leg. I am
glad to say that Lady Moscow leaves a very promising representative in her son, the young gray stallion Privateer,
who divides Sim's love and admiration with his half-brother,
New-York Ledger.
As we stood there on the green hillside, looking at the mare
that lay dead before us, it was really touching to see poor old
Sutton, wandering round her dead companion, as if unable
to make out what had befallen. Two other mares were near
at hand; but Sutton did not seem to notice them at all, her
gaze being fixed from time to time on her whose sinews were
relaxed and whose hoofs at last are still. In her time she
trotted Successfully with Lady Sutton, Lady Suffolk, Jack
Rossiter, Moscow, Americus, Pelham, Mac, Trustee, Confidence, Vermont, Zachary Taylor, and many others. She
has been reported dead once or twice, but four days ago she
was alive and well. A year or two since, somebody pretended to have her at St. Louis; but she was all the time
in this State, owned by Sim. IHoagland. The man who pretended that he had her West was an impostor.
To return to Ripton, after these few words about the old
mares who were on the turf with him. Very late that
year, Dec. 28, the little horse trotted a race of two-mile




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF,AMERICA.         195
heats in harness on the Union Course, against Lady Suffolk.
The Lady won in two heats, - 5m. 18 1-2s., and 5m. 25 1-2s.
This concluded 1847.  In 1848 and 1849, iRipton did
not trot, but remained at Philadelphia, and was driven on
the road by his owner. In the fall of 1850, it was deemed
proper to bring him out again; and he was entered in a
purse at the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia, with
Sorrel Ned and the brown gelding Smoke. It was mileheats, three in five, in harness. George Youngs drove Sorrel
Ned; O. Dimmick, Smoke; and William King, tRipton. It
was on the 11th of October, and a trot of five heats took
place for the money. Ripton won the first heat in 2m. 40s.,
and was second to Sorrel Ned in 2m. 39s. for the second.
Smoke got the third, in 2m. 38s.; and Sorrel Ned won the
fourth and fifth, in 2m. 43s. and 2m. 47s.
Ripton was not in good condition for this race, having
had but little work. He was now nineteen years old, and
had accumulated fat inside. As he had always required
a great deal of work to make him fit, the brief preparation
for this race was not enough. But, believing that about three
weeks more would bring him to tune, they matched him
against Sorrel Ned for $1.000, to trot over the same course,
mile-heats, three and five, in harness, on the 4th of
November. George Youngs drove Ned, and William King
handled Ripton. At the start, the old horse was the
favorite at slight odds. He won the first heat by a length
in 2m1. 42s., and his friends began to sport their money with
confidence. But, as Sorrel Ned had only been beaten a
length, his friends were not much disheartened; and they
took the odds offered by the Ripton party quite freely.
The second heat was well contested by Ripton; but
Ned won it under the whip, in 2m. 42s. again. The betting
was now even, and both sides a little anxious. The old
horse was stiff and a trifle lame; but his backers relied upon his fine pluck and sound bottom to pull him out victori.




196      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
ous from among the pieces of the broken heats. The third
heat Ripton won; and, singularly enough, the time was 2m.
42s. again. The old horse was now a strong favorite at two
to one, but still the takers were rather abundant. They
started for the fourth heat, and there was much breaking
acid running on both sides. At the outcome they were
both trotting, and crossed the score neck-and-neck, making
a dead heat of it in 2m. 44s. The drivers now charged
each other with foul driving, and a good deal of crimination
and recrimination ensued. The judges ordered them to get
ready, and trot the race out. The fifth heat was won by
Sorrel Ned in 2m. 46s., and it was nearly dark when they
finished it.
By the time they were called up for the sixth heat, it was
so dark that the judges could hardly see a man across the
course. Sorrel Ned's friends declared that Ripton was the
best runner of the two, and asked for the appointment of
patrol judges. Thereupon, the judges sent out ten men,
with instructions to post themselves at various points around
the course, and take notice whether the horses were trotting
or running when they passed them. This was the best that
could be done under the circumstances; but it was pretty
clear that there would be a variance and dispute in the reports of these patrol judges, and how their differences were
to be reconciled might well bother everybody. From the
start the horses went away together, and soon disappeared
from the eyes of the judges, who saw no more of them until
they came home. At the outcome, Ripton was a length
ahead on a trot, and Sorrel Ned ran over the score. The
time of the heat was 2m. 47s., and both drivers complained
of foul driving on the part of the opposer.
The patrol judges came, and made their reports: some declared that Ripton had passed them on a run, while Ned
was trotting. Others gave in the reverse as the fact when
th - horses went by where they were stationed. The one at




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          197
the third quarter had been knocked down, run over, and considerably injured by Ripton; and I should say with the
English jury, when the judge told them that the assault
was proved, and the plaintiff was a great sufferer by the
battery, " sarved him right." What business had he on the
track, in the way of the horses. The judges heard all sides,
and deliberated, and finally concluded that the evidence was
too conflicting to warrant a decision either way: all bets
must be declared off, and the main stakes drawn.
This was not IRipton's last regular race on the course. He
belonged at the time to a gentleman named William McCray of Philadelphia. Although he was nearly twenty
years old, I still had a great fondness for Ripton, and went
on and bought him. I gave $250 and another horse. In
the following winter he was put up at a raff1e for $1,000.
The tickets were disposed of, and the raffle came off at the
Union Hotel, Broadway. Mr. Samuel Isaacs won, and so
Ripton became his property. IHe did not keep the old horse
long, but sold him to John Ryerson of Patterson, N. J.
Here he was worked on the road.
In the following year, they matched Ripton to go two
races under saddle against a horse called Jersey. They
were half-mile heats, and were trotted in the lane at Patterson. I believe the old horse lost one, and won one. In the
July of 1852, Mr. Ryerson brought him to the Island, and
entered him in a purse of mile-heats, three in five, on the
Centreville Course. George Rayner's chestnut gelding Selim and my mare Boston Girl were also in it. Ripton was
hardly in condition for the company. His day was almost
done; and he was distanced in the first heat, which Selim
won in 2m. 35s.; and this ended his public career. He was
afterwards taken to the western part of the State, I believe;
and there was a report current, some years after that, that
hlie broke a leg and had to be shot. By that time the country swarmed with Riptons. You might find them trotting




198     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
on the Island, at Albany, and as far west as St. Louis; and
there were besides a number of Young Riptons and Riptons, jun. But there were none like the old horse, the gayheart of the course, when he used to come tramping on with
his tail right on end, and dashing down his white legs in the
style that showed they meant real business.




XXIII.
Ability to pull Weight considered. - Form best calculated for it. - Mere
Bulk useless. - Long Striders seldom Weight-pullers. - Kemble Jackson.
- Description of him. - Kemble Jackson and Washington. - Kemble
Jackson and the Nelson Colt. - Kemble Jackson and Black Harry. -
Kemble Jackson, O'Blenis, Lady Brooks, and Pelham.- Kemble Jackson, Mountain Maid, and Flash. —The Kemble-Jackson Check.Kemble Jackson, O'Blenis, Pet, Iola, Boston Girl, and Honest John.
X  S the development and improvement of the fast trotter
has exerted, and must continue to exert, -a vast influence upon the general horse-stock of the country, used
for road-purposes, it is necessary to consider another qualification besides those of speed and bottom. A horse may be
fast on the course before a light sulky, just as a runninghorse may be very speedy for a mile with about a hundred
pounds on his back, but not calculated for general use on
the road, or to improve the common road-stock as a stallion.
The ability to pull weight is a quality of exceeding value;
and, when it is found in connection with speed and stoutness,
we may safely say that the three prime characteristics of
the harness-horse are obtained. It is to be remembered that
the ability of which I speak is that which can pull at a
great rate; so that putting on extra weight, up to a reasonable point, shall make no very great difference in the perforniance of the trotter.   Almost any horse can pull a
moderate weight at a slow pace, on a good road; but those
that can take along about four:hundred pounds, and keep
the pace good for two or three miles, are, and always have
been, rather scarce.
199




200      THE TROTTILNG-HORSE OF AM.ERICWA.
There is a great difference in the ability of fast trotters
in this respect; and the common notion that a great bulky
horse is best calculated to do so is a fallacious one. For a
draalght-horse, great size and bulk, to throw an immense
steady strain into the collar, may be valuable; but, when the
weight is to be taken along at a great rate, other things are
of more importance than mere size. In the first place, then,
as to height, I do not think that a tall horse has any advantage in this regard over one of about fifteen hands and an
inch, or fifteen hands two inches high. The tall horse is apt
to be leggy; and his height often comes from extra length
in the canon bones, which multiplies no power. Length
in the arms, shoulders, thighs, and haunches is a different
matter. It follows that the extra height of the horse may
be rather a disadvantage than the reverse, in regard to pulling weight at a fast rate.
Mere bulk is also useless. Everybody must have seen
horses big enough to pull a ton, to look at, and able to trot
very fast in a sulky, or to a skeleton wagon, but unable to
act to advantage to three or four hundred pounds. The
weight-pullers, as a general rule, are of medium size, with
a fine, quick stroke, not over long, and they bend the knee
well. They need to be spirited goers, keeping well up to
their work all the time; and, unless their temper and pluck
are both good, they will sulk, or give up from faint-heartedness, when they feel the weight, and the speed begins to tell.
But though mere bulk is useless for the purpose, a fair
amount of substance is required; and it will be found in
nearly every case, that, though the weight-puller may not
have a large frame, he possesses a large muscular development. Long striders are seldom good at weight. Being
greatly extended, with a load behind to be pulled along,
they are unable to recover, and shove their haunches in
quick, without extra exertion, under which they soon tire.
Here they more than lose in time of stroke what they gain
in space, and loiter, as it were, in their action.




THIE TROTTIxNG-1ORSI   OF AMERICA.       201
There are, however, some few exceptions to this; and one
or two of the most notable I shall mention farther on. The
same thing happens, but I think in a smaller degree, to a
long-striding running-horse going in mud. Between twelve
and thirteen years ago, there was a race of three-mile heats
on the Union Course, in which six of the best fast weightpulling trotters that ever were seen were engaged. It was
a sweepstakes with a purse added, and amounted in all to
$4;000. The winner of that race, Kemble Jackson, was
the best weight-puller and long-distance horse combined
that I ever trained and drove; and as I believe that quite
as much is to be gained by reciting the lessons of experience as laying down theory, I shall recount his brief performances on the trotting-turf, and give some account of
this his last and greatest race. Besides, his case is of great
importance in another point of view; for, although a trotter
of remarkably fine speed and power, he was such a bad
breaker, and had such a singular knack of sticking his head
down between his knees when lie did break, that at first he
was beaten by horses much inferior to himself in speed and
bottom.
KIemble Jackson was a chestnut stallion, with a white
hind-foot. IIe was by Andrew Jackson, a grandson of the
imported Barbary horse Grand Bashaw.  Kemble's dam
was a good trotting-mare, whose pedigree is not known. lie
was'fifteen hands three inches high, a compact horse, of
good substance, but not great weight, and he had a plump,
muscular development. He belonged to Mr. Preynolds of
New York; and his first appearance in public was at the
Centreville Course, Long Island, on the 12th of December,
1850, when he was matched three-mile heats, to 2501b.
wagon, against WVashington.  This was a severe race at
that season of the year, and the track was very heavy.
WVhelpley  drove Temble Jackson; and Joel Conkliing,
WVashington.  The latter won it in two heats of 9m.
12s., 9m. 10s.




2Q2      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
The next season, in April, Kemble Jackson was matched
against the Nelson colt, three-mile heats in harness, for
$500 a side. It was the first trot that spring on the Union
Course, and the track was very heavy. Kemble Jackson
won it in two heats, 9m. 06s., 8m. 49s. On the 20th of October following, he fulfilled another match. It was threemile heats to 2501b. wagons, against Black Harry, for $1000
a side, and was trotted on the Union Course. James Whelpley drove the stallion; and George Nelson, Black Harry. The
latter won it in 8m. 38s., 8m. 41s. In 1852, Kemble trotted
but one race. This came off on the 28th of October, on the
Union Course. It was three-mile heats in harness, for a
purse of $500, $100 to the second horse. O'Blenis, Kemble Jackson, Lady Brooks, and Pelham were in it; and they
ended in the order named. O'Blenis won in two heats, and
Pelham was distanced. Kemble Jackson secured second
money. The time was 8m. 52s., 8m. 53s. In the spring
of 1853, Kemble was in the hands of Charles Brooks, and
made his first trot on the Centreville Course, April 21, for
a purse of $150, mile heats.
In 1853, in April, Kemble Jackson came out again, and
trotted mile-heats, best three in five, to wagons, against J.
Nodine's chestnut mare Mountain Maid, and a bay gelding
called Flash. Mountain Maid won the first heat in 2m.
47s., and the second in 2m. 50s. The stallion was second
in these heats, driven by Charles Brooks; and I was then
asked by Mr. Reynolds to get in and drive him. I did so,
and won the third heat - in 2m. 34s. The fourth heat was
dead between Kemble and Mountain Maid, in 2m. 36s., and
the fifth she' won.
The stallion was then sent to me to be handled; and, in
order to prevent him from throwing down his head between
his knees when he broke, the well-known Kemble-Jackson
check, since in use all over this country, and introduced in
England also, wa i avented. It answered well in this case,




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF1 AMERICA.         203
a-ld must always be of great use in similar.ones; but I
think it is often applied in cases where it is not only unnecessary, but does harm instead of good. The stallion was
yet wild and uncertain, though capable of fine speed and
up to great weight. A stake was opened for a race of threemile heats, to wagons of two hundred and fifty pounds,
which, with the weight of the drivers, a hundred and fortyfive, would make at least three hundred and ninety-five pounds
to pull. It was to be trotted on the Union Course on the
1st of June, 1853, to be $500 each, and the course to add
$1,000. Six entered; the five competitors we had to look
to meet being O'Blenis, Boston Girl, Pet, Iola, and Honest
John. This was goodly company.
O'Blenis was a bay gelding by Abdallah, got when that
famous old horse was in Kentucky. He was sixteen hands
high, and an uncommon good, game horse. He was a long
strider; but for all that was up to weight, could pull it at a
great rate, go a long distance, and stay heats. This character, and he deserved it all, made him the favorite against
the field for the stake. George Abrahams trained and
drove him. Boston Girl was a bay mare, fifteen hands two
inches. I do not know her pedigree. Fish & Raymond
owned her. She was a strong mare, with fine, bold action,
and a desperate hard puller. John Nelson trained and
drove her. Pet was a bay gelding, about fifteen hands and
an inch. He was a finely-turned horse, well made, and a
very handsome, square trotter.  Henry Jones had him.
Iola was a brown mare, sixteen hands high. She was rangy
and blooklike in appearance, with fine trotting action.
Charles Brooks drove her. Honest John was a bay gelding,
with fine white legs and a narrow stripe on the face. He
was sixteen hands high, and a fine, rangy-going horse.
George Spicer had him, and drove him in the race. It closed
about five weeks before the day of trotting; and long before
that time I had got Kemble steadier, and he had gradually




204      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
come so that he would stand forcing without breaking. This
was not all done by coaxing. Although he was a very highspirited horse, he got one or two severe lessons in the course
of his training. A little whalebone and whipcord is sometimes very beneficial, but it takes care and judgment to find
out when to apply it.




XXIV.
O'Blenis against the Field. - Immense Attendance at the Race. -Expectations that Kemble would break. - His Great Victory. - His Early Death.
-Weight-pulling Mares. - Lady Palmer. - Peerless. - California Damsel. -English Theory about Trotting-Weight.
T  HE race before alluded to, in which Kemble Jackson,
i O'Blenis, Boston Girl, Pet, Iola, and Honest John
were engaged, had been made about five weeks before the day
came for action. As I have before mentioned, the stallion
had been prevented from throwing down his head in his
breaks by means of the "Kemble-J ackson" check; and,
though he was wild and uncertain when he first came into
my hands, he had gradually become so steady, and could go
so fast and easy with great weight behind him, that we
looked forward to the trot for the three-mile-heat race with
considerable confidence. But the other parties had also
been at work; and the horses had all done so well, and given
such evidence of speed and stoutness in their trials, that, to
our surprise and to the astonishment of most other people,
every one of the six came upon the course in good order
to contend for the money. The owners and trainers all
thought so well of their horses that they backed their own.
The general public, however, had a strong favorite, as
usual, and the famous son of Abdallah was the horse. He
was backed at even against the field, and a vast amount of
money was laid.  It was no great wonder that people in
general should have such faith in him, for he was a capital
horse; and it was to be remembered, that here was the
neighborhood in which his famous sire Abdallah had stood so
205




206      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
many years, and in which the great speed and invincible
bottom of his immediate descendants had been most often
and most completely exhibited. But there were some men
whose foolhardy confidence and over-anxietyto back him
against sach a strong field I was a little surprised to see.
The argument of some who ought to have known better
was, a" He can beat five as easily as he can beat one! " Now,
a very superior horse can beat five middling ones as easily as
he can one, even in a race of heats, if there is no accident
befalls; but how is it if one of the five does not turn out
middling on the day, and, taking a heat from the favorite,
breaks the race up into nobody knows how many fragments?
Here, the field being strong in numbers, as well as good in
quality, there was great reason to believe it would be too
much for any named horse. Still, O'Blenis was the favorite
with the multitude, and much money was laid.
The attendance of people was so large, that the like had
never been witnessed at a trotting-race. No such assemblage had come, together on the Union Course since the
famous four-mile race between Fashion and Peytona. I
should think there were 15,000 people present, and the
whole inside circle of the course seemed to be filled with
vehicles. There was great excitement; and it was not without a little trouble and a good deal of patience that we got
the stretch clear, when we had hitched up our horses and
began to jog them up and down. At length we were called
up, and at the first or second time of scoring got the word
to a handsome start. I had the pole with Kemble Jackson,
and soon took the lead. The first mile was trotted in 2m.
41s., and he had a good lead at the end of it, and O'Blenis
second. I found him going so well, and getting away with
the weight so easily, that I was quite willing to have O'Blenis
force the pace, which he now did. The second mile was
done in 2m. 39-s.; and, during the whole of it, everybody
was on the lookout to see Kemble Jackson break.  But so
far he gave no indications of a break to me, and led by the




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          207
stand at the end of this mile as handsomely as before. The
third mile was done in 2m. 42-s., making the total of the
heat 8m. 03s.; and Kemble was first at the outcome. He
had not been headed in the heat, and won with lengths to
spare. O'Blenis was second, Pet third, Iola fourth, Boston
Girl fifth, and Honest John sixth.
The excitement was now redoubled. The great body of
the spectators were much pleased with the fine style in
which all the horses had trotted, and with which the stallion
had won. The friends and backers of O'Blenis and of the
other losers of the heat were not at all cast down; but those
who had put their faith in Kemble Jackson were much
elated. More money was laid. The backers of O'Blenis
would not hedge, thinking he was about sure to win the
next heat; and those who stood upon the other horses
thought so too. "The heats,"' said they, " will be broken,
and we shall all have a good chance to come out best: it's
anybody's race!"  The truth was, that they all looked for
Kemble Jackson to get up, and were much surprised that
he had not done so " the first time of asking; " that is, in
the heat he had won. Everybody knew that this trick of
his had lost him his races prior to my getting him, and they
concluded that he had. not altogether forgotten to practise
it in so short a time.
So now we came up for the second heat, and got the word
for the start. Iola and Pet had the best of it; and Brooks
and Harry Jones bulged them off in the lead at such a rate
that I was forced to let them take the pole on the turn, for
fear that the stallion, not being settled, might get up in a
great rush at that moment. But, when we got in the straight
work of the backstretch, I found that he was well down to
his work, and felt that 1 might safely send him along.
Doing so, I passed first one and then the other, and came
on the home-stretch with a clear lead. The first mile was
done in 2m. 41s., and Kemble Jackson in the lead. O'Blenis
now came at me; and, not being in the mind to resign the




208      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
pole again, I called upon Kemble, and trotted the second
mile in 2m. 39s. The third mile was an easy one for the
stallion. He did it in 2m. 443s., and so won the heat with
ease in 8m. 041s. Kemble never was headed but once in
the race, and that was by Iola and Pet when they got the
best of the last start. He made no break throughout; and
he was such a capital horse that day, that I know I could
have beat eight minutes with him in both heats, if it had
been necessary for me to do so. I never touched him with
the whip, nor spoke to him; and he trotted away as lively
with the great weight as if he had been going only in a
sulky. Everybody was satisfied, and everybody but the
heavy losers pleased. Even the latter professed no regret
for the result; and yet more money had changed hands than
was ever laid on any other trot. Kenmble Jackson had done
his work so well, and bad won it in such grand, commanding style, that those who laid and lost against him, in common with the great body of the people, loudly proclaimed
their delight at having been present to see such a performance. The owners and trainers of the other horses were
also well satisfied; for, though beaten, O'Blenis, Boston
Girl, Pet, Iola, and Honest John had done well. They
came in at the end of the second heat in the order named;
and though neither of them won, they all beat their trials.
The fact was, that Kemble Jackson had come out in such
an extraordinary manner as to upset all outside calculations,
and set at defiance all speculations drawn from his previous
performances. Hie proved himself a stallion that day entirely worthy of his sire, the renowned Andrew Jackson;
and I think it was a misfortune that he lived but a very
short time after the race. A few days subsequent to the
trot, he left my stable for the Red House, Harlem, where
he stood to cover; and in the course of two or three weeks
he died there of rupture.
One of the best weight-pullers that I have ever known is
Mr. Bonner's chestnut mare Lady Palmer; and his gray




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           209
mare Peerless is just about as good. In a public trial, there
being about two hundred people present, Sim. Hoagland and
I drove them two miles, wagons and drivers 311lbs. Palmer
won it in the amazing time of 4m. 59s., but I was close to
her at the finish with Peerless. Palmer is one of the exceptions to the rule, that long-striding horses are not good
to pull great weights. She is a very long strider; and no
one would take her to be the weight-puller she is, until he
had experience of her wonderful power in that regard. In
everything except her stride, however, she fills my notion
of what a fast weight-puller should be. She is medium in
size, about fifteen two inches; in nothing bulky, but with
good substance, and when in condition seems made of wire
and whalebone. But her long stroke is unfavorable to the
pulling of great weight fast; and nothing overcomes the disadvantage of it, but the energy with which she shoves her
haunches in, her very strong loin, and the terrible resolution with which she all the while goes up to the bit. Blood
tells here.
Her old antagonist Columbia, afterwards called California
Damsel, was another famous weight-puller. It was a great
treat to see these capital chestnut mares trot their -races on
the Union Course; Palmer driven by Hoagland, and Columbia by the late Horace Jones. The first match between
them was in November, 1860, mile heats, three in five,
wagons and drivers 3301bs. Palmer won it in four heats,
of which Columbia got the second. The time was 2m. 33s.,
2m. 34-s., 2m. 35s., 2m. 38s. Three days afterwards they
went again, two-mile heats, same weight. Columbia won
in three heats, Palmer getting the second of them. The
time, 5m. 08-s., 5m. 07s., 5m. 08~s. The mares Palmer,
Peerless, and Columbia were as good weight-pullers as have
been known since Kemble Jackson's time. But in comparing
what he did in the three-mile race against O'Blenis, Boston
Girl, Pet, Iola, and Honest John, with their speedier and
more modern performances, it must be remembered that he
14




210      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
took along more weight by 651bs. than Palmer and Colunmbia did in their matches, and more by 841bs. than Palmer
and Peerless did in their best trial. An addition like either
of those to weight already high makes a vast difference.
The English had a theory once, that weight was of no moment in trotting; and some of the best horses they ever had,
such as Archer and Ogden's mare, carried about 1681bs. in
their performances, although the matches were made catchweight. It is curious that they should have cherished such
a delusion; for in reference to running-horses they appreciated the effect of weight closely enough. About the close
of the last century, however, some of the more reflective
began to doubt this maxim; and when Robson's mare Phenomena came out, she being a very easy-going-trotter and
no puller, they got a boy out of the racing-stables at Newmarket, and practised him in the riding of her. They soon
found out the difference between 168lbs. and the comparative trifle that the boy rode. The mare won her two matches,
doing seventeen miles in fifty-six minutes in the first, and
seventeen miles in fifty-three minutes in the second. Her
owner then offered to match her to trot nineteen miles and
a half in an hour; but the backers of time declared they had
had quite enough of Phenomena and her boy from Newmarket.




XXV.
The Gray Mare Lady Suffolk. — Her Pedigree. - Place of Breeding. - Sale
to David Bryan. - Description of Lady Suffolk. - Her Performances. -
More than Fifteen Years on the Course. - Trotted 138 Races, and won 88
Times. - Suffolk and Sam Patch. - Suffolk and Black Hawk. - Suffolk
and the Virginia Mare. - Suffolk and Rattler. - Suffolk, Dutchman, and
Rattler. - Suffolk and Awful. — Suffolk, Napoleon, Cato, and Ion. -
Suffolk, Dutchman, and Rattler again. - Suffolk and Dutchman.
A LMOST everybody in this country has heard more or
less of Lady Suffolk, the famous old gray mare, whose
name stood once at the head of the record, as having made
the fastest time.  It will be twenty-eight years next month
since I rode her in the first race she ever trotted. And as I
know it will be interesting to the gentlemen who knew her
to recall some of her exploits, and useful to those, of a later
date to be somewhat acquainted with the history of such a
celebrated trotter, I shall proceed to relate about all I know
respecting her.  Lady Suffolk was bred in Suffolk County
on this island, and hence her name. Her dam was by Plato, a
son of imported Messenger; and her sire, Engineer, was also
by Messenger: so she was closely inbred to the horse from
whom the best strains of trotting-blood originally proceeded.
The dam  of Lady Suffolk was bred- by Gen. Floyd, of
Smithtown, Long Island.  His son sold her to Mr. Charles
Little, who parted with her to Mr. Blaydenburgh.  While
she was owned by the latter gentleman she was put to
Engineer, a good running-horse by,imported Messenger,
but without a clear pedigree on his dam's side.
The filly foal produced by the Plato mare and Engineer
was dropped in 1833; and when two years old she was sold
211




212      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
to David Bryant, a man who knew but little about the
management of trotting-horses at that time, and was always
a hard, reckless master for the wonder he had got hold of.
When young, Lady Suffolk was an iron-gray, rather dark
than light; but in her old age she became almost white.
She was, in my judgment, but little, if any, above fifteen
hands and an inch high. It has been stated in print, and
I have often heard it said, that she was fifteen two; but I
never called her more than fifteen one, or fifteen one and a
half at the outside. She was well made, -long in the body;
back a little roached; powerful long quarters; hocks let
down low; short cannon bones, and long fetlocks.  For
many years her ankles were straight, pastern-joints fine;
but, prior to the close of her long and very extraordinary
career, she was a little knuckled. She had good shoulders,
a light and slim but yet muscular neck, a large, long, bony
head, and big ears. To look at her, the worst point about
her was her feet. They were small and crimpy, - what is
called mulish; but they were sound and tough in texture.
In trotting, she went with her head low, and nose thrust
out. Her neck was very straight. I have seen it stated
that it was finely arched, but it is all a mistake: if there
was any deviation from the straight, it inclined more to the
ewe-neck than to an arch.
In February, 1838, being then five years old in reckoning, but not quite so much actually, Lady Suffolk made her
first public trot. She continued on the turf until the latter
end of October, 1853, a period of more than fifteen years;
during which time she met almost all the celebrated horses
of the day, and trotted no less than one hundred and thirtyeight races, besides receiving three forfeits. As they were
all races of heats, and many of them four or five heats, I
estimate that she took the word from the judges above four
hundred times, perhaps nearer five hundred. She won
eighty-eight times, besides three forfeits; and the amount
she earned in stakes and purses was no less than $35,011.




THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA.          213
When it is remembered, in addition to all this, that the
heats in her races were as often two and three mile as one,
and sometimes four-mile heats, it will be plain to everybody
that the mare had inherited in great perfection the hardy
constitution, unflinching game, and enormous stamina with
which her grandsire, Messenger, was so eminently gifted.
It was all but marvellous, that, until she was more than
twenty years old, the gallant gray mare stood up under the
system, or rather want of system, pursued by her owner,
and, in season and out of season, always answered when he
called.
The Lady began in a modest way. She was not one of
the high-priced and precious youngsters whose fame is
sounded far and loud before they have had saddle or harness
on; but being at a trot we had up at Babylon, on a terribly
cold day in February, 1838, Bryant put her in to trot mile
heats, under saddle, for a subscription purse, which amounted
to the munificent sum of eleven dollars. I was there, and
he came to me to ride her, to which I readily consented;
for I liked the looks of the wiry little gray mare, and knew
that she could trot a little.  The horse opposed to us was a
bay gelding called Sam Patch, so named after his owner,
who rode him. We started, and the Lady won the first
heat in 3m. 01s.; Sam got the second in 3m. 03s.: but the
Lady let out another link in the third heat, and beat him
handsomely in 3m. 00s. It has been stated that the best time
in this race was 3m. 01s; but I know that the third heat
was no more than 3m.
As the spring came on, Bryant put her in training; that
is, he fed her, and gave her plenty of work; which, in fact,
was about all she wantedlto get into fair condition at any time.
On the 20th of June, he trotted her for a purse on the Beacon
Course, New Jersey, two'-mile heats in harness. The other
was a black gelding called Black Hawk, that Wm. Whelan
had. Bryant drove the mare the first heat, but was beat in
5m. 42s., and then came for me to drive. I consented, but




214      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
had no confidence that she could win it. I was not mistaken; though she made another good game heat, the time
of which was 5m. 42s. again. For a five-year-old mare, and
one that had been raised rather on the pinching than the
forcing system, this was a fair race; and most people would
have given her a short holiday after it.
But Dave Bryant had no notion of letting her stand still
when there was the ghost of a chance to make a few dollars; and two days afterwards he had her at it again, twomile heats, under saddle. This time, too, it was against
a mare that had come on from Philadelphia with a great
reputation and a host of backers. She was a handsome
chestnut, and called then the Virginia Mlare. Afterwards
they changed her name to Lady Victory, and then to Kate
Horn. George Woodruff had brought her on from Philadelphia, having tried, her two miles before he came, over
the Hunting-park Course, in 5m. 09s. Many gentlemen
from Philadelphia had come to the Beacon to back the
Virginia Mare; and she was the favorite at one hundred to
twenty-five. There were two others in the race besides the
chestnut and Suffolk; and the chance of the latter was
thought so ill of, that Bryant could get no one to ride her.
In this emergency he swore he would ride her himself, and
mounted. George Woodruff was to give the Philadelphians
a signal when he had the race safe;.but the gray mare was
all on edge that day: the saddle-work suited her. She
went ahead, and won the first heat in 5m. 15s.; and George
Woodruff made no sign. Still the confidence of the friends
of the Virginia fMare did not leave her. But the Lady of
Suffolk won again, in 5m. 17s.; and Uncle George Woodruff
never made that signal. It was -a heavy blow to the Philadelphia party, and a wonderful hoist to Bryant and the
young gray mare. This was on the 22d of June.
On the 4th of July he had her out'again, at the same
Beacon Course, to trot two-mile heats under saddle, against
no less a horse than Rattler, who was then in charge of




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          215
Peter Whelan. It resulted in a race of three heats. The
lady won the first in 5m. 29s. The second heat was a very
severe one. The last mile they were head-and-head nearly
all the way; and, after a desperate struggle home, Rattler
just won by eight inches. Nothing but the fine riding of
Peter Whelan, who was a splendid horseman, enabled Rattler to snatch this heat from Lady Suffolk. Bryant now
came to me, and asked me to ride. I told him, that, in my
opinion, the mare could not win; and that if I found it was
the case I should not punish her. The truth was, that she
had had a little too much of it for a five-year-old; and, with
all her wonderful toughness and elasticity of constitution,
she had gone off since she won in 5.15, 5.17. In the third
heat with Rattler I found she could not win, and took her
in hand on the second mile. He won it in 5.40, and she
was distanced. We had another race that day, in which I
drove Dutchman; but that is nothing to the purpose here,
except to say that Lady Suffolk's next race was with him
and Rattler. It was at the Beacon, on the 1st of October,
two-mile heats, under saddle. The Lady was distanced the
first heat in 5.17.
On the 8th, Bryant had her out again to trot two-mile
heats in harness, against Awful, also at the Beacon. Awful beat her in 5.28, 5.211. On the 15th, at the same
place, the Lady again trotted two-mile heats in harness,
this time against Napoleon, a big bay gelding, Cato, a
brown gelding, and Ion. Napoleon won in three heats, -
5.421, 5.38, 5.39. Cato won the second heat. Bryant
drove Lady Suffolk in the first and second heats; and then,
according to his usual practice when there was no chance
left, he came and invited me to drive. The track was heavy
in this race. This was on the 15th. Two days afterwards,
Bryant had her in Philadelphia, and then and there trotted
her two.mile heats under saddle, on the Hunting-park
Course, against Polly Smallfry and Madame Royal. The
gray mare won it in two heats, in 5.18, 5.26. The next




216      THE TROTTING-IORSE OF AMERICA.
day, the 18th, Lady Suffolk was trotted again; this time
three-mile heats under saddle, and against Rattler, Lady
Victory (formerly the Virginia Mare), and Ben Franklin.
Rattler won in 8.41, 8.17. The track was heavy.
On the 22d, Bryant had Lady Suffolk back at the Beacon
again, where he trotted her two-mile heats under saddle,
against Dutchman and Rattler. As I was sick, Peter
Whelan rode Dutchman, and William Whelan at this time
had Rattler. Bryant rode the Lady. Dutchman won in
5.38, 5.52. The track was heavy. Lady Suffolk's owner
was not yet content with her season's work. On the 24th,
he trotted her mile-heats, three in five, in harness, against
Dutchman. The mare was unsteady, and no wonder. She
broke up several times; and I distanced her the first heat
in 2m. 49s.
Thus late in season, within a month and a day of
Christmas, the work of the young gray mare for her first
season of fifteen on the turf had come to a close. She had
trotted eleven races, -two of mile heats, eight of two-mile
heats, and one of three-mile heats. For a five-year old
mare, this was an immense amount of fast work; and it is
to be remembered that her opponents were not middling
horses, but some of the best that ever appeared on the trotting-turf. Dutchman, Rattler, Awful, &c., were the competitors of this young mare in her first season.  But
although Lady Suffolk received no apparent injury from
the number of her arduous exploits, the example set by
Bryant in trotting her so much is not one to be followed.
Indeed, I recommend that it shall be carefully avoided; for
the mare's escape from evils which might reasonably have
been expected to follow was purely exceptional. Such an
amount of trotting with elder horses of first-rate powers
wbuld ruin an ordinary five-year-old; and it was only
because Lady Suffolk was "a horse above ordinances," like
English Eclipse, that she was enabled to stand it with apparent impunity. Therefore, while remembering her aston



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           217
ishing endurance and success, let us avoid the great risk
which Bryant needlessly incurred of prematurely using up
one of the best animals that ever took hold of a trottingbit. And here, too, it is also to be borne in mind, that the
breeding of the mare must have been such as to produce an
enormous amount of stamina, and capability to resist wear
and tear in every sense. What, then, was that breeding?
The answer is simply, that she was at least three-fourths
thoroughbred, and was also bred in-and-in, her sire and the
sire of her dam having both been got by imported Messenger. Let n"t these things be lost sight of as I continue
her history.




XXVI.
Regarding Early Maturity. - Lady Suffolk and Apollo. - Lady Suffolk alnd
Dutchman. - Suffolk and Cato. - Suffolk, Lady Victory, and Lafayette.
-Suffolk, Henry, Celeste, and Cato. - Suffolk and Don Juan. - Suffolk
and Ellen Jewett. - Suffolk and Independence.- Suffolk and Dutchman. - Stoffolk, Celeste, and Napoleon. - Suffolk against Time. - Suffolk against Bonaparte. - Suffolk and Aaron Burr.
T    HE commencement of Lady Suffolk's history interested
those who remembered her performances five-andtwenty years before, and revived the discussion about the
forcing-system and early maturity. It was admitted that
David Bryant trotted the mare too much in her first season;
but some still held that early maturity was a good thing, and
predicted that it will be hereafter one of the chief aims of the
breeders. I am somewhat afraid that it will; and being convinced that it will be mischievous, and end in the premature
decay of many good horses, I have protested against it.
The argument is this: if a colt can be made as good at
three years old as another will be at five or six, there is a
great saving of time and expense.  Now, this is not the
proper way to state the question; for a colt may be as fast
at three as another is at five or six, and still be an inferior
horse; and it is my opinion that the method adopted to make
him at three equal to what the other will be at six is almost
certain to render him an inferior animal as regards duration.
As I before stated, when treating of this matter, early
maturity is almost always followed by early decay. If it
could be had without that result, it would of course be a
good thing to strive for; but the forcing with strong feed
when young, and the hard work of training and trotting at
218




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           219
an early age, so overdraws upon the constitution, and makes
such inroads upon the legs while they are supple and growing, that the horse is often practically ruined before he is a
horse at all. For those who raise colts to sell, it is a profitable system; it being for their interest to get them taken
off at three, rather than at five or six years old: but next
to nobody wants a trotting-colt merely because he can go
very fast at three years old. If there is not a good chance
for future improvement, and promise of reasonable duration
upon the turf or road, the colt is really worth but little. I
am satisfied that this improvement and duration are not
half as likely to follow in the case of one who has been
forced by high feed and trained early, as in that of one who
has been treated more according to the order of nature.
Expedition in such matter is commonly compensated for
at the expense of the purchaser. I can remember when it
took three times as long to tan a hide of sole-leather as it
does now. The increased rapidity of the process is no doubt
a gain to the tanner, and also to the manufacturing shoemaker; but how is it with the people who wear out the
boots?  One pair of the old sort of soles would wear out
four of those tanned by the new process.
In this work, I have mentioned many famous trotters who
improved in speed and bottom until they were eight or ten
years old, and lasted until they were fifteen, - some of them
until they were twenty. None of these horses were forced
by high feeding when sucklings and yearlings, and none of
them were trained at two and three years of age. If they
had been, it is my belief that their careers upon the turf
and road would have been ended just about where they
began under the system which then prevailed. What has
been the result of the forcing and early training of the
thorough-bred running horse? Simply this: he is faster
than he ever was at any former period, but his decay is very
early and very rapid. In old times, when they never started
until they were four or five years old, the great racers often




220      THE TROTTING-HOIRSE OF AMERICA.
ran on until they were ten or twelve. They now reach a
pitch of astonishing speed and power at three and four years
old, and few remain in active service on the turf after they
are six  The racing-trainers do not deny that the early
maturity and training of the colts impair the durability of
the race-horses; and this being so, I deny that the system
ought to be adopted with our trotters. To follow a method
for obtaining certain results at three years old at the expense of half or three-fourths the value of the horse when
he becomes seven or eight, is just like the conduct of the
directors of joint-stock companies when they pay dividends
out of the capital stock.
Lady Suffolk's second year upon the turf (1839) was as
arduous as her first. She trotted twelve races, -one of
mile heats, two of mile heats three in five, eight of twomile heats, and one of four-mile heats. Her season began
on the 26th of April, when she trotted two-mile heats under
saddle against Apollo, at the Beacon Course, New Jersey.
Apollo was a blind horse, a chestnut gelding. The mare
won the first heat in 5m. 21s.; and, finding the blind one
had no chance, I drew him. On the 27th of the same
month, and at the same course, Dutchman and Lady Suffolk
went two-mile heats under saddle.  I beat her the first
heat in 5m. 16s., and in the second led all the way, and won
as I pleased in 5m. 9s. At the first turn of the second mile
in this heat, and when the Lady was close to me, I just
touched Dutchman with the spur; and he shot away from it,
twenty-five yards ahead of her, like an arrow from a bow.
The Lady lay by all May and June, but came out on the
3d of July, feeling very fine, to trot Cato at the Beacon,
two-mile heats under saddles. She won the first heat in
5m. 39s., and he was then drawn.
Bryant then took her to Philadelphia, and on the 24th
of that month trotted her against George Woodruffs Lady
Victory and Mr. Duffy's Lafayette. The latter was a brown
gelding, about fifteen handst hree inches high; and he was




TIlE TROTTING-HORSE OF A~MERICA.        221
a good horse. It was two-mile heats in harness, and a very
fine race ensued. They all got a heat, but Lady Victory
won. -She took the first, Lafayette the second, Suffolk the
third; and in the fourth "Uncle George " came again with
Lady Victory, and won. The time was 5.28, 5.31, 5.32,
5.42. A match between the two mares grew out of this
race; and the next day they trotted it over again. It was
a near thing, but Suffolk's great recuperative powers enabled
her to stay the longest. She won the first heat in 5m. 38s.;
Lady Victory got the second in 5m. 35s.; but Suffolk secured
the third in 5m. 40s. Here were seven two-mile heats by
these mares trotted in two days, and still Bryant thought
the Long-Island mare had not had enough. He went off
and matched her to trot mile heats against Lafayette the
next day, -- he to carry two in a buggy, and she to go in
harness.  The buggy weighed 1121lbs.; Mr. Duffy, the
driver, 150lbs.; and his friend 11ilbs. This was 3731bs.
Lafayette beat the Lady in 2m. 52s. and 2m. 50s.; she
being stiff and sore and utterly unfit to trot.
She had a rest through the month of September, and on
the 3d of October came out on the Beacon to trot two-mile
heats in harness, against Henry, Celeste, and Cato. Henry
was a handsome chestnut gelding in the stable of Harry
Jones. Celeste was a flea-bitten gray mare in mine. Henry won the first heat in 5m. 28s; Lady Suffolk took the
next in the same time, and the third in 5.26; thus winning
the race. The next week the same horses, together with
Don Juan, trotted two-mile heats in harness, on the Centreville.  Harry won this in 5m. 20s., 5m. 28s.  I was
second with Celeste, and Lady Suffolk was distanced in the
second heat; but this was caused by my having run into
her, and upset her sulky.
On the' 23d of October she went two-mile heats under
saddle against Don Juan on the Beacon, and beat him
handily in 5m. 14s., 5m. 24s. Bryant now took her to
Boston; and at the Cambridge Course, on the 15th of




222      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
November, trotted her four-mile heats under saddle, against
Ellen Jewett, a little bay mare. The gray mare took the
lead in each heat, and was never headed. She won in 11m.
22s., lrma. 34s. That very same day, Bryant actually trotted
her mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Independence. The latter was a chestnut gelding and a good horse.
lie had not great speed then; but he afterwards came here,
and got to be very fast. He beat the Lady in 2m. 451s.,
2m. 45s., 2m. 47s. Even this was not enough for Bryant.
He trotted her the same race against Independence the
next day, and got her beat again as he deserved. But she
won two heats - the second and third - in this second race.
The time of the five was 2m. 52s., 2m. 53s., 2m. 49s., 2m.
47s., 2im. 50s. That ended her racing for the year, and there
is no need to recapitulate her performances.
She had again proved herself as hard as steel and as tough
as whalebone; and Bryant had given another notable specimen or two of his reckless and foolhardy way of carrying on
a campaign. At Philadelphia he trotted her three days in
succession. On the first of them, four two-mile heats; on
the second, three two-mile heats; on the third, mile heats,all in harness. Then at Boston he trots her four-mile heats,
and mile heats, three in five, in harness, on the same day;
and mile heats, three in five, in harness, on the following
day; and in this last there were five heats.
Lady Suffolk had now been two years on the turf. She
commenced in 1840 on the 6th of May, by trotting two-mile
heats under saddle, at the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia, against Dutchman. The bay horse beat her in two
good heats, - 5m. 5s., 5m. 6s. Two days afterwards, they
trotted three-mile heats under saddle, over the same course;
and Dutchman was again victorious, making the heats in
7m. 51s. each. It was rather a singular circumstance that
they should have been just alike in time. In less than a
week after these two hard losing races, Bryant trotted Lady
Suffolk on the Centreville Course, Long Island, against




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          223
Celeste and Napoleon, two-mile heats in harness. Celeste
was the gray mare heretofore mentioned as in my stable. A
race of three heats resulted; in which Napoleon won the first,
and Lady Suffolk the second and third. But Napoleon was
distanced in the third heat; so my mare was second in the
race. The time was 5mn. 26s., 5m. 33s., 5m. 32s.
On the 11th of June, Lady Suffolk trotted a mile against
time, on the Stevens Running Course, Hoboken. The
match grew out of a remark made by a gentleman in conversation, that Bonaparte was the only horse capable of
trotting a mile over that course in less that 2m. 40s. So
Lady Suffolk was backed to beat that time. The track was
sandy and very deep, but it was not at all holding; and the
gray mare went away at a slashing gait, and did the mile in
2m. 32s. Much amazement was caused; but I cannot see
that there had been any good reason for the belief that the
course was so very slow for a trotter going under saddle. If
she had had wheels behind her, or if the ground had been
heavy and holding as well as deep, it would have been different. The Lady now enjoyed her ease until the 30th of
June, when she trotted four-mile heats under saddle, against
Bonaparte, on the Centreville Course. This Bonaparte was
a chestnut gelding, sixteen hands high, and well bred. He
had been worked on Mr. Stevens's running-track at Hoboken,
and was thought to be very fast, as well as stout. His time
over that course was such that they thought no other horse
could equal it, until Lady Suffolk knocked it all to pieces.
On the trotting-course, Lady Suffolk beat him easily enough,
— four-mile heats. In the first of them I rode him, and the
time was 11m. 15s. In the second heat, William Whelan
rode him; and he was again beaten handily in 11m. 58s.
Lady Suffolk was not engaged again until the 21st September, when she trotted with Aaron Burr, two-mile heats, on
the Beacon Course. Aaron Burr was a small but handsome
and well-bred blood bay horse. He was in my stable. In
this race he won the first heat; but the Lady took the second




224      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AM'ERICA.
and third after a close contest. The time was 5m. 22s., 5m.
21s., 5m. 35s. He had trotted up to her so well in this race
that I was still of opinion that he could beat her; and in
consequence they were matched for $2,000. But the little
horse went amiss, and paid forfeit. Still the Lady was kept
busy. On the 24th of September, she was trotted two-mile
heats under saddle, against Dutchman, on the Beacon
Course, and beat him in 4m. 59s., 5m. 31s. A match was
forthwith made for one thousand dollars a side,lalf-forfeit,
that she could beat any horse that could be produced. the
next day, mile heats under saddle. The Lady was on hand
on the morrow, but the other side paid forfeit. The time
soon came when she had to pay.
On the 29th of that month, being engaged to trot with
Dutchman and Washington on the [Beacon Course, she was
found to be unable to start. It was announced that she
was lame; but certain suspicious people would not believe it,
and got up a clamor. In order to satisfy them, the mare
was led out; and lame, indeed, she was. She could hardly
put one of her fore-feet to the ground, and was literally on
three legs. Very few believed that she would ever come
right; and I no more expected to see her trot again that
year than I expected to see the grass grown again in the
winter. Nevertheless, after a rest of a couple of months,
she appeared as sound as a new dollar, to trot on the Beacon,
a match of two-mile heats under saddle, against Don Juan.
The race was set for the last day of November, and he
paid her a forfeit of $500. The work she did that year
was not as great as she had done in 1838 and 1839, but
it was still a great deal; and luckily she went into winter
quarters, giving every promise of another fine campaign
next season.




