Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-03-02
THE DAM OF ETHAN ALLEN.

Mr.. Thomson seems to have finished his
remarkable exhibition of ignorance, to
use no harsher term, upon this mare.
We do not know as he ventures a state
ment of her birth. He has given the
testimony of VIM. Bevins in such way
as to suggest that his story was true.This
story rests upon absolutely nothing but
VIM. Bevins' statement; and, as we have
remarked once before. he is spoken of as
the most notorious liar that can be re-
membered in the history of Hague. This
does not make Il particle of difference
with men made rs Mr.. Thomson is, but
with the world at large (fOr the average
man has some sense) it makes so mnch
difference that unless supported by other
testimony it is entirely discarded This
whole batch of stuff that comes from
VIM. Bevins is lie pure and simple
made out of whole cloth, the object
being undoubtedly, to pretend to know
something that others did not and to
bring himself into notoriety as the owner
of the grandam. The story is disproved
by Ira Potter, an unimpeachable witness,
brother to Reuben, who, VIM. Bevins
saws. bought the mare of Ambrose Pot
ter and sold to Rufus Rising. Ira Potter
saws this is not true; that his brother
never bought such a mare, or sold any
mare to Rufus Rising, though he did sell
him gray gelding about 1884. And we
presume this is the gray gelding traded
in the summer 1885 to Fred Leland at
Apollos Austin's in Orwell by Rufus
Rising for the dam of Ethan Allen, as
has been shown in the REGISTER.
There is also just fibre enough of truth
in the fact of Reuben Potter's selling
this gray gelding to Rufus Rising for the
ordinary liar or romancer to make up his
yarn on. SO in the fact that Ambrose
Potter owned a black mare we have the
suggestion of another part of this yarn.
The fact that the sons of Ambrose Pot
ter, abundantly old enough to remember,
do not remember that their father ever
owned colt, and are very sure that he
did not, disproves this part of VIM. Bev-
ms story.
Now what remains ? There is, first,
the story of Ira Potter, that Rufus Rising
raised the dam of Ethan from the John
Glazier mare. This is unsupported by
any testimony except that of Ira Potter,
and he when questioned as to how he
knows, shows that he does not know,
only heard it said. 1t adds to the proof,
abundant otherwise, that Rufus Rising
had the John GlaZer mare, and is in it's
self a strong suggestion that that mare
was not the dam of Ethan. 1t is to be
remembered that Ira Potter, trust
worthy witness, worked for Warner
Cook and drove for him with another
horse one or more winters this gray mare
that was the dam of Ethan Allen.
Second, the story that the John Glazier
mare was the dam of Ethan Allen.
And, third, that a mare bought in Yer
mont by Rufus Rising and sold by him
to George johnson was the one.
We see the first of these theories is en-
tirely unsupported by evidence.
We will consider the secondhand the
John GlaZier mare was the dam of Ethan.
There is no question but that Rufus
Rising did own the John Glazier mare, a
gray mare, quite similar in size and des-
cription to the dam of Ethan. This is
proved by the testimony, direct and COM
plete, of Mr.. Alderman and Hoyt John
son, both unimpeachable witnesses; also
ny. Hoyt johnson says he himself
drove this mare when John Glazier own
ed her, in 1926, from Hague to Benning-
ton, Vt. He fixes the date the year after
he first went to Hague 1s25) and the
year before his marriage QS27) as shown
by the family record, and he says that