The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-09-04

addressed to W. II. Bliss, Rochester, vt.
The MOrrills.
PART L.
TO that large class of people, wise
and otherwise, who hold that there is
no natural trotting speed in the Nor
gan family, certain facts must seem
strange. Take, for instance, the fact
that from each of three branches in
which the blood of Justin Morgan has |
been perpetuated have sprung trotters
of the highest merit. What an unpre-
cedented series of fortunate accidents
must have been required to graft upon
each and all of these three lines of I'M
meritoriOus blood the rare qualities
of courage and action that shine forth
in the trotting winner! That these
gentlemen have not been disturbed in
their theories by such fact as this is
perhaps attributable to their being en-
lowed with an imagination at once
brilliant and prolific. When Ethan
Allen, that royal grandson of Sherman
Morgan, fought his way to the front
rank among the trotters of his time, ii
was this imagination that kindly sup
piled him with a Messenger dam.
When the get of Golddust, descended
from an inbred line of Woodbury. Nor
gans, began to show fruit at the wire
in the very fastest company, this same
imagination found great trotting capa-
city in the Arabian Zilcadia, sire of
his dam. And when it TRANSFERRED that
the stock of old Morrill,, great-grand.
| son of Bulrush, were also stout and
| fast enough to show their heels to the
princes of trotting blood, this accom-
modating imagination again lifted the
curtain and revealed to us that the in
evitable Messenger blood had crept in
through his dam, "daughter of the Far
rington horse, by the Vance horse, by
Imported Messenger" And thus, it
was sagely observed, his "stride had
been heightened" and "staying quail
ties" gained which enabled his stock
"to live out a race" We will only re-
mark, further, that although the flimsy
soil in which these beautiful theories
were rooted has been utterly blown
away by investigation, the theories
themselves still flourish in their pris-
tine vigor.
The Morrill, horse, oftener called Old
Morrill,, was a black horse, fading in
summer to dark brown, with tan
colored muzzle and TANKS, and with
right hind foot white. He stood 16
hands and weighed over 1900 pounds.
lie was bred by James Heath at Wal
den, Caledonia Co., VT; foaled in 1874,
sired by the Jennison colt, son of Young
Bulrush, by Bulrush, son of Justin Nor
gan. The Jennson colt was large,
bright, cherry bay, foaled in 1910, bred
by Abijah Jennison at Walden, and
was three years old wnen he got the
Morrill, horse, for which service his
owner received a pound of tea. The
dam of the Jennison colt was very
stout, brown pacing mare about ID l2
hands high and weighing 1900 pounds.
She was lazy, but when walked up was
quite fast PAGER, and was so power
full to draw that in the logging bust
uess she was equal to an ordinary pair.
Her origin is unknown. She never
trotted. Messrs. w. S. and b. f.
IIaviland of Danville, TO whose keen
observation and clear memory we are
indebted for this information, say that
when they first knew this mare she
was owned by Prentiss Carr, late OF
Walden, afterwards by Nathaniel Far
rington of Walden, now deceased, and
later by Jennison.
, The Young Bulrush, sire of the Jen-
nison colt, was not Zone Eye" as Mr..
Linsley states, but was son of Bull
rush Morgan, owned by Harry BabcOck
of Danville, who kept store there al
that time. Mr.. w. S. Haviland states
that he has often heard Abijah Jenni
, son say that he went to Babcock's store
,, to trade, when Mr.. b. asked him tC
, breed his mare to young Bulrush, anC
he did so, and the produce was the bay
; colt above described. Mr.. HavilanC
? says that the reason why he has hearC
q Jennison state these circumstance
(Which he gives more fully was be
n cause some people were inclined at ont
+ time to dispute that the sire OF Morril
f was by the young Bulrush, and Jenni
!. son was called upon to state what h,
knew about it. The dam of this youns
: Bulrush we know nothing of. Th,
4 Jennison colt was sold and went t
!. Maine at four years old and has sine
been unheard of.
i The dam of Old Morrill, was yer,
= high-strung grey mare bred by Nath
i aniel Harrington at Walden, got by TIN
t Harrington horse, son of the Vanc
8 horse, of which more anon. She was /
II fair-sized, well-proportioned mare
with long neck, rather long, intelligen
looking head, thin ear rather longe
than ordinary, good name and tail ant
little long hair on the back of he
10 legs. She had had hind leg broker
ID when sucker, by reason of which sh
was then given by Frrrington to Heath
who fixed up the broken limb so tina