XXVIL
Suffolk, Confidence, and Washington. -Suffolk, Confidence, and Aaron
Burr. - Suffolk, Awful, and Aaron Burr. - Suffolk and Ripton. - Suffolk and Oneida Chief the Pacer. —Suffolk and Americus, Five-mile
Heats. - Suffolk, Ripton, and Confidence. - Suffolk and Rifle vs. Hardware and Apology. - Longtails and Docking. - Suffolk and Ripton. -
Suffolk, Beppo, and Independence. - Suffolk, Beppo, and Oneida Chief.
- Suffolk, Americus, Ripton, Washington, and Pizarro. - Suffolk, J. C.
Calhoun, and Fairy Queen.
TN  1841, Lady Suffolk commenced her campaign at the
Centreville Course on the 4th of May, in a trot of twomile heats in harness, against Confidence and Washington.
The gray mare was successful, winning in two heats of 5m.
13}s. and 5m. 41s.  Washington was distanced.  In her
next trot on the Centreville, she went against Confidence
and Aaron Burr, mile heats, three in five. Aaron Burr
was in my stable. He was a bay gelding, about fifteen
hands two inches high, a good stepper and long stayer.
This race was won by Confidence. I must now mention
the trots at the Hunting-park Course against Dutchman,
and the trots in which Lady Suffolk contended with PRipton; for, though they have been mentioned in the sketches
given heretofore of those horses, it is desirable that they
should be recapitulated here, in order that, having Lady
Suffolk's performances before him  altogether, the reader
may be better enabled to comprehend the immense stamina
and marvellous bottom of the gray mare.  In the two-mileheat race at the Hunting-park Course, Lady Suffolk beat
Dutchman in three heats, —5m. 12's., 5m. 192s., 5m. 21s.
15                             225




226      THE TROTTING-IHORSE OF AMERICA.
This was in harness.  The second, of three-mile heats
under saddle, she also won in 7m. 40s., 7m. 56s.
It is perfectly clear to my mind that Dutchman was a
little off in this race; but it is also clear that the gray
mare was then very good. On the 13th of June, at the
Beacon Course, we had a very tough race of three-mile
heats in harness, between Lady Suffolk, Awful, and my
horse Aaron Burr. The odds was on the Lady at the start;
and she won the first heat in 8m. 21s. Aaron Burr was
second, and close to her. The next heat was dead between
the Lady and Aaron, in Sm. 3s. The betting was very
lively now, she being the favorite at odds. But the third
heat I won with Aaron in 8m. 8s., and was satisfied that I
had my Lady beat. She was second, and Awful ruled out
for not winning a heat in three. The fourth heat was won
by Aaron Burr in 8m. 16s.; and there was much lamentation among those who had laid odds on Lady Suffolk.
They attributed her defeat to David Bryant, who persisted
in driving himself, when they wanted to put another man
in his place.
On the 5th of July, at the Beacon, the Lady beat Ripton,
under saddle, mile heats, in 2m. 35s., 2m. 37-s. Ripton
carried a hundred and sixty-nine pounds instead of a hundred and forty-five pounds; for I was then twenty-four
pounds over weight. On the 22d of the same month, and
at the same course, Lady Suffolk beat Awful two-mile heats
in harness, in three heats. He won the first in 5m. 261s.,
and it was thought he had got her; but the Lady went
away, and won the second heat in 5m. 28s., and then the
third in 5m. 24s.
Five days after that, at the same course, the gray mare
met Oneida Chief the pacer. This horse was in my stable:
and, when he went in harness, I drove him; but, when it
was under saddle, I did not ride him. He was a light chestnut, with a white mane and tail, and was a stayer as well
as fast. In this race on the Beacon, which was two-mile




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           227
heats under saddle, the odds were a hundred to sixty on the
Chief at the start. But the mare went away, and distanced
him in 5m. 5s.; winning the race with very great ease.
Suffolk had now done a good deal of work, and had been on
the whole very successful. Early in the fall, the great
match of the year came off on the Centreville Course. It
was five-mile heats to wagons, for $5,500. Bryant drove
his mare, and George Spicer did the like for Americus.
The betting at the start was a hundred to seventy on
Americus. It was the greatest betting-race we had had
for some time; and the gelding fully justified the good
opinion of those who laid odds on him. He won the first
heat with ease in 13m. 54s.; the fastest mile being the
fifth, in 2m. 40 s. It was now "a horse to a hen" on the
gelding. In the second heat he again beat her easily in
13m. 585s.; the best mile being the fifth, 2m. 44s. This
closed the performances of 1841: in which year she had
trotted two races of mile heats, six heats; four races of
two-mile heats, ten heats; two races of three-mile heats,
six heats; and one race of five-mile heats, two heats.
In 1842 the mare began at the Beacon, on the 7th of
May, two-mile heats in harness, against Ripton and Confidence. The white-legged gelding won it in 5m. 10s., 5m.
12's. Three days afterwards at the Centreville, it being
the day that Boston and Fashion ran, Suffolk turned the
tables on Ripton. It was the "ladies' day" all round at
both courses, and the mares won. Suffolk beat Ripton in
5m. lOs., 5m. 15s. I have always had a notion that Ripton
was defeated that day, not because the mare was too good
for him, but by reason of something I afterwards learned,
not necessary to be mentioned here. I drove the little
horse myself. At the Hunting-park Course, on the last
day of that month, they met again, two-mile heats in harness; and he beat her in three heats, she winning the second.
In the first, as I have related in giving his history, Ripton
muade the best two-mile time in harness then on record, - 5m.




228      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.'s. It had, however, been surpassed under saddle by Suffolk herself. Two days afterwards, Suffolk and Rifle performed a feat which long stood on the books as the best of
its kind. They went in double harness against Hardware
and Apology, two-mile heats. Hardware was a big, tall,
bay horse, with a short switch tail. Apology, when he
came to me in 1835, was one of the handsomest horses I
ever saw.
In those days it was the fashion to have horses pricked
and docked; and so he was deprived of the long tail that then
adorned him. It was a foolish fashion. The long tails of
the present day not only make the horses look stylish, but
are of great service in the heats of summer when flies
abound, and, do what you-will, cannot be kept off the sides
and flanks of our animals, except by the switching and
lashing of their own tails. Still, I am not in favor of having them trail the ground, like the trains of ladies in their
full dresses; for then they are an inconvenience and unnecessary bother to the trotter and his driver. There is a
moderation in the matter which should be followed. Some
people now-a-days seem only to look for a tail, -a long,
big, luxuriant tail. If they find that, they seem altogether
careless as to what sort of a horse is before it. Now, I
advise buyers and breeders to look the horse over first, and,
if they find him suitable, take him, no matter about the
tail. Old Abdallah, rough, raw-boned and uncouth to look
at, but a king among horses, had nothing but a rat-tail.
Now, to come back to the double-harness trot at Huntingpark Course, from which I have been thus led away: Suffolk and Rifle distanced Hardware and Apology the first
heat in Sm. 19s. It was justly considered a very great performance; and, though we have seen Mr. Bonner drive
Palmer and the Flatbush Maid two miles in his road-wagon
in 5m. 1-Is., we must remember that twenty-four years ago,
when Lady Suffolk and Rifle did their feat, driving in
double harness was not much followed, and they had next




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           229
to no practice with each other. This is a consideration that
must not be lost sight of; for, though it is possible and probable that the Ledger mares might have beaten Suffolk and
Rifle, it is just about as certain to my mind as any thing
can be, that hardly any other team, of those that have been
since prominent, could have done so.
At the Eagle Course, Trenton, Lady Suffolk was beaten,
two-mile heats, by Ripton, in 5m. 6s., 5m. 22s.; and, on the
1st of August, he beat her and Confidence, three-mile heats
in harness, in 8m., 7m. 56- s.  The backers of Suffolk
growled lustily, and said, that, if Byrant had let George
Spicer drive, she could not have lost it. The reason given
was that she had made better time some other day; but
this was fallacious reasoning. There never was a horse yet,
and there never will be, in my opinion, who, being capable
of a really great thing, can be relied upon to do it all the
time. Therefore it is the height of foolishness to expect
that a trotter will always go up to the best mark he has
made, unless he is a young and constantly improving horse.
In order to the accomplishment of the great feat, there was
probably a combination of favorable circumstances. Weather, track, driver or rider, and ability of opponents, were all
happily in a concatenation for speed; and, in addition to and
above all this, the horse was right in tune, keyed up to the
finest pitch. Now, these things may all fall in and combine
again; but it is perfect nonsense to expect that they are
going to do so every day the horse trots in public. Yet a
great many do so expect; and, when the race is over, these
are the ones who fall to cursing the driver or owner, and
blaming and underrating the horse, when there is in truth
nothing blamable but their own extravagant expectations.
It is true that Bryant would drive, and that Spicer could
drive better; but I do not admit, that, had Spicer been
behind the mare, she could have beaten Lipton and myself.
Lady Suffolk after that beat Independence, two-mile heats
in harness. He was a long-tailed, chestnut horse, about




230      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
fifteen hands two inches high. In this trot'he was out of
condition, and was distanced the first heat in 5m. 37s.
In 1843, Lady Suffolk, Beppo, and Independence went
mile heats, three in five, under saddle, on the Beacon Course.
This race was on the 4th of July. It is to be remembered
that it was catch-weight, and that she carried 1431bs., which
was two pounds less than required by the rule. The Lady
was ridden by Albert Conkling. Beppo was a little chestnut
gelding, with a high head, short switch tail, and very gay
and gallant style of trotting. He belonged to 3Mr. James
Valentine, and was very fast. As early as 1836, this little
horse, in a trial at the Eagle Course, Trenton, two days
before he went a race, trotted half a mile in one minute and
nine seconds. George Youngs rode him on this trial, and
also in the race with Suffolk and Independence. There
were five heats of it. The Lady won the first in 2m. 281s.
The second was dead between her and Beppo in 2m. 28s.
The third, Independence won in the same time; and the Lady
took the fourth and fifth in 2m. 29s. and 2m. 32s. Independence was ridden in this race by Lewis Rogers, formerly
of the Red House, New York. On the 12th of the same
month, and at the same course, there was a race between
trotters under saddle, catch-weight, and Oneida Chief pacer,
in harness. Suffolk carried 1431bs. as before, and Beppo
1351bs. It was here that the Lady made the time which
stood at the head of the record for ten years (when Tacony
beat it); and here also it is to be noted that the weight she
carried was two pounds under the rule. She won in three
straight heats in 2m. 261s., 2m. 27s., and 2m. 27s. It has
often been said that in this race she was just off grass; but
this is a mistake. She had gone a race eight days before, as
I have shown, and was well enough seasoned for mile heats
under saddle when she made the fast time.
On the 19th of July, she met Beppo again under saddle,
and beat him in 2m. 30 s., 2m. 42s., 2m. 2Ss. On the
15th of August, she went three-mile heats under saddle




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           231
against the pacer Oneida Chief, who beat her in 7m. 44s.
and 7m. 52s. The mare was a little off, and Bryant was
badly blamed again; but I am unable to see the justice of
it. In September they went again mile heats, three in five;
she under saddle, and the Chief in harness. As usual, I
drove the horse. The mare won that day in three straight
heats; and it is a singular circumstance that the pacer pulled
a shoe off in each heat. The time was 2m. 29s., 2m. 30s.,
2m. 281s. Suffolk then beat Confidence in harness in 2m.
38s., 2m. 39s., and 2m. 41s. At the Kendall Course, Baltimore, Oneida Chief beat her three miles under saddle, in
7m. 48s.; and he beat her and Dutchman, three mile heats
in harness, in three heats. The pacer won the first in 7m.
59s., Lady Suffolk got the second in 81m. 15s., and the Chief
the third in 8m. is. It will be seen by the foregoing, that
the mare was not successful at long distances that year; and,
if we should look no further, we might be led to conclude,
that, though she had gained in speed, she had weakened in
bottom. In 1844, Lady Suffolk began with long heats, and
was successful.
On the 20th of May, at the Beacon Course, she beat
Americus, Ripton, Washington, and Pizarro, two-mile heats
in harness, in three heats, 5m. 17s., 5m. 19s., 5m. 18s. At
Centreville, on the 6th of June, she won again at three-mile
heats in harness, beating Columbus in 7m. 51s. and 8m. 2s.
Then she went three-mile heats on the Beacon against
Americus, and Columbus. Americus won in 8m. 53:1s., Sm.
is.; and Columbus was distanced. The mare beat Duchess
and Washington, over the Beacon Course, in the mud, in
four heats. Washington won the first in 2m. 38s. Lady
Suffolk won the other three in 2m. 331s., 2m. 34s., 2m. 37s.
In October, Lady Suffolk went mile heats, three in five,
against J. C. Calhoun and Fairy Queen, two pacers. They
had five heats of it. Calhoun won the first and second in
2m. 29s., 2m. 31s. The trotting-mare took the other three
in 2m. 28s., 2m. 29s., 2m. 30s. That concluded her per.




232      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
formances in 1844. We shall find, that, next year, she and
Americus went at it in downright earnest, and trotted some
desperate races of long heats.  They trotted five times,
and Lady Suffolk won three of the five races; but particular mention of these I must postpone until the next chapter.
Americus and Lady Suffolk were very close together as
trotters. Both were fast, and both were stout enough to
go long heats and repeat them often.




XXVIII.
Suffolk, Brown Columbus, and Americus. - More Races with Americus. -
Suffolk and Duchess. —Suffolk and Moscow.- Suffolk, Moscow, and
Americus. - Suffolk and James K. Polk the pacer. - Suffolk and Hector. - Suffolk at Saratoga. - Suffolk and Roanoke the pacer. - Suffolk
and Lady Sutton.- Suffolk and Ripton, between Christmas Day and
New Year's. - Suffolk, Lady Sutton, and Lady Moscow. - Moscow's
son, Privateer. - Suffolk, Sutton, and Americus.- Suffolk and James
K. Polk. - Suffolk lamed at Saratoga.
HAVE now brought the public performances of Lady
Suffolk down to the year 1845, of which I am about
to speak. Her trotting began that season on the Union
Course on the 28th of April, when she went two-mile heats
in harness, against Brown Columbus and Americus. Brown
Columbus was brought here by Mr. Underhill, who sometimes drove him. In this race with Suffolk and Americus,
I drove him myself. He was a horse about fifteen hands
three inches, a little scant, perhaps, and used to hit his
knees, so that we had to trot him in boots. I am very often
asked what is the remedy when a horse hits himself in
action. The true answer is, that, if it is habitual, there is
no remedy but to put boots on. Lady Suffolk won the race
in two heats; in both of which Columbus was second and
Americus third. The time of it was 5m. 20s., 5m. 29s. A
week afterwards Lady Suffolk went two-mile heats in har:
ness, over the Centreville Course, against Americus. The
race was a good one of three heats; of which the Lady won
the first and third, and Americus took the second.  The
time was 5m. 9s., 5m. 16s., 5m. 12s.
On the 19th of May, Americus, Lady Suffolk, and Brown
233




234      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
Columbus went three-mile heats in harness, on the Union
Course. Americus won in two heats; Suffolk was second
in bothl, and Columbus distanced in the last of them. The
time was 8in., 8m. 51s. The Lady was kept hard at it, as
usual; and, on the 3d of June, trotted three-mile heats in
harness, over the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia, with
Americus. She won in three heats, of which Americus got
the first. The time was 8m. 2s., 8m. 74s., 8m. 17s.
On the 8th of October, Lady Suffolk trotted mile heats,
three in five in harness, over the Beacon Course, with
Duchess. The latter was a brown mare about fifteen hands
high. She had a habit of switching her tail as she went;
and, like Flora Temple and Lady Clifton, she was capital at
coming in on the home-stretch. If she was on good terms
with an opponent when she swung into the straight side, it
was very difficult to beat her out. William Whelan drove
her in this race. They had four heats of it, and Duchess
won; Suffolk only getting the third. The time was 2m. 37s.,
2m. 3.51s., 2m. 351s., 2m. 39s. Five days afterwards, Lady
Suffolk went against Moscow, mile heats, three in five, in
harness, on the same course. Moscow was a bay gelding,
with white legs and a bald face. He belonged to Gen.
Dunham, and was a big horse, sixteen hands high, rawboned and up-headed. He was a hard puller. In this race,
Hunt drove him. The Lady won in five heats, the third
and fourth of which were won by Moscow. The time was
2m. 34s., 2m. 29-s., 2m. 30s., 2m. 34s., 2m. 36s. On the
third day afterwards, and still. on the Beacon, they went
the same race again; and now Moscow beat her in four heats,
of which she got the second. The time of these was 2m.
33-s., 2m. 31-s., 2m. 40s., 2m. 35s.
The last trot of Lady Suffolk in that year was at the
Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia, where, on the 29th of
October, she went three-mile heats in harness against Americus, and was defeated in two straight heats. The time was
8m. 5s., 7m. 59s. She had been successful this year, on the




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           235
whole, having trotted two races of two-mile heats, both of
which she won; three of three-mile heats, one of which she
won; and three of mile heats, three in five, one of which
she won. She had not a saddle on her back in that season
in any public performance, nor did she go to wagon.
In 1846, Suffolk did not trot a great number of races.
She began late in the year, and put them close together, all
on the Union Course. Her first race was in September, the
27th, when she went mile heats, three in five, in harness,
against Moscow and Americus, and won ina three straight
heats. Americus was second in the first heat, but Moscow beat him in the second and third. The time was
2m. 37Ts., 2m. 37s., 2m. 35s. Ten days afterwards, the
same horses went two-mile heats in harness; and Americus
vwon it in two straight heats, Lady Suffolk being second in
both of them. The time was 5m. 13s., 5m. 11s. The next
week they went mile heats, three in five, in harness; and
Suffolk won in five heats. Americus got the first in 2m.
34s.; Suffolk took the second in 2m. 34-s., and the third in
precisely the same time. The fourth was a dead heat between Americus and Moscow in 2m. 35s.; and the Lady
came along in the fifth, and won in 2m. 38Ss.
In just a week from that day, that is, on the 22d of October, the Lady met James K. Polk the pacer, at threemile heats. He was to go in harness, with a driver to weigh
140lbs., which was five pounds under weight; while she went
under saddle, with the weight of 1451bs., according to rule.
This pacer was a hard horse to beat in such a race. He
was a chestnut gelding, fifteen hands three inches high,
handsome, and a blood-like horse, with a long, sweeping tail.
He was also a very hard puller. Albert Conklin drove him,
and won in two straight heats. The time was good, - 7m.
46s., 7m. 46's. Time-bets were made upon the Lady; and
her time taken in the first heat was 7m. 49s. She went a
faster mile in the race than he did; for her middle mile was
2m. 30s., while his was 2m. 31-s. This mile was the fastest




236      THE  TROTTTING-HORSE OF A MERICA.
in the race. On the 18th of November, they met again
at two-mile heats; Lady Suffolk in harness, the pacer to
a wagon. -Ie beat her again in two heats of 5m. 8$s.,
5m. 16s. The heats were both close, for her time was but
half a second more in each. That finished her trotting in
the year. It was a light one for neti, uut, next season,
Bryant made her do enough to more than make up.
In 1847, Lady Suffolk's first trot was on the 7th of June,
when she went against Hector, the little brown horse by
Abdallah, of whom I have heretofore made mention. It
was upon the Union Course, and the race three-mile heats
under saddle; the Lady staking $500, to $300 on the part
of the horse. She won it in two straight heats, - 7m. 56s.,
8m. 6-s. Two days afterwards, they went two-mile heats
under saddle, each to carry 1841bs. She won again in two
heats; the time being 5m. 16.s., 5m. 24s. This was great
weight to carry on a horse's back, exceeding the heaviest
welter weights in the English steeple-chases, which seldom
go above 1681bs. On the 14th of July, at the Centreville
Course, the Lady under saddle went against James K.
Polk the pacer to wagon, two-mile heats. She distanced
him the first heat in 5m. 3s. Back again at the Union, on
the 28th of the same month, she beat Moscow, mile heats,
three in five, to wagons of 100lbs. The mare won it in
three heats, - 2m. 371s., 2m. 431s., 2m. 39-s.  Aug. 5,
at the same course, she went mile heats, three in five, to
wagon, against Moscow in harness, and won again in three
straight heats,- 2m. 42's., 2m. 33's., 2m. 36s.
Suffolk now took a trip to Saratoga with the other fashionables, who gladly welcomed at the Springs the coming of
the Lady in White. On the 14th of August, she trotted
mile heats, three in five, to wagon of one hundred and one
pounds, against Moscow in harness, and beat him in three
straight heats, - 2m. 52s., 2m. 54s., 2m. 44s. From Saratoga, Lady Suffolk returned to Centreville, to go three-mile
heats against the chestnut pacer James K. Polk. It was on




THE TROTTING-HOJRSE OF AMERICA.         237
the 13th of September. She went under saddle, he in harness. He beat her in two heats of 7m. 44s., 7m. 53s.
On the Ist of October, at the same course, she went
against Roanoke the pacer, two-mile heats in harness. This
horse was a roan, about fifteen and a half hands high, compactly made, with a long tail. He was known from one
end of the country to the other almost. At that time Isaac
Woodruff had him. In the race with Suffolk, he won the
first heat in 5m. 13s., but was distanced in the next in 5m.
121s. On the 15th of that month, at the Union Course,
the Lady went two-mile heats under saddle, against James
K. Polk the pacer to wagon. The chestnut beat her in
two heats of 5m. 4-s., 5m. 9s. On the 28th, the Lady of
Suffolk went two-mile heats in harness, at the same course,
against Lady Sutton. This mare was a brown, low but
sturdy, strong and game, - a mare of very fine stamina and
endurance. At the time of this trot, James Whelpley had
her. Suffolk won the race in two heats, - 5m. 10s., 5m.
12s. The Lady continued her doings very late that year;
for the last race she went was on the 28th of December, on
the Union Course. It was two-mile heats in harness,
against Ripton. The Lady won in two heats, - 5m. 181s.,
5m. 251 s., — extraordinary time, it must be admitted, to
make after Christmas, and before New-Year's Day. It will
have been seen that the Lady was very successful this year:
for she won nine races out of eleven; and, in the two wherein
she was beaten, it was by James K. Polk the pacer, and
not by any trotter.
In the following year, 1848, she did not do as much trotting, by reason of having met with an accident in the middle of the season. At the time when this befel her, she had
been winning races hoof over hoof, and, but for the hurt she
got, would very likely have made as successful a season of it
as any she had seen. Lady Suffolk began operations that
year at the Centreville Course on the 19th of May. She
went mile heats, three in five, in harness, with Lady Sutton




238     TTHE TROTTING-HOXSE OF AMERICA.
and Lady Moscow. The latter was a handsome bay mare,
and of great speed ahd bottom.  At that time she was
owned by John Cutler of Albany; but afterwards became
the property of my neighbor and friend, Sim Hoagland of
East -New York.
In 1865 we saw the last of her, as I mentioned at the
time. But Sim has one of her colts; and, unless I am mistaken, he is a real good one. It is the solid, little gray horse
Privateer, by Gray Messenger. I-have had my eye on the
little fellow out of the window, as he has gone by my door,
on many a morning; and I predict that he will not disgrace
his distinguished parentage. The race made by these three
ladies was a remarkable one of six heats. They were all
three stayers. Lady Sutton won the first heat; Suffolk second in 2m. 33s.; and the second heat was an exact repetition as to positions and time. The third heat was won by
Suffolk, Lady Moscow being second, in 2m. 35s. Suffolk
also won the fourth heat, and Lady Moscow was again second. Time, 2m. 37s. The fifth heat was won by Lady
Moscow in 2m. 38s., and Suffolk was second; and the sixth
heat Sutton won in 2m. 36s., Suffolk second. John Case
drove Lady Moscow in that race.
On the 7th of June, at the same course, Lady Suffolk,
Lady Sutton, and Americus went two-mile heats to wagons;
and another exceedingly good and obstinately contested race
was the result. Lady Suffolk won the first heat in 5m. 21s.,
Lady Sutton second. The second heat was dead between
the mares in 5m. 13s. The third heat was also dead between
the mares; and Americus was ruled out for not having won
a heat in three, or made a dead heat. The time of the
second dead heat was 5m. 17s. The ladies went off again;
and, after a capital race, Lady Suffolk won it in 5m. 22s.
The Lady of Suffolk now had a let-up until the 4th of
July, when she met her old and vigorous opponent, James
K. Polk, two-mile heats; but, while she was under saddle,
he went to a wagon of two hundred pounds. It was at the




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           239
Centreville. The Lady won in two heats, - 5m. 12s., 5m.
14s. On the 17th, at the same course, Lady Suffolk and
Lady Sutton went mile heats, three in five, in harness. Lady
Suffolk won in three heats, - 2m. 31s., 2m. 32s., 2m. 32.
On the 22d, she went two-mile heats against James K. Polk,
- she in harness, the pacer to a wagon weighing 2201bs.
A. close, desperate race of four heats followed. The Lady
won the first heat in 5m. 22s. Then the pacer took a heat
in 5m. 16s. The third heat was dead in 5m. 17s.; and the
fourth heat the Lady won in 5m. 16s. With the weight
behind him, the pacer, although defeated, must be held to
have been an uncommonly good horse that day.
Having, perhaps, acquired a taste for the fragrant waters
and other pleasant follies of the mountain springs last year,
Lady Suffolk again left the briny shores of her native island
to visit Saratoga in the height of summer-time. It was not
with as good results as before; for here the accident befel
which compelled Bryant to let her up for the balance of the
year. The trot was mile heats in harness, between Lady
Suffolk, Lady Moscow, and the gelding Moscow. Lady
Suffolk won the first heat, but pulled up lame from having
sprained her ankle. Nevertheless, Bryant started her for
the second heat; but, before she had gone far, the mare was
so lame that her driver was compelled to bring her to a
stand-still, and the others went on and finished the race. It
was won by the bay mare in four heats. Lady Suffolk trotted no more that year; and some thought, as she was led
limping away on three legs, that the trotting-turf had seen
the last of her. But this was a great mistake. The injury
was not permanent; and the rest gave her wonderfully
strong and elastic constitution a chance to restore the tone
of her system. She recovered to such a purpose, that, the
next year, she trotted no fewer than twenty races, as we
shall presently see.




XXIX.
Suffolk and Lady Moscow. - Suffolk, Mac, Gray Eagle, and Gray Trouble.Suffolk and Pelham. - Suffolk, Pelham, and Jack Rossiter. - Lady Suffolk, Lady Sutton,"and Pelham. - Suffolk, Trustee, and Pelham. - Breeding
of Trustee. — Description of Trustee — Suffolk' and Long-Island Black
Hawk. - Description of Black Hawk. - Death of Trustee.
YW fE now come to 1849, in which year, as I remarked
in the last chapter, the gray mare came out fresh
and fine after her let-up by reason of the accident at Saratoga, and trotted twenty races. This arduous season began
at the Union Course on the 21st of May.  Lady Suffolk and
Lady Moscow went mile heats, three in five, in harness; and
the bay mare won in four heats.  Suffolk took the first, but
lost the other three. The time was exactly the same in
three of these heats, 2m. 34s.  The second heat was 2m.
30s. The Lady now went down East, and trotted three
races in Providence, R. I.  The first was on the 5th
of June, mile heats, three in five, under saddle.  She
went against Mac, Gray Eagle, and Gray Trouble, all under
saddle.  Mac was a very famous horse, and very fast.  He
was a brown gelding, fifteen and a half hands high.  When
he first came to my notice, he was owned by Mr. Robert
Walton of Boston.  He sold him  to Harry Jones of New
York, who in turn disposed of him to Mir. John McArdle of
Albany. Gray Eagle was a gray gelding, fifteen hands high,
and one of the most beautiful little horses ever seen. He
was well broken, and a splendid driver, looking magnificent
when going.  Gray Trouble was a handsome gray gelding,
fifteen hands three inches high, of elevated style, and a long
240




THE TROTTING-HORSE  OF AMERICA.         241
strider. Gray Eagle belonged to me. William Woodruff
rode him in this race. Bryant rode Lady Suffolk, and was
1561bs. with the saddle; so that she carried eleven pounds
over weight. Mac won in three heats; and Trouble got into
trouble in the first, for he was distanced in 2m. 291s. The
time of second and third heats was 2m. 32s., 2m. 31s.
Suffolk was second in all the heats.
On the next day, Lady Suffolk, Gray Eagle, and Mac
went mile heats, three in five, in harness. The Lady won
in three heats, and Gray Eagle was second in them. Mac
was distanced in the second heat. The time was 2m. 351s.,
2m. 34s., 2m. 38-s. Next day, Lady Suffolk and Mac
went two-mile heats in harness. The horse acted badly, and
was distanced the first heat in 5m. 20. On the 14th of
June, the horses that had been at Rhode Island were at
Boston; and there, on the Cambridge Course, Lady Suffolk
made the fastest heat she ever trotted. She went mile
heats, three in five, under saddle, against Mac and Gray
Eagle. The first heat was Mac's in 2m. 31s., and the Lady
second. Gray Eagle was then drawn. The Lady won the
second heat in 2m. 26., and Mac took the other two in 2m.
27s., 2m. 29s. On the 25th of June, Suffolk was back at
the Union Course, and there went against Pelham, mile
heats, three in five, in harness. Pelham was a bay gelding,
owned in Boston by Mr. Robert Walton. The horse came
originally from Maine. He was sold by Mr. Walton to
Mr. Dennis McReady, and afterwards came into the hands
of Mr. Jacob Sommerindyke. He was a fast and stylish
little horse, standing an inch under fifteen hands high. In
this race he was distanced in the second heat. The time
was 2m. 29 s., 2m. 33-s.
On the 2d of July, at the Centreville Course, Lady Suffolk
had a close race of mile heats, three in five, in harness, with
Pelham and Jack Rossiter. The latter was a handsome
bay gelding, called little, but really about fifteen hands and
an inch and a half high. He was in the hands of Otis
16




242      THE TROTTING-tIORSE OF AMERICA.
Dimmock, who lived when a boy with Mr. Stevens of New
Jersey, and used to ride the race-horse Henry at exercise,
after he bought him. He used to exercise him on the sandy
roads, and, I am informed, says he believes Henry could
then trot a mile in three minutes. This was good for the
horse that beat Eclipse a four-mile heat; and it is interesting
and important from the fact that Henry got the dam of
American Star, whose stock all trot and can almost all stay.
It shows that the trotting faculty was inherent in the blood
of Henry. I should have been less surprised to hear that
Eclipse could trot a mile in three minutes; for he was a
grandson of Messenger, being out of his daughter, Miller's
Damsel.
In this race at the Centreville, there were five heats. The
Lady won the first and second in 2m. 32s., 2m. 321s.;
Jack IRossiter second in the first heat, and last in the second.
The third and fourth heats, Pelham won in 2m. 38s., 2m.
292s. The fifth heat was won by the Lady in 2m. 34-1s.,
Pelham second. Back now to the Union, where, on the 9th,
Lady Suffolk went against Mac, mile heats, three in five,
under the saddle, and was beaten in four heats. She won
the first and fastest in 2m. 28s. The time of the others was
2m. 30s., 2m. 31s., 3m. 30s. On the 10th of July, the
Lady went two-mile heats under saddle, against Mac and
Jack Rossiter. Mac won in two heats; the Lady being last
in the first, and then drawn. The time was 5m. 9s., 5m.
18s. On the 3d of August, at the Centreville Course, the
Lady and Lady Sutton had one of the best, longest, and
most obstinate struggles that there is on record. Pelham.
was in with them. It was mile heats, three in five, in harness. Isaac Woodruff drove Lady Sutton, and Harry Jones
Pelham. Bryant drove Lady Suffolk. The contest may be
said to have been altogether between the mares; for Pelham
was last in the first and second heats, and distanced in the
third. The first and second heats were won by the gray
mare in 2m. 291s., 2m. 31s. The third and fourth were




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          243
secured by the brown mare, in 2m. 30s., 2m. 31-s. The
fifth and sixth were dead heats, 2m. 32., 2m. 31s.
When they came home in the sixth heat, they both preferred charges of foul driving. As proof that Bryant had
fouled him, Isaac pointed to one of his wheels, in which one
spoke was broken out and five or six more damaged. Bryant,
however, maintained that Isaac was in fault, and showed a
bruised face. The judges were unable to decide the point
betw een them; and so, sending out patrol judges, they started
them for another heat. This was won by the gray mare in
2m. 38s. On the 28th of September, the mares went again
in the same way, at the same course, and Suffolk won in
four heats. Lady Sutton won the first. The time was 2m.
32- s., 2m. 331s., 2m. 34s., 2m. 36s. On the 8th of October, still
at the Centreville, Lady Suffolk went two-mile heats in harness, against Lady Sutton and Pelham. They had three heats
of it, and the brown mare won. Pelham got the first heat,
Sutton second, in 5m. 16s. Lady Sutton won the second,
and Pelham was second, in 5m. 17s. In the third, Pelham
was distanced, and Lady Suffolk was second, in 5m. 20s.
The next race was one of three-mile heats in harness, on
the 17th of October, between Lady Suffolk, Trustee, and
Pelham; and, before giving it, I am induced to say a little
about that famous horse, the first twenty-miler. HIe was
got, as most of my readers have heard, by the thoroughbred
horse imported Trustee, out of the trotting-mare Fanny
Pullen. This mare was bred in Maine; and it was long
supposed that she was a descendant of the Maine Messenger; but, from a letter which was published in " The Spirit,"
from one who speaks by authority, it now appears that she
had no known Messenger-blood in her, but had the blood
closely of a thoroughbred imported horse, who is not otherwise known much about. But I think, that, for the game
and lasting qualities of Trustee, we must look in a great
measure to his sire, the imported horse, who was of very
renowned blood. He was got by Catton, a game, strong




244      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA
horse, and a four-mile runner at high weights, who was bred
from the Mercury line of Eclipse; and is said to have done as
much for Yorkshire, in England, as any stallion they ever
had there, getting alike race-horses, hunters, and trotters
for the stage-coaches.
Trustee's dam was one of the most famous blood-mares, in
the estimation of the English, that they ever rejoiced in.
He was out of Emma, by Whisker, who was own brother to
-Whalebone, Web, and Wire. So Trustee was related toGlencoe; for Web was his grandam. This Emma was also
the dam  of West Australian's dam, and of Mundig and
Cotherstone, both of whom won the Derby. Mundig, as
well as Trustee, was by Catton. The trotter Trustee was a
chestnut horse, about fifteen hands two inches high. He
was a strong horse, with a very high rump. It looked to
be higher than his withers; and this was especially the case
when he was going. He was a low-headed horse, and a
stout puller. It will be remembered, that, earlier in this
work, I stated that hard pulling was a habit to be carefully
discouraged in dealing with trotters; but that, at the same
time, there were many horses that could not or would not do
their best without pulling. Therefore, when a horse pulls,
I do not think it at all expedient to get rid of the pull by
means of punishing-bits, bridoons, or such-like devices.
When a horse gets his head down in breaking, as Kemble
Jackson did, it is a different matter; but the trotter that
goes at his best rate while pulling hard had best be borne
with. If you get rid of the pull by means of the appliances
I have alluded to, you will soon get rid of some of the trot..
It is often said that a horse cannot pull hard and last; and
this is contrary to the facts I am about to mention. Trustee
lasted; and he was a hard puller. Captain McGowan lasted;
and he is the hardest-pulling horse in America, I suppose.
Dexter pulls a pound or two, I can assure you; and he has
shown his 2apacity to go on. The truth is, that the pullinghorses last well enough, but the drivers do not last so long.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          245
It is just so with the runners. Look at English Eclipse,
who "pulled a ton," as the saying has it, when he distanced
his fields. Look at Norfolk, a desperate hard puller, but,
nevertheless, a thorough stayer. I mention these instances
in order that you may not be led away by a theory that is
groundless. To say that a horse can't stay because he pulls;
is not true. To say that he might stay as well if he did
not pull so hard, and that he would be much more pleasant
to ridle or drive, is the correct thing.
To return to Lady Suffolk. In the three-mile race between
her and Trustee and Pelham, there were three heats.
Trustee won the first of them in 7m. 451s., and the mare
was second. Pelham was third, and then drawn. The mare
won the second and third heats in 7m. 52s., 7m. 57s. Lady
Suffolk's next trot was with Long-Island Black Hawk.
This latter famous horse was by Andrew Jackson, out of
Sallie Miller, a mare owned at Philadelphia. She was a
good one. In 1834 she made Ed. Forrest go in about 2m.
31s., over the Centreville. Afterward, in 1836, at the same
course, I held her by the bridle while Andrew Jackson had
the amorous intercourse with her from which Long-Island
Black Hawk sprang. The latter, as his name indicates,
was black. He had four white legs and a star, -a horse of
the finest symmetry, standing fifteen hands two inches and
a half high, and a splendid goer. He was a great weightpuller,; and the first that went in 2m. 40s. to a wagon and
driver of three hundred and ninety pounds weight. It was
in his match with Jenny Lind, who belonged to Mr. Joseph
Goodwin. This race between Suffolk and Black Hawk was
at the Union Course, on the 24th of October. It was to
wagon and driver of 3501bs.; and the mare won in three
heats. The time was 2m. 45s., 2m. 40s., 2m. 43s.
On the 7th of November, the Lady went three-mile heats
in harness, against Trustee, on the Union, and beat him in
two heats of 8m. 13s., 8m. 15s. On the 12th, at the Centre-'ville, she went two-mile heats against the pacer Dan Miller.




246      THE TROTTING-HIORSE OF AMERICA.
The mare was under saddle, the pacer in harness. They
had three heats; of which he won the first, and she the second
and third. The time was 5m. 33s., 5. 12s., 5m. 19s. The
old mare was taken from the Island to Boston to wind up
that season. There, on the 22d of November, she went with
Trustee two-mile heats, -she to a wagon of a hundred and
fifteen pounds, and he to a fifty-pound sulky. She beat him
in two heats of 5m. 57s., 5m. 341-s. On the 29th, she went
mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Gray Eagle; and
he beat her in three straight heats of 2m. 37s., 2m. 40s., 2m.
38s. The Lady's last race that season was on the 12th of
December. She went two-mile heats against Gray Trouble,
he in harness and she to wagon. She beat him in two heats
of 5m. 38s., 5m. 36s. This brought her to the end of 1849; in
which year she trotted sixty heats, many of them being two
and three mile heats.
That two-mile heat race at Boston, in November, was the
last that Trustee ever trotted with.Suffolk. He was entered
in one with her and Moscow the next year, but did not trot
it. The year following that, he came to his death at Cincinnati. It was in tlhe Queen-city Course, where, as appears
from his letter in "The Spirit," Mr. Larkin (name not on
the bills) went a buffalo-hunting with some Indian braves
and a great medicine-man called Crisp. On the 13th of
July, 1851, Trustee, Gray Eagle, Shavetail, and Bluffer
went a race of three-mile heats in harness, on the course
named. The day was extremely hot. Trustee won the first
heat in 8m. 35s.; but, being in poor condition, succumbed to
the heat soon after starting for the second three miles, and
literally died in harness. Gray Eagle came near dying, too,
and was only saved by prompt blood-letting. The others
went thrne heats and the Bluffer was drawn.




xxx,
Lady Suffolk in 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853. - Her Retirement and Death. - The
Story of Flora Tsmple. -Opening Chapter of her History, by George
Wilkes.
DO not propose to follow the career of Lady Suffolk in
all its further details.  Sufficient has been said to show
what a wonderful mare she was; and, before she left the
turf, the shadow of another, and a greater than she, began
to appear upon the dial. In 1850, Lady Suffolk trotted
sixteen times, mostly with success; in 1851, fourteen
times; in 1852, fifteen times; in 1853, twice, and in both
of these races she was defeated.  That was about the last
of the famous gray mare. She became the property of Mr.
Ezra White, and died in honorable retirement.  She never
had a foal. The greater than she, to whom I have alluded,
was Flora Temple; and her first appearance in history is so
finely and graphically told in the first chapter of her life by
George Wilkes, that I mean to make it a part of this book,
as follows:CHAPTER I.
The sun shone beautifully in the summer of 1850. It
shone with peculiar brightness all along the Hudson River
at that time, and especially in Duchess Co-unty; but nowllhere in the wide world, in the summer of 1850, did its
beams fall with a more sweet and mellow radiance than in
the little village of Washington Hollow, about four miles
back of the town of Poughkeepsie. It seemed,. indeed, to
come into the village with peculiar gladness; and, from the
247




248      THE TROTTILVGUIIORSE OF AVERICA.
way its glitter played among the leaves of the trees, and its
broad, warm flood spread itself fondly upon the field and
mixed wantonly with the very earth of the road, it appeared
as if it never desired to withdraw.  And every thing in
Washington Hollow seemed to respond in peaceful -happiness to these visits of the sun; and day in and day out,
whenever the sun shone, which it did in Washington Hollow nearly the whole of its allotted term, the village looked
precisely as cheerful as it did the day before.
On one of the finest of these kind of mornings in Washington Hollow, in the month of June, of the year of grace
aforesaid, Jonathan A. Vielee stood listlessly at his stabledoor, looking out into the road, thinking, doubtless, as was
common with the inhabitants of that village, that he had
never seen the sun shine so bright before, when his attention was attracted by the faint clank of a bell; and, turning
that way, he saw a stout drover coming down the road with
fifty or sixty head of cattle, one of which bore the bell that
had struck his ear. The cattle filed before the practised
and admiring eyes of Mr. Vielee; and after them came the
drover's wagon, drawn by two stout mares, driven by a
sleepy-looking negro; and on the other side of the road, but
near enough to exchange a nod with Mr. Jonathan A.
Vielee, rode the drover on a graceful gray stallion, keeping
his charge in line. Mr. Jonathan A. Vielee looked approvingly upon many of the cattle: he thought the brown mares
that drew the wagon a very serviceable pair of " horses-ofall-work;" and he admired the tall stallion on which the
drover rode, as a fine piece of flesh, that showed a good
many signs of " blood; " but, in all this scrutiny, Mr. Vielee
saw nothing to excite him from the delightful state of tranqaillity which the soft and quiet beauty of the morning had
put him in. Just, however, as he was about turning his
head again to the advanced part of the line, something riveted his attention.
This something, which riveted the attention of Mr.




THE TROTTING-JORSE OF xAIERICA.          249
Jonathan Vielee, was a little, rough-coated bay mare, not
over fourteen hands two inches high (4 feet 10), tied at the
tail of the wagon by a rope-halter some three or four feet
long. There certainly was nothing in the conduct of the
little bay mare to deserve this attention from the practised
eye of Mr. Vielee. She was going quietly along, not tugging at her halter, but yielding to it, and apparently enjoy-.ing the bright sun of Washington Hollow, as it laved her
sides and back, and bathed the landscape far and near, as
if she had belonged to Washington Hollow itself. To judge
by her manner, as she ruminated over a sweet quid, which
was occasionally replenished by a sturdy little boy of six
years of age, who held handfuls of succulent fresh hay to
her over the tail-board, she was in much the same tranquil,
shiny-morning mood as Mr. Vielee himself. Nay, it is not
impossible (if a certain theory of animal intelligence be
true), that, as she dropped her large, intelligent eye reflectively upon Mr. Jonathan Vielee, she thought, just at the
moment when Mr. Vielee' mentally exclaimed, "That's a
mighty game-looking little mare! "- we say it is not impossible, that, at that very moment, she might quietly have
thought,: "There's a man who knows something about a
horse!"
And Mr. Jonathan Vielee would not have been misrepresented by the little mare, had she even given utterance to
this idea. He had a sharp eye for the points of a horse;
he had dealt a great deal in that way; and, as he gazed at
the little mare's blood-like head, traced her fine, well-set
neck, firm shoulders, strong, straight back, long barrel well
ribbed up, powerful forearms, fine pasterns, short cannon
bones, and general display of muscle, he.thought he would
like to inquire into her mouth, and take a peep or two at
her feet. Mr. Jonathan Vielee hailed the drowsy-looking
nigger who drove the wagon, and brought the drover to a
stand-still with a more respectful but not less meaning signal. Then those civilities which are due between all peo



250     -THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
pie in bright mornings, as well in Washington Hollow as
everywhere else, passed between the drover and our good
friend of Washington Hollow; and presently Mr. Vielee had
the little bay mare by the nose, and was studying every
mark upon her teeth.  He then took hold of her feet; and
the little mare lifted them successively in his hand with a
quiet, downward glance, that seemed to say, " You'll find
every thing right there, Mr. Vielee, and as fair and as firm
as if you wished me to trot for a man's life! " And so Mr,
Vielee did; and, as he dropped the last foot, he liked the
promise of the little mare amazingly; and it struck him, that,
if he could get her for any sum short of $250, she would
be a mighty good bargain.
"' She is about five years old? " said Mr. Vielee, inquiringly.
" You have seen for yourself," replied the drover.
"I should judge she was all right?" again suggested
Mr. Vielee, partly walking round the mare, and again looking at her up and down.
" Sound as a dollar, and kind as a kitten," responded the
drover, as firmly as if prepared to give a written guarantee.
" Not always so. kind, neither," said Mr. Vielee, looking
again steadily at the mare's face; "or I don't understand
that deviltry in her eye. But that's neither here nor there:
you say the mare is for sale. Now, let's know what you'll
take for her."
This inquiry of Mr. Vielee's was the opening of a highly
scientific display of diplomacy between him and the rider
of the gray stallion; which, after lasting some three-quarters
of an hour, during which the little bay mare was put
through all her paces in one of Mr. Vielee's wagons, resulted in her passing permanently from the halter at the tail
of the wagon into the possession of Mr. Jonathan Vielee,
for the sum of $175.
"And a pretty good price at that," said the drover to
himself, on pocketing the cash, " for an animal that only




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          251
cost me' eighty,' and who is so foolish and flighty that she
will never be able to make a square trot in her life."
The drover could give no satisfactory answer to Mr. Vielee's inquiries about the origin, or, to speak more professionally, about the pedigree, of the little bay mare. All that he
could say was, that he had bought her in Utica of a young
man who had for some time been endeavoring to dispose of
her in connection with another little mare, which he had
vainly endeavored to drive with her in double harness. The
fault of the team laid against the crazy disposition of the
little creature whom we have now under consideration; so,
when they were offered for sale together, in a place where
both of them were known, our intractable little beauty was
invariably rejected, and finally the owner was obliged to
dispose singly of her mate.
This was all the drover could tell about the matter; but,
had he been thoroughly instructed in the antecedents of the
little bay mare, he might have told him that she was foaled
in Oneida County, near Utica, out of a mare the very picture of herself, who had been most happily united with a
fine stallion, named One-Eyed - Hunter, who was by Kentucky Hunter, well known among the thoroughbreds of the
Western and Southern States.  She was docked with a
jack-lknife before she was an hour old, and stood on her feet
at that time, having the same gray hairs at the roots of her
tail that she brought into Washington Hollow, and carries
to this day. Her owner, Mr. Tracy, kept her till she was
four years old, when, finding her wilful and unserviceable,
he disposed of her to Mir. William HI. Congdon of Smyrna,
Chenango County, for the sum of thirteen dollars.  Mr.
Congdon, after keeping her a while, disposed of her to Kelly
& Richardson for sixty-eight dollars; and, after changing
hands once or twice more, she found herself at last standing
as we have described her, on a bright Sunday morning, in
the centre of Washington Hollow, listening attentively to
the conversation that was passing between the drover and
Mr. Jonathan Vielee.




252      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.:Now, if the little bay mare could have foreseen and comprehended the brilliant influence which this bargain between
the drover and Mr. Vielee was to have upon her destiny,
she could not have evinced more joy than she did on this
bright, soft, sunshiny summer morning, in the year of grace
1850, when she was taken from the tail of the drover's
wagon, and led into Mr. Vielee's comfortable, well-aired
stable. She danced around him, as he led her across the
road, to the full stretch of her halter; she tossed her head
gayly up and down; she ran forward, and put her nose playfully over his shoulder; and, when she got into her clean,
cozy, well-strewn stall, she whinnied long and slowly and repeatedly, with profound delight.
But, if this pleasure on the part of the little bay mare
proceeded from any notion that she had found an established
home, her calculations were very much astray. Mr. Vielee
was a practical man of business; and his main idea in the
way of business was to turn a rapid penny, and invest the
profits of one good transaction immediately into another.
He knew that he had a most promising piece of horseflesh,
one that united all the outside conceivable marks of
merit; and, with a correct judgment;, he concluded that the
city of New York - the greatarena where the best trottingblood of the country is collected and pitted in continual contest -was the place where the new-found jewel would command the highest mark. "There's no telling what she
may not be able to do in time," thought Mr. Vielee in connection with this resolution; "for if, with that fine make
and immense muscle, she only settles into a handy style of
going,  a style that don't waste any of her power in false
action, - she may yet be able to beat'em all."
With such thoughts as this in his head, Mr. Vielee kept
the mare in his stable barely two weeks; and, at the end of
that time, he took her to New York. As he took her there
to sell, it is not necessary to this history' that we should
tUr his stnps, fOrther than to say, that, finding an oppor



THE TROTTINVG-tHORSE OF AMERICA.        253
tunity to double his money, he sold the rough-coated, unknown little bay mare to Mr. George E. Perrin of this metropolis, for the sum of $350.
In the hands of Mr. Perrin, the little bay mare, who had
proved so intractable, so flighty, so harem-scarem, and, to
come down to the true tern, so worthless, to her original
owners, was favored with more advantages than ever she
had enjoyed before. She was not only introduced to the
very best society of fast-goers on the Bloomingdale and
Long-Island Roads, but she was taught, when "flinging
herself out" with exuberant and superabundant spirit all
over the road, as it were, to play her limbs in a true line,
and give her extraordinary qualities a chance to show their
actual worth. If ever she made a skip, a quick admonition
and a steady check brought her to her senses; and when, in
her frenzy of excitement at being challenged by some
tip-top goer, she w'ould, to:use a sportsman's phrase, " travel
over herself," and go "up " into the air, she was steadied and
settled down by a firm rein into solid trotting and gbod
behavior in an instant.  The crazy, flighty, half-racking
and half-trotting little ltay mare became a true stepper, and
very luckily passed out of her confused "' rip-i-ty clip-i-ty" sort
of going, into a clean, even, long, low, locomotive-trotting
stroke. Many a man who came up to a road-tavern, after
having been unexpectedly beaten by her, would say to her
owner, as they took a drink at the bar, "That's a mighty
nice little mare of yours; and, if she was only big enough to
stand hard work, you might expect a good deal from her."
There was at that time, as there has been for the last
twenty years, many horses of great repute upon the roads
in the vicinity of New York; and, among the horses which
now and then came in disdainful contact with the little bay
mare, was one of considerable speed and fame, called "The
Waite Pony."
If his oats had sprouted into salt hay under his'touch, the
proud and supercilious Waite Pony could not have been




254      TIHE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
more surprised, one fine afternoon in that same summer of
1850 so ofte l already noticed, when, in a mile contest in that
stretch of road which lies between Burnham's and Elm
Park, the little bay mare beat him  to what is called "a
stand-still," and deposited her owner in advance of his at
Stryker's Bay. This caused the little bay mare to be looked
at very closely by everybody on the stoop of the house at
Stryker's Bay; and, while the idlers and horse-sharps were
descanting on her points, the owners of the respective horses
made a match that they should go against each other on
the ied-House Track on the following afternoon. It was a
mere road-match, this match between the Waite Pony and
the little bay mare, -a match of fancy, not of profit; but,
though of this nature, the reputation of the little mare had
been growing so rapidly of late that a large number of the
habitue's of the road were present at the contest.
The track was a half-mile track, the same that is still
attached to the above-named house; and the race was for a
single mile in harness. At starting, the odds were all
against the mare: but they changed as soon as she got off;
and she won with the greatest ease, and'with the power, as
was plain to every looker-on, to have reduced the time of
the performance by several seconds. As, however, the time
was considerably over three minutes, it did not increase the
reputation of the mare as much as it discounted her competitor. A match was, therefore, soon after made between
her and a fine horse known as Vanderburg's gray stallion,
for $500 a side, mile heats, the stallion to go to a 2501b.
wagon, and the mare to go in harness.  This match
came off on the Union Course, Long Island, and was easily
won in three heats by the mare in very handsome time.
The next exploit of the little bay mare was the winning
of a stalke, on Sept. 9 of that same year of grace, on
the salne course, for which she was entered after arriving
on the ground. She was not in racing-trim. On the
previous day, she had been driven very hard; and, on coming




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          255
home that night, was treated with a "warm mash," and
virtually put to bed. On the next morning, however, she
looked so fine that her owner concluded to go and see the
race; and on the road she behaved so well, and beat so many
going down, that he determined, "just for a flyer," to let
her try her mettle for the purse. The race was a race of
mile heats in harness; and the horses entered were Whitehall, Delaware Maid, Napoleon, and Hiram. The firstnamed horse, a fine brown stallion entered by James
Whelpley, was the contestant of the greatest promise: but
all the others were well thought of; and their owners, being
among the most popular patrons of the trotting-turf, had
given to the race considerable interest.
It was a bold exploit to enter that comparatively unknown
little runt of a mare, under such circumstances, against such
horses; and when her owner, unable to obtain a trotting
" skeleton," determined to put her through in a common roadsulky, his conduct was looked upon as audacious in the
extreme.
At length the start was given, and away they went. The
five horses and sulkies were all well together for a few
seconds, when Whitehall, with a fine, bold stroke, drew out
of the clump, and took a commanding lead: the little bay
mare, however, in the battered road-sulky, kept making her
long, low, sweeping stride directly in his wake, with the
regularity of machinery, and threatening to travel past him
the first moment he should lose his foot. At the first-quarter pole, there was but one length distance between the
stallion and the mare; at the half-mile, but barely two:
while the others, with the exception of Delaware Maid, who
was tolerably well up, were being tailed off in most disastrous manner. In this order, the heat was' won by Whelpley's stallion; the little bay mare, with the heavy roadsulky, whom nobody thought would have the least chance
in the world, being second; Delaware Maid, third; while
Napoleon and Hiram were "distanced."  The two latter




256      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
being now out of the race, the little bay mare secured a
trotting-sulky for herself: and the record gives her the three
succeeding heats in the improving time of 2.55, 2.52, and
2.49; Delaware Maid being third on each occasion. The
greatest excitement attended the conclusion of the third and
fourth heats; and, when the race was done, the spectators
advanced and felt the little heroine all over, as if they could
not comprehend how such a petite, indifferent-looking creature could stand the weight and fatigue, and yet maintain
the speed she did.
The latter was the first exploit that introduced the little
bay mare to the pages of the "Racing Calendar."  She was
recorded under the modest name of "Flora;" and it was
little thought by those who placed after her name on this
occasion the mystical figures "2 1 1 1," that she was
destined in future to render those tables so illustrious."
After this trot, the little bay mare, or Flora Temple as
we are now at liberty to call her, passed into the hands of
John C., the brother of George E. Perrin, for the sum of
$575, - a very handsome increase over the price paid by Mr.
Jonathan Vielee to the drover, and more than seven times
as much as the sum for which she had been gladly parted
with by her Utica owner some three or four months before.
Soon after obtaining possession of her, the new owner of
Flora Temple, with unbounded confidence in her speed and
lasting qualities, matched her that winter against the bay
horse of Mr. Edward White, for three-mile heats in harness,
to trot in the following spring (1851), for $2,000, half forfeit. About six weeks before this match was due, however,
the mare met with an accident in her exercise which would
have rendered her unfit to go; but, this accident being unknown to Mr. White, and his own horse being "out of
trim," he paid forfeit, and the match was " off."
Nothing was done with the little bay mare in the spring,
summer, and winter of 1851. The fright which she had
taken, from the shafts of her sulky knocking against het




TIIE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AIMERICA.         257
heels in the accident referred to, rendered her appre'leasive,
wild, and flighty; and it was found necessary to take her
out of training, and put her on the road. In that position
she remained till the following summer (1852), when her
owner, finding that she had regained her confidence and
steadiness again by beating with great ease the bay mare
Philadelphia Sal round the Red-House Track for a stake
of $200, made a match against Young Dutchman, for $250
a side, mile heats, best three in five, in harness, to come
off on the Union Course, on  Nov. 10.  Though  this
match excited considerable interest, there was nothing about
it to particularize. The mare won in three heats, placing
herself indisputably "well up " among the first-class horses
by recording the time at 2.40, 2.39, and 2.36. She was then
taken.out of training, and put in winter quarters at Jamaica,
L.I.; and, as we have given her an opportunity to express
herself in thought once or twice before, we may be allowed
to imagine, that, when she left the course at the close of the
last contest, she might have meant to say, in her low neigh
of triumph, i"Little as I am, I am now mistress of the
trotting-course, and let no one henceforth value me at less
than $2,000!"
1?




XXXI.
Capacity of Small Horses to pull Weight. - Flora Temple and Centreville.
- Flora and Black Douglas. - Flora and Young Dutchman. - Flora and
Lady Brooks. - Flora and Highland Maid. - Breeding of Highland Maid.
- Description of her. -Her Races with Flora.
IT will be remembered that I have spoken of three prime
qualities in the trotting-horse; viz., speed, bottom, and
the power to pull weight. I was already confident that little
Flora possessed the last, as well as the other two.  People
are apt to think that great size is demanded for a weightpuller, but there are plenty of notable instances to show that
this is a mistake. Still, though there need not be great size,
and though some big horses are the very worst of weightpullers, coming right back as soon as they are required to
take along a wagon and a heavy man, strength is certainly
demanded.  This strength in small horses is the result of
a nice adaptation of parts, together with particular power in
the loin and hind-quarters. If a little horse of that sort be
particularly  examined, it will commonly be found, that,
though they are low, they are long in all the moving parts;
and their quarters are generally as big, and sometimes a
deal bigger, than those of many much larger horses.
Having in my mind the conviction that Flora was a
weight-puller, as well as fast and stout, I matched her in
December, 1852, for $500 a side, to trot, mile heats, three
in five, with Centreville, to wagons of 2501bs.  The mare
had been let up, and had had no fast work for three or four
weeks.  She had, however, been jogged.. Centreville was
held to be very nearly or quite the best weight-puller we
258




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          259
had at that time, and some endeavored to dissuade me from
starting the little mare. It was 100 to 70 on the horse at
the start. As soon as the word was given, Flora went with
such a rush that she was over herself on the turn, and lost
a good many lengths before she settled to work; but at the
quarter-pole she had recovered her stroke, and she soon overhauled Centreville, and gave him a sight of a fast sternchase. Joel Conk]ing drove him; and, finding that he could
not come up with Flora, he took him in hand, and just
dropped into the distance. The mare won the heat with
great ease in 2m. 42s. The heat was a good one; and Flora
had trotted so fast after her break that everybody could see
she was mistress of the weight. Odds of 100 to 60 was
forthwith laid upon her; and she won the second and third
heats in 2m. 46s. and 2m. 44s.
Considering the time of year, the state of the ground,
and the fact that she was not in reality in training, this was
a performance of uncommon significance, and it added vastly
to Flora's value. That winter she was sold to Mr. Boerum
of Williamsburg, with an engagement to trot Young Dutchman for $1,000. The price paid for Flora was $4,000. She
had, as was before related, been sold by George Perrin to
his brother John for $575 in the previous spring. A great
race very often adds immensely to the value of a horse, or
rather, I should say, it vastly increases the price that the
world is inclined to rate the horse at. Flora's is not the
only instance I have known in which a trotter jumped from
hundreds almost to thousands by reason of one performance.
It sometimes happens that it is not the interest of the
owners to let the horse be placed in a situation to do his best
in public; and, again, a trainer of good observation and
faith will sometimes be far ahead of the owner and of the
public in his estimate of a horse.
Before the match between Flora and Young Dutchman
came off, she went to Philadelphia to trot with Black Doug-:
las, a youvg horse of great private reputation. They trot



260      THIE TROTTINVG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
ted mile heats, three in five, in harnesss, on the Huntingpark Course, April 23, the spring of 1853. The mare was
big and lacked seasoning. The horse was fast, and beat
her in three straight heats,- 2.35' 2.30-:1, 2.35. This was
a great performance for a green horse; but the little mare
was forthwith matched to try the cause with him again on
the 17th of the next month. Meantime she returned to
New York for her meeting with Young Dutchman, which
was to have come off on the Union Course on the 3d; but
the Dutchman paid forfeit, not being up to the mark, and
a match was made between Flora and Lady Brooks.
The latter was a good mare. Her friends were so fond
of her, and there was so much bragging and boasting in regard to her speed and staying qualities, that 100 to 60 was
laid against Flora. They trotted mile heats, three in five,
at the Centreville, for $1,000, on the 4th of May. I liked
the little mare well that day, and told my friends to take
the odds to any amount. I knew a little of Lady Brooks
myself; and, if there is one thing that a trainer and driver
needs above all others except knowledge and skill, it is to
turn an absolutely deaf ear to the boastings of his opponents. Flora won the race in three straight heats, - 2.311,
2.32, 2.331. They were all won with great ease; and not
one of them was as fast as they all were to have been, according to what was proclaimed as to the capability of Lady
Brooks. In this race Flora had fine speed. One of the
half-miles was trotted in 1.13, and I took her in hand. She
was now eight years old, very sound, of good constitution,
a capital feeder, and was all the time improving. I say all
the time improving; for, though she had been beaten by
Black Douglas, I was satisfied that she would give a good
account of him at their next meeting on the 17th. I had
not driven her in her first trot with Douglas; but this time
I went on with her. She suited the amateurs and trottingmen so well when she was hitched up, and I warmed her
previous to the start, that she was backed at 100 to 80. The




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          261
Douglas was of no comparative account to her that day.
She won in three heats, — 2.32, 2.35, 2.31k.  Another
match was made between them to trot on Long Island on the
30th of June; but, before that came off, Flora had a very
hard race, and, if luck as well as her own speed and thorough
game had not stood her friend, it is a question whether she
would not have been beaten.
At that time, Mr. F. J. Nodine of Brooklyn owned two
very fine young mares, as well as Centreville, who had been
beaten by Flora in 1852. This horse Centreville was a darkbrown gelding, nearly sixteen hands high. When he trotted against Flora, Mr. Nodine, who was a very good and experienced driver, was asked to drive him a heat. He complied, and liked the horse so well that he bought him after
the race. In 1853, he was quite successful with him. He
got forfeits from Gray Medoc and Beggar Boy; and he beat
Black Douglas to wagons in five heats, of which the time
was 2.34, 2.32, 2.35, 2.33, 2.32. He also beat the Douglas
in harness; and here again they had five heats of it, of which
the time was 2.30k, 2.32, 2.32', 2.33, 2.331. As Flora had
recently defeated these horses, she must have stood high in
the estimation of Mr. Nodine; but, for all that, he matched
one of the young mares he had against her.
The mare in question was Highland Maid. She was bred
in Orange County, and foaled in 1847; consequently she
was but six years old when she met the redoubtable Flora
Temple. Highland Maid was exceedingly well-bred. Her
sire was Saltram, a horse by Kentucky Whip out of a GrayMlessenger mare; and her dam was a flea-bitten gray mare
of the Messenger blood. It follows that Highland Maid
was inbred to Messenger. Her own color was dark bay,
with a star in the forehead, and a little white in the heels
behind.  She stood about fifteen hands and half an inch
high, and was low at the withers. She was, indeed, remarkable fcr her great height behind, as compared to her forehand; and this formation, with her immense loin, which was




262      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
one of the strongest and best that ever was seen, tended
greatly to give her the long, fast, and powerful stroke of
which she was capable. She had a great reaching stride,
gathered quick, and went with her head low. Her first race
after Mr. Nodine got her was against Lady Vernon, a dapple-gray mare belonging to Jacob Somerindyke. She was
afterwards sent to California. Highland Maid beat her in
three heats, the time of which was 2.343, 2.36, 2.32I2L
The matches between Highland Maid and Flora Temple
were in harness and to wagons. The first was trotted on
the Centreville Course, June 15, 1853. The race created a
great deal of interest, and much money was laid. It was
said that Highland Maid had been tried, and found to be
amazingly fast.' I have since been told that the time of her
mile-trial, a week before the race, was 2m. 18s. The day
was very fine, - a real June day, bright and warm, but not
too hot for pleasure. The crowd at the course was immense:
a greater attendance has seldom been seen there, if there
ever was. Mr. Nodine drove Highland Maid, and I drove
Flora. I took the lead in the first heat, and kept it round
the turn nearly to the quarter-pole; then Highland Maid
passed me, and I was never afterwards able to head her.
She won the heat in 2m. 29s., and both seemed to me to be
doing about all they were capable of.
The second heat was very similar to the first, but faster.
Flora and I took the lead again for nearly a quarter of a
mile, and then Highland Maid came on with an irresistible
stroke and passed us. I pushed her all I could; and, though
she won it in 2m. 27s., I thought I detected signs of her
tiring. The mare was young. She had trotted but one
race before. She had a trick of pacing; and I hoped to tire
her out, and make her change her gait in the next heat.
The odds was now very heavy upon her. In the third heat
we went away together at a tremendous pace, and, upon the
turn, the wheels of the sulkies hit. The spokes flew, and
Highland Maid went up, and came down into a pace. It




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          263
was near the half-mile before Mr. Nodine got her settled to
trot again. When he did so, she went very fast, and it
looked as though she might save her distance. But she was
tiring. At the head of the stretch, she broke again, fell apacing, and was distanced in 2m. 32-s.
A great row followed. Some of those who had lost their
money accused Nodine of throwing the race, and threatened
him  with violence.  He intended to claim  foul driving
against me, but could not get near the judges' stand, by
reason of the clamors and threats of those who had lost their
money on Highland Maid. His claim would not have been
allowed, I think; and Flora would have beaten Highland
Maid that day, even if she had saved her distance in the
third heat. It was, however, very unjust to charge Mr.
Nodine with throwing the race. The truth is, that the mare
tired, and, when tired, went into a pace as soon as she was
forced hard. I have had them do just the same with me
when the race seemed to be all but won. However, the
charges of those who had lost money, and the prejudices of
the public, very few of whom knew the rights of it, prevailed upon Mr. Nodine to get George Spicer to drive Highland Maid in the wagon-race. It came off on the Centreville Course, June 28, only two days before Flora trotted
her third match with Black Douglas. I thought Flora a
better mare that day than I had ever seen her before. Her
races, and the work she had undergone, had done her good.
It was always one of her great qualities that she would train
on and get better,-when thoroughly hardened, towards the
middle and close of the season. This is one of the most
valuable qualities that a trotting-horse can have.  The
greatest excellence in trotting, as I observed at the beginning of this work, is only to be reached through much labor
and cultivation. Now, if strong work at a few sharp races
overdoes a horse and knocks him off, it is a great, almost an
insurmountable, obstacle to his attaining the greatest excellence, even in speed for a mile.




264      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
When I got into the wagon to drive Flora against Highland Maid, I was confident that I had the bottom and resolute game of one of the best little mares in the world to
rely upon, and consequently I determined to force the pace.
We went away together with a grand rush, and, on the turn,
Highland Maid broke. Spicer got Highland Maid to her
trot again, and I kept the pace strong. It was a good heat.
The Maid was unable to collar Flora, who won it by two
lengths in 2m. 28s. That was much the best time that had
then been made. The fastest time to wagon previously was
2m. 31s. This heat in 2m. 28s. was three seconds better.
It is true that Flora afterwards wiped that out, and went
three seconds better still; and also true that George Wilkes
has since equalled her wagon-time,- 2m. 25s. I will even
state my confident belief that Dexter can beat that quite
handily; but, nevertheless, we must remember that this race
with Highland Maid was thirteen years ago, and, at the time,
it was esteemed a wonderful performance.
In the second heat, Flora did not do so well. She broke
and lost a deal of ground at the outset. Highland Maid
won the heat very handily in 2m. 32s. The third heat was
a very severe one. Soon after we got the word, Flora
changed her leg, and tried to get up; but I was on the watch,
and nailed her in time. We went head and head to the
quarter. At the half-mile, there was not much difference.
On the lower turn, I got half a length the best of it; but
somehow or another, and I could not tell just how, Flora
broke there and then, and Highland Maid showed me the
back of her wagon. But, when Flora got down again, she
made a very hot rush, and up the stretch she gained on
Highland Maid. Seeing that she was honest, and would
stand it, I gave her a good cut with the whip as we neared
the score.  She darted on to Highland Maid; and they
struggled home together, making it a dead heat in 2m. 32s.
The fourth heat was unfavorable to us. Flora broke twice.
The other mare trotted steadily, and won easily in 2m. 33s.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           265
The next heat was another good one, being trotted from end
to end. Flora took the lead at the start, was never headed,
and won in 2m. 31}s.; but Highland Maid trotted exceedingly well, and hung on all round the lower turn in a very
game manner. But she was younger than Flora, and not
so well seasoned. She was now tired. In the sixth heat
Flora took the lead from the start, was never headed, and
won easily in 2m. 35s. The race did not seem to have much
effect upon Flora Temple. Two days after it, she beat Black
Douglas easily in 2m. 32s., 2m. 32s., 2m. 36s. It was otherwise with Highland Maid. She was not herself for some
time afterwards; and some are of opinion that she never
altogether recovered from its effects. This mare was very
highly bred, very finely put together, and very fast. But
she was an unlucky mare. She was afterwards matched
with Gray Eddy, and lost by hitting her knee. After that
wagon-race, Flora was deemed the mistress of any thing out
in that way of going.




XXXII.
Flora Temple and Tacony. - Description of Tacony. - Flora, Green-Moun.
tain Maid, and Lady Vernon. - Description of Green-Mountain Maid
Flora and Rhode Island. - Flora goes to New Orleans, comes back, and
is purchased by Mr. Pettee. -Flora and Mac. - Flora and Jack Waters. —
Flora and Sontag. - Flora's Match Twenty Miles to Wagon. - Flora and
Know-Nothing. -Description of Know-Nothing, afterwards Lancet. - Flora
and Lady Franklin. - Flora and Chicago Jack. - Flora, Frank Forrester,
Chicago Jack, and Miller's Damsel.
A    S soon as Flora had defeated Highland Maid and
Black Douglas, she was matched against Tacony,
mile heats, three in five, in harness, the race to come off
on the 14th of July, over the Union Course. Tacony was
a roan gelding, bred in Canada. His reputation was high,
but more particularly as a saddle-horse. He had trotted
two consecutive heats, that way of going, against Mac, in
2m. 251s. each. The match created a vast amount of interest.
The betting ran high, and it was about even.  The little
mare had not made such fast time as Tacony: but the heat
of 2m. 28s. to wagon was thought to be as good as 2m. 251s.
under saddle; and, besides this, the game and bottom  exhibited by Flora in her race of five desperate heats with
Highland Maid, and then in her contest with Black Douglas
only two days thereafter, had inspired her friends and admirers with very great and reasonable confidence.
The attendance at the course was large, and the mare had
a trifle the call in the betting.  I thought well of her,
although she did not exhibit as much of her dash and devil
in scoring as I had sometimes experienced.  The result convinced me that she was not quite up to the mark. The
266




THE TROTTING-NIORSE O.F AMERICA.         267
gelding was an uncommon good horse that day, and he won
it in three heats. The first heat was a close and desperate
struggle. Tacony lead about a length to the quarter, where
the mare got to his girths. She staid there for half a mile,
both of thom doing their best, as near as might be. At the
head of the stretch we were close together. Tacony gained
from thence to the draw-gate, where he led two lengths. But
the mare answered my call, and darted to his head. It was
the signal for a great shout from the crowd; and, just at that
moment, up she went. Tacony won it by a neck in 2m. 28s.
The second heat was faster, closer, and harder still; but he
won it in 2m. 27s. The third heat was another desperate
struggle; and, though Flora was defeated, it was only by a
short head in 2mr. 29s.
Before the day was altogether done, we matched the
horses again, two-mile heats in harness, to trot in five days.
I did not think that Flora had been qnuite at her best that
day; and, though it had been a hard, up-hill'struggle for her,
it was my opinion that she would recover from the effects
of it quite as soon as Tacony would. To be sure, she had
been beaten, while he had won; but, when horses trot three
very close heats, it takes as much out of the winner as it.
does out of the loser, provided the loser possesses that gameprinciple, which, instead of *being discouraged by defeat,
rather is incited to put the matter to a further issue and
avenge it.  She was then, and remained to the last, a
wonderful mare to "come again."
I liked her on the day of the two-mile race, and she won
it easily in two heats, - 4m. 59s., 5m. Is. This was the
best two-mile time that had then been made. Soon after
that race, I went with Flora to Saratoga, where she beat
Tacony, mile heats, three in five, in harness, in 2m. 32s., 2m.
31s., 2m. 32s., on the 26th of July. The track was heavy.
On the 30th we were at it again, two-mile heats in harness;
and she beat the roan horse in 5m. 4s., 5in. 10~s. We
then went on to Rochester, where Tacony beat Flora, mile




268      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
heats in harness, but was himself defeated three days afterwards, to wagons, in +hree heats. Utica was the next place;
and there Flora beat him in a capital race of three straight
heats, -2.331-, 2.27, 2.28S.  The mare beat him  again
at Saratoga, and at Philadelphia in September. She then
returned home, and remained until October. On the 15th
of that month she was at Philadelphia again, there to contend with Green-Mountain Maid and Lady Vernon, at mile
heats, three in five, in harness, for a purse of $1,000.
Green-Mountain Maid was a mare of the Messenger blood
on the sire's side. She was bred in the Green Mountains
of Vermont, and was got by the famous horse Harris's Hambletonian (also called Vermont Hambletonian), a grandson
of Messenger. It is not known what her dam was. GreenMountain Maid herself was a chestnut, fifteen three inches
scant, very long in the body, with strong, powerful limbs
and large quarters.  Her shoulders were very flat and
oblique, running right back to the saddle. She belonged to
Mr. F. J. Nodine, who purchased her and brought her to
Brooklyn in the fall of 1851, when she was five years old.
She was entered in six or seven purses and stakes the next
year; and what she didn't win, she received forfeit for. At
the Centreville Course, in the following year, she beat Lady
Brooks in four heats to wagons. The best time was 2m.
36s. It was on the 18th of April. Three days afterwards
she beat Kemble Jackson, in a desperate race of five heats
to wagons. She took the first and second; he got the third;
the fourth was dead; and she won the fifth. Time, 2.47,
2.50, 2.34, 2.36, 2.50.
The race at Philadelphia resulted in a victory for Flora.
She won easily in 2.33, 2.331, 2.333. But at Rochester, on
the 1st of November, Green-Mountain Maid succeeded in
reversing the verdict. They trotted five heats; and the big
chestnut mare got the first, third, and fifth. The time was
2.40, 2.35, 2.35, 2.36, 2.38. The two mares then went to
Cincinnati, and I did not accompany Flora. At that place,




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          269
on the 20th of November, she beat Green-Mountain Maid
and Rhode Island, and afterwards beat the latter to wagons.
She and Rhode Island then went on down the Ohio River to
Louisville, where she beat him again. There the little mare
embarked on one of the fine steamers which ran on the
Ohio below the falls and down the Mississippi to New
Orleans, where she and Green-Mountain Maid met early
in January, and had two races, one in harness, the other to
wagons. Neither of these races was very fast. Although
the mare finished in January at New Orleans, her races there
must be reckoned as part of her performances in 1863. In
that year she trotted twenty-one races, and, out of the whole
number, won seventeen. She also beat all the horses that
beat her, and beat them more times than they defeated her.
On the return of the mare to New York, she was purchased
by D. L. Pettee, Esq., who was then, and continues to be,
one of the ablest and most highly respected of those distinguished gentlemen in the city and vicinity of New York
who have had a worthy pride in the possession of fast
horses. - He at that time also owned Lady Brooks; and these
mares he drove at Newport during the season of 1864, at
that celebrated seaside resort. When he returned home, he
suffered me to match Flora against the famous brown
gelding Mac, for $1,000, mile heats, three in five, in harness.
This Mac was very famous for his many contests with
Tacony. They were very close together when in condition;
but Mac had a little the best of the roan, in my judgment,
until he was injured by over-driving, and got " the thumps."
lMac was about fifteen two, and came originally from
Maine. He was of the Maine-Messenger blood.  John
McArdle owned him. He had twice defeated Lady Suffolk,
and, when matched with Flora, was thought as good as any
thing out. But the mare beat him with great ease in three
heats. Time, 2.313, 2.32, 2.33. That race was on the 5th
of October.
On the 18th of the same month, Flora trotted a match for




270      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
$2,000, mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Jack
Waters. This Jack Waters was a bay gelding by Old
Abdallah. He was about fifteen two, - a long-tailed horse.
He belonged to Mr. Ben Prince, and afterwards went to
California. Jack was very fast, but he was a delicate-constitutioned horse; whereas Flora was steel and whalebone,
and nothing could make her give out. They-trotted on the
Centreville Course, and she beat him in three heats with ease.
Time, 2,33. 2,39. 2,37..
Flora Temple now changed hands again. Mr. James:
Irving bough ther, and intended to use her solely for trottingraces. But, like her former owner, he found the demands of
business incompatible with his projected operations, and sold
her to Jas. McMann. Her first appearance after she became
the property of Mr. McMann was at the Union Course, on
the 7th of May, 1855, in a match for $2,000, mile heats,
three in five, against the famous mare Sontag. It was to
wagons and drivers of 300lbs. Sontag was a gray mare by
Vermont  Hambletonian, who was also called Harris's Hambletonian. He was a grandson of Messenger, and stood in
the same relation to him that Abdallah did, but not by the
same line. The latter came through Mlambrino; Iarris's
Hambletonian through the Hambletonian, of whom I have
beard that he was the horse bred by Gen. Coles, of this
Island, and run by him as Hambletonian. Of course all
these horses preceded the Hambletonian of our day, for
whom the name seems to have been adopted from the other
branch of the Messenger family. None of them are related,
except through distant collaterals, to the English horse
Hambletonian, who beat Diamond in one of the greatest
matches that ever was run in England, over the Beacon
Course. But in one point they all resemble him, -they
were large, strong, bony horses, and so was he; so much so,
indeed, that the jockey who rode little Diamond exclaimed,
as I have heard, " This looks like a race between a mare
and her sucking colt."




TItE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA,          271
Vermont Hambletonian was the sire of some capital
trotters besides Sontag. Green-Mountain Maid, Gray Vermont, True John, and other noted horses, proceeded from
him. Sontag was about fifteen three, -a long-tailed mare.
When she first came to New York, at five years old or
thereabouts (it is not always very easy to tell their ages
precisely some time afterwards), she was a pacer.
In this race against Flora, William Whelan drove the
big gray mare, and Warren Peabody drove Flora. Sontag
won it in three heats. Time, 2.31, 2.33, 2.35. Flora was
next matched to trot twenty miles within an hour, to a
wagon, for $5,000. The only horse that had ever trotted
twenty miles in an hour at all was Trustee, and his performance was in harness; therefore I do not think this was a
good match for the little mare. She lost it. At the end of
the eighth mile, she threw a shoe and cut herself; and, at the
end of the twelfth mile, she was drawn. The truth is, that,
in dogging along mile after mile for twenty times round the
course: many horses not half as good as Flora Temple could
do what she could not. I do not mean to say that she might
not, under some conditions, have trotted twenty miles in an
hour; but that kind of going on, in a tread-mill sort of way,
was not her strong point.
That same year, Lady Fulton, a mare much inferior to
Flora, trotted twenty miles in an hour; and the lunatic sort
of horse Captain McGowan has since done it.
Flora took a trip to Boston after her race against time,
and there went a match for $3,000, over the Cambridge
CouIse, with the black gelding Know-Nothing, who was
afterwards more famous as Lancet, and who is now turned
out in John I. Snediker's pasture, just beyond the trees.
Know-Nothing is said to have been a son of Vermont Black
Hawk. He did not look much like that stock then, and he
looks less like them now. He was and is a very long horse,
fifteen three in height, with a long tail. There is a wiry,
blood-like look about him, not without an indication of tem



272      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
per. Ihis rump is steep, his hips are wide and ragged, and
he was always a very rapid goer. The race against Flora
was mile heats in harness. She beat him in two heats, over
a heavy track, in 2.37, 2.43. That was on the 26th of June.
When Flora came home, another match was made between
her and Sontag, to be trotted on the 6th of July, over the
Union Course.  It was two-mile heats to wagons, for
$2,000. This was the first time of my driving Flora that
year. She won easily in two heats, -5.07, 5.27. Flora's
next race was against Lady Franklin, who was then in my
hands.
She was a roan mare from Maine, about fourteen three,
with a long tail. Her pedigree was not known. A man
named Hayes brought her here, and offered to sell her to
Sim Hoagland for $1,200. Sim took her to the course,
drove her a mile in 2m. 36s., and- repeated her at precisely
the same rate. He would of course have bought her; but it
happened thatCapt. Yeaton, who had an interest in her,
had come on the course during the trial with some others,
bnd had caught her time in the repeating-mile. When Sim
learned this, he did not want her. Her match against Flora
was two-mile heats to wagons, for $2,000. They trotted
over the Centreville, Sept. 11. Flora won it in two heats,
_-5.12~, 5.11l. After her victory over Lady Franklin
on the 11th of September, Flora trotted mile heats in
harness, three in five, on the 17th, against Chicago Jack
and Mac, and won it easily in three heats.  Time, 2.29'.,
2.311, 2.34.
In the next race in which she was engaged, I had Flora
on my side again. It was two-mile heats to wagons, extraweight, - wagons and drivers 2751bs. There were four engaged,-Flora herself, Frank Forrester, Chicago Jack, and
Miller's Damsel. The bay gelding Frank Forrester, who was
since called Ike Cook, was got by Abdallah (the old horse),
while he stood in Kentucky. Chicago Jack was a bay
gelding, fifteen hands, two inches scant.  He belonged




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          273
to Gen. Dunham, and was a stylish, up-headed horse.
Miller's Damsel was a chestnut mare, with three white
legs and a blaze in the face. She belonged to Conkling
Carl.  Her sire was Emmons's Jackson, a son of old
Andrew Jackson. Of these four, Flora and Frank Forrester
were the only ones that appeared on the 20th of September.
I had no trouble in winning it with Flora in 5.15-, 5.17T.
On the 10th of October, Frank Forrester paid forfeit to
Flora in a match for $2,000, over the Union Course. On
the 17th, she went a match against Hero the pacer, for
$2,000, over the Centreville, two-mile heats, she in harness,
the pacer to wagon. The mare won this in three heats.
Hero got the first, and she the second and third. Time,
4.59, 4.57, 5.211. This ended Flora's exploits in 1855.
18




XXXIII.
The Time-Test. - Saddle-Horses. - Riders of Trotters. - Mace, Murphy, and
Doble. - Flora and Lancet. - Trusting to Trials. - Flora and Tacony -
Flora distances him in 2m. 241s. - The True Explanation of that Heat.
Caution to Young Drivers.
TN the year 1856, Flora lay by without a match until
i towards the last of June. There were not many horses
likely to dispute the palm  of superiority with her; for,
although she had not then made the best time on record, she
had defeated so many good ones, and had won races from those
whose time excelled hers with such ease, that in every thing
but the time-test she was already at the head of the trottingturf. Time, no doubt, is a very good test, as far as it goes;
but it is not the only test. There commonly has to be a conjunction of favorable circumstances in order to enable a horse
or horses to make extraordinary time. Therefore, when it is
found that one who has not made such time can beat those
who have, race after race, all of them being apparently in
good condition, a reasonable presumption is raised that the
trotter in question will, at no distant day, beat the time
at the head of the record, as well as the horses who made it.
At this period, - the summer of 1856, - I had for some time
entertained the conviction that Flora Temple would surpass
all that Lady Suffolk and. Tacony had done under saddle
by making faster time in harness. Every thing indicated
such a result; but I was not then prepared to say that we
should see it done that year. Her first match in 1856 was
with Chicago Jack, the horse mentioned in the last chapter
as belonging to Gen. I)unham, a very worthy and enter274




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           275
prising man, known East and West. In the spring, Jack
had met and defeated Know-Nothing, who was now called
Lancet, in a race at Boston, under saddle. There were four
heats in it, and two of them were trotted in 2.27-.
The match between Flora Temple and Jack was mile
heats, three in five, for $1,000; he under saddle, and she in
harness. When a horse is clever under the saddle, it is a
better and faster way of going than in harness; yet there
are many horses as fast in harness as they are under the
saddle, and some a good deal faster. There are, however,
but few that would not have been faster under saddle than
in harness, provided they had had a good share of saddlework during that period of breaking and formation which
is necessarily extended in the trotting-horse.  We very
often, now-a-days, see horses trot fast in harness and to
wagon, that never have a saddle on their backs, and that are
never ridden, except at walking-exercise or to the blacksmith-shop. The presumption is, that these horses would
have been faster under saddle than they are in harness, if
they had been accustomed to trot under the saddle. At the
same time, there are horses whose make and character is
such that saddle-work does not suit them. They have, commonly, weak backs and bad shoulders; and the weight on
their backs tires them  behind, and runs them  into the
ground forward.
There may, however, be a perfectly-shaped horse so far as
the eye can perceive, and yet he will not trot as well under
the saddle as in harness. A great want of steadiness is
sometimes found in horses under the saddle, whose speed in
that way of going is very great; and the reason is, I
believe, that the horse is not ridden sufficiently to become
thoroughly at home in that way of going. Of late years
the great, almost the only, object of desire, in regard to a
trotter, has been that he should be fast in harness. The
saddle has been neglected, but it is now coming into its use
again. Dan Mace, John Murphy, and Budd Doble have




276      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
given specimens of saddle-horsemanship which remind the
old frequenters of the trotting-turf of the days when my
uncle, George Woodruff, used to ride against Peter Whelan,
or of those races in which I used to ride against William
Whelan and others. Flora herself never was a saddle-.
mare; and yet I think no man can look over her, and point
out any defect of conformation as the reason why. It must
have been, in her case, a want of education under the saddle,
and that deficiency was greatly to be regretted.
The race between her and Chicago Jack came off over
the Centreville Course on the 24th of June. The mare
was the favorite, and won easily in three straight heats
of exactly 2m. 30s. each. The victory over Chicago Jack
was not so much considered by the thoughtful as the fact
that Flora trotted the second quarter of the last heat at
the rate of 2m. 20s., and seemed to be going within herself.
Her next match was against Lancet, for $1,000 a side,mile heats, three in five, in harness, made for the second of
July. Flora had beaten the gelding with great ease, at Boston, the -year before; but since then his friends had become
exceedingly confident by reason of the time be had shown
in a private trial. Now, such trials are useful enough as
indicating what the horse may be expected to do under
certain circumstances; and a first-rate trial affords very
strong presumption that a trotter is in the course of improvement. But, in making matches, the public doings of
the horse, unless he has been out of condition, or, has been
pulled, afford a far safer guide for his owner and trainer
than trials do. To follow one particular trial is a will-o'-thewisp sort of business, and people are thereby often led deep
into boggy ground. The horse gets beat every heat in time
that is not any thing like as good as the trial was; and then
there is much marvel and lamentation, to say nothing of
something stronger, over a result which the whole history
of the turf, running as well as trotting, might have led u,
to expect.  Iv this match, the public turned a deaf ear to




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF _AMERICA.         277
all that was whispered about the wonderful trial, and wisely
stuck to Flora, who had on so many notable occasions stuck
to them. She was backed at four to one; and, when the time
for starting came, Lancet paid forfeit. They then trotted
for the gate-money; and the mare won it in 3 heats, 2m.
30~s., 2m. 30s., 2m. 29s.
After Lancet's race, Tac ony came forward again to try
conclusions with Flora. The race was mile heats, on the
Union Course, July 22d, the roan under saddle and the
little mare in harness. Tacony won the first heat in 2m.
31-s.; but Flora took the second and third in 2m. 28s., 2m.
292s. Another match was now made between the mare and
Lancet, for $1,000 a side, mile heats, three in five, he under
saddle, and the mare in harness. This match was made for
the Fashion Course, then new, and constructed for runninghorses. The deep ground was a great disadvantage to Flora
with the wheels behind her; and the gelding won it inthree
heats of 2m. 29s., 2m. 29s., 2m. 30s.
In old times, there used to be a way of fighting among
boys, in which some youth, of uncommon handiness with the
fists and hardiness of courage and endurance, would contend
with two. They were never to be at him both at one time;
but, as soon as one was knocked down or thrown, the other
could rush in, and carry on the battle. This was called
" one down and the other come on; " and the doings between
Lancet, Tacony, and Flora Temple greatly resembled it.
After the trial at the Fashion Course, it was Tacony's turn
again. A match was made between him and Flora, in
which she was to pull a wagon, and he was to go under saddle. This was very great odds -for the mare to give, and
the match was never trotted. A new one was made for
$500 a side, to trot mile heats, three in five, on the Union
Course, Sept. 2d, Tacony under saddle and the mare in harness.
The mare was a strong favorite in this race, odds of a
hundred to thirty being laid upon her at the start. She




278      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
fully justified the confidence of her backers; and I might
dismiss the subject by saying that she distanced Tacony the
first heat. But this was a very remarkable race, inasmuch
as Flora surpassed in it any time that had been made before,
either under saddle or otherwise. It was also the last race
in which I drove her; and it was made a matter of accusation against me that I had distanced Tacony, and purposely
exposed the fast time of which Flora Temple was capable.
Impartial and intelligent people, as well as those who were
interested, and so perhaps not quite impartial, believed this.
It was so set down in the contemporaneous accounts of the
press; and yet it was not true. I' might have contradicted
it through the "Spirit of the Times" at that period, but I
did not do so; and many believe to this day that I purposely
drove the mare to the full extent of her capacity on that
occasion.
Now, nothing is further from the truth. I have never in
my life lost a heat purposely that I could have won without
what I deemed might be too great an effort for safety in the
race; and I have never, on the other hand, exposed all that
any horse was capable of, unless it was necessary. In the
race between Flora and Tacony, the condition of the mare
was very fine, and her speed very great. She darted away,
and was soon in the lead some thi'ee or four lengths. I
pulled her hard round the turn up the hill, and she was
thirty-seven seconds in going to the quarter. On the second
quarter, along the backstretch, she was under a strong pull
all the way, and did it in 36s., the half mile being trotted
in 1m. 13s. All this time the mare was well within herself,
fully collected, and pulling very hard. She had trotted a
second quarter in a third heat in June, when she was green,
it being her first race that year, in thirty-five seconds. She
was now well seasoned, in splendid speed and wind, and full
of ardor and determination.  She went into the third quarter, where there is a little descent, with such speed and resolution that I deemed it unsafe to pull her any harder than




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           279
I was doing. I could have pulled her back, as a matter of
course, unless the bit or the reins had given way; but it
was my judgment then, and is now, that, if I had done so,
it would have been at great risk of tangling her all up, and
perhaps causing her to hit herself. The mare was so full
of resolution, and pulling so hard, that the only safe plan
was to let her go, in a fair degree. I did so; and the consequence was, that she trotted the heat in 2m. 241s., and Tacony was outside the distance-flag by a long way.
I have not entered into this explanation, years after the
matter occurred, and when it has been by the public almost
if not entirely forgotten, with a view to defend myself, but
for another purpose, or rather two purposes. One of them is,
to show that Flora Temple could then, upon that second day
of September, 1856, have trotted a mile as fast as she ever
afterwards trotted one on that course, which was 2m. 21s.
I am quite confident that I could have driven her that day
in that time. If I had made up my mind to drive her so
as to expose all she knew, it is hardly credible that I should
have held her back to the rate of 2m. 28s. to the mile for
the first quarter, and 2m. 26s. to the mile for the first half.
The truth is, that the mare was always under a good, strong
pull from first to last; and there never was a rood, even in
the last half-mile in tim. 11is., when she was at her best.
She was, as a matter of course, as near her best as she could
get with the strain I had upon her. But her mouth was
wide-open all the way; and, if her ears were at any time laid
flat back, it was because she was pulling with all her power,
and not because she was trotting with all the speed of which
she was capable.
As I have before intimated, I fully believe that I could
have driven her that day in 2m. 21s.; and I think it probable
that she might even have got home in 2m. 20s. The other
purpose of this explanation was, a caution to young drivers
against pulling trotters out of their stride when they are
trotting very fast, and going up to the bit with uncommon




280      THE TROTTINiG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
force and resolution. A great deal of mischief may result
from such a course. It hurts the temper; it destroys the
steadiness; it tends to break up a good, lasting gait. There
are other evils to be apprehended from such a course. I
could name several trotters, of very great speed and power,
who were prevented from reaching the excellence they might
otherwise have attained, by that means. The horse is a very
intelligent animal. His disposition is to do about his best
when in company; and if he finds, that, whenever he is about
to do his best, he is suddenly hauled and yanked so as to
break up his stride and gait, he is not likely to forget that
fact.




XXXIV.
Flora and Lancet. - The Morgan Horses. - Ethan Allen. - His Breeding.
- His Produce. - Flora and Ethan Allen. - Flora's Winter-Quarters. -
Flora and Rose of Washington. — Want of Condition sure to beat any
thing. - Value of a race in Public to produce Condition.
T is my belief, that, when Flora Temple distanced Tacony
in 2m. 241s., she had about reached her greatest excellence. It is true that she trotted faster afterwards upon
the same course; and that race in which she beat Geo. M.
Patchen, in three heats, was one of the very best she ever
made. ~ But, as I observed ill the preceding chapter, she
could have gone in 2m. 20s., or thereabouts, in the race with
Tacony.  She was then  eleven  years old,; thoroughly
matured, with a constitution that nothing could surpass,
and none of her vigor at all impaired. She was younger at
that time in strength and vigor than many colts are at three
and four years old. She did not long remain idle; for a
match was made between her and Lancet, for a thousand
dollars a side, he to go under saddle and she in harness.
The place was the Centreville Course; the day, the 30th of
September.
It was made rain or shine; and the backers of the gelding
found to their huge delight, when they got up in the morning, that it blew great guns and rained hard. This was
very disadvantageous for Flora. The south side of Long
Island is a very wet place in wet weather. The sea-mist
comes up along with the gale and the rain, and sets every
thing so much a-drip that it seems as if the island was afloat,
and about to shove off into the bay. It was as bad a day
281




282     THE TROTTINIG-ORSE OF AMERICA.
for a race as ever was seen; and, when the little mare came
on the course in her sulky, the wind seemed fit to catch her
up, and bear her away over the tree-tops. The black gelding
went sloshing along through the mud as if he liked it. The
mare got off badly in the first heat, and lost about twenty
lengths by a break. She was commonly a very good mare for
mud; but, on this occasion, the wind and rain combined
seemed to be too much for her. Lancet went to the halfmile in tm. ils., Flora trotted very fast after she got
settled, but could not overtake Lancet, who won it
easily in 2m. 28s. Odds of two to one was then laid
upon Lancet, and there were many takers. The second
heat was very close, but the gelding won by a head in
2m. 28s. Still Lancet had more in him, and, in the third
heat, let out the links in such a manner that he trotted it
in 21n. 25Is.
Considering the day and the state of the course, this was
a performance of very great merit. It put Lancet, as a
saddle-horse, up to Tacony and Lady Suffolk in regard to
time; and ahead of them, in the consideration that the
course was muddy and the wind strong. At this time,
many thought than Lancet was the "coming horse," and
believed that he would succeed in deposing Flora, and setting the trotting-crown upon his own brow. But I never
thought so.
Another match was made between them, both to go in
harness; and, as the proprietor of the Fashion Course added
$1,500 to the stakes, it was agreed to trot on that course.
The Lancet party believed that he would get through the
new, deep ground better than Flora; but her friends relied
upon her game and bottom to pull through. The mare was
the favorite in the betting, and won the race very easily in
three heats, the fastest of which was 2m. 31s. This was on
the 8th of October.
Their next engagement was at Boston, where the little
mare was always a great favorite. Nowhere in this country




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          283
is there a better class of gentlemen taking interest in the
contests of the trotting-turf than in the neighborhood of
Boston. The Eastern States have also been a fine nursery
for trotting-horses. The fine action of the Morgan breed,
and their good tempers and sound constitutions, helped a
great deal; but New England was still more largely indebted
to the two sons of Messenger,- Hamiltonian and the Bush
Messenger: I mean the one that went to Mlaine. There
were, as I have been informed, several Bush Mlessengers.
One of them was owned by Philo C. Bush, the race-horse man;
but that was not the one that furnished  Maine with good
trotting-blood.
The race between Flora Temple and Lancet at Boston
was witnessed by about thirty thousand people, it being at
the Agricultural Fair. She won it in three heats, and the
best of them was 2m. 36-s. It was to be regretted that
Lancet was unable to make Flora do better on this occasion,
as there was such a vast attendance. Just before that, the
famous little horse Ethan Allen had added largely to his
fame by beating Hiram Drew; and now a match was talked
of between him and Flora Temple. He stood very high
in the New-England States, because he was the chief representative of the Morgan line, and also the fastest stallion
that had then been trained. Ethan Allen is a small but
beautifully-built horse. He is a very rapid goer, and his
action and style are as near perfection as can be conceived;.but he always had a trifling objection to weight, and to a
long distance. He was one of the early-maturing trotters;
and his first race was with Smith Burr's Rose of Washington, at four years old. He beat the filly; but I have heard
Mr. Burr declare that he afterwards found out that Ethan
was a year older than she was.  He was bred in the north
part of this State by Joel Holcomb, who owned him, in conjunction with Mr. Roe, for some years. Mr. Roe has always
said that he was got by Hill's Black Hawk; but many have
stoutly maintained that his sire was a colt called Flying




284      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
Morgan. I have seen it stated in Herbert's book on the
horse, that Ethan Allen was got by Morgan Black Hawk.
Now, there never was any stallion called Morgan Black
Hawk; but there was Hill's Black Hawk and Flying Morgan, who were different stallions on the same farm. Ethan's
dam was a gray mare of the Messenger strain. He has
been a very good, enduring little horse, and especially great
for his knack at going with a running-mate.
The last appearance of Flora in public - that is, in a race;
for she appeared since on the grand day at Peter Dubois'
track, when all the famous trotters in these parts went up
to be reviewed by Gen. Grant - was going against Ethan
Allen and his mate Socks. Ethan Allen has been more
successful at the stud than many people are willing to concede. His son Honest Allen is a fast trotter. The mare
Young Pocahontas is a wonder. She is as beautiful as
Ethan Allen was himself in his prime; and it is my opinion
that the famous old pacing-mare has put her own staying
stuff into the young one. I saw Young Pocahontas trot at
Boston on the day that Mr. Bonner bought her, and liked
her way of going very much. Then there is an uncommon
good mare got by Ethan Allen, called Fanny Allen; and
others I might mention.
But, to return to the match between Flora Temple and
Ethan Allen: it was first set down to come off on the 28th
of October, but the weather just before that was so bad that
they put the race off until the 5th of November. The day
was cold, and the wind gusty and raw; but nevertheless some
thousands of people, including many ladies, attended to
witness the contest between the handsome bay stallion and
the beautiful bay mare. They were a well-matched and
a very comely pair. Nothing could exceed the symmetry of
form displayed by Ethan Allen some ten years ago. Flora
Temple was a little more angular, but her points were amazingly strong and good. She was very powerful behind, with
a splendid shoulder and long carcass. I pay no attention to




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          285
the views of those who say that a trotter should be straight
in the shoulder and short in the carcass. The best trotters
that I have ever known were not "punched-up " horses,
but the reverse. In length, the mare had the advantage of
Ethan Allen: she was, in fact, a very long mare for her
inches, and a large one too. She was the favorite in this
race at long odds, and won it easily in 2m. 32Is., 2m. 362s.,
pulled all the way. That finished her trotting for the year
1856.
She wintered at Holmdell, in the State of New Jersey,
where  Mr. Francis Morris breeds his race-horses. His
trainer, Mr. Chas. Lloyd, used to have the mare every winter
for some years; and capital care he bestowed upon her. She
would come out all blooming in the spring, and be ready to
trot a good stout race after a few brushes. It makes a
great difference to the trainer whether a trotter has been
wintered well, or merely suffered to get fat and lazy during
the resting-months. But that time Flora was wintered, and
summered too, in Jersey; for she remained at Holmdell until
July, and, when matched, was brought over at a few days'
notice to trot. Her opponent was Rose of Washington,
the one bred by Smith Burr away down on the Island
here, and beaten in her first race by Ethan Allen, at
four years old. She -was got by old Washington, and was
now a good mare. She was not, however, good enough for
Flora on equal terms; and so, when we made the match, we
stipulated that the latter should pull a wagon. I knew
that Rose was a good mare. I had beat Brown Dick a
heat with her to wagon in 2m. 31Ls. in May. Then, in
June, she beat Tacony under saddle, in 2.30, 2.31, and had
in the mean time, between those races, defeated O'Blenis,
two-mile heats.
But, for all that, I would not have advised the matching
of her against Flora, if I had not believed that condition
could not but be in Rose's favor. She had trotted all the
spring, had done plenty of work, and bad performed well in




286      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
public. She was seasoned, and fit for the exertion of all her
powers. Flora was not fit to exert hers. In the nature of
things she could not be. But still she was the favorite in
the betting, and a capital chance.was afforded to win money.
It was a hundred to seventy-five on her; but she acted so in
scoring, that Rose was backed at nearly even before we got
the word. We got away together in the first heat; and
Flora tried to head me, and take the pole. I was glad to
see her rushing off as hard as she could go; for, in her condition, that was just the way for her to lose it. She got
half a length ahead of Rose on the turn, and then went all
to pieces. That burst had settled her. At the quarter, I
led her a length, and, at the half-mile pole, was five or six
in front. Rose won it easily in 2m. 303s.
The second heat was all one way: Rose won it easily in
2.39. Tallman then got in to drive Flora, at the importunity
of those who had backed her at the long odds. But it made
no difference who drove her: the evil was not in the driving,
but in the want of condition in the mare. She trotted a
quarter with Rose in the third heat pretty well, and then
broke up, and disappeared from my view. I beat her about
fifty yards in 2m. 37-s. It is almost unnecessary to say that
it was not Flora Temple who was beaten that day by Rose
of Washington. Flora, coming from Lloyd's hands after
one of her usual winterings, could commonly trot with a
short preparation   but she wanted some preparation.
And there remained the fact that she had been at Holmdell
not merely in the winter-season, but for above seven months.
She was in no condition, and -I knew it. With all her
excellence, she was subject to the same laws of nature as
other horses; and I have never had, or read, or heard of one
that want of condition would not beat, if the opponent
could only force the pace, and keep it strong. Charges were
made by some, that Flora's owner had had her defeated on
purpose; but they were very unjust. His only fault was
overweening confidence in his own mare, and an underesti



TIHE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          287
mate of Rose. A match for a thousand dollars, Flora in
harness and Rose under saddle, was still pending between
the mares. The former race came off on the 8th of July;
the second was on the 20th. Meantime, Flora had been
doing good work, and had beat Belle of Portland two-mile
heats. That race was, without doubt, of much service to
her.
I think, that, when a trainer has a horse of fine pluck and
good constitution, a race or two in public does as much or
more than weeks of preparation towards the production of
good condition. The bustle and the shouting, and the being
brought into the midst of crowds of people, stirs the blood,
and acts upon the nervous system; besides which, the race
demands some sort of exertion that a trainer would not be apt
to employ in the regular work. In regard to training, I ventrue to lay this down as a rule, that a good stout horse is never
got to his best until he has been ridden or driven so as to be
tired a few times. And here is the distinction between
stout, aged horses and young colts. The latter should never
be driven to the extent of getting tired: the former will
never be got into their best condition until they have been
tired often. But still the treatment, and the extent to which
the work must be carried, will vary with each particular
horse; and in this it is that the trainer must exercise judgment. If all horses were alike in character, health, constitution, and ability, precise rules could be laid down for
training; for what had produced a good effect in one case
would do so in all, if applied. But horses differ; no two are
exactly alike: and therefore it is impossible to give any
thing further than -general rules, the right application of
which to particular cases must be made by each man for
himself. In the second race between Flora Temple and
Rose of Washington, the former had come to her condition
in some measure. She distanced Rose the first heat, in
2m. 31s.




XXXV.
Intrduction of Hippodroming. - Flora, Lancet, Miller's Damsel, and Re&
bird. - Flora and Brown Dick. - Flora purchased by Mr. McDonald. -
Hippodroming again. - Flora and Prince. - Flora and Ike Cook. - Flora
and Reindeer. - The coming Horses, Princess and George M. Patchen.
A        FTEIR the races between Flora Temple and Rlose of
Washington, an arrangement was entered into by
means of which the former and Lancet travelled together,
o trot for purses and divide the profits.  It was a new sort
ot thing, and was expressively called " Hippodroming " by
Mr. Wilkes. In spite of all that was said against the system, it has come more and more into fashion; and now there
are lots of horses that go about the country every season,
and exhibit under just such an arrangement. In the case
of Flora, there was more excuse for it than there has been in
some others.  She could not at that time get a match on
even terms, and was excluded from all the purses. Flora
and Lancet began at Elmira on the 2d of September.  I
fully believe, that, in all her hippodroming (and she was hippodromed with a good deal), her owner and driver never
threw away a heat with her.  It is my opinion that there is
a great deal more satisfaction in a real race than in one of
these shows, in which no money is actually at stake between
the horses. But the people have sanctioned the system; and
these exhibitions draw immense crowds all over the country,
from Maine to Missouri.  The evil is, that horses who might
otherwise be engaged in excellent races for money, part
stakes and part purses, are practically withdrawn from
these real competitions, and kept for the purpose of such
exhibitions at fairs.
288




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          289
At Elmira, the sum of $900 was given, mile heats, to go
as they pleased. The first was to have $500, the second
$300, and the third $100. Flora Temple, Lancet, Miller's
Damsel, and Redbird were entered; and it seemed pretty
clear that the first and second prizes would be secured by
the partnership, while there would be a struggle between
Miller's Damsel and Redbird for the third money. Flora,
Miller's Damsel, and Redbird went in harness, Lancet under
saddle. Flora won in two heats, Lancet second, and Miller's
Damsel third. Time, 2.28, 2.27. Three days afterwards,
Sept. 5, they trotted again for $3,500 in the aggregate.
It was mile heats, three in five, as they pleased; the first to
have $2,000, the second $1,000, and the third $500. They
went as before, and the result was the same. Flora won in
three heats,  2.261, 2.27, 2.25. Lancet was second in all
of them, and Redbird third.
In these two days at Elmira, Flora and Lancet had earned
$3,800, to be divided between them; and this was a good
deal more than they could have gained in any other way.
They had also done quite as much as the spectators had a
right to expect; and, taken altogether, that was the best
performance that had then been made. Some, indeed, believed that the time was inaccurate, or the track short; but
these notions were never confirmed. Flora then went to
Albany to trot a match for $2,000 with the gelding Brown
Dick, mile heats, three in five. Brown Dick was a good
horse, but not quite first-rate. He was a brown gelding, by
a son of American Star, and had been owned by a businessman at Williamsburg, who used him in his heavy wagon.
He all at once showed such speed that he was sent to Dan
Pfifer, who brought him out, and made a fast and stout trotter of him. The race between Flora and him was trotted
on Sept. 12; and the mare won it in three heats, the best
of which was 2m. 30s.: but then the track was slow, and
the turns bad.
Flora Temple and Lancet now went together again. They
19




290      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
appeared at Springfield, Massachusetts, Oct. 3, and divided
the purse of $1,000; Flora being first in all three heats,
and Lancet was under saddle. The fastest time was 2m.
32s. They then passed on to Hartford, Conn., where the
prize was $1,000, mile heats, three in five, as they pleased.
Lancet again went under saddle, and this time earned the
honors of the day as well as his share of the money. In
the first heat, the mare grabbed a shoe off, and Lancet came
home first in 2m. 34s. Flora won the second in 2m. 29s.; but
the probability is, that Lancet was pulled, as he won the
third heat in 2m. 25s., and the fourth in 2m. 28s. The
third heat of 2m. 25s. was the best that had then been
made under saddle; and some thought it was better than Florals 2m. 25s. at Elmira, because the Connecticut track was a
half-mile, with short turns. But my opinion was different;
for he was under saddle, in which way of going a horse can
hug the pole, and make much shorter turns than is possible
to one pulling a vehicle and driver behind. If Flora had
trotted in 2m. 25s. at Hartford, it might have been reasonably held to be better than her heat at Elmira; but she did,
not do so.
It was also believed by many that Lancet could beat her
any time when he was quite himself, and under saddle.
But in this opinion I never concurred, because, after the race
in which I distanced Tacony with her in 2m. 241s., I was
satisfied, that, when she was quite herself, she could trot
in harness in 2m. 20s. on a good track. The season of 1857
was now at an end, and the mare went into winter-quarters.
The system of dividing purses had been inaugurated, and it
has since increased to an enormous extent. At first, when
Flora travelled with Lancet and he went under saddle, and
afterwards, when she, Princess, and other horses, went upon
these sort of expeditions, there was some semblance of a
race; but the proceedings between Dexter and Patchen's
son from California have been of a farcical character. The
stallion was unable to keep decent company with  Dexter




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          291
when the latter went any thing like his best rate; and, to
satisfy the lookers-on, Doble was compelled to bid good-by
to Eoff and the stallion in order to show a fast mile. For
my part, I never liked the system, and have never had any
thing to do with it; but if the people who pay for it, knowing what it is, are satisfied, I have neither the right nor the
inclination to interfere.
In 1858, Flora did not trot on Long Island at all; and it
is a question whether she trotted at more than one place
that year where there was not some kind of dividing arrangement made with the horse that appeared with her.
The first place at which she came out was the Chestnut-hill
Park, Philadelphia. The purse was $1,000, mile heats,
three in five, in harness; the date, June 16; and the other
horse was Lancet. She won in 2.29, 2.31, 2.35. Before
she trotted again, she had been purchased by Mr. William
McDonald, a wealthy gentleman of Baltimore, for $8,000.
The price of horses was not as great then as it has since
become, and Flora Temple was worth all the money he paid
for her. The change of ownership made no change in the
system of management, as she remained in charge of her
former owner, Mr. McMann. On the 22d of June, the Oxford-park Course, Philadelphia, gave a purse of $1,200, for
which Flora and Lancet appeared. She won in three heats,
-2.31, 2.27T, 2.293. The two then went to the Central
Course, Baltimore, and two races there (if they can be called
races) resulted in just the same-way. The mare was driven
to win every heat; and this she did with great ease, as Lancet was no competitor for her in harness. After the second
race at Baltimore, which was on the 8th of July, Flora lay
by until October.
Many people were still under the delusion that Lancet;
could beat Flora, as the wonderful private time of the gelding continued to be talked about. I offered to match her
against him for $5,000, provided I could get the mare; but




292      TilE TROTTING-HORSE O.F AMERICA.
Mr. McMann declined to let me have her; and I dare say
he knew, that, if I had got her, the Lancet party would not
have made the match.  She went to the West, and trotted
with the chestnut gelding Prince, at Detroit, on the 2d of
October. He was under Mr. McMann's control, as much
as Flora was; and, if he had not been, he would have been
no match for her. He was, indeed, a splendid horse for
bottom, when I drove him against Hero the pacer, and beat
him in two ten-mqle races, as I have previously related; but
he had not speed enough for Flora at mile heats.
From Detroit, Flora passed on to Chicago, to trot for a
purse of $800, added to a stake of $500 each, half forfeit.
The others engaged were Frank Forrester (now called Ike
Cook), and the gelding Reindeer. It was mile heats, three
in five, in harness. Reindeer was withdrawn, and Flora
beat Ike Cook in three heats. The best time was 2m. 30~s.,
and the last heat 2m. 42s. On the 15th, at Kalamazoo,
Flora and Prince appeared again, mile heats, and the result
was the same as at Detroit. On the 27th, they went mile
heats, three in five, at Sandusky, Ohio, - same result. Best
time, 2m. 35s. On the 4th of November, she trotted for
a purse of $500 against the gelding Reindeer, and beat
him  in three heats.  Two of these, however, were in
2.28.
On the 25th of that month, Flora trotted for a purse at
St. Louis, mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Reindeer, who had before paid forfeit to her, and who had been
beaten by her at Adrian. Still he had made the best race
with her that had been made that year, and had only been defeated by a throat-latch in the third heat in 2m. 28s. For
the race at St. Louis, his trainer, Otis Dimmock, brought
him out in excellent condition, while Flora was no doubt off.
She acted badly, and lost the first heat in 2m. 34s. She
was still backed at odds of 100 to 80. It can hardly be got
into the heads of some people that horses are not always at




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.            293
about their best. Half the calculations made in England,
so far'as I can see, proceed upon the assumption that all the
horses are always right.  If they were, the turf-prophets
*could select the winners more often than they do. Flora
was distanced in the second heat in 2.35s.
Two days afterwards, she was herself again, and beat
Reindeer, two-mile heats, in harness, in 5m. 11~s., 5m. 17~s.,
over a very heavy track. One more race at mile heats,
three in five, they had on the 2d of December. It was
a stoutly-contested one of five heats.  Reindeer won the
first and second in 2.311, 2.31-; but Flora lasted the longest
in the heavy ground, and took the third, fourth, and fifth
in 2.30, 2.32, 2.36-. Her races that year with Reindeer
were the only ones in which she was called upon to put
forth her speed. He made her show the people of Adrian
and St. Louis the worth of their money.
The next year, 1859, was the most arduous, the most
eventful, and the most glorious, for her in all her history.
She was now fourteen years old; and her labors and performances in that season show what an extraordinary good
little mare she was. She then exalted herself to a height
of fame that many believe will hardly ever be equalled;
though my opinion is, and has been for some time, that
Dexter, if he meets with no accident, will surpass, in
harness and to wagon, all that she ever accomplished. I
ventured to predict this some time ago, and it was published
in " The Spirit of the Times."  I still adhere to it. The
opinion may be wrong, but it is mine. Time, as it goes
along from year to year, and time as it is taken in the
judges' stanAL when the winning hor'se comes to the score,
will show. The amazing goodness of this little mare, fourteen years old, was, hoqever, established beyond all cavil in
1859.  She met better horses in that year than she had
ever done before; for, whatever may be thought about Princess, she then first encountered George M. Patchen, the Jer



294     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
sey stallion, who was, beyond all doubt in my mind, the best
horse that ever competed with her. Then, agaia, the distance she travelled was enormous; and the races the trotted
numbered no less than twenty-three, all but one of which
she won.




XXXVI.
Flora Temple and Ethan Allen. -Flora and Princess. - Description of
Princess. - Her Driver, James Eoff. - His Artful Strategy, and inveterate
Humbug. — Princess beats Flora Two-Mile Heats.- Flora wins, MileHeats, Three in Five. - The best previous Time beaten in all the Heats.
TT was in 1859 that the fame of Flora Temple reached its
highest point.  Her first race that season was witb
Ethan Allen, at the Fashion Course. It was on the 31st of
May, for a purse of $2,000, mile heats, three in five, to
wagons. The race between Ethan and mate, and Lantern
and mate, in double harness, had greatly increased the reputation of the little bay stallion; but, in considering the dead
heat of 2m. 241-s., there was not enough allowed for the part
in it which belonged to the running-horse. This way of
going had not then become familiar; and nearly all the merit
of the performance was attributed to the trotter, when it
ought to have been given to the runner, who pulled all the
weight, and carried the trotter along with him. Ethan
Allen has since trotted with a runner faster than 2m. 20s.;
and, from what has been confided to me respecting his trials
in that rig, he can do a great deal better than that.
For this race on the Fashion Course, the odds was on
Flora.  I drove the stallion, and felt satisfied that he would
make Flora trot a great race; but, as it was plain that her
condition was good, I had no great confidence of winning it.
In the first heat we got away together, and the pace was
strong. Ethan Allen was always very rapid to begin with.
On the turn, the mare got up, but was caught by the time
I was a length ahead. Tallman now steadied her with a
295




296      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
pull; and, at the quarter, I led her two lengths and a half.
At the half-mile, in im.. 11ts., Ethan had a length and a
half of lead; but the mare was coming with uncommon
speed and resolution. Gaining inch by inch, she collared
him on the lower turn, and he made a skip. She led at the
head of the stretch; but the little horse finished very gamely, and she beat him but a length in 2m. 25s., - the best
mile that had ever been trotted to a wagon.
It was also the best mile that he ever trotted single; and
though, having been defeated, he gets no record for it, it is
just as much to be considered for his credit, in estimating
his value as a stallion, as if he had won in 2m. 25~s. The
second and third heats were won by the mare. The time
of each was 2m. 27Is. Flora thus, in the first race of the
season, gave a sample of her mature powers. Darius Tallman drove her that day. The time she made remained unequalled for above five years; but, finally, George Wilkes
made itq;in a second heat on the Union Course, when the
track was not fast, and the weather was unfavorable for clear
wind. It is just also to say, that, though Ethan Allen
gained no money by that race with Flora, he added much to
his fame.
On the 16th of June, Flora met a new and formidable
competitor in the bay mare Princess. This mare had formerly been called Topsy, under which name she had trotted
fast in the West. She was then taken to California, and became the property of Mr. Teakle, a gentleman of fine parts
and enterprise, and high character. She had been brought
from the Pacific side to New York by James Eoff, a very
able trainer and driver, and generally thought to be as
hardy and un3crupulous as any man in our profession. Princess was a mare of singular beauty and high quality, combined with strength. I do not know her pedigree: I have
heard several different stories about it; but she showed
blood, and must have had a good strain in her. Her temper
was not of the best; and, though she had a great gift of




T2HE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         297
speed, she was not steady enough to be always reliable. Her
bottom was great. Before leaving California to come here,
she twice beat Glencoe Chief, ten miles, to wagons; winning
those races in 29m. 10-s., and 29m. 164s. The first of
these races was for the large amount of $36,500, and the
second for $10,000. Her best mile in public had been 2m.
30s.; but I have heard that she went an amazingly fast mile
to wagon in a trial with a pacing-horse, and that trial induced Mr. Teakle to bring her eastward again.
Eoff was a great master of humbug, and had got up so
much mystery and speculation in regard to this mare that
Flora's owner refused to match her. An arrangement was
then entered into that they should trot three-mile heats and
two-mile heats, to wagons, on the Eclipse Course, and divide
the gate-money. It was given out that they were matched
for $2,500 a side; but the truth is, that there was nothing
at stake between them. They trotted the three-mile heats
on the 16th of June, in the presence of a great crowd.
Eoff had so worked upon the belief of many credulous people, that they actually laid on 7m. 30s., to wagon, which
would have beaten Dutchman's time under saddle by two
seconds and a half. Tallman drove Flora; and Eoff, Princess.
The beauty and style of the latter were much admired; but
the odds were upon the little mare who had won such a gallant race, a little more than a fortnight previous, from Ethan
Allen. It was a hundred to twenty-five on her. Before
they started, there came up a thunder-shower, which
drenched thousands of people to the skin, and made the
course slippery and bad. In the first heat, Princess took
the lead, and kept it for nearly a mile; but Flora got to her
head a few strides from the score, and they crossed' it togetler in 2.37. Tallman made a waiting-race of it, and
pulled Flora back three lengths; but, at the score again, the
big mare only led her a length. The time of that mile was
2m. 40-s. Flora made a little skip on the turn, and Princess was three lengths ahead at the quarter. But now her




298      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF.AMERICA.
time was come. The little mare made such a fine rush that
she was at the head of Princess at the half-mile pole. She
took the lead, and won with great ease by five lengths, in
7m. 54s., amidst great shouting.
Ten to one was now laid; and it was whispered about tb at
Eoff would not let Princess win it. He very likely instigated the report himself; for it was a part of his tactics to
make people believe that Princess could beat Flora, whenever it became his interest to let her do so. In the second
heat, Flora took the lead. The first mile was 2.37-}., the
second 2.361. In the third mile, Flora began to come back;
and she pulled a shoe off, and cut her quarter. Half-way
up the stretch, Flora broke and many believed that Eoff
might then have passed her, and won the heat, if he had
wanted to do so. Flora was in a hobble all the way home,
and broke three times after she passed the drawgate; but
Princess never got to her, and the little mare won it in 7m.
591s. About nineteen out of twenty people believed that
Eoff pulled Princess in the last heat, on purpose to lose it.
But, if he had a mare that could have beaten Flora, the odds
that day were very tempting. He told a plausible, and I am
inclined to think a truthful, story. It was, that Princess
was as tired as Flora was; that, if he had sent her ever so
little at the finish, she would have broken up; and, as she is
a bad breaker, that would have lost it. The truth, to my
mind, is, that Princess never could beat Flora when the latter was at herself; and Eoff was, of all the men in America,
the man who knew it best. Flora, however, was not at her
best that day.
The charges against Eoff for pulling and losing, when he
could have won, were so loud and general, that there was an
investigation by the Union Jockey Club. Eoff appeared,
and made his statement; but of all those'who had declared,
that, if the reins had broken, Princess could not have lost
it, not one came forward to substantiate the charge. The
after-experience of Princess and Flora. showed that the




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          299
former could not beat the latter when they were both right;
and what has since been seen of Eoff's management of the
California stallion (George IM. Patchen, jun.) throws some
light upon his doings with -Princess. In spite of their
experience in the Princess case, he persuaded the people
that this stallion could beat Dexter whenever he wanted to
let him do it; and many continued to belie ve so after it was
palpable to any man of good judgment that the gelding
could lose him in any race that they might go.
In a week after the race of three-mile heats to wagons,
Flora and Princess trotted two-mile heats in harness. The
betting opened at 100 to 70 on Flora; but, before they
started, it was even. Tallman drove Flora again; and, in
scoring, she seemed rank and wild. Princess, on the other
hand, was quite steady; and, from all appearances, her race
to wagon had done her good. They went away at a great
rate; and, before Flora had got round the turn, she pulled a
shoe off and cut her quarter: this gave Princess the lead.
The latter trotted the first mile in 2m. 26s., but there was
no daylight between her and Flora. On the turn, Flora
broke.   When she caught, she trotted very fast; and,
making a swift and resolute dart to close with Princess on
the back-stretch, she grabbed off her other forenshoe, and cut
her quarter badly. Princess won the heat easily in 5m. 2s.,
and might, no doubt, have trotted it considerably faster if.she had been pressed in the second mile. It was ten to one
on the California mare.  Flora was a little lame when
brought out for the second heat. Princess took the lead,
kept it all the way, and won handily in 5m. 05s,
The general opinion was, that little Flora had her mistress, and that Princess could beat her anywhere.  But
the truth is, that people forgot the wonderful constitution
and come-again qualities of Flora. While with all her
speed, bottom, and fine way of going, Princess was an
uncertain mare, and nothing like as reliable for a long
campaign as Flora was. The news of this race created a




300       THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
great sensation all over the country; and I must here say,
that, in spite of her defeat, many stuck to Flora, and contended that the verdict obtained by Princess would be
reversed, with heavy costs and damages, when there was a
new trial. On the 6th of August, after a good let-up for
Flora to repair her injuries and grow out her quarters,
these famous mares again appeared to dispute for victory.
It was on the Eclipse Course, mile heats, three in five.
ZFew that witnessed the doings of that memorable day will
ever forget it. Princess was the favorite at 100 to 80, and
everybody looked for a fast race; but few expected such
heats as they saw.  The crowd in attendance was very
great, but there was not much betting.
I suppose ninety out of every hundred who were present ex.
pected to see Flora defeated. I confess that I thought Princess likely to win it; although I was satisfied, that, when at
her best, Flora could trot in twenty in harness. The truth
is, that Princess was a little over-rated. It is often the case,
that when a trotter wins with great ease, especially if the one
defeated is a famous one, a calculation is forthwith made in
which it is assumed, not that the loser was C off," but that
the winner is greatly superior.  This assumption is commonly erroneous. Another wide-spread error lies at the
bottom of it. In spite of all authority and experience to
the contrary, people generally believe that a horse, if there
is nothing apparently ailing him, is as good one day as
another. This is not so; and mares, especially in the spring
season, are still more'uncertain.  Flora was driven by James
iMccMann in this race; and, as soon as she was brought out
and set a-going, I could see that she felt well, and was in
fine condition. She was full of life and spirit; and her
muscle was greatly developed, without much flesh.  She
meant mischief. In the first heat, she had the inside. At the
word she darted to the front, out-footed the Princess to
the quarter in thirty-five seconds, and got a lead of about
twenty yards.  Flora did the half-mile in 1m. 10 s.; and




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.            301
Princess must have trotted the second quarter very fast, for,
at the pole, Flora's lead was only a length. Thus they went
until half way up the home-stretch; when the frantic shout
of thousands of her admirers inspired the little mare to one
of her great rushes, and she won the heat by three lengths
in 2m. 231s. When the judges announced that the record
was a second better than ever before, and that Flora
was still the sovereign mistress of it, the people were nigh
crazy with joy. There was no betting between the heats;
and many yet believed that Eoff could win the race if he
liked to do so.
Flora had a bad start in the second heat. She was a length
and a half behind, and under a pull when the word was
given; but she darted on to Princess with such a rush
that she collared her before she was well at the turn, and
up went the California mare.   At the quarter-pole, in
thirty-four seconds, Flora led six or seven lengths. At the
half-mile, in inm. 09s., her lead was not quite so great; but
she kept all the daylight open to the score, and won by
six lengths in 2m. 22s.' It was a. capital heat for Flora;
and, though she afterwards beat it on this Island at the
Union and Fashion Courses, she never surpassed it much,
considering the bad start sne had. I shall always contend
that Flora's best heat was made on this Island. The Kalamazoo Course, on which she beat 2m. 20s., may have been a
mile. It was certified as a mile, and it is too late now to go
behind what the record says; but, if that was a mile, our
Island courses are more than a mile, for they measure a
mile one foot nearer the pole than that did. Besides, it is
a well-known fact, that the Eclipse Course, now called the
Centreville, is more than a mile. Even after this heat,
some continued in the belief that Princess could have won it.
In the third heat, Flora took the lead, and went to the
quarter in thirty-five seconds, three lengths ahead. Princess gained two lengths in the straight quarter, on the
back-stretch, and yet Flora got to the half in 1m. 10s. The




302      THEE TROTTING-IHORSE OF AMERICA.
California mare drew forward until she was head-and-head
with Flora. It looked critical; but the big mare was at her
best, and Flora had still a link to let out.  McMann
touched her with the whip, and away she went. At the
head of the stretch, she had the best of it, and, lasting the
longest, came home the winner by three lengths in 2m. 23-s.
There had never been any thing like such a trot before.
The best previous time had been beaten by two seconds and
a half, and it had been beaten in all the heats. Princess
had established the fact, that she was an extraordinary
mare; but Flora's glory and reputation had been restored. She had not only showed as much speed as Princess anywhere, but had beat her in the rushes at the beginning, and, in the desperate brushes afterwards, had lasted
the longest. Still it is to be remembered that she had the
pole to begin with; and it actually seemed as if she was as
well aware of the advantage she derived from that fact as any
man on the ground. The dart after Princess in the second
heat, when Flora was behind at the start, appeared to be
inspired by reasoning, as though she made up her mind to
this effect: "If she gets the pole, she beats me!"'  The
rejoicing caused by that victory of hers spread from the
shores of the ocean where it was achieved to the distant
States and Territories which lie beyond the Mississippi
IRiver; for this little mare had become a national character.




XXXVII.
Flora Temple and Princess again. - Flora wins Two-Mile Heats. - They go
Hippodroming.- Flora trots in 2m. 21s., with Ike Cook, at Cincinnati.
-  er Performance at Kalamazoo. - 2m. 19 s.
Flora Temple and Princess met again at the Eclipse
Course, on the 16th of August, to trot two-mile heats in
harness.  In spite of Flora's grand performance on the 9th,
many still believed that the California mare was able to
beat her, especially at two-mile heats. This feeling was so
general that Princess was the favorite at 100 to 80; but I
think there was but very little betting at those rates, and
the odds were more nominal than real. The mares were both
in fine condition-; and as the day and, track were good, a performance of uncommon speed was looked for. Those who
expected it were not at all disappointed, as, before they went
home, they saw the fastest two-mile heat that ever was
trotted.
In the first heat, Princess had the best of the start; and
they went away at a rapid gait, - a tremendous gait for a
two-mile heat. The little mare gained inch by inch; and at
the quarter, in 35s., Princess had but a neck and shoulder
the best of it. At the half-mile, in Im. 114s., Princess led
a neck only. Soon after passing the pole they were headand-head, and a most excellent neck-and-neck race followed
all around the lower turn. As they swung into the stretch
Flora led by a neck; but the California mare gained it on
the straight work, and they were neck-and-neck again at
the distance. At the shout of the people, as they came on
303




304      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
thus, Flora made a dart ahead, and crossed the score a length
in the lead in 2m. 23s. At the quarter-pole Flora's lead
was two lengths, and this she carried to the half. So it
continued round the lower turn. Princess was unable to
close with Flora; but the latter had to keep the pace very
strong to retain the lead. But, when they struck the homestretch, the long struggle at such a great rate had settled
the California mare, while Flora remained full of trot.
Princess broke badly. Flora made a lightning rush at the
shout that was set up, and Eoff had no great deal to spare
in saving his distance. The time of the heat, trotted all
the way without a skip or a break, and some of it at the
rate of 2m. 20s. to the mile, was 4m. 50Is. It still remains
the best two-mile heat that ever was trotted in harness.
I never saw but one in any way of going to equal it;
and that was when Dexter trotted his two miles to wagon
in 4m. 56-1s., and jogged in from half way up the stretch.
After this heat in 4m. 501s., Eoff complained that Flora
crossed him on the turn in the second mile. The judges,
however, held that she was far enough ahead to take the
pole without compelling Princess to shorten her stride.
McMann,. in turn, claimed the race as well as the heat,
because Princess, as he alleged, was distanced; but the
truth was, there was no judge in the distance-stand, the
distance-judge having got by mistake into the distance-stand
for mile heats, three in five. The trotting of this heat had
opened the eyes of those who had up to that time believed
that the California mare would beat Flora whenever Eoff
called upon her to do so. It was clear enough that, however fast she might have gone in California, in the trial with
the pacer, she was at her best in the first mile of that heat,
where Flora was a length ahead in 2m. 23s. It was equally
plain that Flora had out-lasted as well as out-trotted Princess; and, the farther they went, the more evident her superiority became. There were plenty of betters now ready to
lay a hundred to thirty on Flora.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           305
In the second heat, Princess had the best of the start,
and tock the pole from Flora before she had lead enough to
justify her in doing so. On the lower turn, Flora got to
her head, and another neck-and-neck struggle ensued. On
the stretch, Flora got a little the best of it; and rushing on
with great vigor when she felt herself among her shouting
friends and admirers, she led a length and a half at the
score in 2m. 24s. On the turn, Flora ran over a man who
had no business to be there, and then broke; but just then
Princess broke, and Flora was first down to her work. At
the quarter, she led five lengths, and at the half-mile Princess was dead-beat and tired. The rest of the heat was no
contest at all. Flora jogged out in 5m. 5s.; the second mile
being trotted in 2m. 41s. The question of superiority
between these beautiful and capital mares had now been
fairly tested. It was found, that, while the California mare
was- second to no other but Flora, she certainly was second
to her.  The recent contest had removed all doubt.
Although there was no money at stake between them,
the drivers had done their best to win; and some, indeed,
thought they had both done more than they had any right
to do, in view of the rule against foul driving. These
mares, while only trotting for gate-money, had showed the
two finest trots that had then been witnessed; but still I am
persuaded that the example then set, and since followed,
of going hippodroming round the country to trot for
gate-money, which was already appropriated and divided
without any reference to which might win, was pernicious.
However, they set off on an excursion of that character,
and first showed at Boston on the 23d of August, to some
sixteen thousand people. It was mile heats, three in five,
in harness, and Flora won in three heats,- 2m. 26}s. being
the fastest, the others being 2m. 33s., and 2m. 34s. Upon
the principle of making hay while the sun shone, they appeared at Saratoga on the 27th. Flora won again in three
heats, to  fastest of which was 2m. 30s. From  Saratoga
20




306     THE TROTTING.-HORSE OF AMERIOA.
they went away down east to Portland, in Maine, and gave
an exhibition there on the 1st of September. Flora won all
the heats again, - the fastest, 2m. 26 s.
The next trot was at Suffolk Park, Philadelphia; and this
was for a real purse given by the proprietor, and not for a
share of the gate-money. It was the opening of that Park.
It was on the 8th of September; and the purse was $1,500,
mile heats, three in fivej in harness. The day was fine, the
expectation was great; and no less than twelve thousand people had come together to see the mighty mares. At the
start, in the first heat, Flora rushed off at great speed, and
Princess soon broke badly. While she was bobbing up and
down, Flora opened a great gap, and could easily have distanced her; but McMann took a long pull and a strong pull,
and let Princess come up, so as to make it look a little like
a race. Flora won by three lengths: time, 2m. 41-s.
When that time was announced, there was a good deal of
dissatisfaction expressed. The people hooted and groaned
at Eoff, but it was not his fault. The mare had lost her
fine turn of speed in a measure, and was becoming more
and more unsteady. Flora had got her on the go-downwards, and was fast breaking her heart.  However, the
judges pacified the crowd, by announcing, that, if Princess
did not win the next heat, I should drive her in the third.
She made another bad break in the second heat, and was
beat in 2rm. 31s. I was then induced to drive her. I did
not much like the arrangement; for my opinion was, that she
had no more chance to beat Flora that day than I had to
beat her and go a-foot: but, as the judges had quieted the
threats of the crowd by means of this device, I consented.
Flora took the lead at the start, trotted the heat irs 2m. 23s.,
and Princess was distanced.
On the 10th, the mares trotted at Baltimore. The first
heat Flora won in 2m. 29s.; the second in 2m. 31s.; the
third she trotted in 2m. 22s.; and Eoff pulled IP incess up
at the half-mile pole, there being no semblance of a contest.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           307
From Baltimore to Chicago the mares proceeded, and there
gave an exhibition on the 16th of September. A bigger farce
was never enacted anywhere. Flora won the first heat in
2m. 31s. In the second, she had to wait so long for Princess, by reason of her bad breaking, that the heat was 3m.
21s. The third heat Flora won in 2m. 261s.
Flora next appeared at Muscatine, Io., her partner there
being Ike Cook. It was mile heats, three in five, in harness. Flora won in three heats. These two then travelled
to Cincinnati, and there trotted in what was advertised as a
match for $1,000 a side. Flora won it in three heats, the
last of them being trotted in 2m. 21-s. This beat the time
made at the Eclipse Course and at Baltimore:'but it is to
be remembered that it was not trotted on Mr. Cassady's old
Queen-City Course, but on a new one; and there is good
reason to believe that it measured a little short. I have
heard from good authority that it was not then a full mile.
But the people did not know that fact; and the news that
the little mare was gradually coming down towards 2m. 20s.,
created much interest all over the country.
Expectation was rife in regard to her. And now she was
about to make her fastest heat. It was on the 15th of October, at Kalamazoo, in Michigan, that she appeared, to trot
with Princess and a horse named Honest Anse. The people of the famous oak-openings country have always manifested much fondness and liberality towards trotters. They
gave a purse of $2,000, mile heats, three in five, in harness.
Flora Temple, Princess, and Honest Anse appeared to trot
for it. The first heat was just about fast enough to warm
Flora up. In the second, Honest Anse made her trot fa-t
for three-quarters of a mile: he then shut up, and she won
it in 2m. 221s. He was then withdrawn, and Flora and
Princess started for the third heat. The little mare went
clean away from Princess; did the first half in lmn. 9s., and
trotted the heat in 2m. 193s. The news created very great
excitement; and many believed that the course was short.




308      THE  TROTTIANG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
These were, in fact, more than half right; for, upon its being
measured, it was found necessary to get four feet from the
pole to make it a mile; while our Island tracks all measure
a little more than a mile three feet from the pole. Therefore the Kalamazoo Course, at that time, was not as long as
the Union or Eclipse Course. Still it was but a trifle short.
Every track, however, ought to be full measure; and it is a
greatly-mistaken policy to have any course short, be it e-ar
so little.




XXXVIII.
Flora Temple and George M. Patchen. -Description of Patchen. - His Pedi.
gree. - Patchen's Early Performances.- Dan Mace as a Driver and
Rider. - Flora and Ethan Allen. - Flora and Patchen again. - The best
Race ever made by Elora, and the best a Stallion ever made.
F  LORA  TEMPLE, after her grand exploit at Kalamazoo, went to Cleveland, where she beat Princess with
great ease and in poor time; and then, at Cuyahoga Falls, on
the 28th of October, she beat Ike Cook. They had four heats
of it: the second was a dead heat. The time was slow in
all of them. At Buffalo, on the 2d of November, Flora
beat Ike Cook in three heats, the best of which was 2m.
231s.  On the 5th, Flora, Ike Cook, and Belle of Saratoga
went three-quarter-mile heats in harness; and Flora won it
in three heats.  On the 11th, Flora and Ike Cook trotted at
St. Catharine's, Canada; and the mare won in three heats.
That may be said to have been the last of Flora Temple's
hippodroming, at least for a season.
She was brought to New York, and entered for a purse of
$1,000, given by the Union Course. It was mile heats,
three in five: the mare was to go in harness, while her only
competitor was to go under saddle. This competitor was
the famous stallion George M. Patchen, who had not been
very long on the turf, but had already proved himself to be
fast and lasting, and good in every way of going, either
under saddle, in harness, or to wagon. He was a powerful
brown horse, that had been foaled on the farm of W. H.
Sickles, which is about half-way between  Keyport and
809




310     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
Freehold, N.J.  The mare that dropped him belonged to
Mr. Carman of Westchester County.  She had been sent
to Mr. Sickles to be wintered; and it was not thought she
was in foal, though she had been covered: in fact, Mr.
Carman told Mr. Sickles, that, if she was in foal, he might
have the produce. That produce was Patchen. He was
above sixteen hands high, with great strength and much
bone. He was coarse about the head, and heavy in the
carcass; but though he was what you might call a plain
horse, his points were uncommonly strong and good, and his
action was capital.
He had good blood in him: for he was got by Cassius NI[.
Clay, who was by old Henry Clay; and his dam was by a
young horse who was own brother to Trustee the trotter.
So here was the Bashaw blood through Andrew Jackson, the
Messenger blood also through him, the blood of imported
Trustee, and the blood of the famous trotting-mare Fanny
Pullen, who was herself a high-bred trotting-mare. Some
have doubted whether the sire of Patchen's dam was own
brother to Trustee the twenty-miler; but, after inquiry, I
have reason to believe so. Her sire was a three-year-old colt,
by imported Trustee, out of Fanny Pullen. Patchen's dam
was probably the only foal he ever got; for he was soon made
a gelding, and was driven for many years by a gentleman in
Westchester County.  He was himself a fast and stout
trotter..
In 1858, Patchen was matched against Ethan Allen, mile
heats, three in five, to 100lb. wagons. The little horse
distanced the big one in 2m. 28s. But, while Flora was upon
her exhibitions in the West with Princess, Patchen had
performed on Long Island and at Philadelphia with great
success and distinction. He had been sold, in whole or in
part, to John Buckley, and was trained and driven by
Darius Tallman. He had that season beaten such horses
as Brown Dick and Lancet; had trotted two heats in harness in one race in 2m. 261s., and 2m. 26ls.; and, in another




THE TROTTING-HORSE OFP AMERICA.          311
race, he had gone in 2m. 251s. under the saddle.  He was,
therefore, no mean opponent for the very best.
The day for this trot was the 21st of November. It was
a cold, raw day, with a strong wind blowing; and the course,
as is almost always the case so late in the season, was
heavy. James McMann drove the little mare; and Dan
Mace, a rider and driver of uncommon resolution and ability,
was on the stallion. Mace is one of the best drivers that
we have; but, according to my notion, his horses break more
than trotters ought to do. I think it should be the aim of
the trainer and driver to keep the horse at or near his best
on a trot; to teach him to stay there when going fast; and to
depend upon his steady-trotting powers, instead of using
him to relieve himself three or four times in every mile by
getting up. But, in a race, Mace is an opponent that needs
watching. He is very resolute, and the horses he handles
know it. His judgment is good, at times when judgment is
absolutely required, which is just when some people lose it.
And, besides all that, he knows enough to wait until his
time has come, when he has the right sort of horse. The
races he won in that way with Buffalo Prince — five or
six, and I think, once or twice, seven heats- were very creditable to him; and it is no more than proper that I should
say so. But, with all his skill as a driver, I think he was,
as a rider, equally in the right place. His style is not quite
as elegant as is sometimes seen; but he seems to grow out
of his horse, and to squeeze him with a clip of the knees
like the gripe of a vice. His hand upon the bridle is light
and delicate until the horse needs help to finish; and then he
takes hold of his head with a power that seems to be almost
irresistible, and fairly launches him over the score. He, as
I have said, was upon George M. Patchen at the first of his
meetings with Flora Temple; and he afterwards rode General Butler, when he beat Patchen under saddle, and was
compelled to go in 2m. 21s. to do it.
There were not many at the Union Course when Flora




312      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
and Patchen came out to trot, for the day was very unpleasant. In the first heat, Patchen took the lead, and was two
lengths in front at the quarter. On the back-stretch he
broke, and Flora went by him; but he trotted fast, and, after
a long brush, got to her head again at the drawgate. He
did not, however, succeed in keeping to his trot, but broke
again; and she won in 2m. 28s. In the second heat, they
trotted very fast; the stallion going like a whirlwind in
places, but not with the steadiness of the mare. Her even
stroke, and fine dash at the conclusion, won it in 2m. 23s.
The third was a tremendous heat. Flora was first over the
score by half a length, in 2m. 24s.; but the heat was given
to the stallion, because Flora broke near home, and had
crossed him when she ought not to have done so. It may
be doubted whether a strict construction of the rules would
not have warranted the distancing of her; but it is probable
the judges based their decision on the break, and not on the
crossing.
They came up for another heat, and went away at great
speed without the word. It was getting dark; and, in spite
of the recall, they kept on. Flora come out ahead; but the
judges had not given the word, and declared it no heat.
The race was postponed until the following day, but was
never trotted out. On the 24th of November, it being
Thanksgiving Day, Flora Temple and Ethan Allen trotted
for a purse of $1,500, mile heats, three in five, in harness.
Flora got off on a hobble, broke at the turn, and lost the
first heat in 2m. 27s. The second heat was a good one.
The stallion was out-trotted for the first half-mile, and Flora
took the pole; but he got to her head as they swung into
the straight work, and, for a moment, looked like winning it.
He was, however, unable to maintain the pace, and broke.
She won that heat in 2m. 264s., and took the third and
fourth in 2m. 27s., 2m. 293. They had not yet done with
her that winter; for, on the first of December, she trotted
mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Ethan Allen,




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          313
at Baltimore, and beat him in 2m. 271s., 2m. 261s., 2m.
25-s.
It seemed now, that, after the downfall of Princess, and the
way in which Flora had finished up her long and arduous
campaign of 1859, she would remain at ease, the acknowledged Queen and Mistress of the Trotting-turf. But this
was not the case. It was found that the Jersey stallion,
George M. Patchen, was an improving horse; and, in the
spring of 1860, he was matched against her for $1,000,
mile heats, three in five, in harness, over the Union Course.
It came off on the 6th of June. The race created a great deal
of interest, and the betting ran high. The friends of
Patchen were sanguine. On the 16th of May, he had defeated Ethan Allen on the Union Course in harness in 2m.
25s., 2m. 24s. 2m. 29s.; and on the' 23d, had beaten Ethan
Allen to wagons in 2m. 26is., 2m. 27s., 2m. 31s.  Still,
the memory of what Flora had done would hang in the
minds of the people; and, prior to the day, she was backed
at 100 to 80. The day was as fine as could be wished, and
there was an immense crowd present. The horses looked
as well as they could look. James McMann drove Flora,
and Tallmlan did the same for Patchen.  Before the
start, there was a change in the betting, and Patchen was
backed at odds of 100 to 80.
The stallion had the pole. In scoring for the first heat,
he seemed to have the foot of Flora, and went flying by the
stand ahead of her, as many as five or six times, before they
got the word. The start was even; but Flora soon made a
skip, and the stallion got the lead: but the mare caught,
and, going on with uncommon resolution, headed him,
and led a length at the quarter in 35s. On the straight
work, she drew away a little more; but the stallion now
made a great burst of speed, and she broke. At the halfmile, in tm. its., he had a lead of a length, and soon
increased it to two lengths; but, upon the turn, the mare




314      THE TROTTINYG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
squared herself, drew up to him, and came into the stretch
with him. The struggle home, was one of the fastest and
closest things that ever was seen. They came on neck-andneck at an amazing rate; and within three strides of home, it
seemed to be a dead heat. Mcilcann, at the very last, struck
Flora sharply with the whip, let go of her head, and with
one desperate effort she was first, by a throat-latch, in 2m.
21s., the best time that we had then seen on the Island.
The last half-mile had been trotted in 1m. 10s., and was
a neck-and-neck race nearly all the way.
In the second heat, Flora was two lengths ahead at the
quarter-pole; and Patchen breaking on the back-stretch, her
lead was three lengths at the half-mile. On the lower turn
he closed the daylight; and another very hard, close struggle
up the home-stretch, ended iii his defeat by only a neck
in 2m. 24s.  Tallman made an appeal after this heat,
alleging that Mchsann had driven foul, by swerving out,
and compelling him to go to the extreme outside. The
judges disagreed; but the majority overruled the objection,
much to the delight of the largest number of the people
present. Many, however, believed, and still believe, that if
the appeal had been made for her in a like state of the case,
and if it had been allowed, there would have been quite as
much hallooing.
In the third heat they got off well together. On the turn
she led slightly, being on the inside, and at the quarter, in
36s., she led him nearly a length. He now made a wonderful effort, and trotted one of the best quarters that I have
ever seen. He was nearly a length behind at the quarterpole in 36s.; at the half-mile pole in lm. 10s. he led.
Therefore, he trotted this, the second quarter in the third
heat, in better than 34s. On the lower turn, he led two
lengths. But the mare now gathered herself up for one of
her rushes, and closed with him. Up the stretch it was
again, close and hot. But she had a little the best of it,




T'HE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         315
and at the very last pinch he broke. She won in 2m. 21 s.
I consider this the best race that Flora Temple ever
made; and as the stallion was so little behind her that the
difference could not be appreciated by timing, it shows what
a remarkable and excellent horse he also was. No other
stallion has ever made as good a race as he made that day.




XXXIX
Flora Temple and Patchen, Two-mile Heats. - Flora and Patchen at Phila.
delphia. - Outside Interference.
ON  the 12th of June, Flora Temple and George M.
Patchen trotted two-mile heats in harness, at the
Union Course. The capital race made by the stallion, at
mile heats emboldened some to back him; but the general
public considered the little mare as invincible. She was the
favorite at long odds: two to one was current, and in many
instances a hundred to forty was laid; but there was nothing
to justify such odds as this. Flora had only beaten the stallion in the mile-race by the most desperate of efforts, and in
unparalleled time. It was true that she was known to be a
good stayer; but his reputation for sticking close and coming again was also great. He was a horse that would blow
so hard after an arduous heat, that one would think he was
distressed: but he relieved himself quickly in that matter;
and I have no doubt his heart was large, and his lungs
sound and strong. He was now controlled by Mr. Joseph
Hall of Rochester; but Tallman still trained and drove him
well. The expectation of the people was, that amazing time
would be made in this race. They had become so used to
the cutting-down of old Time by Flora, just as he cuts down
all things with his swinging scythe, that they looked for
what was extremely improbable, - a heat better than that in
which'the little mare beat Princess in 4m. 50-s. Many bets
were laid that a heat would be made in 4m. 50s. A considerable number of men went as low as 4m. 48s., and some
put the time down to 4m. 46s.
316




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           3171
They both seemed very fit; and, in scoring, Patchen's
stride was particularly bold and commanding. The mare
was fast too; but I rather fancied that she was somewhat
short and hurried in her action that day. At the start in
the first heat, Patchen, having the pole, drew a length ahead
at the quarter, and had increased his lead to two lengths at
the half-mile in tm. 12s. Flora trailed him, hugging close
to the inside. He kept the pace very strong, making the
second half-mile in lin. 11s., and thus doing the first mile
in 2m. 23s. Flora still kept close behind, trailing. On the
back-stretch, the stallion broke, and Flora passed him. He
made another break; and, on the lower turn, she led him four
lengths: but the pull that Tallman took on this turn greatly
restored his horse, and Flora herself was tiring.  When
they reached the straight side to come home, the big, pounding stroke of the stallion came closer and closer, and finally
away went Flora in a break. The stallion got the lead, and
trotted over the score a length ahead of the little mare, she
being on the run. The time of it was 4m. 58Is.
In the second heat there was an even start. At the quarter, Patchen led but a neck in 38s.; but on the straight
work he trotted amazingly fast, and passed the half-mile
over a length ahead in lm. 12s. Flora now trailed close to
the inside, and unable to get through unless he should
swerve out, or make a bad break; in which latter case she
might have gone round him. As they came on inside of
the distance, he broke; but the mare was in the pocket,
and not in a situation to take advantage of it, and keep him
bothered by going right to his head. The consequence was,
that the stallion caught again, settled to his trot, and passed
the score in the lead in 2m. 25s. I have always thought
that there was an error in judgment made by the driver of
Flora that day; but it is quite likely that the stallion would
have defeated her under any circumstances; for, well as she
looked outwardly, she was not quite up to the mark. Patchen now increased his lead. At the half-mile pole, he was




318      THE  TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
two lengths and a half ahead, and she was tired and beat.
He won it very easily in 4m. 57ts. A great deal of money
was lost and won on this race.
Two matches were made, to be trotted at Suffolk Park,
Philadelphia, the first, mile heats, three in five; the second,
two-mile heats. The first of them was trotted on the 4th
of July. Flora was the favorite at 100 to 70. The race
was the fastest and best that ever was trotted at Philadelphia. In fact, few ever surpassed it anywhere. In the first
heat, Flora was half a length ahead at the quarter, in 341s.
Just before they reached the half-mile, Patchen got to her
head, and even showed in front for a moment; but she was
going too fast for an endeavor to pass her to be safe, and in
making such an effort the stallion broke up. She led at the
half-mile in Im. O91s., and opened a gap. He afterwards
closed it; and, on the straight work, coming home, got to her
shoulder. But she had a link in; and, when she let it out,
he broke again. She won in 2m. 22Is.
In the second heat they trotted nearly neck and neck to
the quarter in 354s. Flora led a trifle there. On the backstretch he out-trotted her, and led half a length; but just
before they got to the half-mile pole she collared him again,
and made the pole in im. 10s. Then she broke, and he
took the lead; then he was so hard pressed in his effort to
maintain it, that he broke, and she was once more in advance. At the head of the stretch, they were nearly neck
and neck, and doing their very best. It need not be said
that their best trotting, neck and neck, at the rate of about
2m. 20s. to the mile, was very fine. It is a spectacle which
has very seldombeen seen, except in the races between Flora
and George M. Patchen; for they were the only two that
came together capable of doing it, heat after heat. There
had not been another horse that had been so close to Flora
Temple herself in speed, in ability to stay a distance, and
in apparent endurance and capacity to keep at it race after
race, as George M. Patchen. The finish now was very foe.




THE TROTTINC HORSE OF AMEBRICA.  81 9
Half-way up, when she led him only a neck, he broke, and
away she went ahead above a length; but he soon caught,
and rushed at her again with such speed and resolution that
he was at the girths when she crossed the score in 2m. 213s.
Before they trotted the third heat, there was a great storm
of rain, and the track became very muddy. Some held that
this was favorable to the stallion, but I could never see why.
Flora was good in all sorts of going; and I do not believe
that the ability to go fast in mud depends upon size.  Yet
people said, "I He is a big, strong horse, and that helps him
to get through mud." Now, her action was better calculated
for heavy going than his was; and the shape and size of
her feet were as near perfection for mud or hard road, rain
or shine, as any I ever saw. At the first quarter of the
third heat, they were together in 37s. Just before they got
to the half-mile, Flora broke; at the half-mile, in 1m. 17Is.,
he led. When the mare settled, she gradually drew towards
him, carried him to a break on the home-stretch, and won
in 2m. 371s.
On the 10th of July, Flora and Patchen trotted two-mile
heats at Suffolk Park. Previous to the race, the stallion was
sold to Mr. Waltermire, of New York, who afterwards was
the sole owner of him to the day of his death. The odds
were a hundred to seventy on Flora Temple. Before the
race there was a dispute, and Tallman refused to start. It
caused a delay until six o'clock in the evening, and prejudiced many people against the horse. When they came on
the course, the odds on the mare advanced to as much as
$100 to $40. The stallion out-scored Flora, and it was
some time before they got the word. He had the best of it
by a length when the judges gave the start; and, going fast
before Flora got well at work, he led three lengths at the
quarter in 351s., and the same distance at the half-mile in
lm. 1Os. The stallion now made a skip, but was quickly
and neatly caught by Tallman, and lost- nothing. On the
home-stretch the mare gained on him; but he was first over




320      TIHE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
the score in 2m. 22s. After going by the stand he increased
his lead, and at the half-mile pole had three lengths the
best of it. They came home in the same position; and the
stallion won the heat in 4m. 51Is., which is the best two
miles in harness that ever was trotted except Flora's 4m
501s.
The layers of the odds now got alarmed, and 100 to 40
was laid upon the stallion. In scoring for the second heat,
Patchen broke just before they reached the stand, and some
outsider called " Go!"  They went on, believing it to be a
start; but, on coming round to the stand again, the judges
informed them that the word was not given. Thereupon
Tallman, who was behind, pulled up; but McMann kept on,
and jogged round. A great row ensued, in which the
judges were threatened with summary violence if they did
not award the race there and then to Flora Temple; but
being men of knowledge and firmness, they disregarded all
this, and declared that no heat at all. They were quite
right.  The officious attempt to give a word by an outsider
I have often seen, and it is a great nuisance. In the first
place, it is an insult to the ability and impartiality of the
gentlemen who have been selected to judge the race. In
the next place, it is likely to confuse the drivers. Therefore, anybody who does it ought to be expelled from the
course.
In the second heat, the mare took the lead, and led a
little at the half-mile in Im. 141s. She then broke and
lost a little, but trotted fast on the home-stretch, and got
to his wheel, when he was broken up by the crowd, who
pressed upon him  with that intent.  Flora was three
lengths in the lead at the score in 2m. 28s.  In the second
mile, he trotted well, but made a couple of little breaks.
At the head of the stretch, Flora's lead was three lengths,
but the stallion now began to close with her. She was tired,
and, in spite of McMann's whip, Patchen came fast and hard
upon her; and now there was an outrage such as was seldom




TEHE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         321
seen upon a race-course. Just as Patchen was getting the
best of it, a band of men ran out at him, and threw clubs and
hats in his face. In consequence, he broke, swerved behind
Flora's sulky, and she was first at the score in 5m. 11s.
Patchen was then withdrawn, and Flora was declared the
winner; but the decision, to my mind, was unsatisfactory.
If the horse had not been interfered with, it is probable that
he would have won that second heat. It is quite true, that he
was not interfered with by Flora or by her driver; but he was
by her outside backers. Therefore, the judges would have
been justified, I think, in declaring that there had not been
a fair race; that it was out of their power to have a fair
race; and that, this being so, the whole affair should end
there and then in a draw. The best way to discourage
rioting and roguery upon our race-courses is to take care
that the guilty parties shall never secure their sole object,
the plunder. As long as they are permitted to get and hold
the money, they will care but little for what people say to
them in the newspapers, or otherwise.




XL.
Flora Temple and Patchen again. -A Dishonored Check.- Appeal to aid
Decision of the Judges. - Flora' and Brown Dick. - Flora and Ethan
Allen. - Flora and Patchen again. - Flora against Dutchman's Time.
ON the second day of August, in the hottest time of the
year, and on a very warm, drowsy day, Flora Temple
and Patchen came together again. It was mile heats, three
in five, for $500, and seventy-five per cent of the gatemoney to be divided between them. They both looked well,
and Flora was the favorite at 100 to 80. The Philadelphia
squabbles were not yet quite over.. McMann held a check
for $500, which had been put up against his $500 at Philadelphia in the first race there. Since the race, payment of
it had been stopped; and he now asked the judges to require it to be made good before Patchen was allowed to start.
This was resisted by Waltermire, upon the ground that he
was not responsible for acts done by Hall of Rochester, who
had now no interest whatever in the stallion. But, in
answer to this, James McMann replied, that the match he
had made and won was made with Tallman, who appeared
here again with the horse. The judges decided that they
could not interfere, and I think they were right. It is
probable James McMann knew that Hall's check was staked
against his money; and, if he did not, he waived his right
to object to it, when he received it as part of the stakes.
The judges then could not prevent Patchen from starting,
so far as I can see. Hall's check had been accepted as payment by McMann; and it was not Tallman's fault that it
was dishonored. But, nevertheless, IMcMann was fully en322




THE TROTTING-HORSE OFt AMERICA.          323
titled to the money; and it is to be hoped that Hall was
compelled to pay. After having got $20,000 for the horse,
which was said tole his price, this stopping of the check
was small business.
The race now on hand was not as good as that which
was witnessed when they came together on the same course
the first time that year. That was a race, the like of which
I have never quite seen for. speed, obstinacy of contest, and
close finish. This in August was very fast also; but the
mare won with more ease. When they met early in June,
it was her first race that season; while Patchen's trots with
Ethan Allen had served to sharpen up and season him.
Besides that consideration, there is another. This was her
fifth race with him that year, and all of them had been very
fast. Now, about four races with Flora was enough to take
a little of the fine edge off any horse that ever trotted with
her, if the pace was strong. It took more to get Pa-tchen
down completely within her power, than it had ever done
with any former horse; but, if the process was slow, it was
sure, as we shall presently see. In the first heat of this
race at the Union, they started well together, after scoring
four or five times, in which Patchen, as usual, displayed
great speed on the straight work. On the turn, his inside
place gave him a little advantage, and the mare made a
skip.  McMann caught her on the jump; but he led a
length and a half at the half-mile pole in Im. 11s. This
lead was maintained all round the lower turn and somewhat
increased on the stretch. At the draw-gate, James called
upon the little mare, and she appeared to collect herself for
one of her grand rushes; but she did not get the right
stroke, and tangled all up, so that he won in 2m. 23-s., and
she ran over the score a couple of lengths behind him.
It was now a 100 to 40 on Patchen. He seemed somewhat distressed, but 7ae was a horse that- got over his blowing in an admirable manner. After some scoring, McMann rather caught Tallman napping; and, Flora getting




324      TlHE TROTTING-HORSE   OXF AMERICA.
up to one of her rapid bursts of speed, she headed the
stallion at the score, and got the word to her advantage.
She seemed determined, now that she was ahead, to keep
there; and by very fast and resolute trotting, she dropped
him behind, so that she led four lengths at the quarter.
At the half-mile, in Im. 11s., he got closer to her, and he
gained slowly on the lower turn. In the stretch he was
near enough to her to be dangerous; and, as she made a
skip, it looked so. But James caught her again at the instant of time, and on she came. In the endeavor to collar her the stallion broke, tired, and Flora won by three
lengths in 2m. 22~s.
In the third heat they got away together at a great rate,
and the stallion soon broke. He lost four lengths by it.
On the second quarter they trotted very fast,- about
thirty-four seconds being the time. At the half-mile, she
was leading three lengths and a half. On the lower turn,
he got closer, and they came up the stretch with little daylight between; but before they got home, he broke, and she
won in 2m. 231s., by four lengths. This was very great
trotting; and though Patchen was surely being defeated,
and was the worse off the further he went, he certainly
made a good, game fight for it. In the last heat, Flora led
all the way, except for a stride or two at the start, and this
she won in 2m. 253s. Take away their own race in June,
and this in August was the best that had ever been witnessed on the Union Course. Patchen never made such
another in harness; and, as he went on with her in her
customary tour that fall, she took more and more of the
steel out of him, just as she had formerly done out of
Princess and all the others that ventured on a long campaign against her.
After this race Flora went to Fonda, and beat Brown
Dick, mile heats, three in five, in harness, in three heats.
On the 28th of the same month she met Geo. M. Patchen
at Boston, at the Franklin Course, for a purse of $1,500,




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         325
mile heats, three in five, in harness. The mare won in
four heats, the second being a dead heat; and the best
time was 2m. 284s. On the 15th of September, she was in
the oak-opening country again, among her friends and
admirers at Kalamazoo. At that place, on the 15th of
September, she beat Ethan Allen for the purse of $2,000,
mile heats, three in five, in harness. Flora won in three
straight heats, the best of which was the last - 2m. 23s.
On and about the 24th of September, there was a great
gathering of turfmen in New York. The four-mile heat
sweepstakes then pending to be run on the Fashion Course,
in which Planet, Congaree, and Daniel Boone were engaged,
had brought gentlemen here from all over the Union, -
from Virginia and Maryland and the Carolinas; from
Alabama, Louisana, and Mississippi; from Kentucky and
Tennesee; and from the great rising States of the Northwest. That race did not amount to much: for Daniel
Boone hit himself at exercise, and was unable to start; and
Congaree was not in condition; so the Virginian stable, the
chief owner of which was Major Thomas Doswell, a man
entitled to great respect, obtained a very easy triumph.
The day before the race was run, I had the pleasure of
entertaining many of the turfmen at my house, as they
had come over to the south side of the Island to see Flora
Temple and Patchen trot two mile heats, in harness, on the
Centreville Course. The mare was the favorite at about a
hundred to sixty. Patchen had been resting since their
trot at Boston; while Flora had been to Michigan and back,
and had defeated Ethan Allen. Nevertheless, she was the
favorite at these long odds, and her condition was the best;
yet she was just upon the point of being overmarked by so
much work and travel. On -the day before she had tired at
her work, and nothing but her wonderful capacity of coming round quickly made her fit to trot the next day. At the
start in the first heat, Patchen took the lead, and at the
half-mile pole, in Im. 11s., he was two lengths and a half




326      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
ahead of her. She now began to close with him, and they
trotted very finely to the end of the mile. At the score, in
2m. 23., her head was at his wheel. On the back-stretch
she got to his head and he broke, whereupon Flora got a
lead of three lengths. On the lower turn he made another
break; but, even after that, trotted so well that Flora did
not win it easily. They were both whipped on the stretch.
She won by a couple of lengths in 4mn. 55-4s.
This was almost five seconds more than she had beaten
Princess in; and I conclude that Flora was not at her
best. There was apparently nothing in the weather or the
track to cause her to require more time; and yet she had to
be whipped to get the second mile out of her in 2m. 321.;
but one can never tell precisely what fast time depends
upon, and this makes time an uncertain test. It could not
have been the first mile in 2m. 23s. that made them quit in
the second; for they had both gone a first mile as fast in a
two-mile heat, and had not quit in the second mile. My
opinion is, that neither of them was quite up to the mark
that day; and I give it here, because I attribute her defeat
in the attempt to beat Dutchman's time, three days afterwards, to the fact that she was stale and not at her best.
In this two-mile race with Patchen, she won the second
heat in 5m.
On the 27th, she was brought out again in a match
against time for $500 a side, to beat Dutchman's threemile time under saddle. This was 7m. 321s.; the fourmile running-time of Fashion.  It is unnecessary to say
much about Dutchman's time here, except to state that it
was not all he was capable of, by any means.  I have
said, in a previous chapter, that I could have ridden him
that day ever so much better than 7m. 30s., — from 7m.
26s., to 7m. 28s.; therefore, I should not consider it a very
wonderful thing to have a horse come out and beat 7m.
32 Ls. in harness. It is true that no horse has ever done it;
but I have driven three that I consider were quite capable




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          327
of doing it, and one of them is now. I allude to Dexter,
who, in my opinion, would stand a good chance to beat it,
and pull a wagon. The others were Flora Temple and
General Butler. Patchen could perhaps have done it when
he was at his best; and I have no doubt John Morgan
could. To accomplish this feat, a horse must be fast and
stout, and his or her condition must be as near perfect as
may be. He must have a great deal of speed; for no horse
can stay three miles except by keeping well within himself.
He must be stout and honest; for a weak-constitutioned or
faint-hearted one will be sure to quit before he has finished
the job. He must be about the best pitch of condition; for,
if defective at all in this, the trial would be more hopeless than if he was lacking in one of the other particulars.
Now, we knew that Flora had plenty of speed, and good
bottom; but, considering her race with Patchen three days
before, it was not probable that she was at or near her best
pitch of condition; but a great many people never took that
into consideration at all, and she was backed at two to one.
James McMann drove her. I was one of the judges. At
the start she went off at good speed, but was not altogether
as steady as her backers might have wished; for she broke
twice in the first half-mile, which was trotted in lm. 14-s.
The first mile was made in 2m. 30-14s., which was a winning
rate, with a second and a half to spare. The pace was now
forced too much. She trotted the next half-mile at the
rate of 2m. 25s. to the mile, and the whole mile was 2m.
274s. This gave her a large margin for the third mile, but
left her with little or nothing to do it with. She had
trotted the two miles in 4m. 571s., and now she had only to
beat 2m. 35s. in the last mile to win; but this she could not
do. She broke badly in the first part of the third mile, and
her time in it was 2m. 361s. Her whole time was 7m.
334s. It was now mooted whether she could start again
that day, and we decided that she could; but this is not to
be taken as a general precedent. I am now satisfied that




328     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
when there is a race against time, a failure in one trial
beats the horse, unless it has been stipulated that there
shall be more than one. Flora tried again, but was 7m.
43ts. in the second trial. It was urged, that as the Centerville Course was more than a mile, Flora should be allowed the excess three times over, which might have
brought her within the time; but we held that we could not
allow it to her.'This question was debated for some time,
and was finally left to Mr. Wilkes, who decided that we
had not been in error, -that as the backer of Flora took
the track for a mile when he made the match, selected the
Centreville to trot on, he could not be allowed for its overmeasure.




XLI.
Flora Temple and George M. Patchen on a Tour. - Flora and Widow Machree. - Description of Widow Machree. - Flora and Princess again. -
Flora and John Morgan. -Breeding of John Morgan. - Description of
him.
A, FTER the failure of Flora to beat Dutchman's time,
she started out upon a tour with George IM. Patchen,
upon much the same principles as those which controlled in
her campaign with Princess. They were at Elmira on the
3d of October, and, according to the published programme,
trotted for a purse of $2,000; but, if anybody paid it, a
fool and his money then parted, for the mare won in three
heats, and the best time was 2m. 30s. It seems probable
that Tallman and the owner of the stallion had come to
the conviction that he could not beat Flora that season, and had made up their minds to earn his share of
the gate-money as easily as might be. On the 17th, they
were at.Watertown; and here there was a good race between
them. The track was heavy. In the first heat, Flora led
all the way by two lengths, and won in 2m. 28s. In the
second heat they went away together, and she had a little
lead for three-quaters of a mile. But the stallion was close
to her; and he made it so hot on the homestretch that she
broke, and he won in 2m. 26s.  But the little mare was
not to be beaten in the race, for she won the third and
fourth heats in 2m. 26s., 2m. 25s.
They passed on to Rochester, and there had another race
of four heats. The stallion won the first, and the mare secured the other three. The time was 2m. 29s., 2m. 29s.
329




330      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
2m. 28s., 2m. 30s. On the 27th of October they were at
Geneva, and trotted on a heavy course.: Flora won the first
heat in 2m. 32s. In the second, she was defeated in 2m.
2Ss. In the third, she beat the stallion in 2m. 29s. But
in the fourth heat she was distanced. On the 31st, they
reached Corning; and there the mare won in three heats,
with 2m. 31s. the best, the track being very heavy.
That was the last time that Flora and Patchen trotted
together, I believe. There was much talk the following
spring about matching them, and one or two meetings were
held at the office of " The Spirit of the Times," for the
purpose of coming to some definite agreement. But they
could not come to terms. Mr. Waltermire and Tallman
declared that McMann was afraid to trot the mare against
Patchen any more. But the truth is, that James was
quietly laying back to entice them into an offer to trot for
a large amount of money, and finally offered to trot Flora
against him any race they could name in harness or to
wagon, for a large amount. But by this time Mr. Waltermire had made up his mind to let Patchen go to the stud.
I do not think that he could have balanced the books with
her if he had tried again; for events afterwards showed that
she was quite as good as ever, if not better. But he had
stood a longer and stouter struggle with her than any other
trotter had done. H~ e beat her more heats than any other
horse; and most of the heats in which she beat him were
very fast and close. He met her, too, at the golden prime
of her life, when she had just reached the full maturity of
her extraordinary power.
When every thing is considered, I am under the impression that Patchen was the best horse that Flora Temple
ever contended with, and that, therefore, their names must
go down linked together as those of the best mare and the
best stallion that have yet appeared. On the other hand,
James McMann has a leaning to the opinion that the very
best horse she ever met was the Chestnut from Kentucky,




THE TROTTINCG-HORSE OF AMERICA.        331
first called Medoc, and afterwards John Morgan.  Now, it
is true, as we shall presently see, that he made her put
forth all her powers to beat him, especially at two-mile
heats. But Patchen did this more than once, and actually
beat her two-mile heats as well. Moreover, it did him no
perceptible harm; for he was still very fast and very stout
when he was trained again to trot with General Butler,
after having been at the stud: while, as regards John Morgan, the race appeared to upset him. It "cooked his mutton," as the saying is, and he never was as good again.
With this, which Patchen well deserved, I leave him.
But Flora's work in 1860 was not ended when she had
done with Patchen. James McMann would make hay when
the sun did not shine as well as when it did; and so, a
purse being offered down at Danbury, in Connecticut, on
the 15th of November, he took Flora there to trot for it.
The attachment of James to Flora was very great.'He
gloried in her, and often reproved the boys for giving her
nick-names, other than the one he fondly applied to her
which was DOLLY; but it must be confessed that he kept
her busy, and at it early and late. Her opponent at Danbury was the Widow Machree, a mare that bade fair at one
time to win a place only second to that of Flora herself,
and would have done it, in my opinion, if her legs had been
as good as her pluck and her constitution were.  The
Widow was a low, wiry chestnut, with all the hard, condensed quality of a thoroughbred. She had great speed,
she was capital before a wagon, she was as game a mare as
any that I remember; but she was light in the bone below
the knee, and her fore legs went early. The truth is, however, that, with proper care and judicious management, they
might have lasted a good deal longer. She was one of the
daughters of that famous horse American Star, of whom I
have spoken in prior chapters.
At Danbury, the mud was deep and heavy, and the
weather bleak and cold, as it commonly is in Newm




332      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
England in the middle of November. Flora Temple and
Widow Machree trotted a tremendous race. The former
won it in three heats, and the fastest was 2m. 30s.; the
third was 2m. 33s. This, in the state of the ground and
the weather, was justly considered amazing. The Widow
is no longer on the course, but has been bred to I-Iambletonian, by whom she has had three sons, all said to be fine
colts. It is the same cross that produced Dexter; and, in
my judgment, there is none better. The stallion gives the
size and bone, which many of the Star mares somewhat
lack; while they supply a style of action that cannot be surpassed, and an amount of pluck and gameness that never
was exceeded.
In the year 1861, Flora made her first appearance, on the
21st of May, at the Fashion Course. Her opponent was
the mare Princess, who had been for some time in retirement. She was now thought to be in fine condition, and
had trotted so well in private, that many thought she would
stand a good chance to defeat Flora, who had just come up
from Charles Lloyd's, in Jersey. The Fashion Course had
lately come under control of a new club, composed of such
gentlemen as Mr. Pettee, Mr. Genet, Shephard F. Knapp,
Morgan L. Mott, etc. The club offered a purse of $500,
mile heats, three in five, to wagon, for Flora and Princess.
The latter went wrong just before the race, being sore in
the fore-feet. Flora won in three heats, and the time was
slow.
It now seemed difficult for Flora to get further engagements; but at length a new candidate for the highest honors of the turf was brought on from the West to trot against
her. It was the chestnut-gelding Medoc, or John Morgan,
a Kentucky horse, and, I think, the best trotter that has yet
been produced there. He was the result of a cross between
a trotting-stallion and a thoroughbred, or nearly thoroughbred, mare. His sire was Pilot, jun., a son of old Pilot the
pacer. His dam was by the race-horse Medoc, who, being




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          333
a son of American Eclipse, inherited the Messenger blood
through the famous Miller's Damsel. This latter was out
of an imported mare by Pot-8-os, who was the best son of
English Eclipse, and one of the fastest and stoutest running.
horses that ever was trained.
John Morgan was a golden chestnut, with a white foot
and a blaze in the face. He was sixteen hands high, a
powerful horse, with great bone, and fine, bold action. He
was worked, and worked hard, even when two years old; and
at four he was put through such a preparation as his owner,
Mr. Bradley, gave to the running-horses. In my opinion,
his early and severe handling was a great evil. It did not
prevent him from displaying wonderful speed and bottom;
but it cut his career very short, to what it might otherwise
have been. If this horse had not been trained and trotted
until he was four or five years old, he might have gone on
improving so as to beat Flora herself. He was a very stout
horse, as well as, very fast. No distance seemed too long
for him. He was trained and driven in Kentucky by his
owner, who had never trained and driven any other trottinghorse.
After having won two and three mile heats in Kentucky,
he was sold to Mr. George Bockius and James Turner, for
$6,000 or $7,000. They brought him to New York, and
matched him to trot three races against Flora; mile heats
three in five, two-mile heats, and three-mile heats, in harness. The races were trotted on the Centreville Course,
the first, mile heats, three in five, was on the 13th of June.
Very few thought that he could beat Flora at mile heats,
and the bettting was 100 to 20 on her before the start. Still
his fine, bold action, as he came up the home-stretch, seemingly with the power of a locomotive, greatly impressed the
gentlemen who were present. Turner drove him, and the
horse was a little too powerful for him. He pulled strong,
and had run away once or twice. Turner had been sick;
and, though a man of great natural courage, he was a little
nervous.




334      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AM.ERICA.
In the first heat they went away level, and the quarter
was trotted in 34s., Flora having a lead of two lengths.
She did not increase her lead, and the time at the half-mile
pole was im. 10s. He now drew towards her, and at the
head of the stretch was at her wheel. A good race home
followed; and, if Turner had been able to keep up his pull, it
would have been a near thing. The chestnut broke inside
the draw-gate, but caught his trot well; and Flora only beat
him a length and a half in 2m. 241s.
In scoring for the next heat, Flora came up behind several
times, and finally the gelding threw one of his shoes. It
was replaced; but, when they got the word, he made a wild
break just as he neared the place where he threw it, and
Flora took a lead of four or five lengths. He broke again
on the back-stretch, and the mare won the heat with ease in
2m. 26s. The third heat was very much like the second.
Turner was tired, and could not stand the pull of the horse.
His gait was so bold and his stroke so long, that he could
not keep up to it, without putting considerable weight on
the bit. He broke again soon after they got the word, and
lost ground that he could never make up. She won the
heat in 2m. 28 s. The friends of John Morgan were somewhat disappointed, but they still thought that he would do
better on another occasion. In this they were quite right;
for, as we shall presently see, he made her trot the best
two-mile race in harness that she, or any other horse, ever
made.




XLII.
Flora Temple and John Morgan. —The Fastest Two-mile Race that had
been trotted. - Remarks upon the Race. - The Three-mile-Heat Race.
- Flora against Ethan Allen and a Running-Mate. - Flora before Gen.
Grant. -The Widow Machree.
ON the 11th of June, Flora Temple and John Morgan
had their second meeting at the Centreville Course, to
trot two-mile heats in harness. It was a most beautiful
day, warm and bright, with the atmosphere of that genial
and active sort that the lungs and chest seem to expand at
its approach to take plenty in. The attendance was not as
large as it would have been if the people had known what
a contest was about to take place; for, in all Flora's career,
she never made quite such another race as she was compelled to do on this occasion. When she appeared upon the
course, she looked a little thinner than usual; and she speedily warmed up to a little damp sweat upon the neck. It
was understood that for a day or two she had not been
feeding as greedily as she usually did. In common, she was
a very voracious feeder. This might have led to the supposition that she was just a little over-marked; but her eye
was bright, her coat sleek and glossy, and her nostril expanded like the mouth of a trumpet. Therefore I concluded
that she had just reached the finest condition to which she
could, in all probability, attain.
It is well known to horsemen who are close observers,
that, though a horse cannot make a great race when decidedly off the feed, some of the finest efforts that ever
were made, and some of the greatest successes that ever were
won, came just as the horse was beginning to get dainty,
335




336      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
and to pick and nibble at the oats. This, I have no doubt,
was the case with flora. John Morgan looked all the
better for his race at mile heats; and as he came up the
home-stretch, in warming up, it was with a boldness and
power of stroke that seemed to indicate uncommon confidence and resolution. There was but little betting, and that
little was at three to one on Flora Temple. The horse was
driven by Turner, who, not from any lack of skill, but for
want of bodily strength, was likely to give out before the
trotter did. The style of the horse was of that sort which
requires a good strong pull to support him, especially when
he tried to keep up his great stroke in going round the turns.
If he could have had a chance at Flora, two miles straight
away, on a good dirt-road, it is my belief he would have
beaten her.
In the first heat, they went away well together; but he
seemed to hang on the turn, while she made one of her
electric rushes, and took the pole from him. She went on
to the half-mile, with a lead of two lengths, in tm. 121s.
The chestnut began to close with her on the lower turn; and,
at the head of the stretch, he was at her wheel. Here he
lay coming up the stretch, on which he made a little skip,
but caught Well. The mile was trotted in 2m. 27s., the
mare being a length ahead at the score. Again, in rounding this upper turn, he lost some ground, but on the backstretch made it up, and placed his head at her wheel. On
the lower turn, he got to her quarters; but, when they had
swung into the home-stretch, her inside place brought her a
length ahead of him. Turner now called upon him; and,
the work being straight ahead, he answered with such an
effort that he gained upon her inch by inch. It was a very
fine spectacle. At the distance he had got to her head, and
it looked as though he would win it. But the little mare
-was notyet all out. McMann shook the whip over her; and,
the crowd setting up a shout, she made a desperate effort,
and, getting her nose in front of him again, she managed to




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           337
keep it there in spite of all his efforts, and won by a head.
It was one of the finest finishes that I remember to have
seen, when the big horse began to out-trot her up the stretch,
and she, making a grand rally as she saw his smoking
nostril, succeeded in just beating him out. The time was
4m. 55{s.
Between the heats they both showed that their condition
was good, and that they were good-winded ones. In ehe
second heat they started even; but Flora was the quickest
beginner, and began to draw ahead at the turn. Turner,
indeed, was afraid to let his horse out at first, for fear that
he might break. The little mare went on until she was
three lengths ahead of him; but when he got well settled into
his stroke, on the back-stretch, he began to overhaul her.
At the half-mile, in tin. 12~s., he was an open length
behind her, and at the head of the stretch had shut up the
daylight.  The first mile was 2m. 26s., Flora leading a
length and a half. He lost a little on the turn, as usual;
but on the back-stretch he trotted in magnificent style, and
showed a truly great rate of speed for the sixth quarter of
a two-mile heat. At the half-mile pole, he was at her quarters, and his head reached her flank. McMann set up a yell
at her, or perhaps at him, and he broke. But he caught in
fine style, and, losing but little, dashed on after her. At
the head of the stretch she led a length; but now the chestnut came on, and made another resolute and most determined
effort to get the heat. He gained upon her inch by inch,
until at the distance she was but a neck in front. McMann
put the whip on to Miss Flora, and Turner held John Mlorgan to his brush with all his might. But it lasted a little
too long. He broke close at home, and she won the heat in
4m. 521s.
When the heats are put together, it will be found that
this was the fastest two-mile race in harness that ever was
trotted; and it shows conclusively that John Morgan was a
tremendous horse. He had not had that gradual, patient
22




338      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
development which I contend is best for a trotter, if not
absolutely necessary to make a first-rate one. Instead of
that, he had been knocked about at two years old, and at
four was put through a preparation like that which runninghorses receive, by a man who was notorious as a hard worker.
Yet, as we have seen, he compelled Flora to do a greater
thing in the beating of him than she had been called upon
to perform in the conquering of Princess and George MI.
Patchen. He only lost the race, in my opinion, because
Flora was a quicker beginner than he was, and her driver
had recourse to the cunning tactics of rushing off with her
so as to get the pole, and then " waiting in front."  I think
John Morgan should have forced the pace more in the first
heat. after he got well into his stroke. Both the heats were
so close at the finish, that a very little change would have
made the result different; and in both heats he showed the
most speed in the last quarter of a mile. In the first,
she was a length ahead of him when they entered that
quarter, and only beat him out by a head. His reputation
for stoutness was very great; and, if he had forced Flora more
in the mile and three-quarters preceding, he might have
lasted the longest, and so have won it. Altogether, it was a
very extraordinary trot.
On the 18th, they met again, at three-mile heats, and the
odds were 100 to 40 on the mare. The reputation of John
Morgan as a three-mile horse had been very great; but then
it was to be remembered that he had not before encountered
any trotter that could carry him at any thing like the rate of
Flora Temple. Moreover, we have seen that she was such a
thorough campaigner, that no horse had been found able to
keep at the same relative place with her in a series of races,
as he began with. Lancet, Princess, and Patchen had all
proved this fact, that, the further they pursued their contest
with her, the easier they were defeated. John Morgan,
great horse and good stayer as he was, proved no exception,
and was the last of her illustrious victims. The two-milo




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          339
race had taken a great deal out of him. He was not at his
best on the day of the three-mile race; and, what is more, he
never again came back to it.
At the start, he had the inside, but broke, and she took
the pole. The first mile was trotted in 2m. 29s., the mare
being a length ahead at the end of it. On the turn, she increased her lead; but, on the back-stretch, he got to her
quarters. She finished the second mile, which was trotted
in 2m. 27s., with him at her quarters, and on the turn he
got to her head. They went neck-and-neck for a short
time, and then the chestnut broke; but Turner caught him,
and Flora soon after broke. While she was up he took the
lead, and this was the first time he had ever obtained it in
their races. But at the half-mile pole she was with him
again, and able to make a stout struggle for victory, while
his powder was burned out. He died away to nothing
after she passed him, and Flora actually walked in, - time
7m. 47s. I have no doubt that he hit himself in the last
half-mile, for he broke three or four times in coming up the
home-stretch. He had always had a strong liability to hit
himself from over action; and, after his races with her, it
got to be a good deal stronger. She won the second heat
of the three-mile race in 7m. 48s.
-He was afterwards matched with her again, but hit- himself in his work and paid forfeit. I think, that, in John
Morgan, the material out of which one of the finest trotters
that our country ever produced might have been made was
partly ruined by overwork at an early age. It is quite true
that the horse's power and breeding, and Bradley's forcingsystem, produced a wonder; but it was a marvel of very
short duration to what we might have witnessed if he had
been handled as Flora Temple and Dexter were in their
early years.
It now appeared to be absolutely certain that there was
not a horse in the country who could contend with Flora, on
even terms, with any hope of success. She was the mis



340      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERI(,IA.
tress of them all. Therefore it seemed to be probable that
she would get a period of repose. But, though one horse
could not beat her, two might; and Joel Holkam, who had
control of Ethan Allen, had found, that, assisted by a running-mate, he could trot in double harness at an immense
rate of speed. Flora met Ethan Allen and his runningmate Socks for the first time on the Union Course, July
15. Flora went to a wagon.
I shall not describe these races at any length, because I
do not consider them trotting-races; and I have my doubts
whether the system of training a horse to trot by means of
having a runner hitched up with him to pull the weight is
a good one. I know that by such means some moderate
horses may be made to do what appears to be a very remarkable feat; and this makes me think that the system
may be deceptive and mischievous. The truth seems to
be, that, in that way of going, it is the running-horse that
furnishes the moving-power.   The trotter is almost as
literally pulled along as the man who drives and the wagon
are. The team beat Flora the first race in three heats, - 2m.
221s., 2m. 22s., 2m. 233s.  But inasmuch as the team
only beat the mare by a short length, in 2m. 22s., it appears
that she never made a winning-heat to wagon as good as
she showed then. On the 25th, they mlet again, on the
Fashion Course, Flora in harness. The team won the first
heat in 2m. 214s., and was distanced in the second heat,
because Ethan, as well as Socks, ran for more than half a
mile. A viler and more disgraceful transaction was never
witnessed than this affair; and it is greatly to be regretted
that the judges did not declare the bets off, and so defeat
the ends of the promoters.
On the 8th of August, they met again on the Union
Course; and this time the team was driven by a man who
never threw a race) in my judgment, -the late lamented
Horace Jones, who was drowned in the Delaware IRiver.
The consequence was, that they won easily in three heats, -




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          341
2m. 24as., 2m. 22s., 2m. 221s.   Once more they met,
and this time Joel Holkam drove them himself.  They
won again in three heats, and in the fastest equalled Flora
Temple's time in harness at Kalamazoo, - 2m. 19 s. She
was only defeated by a head in this fast heat.
After this, Flora was seized by some officious persons,
and an attempt was made to confiscate her; but the Government ordered her to be restored to Mr. McDonald, and,
when she was given up to him, he took her to Baltimore.
There she remaind until his death. She was then purchased by Mr. A. Welsh, a gentleman of wealth, residing
at Chestnut Hills, Philadelphia. She was again put in
work; and it created a great sensation when she was en-.tered in two purses on the Fashion Course, in the name of
Mr. George Wilkes.
When these entries were made, that was done which
ought to have been done before. She was sent to McMann
again. If James had had her from the first day that she
was put to work again, and had gone at her with his cautious, gradual method, it is not unlikely that she would
have stood a preparation, and trotted those races among
horses of a generation that was foaled after her name was
great. The last time Flora appeared on a public occasion
was when Gen. Grant reviewed the great trotters at the
Dubois track. She showed well on that day; but, soon after,
her hind legs filled, and she had to be let up. If she had
been trained on in 1862 and the following years, instead of
laying idle so long, she might, perhaps, have continued to
improve.  Her speed had come to her gradually; and
though it may be said she was then too old to get any better, I am unable to perceive that she must necessarily have
reached her best in the fall of 1861, when she last trotted.
She had certainly been gaining a little up to that time;
and why should we conclude that she had then ceased to
gain? Her constitution was wonderfully good. She was
a younger mare in the fall of 1861, in regard to health and




342      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
vigor, than thousands who had not numbered half her
years.
I have previously stated that the Widow Machree was
a speedy mare and an all-day trotter; and, as I have always
considered her among the most reliable and gamest trottinghorses that I had ever driven, I will give a sketch of her
performances while in my stable and under my observation.
She was first called Mary Hoyt. In the spring of 1859,
she was purchased by Capt. Isaiah Rynders of New York,
of James W. Hoyt of Middletown, Orange County. After
driving her on the road a short time, he matched her
against John J. Kelly's bay mare, to trot two miles and
repeat, to wagons, over the Union Course, in the month of
August following, for $1,700. Her name was then changed
from Mary Hoyt to Widow Machree.  After the match
was made, Mr. Kelly proposed to make it pay or play;
which was accepted, and the money put up. A considerable
amount was betted the same way before the race came off.
Horace Jones, Alderman Compton, and others, backed the
Kelly mare; Capt. Rynders backed the Widow. The
Widow was sent to my stable to be trained for the race.
I knew nothing of her qualities, except that I had heard
she was a good, game mare; and the captain knew about as
much as I did. After I had worked her about three weeks,
we gave her a trial to a wagon, a mile and repeat. I did
not drive her to the top of her speed the first mile; but I
found I was behind a trotter of no ordinary capacity, and
one that did not give back in the home-stretch. The second
mile she was timed, and made 2.34; which was much
better than we expected. We did not time her again until
within a week before the race. We gave her the trial a
week before the race, two miles to a wagon.
She made the first mile in 2.35; and then I urged her a
little more, and she came round the second mile in 2.33: so
I was informed by Mr. Rynders, who held the watch. I
could have driven her faster than that; but this was fast




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         343
enough to win the match without much trouble. The race
came off at the appointed time; but it was not much of a contest, as the bay mare was not in good fix.
We got the word. I took the lead; and the bay mare
n.ver got alongside of me after we went a hundred yards:
in fact, the gait was nothing more than a good exercise for
the Widow. I think the time was 5.30. After the twomile race, the Widow was left in my charge. She had two
or three forfeits paid to her. I worked her moderately, and
she grew fleshy very quick; being at all times a good
feeder.
In the fall following the race in August, I entered the
Widow Machree and Frank Temple in a double-team
trotting-race. The first time I hooked up the Widow and
Frank Temple together, I drove round the Union Course
inside of 2.40. I had entered the Widow for a purse that
was offered to be trotted the day after the race with the
double teams at Boston. The day before the race, I put
them on board the steamer. We had a stormy night; and
the horses got wet, and took cold. Frank Temple was a
little off his feed next day: not so with the Widow; she
was a little stiff, but took her feed eagerly.
We took the cars early in the morning, and arrived at
Boston in good time. Three teams put in their appearance,- A. Carpenter's, William Whelan's, and my own. I
took the lead, and kept it easily, and could have distanced
the other teams.
I noticed in this heat that Frank Temple did not act ix
his usual prompt and vigorous style; and this I told to
Capt. Rynders. Thereupon he cautioned his friends not to
bet long odds. They had been offering ten to one. In the
second heat I again took the lead without much trouble.
Frank, however, tired after going half a mile, and the
Widow had to do all the work herself in the last quarter;
but we won the heat. Frank Temple was - evidently out of
ix, and showed distress. Still I thought we should manage




344      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
to pull through; for the Widow was great at a desperate
pinch, and Frank himself was a very gallant little horse.
Capt. Rynders, however, feared defeat, as Carpenter's team
seemed very fresh and well.
In the third heat, I got a very bad start, being two
lengths behind. Carpenter's team, Telemachus and Nellie
Holcomb, took the lead, and finally won the race. But the
unflinching game and bottom of the Widow in the losing
heats, the third, fourth, and fifth, created great admiration,
and made her a host of friends. As for Frank Temple, he
did all he could in his condition; and neither man nor
horse can do more. The time of the five heats was 2.5.5,
2.50, 2.42, 2.44, 2.44. Whelan's team was distanced in
the third heat.
When we took the team to their stable that night, I
thought neither of them would be able to trot again that
year. In the morning, I found the Widow laying down
and eating hay. She was so stiff that she could not get up
without our help. We thought she had trotted her last
race; and the captain said he would sell her for $500; but,
when she was on her feet, she went at her oats, and cleaned
the manger, while we rubbed her fore legs with warm
lotions. After this she was walked for an hour.
The proprietor of the course said that the people would
be greatly disappointed if she did not start in the race in
the afternoon, and requested that she might be led by the
stand that her unfitness might be seen. When the time
for the race came, I took her to the track, and drove her
past the stand in a sulky. She could hardly put one foot
before the other. The other horses, Draco, Somerville,
Lady Spurr, and Ephraim Smooth appeared. I had jogged
the mare round, and was about to take her off, when I
noticed that she pricked up her ears at sight of the other
horses, and acted as though she'd warm up and get limber.
I then told the captain that I thought she might do better
than we expected if started. He said I was crazy, but




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERIZ1A.         345
finally told me to do as I pleased, adding that he knew she
would be distanced in the first heat. For all that, I resolved to start her; and, as the day was cold and windy, I
jogged her round again.
The first heat was won by Draco in 2.381; but I was
second, although I had been run into by Ephraim Smooth,
whose wheel took the hair off one of the mare's legs. The
second heat was won by Draco in 2.41i, and I was second
again, Lady Spurr and Ephraim Smooth both distanced.
The latter ran into the mare, upset her sulky and herself;
and she fell with her neck over Dan Mace's body. Ephraim
also spilt his own driver, and ran off with the sulky upside
down. When Mace's sulky was upset, I was close behind
him, and lost nearly a hundred yards. I had to call upon
the Widow to get inside the distance; and the way she
answered let me know that her dead-game quality had triumphed over her infirmity, and that she was all the time
"a-coming." I sent her along, and got second place.
Between the heats she was blanketted close and kept
moving, except while her legs were being rubbed with
lotion. In the third heat, we got off well; and Draco and
the Widow went. neck-and-neck to the quarter. The mare
then began to show in front: but Holcomb let the stallion
break and ease himself by a few jumps; and this expedient,
being several times repeated, 1)raco was ahead in turning
into the stretch. But -the steady stroke of the mare overhauled him at the distance; and, in spite of another break
and run, she beat him out by a neck in 2m. 391s. The
stallion was second, and Somerville third.
In the fourth heat, I had the pole, which was a great
advantage, as it was a half-mile track. The mare took the
lead, and kept it, although Draco made a good game struggle. The time was 2m. 341s.
In the fifth heat, Draco made a desperate race of it for
half a mile, hanging at the mare's wheel all the was. It
was at the rate of about 2m. 30s.; but after that he fell off,




346      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
and I took the Widow in hand. She could have trotted out
in 2m. 30s. if there had been any thing to force her. As
it was, the time was 2m. 39s.
In these five heats, the Widow Machree never broke.
Considering her arduous race of the day before, and the
state of her legs when we brought her to the course, it was
one of the most splendid exhibitions of unflinching game
and strong bottom that was ever seen. The Widow's pluck
was always so good, that she was counted a real " do or die"
mare. Tbat race at Boston was the last she trotted with
me.




XLIII.
The King of the Trotters, Dexter. - Description and breeding of him. - His
Purchase by Mr. George Alley. - His History prior to.his coming to me.His First and Second Trials. -Dexter's First Race. - He beats Stonewall
Jackson, Lady Collins, and Gen' Grant. —Dexter and Doty's Mare. -
Dexter, Shark, and Lady Shannon. - Dexter, Shark, and Hambletonian. -
Dexter hits himself, and is drawn. — Evil of much Scoring.- Dexter's Trial
in November, 2m. 231s.
A        T one time it was my intention to have said nothing
about any horse that was still upon the turf; and, if
I had carried that resolution out, it would have shut out any
remarks concerning the prime favorite of my latter day,
Dexter: but so many gentlemen have urged, and, indeed,
demanded, that I should give a sketch of so famous a horse,
that I finally determined to comply. Dexter is a brown
gelding, very rich in color, with four white legs, and a blaze
in the face.  He is fifteen hands and an inch high, and is
what we call " a big-little one." He is long for his inches,
deep through the heart, and very powerful in the stifles,
loins, and quarters. He has a good head, neck, and eye,
capital oblique shoulders, and good legs and feet. There is
all over him a very resolute and workmanlike look, and his
quality does not at all belie it.  This horse was bred by Mr.
Jonathan Hawkins of Montgomery, Orange County, N.Y.
He was got by Hambletonian out of a little black mare
by American Star, and she was out of Shark's dam. The
pedigree of the latter is not known; but this much is certain,
that she was a good road-mare, of great bottom, and with
a very sound, tough constitution. She lived to be very old.
At one time a story was got up to the effect that Dexter
847




348      THE  TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
was got by Harry Clay, but there was no truth in it. He
was foaled in 1858, and was not held in much favor for some
time. His white legs and the blaze set people against him.
I have no doubt the old saw, -
"One white leg, inspect him;
Two white legs, reject him;
Three white legs, sell him to your foes;
Four white legs, feed him to the crows!"was often quoted by people who saw this colt in the field at
Mr. Hawkins's. In the June of 1862, Mr. George Alley went
up to Orange County to look at him. That gentleman has
long been known as one of the best and most sagacious
judges of trotting-horses to be found among the merchants
and business men of New York. He had heard of this colt
from Mr James Jacks, another very good judge of a trotter
among our business men. At that time the colt was not
broken. They had had harness on him two or three times
the preceding winter; but he had slipped on the ice, and hurt
one of his-hind legs, so that they did not persevere with
him. At that time, too, he had never had any grain fed to
him: his feed had been hay and grass from the time he
was weaned.
Mr. Alley found him in one of Mr. Hawkins's fields; and,
being full of grass, he did not show well when started up and
made to trot; but afterwards they drove him out into the
road, and there sent him backwards and forwards, loose.
Mr. Alley, and Mr. Felter who was with him, then perceived
that the action of the four-year-old was of the squarest and
finest character. The former purchased him for $400, and
had him sent down to his place at New Rochelle. Here he
bitted and drove him, until he left home in the fall to go to
Philadelphia for a short time. He then sent the colt to
John Mingo, the breaker, at Flushing; and with John he
remained about two months.




THE TROTTIYG-IIORSI OF AMERICA.         349
Mr. Alley then had him home again, and drove him himself until the roads got bad. He still kept him at New
Rochelle, intending to drive him to a sleigh when the snow
fell; but there was no sleighing that winter until February,
and the very first day that Dexter was hitched to a sleigh
an accident befel him. He has never had any vicious ways;
but he has always been a high-strung, nervous, determined
horse. NTo sooner did he come with the sleigh on to a bare
piece of ground, than he made a jump (he jumps like a
cat), and the whiffletree broke, the neck-yoke came off the
pole, and he got loose. Mr. Alley then sent him here, not
to me, but to Pelham John, who had him in hand two
months.
That spring Mr. Alley moved to Islip, and drove Dexter
again. In June he had him to a Boston wagon with C
springs. It was only meant to carry one, but Mr. Alley
had a friend in with him. Dexter made a shying jump
away from some pea-straw that lay'in a heap near the road,
the wagon slewed, the gentlemen fell out, Dexter ran home
to his stable. That fall, in the month of September, he
being then five years old, Dexter was sent to me to be
trained a little. After a short time, I sent him a trial to a
wagon in 2m. 42s. This was the first trial he ever had. In
a week after that we tried him a mile in harness, and he
went' in 2m. 314s. Here was indication of great speed
when it should be developed, in course of time; and, as he
trotted-the last halves of these miles as fast as he did the
first, I set him down at once as possessed of bottom worthy
of his breeding. Mr. Alley and I immediately concluded
that in Dexter we had got hold'of an extraordinary young
horse.
Soon after that he fell lame behind, as we supposed from
kicking in the stall. Ordinarily he was no kicker nor no
biter. As his lameness did not leave him, Mr. Alley took
him to Islip, and drove him a little; but it was of no service,
and he was turned out fox about six weeks. He was taken




350      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF.AMER[CA.
up again on the 1st of December, and Mr. Alley drove him
that winter in double-harness, along with the mare Baby
Bell. It seemed now that his accidents were all over, for
with the mare he went steady and well that winter. In the
spring he was entered in a number of the purses given by
the proprietors of the Fashion and Union Courses, and at
the proper time was sent to me to be trained. I soon found
out what sort of a horse he was. His constitution was fine;
his temper was good; he was a good feeder, not a glutton,
nor a great eater of hay, but with a healthy appetite and
digestive powers that would always consume about twelve
quarts of oats a day; and that is enough for any horse in
training. Hence I looked forward with great confidence to
a successful career for this young horse.
Dexter made his first race on the 4th of May, 1864, at
the Fashion Course, for a purse of $100. There were
twelve entries to this race, and four started. The starters
were Dexter, Stonewall Jackson of New York (a fast
bay gelding who had been very successful that spring),
the chestnut-mare Lady Collins, and Gen. Grant (a brown
gelding). This horse had been a pacer. He trotted now,
and trotted exceedingly fast, but he was very unsteady.
The public thought Stonewall Jackson nearly sure to win
it; but when we got over to the Fashion Course, and put the
money upon Dexter, he became the favorite at the rate of
six to four. Still, I dare say that no one but Mr. Alley
and myself suspected and believed that the curtain was
about to draw up upon the greatest trotter, taken for all-inall, that has ever appeared.
The race was the usual mile heats, three in five, in harness. We got off in the first heat, and I took the lead with
Dexter. At the half-mile, in lm. 134s., Dexter had a good
lead, and was going quite within himself. The others
could not get near him. He won by half a dozen lengths,
jogging out in 2m. 33s. Stonewall Jackson was second,
the Lady third, and Grant distanced. The other heats




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           351
were similar to the first. Dexter was never headed in the
race, and won all the heats very easily. The second and
third were 2m. 36s. and 2m. 344s. Two days afterwards,
Dexter trotted again. This was at the Union Course, mile
heats, three in five, in harness. Lady Collins went against
him. He won in three heats easily, -2m. 341s., 2m. 36s.,
2m. 37-s.
Previous to the first race, I had put the muzzle on Dexter, as we commonly do with trotting-horses in training,
especially'just before the race; but I now discovered that
there was no occasion for it, and after that he was never
muzzled, and had all the hay he wanted. I have said, in
prior chapters of this work, that no rules can be laid down
as absolute guides for training horses, because horses differ
so much in constitution.  Dexter was a good, moderate
feeder, but would not stuff himself full of hay, or eat his
litter. Other horses I have had that could not be kept in
condition and wind without being usually muzzled in their
training.
On the 13th of May, Dexter trotted again, at the Union
Course, against Doty's bay mare, to wagons. He won the
first two heats in 2m. 36 s., 2m. 39s. and then she was
drawn. On the 18th, at the Fashion Course, he trotted
mile heats, three in five, in harness, with Lady Shannon, a
gray mare, in the hands of Robert Walker, and the bay
gelding Shark, who was in Dan Mace's care. This horse
belonged to Mr. Jacks then. He was by Hambletonian,
out of the old mare that was the dam of Dexter's dam. So
they were closely related. Shark had had a trial on the
Union; Course with a running-horse, and was said to have
gone fast. He had some backers, but Dexter was the favorite. In the first heat Dexter took the lead, and was three
lengths ahead at the half-mile pole in lm. 15 Is.; Shark was
second. Dexter made a skip on the home-stretch, but won
it easily in 2m. 33s.; Shark second. In the second heat,
the gray mare was nearly head-and-head with Dexter at




352      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
the quarter; but she broke on the back-stretch, ai l he had
a lead of three lengths at the half-mile in 1m. 15-s. Shark
was second there. They could not stand the pace; and
Dexter won it in a mere jog in 2m. 32~s. In the third
heat, the little horse took the lead again, and, at the halfmile pole, led the gray mare three lengths in tm. 13s. On
the Flushing-end of the course he was full of trot, and I
let him go along. He increased his lead. On the homestretch, I took him in hand, and he jogged out in 2m. 30s.
This race was for a purse of $200, and a stake of $50 each.
Dexter had now, in the course of two weeks, trotted four
races, in which there were eleven heats. In none of these
heats had the little horse been headed. People began to
say, " Hiram Woodruff has got hold of another Ripton;"
but I had a trotting-mare in my stable then who made a
great stride forward. On the 1st of June, Lady Emma
beat May Queen and Dan Mace at the Union Course in
such time and such easy style, that she was forthwith
classed with the best trotters, and there she remained until
her death late last fall.
Misfortune was now close at hand for Dexter, but not in
any grave shape. On the 3d of June he trotted mile heats,
three in five, to wagons, on the Fashion Course, with Shark
and another son of Hambletonian, called after the old horse.
Horace Jones had him: Ad. Carpenter drove Shark. There
was an immense deal of scoring, -more than there ought
ever to be. Above ten times we came up without getting
the word: when we did get it, Dexter broke. Shark took
the lead, Hambletonian second.  At the half-mile, in
Im. 18-s., I had passed Hambletonian, and had got to the
quarters of Shark: at the head of the stretch I had nearly
collared him; but, just in the straight, Dexter hit his knee,
and broke up. Shark won it in 2m. 36s., and Hambletonian
was second. I then drew my horse, as he had given himself
a pretty hard wipe. He had been backed at five to one at
the start; and it seemed a hard case for the layers of the




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          353
odds. Some people blamed me. It w.xs a hard case for the
backers of Dexter, and for his owner and me too; and they
should have blamed those in authority, who stood up and
saw a very valuable young horse, and a great public favorite,
compelled to score above twelve times. I say this, if others
can beat me in a race, let them do it; but do not give them
a chance to beat me before the race begins, by "doublebanking " me in scoring. The scoring for the first heat is
no part of the race, for a horse or horses can pay forfeit
after it; yet we often see a good horse prevented from winning by two or three scoring against him alternately, while
one stays behind each time and hinders a start. This is a
game for which a remedy ought to be found. This is the
way Dan Mace with Commodore Vanderbilt,-and Jim Eoff
with Gen. Butler, beat me and Lady Emma at the Union
Course.
Dexter's knee swelled a good deal; and I advised Mr.
Alley, after we had reduced it, to take him home to Islip,
and let him run out for a couple of months. He did so.
lie then took him up, and drove him until the Ist of October. Dexter then came back to me. After two week's work,
in which he went well, I gave him a trial. He went in 2m.
29s., and I knew that he was every day a-coming. I then
said to Mr. Alley, that the horse was improving every day,
and that I thought in about two weeks he would be likely
to show us something worth seeing " to a man up a tree."
But it was three weeks before the trial came off, and it was
a damp, cloudy day in November. There was not much
wind,however, and the track was hard. Mr. Shepherd F.
Knapp and Mr. Alley were present, and they timed him. I
knew all the way round that Dexter was doing a great thing.
I had hardly ever then, if ever, except in the cases of Flora
Temple and the gray mare Peerless that belongs to Mr.
]Bonner, seen such a stroke kept up from end to end. When
I turned and came back, I lifted up my hand, and said to the
gentlemen, " Oh, what a horse!"




354      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
"What do you think you made? " said they.
"Not worse than 2m. 24s." I answered.
"It was just 2m. 23ls., " said they; and I was satisfied.
This was speed enough for a six-year old horse, in his first
season of trotting. He remained with me until the 1st of
December, and then he went to Mr. Alley's, at Islip, to be
wintered. His blankets were gradually taken from him; and
he passed the cold weather without clothing, in a good box,
with a padlock to run in during the day.




XLIV.
Dexter's Three-Mile Heats - Match with Stonewall Jackson of Hartford. -
Description of Stonewall. - Dexter and Gen. Butler. —Dexter and
Lady Thorn.- Description of Lady Thorn. - The Three-Mile-Heat
Race under Saddle. - Dexter and Gen. Butler under Saddle. - Dexter,
Butler, and George Wilkes. - Dexter against Time, to beat 2m. 19s.
A        FTER the trial I described in the last chapter, I was
pretty well convinced that this young horse, Dexter,
was as good a one as had ever come into my hands. Here
was a young horse that had never had a quart of oats until
he was more than four years old. In his first season, and
with very little handling, - for it is to be remembered that
he was turned out from June to October, -he had trotted
a trial in 2m. 231s., and had finished  in masterly style.
My opinion of him was so high, that during the winter I
matched him to go three-mile heats against a horse that
had great fame just then, and was thought by many to be
invincible for a long distance. This horse was Stonewall
Jackson of Hartford, who had beat Shark with great ease
after the race in which Dexter hit himself. After I made
this match, some of my friends thought I had been imprudent and overweeningly confident. The Hartford party, who had the other horse, certainly thought so too. It
was to trot a race of three-mile heats, to go as they pleased,
on the Fashion Course, June 26, -rain or shine.  The
stake was $2,500 a side, half forfeit.
- When I came to talk to Mr. Alley about it, I found that
he was not much in favor of letting Dexter trot.  He said
that he was but a young horse, was not seasoned, and that
he h lieved three-mile heats might be too long for himL
355




356      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
against such a horse as Stonewall Jackson of Hartford.
This latter was a bay horse, with two white legs and a
blaze. He was nearly thoroughbred, was very fast and
lasting, and a good saddle-horse; but he had a temper, and
had bolted once or twice. The upshot of the conversation
with Mr. Alley was, that I went and offered a large sum
to get out of the match. The other parties refused to take
any thing less than the whole of the forfeit, and that I was
sure not to pay before the day of the race, if then.
Meantime, Dexter was entered in two of the Fashion
purses, with Flora Temple, Gen. Butler, and Lady Emma. One of these was mile heats, three in five, in harness;
the other mile heats, three in five, to wagons. The first
of them was trotted on the 2d of June. The starters were
Dexter and Gen. Butler. Dexter won itW'easily in three
heats; time, 2m. 263-s., 2m. 264s., 2m. 241s. The day before,
Lady Thorn had defeated Frank Vernon and Stonewall
Jackson of New York, at the Union Course, and had gone
in 2m. 24-s.; and now Dexter and the Lady were matched.
This match was for a thousand a side, mile heats, three in
five, in harness. Lady Thorn was a fine, high-bred mare
from Kentucky, got by Mambrino Chief, and with another
cross of the Messenger blood through American Eclipse.
She belonged to Mr. Relf of Philadelphia. I knew she
was fast, but I thought the little horse could just about
beat her. The race was made to be trotted over the Union
Course on Friday, June 9, good day and track. It caused
great interest, and my house was crowded to its utmost
capacity at dinner-time. Before the time came to go to
the course, a great storm came up from the south-east, and
soon there was much rain. After it ceased, I and one or
two others walked over to the course, and found it too muddy and slippery to trot. The race was postponed until the
following Monday. This was rather unfortunate for Dexter.
He was very fine indeed that morning, but went off a little
before Monday. The fact is, that he is a horse of remark



THE TROTTIN'G-HORSE OF AMERICA.         357
ably quick intelligence. He knew that there was a race
on hand just as well as I did, and that knowledge kept him
excited until after it was over.
The mare was the favorite at 100 to 70, and her party
exhibited great confidence. A vast deal of money had been
laid, but these bets were off by reason of the postponement.
On the Monday, she was backed at the same rate. When we
got the word, we went away at a great rate. At the quarter
pole, in 35s., she was a neck a-head. Dexter broke, and lost
two lengths. She led that space at the half-mile, in im.
91. On the lower turn, the little horse gained on her, but
broke before he had collared her. He broke again on the
stretch; and I found it was of no use to persevere with him
for that heat, so she jogged it out in 2m. 24s. It was now
three to one on the mare. She won the second heat by a
length in 2m. 26g.  In the third heat, the mare led to
the middle of the back-stretch, where Dexter pinched her
and she broke; but she caught before Dexter had opened
daylight, and he broke, and fell two lengths behind. She
led that much at the half-mile pole. On the lower turn, he
out-trotted her, and she broke. He led her on the stretch,
where she broke again, and he jogged out in 2m. 27s.;
but it was not his day, and she jogged out the fourth heat
in 2m. 26i-s.
Dexter had won one race and had lost one in his second
season, and his engagement at three-mile heats was nigh at
hand. Mr. Alley, upon further consideration, had not only
told me that the horse should trot, but had taken half the
race. When the day came, it was very wet, and the course
was more like a canal than a race-course. We offered to
postpone it, but they would not agree. Stonewall Jackson
was backed at two to one. This odds was tempting to those
who knew thit Dexter was a splendid horse under the saddle, and had been ridden a good deal by John Murphy. He
rode in the race, and Mace rode Stonewall Jackson. In the
first heat, Dexter broke twice in the first quarter, and lost a




358      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AM.XRICA.
great deal. Stonewall was never headed, and won by almost a distance in 8m. 21.  The betting was now 100 to
40. Our party took these odds freely. There was at that
time a prevailing notion that Dexter was not as good a
stayer as Stonewall Jackson. The reverse was true. The
latter was greatly tired after the heat, while the brown
horse did not mind it at all.
In the second heat, Stonewall took the lead, but was deprived thereof, and broke badly. On the back-stretch he
got to the front again, but was very unsteady. -Before they
reached the head of the home-stretch Dexter had the lead;
and it was now good-by to Mace. Dexter went on through
the mud with his fine, square stroke, splashing away, seemingly as much at his ease as a duck in a horse-pond.
Stonewall, on the contrary, was all abroad, and never in a
settled trot. Dexter came in alone in 8m. 5s. It was now
four to one on Dexter, who looked, after, these two heats, as
though he could trot all day. The race was practically won.
They started Stonewall again; but Dexter took the lead at
the outset, was-never headed, and won just as he pleased in
8m. 9-s. Money had been laid before the race that Dutchman's time would be beaten; and it might have been, had
the weather been good and the track fast.  It is not
prudent to lay on fast time in a race made to go "rain
or shine."
Dexter's fall racing-season commenced with a match
under the saddle, mile heats, three in five, against Gen.
Butler, for $2,000. They trotted at the Fashion Course, on
the 7th of September. Dexter won it easily in three heats2m. 26-s., 2m. 24's., 2m. 22's.  He was ridden by John
Murphy. On the 21st of the same month, Dexter trotted
with Gen. Butler and George Wilkes, mile heats, three in
five, in harness, for a purse of $1,000, at the Fashion
Course. He won in three straight heats, the fastest of
which was 2m. 25s. Butler was second in this race, the
stallion having been drawn after the second heat.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          359
Dexter's next engagement was that famous one against
Time, in which the latter was backed against him at $5,000 to $1,000. Mr. Alley undertook that he should beat
2m. 19s., and took the bet twice over. The horse was to
be allowed three trials if he required as many. He was
also matched two races with Gen. Butler, to wagon, one
of them mile heats, three in five, and the other two-mile
heats. These were to be trotted in October, after the timerace should be determined. Dexter was never better than
during his preparation for this time-race. He was already
in condition, and it did not take a great deal of work to
keep him there. I had to see that he did not make new
flesh, and that was- about all that was required. We did
not give him a high trial, but contented ourselves with the
knowledge that he had his speed, and was in order.
At first, the betting was at nearly as heavy odds as the
main stake; but afterwards no more than three to one could
be obtained. We felt a good deal of confidence; for I relied upon the thorough bottom he had always shown in
finishing, even from his very first trial, when he came into
my hands the fall that he was five years old. My opinion,
declared before the race to a confidential friend, was, that he
could perform the feat, even if he made a break; and I
thought that if he had every thing in his favor, and rated
right through as he might possibly do, he would just about
trot the mile in 2in. 15s., or 2m. 16s. We had once thought
of selecting the Centreville Course for this race; but it was
finally deemed better to take the Fashion Course. On the
evening before the race, things looked favorable, but the
track was dry and lumpy. Mr. Crocheron went to work
with his usual energy, and gave it a good watering. After
this it was brushed.
There was considerable wind on Tuesday morning; but
we waited until well on into the afternoon, when it went
down, till it was somewhat calm. This was what I had
hoped and expected.  Many years of experience of the




360      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
weather of this Island, and habits of observation in a great
deal of out-door life, in races, working trotters, fishing, and
otherwise, had led me to conclude, that, as the tide was that
afternoon, the wind would abate about three or four o'clock.
Prior to that, we had had the half-mile pole removed. It
cast a shadow across the course, and Dexter had sometimes
jumped over it. He was in his box in charge of Peter
Conover, whom  he always liked well, and who liked him
well, until about half-past three.
We then took' him on to the course, and I gave Murphy
his final instructions.  They were, that he should hold him
within himself the first half-mile, let him come round the
Flushing end, and, a when he got into the straight side coming home, call upon him for his best rate.  Pace is a difficult thing to estinate; but Murphy, for so young a man, is
a very good judge of the rate he is going at.  Still, it was
not effected just'as we had intended it should be, and we
could hardly expect that it would be. The wisest and bestlaid plans are often difficult to carry out.  Johnny Murphy
mounted, and jogged around to warm the horse up. The
judges in the stand were Mr. James Jacks, Mr. F. Howard,
and Mr. S. Truesdell. These gentlemen are well known as
competent timers and impartial men. Nobody in this country ever questioned the decision they rendered as to the
time Dexter took to trot the mile; but the French and English do not to this day fully believe that the horse did it. It
is so opposed to all their notions of trotting-speed, that tliey
cannot put full faith in it. *
After having jogged Dexter round, Murphy set him a-going, and sent him along by the stand, but not for the word.
On the turn he made such a break as would have defeated
him in that trial, if he had received the word; but I did
not care about that at all. I could see that his speed was
* They have had another year, and a surpassing of that performance,
since Hiram dictated the above; but they remain incredulous.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           361
enormous. He was chock-full of fire and devil, and, if
any thing, a little too eager.
When he got the word, Murphy steadied him nicely, and
he went to the quarter in 34s. This would win, and he was
well within himself. The next quarter was a little faster
than I wanted, as they made the time at the half-mile im.
61s., giving 32-s. for the second quarter; but it may have
varied a small trifle from this, as the half-mile pole was
down. Everybody was saying he will do it easy, when he
broke half-way along the Flushing end. He caught well.
I have heard people maintain that he did not lose by that
break, as if a horse can break when trotting better than a
twenty gait and catch again without losing.  It is true
that he may run fast enough and far enough to make up
for it; but Dexter did not do so. When he broke, the people cried, "I He can't do it this time."  But he settled well;
and, when he came on to the home-stretch, he had a fine burst
in. I was up towards there, and sung out to Johnny, as he
came by me, " Cut him loose: you'll do it yet!"  Ther.
Johnny clucked to him, and he went away like an arrom
from the bow, true and straight, and with immense resolu.
tion and power of stroke. I knew he must do it if he did
not break before he got to the score, and up I tossed my hat
into the air. I never felt happier in all my life. The time
given by the judges was 2m. 181s.: the outsiders made it
somewhat less. Murphy rode this race with nerve, judgment, and skill. He went faster in the second quarter than
he thought he was going; but, after the break, he rode it to
perfection. Most lads would have gone all to pieces, and
taken thd horse along with them, after that crisis; but Johnny was cool and judgmatical. He collected and steadied
his horse, and brought him on to the stretch exactly as I
told him to bring him, - in wind and heart for a grand rally. To stand behind and see him go, after Murphy clucked
to him and moved his bit, was the finest thing I ever saw
in allrmy life.




XLV.
Dexter and Butler to Wagons, Mile Heats. - Two Mile-Heats to Wagons._
The Best ever made. - Remarks upon the Race. - Dexter at Astoria. -
Eoff and George M. Patchen, Jun. - Dexter offered for Sale. -Dexter
and George M. Patchen. Jun. - Eoff's Strategy.
TN  a week after the time-race, Dexter trotted his first
wagon-match with Gen. Butler.  It was mile heats,
three in five, for $1,000 a side. Gen. Butler had always
betn a remarkably good wagon-horse: his wagon-time was,
in fact, as good as any he had made in harness; and one
of the best races ever witnessed was that in which he beat
the gray horse Rockingham in five heats on the Fashion
Course. The third heat in that race, which was the first
heat that Butler won. was very fast; but the fourth was
still faster, - 2m. 27s. if my memory serves me.  This
race with Gen. Butlerwas the first appearance of Dextei
to wagon since the race in which he hit himself the previous
year. The public did not know that he was a good wagonhorse; but my idea was, that his excellence was as great to
wagon as in harness and under the saddle. Dexter was a
little thin and tucked up when we took him  over to the
Fashion to trot this race. He had done a great deal of
work during the season, and some thought him stale; but
he was not stale. He was, though, thoroughly seasoned
and hardened; and every bit of flesh and muscle about his
frame was nearly as solid as so much brass. In the first
heat, Butler had the pole; and, as I did not want.to spend
about half an hour in scoring with him, I took the word a
length and a half behind. I gained on him a little in the
362




THE TROTTINAG-HORSE OF AMERICA.         363
first quarter, which was 37s.; then Dexter got into his stroke
and trotted very fast.  They were head-and-head at the
half-mile, and that quarter was 34,s. We went on neckand-neck until Butler broke, and I took the lead.  The
black horse made another break before we entered the
stretch. Half-way up I took Dexter in hand, and this
enabled Butler to get within a length and a half of him at
the score. The time was 2m. 271s.
They now offered ten to one on Dexter, but nobody took
it. Butler had two lengths the start of us, and Dexter
broke on the turn, and lost three lengths more. The black
horse was thus five lengths ahead at the quarter in 37s.
Dexter was now settled, and began to overhaul the " Contraband," just as a custom-house official overhauls a smuggler -provided he isn't bribed. At the half-mile, Butler's
lead was reduced to a length, and on the Flushing turn I
passed him: at the head of the stretch I had a slight lead,
but in the straight side he came with a fine rush, and got
even with me; but he did not pass Dexter, and, being pressed to his utmost, he broke three or four lengths from the
score, and ran over it. In the third heat, I took the word a
couple of lengths behind and; at the quarter, in 38s., Butler's lead was only a length. Dexter continued to gain, and
trotted this quarter so fast that at the half-mile he was headand-head with Butler, in 1m. 14s. We went as near neckand-neck as might be till nearly the head of the stretch,
where Dexter broke. In turning into the straight side
Butler had a strong lead; but I collected the brown horse,
and he gaiined so that at the distance Butler's lead was.educed to a length. It was necessary to get this length,nd a little more to win; and this was not very easy to do,
for Butler was trotting very fast. There was not a better
finisher on the trotting-turf than Butler, except Dexter
himself; and the struggle was close and fast: but Dexter
beat him by a neck and shoulders in 2m. 29s.
Darius Tallman drove Butler in this race, and drove him




364'     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
well. He is one of the hardest horses to drive that there is
about here, for he will not bear enough of a pull to help him
when he needs help. I believe I drove him in the first race
he ever made, which was against Lady Suffolk, -not the
old mare, but a gray mare belonging to Mr. Genet.
On the 27th of October, Dexter and Butler trotted their
second match to wagons, on the Fashion Course. It was
two-mile heats, and certainly was the best two-mile wagonrace that ever was made. Dexter had done well since the
mile-heat race. He looked somewhat gaunt, but his coat
lay right, his eye was bright, and he was full of spirit; but,
as I knew that Gen. Butler was a very formidable twomile wagon-horse, I thought the odds laid on Dexter (100
to 40) were too great. The black horse had trotted the
fastest two-mile heat to a wagon that was ever known. I
had seen him do it, and knew that it was well done. It was
when he trotted the matches with George M. Patchen, and
Dan Mace drove him in it. I recollect somebody saying to
Mace, as he came along with his lead after weighing, "You
have got cotton in Butler's ears to-day."  Upon which I
remarked, "I shall put cotton in mine when anybody comes
along hereafter to talk down this horse."
I considered that the odds of 100 to 40 on Dexter against
such a horse was too great; but I had great confidence,
nevertheless, that Dexter would beat him. My opinion had
always been, that Dexter was quite as remarkable for stayingpower as he was for speed; and here was a race in which
staying-power was sure to be in demand. It was at the
close of a long and arduous season, in which; Dexter had
trotted many races, and had won them all but one. It was
late in the year, and the day was not calculated for a very
fast race. The clouds hung low and dark, and the wind
came from the eastward, keen and salty. There were many
time-bets, and the marks ranged from 5m. 3s. to 5m. 5s.
I suppose there was not a man on the course who thought
five minutes would be beaten. The company was large. It




THE TROTTIN'G-HORSE OF AMERICA.         365
would have been much smaller if Mr. Alley's friends and
acquaintances had not come out to see his wonderful little
horse trot once more that fall, in which he had made himself
so'famous. There were also a number pf Western gentlemen and some of the most eminent merchants of New
York on the ground. Tallman drove Butler again, and I
drove Dexter.
After scoring a couple of times, in which Butler broke
and ran, we got the word, he having a small lead. He soon
broke; and, when he caught his trot again, he was two lengths
and a half ahead. I saw thus early that Tallman did not
mean to lose that day for want of a little running. He led,
with a break or two here and there, after which he would catch
and trot very fast, half-way round the Flushing end. There
I passed him, and came on to the straight side with a little
lead. At the stand, in 2m. 30-s., I took the pole, and went
on with the lead; Dexter drew away from Butler, and led
two lengths and a half at the half-mile pole. He was going
as steady as a clock; and, as it was not worth while to pull
him back to Butler, I let him keep up his stroke until we
got on the straight side. There was a great gap between
us, and I jogged the little horse out in 5m. 3s. The time, and
the ease with which it was done, amazed everybody but me.
My uncle, George Woodruff, was there; and says he to me,
"Why, Hi., this is a wonderful horse for bottom! He
seemed as if he would have kept up that rate for another
mile!"
"Well," said I, "it's my firm belief that he could, and
more too, though that would beat Dutchman's time."
It was ten to one on: Dexter now.'At the start I was
three or four lengths behind, and did not rightly know
that it was a start, until I had called out to' Mr. Crocheron,
who stood at the turn inside the rails, "Is it a word?"
says I.
"Yes, it is; go along, old man! " says Joe. Well, I did
go along; and at the half-mile pole Dexter had nearly got to




366      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
Butler's wheel.  Turning into the Flushing end, Butler
broke, and Dexter went on in front. I had not intended to
take the lead in this first mile; but the little horse was so
full of go, and pulled with such resolution, that I thought
it safest to let him go ahead. He went the mile in 2m.
28s. Butler, with some running, was within three lengths
of him at the score. The little horse went on with a stroke
that was marvellous for: power and precision. It was as
strong and as regular as when he started; and it was a perfect joy to sit behind.him in that fourth mile, and find that
he was going faster and better than in any former portion
of the race. At the half-mile, I had lost sight of Butler;
and, from that out, the little horse and I had it all to ourselves. A hundred yards from home I got him  down to a
slow jog, and thus we jogged out in 4m. 56-s. There was a
good deal of excitement when the time was given out. Mr.
Dexter Bradford, after whom the horse was named, came to
me with Mr. Alley and Mr. Foster. The latter said, " This
horse, in my judgment, considering where he was when he
got the word, and how he jogged out, could in this heat to a
wagon have equalled Flora Temple's 4m. 50}s. in harness."
"You little rascal," said I, for I was well pleased, " I told
you, before people thought much of him, that this was
the King of the World. I don't know that he could have
come out in 4m. 50Is., but I could have driven him three or
four seconds faster than I did." I have considered all the
circumstances over since, and I am quite sure that I could
have brought him home in 4m. 52s. or 4m. 53s.
Now, I wish to point out that in this race Dexter showed
the perfection of trotting. He was never in the least flurried or disturbed; he never made a break; and his speed
was very equally distributed over the ground. In the first
heat, his second mile was just a quarter of a second faster
than his first. In the second heat, his second mile was a
quarter of a second slower than his first; but it would have
been faster if I had wanted it to be. He did the last huini




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMIE:RICA.        367
dred yards in a mere dog-trot. The day was not favorable; and the second was his great heat. This shows the
bottom of the horse. If the first heat had been a slow one,
we might l ave looked for a better; but it was fast, much
faster than any body expected. And then to go and beat
that by four seconds and a half, with such a start as he took
and such an outcome, was truly wonderful.
While Dexter had been achieving the great feats which I
have related, Mr. Alley was living at Astoria, and the horse
was taken there to be wintered. A little paddock and box
were constructed for him on the sheltered slope of a hill
looking towards the south-east, and thus protected from the
north-west winds. Peter Conover went with him to look
after him; and there he ran out of doors all winter, without
clothing. He had a good many visitors there; and gentlemen from the West often went up to Astoria with Capt.
Longstreet, on the Sylvan Stream, for the express purpose of
seeing him. Towards the close of that winter, the horse
being then eight years old, 3Mr. Foster, who was always one
of his greatest admirers, came to me, and told me that he
thought he had grown since the fall. He seemed to think
it almost impossible that it should be so; but I told him I
had no doubt his idea was correct.
It is never to be forgotten, in connection with this horse,
that he was not subject to the early-forcing process. He
had no oats to eat until he was four years and a month old;
and he did not trot until he was six. Now, I have heard
some express the opinion that he would have been a better
horse if he had had grain early. For my part, I can hardly
conceive of a better trotting-horse than Dexter; for he has
all the qualities and gifts that a good trotter can have. He
is amazingly fast,.and he is as *stout as he is fast; he is
good under the saddle, good in harness, and good to wagon;
he is good on a hard track, and good in the mud; finally, he
is a grand campaigner. His last race in this hard season
just gone by was, as we have seen, his best. Such another




368      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
two-mile-heat race to wagons was never seen before, and has
never been seen since. But, if a horse is wanted to stand
training and trotting at three or four years old, I admit that
he must be fed and forced young.
Before the next spring came, Eoff had arrived fromt California with the brown stallion George M. Pat-.hen, jun., and
had begun to throw out hints that he was Dexter's master.
At that time it was thought Mr. Teakle owned the California
stallion; but this was not the case. He was, however, part
owner of Dexter; and Eoff had driven Princess for him
when he owned her. At my birth-day dinner on the 22d
of February, there was a considerable celebration. My
friends mustered very strong. The Long-Island breeders
of game-fowl fought a main of cocks as a part of the sports
of the day, and after dinner we all got warm and merry.
Finally, Eoff began to say what he would do with Patchen.
He would trot him three miles, and this and that, against
I)exter. At last I got rather excited, and, encouraged by
Oliver Marshall and Foster, offered to back Dexter against
his horse, three-mile heats, Dexter to pull a wagon, and he
to go in harness, for five thousand dollars a side.
At first Eoff pretended that he would make it; but when
I stated the proviso, that the owners of Dexter must let me
have him or it was no match, he objected to the proviso.
Up to that time, some had thought that Eoff would haze
Dexter; but, when he objected to the proviso, I immediately;
discovered that Mr. Alley still had sole control of the horse,
and that Eoff was afraid he would let me have him for thab
match. In due season, Peter Conover brought him back to
me, and he was put in work. Mr. Alley soon after decided
to sell him; and in "Wilkes' Spirit of the Times," of April
14, 1866, he was advertised to be sold on the Union Course,
by auction, on the 9th of May. When he was put up, the
first bidder was John Morrissey, who offered $11,000:
that was before he was elected to Congress, you know!
Then William Saunders, a very good, sagacious horseman,




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         369
offered $13,000. Mr. Pettee advanced $500 on that, and
then I jogged Dexter around again; then Saunders offered
$13,750: but Mr. Alley did not want to sell him for that;
so Mr. Pettee went on and bid $14,000, at which price he
was bought in for his owner.
Soon after that, Mr. Isaac Anderson of Chicago offered
to give $15,000 for the horse, provided I would go to
Chicago to drive him; but it did not suit me to go so far
away. At the same time, Saunders wanted him very much;
and I challenged with him for three races, three-mile heats,
under saddle, in harness, and to wagon. Meantime, Dexter
got a little sore; and when Saunders came over to my stable
intending to buy him, to keep the Chicago man from getting
him, he was so lame that William lost his resolution.
Eoff's California stallion made a brilliant opening, and
defeated Vanderbilt in such style that many people protested
that Dexter's time was come, and that the big horse could
beat 2m. 20s. Eoff kept this humbug alive by his artful
way of talk and action. Mr. Crocheron, in the month of
May, advertised a purse of $2,000, mile heats, three in five,
in harness; the winner to have $1,200, the second $500, and
the third $300, if there was a third. This purse closed at
the Fashion Course on the 1st of June, after the race
between Commodore Vanderbilt and Stonewall Jackson,
which was won by the Commodore in three heats.-  The
entries to the $2,000 purse were Dexter, Geo. M. Patchen,
jun., Commodore Vanderbilt, and Gen. Butler. The race
was to be trotted on the 28th of June. As soon as the
entries were announced from the stand, Eoff coolly challenged any-horse in the world to trot mile heats, three ir
five, and two-mile heats in harness. Mr. Relf was noi
there, and Dan Pfifer said nothing for Lady Thorn; so,
with my consent, Oliver Marshall took it up for Dexter, as
to the mile-heat race. The days named by Eoff were the
15th and 22d of June. I thought it best to trot Dexter
but one race prior to the great purse. On the 15th, this
24




370      THE TROTTIiVG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
match was trotted on the Fashion Course. The number of
people present was immense, and it was a great pity that
such a concourse should have gathered together to be sorely
disappointed.
Dexter, I knew, was not half himself. He was sore and
lame, and his lameness had kept him in a state of nervous
irritability. This put Mr. Eoff in a very tight place. He
must beat Dexter; - and he had a strong suspicion that he
could not do it, even lame as he was, - or the people might
discover that the California stallion was not the horse they
believed him to be. A man of less courage and artfulness
than Eoff would have been in a regular dilemma; but he
hit upon an expedient which enabled him to keep up the
humbug of his horse's ability to beat Dexter. He managed
in such a way that people thought he threw the race. This
maintained the character of the horse; and as for Eoff's
own character, it was in keeping with that.
But the truth is, that he made his horse do all he could;
and in the third heat he was clucking to him all along the
back-stretch. Dexter won it in three heats: time, 2m. 291s.,
2m. 283s., 2m. 27ls.  The day before, George Wilkes
had defeated Lady Thorn to wagons at the Union Course in
2m. 27s., 2m. 25s., 2m. 253s; but, for all that, Eoff was
anxious to match the California stallion against him. It
was a part of his system. If the match was not accepted,
it added to the notoriety of his horse. If it was, his share
of the gate-money would greatly exceed what he lost; and
he would either make the people believe that he threw it, or
invent some plausible reason why he was beaten. Besides,
as he knew that he was quite sure to be beaten by such
horses as Dexter and George Wilkes, he had almost a certainty in bets that he might procure to be laid upon them
and against George M. Patchen, jun. The mainstay of the
whole thing was the keeping up of the fabulous reputation
of that horse.




XLVI.
Oexter sold to George Trussel. —Dexter, Gen. Butler, and Commodore
Vanderbilt. —Dexter goes to Budd Doble. —Dexter and George M.
Patchen at Philadelphia.
HTEIE last race in which I drove Dexter was for the purse
of $2,000, mile heats, three in five, in harness; the
second to have $500 out of the purse if three started, and
the third $300 if four started. It was originally fixed to
come off on the 28th of June; but the wretched display
made by the California stallion in his match with Dexter
(alluded to in the preceding chapter) had disgusted so
many people, and so disheartened Mr. Crocheron, that he
resolved to postpone it until the 2d of July. Before the
race, Dexter had been disposed of by Mr. Alley to a gentleman from Chicago. It was not, however, to Mr. Anderson,
but to Mr. George Trussell, with whom Mr. Fawsett had an
interest, either at that time or very soon afterwards. The
price they paid was $14,000. It was not large, considering
the powers and achievements of the horse, taking into
account what his winnings had amounted to the preceding
year, and keeping in view the large prizes and brilliant
prospects held out all over the country for the best trotter
on the turf. The idea that he was not the best trotter had
long ceased to trouble me: but many still held that Lady
Thorn was his equal in some points; and there were people
who believed and maintained that the California stallion
was sure to beat him as soon as it suited Eoff's book to let
lim do so.
This infatuation remained for months, when events had
371




372      THE TROTTINAG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
made it palpable to all but the wilfully blind that Dexter
could lose the stallion in any way of going that trottinghorses go. The stallion did not appear in this race; Eoff
believing, no doubt, that he had a much better chance to
win with Gen. Butler. He had, to give him due credit,
brought Butler into magnificent condition; and his patient,
skilful handling of the horse in driving was very fine. All
that party over at the Fashion were full of confidence that
Butler would win it; and they took the odds of 100 to 40
on Dexter to a large amount, and laid 60 to 40 on Butler
against Commodore Vanderbilt. There was one consideration which no doubt largely influenced the Butler party in
taking the odds; that was, that Dexter had not been just
himself that year. Eoff affected to doubt it, but he knew
it well enough. The trouble was in the horse's feet, which
kept him continually on the fret through soreness. That
had, no doubt, some effect on the price at which he was sold;
for, if he had been clearly all right forward, there were scores
of men who would have given $15,000 for him.
My own opinion was, that the trouble was merely of a
temporary nature; but every man of much experience with
horses knows that a great deal of vagueness and uncertainty,
not to say contradiction, has long existed, even among the
most advanced veterinarians, in regard to lameness in the
fore-feet. There was a chance, that, instead of getting better,
he would get worse, and have disease of a chronic character.
The chance was remote; but it existed, and had prevented
William  Saunders and some other good horsemen from
buying him. When we took him on the course on the 2d
of July, he looked exceedingly well bodily, but he had not
been going well. He was limping a little, pulling a little
on one rein, and was prevented from letting loose in his
usual limber and determined manner by the soreness. If
he had not got better during the race, he could not have won
it: but he did get better, as we shall presently see; and his
immense Fljucj; and bottom enabled him to,add another to




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          373
those performances which had already made him one of the
boasts of this country and one of the wonders of the outer
world.
The start was not soon got, for Butler and Vanderbilt
broke often in scoring. I did not, however, mind this today; because I knew, that, whatever they might think of
the staying-power of Gen. Butler, I had the real sticker
when the pace was very strong. The question was, whether
Dexter would warm up, and regain the ability to cut loose.
In the earlier part of this work, I related how I won a great
race with Ripton, when he was stiff and lame; and that race
came into my head as I scored time after time with Eoff
and with Vanderbilt. When the word was given, Vanderbilt broke, and Dexter took the lead: Butler lay next me at
the quarter-pole, two lengths behind. At the middle of the
back-stretch, Dexter wanted to get up; but I succeeded in
keeping him to his trot, and at the half-mile he led two
lengths in Im. 13,s. Butler got his nose to my wheel at
the head of the home-stretch, and soon after broke: but he
caught, and trotted very fast, and Dexter broke, and lost it
in 2m. 28s.
There was a good deal more scoring before we started for
the second heat; and, while it was going on, Eoff offered to
lay 500 to 400 that Butler won. The start was a good one,
and we went together in close order. At the quarter-pole,
Dexter's nose was at Butler's haunches, and the Commodore
was at my horse's shoulder: so we went to the half-mile,
but not without a skip or two. The time here was 1m.
131s. On the Flushing end, Butler drew away a little, and
Dexter broke on the home-stretch. Vanderbilt took the
inside position, and tried hard for the heat, John Lovett
laying on the whip; but he broke, and Butler won in 2m.
27s.; Dexter second.
They now laid ten to one on Butler. Some of the
stanch friends and admirers of the little horse came to me,
and bemoaned that they had lived to see tlhe day when it




-374     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
was ten to one on Butler against Dexter, and they dared not.
take the odds. I did not encourage them to bet; but I said
to Mr. Alley and Mr. Foster, "The race is not lost, and
won't be till it's won: there's a chance yet, mind you, with
this horse."  That was because I knew his invincible game
and thorough bottom, if he could once manage to get his
speed. I kept him on the move between heats; for to suffer
him to cool slowly down to torpor and stiffness again was
to lose it to a certainty.
We had another good start. On the turn, Butler led a
length, and the Commodore was neck-and-neck with me.
The Commodore was trotting fast; and I took a good pull
on Dexter, to let the former take a tussle with Butler. At
it they went, these commanders of the land and sea; and
past the quarter-pole the Commodore reached Butler's
shoulder. I was a couple of lengths behind. The Commodore now broke, and went all to pieces; and Dexter, well
settled, began to close accounts with Butler. We gained
inch by inch; and at the half-mile pole, in lmn. 131s., Eoff
did not have to look much over his shoulder to see the white
face and wicked eye that was after him. Half-way round
the Flushing end, Dexter was at Butler's girths, and at the
head of the stretch had got forward to his shoulder. It
was now or never. We came along the straight side headto-head. Butler trotted well, and Eoff drove him with fine
art; but Dexter lasted the longest in the brush at their best.
Inside the distance, Butler broke, and Dexter won in 2m.
27}1s.
There was a good deal of excitement now, but little betting. Sim Hoagland came to'me, and said, "Hiram, you've
got'em." I thought I had too; but I knew that Butler
would make a desperate fight to the end. So it proved. In
the fourth heat, we went away neck-and-neck; while Vanderbilt was outpaced, soon broke, and was out of it. At
the quarter in 37s., Dexter and Butler were side by side.
Dexter then got a neck in front, and thus we went to the




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          375
half-mile pole. I did not wish to leave Eoff. With him
under my eye on the outside, I had him just where I wanted
him; and I thought to myself, "Wh en you get the pole away.
from me, you'll have won it." Half-way round the Flushing end, we were neck-and-neck again. Butler then broke,
and Dexter took a lead of a length. Up the home-stretch,
Eoff and the black horse tried all they knew, and made a
gallant fight. for it; but Dexter was getting better and
better. I could feel his stroke growing bolder and firmer
the farther he went. Half-way up, Butler broke, and Dexter
won it in the splendid time of 2m. 24-s.
Many of those who had laid wild odds on Butler after
the second heat looked as if they felt sick at the stomach
when they heard the time given out, and saw Dexter move
briskly away, as limber as an eel, and full of the devil again.
As Vanderbilt had been distanced in the fourth heat, the
only starters in the fifth were Dexter and Butler. It was
100 to 60 on the brown horse. We went away head-andhead, and fast. On the turn Butler broke, but caught
readily and trotted fast. At the quarter in 37as., he was at
Dexter's shoulder. They went away very fast along the backstretch; for they got to the half-mile in tm. 124-s., neck-andneck. This made the eighteenth quarter in the race better
than 35s.; and the rate at which they trotted the nineteenth
and twentieth quarters shows what gluttons they were, especially Dexter, who never made a break in his winning-heats.
We went from the half-mile pole to the head of the stretch
neck-and-neck, and at a great rate; but Butler could not stand
the pressure any further, and he broke, and I got the lead.
Butler made a4other effort, but broke again, and Dexter
won it easily in 2m. 241-s. This was the fastest heat in the
race, and the fastest fifth heat that ever was trotted. When
we consider that it followed the fastest fourth heat that had
been trotted, we shall be enabled to appreciate its value. I
think that in this race Dexter displayed as much constancy,
courage, and unflinching game as any horse ever did in any




376      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
race that I remember. He struggled against difficulties,
and contended with pain, until finally he overcame his bodily
ailments by means of a dauntless spirit, and defeated a
very formidable adversary, upon whom 100 to 10 had been
going a-begging.
As I have before remarked, this was the last race for
which I prepared him, or in which I drove him. What I
have hitherto said about him I knew of my own knowledge.
Concerning his career after this, I shall have to proceed
upon the reports of his public performances, and what I
have gathered from those who witnessed them. When he
left my stable, Peter Conover went with him; and that was
no small advantage to the horse and his owner. Mr. Trussell
selected for his future trainer and driver Budd Doble, a
young man of high character, good intelligence, and much
experience of horses for his years. He had been among
trotters from the time that he was a little boy, his father
being a trainer and driver; and Budd himself was everywhere
esteemed as one of the very best riders in the country. It
was very soon understood that Doble would have to drive
and ride against Eoff, for a hippodroming expedition between
Dexter and the California stallion had been agreed upon.
The first place they visited was Philadelphia; but, prior
to that, Dan Pfifer published a letter in "The Spirit of the
Times," offering to make a match with Toronto Chief against
either Dexter or Butler, to be trotted under saddle early in
July. The response to this was an offer from the owners of
Dexter and Butler to make up a stake of $1,000 with
Toronto Chief, to trot mile heats, three in five, and go as
they pleased, about the 18th of July. Thi% race was afterwards brought about.
The trot at Philadelphia was on the 9th of July, and, as
advertised, for a purse $2,000. Whether the parties agreed
to divide equally, or what share Eoff and his horse were to
have, I do not know, and we need not inquire. Everybody
knows that the terms were fixed beforehand upon which




THE T'ROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         377
Eoff consented to trot with Dexter; for, though some continued to think that the big brown horse could beat the
little one, his trainer and driver was quite certain thfLt he
could not. The race was on the Suffolk-park Course. Two
to one was laid upon Dexter, whose race of the Monday
previous of five heats had done him a great deal of good.
I concluded that it had done so before he left my place to
go on to Philadelphia; and the event proved that it was so.
In the first heat, Dexter took the lead, and kept it. He
won in 2m. 261s. In the second, the little horse broke in
the first quarter, and the big one got a lead of four or five
lengths; but then Dexter out-trotted him all the way, and
won by three lengths in 2m. 25s. In the third heat, Dexter
took the lead, went to the half-mile in im. 10s., four or five
lengths ahead, and continued to drop the California horse as
he went on. On the home-stretch, Dexter made a break, but
won the heat by six lengths in 2m. 231s. That made the
fastest heat that had been won in harness, except those of
Flora Temple. I had looked for it that season, but not
quite so soon after the five heats on the Fashion, in which
the fifth was 2m. 241. It had been my conviction for a
long period, as my trusted friends know, that Dexter would
reform the record from top to bottom, and beat Flora Temple's
time in harness and to wagon?, just as he had beat the best
saddle-time. It was, however, a question with me how Eoff
could have been within six lengths at the finish of this heat
in 2m. 231s., unless the course was uncommonly fast, or something else. But perhaps the six lengths were ten or twelve,
Afterwards, when these horses travelled the country together,
and Dexter made better and better time, it used to be a
matter of remark among a few of us, that ZEoff was never
distanced; but at last I heard an explanation hazarded,
which I believe to have been the truth. The parties being
all in together, none of them could afford to have a part of
the concern disgraced; and the judges were probably given
to understand, that, in order to see Dexter do his best, they




378      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
must agree to see nothing else. As for the rest of the people,
their eyes were all on Dexter, and none of them knew or
cared where Eoff's horse was at the finish. I cannot otherwise imagine how Dexter could trot so fast as he often did
afterwards, without distancing the California horse.




XLVII.
Dexter, Gen. Butler, and Toronto Chief under Saddle. - Dexter and Geo. M.
Patchen, Jun., at Avon Springs. —The Track Short. - Short Track no
Record. - Dexter, Patchen, Jun., and Rolla Golddust at Buffalo. - Dexter
and Butler under Saddle. - Dexter trots in 2m. 18s. - Dexter, Patchen,
Jun., and Butler at Cleveland. - Dexter and Patchen, Jun., at Detroit. -
Dexter and Patchen, Jun., at Chicago. - Dexter and Butler under Saddle.
- Dexter and Patchen at Milwaukee. - Same at Adrian, Toledo, Kalamazoo, and Wheeling. - Dexter and Magoozler the Pacer at Pittsburv.
T    HE sweepstakes of $1,000 each, in which Dexter, Gen.
Butler, and Toronto Chief were engaged, was trotted
on Fashion Course, on the 19th of July.  After his race
at Philadelphia, on the 9th, Doble brought Dexter back to
the Island, and gave him a little saddle-work, to fit him for
this race, which was mile heats, three in five, under saddle.
He went so fast,. and appeared to be so well, that he was the
favorite over both the others.  He was ridden by Doble,
while Eoff rode Butler, and Johnny Murphy was upon
Toronto Chief.  In the first heat, Dexter broke, and was ten
lengths behind at the quarter; but he made up the gap, and
won in 2m. 241s.  This heat warmed him to his work.  He
soon took the lead in the second heat, was never headed,
and won easily by five or six lengths in 2m. 19s. Butler
was second. The third heat was won very easily in 2m.
22s., although he broke near the quarter-pole, and lost a
deal of ground. At the half-mile pole, he was fifteen lengths
behind Toronto Chief, who was leading; but, on the Flushing end, Dexter cut loose in earnest, and trotted the third
quarter in 33s., which brought him up to Toronto Chief at
the head of the stretch. He then came away, and won with
379




4380     THE TROTTIATG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
great ease by five lengths.  Butler was second, and the
time was 2m. 22s.
Dexter and Patchen now started on a tour to the West.
The people of that section, especially those of Buffalo,
Cleveland, and Chicago, had offered larger purses than had
ever before been given to trotters; and the fact that Dexter
then made his first appearance in those cities enabled the
associations to realize the money they gave. He was, beyond all question, the great source of attraction. A fair
number of people would have assembled.to see Butler, Patchen, jun., and the other trotters, who moved upon what a
poetical friend of mine terms " The path of empire; " but
the vast crowds who appeared in such multitudes as even to
surpass our greatest day on the Island came out to see
Dexter. It was a hippodrome arrangement, so far as he
was concerned, because none of the others had a ghost of.a chance to beat him as long as he remained well.
But the people did not mind that. It rather added to
their enthusiasm when they found that he was not only the
best of the strangers, but so much the best that there was
no comparison. I had long held to that opinion, as also did
Mr. Alley, Mr. Pettee, and Mr..Foster, and now nearly everybody who stayed at home coincided in it. I did, however,
see one gentleman lay a bet with Mr. Crocheron, that Geo.
M. Patchen, jun., would beat Dexter a race before they came
home again; but some time afterward, I heard the same gentleman trying to convince Uncle Joe, that it was the latter
who had backed the California horse. So, while we were
fishing for horse-mackerel and sheeps-head in the waters of
our bays on the south side, the great trotters, with the exception of George Wilkes, Lady Thorn, and Lady Emma,
put out to reap the rich harvest of the West. The first
place they trotted at was Avon Springs, where a purse of
$1,000 was given. The track was a half-mile one, and unfortunately a trifle short. The first heat was close but slow.
Dexter won in 2m 31~s. In the second heat, Dexter went




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           381
clean away from the stallion, and trotted the first round:n
Im. 9s. Hie came home in 2m. 21s.; but, as it was afterwards found that the course was a little short, "The Spirit
of the Times" wisely decided that it should not make a
record.
It is of great importance that short tracks should be discouraged. Very often they are short by accident, as this
at Avon Springs was; but I fear they have been sometimes
purposely constructed short, with a view to deceive and
swindle purchasers of' horses. Hence, Mr. Bonner and
some other gentlemen, when going to see horses on some
tracks, have prudently carried surveyors' chains in their
carpet-bags.
From Avon Springs, Doble passed on with Dexter to Buffalo, and there trotted him on the third day of the great
meeting for the large purse. The race was mile heats, three
in five, in harness. _ The whole value of the purse was $5,750. Of this sum the winner was to have $4,000; the
second, $1,000; the third, $500; and the fourth, if therewas
a fourth, $250. But there were but three starters, Dexter,
George M. Patchen, jun., and Rolla Golddust. The latter
was a fine, rangy gelding, bred by Mr. Dorsey, near Louisville, got by his stallion Golddust, out of a high-bred mare.
He was the best of a lot of young trotters brought here by Mr.
Dorsey and my brother William Woodruff, who then trained
for him, and I think him a horse of a good deal of promise.
But, in this race at Buffalo, he was last in all the heats.
Dexter won with great ease in 2m. 274s., 2m. 29s., 2m. 25s.
This was no great things to see for $5,500, and the
twenty thousand people who were present went away rather
discontented. On the fifth day, Dexter trotted again, and
this time it was under saddle. It was against Gen. Butler,
mile heats, three in five, for an extra purse of $1,500.
In the first heat, Dexter forced the pace, and won by twenty
lengths in 2m. 21-s. Dan Mace was now p-r t on Butler;
but the horse was not as he had been when he beat George




382     THE  TROTTI'NG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
M. Patchen in 2m. 21s., and Dexter won again in 2m. 26s.
The people began to be disappointed; and feeling how generously the Association had behaved, and how much the
assemblage would like to see a fast heat, Mr. Joseph Hall
of New York persuaded 5Mr. Trussell and Doble to let the
little horse do something like his best. Doble averred that
the track was not altogether good, and that the dense crowd
on the stretch might break him up; but he said, with Mr.
Trussell's consent, that, if he was level and well settled at
the half-mile pole, he would let him come the last half fast.
This just happened. He trotted the first quarter in 351s.,
the second in 341s., and came home the last half-mile in
Im. 8s. From all that I have heard, I believe that the
course was not near as good as the -Fashion Course, and
therefore his performance was one of great value. But
it was no more than might have been looked for. The
preceding year, I had rated him as good for a mile, under
saddle, in 2m. 16s.; and, if the Buffalo Course was 2s. slow,
his performance was equal to 2m. 16s.
At Cleveland, Dexter trotted on the fourth day of the
meeting, Aug. 25, for a purse of $2,000, of which the
second horse was to have $300, and the third $200. His
competitors were Patchen, jun., and Gen. Butler. The
latter was now in charge of William McKeever, who was
afterwards killed at Chicago, while driving him in a heat
after dark against Cooley. He was a young man that I
knew well, and a very honest and worthy young man. We
deplored his death very much when the news reached us
on the Island. This race at Cleveland was mile heats,
three in five, in harness.  The course was heavy; and
Dexter won very easily in three straight heats, in the
thirties.
The next place of action was at the city on the strait
between Lakes Erie and St. Clair, - Detroit. Patchen, jun.,
went against Dexter in harness, and, as usual, was easily
defeated in three straight heats. The time was 2m. 241s.,




THEA  TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         383
2m. 26~s., 2m. 234s. Chicago was the next place; and there
Dexter and Patchen trotted in harness, on the 5th of September, for a purse of $5,000, of which the second horse
was to have $1,000. Dexter won the first heat in the
thirties; and, when the time was announced, the crowd grew
turbulent, and began to hoot and yell. Thereupon Mr. Trussell and Doble made up their minds that it was better not
to wait for Eoff and the stallion. In the next heat, Dexter
went on, and trotted it virtually alone in 2m. 24s. This
restored good humor; and, when he completed the third heat
in 2m. 23s., the people of that part of Illinois perceived
what sort of a horse he was.
But his only defeat that year was now at hand. On the
8th of September, he trotted against Gen. Butler under
saddle. The course was very bad going, and the cinder
slack of which the track was composed flew up and hit him
at every stride. He won the first heat in 2m. 331s. Butler won the next two in 2m. 27s. and 2m. 26s., and then
Dexter was drawn. The track was no doubt bad; but the
horse must have been very much off, because the going was
as good for him as it was for Butler, who beat him. He
came again quickly; for in a week, at Milwaukee, he beat
Patchen, jun., in great style, in harness, in three straight
heats, —time, 2m. 241s., 2m. 221s., 2m. 29s.  Patchen
was said to be forty yards behind in the fast heat; but,
as his time was taken as 2m. 29s. in his fastest heat,
I think he must have been eighty yards behind, instead of
forty.
In another week, McKeever was killed at Chicago, while
driving against Cooley; and that was a heavy blow and
great discouragement to trotting in that neighborhood. On
the same day that this tragedy occurred at Chicago, Dexter
beat Patchen, jun., in three heats at Adrian, Mich.; time,
2m. 32s., 2m. 271s., 2m. 31as. Toledo was the next place
at which Dexter and Patchen appeared. Dexter won again
in three heats- 2m. 32s., 2m. 22Is., 2m. 31s. The farce of




384     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
pretending that there was a race between the stallion and
the little horse was now too broad even for Eoff; so, with
the amazing" coolness which is one of his characteristics,
he told the people, before the word was given, that he was
not trotting against Dexter.  I think this was rather
unnecessary, considering that the people of North-western
Ohio are commonly accounted as smart as their neighbors. This affair at Toledo was on the 28th of September.
They went on to Kalamazoo, and trotted for a premium
of $2,000, with an extra $500 if Flora Temple's time on
that course was beaten. The first heat was slow, -2m. 27s.;
but the second and third were fast, - 2m. 213s., 2m. 214s.
This did not beat Flora's time; but, as the course was not as
good as when she trotted, it was deemed to be a performance
of sufficient merit to receive the extra $500. On the 12th
of October, they trotted at Wheeling, West Virginia. It
was the old ten-times-told tale. Dexter won as he pleased.
and the fastest heat was 2m. 26 s. They now went on to
Pittsburg, and appeared with a pacer called Magoozler. The
pacer beat Dexter the first heat in 2m. 223s.; but thn e little
horse outlasted him, and won the second, third, and fourth
heats in 2m. 213s., 2m. 23-s., 2m. 32s. It was on the 21st
of October. After this the horses were brought back to the
eastward of the Mountains.




XLVIII.
Dexter, Polly Ann the Pacer, and Patchen, Jun., at Philadelphia. - Dexter,
Silas Rich, and Patchen, JunT., at Baltimore. —Dexter under Saddle
against Time. — Dexter and Silas Rich at Washington. - Dexter's Performances that Year considered. - Integrity and Capacity of Budd Doble.
-No Reason to believe that Dexter then reached his best. —His fine
Points. - Dexter.compared to Peerless. - The Auburn Horse. - Grand
Combination of Qualities in Dexter.
OiN the 29th of. October, Dexter trotted at Philadelphia,
on Point-Breeze Park, against Polly Ann a pacer, and
George M. Patchen, jun.  It was mile heats, three in five,
in harness. The day was unfavorable, as it was blowing a
strong gale of wind at the time.-  Dexter won in three heats:
time 2m. 23-s., 2m. 27s., 2m. 28s.  On the 14th of November, Dexter, Silas Rich, and George M. Patchen trotted at
Baltimore, on the Herring-run Course, where the Maryland
Horse-Fair was held. It was mile heats, three in five, in
harness, and Dexter won in three straight heats, - 2m. 31s.,
2m. 21as., 2m. 254s.  Silas Rich was second in all the
heats. On the 17th of November, that being the last day
of the Maryland fair, Dexter trotted under saddle against
time.   Gen. Grant acted as one of the judges.   Doble
rode Dexter, and young Dimmock went with him  on a
runner to force the pace. The track and weather were both
unfavorable; for the ground was heavy, and the wind blew
high.  In the first trial, Dexter made a bad break at the
quarter, and his mile was no better than 2m. 27ls.  In the
second trial, he trotted the first half-mile in  im. 9s., but
broke badly in the third quarter, and the time of the mile
was 2m. 241s.
25                         885




386      THE  TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
I think it was very bad policy for the owners of Dexter
to start him in this time-race. The horse had already made
such time under the saddle,- in his match the year before
on the Fashion, and at Buffalo this year, -that to have him
come back from that great record should have been avoided.
Yet it was perfectly certain, one would have thought, that
on such a course and in such weather he could not get anywhere near his best mark of 21m. 18s. In going against
another horse, it mattered very little what the time was, because it would be assumed that Dexter could have gone faster
if it had been requisite for him to do so. But, in going
against time, Dexter was really trotting against himself, as
his time was much the best time that had ever been made
Now, to start Dexter on a bad track and on a bad day
against Dexter on a good track and good day was not wise.
Yet this was virtually what was done at Baltimore.
The little horse was now taken to Washington, where he
appeared upon the National Course on the 20th of November. mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Silas Rich.
The company was very distinguished. Sir Frederick Bruce
the English Minister, and the Marquis de Montholon the
French Minister, were present. Gen. Grant was one of
the judges. The first heat was slow, — 2m. 30s. In the
second heat, Doble cut loose from Silas Rich, and made the
mile in 2m. 211s. The third heat was 2m. 27Zs.
This concluded as good a year's performance as there is
to be found in the records of trotting-horses; and the mile
at Washington in 2m. 21 -s., late in the month of November,
shows that after the thousands of miles Dexter had travelled,
and the many arduous performances he had been called
upon to make, he was fully as good as, if not better than,
he had been at any time during the season. He was of
course drawn very fine, and reduced to a mere frame of bone
and muscle, pretty much as he had been when he finished
the doings of the year 1865 by beating Gen. Butler twomile heats to wagon.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.            387
He is passing this winter at Baltimore, under the charge
of Peter Conover; and, from all that Doble tells me, he is
likely to come out fine in the spring. It is unnecessary to
recapitulate his performances since he left my stable. I
believe I have given them all; and it occurs to me that I
ought to call public attention to the integrity and capacity
with which Doble has trained and driven him. The owners
of Dexter were fortunate in selecting this young man for
the post; and the public were fortunate that some people did
not get hold of the horse, and use him for the purpose of
plundering the people.
Great as the achievements of Dexter have been, I can
see no reason to believe that he has yet reached his highest
development. It is a long time now since I took Mr. Foster
to his box, and pointing out his very remarkable shape, -
the wicked head, the game-cock throttle, the immense depth
over the heart, the flat, oblique shoulder laid back clean
under the saddle, the strong back, the mighty haunches,
square and as big as those of a cart-horse, and the good,
wiry legs, — predicted to him that here stood the future
Lord of the Trotting-World. That prediction has not yet
been wholly fulfilled, but my faith in its accomplishment is
not at all shaken. He has not yet beaten the 2m. 193s. in
harness of Flora Temple; nor has he beat the 2m. 25s. to
wagon which stands to her credit and to the credit of
George Wilkes; but I can see no reason to doubt that to do
both these things is clearly within his capacity. The 2m.
21-s. at Washington City, on the 20th day of November,
seems to me to proclaim that Dexter is still improving, and
may be expected to surpass the grand doings of 1866, by
those we may reasonably look for in the year which has
just begun.*
Some people imagine that the strong point in Dexter is
* Hiram died in the middle of March, 1867; and therefore the grass had not
grown upon his grave when these predictions in regard to Dexter had been ful.
Cilled.




388      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF -AMERICA.
his great speed, but I have never thought so. When I
matched him three-mile heats against Stonewall Jackson,:
in the early part of his career, I was fully convinced that he
was a horse of fine game and hard bottom. I have had
horses as fast as he is for a brush; but I have never had
another that could maintain a great rate so far, and come
again in repeating heats, making the last the best. I think
the gray mare Peerless, who is closely related to Dexter, as
she was by American Star out of a mare in the Messenger
line, was as fast as he is. The breeding of Peerless was
much the same as his in blood, but reversed in the sexes.
She was the produce of Star and a mare of Messenger
descent. He was the produce of a Messenger horse in the
male line and a Star mare. I do not mean to say that Peerless could equal Dexter's saddle-rate, but I think that to
wagons they would be very close together, if she is as good
as she once was; but, as'Dexter appears to be steadily ilnproving, he will probably attain to a rate of speed in harness
and to wagon such as we have never yet seen.
I had a horse in my stable late last fall that I am satisfied
was then as fast as Dexter; and I think it quite likely that
he was a little faster. I allude to Mr. Bonner's big chest-nut gelding, the Auburn Horse.  He certainly carried me
faster than I had ever before ridden behind a trotter, and he
went away from Lady Thorn with the greatest ease. The
Auburn Horse had just come right, and got to feeling well
after having been out of sorts for some time. His speed
and resolute way of going had soon made a strong impression
upon my mind; and I told my friends Oliver Marshall and
Foster that if I could have him to trot a race, I thought I
could put a mark up so high that it would take a long time
to wipe it out. That is my opinion now, and the readers of
this work have a'right to know it. Yet it does not follow
that the Auburn Horse is equal to Dexter, though he might
trot a mile in harness faster.
When we look at the grand combination of excellent




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           389
qualities with which Dexter is gifted, it is at least probable
that no other given horse possesses them. One may have
his speed without his bottom; another may have speed and
bottom for a race or two, but be quite unable to stand the
long campaign of a journey of two thousand miles, with
trots nearly every week, and sometimes two or three in a
week. A third may be a fine harness and wagon horse, but
of no account under saddle. A fourth may be fast under
saddle, but come back about ten seconds when in harness or
to wagon; and a fifth may go along finely until he strikes
the mud, or feels weight behind him, either of which stops
him. But all the most desirable characteristics Dexter
possesses. What any trotting-horse can do, at any reasonable distance, or in any way of going, he can do.
I think the Auburn Horse might trot faster than Dexter
can do in harness; but I should not feel at all confident of
winning a race with him against Dexter. I know the
thorough bottom of the little horse, and I have never tested
that of the big one. There is no reason why I should not
say here what I have already said to some of my friends:
therefore I give it as my opinion, that, when the Auburn
Horse is all right, I can drive him a mile in 2m. 18s. in
harness. That would win a heat from Dexter, I think, but
it would not win a race; and, if the Auburn Horse came
back much in the second or third heat, the little one would
probably split the heats, and finally win the race. Of
course this is all speculation, as Mr. Bonner will not trot
any of his horses in a race; but having had both the horses,
and having driven them on various occasions when they
were both feeling fine and trotting very fast, I have formed
the opinion that the Auburn Horse can trot as fast in
harness as Dexter himself can.
Some may think that my prejudices lean a little against
Dexter, now that he is no longer in my hands; but I do not
think they do. One thing is certain; and that is, that I
believed in him before anybody else did, except Mr. Alley,




390      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
and pronounced him the best trotting-horse in the world, or
that had ever been in the world, to Mr. Foster, at a time
when the majority of people would have said that I was
crazy, if they had heard me. There has been a constant
improvement going on in the trotting-horse. The trotters
are much better bred than they used to be, and that has
had much effect. The courses, sulkies, and wagons have
also been improved. Our best horses have generally been
close together in rate. There was but a shade of difference
between Flora Temple and George M. Patchen, and her and
John Morgan, except in this, that, though they were close
up to her head in one or two races, they were unable to
follow her along, and campaign with her. But considering
what Dexter has done, keeping in mind the fact that he
seems to be steadily improving in his rate in harness, and
not forgetting that he could certainly trot under saddle in
2m. 15s. a year ago last fall, I am sometimes led to the
belief that he may some day, not only beat Flora's best time
in harness, but open a gap that will look very wide to those'who come next.




XLIX.
On Driving. -Difficulty of laying down Rules. -- Importance of a Sensitive
Mouth. - The Bit proper for a Colt. - Much Use of " Bitting " Apparatus
Mischievous. - The Bits in Cold Weather to be warmed before Use. - A
light. Fine Hand required. —Pulling to be avoided.- Gentleness and
Firmness. — The Horse to be harnessed so as to be at Ease. - Dead Pull
an Evil. - Proper Position of the Driver. - The Shift of the Bit. - How
to hold the Reins. -Severe Bits bad.
IT is of course very difficult to lay down rules for driving
trotting-horses; for a great deal depends upon the character and disposition of the horse in hand, and much depends upon the method which may have been followed by
those who broke him. It very often happens that the
driver will have to spend some time in undoing and repairing the mischievous effects of the bad driving to which the
horse has been subjected.  The colt ought to be bitted and
broken, so that he shall have a lively, sensitive mouth,
and be ready to answer to a light, neat touch upon the
rein.  The bit for a colt should not be of great size and
thickness. A bar of moderate size, rather fine than thick,
is what I have always preferred. Such a bit is sooner felt,
and the colt keeps. his head up, and does not bear down
steadily upon it.  With a big bar-bit in his mouth, he is
muah more likely to hang on it, by which means the mouth
is often made hard and callous. This is, of all things, to be
avoided.
It is also my opinion that colts do not require as much
bitting as they are commonly subjected to; and the bittingapparatus ought not to be kept on them very long at one
time, for this is what causes sore mouths, and they result
391




392     THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
in hard, unfeeling ones. If a big, heavy bit is used in bitting, and it is kept in the colt's mouth long at a time, he
will soon begin to hug down upon it, and the probability of
his having a good mouth for driving is lost. It will become
hard and tough, and he will fall into a habit of always bearing the weight of his head upon the bit. There is another
thing I will mention here, to which more attention ought
to be paid. Bits are often kept in places to which the frost
penetrates in very cold weather. The bits become frosted;
and, without a thought' of what he is doing, the man claps a
frosted steel bit into the horse's mouth. The consequence is
a sore mouth, just about as certainly as if the bit had been
nearly at a red heat; and then the man bothers his brains
to find out what caused it. If he had put the frozen bit
into his own mouth, it would have brought the inner skin
of the lips away with it, and then he would have felt the
mischief. In very cold weather, take your bits to the fire,
and be sure that there is no frost in the steel when the bit
is placed in your horse's mouth.
Now we will return to the colt. When you come to drive
him, it should be with a light, firm hand. The reins should
be handled nicely and gently. The driver can manage the
colt without any jerking or pulling and hauling, if he keeps
cool, thinks of what he is about, and uses proper care and
patience. The mouth is now fine and sensitive; and it ought
to be kept so, because this is the great organ of communication between a good driver and the trotter, when he is
cultivated and improved into a fast horse.. What you want
the trotter to do when he is at speed is to be got into him
through his mouth. You may encourage him by speaking
to him, or sting him into a greater effort with the whip;
but neither of these is half as- good as the play upon the
reins, with which you let him know what you want through
his lively, sensitive mouth. You are then to keep in constant mind the necessity of not impairing the colt's mouth
by rough handling of the reins. If you pull and lug at the




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          393
bit, the colt, in his efforts to resist what hurts him, will very
soon pull too, for he will find out that this numbs and deadens
the jaws; but this is at the expense of ruination to the
mouth. It will become hard and insensible; and the first
and largest part of the mischief which goes towards the
making of a hard puller is done.
When you begin to drive the colt, you must find out what
sort of bit suits him best. This is matter of experimental
trial. Use both bars and snaffies, all easy; and by feel of
hand, and observation of the way in which the colt carries
his head,'you will soon be able to ascertain which bit suits
him  best.  The nicety of your touch as driver should
correspond to the lively sensibility of the colt's mouth. A
bad-tempered, hasty man will very soon spoil a good-tempered young horse. The use of the whip ought, as a general
rule, to be avoided. In some cases, it must be used; but it
should never be brought into play when the horse does not
know what it is for. A slap with the whip, which almost
makes the colt jump out of the harness, is often immediately
followed by a powerful snatch on the reins to pull him back
again. Both of these are as bad as bad can be. Sore
mouths, bad tempers, and broken gaits, are the almost
inevitable results of such handling. On the other hand, if
the colt has been well broken, and has a good lively mouth,
and the driver handles the reins skilfully and thoughtfully,
the colt will'soon learn to understand every move of the
hand, and to answer it. From this it follows that you ought
to make no move with the bit without a definite object.
When you feel an impulse to do something with the reins
without knowing what you are to do it for, don't do it at all.
Such moves only fool the horse. Everybody admits that a
very hard-pulling horse is a nuisance; and everybody knows
that some horses will pull if they are to trot, and will not
extend themselves without a strong pull: but, even in regard
to these, it is not well to keep up a steady, rigid pull all the
time. I say, rather pull for a space, and then ease off, not




394      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
suddenly, but, gradually, and by this means they will not
pull quite so hard, and will trot faster. It is not natural for
horses to pull hard. Some there are, of uncommon ardor
and determination, that will pull in company; but more are
made hard-pullers by faulty handling when young, which
has deadened their mouths.
In order that a fast horse should be under circumstances
to do his best, he should be as much at his ease in his
harness and general rig as possible. If he is not, he is
placed at almost as much disadvantage as if sore or stif, or
suffering from some bodily ailment. You may see horses
brought out of the stable to trot with a very tight check to
keep their heads up, and a tight martingale to keep it down.
Such a horse is in irons; and when to this is added a dead
drag at the reins, and no movement of the bit from end to
end, I cannot see how he should do his best. People talk
about a steady, bracing pull; but, in my opinion, that is not
the right way to drive a trotter. There is a great difference
between letting go of your horse's head, and keeping up
one dull, deadening pull all the time. The race-horse riders
practise what is called a bracing pull; and, a great many
times, I have seen their horses tire under it without ever
running their best. The steady pull choked them. The
pull should be sufficient to feel the mouth, and give some
support and assistance, so as to give the horse confidence to
get up to his stride. More than that is mischievous. To
keep the mouth alive, the bit must be shifted a little occasionally. But this is not to be done by a pull of the hand
on the rein. A mere half-turn of the wrist, or less than
half a turn, by which the thumb is elevated and the little
finger lowered, is sufficient to shift the bit, keep the mouth
sensitive, and rouse the horse.
The reins are to be steadily held with both hands while
this play with the wrist is made; and it is, of course, only
to be done with one wrist at a time. The hands should be
well down; and the driver ought not to sit all of a heap,




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          395
with his head forward. Neither should he lean back, with
his bodily weight on the reins, which, in that case, are made
a sort of stay for him. He should be upright; and what
pulling he must do should be done by the muscular forcetof
the arms. The head and the arms are what a good driver
uses; but some have their arms straight out, and pull by
means of putting the dead weight of their bodies on the
reins. If, instead of lying back, and putting their bodily
weight on the reins, with which latter they take a turn
round their hands, drivers would depend upon their muscular
strength, they could let up on the pull, graduate it, and so
ease the horse from time to time instantaneously. The
driver who depends upon the arms has command of the
horse: he who substitutes bodily weight with the reins
wrapped round his hands, has not half command of the
horse, or of himself either; and, if the horse is a puller, he
will soon take command of the driver. The reason of it is,
that there is no intermission of the exertion, no let up,
either for man or horse. Besides, in that way of driving,
it is impossible to give those movements to the bit which
seem to refresh and stimulate the horse so much. When
a horse has been taught the significance of this movement of the bit, the shift by the turn of the wrist, he
will never fail to answer it, even though he should seem to
be at the top of his speed. The moment he feels this little
move of the bit in his sensitive mouth, he will collect himself, and make another spurt; and the value of this way of
driving is, that the horse is not likely to break when thus
called upon, while a high-strung, generous horse, if called
upon for a final effort with a whip, is as likely to break the
moment it falls on him as not. I have won many a very
close heat by practising this movement, and therefore I have
no hesitation in recommending it. It is not difficult to
acquire, and the horse soon comes to know what it means.
Let us come now to the way of taking hold of the reins.
A wrap around the hand, such as running-horse riders take,




396      THE TROTTIVYG-HORSE OF AMERICA.
is clumsy and bad. I do not know whether many people
take hold of the reins as I do, or not. Perhaps not. Sim.
Hoagland is the only one who takes hold precisely as I do,
solar as I have observed. When we have been jogging
horses together at early morning, we have often talked over
these matters; and, whether our way was the best way or
not, we could never see any other that suited us half as
well.
I will try to explain how I hold the reins: I could show
it in two seconds. Take, first, the right-hand rein. This,
coming from the bit, passes between the little finger and
the third finger, over the little finger, then under the other
three fingers, and up over the thumb. The left-hand rein is
held in the left hand exactly in the same way; but the bight
of the slack of the reins is also held between the thumb
and forefinger of the left hand. This gives more substance
in that hand; but; if it is found inconvenient to have it
there by those who have small hands, it may be dropped
altogether. A firm grasp on each rein, with the backs of
the hands up, and without any wrap, is thus obtained. It
is a great point in driving to be able to shift the reach —
that is, the length of the hold you take -without for an
instant letting go of the horse's head. With this way of
holding the reins, it is easily done. If I want to shorten
the hold on the left-hand rein (the near rein), I take hold of
that rein just behind the left hand with the thumb and
forefinger of the right hand, and steady it. This is very
easily done; and it does not interfere at all with the command
of the off rein with the right hand. The near rein being
thus steadied behind the left hand, I slide that hand forward
on the rein, which is kept over the little finger, under the
other three fingers, and over the thumb all the time, and
then shut the grasp again on the new reach. A shift with
the right hand is made just in the same way, by taking
hold and steadying the rein behind that hand with the
thumb and forefinger of the left hand.




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.           397
I have often observed, that, with other methods of holding
the reins, there was great difficulty in shifting the reach.
The driver tries to do it; but, for an instant, he has let go of
the horse's head on one side altogether, and broken his
stride. When this is found to be the case, the dead pull all
the time is adopted; and this spoils the freedom and elasticity
of the horse's stride, and chokes his wind. I do not intend
this to be taken as instruction for professional drivers.
Every driver has a way of his own; and some of them have
very good ways, for, as I have taken occasion to state before,
they drive well. But what I have set down above may be
of service to gentlemen who drive their own horses, and to
those young men who, havin; as yet no settled method of
their own, may think it well enough to try that which I
have found to answer.  Another word about bits.  I
am opposed to the use of severe bits, and complicated things
of that sort. Some of the inventors of such things say
that I am prejudiced; but I don't think I am. If a man
has a horse that cannot be driven with a bar-bit or a snaffle,
he may as well sell him, except it is a very exceptional
case. Where are these kinds of severe complicated bits most
in use? Why, in England; five hundred or a thousand of
them are used there to one that is used here: and where do
the horses trot the best? These bits are mostly invented
by men who have had no practical experience whatever as
to what sort of driving a fast trotter requires to keep his
gait square and bold, and induce him to do his best when it
is called for. When a horse has a good mouth, - and a bad
one is almost always the fault of bad breaking and driving, -
the easier the bit you use, the better he will act for you, and
the more speed he will show you.




Of Breaking in Trotting. - A gaining Break. - Snatching to be avoided.
- How to catch the Horse to his Trot. - Nature of the catching Pull. -
The Horse to be steadied when he has caught. - A Break sometimes
desirable. - How to bring it about. - Confidence of the Horse in his
Driver. - Sagacity of Horses. - To prevent a Break. - Signs of one
coming.
I N the'consideration of the art of driving a trottinghorse, another important part is that of breaking.  As a
general rule, breaking is to be avoided rather than encouraged and promoted; though there are times when a trotter
may be broken with advantage to his speed and staying-power
in the latter part of the work. There is, however, no horse
but will break sometimes, and that when he is not tired;
for the steadiest and stoutest of trotters may break through
a false step. When you are educating a horse for the purpose of making a trotter of him, you must endeavor to
shape his action in his breaks.  Just as it depended
whether you should make a puller of him by your way of
driving in his educational period, so it depends whether you
shall teach him  to make a gaining break,- which is to
say, to  lose nothing in space, and  gain something by
change of muscular action, — or whether you shall suffer
him to become a bad, losing breaker. In the one case,
nothing is actually lost by a break; in the other, you drop
behind largely, often so far that it cannot be made up.
Then, when the horse is being formed for a trotter, he is
not to be suddenly snatched at when he breaks: if he is, he
will contract a habit of dropping back in his harness, and
almost coming to a stand-still as soon as he breaks.  You
398




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.            399
will see some of our fastest trotters do this. In order to
avoid it, let the horse, when being formed for a trotter, take
a good lope- or two when he makes a break before you try to
catch him. Should you find, that, without being pulled,
he has a tendency to come back into the breeching when
he breaks, touch him with the whip at such times, and
teach him, that, whatever else he may do, his main business
is to go right ahead all the time until you pull him up.
In catching a horse in a break, the driver must do it principally with one rein. Some chiefly use the off rein, some
the near rein. It is not material which, except in this,
that some horses catch more readily and easily on one than
on the other. This, as regards any particular horse, is only
found out by observation and trial. It is always to be done
with one rein. A dead pull on both reins will not bring
a horse to his trot; but, if his head be pulled slightly round
to one side and upwards, he will grab for his trot immediately.
The movement of the reins to be somewhat like that
which is effected by the turn of the wrist, in shifting the
bit, to keep the mouth lively and call for another effort when
the trotter is doing about his best. There is, however,
more pull on one rein; for, in the shift, the action is merely
momentary, besides which in the catch there is to be a yielding of the other rein. The driver is not by any means to
let go of the head with one hand, while trying to catch the
horse in a break with the other; but he must give with the
opposite hand just about as much as the horse's head must
come to one side to catch his trot. The catching pull is not
to be a yanking, jerking pull: if it is, the horse will sheer
off, and lose a great deal by the swerve,- perhaps cross, or
run into somebody. It is to be a quick, firm, but not
violent movement. To do it well, and to learn to do it just
at the right time, will be worth your while; and practice
will enable you to learn it if you will follow these directions.




400      THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.
By making the horse understand that he is not to come
back in his breaks, and by learning how to catch him readily
and get him going on with his trot right forward, he will
be made a lively breaker, and you will have gained a very
great point in the art of driving. Some horses eventually
learn to catch their trot with their head straight and their
noses out; but this can only be said of few. When the
horse has caught after a. break, cool nerve and steadiness
are wanted on the part of the driver. If the latter is in
too much of a hurry, and lets go of the horse's head as soon
as he lands on a trot, a double break is commonly the
result. It is necessary to steady the horse when he has
caught, and to see him settled down square to his trot
before you ease off to him, and call for speed. When you
do ease off, it should be gradually, so that he may get up to
the length and quickness of his stroke by degrees, instead
of trying to do so by a convulsive effort.
This, in my opinion, is the method the driver should
adopt to teach the horse to be lively in his breaks, and to
catch well. I do not call this teaching them to break.
There is a great -difference in principle between the two
things. I have long heard that a driver has no business to
teach a horse to break. The thing to be got into the horse
is to tro4 fast and maintain his trot for a mile or two miles,
if he is a stout and honest horse, without any break at all:
but as I have shown in prior chapters, and in the beginning
of this chapter, there are times when a horse will break;
and then it makes a vast difference whether his break shall
be lively, and he shall catch well, or whether it shall be dead
into the ground or up into'the air, bobbing about like a ship
in a ground swell, with no wind to steady her. Therefore,
distinguish the difference between teaching your horse to
break, which is mischievous and to be avoided, and teaching
him to break lively, with a free forward movement, and to
catch well when he does break.
Sometimes a driver of good judgment will break his horse




THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.          401
on purpose, but this is not in a process of teaching him to
break well. It is at a pinch, when he sees that the horse is
becoming lifeless and dull in action, and beginning to dwell
in his stroke. A good lively break at such a time will often
revive the horse amazingly, and therefore it ought to be
forthwith put in practice. There are two ways of doing this.
If the horse is a quick one, hit him with the whip across
the buttocks, and, as you do so, let go of his head. He will
break with a good forward bound; and, as you will have
made him break at your own time, you will be all ready to
catch him. The other method is by a sudden snatch on one
rein, which will throw him out of his stride and break him.
The former of these two methods is to be preferred where
the horse can be broken by the cut with the whip, and the
accompanying let-go; but though this breaking up on purpose is sometimes useful, and even necessary in a tight place,
beware of doing it often. If you practise in this way on
your horse to learn how to do it yourself, and see how nicely
you can break him up and catch him, you will teach him to
break as a habit, and confirm him in it. Many good horses
have thus been spoiled.
There is another thing of which you should beware, and
it is a thing that is often done: when your horse breaks,
do not go under him with the whip. If you do so, the horse
will become scared, and will not know what to dd. This
uncertainty, and the fear of the whip, will keep him all the
time in danger of a break. He is afraid: expecting the
whip, expecting to break, having no knowledge of what his
driver wants him to do, and no confidence in any settled and
understood purpose in him as a driver, what can the horse
be expected to do?  Confidence between the trotting-horse
and his driver is of the utmost importance: it is all in all.
Some men inspire it readily, so that a horse will take hold
and do all he knows the first time the man drives him.'For another man the same horse will not trot a yard. The
truth is, that the horse is a very knowing, sagacious creature,
26




402      THlE TROTTtNG-IORSE OF AMERICA.
much more so than he gets credit for. If a driver has no
settled system of his own, or'if he is rash or severe without
cause, it is not likely that confidence will be inspired in the
horse, even in a long time. Especially is this the case when
the horse is punished without his knowing what it is for.
In nine cases out of ten, a horse punished without his
knowing what for is punished for his driver's fault, not for
his own. Confidence cannot grow in such circumstances.
If you observe two good trotters who have been accustomed
to work together in double harness, you will see what speed
and steadiness follow from confidence in each other. Each
knows that he or she can depend upon the mate to keep up
the stroke, and maintain the even pull and level action. It
is of just as much importance that the single-harness horse
should understand and have confidence in his driver, as it is
for a double-harness horse to know the power and ways of
his mate. Unless this sort of mutual understanding can be
established between the driver and the horse, the latter can
never be relied upon to do his best. The readiest way to
produce it is to use him gently but firmly, and to accustom
him to the system of telegraphing to him by means of the
reins in your hand and the bit in his mouth. The whip is
to be kept very much in the background while you are cultivating confidence in your horse. It is more likely to
prove an obstacle than an aid.
I now come to the last critical point in this matter, -
when the horse is tired, and inclined to break. In a long
brush, you will often have reason to look for an attempt to
break, and it will generally be in circumstances when the
horse must not be suffered to do it. There are times, as I have
shown, when, with a tired horse, a break may be brought on
with advantage; but there are others when all will be lost if
a break occurs. To prevent it, give the shift with the bit
when you perceive that he begins to tire, and soon renew it;
this will revive and rouse him, and take his mind off the
break which he has felt he was about to make. The signs




TIE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA.         403
of a coming break will be discovered by watching the head
and ears of the horse. The attention of the driver ought
always to be fixed upon the head of his horse. Many a heat
is lost by neglect of this matter. A driver is seen coming
up the stretch a length or a length and a half ahead. Both
the horses are tired, but the leading one could win. The
driver, however, when he gets where the carriages are, turns
his head to look at the ladies, or to see whether they are
looking at him. Just then the horse gives a twitch with
his ears; the driver don't see it; up flies the trotter, and
the, ugly man behind keeps his horse square,'and wins by a
necG.
THE END.








APPENDIX. -
DEXTER IN 1867 —68.
IF the author of the foregoing work had lived another year, he
would unquestionably have continued the sketch of Dexter down
to the period of that horse's retirement from the public trottingturf, when he was purchased by Mr. Bonner, in the summer of
1867.  To supplement that sketch, by a few brief observations
upon the most excellent of Dexter's performances in that year,
now devolves upon the editor. The horse was wintered at Baltimore, and did well. In the spring of 1867, a challenge was published in "The Spirit of the Times," from Mr. C. P. Relf, the
owner of the celebrated mare Lady Thorn, offering to trot her
mile heats, three in five, and two-mile heats in harness, and the
same races to wagons, against any horse in the world. The challenge was accepted for Dexter, and the matches were made to trot
on the Fashion Course.
Before these matches came off, Dexter trotted for a purse at
Middletown, Orange County, on the 16th of May, against Goldsmith Maid. He beat her very easily; and this early appearance
convinced those who saw him trot that he retained all his speed.
The matches between Dexter and Lady Thorn were for two
thousand dollars each. The first of them, mile heats, three in five,
in harness, came off at the Fashion Course on the 28th of May,




406                    APPENDIX.
A great deal of public interest had been excited, and there was an
immense gathering of people to see the race. When the matches
were first made, the betting was about 60 to 40 on Dexter; but, as
his performances of the previous season were called to mind and
discussed, he became a stronger favorite, and, just before they
started, he was backed at 100 to 50. He was driven by Budd
Doble, while then mare was handled by Dan Pfifer. In the first
heat, Dexter took the lead at the start, was never headed, and won
by two lengths in 2m. 24s. In the second heat, Dexter also took
the lead, and was ahead of the mare a length at the half-mile in
im. 12s. The pace was then improved, and was very fast to the
head of the stretch. There the mare was called upon to "head
him or die; " and, being unable to stand the increased rate necessary, she made a bad break, and he distanced her in 2m. 22s.
The next race between Dexter and Lady Thorn, mile heats,
three in five, to wagons, was trotted on the 7th of June. The
public had now come to the conclusion that no living horse could
beat Dexter if he'vas in good condition; and 100 to 20 was laid
on him. The first heat in this race was slow. The mare broke
twice, and Dexter was held back for her. He won in 2m. 32s.
But, in the second heat, there was one of the finest displays of
fast and powerful trotting that has ever been witnessed. They
went away together, and at the quarter pole Dexter led half a
length. At the half-mile, he was a length ahead. He held the
mare at his wheel to the head of the stretch, and from thence a
desperate struggle ensued. Lady Thorn surpassed any thing that
had been'done prior to that to wagon; but Dexter beat her by half
a length in 2m. 24s. This beat the best time before made to
wagon by one second. Flora Temple and George Wilkes had
both trotted previously in 2m. 25s. The third heat was another
fine one, especially in appearance. Dexter was pulled back so as
to just keep the mare well extended, and beat her half a length in
2m. 28s.
On the 14th of June, Dexter and the mare had another meeting




APPENDIX.                      407
at the Fashion, and trotted two-mile heats in harness. It was a
good race and fast. Dexter won the first heat by two lengths in
4m. 51s. This was within half a second of the best two miles
ever made in harness, which was 4m. 50-s., by Flora Temple.
Dexter then won the second heat in 5m. 01- s.
Before this race of two-mile heats in harness, another engage.
ment had been made for Dexter. He was matched to trot in harness against Ethan Allen and a running-mate in double harness.
The terms of it were for two thousand dollars, mile heats, three in
five, to come off on the 21st of June. Six years before, Ethan
Allen and his running-mate Socks had trotted in 2m. 193s. It had
been lately found, that, in Dan Mace's hands, Ethan was capable of
going faster than that in the like rig. He had now for a runningmate a young thoroughbred mare, called Charlotte F. She was
got by imported Scythian, out of Blackbird's dam by imported
Ainderby; and Mace had taught her to run so evenly, and with
such power of stroke, that she carried the old stallion along by the
breeching at an enormous rate. On the 29th of May, Ethan Allen
and his mare went against Brown George and his runner, and beat
them in three heats. The third was trotted in 2m. 19s. This led
to the match with Dexter.
On the 21st of June, an immense crowd assembled at the Fashion
Course to see the race. The team paid forfeit, Charlotte F. having
strained a tendon. But a new match was made for five hundred
dollars a side, and they came up to the post. The runner substituted for the mare was the one that had gone with Brown George,
a black gelding, captured in the war. The betting was two to one
on Dexter.
In the first heat, he had the pole. They went off at amazing
speed, and at the quarter the double team led two lengths in 32s.
They maintained the rate, and went to the half-mile in im. 04s.,
three lengths ahead. They were four lengths in the lead at the
head of the stretch, and won by five lengths in 2m. 15s. A wonderful performance it was all round, but especially for Dexter, who




408                     APPENDIX.
trotted singly, and pulled his own vehicle and driver. He unques.
tionabl) beat 2m. 17s.
The betting was even, it being thought that the team would give
out before the end of three heats, while it was pretty well known
that Dexter would " stick."  Soon after they got the word in the
second heat, the stallion broke. Dexter led a length on the turn,
where he was trotting close to the outside. He took the pole before he reached the quarter, and went on with the lead to the halfmile, where his time was im. 06s. But now the runner and the
trotter had got to his wheel, having come through the straight
work of the back-stretch at a very high rate of speed. The pace
was so hot that Ethan broke on the Flushing turn; but, when he
caught, the runner whirled him along at such a rate that they
overhauled Dexter, and beat him by three lengths in 2m. 16s. Dexter must have trotted this heat in 2m. 17s. or 2m. 1 7s.: and it
affords the most notable example of constancy and courage that
ever was seen; for, after he had trotted the first half-mile in the
amazing time of Im. 06s., and had kept the lead for three-quarters
of a mile, he never left his feet when the team, like a storm, came
rushing by, but trotted out to the end in 2m. 17s., or thereabouts.
The team won the third heat in 2m. 19s.
The trotting of Dexter in this race settled three things in the
minds of thoughtful and reasoning people: first, that, high as his
powers had been estimated, they had been underrated; second,
that no trotter going on equal terms with him had any chance to
beat him, barring accidents; third, that a race between a trotter
in single harness, and another trotter in double harness with a running-mate, was no fair match. The conclusion was, that the running-horse beat Dexter.
On Saturday, June 29, Dexter and Lady Thorn trotted their
last race on the Fashion Course, —two-mile heats to wagons.
The horse was fine-drawn and wiry, from the effect of his desperate exertions against the double team; but he was in no wise stale,
for his eye was bright, his coat sledek, and his spirit eager. Ten to




APPENDIX.                       409
one was laid on Dexter before the start; and he won with great
ease in two heats, - 5m. Ols., 5m. 09s.
He had an engagement on hand with Ethan Allen and Charlotte F.. fbr the Fourth of July. It was to go mile heats, three m
five, on the half-mile track at Morristown, N.J.  The track
was not calculated for a very fast race; but yet the team was compelled to go in 2m. 201s., 2m. 204s., and 2m. 20s., to beat Dexter.
Some maintained at the time, that, considering the nature of the
course, this was-quite as good a race as the one at the Fashion.
Dexter now met Lady Thorn for the last time. On the 10th of
July, they trotted mile heats, three in five, in harness, at Trenton,
N.J. Dexter won in three heats. The last was fast,-2m. 20-s.
The track was sandy, deep, and heavy; and it was now clearly
perceived that the hour for surpassing Flora Temple's crowning
heat - 2m. 1 9-s. - was close at hand.
On the 16th of July, Dexter was at Albany, and there trotted
against Brown George and running-mate on the Island-park
Course. Brown George was not much of a trotter by himself; but,
with the aid of a good running-mate, he could put in three heats
very fast.' Inferior as he was to Ethan Allen in that and in every
other way of going, he could still, with his running-mate, beat any
horse in the country save Dexter. But Dexter he could not beat.
The little wonder won in three heats, - 2m. 22s., 2m. 201s., 2m.
20}s. The great fact which had so often b'een insisted upon by
the admirers of Dexter was now being made manifest to the dullest mind; viz., that his deep bottom, and immense constitutional
power of standing fast work, enabled him to improve under a
course of travelling and racing which would have upset, and for the
time ruined, any other trotter in existence.
Dexter beat Brown George and running-mate in three heats at
Providence on the 26th of July, and then, going on to Boston,
surpassed any thing that had ever before been done by a trotter.
It was on the 30th; and he went in harness against Brown George
and running-mate on the Riverside-park Course. The track is a




410                     APPENDIX.
half-mile one. The fame of Dexter, and the speed of his recent
exploits, drew together an immense multitude. The fences and
stands broke down; and it was with difficulty that the course
could be kept clear for the horses. Dexter won the first heat
easily, in 2m. 213s. The second was fast and close. In the first
quarter, George made one little break, and Dexter led at the halfmile, in im. 10s.. The last half-mile was stoutly contested. Fast
as Dexter was going, the runner and the trotter drew towards
him, and at length headed him. But the little horse then made
himself up for a finishing struggle. He again got even with the
team, and, passing them in the straight work, came home full of
power and trot in 2m. 19s. The best time of Flora had fnow been
beaten I Dexter won the third heat in 2m. 21Is. Let it be remembered that this was on a half-mile track; and then let us look
at the figures, - 2m. 21-s., 2m. 19s., 2m. 214s. They are so forcible and eloquent that no more need be said. This is not one fast
heat out of three, but three fast heats in succession. Yes there
was good reason to expect it after the races against Ethan Allen
and mate, and from the known almost-everlasting capacity of
Dexter to improve under plenty of strong work.
It is unnecessary, in this place, to notice any further performances made by Dexter on the trotting-turf, except that in which
he went against time at Buffalo. There is little doubt of the fact
that the negotiations between Mr. Bonner and Mr. Fawcett for
his purchase and sale had been virtually concluded soon after he
went against Ethan Allen and running-mate on the Fashion
Course. But, be that as it may, on the 14th of August, at Buffalo,
Sir. Bonner and Mr. Fawcett being both present, Dexter was engaged by Doble to beat his own time on the Riverside Park at
Boston. The famous little horse was brought out and warmed up.
Doble then intimated to the judges that he should drive one
round as preparatory. The horse went to the quarter in 34s., to
the half-mile in im. 10s, and trotted in 2m. 211s. This was a
great deal faster than Doble had intended to drive him; and, in



rAPPENDIX.                      411
deed, most of the people thought that it was a real effort and failure. After being scraped and cooled out, Dexter was again harnessed, and brought on the course at four o'clock. With him there
came Ben Mace and the thoroughbred mare Charlotte  F.,
who had aided Ethan Allen at Morristown. She was under saddle, Mace riding; and it was his office to lay at Dexter's quarters,
to keep up his emulation and determination to conquer. A little
jog or two, and then the trotter in harness, and the runner under
saddle, went up the stretch, and came along for the word. As
Dexter was seen to be going very square and well, it was given.
The pace was fast. He trotted the first quarter in 33~s., made the
half-mile in Im. 07s., and came home in 2m. 17~s., in good wind,
and with a stroke of commanding power. This performance
capped the climax of his fame, so far as public trotting in races is
concerned. The sale to Mr. Bonner was made known, and also
the condition that Dexter was not to be delivered until after he
had fulfilled an existing engagement at Chicago. The price was
thirty-three thousand dollars; and considering the income he had
earned, and might have continued to earn, by trotting in public,
Dexter was one of the cheapest horses that ever was sold. He
was not only a means of wealth, but of distinction, to Mr. Fawcett.
Although the time Dexter made at Buffalo, 21n. 1 7s., capped
the climax of his fame, it was not the full measure of his capacity.
He had steadily improved up to that date, and there is no reason to believe that he then attained the greatest excellence of
which he was capable. He has improved since he came into the
possession of Mr. Bonner; and facts warrant the belief, that he
will some day, when he is at the pitch of condition, and other
things are favorable, trot a mile in harness several seconds faster
than 2m. 1 7s. In estimating his present powers, it is material to
consider the fact that the Buffalo Course was slow when Dexter
made his fast time there.  During that week many fast horses
trotted over it, and only one of them made a heat as fast as 2m.
30s. It has since been drained, and otherwise improved, and is




412                   APPENDIX.
now fast. My own opinion is, that Dexter can now go in less than
2m. 20s. any day and every day that he may be called upon to do
so when he is fit to trot and the course is good. If that is correct, his regular rate is such that he must be capable of an effort
so enormous, that he may, and probably will, far surpass his feat ai
Buffalo, and again make " limping Time toil after him in vain."
CHARLES J. FOSTEs




A New Standaird WDork for City and Country.
THE GREATEST' HORSE-BOOK EVER PUBLISHED!
HIRAIM WO ODD UFFI
ON THE
TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA:
0HW  TO TRAIN AND DRIVE RIM.
With Reminiscences of the Trotting Turf. The Results of the Author's Forty
Years' Experience and Unequaled Skill in Training and Driving, together with
a store of interesting matter concerning Celebrated American Horses.
Edited by CHARLES J. FOSTER, Of "Wilkes's Spirit of the Times."
Every one who knows any thing of the history of horses in America, knows
that HIRAM WOODRUFF might almost be-said to have been the creator of our
distinctively national animal, the Trotter. The value of this record of his
experience, and these suggestions of his skill, can not, therefore, be doubted as a
standard'authority in the technicalities of horse-training; while the graphic style
of his description, and the vivid pictures he gives of successive periods in the
development of the breeding and perfecting of horses in this country, and the
many interesting episodes naturally occurring in the course of the work, combine with its more solid qualities to make it a rare book.
Gentlemen otuning horses, professional trainers and drivers, farmers, having
the opportunity or the desire of breeding good trotting stock, to supply the rapidly-growing demand, or even to increase the speed of their own horses-every man
who has, or drives, or loves the noble animal, willfind this book invaluable, and
almost indispensable.
The book isq a handsome 12mo, and contains a splendid Steel-plate Portrait
of Hiram Woodruff.                 Price, Extra Cloth, $2.25; Half Calf, $4;
Full Calf, $5. Single copies sent on receipt of price.
J. B. FORD & CO.,
164 Nassau St., Printing-House Square, New-York.
g   Opinions of the Press, and of the most noted professional Trainers and
Drivers of the day, will be found on this and thefollowing pages.
From  the celebrated  Trainer, I  rom  the famous Driver, Dan
S. D. Hoagland.                  -         Mace.
EAST NEW-YORK, Oct. 20, 1868.'           NEW-YORK, Oct. 22, 1868.
MR. CHARLES FOSTER-Sir: I have        CHARLES J. FOSTER-Dear Sir: Iam
read the book of which you sent me a   much obliged to you for Hiram Woodhandsome copy-Hiram's book-and I   ruff's book.  Some think that my
want to say what I think about it. It   opinion of it may be of service to the
is the most excellent, careful, and   young men in the country, and here it
practical book about horses that I ever   is.: This is the best horse-book that I
Saw; and it can not be too strongly   have ever seen. and a precious sight
recommended to  those' who have   better than'I ever expected to see, unvither trotters or family horses. The   til I found that Hiram and you had set
Ikeness of my old friend Hiram is  to work at one together. It will be
capital. Yours respectfully,         invaluable to those who have young
S. D. HOAGLAND.      trotters; and if a man will only study




It thoroughly, and follow what is set       XNw-York  Herald.
down, he may, with good sense and       The anthor of this work stood at the
plenty of  practice,  come in tio e to   head of his profession as a trainer and
train and drive as well as I do.      driver of the trotting horse.
Yours truly,      D. MACE.       drive' of the trotting horse.....
The book under consideration is the
matured result of forty years' labor on
the part of the author in developing
From  Hiram  Woodruff's legi-  the speed and endurance of the trotter,
timate successor, Dan Pfifer.        and his method of training and driving
is accepted by turfmen as the perfecCYPREvSS HILLS, L. I., Oct. 31, 1868.    tion of that art. This method is fully
CHAs. J. FOSTER, Esq.-Sir: Hiram    set forth in this volume, accompanied
Woodruff's book is sure to be of very   with abundlant illustrations of its cor
great service to the young men of the   rectness by the track performances of
country who have got young horses.   many of our most celebrated trotting
I have read it through more than once.   horses.  To horsemen in particular
People who have horses should read   the book will be found especially atit carefully, and follow the directions   tractive and of great value. It will
set down for the treatment, feeding,   become a standard authority on thed
training, and driving of trotters. It   subject of which it treats.
makes me remember old times, when
I read the story of Ripton, for I was
with Hiram then.                             New-York  Times.
Yours truly,     D. PFIFER. -
This book will become the nanual o/
the roadsters. Woodruff was king o1
the horse-trainers, and the rationale
Wilkes's Spirit of the Times.    of his system shows that he was a man
of excellent judgment, while his many
This, book has been put before the   ssuccesses on the course furnish the
public in a very handsome and com-   best commentary on his modes of
plete style, by Messrs. J. B. Ford &    equine management. The book is calCo., of this city, and we observe from    culated to be a very popular one, for
our exchanges that it is receiving   every one who drives a nag in harness
handsome notices from the press. The   will have the ambition to read it, and
estimation in which we hold it is well  it has an excellent narrative style.
known to our readers. We believe it  Indeed, if this was the style of Mr.
to be the most practical and instrzc-   Woodruff himself, he must have been
tive book that ever was published con-   as clever in his talk with men as in
cerniny t/he trotting horse; and those   his management of horses. The book
who own or take care of horses of   is handsomely got up, with a well-exeother descriptions may buy and read   cuted portrait of the late New-York
it with a great deal of profit. Besides   Mareschal and Master of Horse.
all this, it is a work of great interest.
Mr.  Bonner's  New-York                  New-York  Tribune.
Ledger.                    This is a masterly treatise by the
master of his profession-the ripened
Htiram  Woodruff was the great   product of forty years' experience in
trainer of his day; but, by his unsal-   handling, training, riding, and driving
lied integrity and unequaled capacity,   the Trotting Horse. There is no book
he rose above his profession. No man   like it in any language on the subject
could ever say of him that he had his   of which it treats. It is accepted as
price. Indeed, it is the universal tes-   authority by the owners of racing
timony of all who knew him-friends   trotters, and of fast roadsters.  Its
and foes-that his integrity was abso-   publication has been hailed by gentlelutely unassailable.  In this work,   men as critically appreciative as Robwhich has been ably, carefully, and ju-   ert Bonner, and by trainers and drivdiciously edited by his faithful friend,   ers as distinguished as Sim HIoagland,
Mr. Charles J. Foster, are recorded   Dan Mace, and Dan Pfifer. The book
for the benefit of the public at large,  is unquestionably one of great value.
his life-long experiences; his sayings   For in America and England the develand doings; his authoritative views on   opment of the horse has long, been
almost every thing pertaining to the   considered second only in importance
horse. It is a book for which every   to the development of man., This
man who owns a horse oup1ht to sutt-   work contains the results of forty
scs'ibe. The information which it eon-   years' uninterrupted labor in bringing
tains is worth ten tinzes its cost; and   the trotter iup to the highest speed and
we hope, for the sake of the widow   the greatest endurance of which he is
who owns the copyright, that the sales   capable. Before we read it we had
may, at least, reach one hundred thou-   seen with curious surprise very hearty
sand copies.                          commendation of it and eulogy of its




3
author in the leading Presbyterian,  ing, and training of horses. It is full
Baptist, and Methodist journals. No   of shrewd remarks and sound rules.
wonder, for Hiram Woodruff's system    Those who know nothing about a
is based on the law of love.         horse, or not much, will be surprised
at the amount of information and the
variety of directions contained; and
Brick  Pomeroy's Democrat.   to see how truly the care and handling
Hiram Woodruff, a life-like portrait  of the horse rise to the dignity of a
of whom adorns the book, of course   science.
needs no introduction to any American
who cares any thing about horses.   Boston satchman and ReflecHis life was one continued benefit to
that noble animal, one prolonged and           tor, (Baptist.)
successful effort to improve its condi-  One may read and study this book
tion, speed, and usefulness to man.   with profit, for it was written by a
His memory is that of a man proverbi-   man who loved the horse, knew hi
ally honorable and of unapproached   peculiarities, and from the experience
excellence in his calling. What Hiram    of years, utters words of wisdom as to
Woodruff did not know about horses,  the best way of training and driving
and particularly the training of good   the noblest animal ever given to man
colts and the driving  of trotting   for service. The advice, the suggeshorses, is hardly worth the knowing.   tions, the riules given in the bookl are
What he did know, he has put into  invaluable. If we owned a " stable,"
this book.                            we would make our grooms study it;
if we were a Vermont farmer, each
The (N. Y.) Liberal Christian,   son should have a copy, for, while it is
(Unitarian.)               specially devoted to trotting horses,
the work contains valuable informaWe have a decided distaste for every   tion for every man who owns or drives
thing connected with horse-racing,   a horse.
and when the Trotting Horse of America was put into our hands the book   N. Y. Examiner  and  Chron.
dropped of its own weight on to the
table. Ashamed of this prejudice, we           icle, (Baptist.)
took it up, and soon found ourselves   "The Woodruff " seem  to have
reading at full pace about the way   been horsemen and horse-trainers for
colts should be raised, and horses   generations, and the " reminiscences "
trained, and racers cared for, and the   of the most celebrated of the family
breed improved.... In reading   are full of piquancy and attraction, as
the book we were struck with the   well as of information tseful to all who
analogy between the scientific treat-   own horses. The author is another
ment of the horse and the best treat-   evidence of the truth that only those
Inent of the human being...    who love horses can manage horses
What a pity parents and teachers   and the mere groom is never a good
would not learn wisdom  from  the   horseman.
horse-trainer... The book gives
us a higher estimate of the horse, and
what a proper care and training can
make him, but increases our contempt   The mass, of information which it
for those who abuse and maltreat an   contains is not easily accessible in any
animal that has so many good quali-   other form, and will prove immensely
ties, and is capable of so much service   acceptable to those whose inclinations
and so much suffering.                are with the turf and whatever concerns its heroes and heroines.
Springfield (Mass.) Republican.
A  capital book is The TrottingBoston Traveller
Horse of America, by that most fa-     The volume embraces a wonderful
mous of whips-or, as the Greeks,   amount of information on its subject,
with more appreciation of driving,   admirably prepared and presented,
called  them, reinholders- Hiram    and really leaving little more to be
Woodruff. Half of the manly virtues   desired on that subject, till the passage
belong to the man mounted. Almost   of years shall have furnished new illusall conquerors and great rulers have   trations of it.- Mr. Foster has edited
been fond of the chase and fond of the   the work well and discreetly, and the
horse; and it is no accident, but comes   biographical sketch he gives of Mr.
out of a real congeniality between a   Woodruff is a model piece of writing;
strong, brave, resolute man, and a  a and Mr. Wilkes gives an introductory
powerful, fleet, and  high-spirited   sketch of the great trainer that is
horse. The volume before us con-   worthy of his strong and lively pen.
tains the best results of Woodruff's   A strikink portrait of Mr. Woodruff
large observation and matured judg-   adorns the volume, which is got up in
ment, in regard to the breaking, feed-   very elegant style.




4'Worcester Spy.               of the famous trotters ist nund in these
PMr. Woodruff, whose experience   pages, with suggestions and instruoe
tions for rearing stock, breaking, or
and observation for forty years have   tions for educating " colts, breaking, or
psthis subject in   rather "educating" colts, and fall deprepared him to discuss this subject in   tails of practical experience. It is acthe best manner, has given us a book      panied by a sket
that all interested in trotting horses   companied by a ketch and portrit of
will be likely to study. It has the in-   Woodruff, and will be sought for oft
dorsement of Georpe Wilkes and Rob-   every owner, breeder, or lover of te
doorse is thL land.
ert Bonner, and is undoubtedly the   lors
best book on the subject that has ever
been written.                           Catholic World, (Monthly.)
It is one of those rare books which
Boston Post.                while got up for a special purpose, and
A volume which, from the glance   seemingly suited to the few, overleaps
a  the narrow  limits apparently prewe havo e given itwe should say wh    scribed, and attracts to itself thefavordid mworthy  than any one else to raise   able notice of the entire community.
the standard of our fast horses.
The American Farmer.
Philadelphia  Press.              It is the most complete work of the
kind, and possesses all the fascination
It may be characterized, briefly but   of a novel, even to others than horse.
emphatically, as the best, because the   men.
most practical and "knowledgeable "
book  upon  trotting-horses  ever
printed.                                     Working Farmer.
We commend the woork under considBoston Advertiser.             eration to farmers in all sections of
the country. It is calculated to do
A book thoroughly unique in its   great good, and to teach them many
way.                                  things about the horse which they probably do not but ought to know.
Boston Journal.
A valuable volume for reference.               The  Nation.
The record of his experience and
american  Agriculturist.          suggestions constitutes, therefore, a
valuable accession to our knowledge,
This is the title of a very neat 12mo   and will prove to be of standard auvolume... It was published in   thority among the most skillful. The
chapters in Wilkes's Spirit of the   graphic style of his descriptions, the
Times, and now, as soon after the   vivid pictures he draws of the breeddeath of the famous trainer as possi-  ing and education of his favorites, and
ble, it is given to the public, and will  the reminiscences he recalls of incibe found of great interest to all who   dents on the turf, form a work of great
love a good horse. The first eleven   merit.         Those who are desirchapters, together with others scat-   ous to form an accurate idea of the
tered through the books are chiefly   characteristics of the trotting-horse,
instructive on handling, feeding, train-   for their benefit as riders or drivers,
ing, etc. Others are reminiscences of   can not find any other work in our lan,
the trotting turf, told in a very pleas-   quage so replete with useful informaant way. It contains 412 pages, with   tion, interesting hints, and readable
a portrait of the author, and will no   anecdotes. Hiram Woodruff is now
doubt meet, and worthily, with a very   dead, and it will be many a year beextensive sale.                       fore we shall look upon his equal in
his line of business.
Boston Cultivator.
While this book was written by one        N. Y. Evening Post.
preieminently skilled in his art, and   While, as the work of an enthuslas.
especially designed for all interested
in the breeding, training, as well as all  tic horseman, and with a true purelse that relates to the horse it cn   pose, a large part of the book is made
efail of bein  e aoe t he  e  en    upof "reminiscences of the trotting
neral reader.                  g-.We  therefore'turf," there is a vast deal else exhibitcommend it as deserving a place in all   lthe grasp of a master in the art of
public libraries, and especially so to the   tanng and cring for the animals he
sotice of Farmers' Clubs, wherever   so profoundly appreciated. It is, then,
theyhave been organized.      not only by lovers of the horse that
~~they have been orgthis book will be valued. It contains
a store of observation and suggestion
St. Louis Democrat.              valuable to every man who owms horses'vwy tWiu  deirable to be known   eitherfor trotting or draught.




A NEW AND VALUABLE
HOUSEHOLD BOOK,
BY
MISS CATHERINE E. BEECHER
AND
MRS. HARRIET BEECHER STOWE,
ENTITLED
THE AMERICAN WOMAN'S HOME;
OR,
PRINCIPLES OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE;
BEING A GUIDE TO ECONOMICAL, HEALTHFUL, BEAUTIFUL, AND
CHRISTIAN HOMES.
The book will be replete with the latest and most authentic iesults of applied Science in the Construction and Maintenance of desirable Family Abodes; attention being given to Ventilation, Heating, Furnishing, Decoration, and General Housekeeping, as well as
the Original Planning and Arrangement of Houses, the Care of Personal Health, Wholesome Food and Drinks, Clothing, Cleanliness,
Economy of Time and Expenses, Management of Servants and of
Children, Home Amusements and Duties, and, in short, to the entire circle of Domestic Economy; the whole being freely and judiciously illustrated. A book that will find its way into every household in the land.
TO BE SOLD ONLY THROUGH AGENTS, BY SUBSCRIPTION.
Agents desiring territory should apply at once to
J. B. FORD & CO.,
164 Nassau Street, Printing-House Square, New-York.




HEY]? Y TA]RD BEI EE
PREACH I NG   IN   EVERY   FAMILY.
PLYMOUTH PULPIT.
A LETTER FROM MR. BEECHER.
BROOKLYN, January, 1869.
Messrs. J. B. FORD & Co.:
GENTLEMEN: Mr. J. T. Ellinwood has been the reporter of my
sermons for some ten years; and he is the only authorized reporter
of them. The sermons which you are printing, week by week, from
his hand, are published by you alone, and are the only ones which
go before the public with my consent.
HENRY WARD BEECHER.
PLYMOUTH PULPIT is the only regular publication of Mr. BEECH
ER'S cuzrrent sermons-the one indorsed by his approval as correct,
and sanctioned by his authority. It is well printed, on good paper,
in book form-being suitable for binding and preservaction, (the advertisements at the back being easily removed,) and it is cheapwithin the reach of all. The publishers have responded to the constant demand for a continued insertion of the Prayers, as one of
the most profitable features of Mr. Beecher's ministrations, and the
Scriptural lesson and hymns sung are also indicated, making a
complete record of one service of Plymouth Church for each Sunday.
SAVE MONEY BY SUBSCRIBING.
The price is eight cents per single copy; $3 per year; $1.75 per
half year. Subscriptions may begin with any number. The American News Company. will supply the trade.
CLERGYMEN, COLLEGE OFFICERS, or others who will take the
trouble to send us subscriptions for four copies-will be regularly
served with a fifth, free of charge, except for postage.'POSTAGE OF PLYMOUTH PULPIT to subscribers in the United
States is twenty cents per year, payable quarterly, in advance, at
the Post-Office to which the pamphlet is sent; and on single copies
to England it is four cents. This is stated because many underpaid
copies, mailed by persons ignorant of the rate, have been returned
to the publishers.
J. B. FORD & CO.,
164 Nassau St., Printing-House Square, New-York.




LIFE OF JESUS, THE CHRIST.
BY
IIENRY WARD BEECIHER.
THE Publishers of this forthcoming work find it necessary-on
account of the intense and abiding interest aroused all over the land
by their announcement that the greatest living religious teacher
was engaged upon so important a theme-to make some answer to
the constant inquiries concerning the book. Germany, France,
England-all have their schools both of orthodoxy and of skepticism, no two of which occupy the same ground or help each other
in dealing with the popular mind in the different countries; and
none of which is properly adapted to the wants of religious thinkers
in America. This must be the work of an American-and of a completely representative American.
It is with full confidence in the attainment of this result that
the publishers of the "Life of Jesus, the Christ," to which great
work Mr. BEECHER is now constantly and earnestly devoting his
abundant energies, are preparing for its issuance in a manner worthy the public expectancy, the universal interest in the subject, and
the repute of the author.
The work is to be issued in two styles. It will be first published in a full octavo volume of about 800 pages. This, although
called the " Plain Edition," will be illustrated with several valuable
engravings. First, with four superb Maps, constructed expressly
for this work from the very latest data, including the great English, Dutch, and French governmental surveys of Palestine, the
present explorations of Jerusalem itself by Lieut. WARREN, Royal
Engineers, and every attainable source of exact geographical and
topographical information. These are engraved on copper and on
stone (printed in two tints) by COLTON, the famous map-maker and




publisher. The other illustrations are a Frontispiece, "Head of
Christ," restored, painted, and engraved on steel by the renowned
American engraver, WM. E. MARSHALL, from a photograph of LEONARDO DA yINcI's rapidly decaying masterpiece in Milan, "The
Last Supper " —a really grand work of the engraver's art; and a
beautiful Steel-plate Title-page, containing a Vignette of Bethlehem, engraved by R. HINSHELWOOD, of the Continental Bank-Note
Company.
The other style will be in royal octavo size, richly illustrated.
It will contain the Frontispiece, Title-page, and Maps mentioned
above, a series of twenty large full-page wood-engravings, and from
fifty to seventy-five smaller cuts printed in the text.
The whole series are from new and original drawings never
before published, having been designed expressly for this work after
sketches taken directly from the places represented. They are a
new and full illustration of localities, people, and customs among
the scenes of our Lord's earthly labors, and, as artistic productions,
are believed to be superior to any thing before published on that
subject. They are engraved by W. J. LINTON, the celebrated
wood-engraver, now resident in New-York, universally acknowledged to be the first master of his art, and his brother, H. D. LINToN, long well known and highly esteemed in Paris.
The maps were constructed and the illustrations designed by A.
L. RAwsoN, an artist for years resident in the Holy Land, and thoroughly conversant with its features. The drawings on wood are
from the artistic pencil of HAR-RY FENN. The work will be printed
at the University Press, Cambridge, Mass., by WELCH, BIGELOW
& Co.
Concerning the date of publication, more particular information will be given through the newspaper press in due time. It
may be said, however,- that the book will not be ready for canvassing by subscription agents (in which manner alone it is to be sold)
)efore the month of May next.
J. B. FORD  &  CO., PUBLISHERS,
164 NAssAU STREET, PRINTING-HOUSE SQUARE, NEW-YOIRK.




SCHOOL BOOKS.
I. PRINCIPLES OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE: As
applied to the Duties and Pleasures of Home. A Text-Book for
Young Ladies in Schools, Seminaries, and Colleges. By CATHARINE
E. BEECHER and HARRIET BEECHER STOWE.
A compact 12mo volume of 390 pages; profusely illustrated; well printed, and bound in
neat and substantial style. Price, $ 2.00.
Prepared with a view to assist in training young women for the distinctive duties which
inevitably come upon them in household life, this volume should find an honored place in
every institution devoted to feminine education. Very many topics of vital importance in
the regulation of the household receive thorough treatment. The book has been made with
especial reference to the duties, cares, and pleasures of the family as being the place where,
whatever the political developments of the future, Woman, from her very nature, of body
and of spirit, will find her most engrossing occupation.
The New York Tribune says: " This book is a whole library of sound suggestion, important information, exhortation, and reproof. Indeed, almost every small, every-day perplexity finds its help and answer here." It is the text for a fresh and important study for
young women.
II. HISTORY of the STATE OF NEW YORK.
From the Date of the Discovery and Settlements on Manhattan Island to the Present Time. A Text-Book for High Schools, Academies,
and Colleges. By S. S. RANDALL, Superintendent of Public Education in New York City. 12mo vol., 396 pages. Illustrated. Price,
$1.75.
The author, for many years intimately connected with the management of our Public
Schools, has written with a full knowledge of what was needed, and the result is a clear,
compendious, and admirable digest of all the important events in the life of New York,
down to the year 1870.
Extract from  the Author's Preface.
"So far as I am aware, the compilation now presented to the public is the first attempt
at providing for our elementary and higher institutions of learning a separate History of
the State of New'York. Many of the'most important events in that history are, it is true,
contained in the current school histories of the United States; necessarily, however,
greatly abridged and condensed. It has seemed to me, and others interested in the work
of popular education, that some attempt should be made to supply this deficiency by presenting within a convenient compass the prominent outlines of those interesting details
which have rendered our own' Empire State' so conspicuous in the history of the great
American Republic."
T     Single copies of the above will be mailed, post-paid, to Teachers, on receipt of half the
retail price.




MISCELLANEOUS.
-4 —--
I. THE OVERTURE OF ANGELS. By HENRY
WARD BEECHER.  illustirated by HARRY  FENN.  12mo.  Tinted
paper, Extra Cloth, gilt. Price, $ 2.50.
This exquisite Book is a chapter from Mr. BEECHER'S great work, the "Life of Jesus, the
Christ." It is a series of pictures, in the author's happiest style, of the Angelic Appearances,-giving a beautiful and characteristically interesting treatment of all the events
recorded in the Gospels, as occurring about the period of the Nativity of Our Lord. The
Acharming style in which the book is written, the poetic imagery and beauty of sentiment
with which it abounds, the delicate and tender treatment of Mary's experience of motherhood, the vivid pictures of the manners and customs of the Orient in that day, -indeed,
all its parts and features, are characterized by the peculiar strength and spiritual beauty
which Mr. BEECHER brings to whatever subject he touches.
II. BEECHER'S SERMONS: First Series. September, 1868, to March, 1869.
Embellished with a new Steel Portrait of Mr. BEECIER, - the best likeness of him ever
published, and a superb piece of engraving. 8vo. 438 pp. Price, Extra Cloth,
$2.50; Half Morocco or Half Calf, $ 5.00.
III. BEECHER'S  SERMONS: Second  Series.
March to September, 1869.
Illustrated with a large and effective engraving, giving a fine view of the INTERIOR OF
PLYMOUTH CHURCH. 8vo. 451 pp. Price, Extra Cloth, $ 2.50; Half Morocco or Half
Calf, $ 5.00.
Mr. BEECHER's discourses need no new commendation. Their freshness and originality
of method in presenting the old familiar truths, their felicity of illustration, their aptness, skill, and impressiveness, make them interesting to readers of every class and of
every religious denomination.
The two volumes above mentioned, containing Mr. ELLINWOOD'S masterly and complete
phonographic reports, are portions of a course, one of which is to be issued every six
months.
IV. LECTURE - ROOM  TALKS. A Series of Familiar Discourses on Themes of Christian Experience.  By HENRY
WARD BEECHER. Phonographically reported by T. J. ELLINWOOD.
12mo.  Extra cloth.  Price, $1.75.
These "Talks" are the well-known and delightful expositions of Scripture and extempore remarks made at prayer-meetings, and on similar occasions, in the familiar and free
intercourse of Mr. BEECHER with his own people.
t        These books for sale everywhere, or sent, post-paid, upon receipt of price by the Publishers.




MIS CELLANEO US.                                    3
V. THE MINES OF THE WEST. A full Statistical
Account of the Mineral Development of the Pacific States and Territories, for the Year 1868, with Sixteen Illustrations; and a Treatise
on the Relation  of Governnietts  to    lining, with
Delineation of the Legal and Practical Mining Systems of all Countries from early Ages to the present Time.  By ROssITER W. RAYMOND, Ph. D., United States Commissioner of Mining Statistics. 8vo.
Extra cloth, $1.75.
" Mr. Raymond's conclusions, the well-weighed convictions of an acute observer and
practical mineralogist, will carry with them great weight." - Round Table.
"Well worthy the attention of the general public." - Philadephia Post.
"It has attracted marked attention by its clearness of statement and the broad, scientific
view which it presents of the whole subject of mining, in its relation to legislation."NVew York Commercial,Advertiser.
VI. THE TROTTING HORSE OF AMERICA:
How to Train and Drive him.  With Reminiscences of the Trotting
Turf. The Results of the Author's Forty Years' Experience and
Unequalled Skill in Training and Driving, together with a Store
of interesting Matter concerning celebrated American Horses. By
HIRAM  WOODRUFF.  Edited by CHARLES J. FOSTER, of Wilkes's
Spirit of the Times.
12mo. 412 pp. With splendid steel-plate portrait of Hiram Woodruff. Price, Extra
Cloth, $ 2.25; Half Calf, $ 4.00.
HIRAM WOODRUFF may almost be said to have been the creator of our distinctively
national animal, the Trotter. The value of this record of his experience, and these suggestions of his skill, cannot, therefore, be doubted as a standard authority in the technicalities of which he treats; while his book is attractive to the general reader, useful to the
seeker for practical advice, and worth the perusal of all who would be well informed upon
the history of one of America's most characteristic developments.
ROBERT BONNER, who owns the fastest horses in the world, says: " It is a book for which
every man who owns a horse ought to subscribe. The information which u contains is worth
ten times its cost."
IN PRESS.
VII. MATERNITY: A Popular Treatise forYoungMarried
Women in their New Sphere as Wives and Mothers.  By TULLIO
SUZZARA VERDI, A. M., M. D. 12mo. 425 pages. Extra Cloth,
$2.00.
Concerning Pregnancy, its symptoms, its disorders and their relief; Labor and its necessities and helps; Infants and the daily care of them; Children's Diseases, their prevention and treatment; Accidents; Poisons and their Antidotes; Medicines, their preparation and administration; the Physical and Moral Training of Boys and Girls;
Marriage; General Suggestions to Parents.
~    7 T7hese books for sale everywhere, or sent, post-paid, upon receipt of price by the
Publishers.




8                    PERIODICALS.
aftg~ dgC&Ph~4't   U111  11ttia,
An Unsectarian, Independent Journal, devoted to Religion,
Morals, Reform, Foreign and Domestic News of the
Church and the World, Literature, Science,
Art, Agriculture, Trade, Finance,
etc., etc., and containing
HOUSEHOLD STORIES, CHOICE POEMS, WALKS WITH THE CHILDREN,
etc., etc., embracing contributions from
WELL-KNOWN AND EMINENT WVRITERS.
HE~NRY WARD BEECHER,
WHOSE
POWERFUL EDITORIALS, LITERARY REVIEWS,
*   "STAR  PAPERS,"  *
AND
LECTURE-ROOMI TALKS,
appear regularly in its columns, is its
EDITORB-IN-CHIE F,
AIDED BY SOME OF THE BEST AND MOST NOTABLE TALENT OF THE LAND.
THE CHRISTIAN UNION aims to be a truly Christian Journal, and a complete
Fanlily Newrvpaper, having for its purpose the presentation of ESSENTI!AL
BIB]ILE TR]IUT]H[. It is a paper
FOR  CHRISTIANS  OF ALL DENOMINATIONS!
ITS FrORMlV: SIXTEEN PAGES, Large Quarto, so convenient, both for use
and preservation, as to be a great and special merit in its favor, apart from its superior literary attractions.
ITS CIRCULATION: Spreading with wonderful Rapidity, showing
that the paper supplies a real need of the Christian public.
Its Price: $2.50 per Year.
[ Circulars sent upon application, containing list of
Liberal Cash Commissions and Premiums for Subscriptions.
Samnple Copies sent on receipt of Six Cents, or Free to any one who will tr to
raise a Club.
A -RARE OPPO RTU NITY.
THIE PUBLISHERS WILL SEND
Plymouth Pulpit and the Christian  Union
(Whose combined price is $ 5.50)
TO ONE ADDRESS FOR ONE YEAR FOR FOUR DOLLARS.
J. B. FOBD & CO., Publishers,
39 PARIK Row, NEW YORK.