Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-11-09

Cook, he should lay aside all other re-
creations and 20 and Interview Hoyt
and Rebecca johnson.
We drove Immediately back to IT,, left
the team at the barn and the first man to
attract MIR. Bailev's notice was the veter-
an horse-breeder, Gustavus Wicker. Mr..
Wicker evidently did not recognize me.
Mr.. Bailey put him this exact question,
which took down, with what Mr.. Wick
er said in reply:
QUESTION" Mr.. Wicker, we have got
into little controversy and want you to
settle it. The white mare that brought
Ethan Allen, was she hipped?"
ANS" No, she was not hipped. She
was spawned and she favored one hind
leg, and that made her carry that hip
lower; that is why some thought she
was hipped, but she was not. When Hol-
comb had her she was spawned, but when
first knew her, when Warner Cook had
her, she was all sound and right"
Mr.. Wicker here told the story, which
we have before published about riding
his French mare sort of highway trot-
ting match against this gray mare, ridden
by Warner Cook. He also said that he
owned the Sir Walter that got the last
colt that this mare had before Ethan AL
len; that he took mare to Black Hawk
at the same time that the Holcomb mare
was taken there when the Sir Walter sor-
rel colt was by her side; that he held the
Holcomb mare when she was served by
Black Hawk, and that he always under
stood that Ethan Allen was got by this
service.
AS we were starting out on this trip
Mr.. Stephen c. Bailey (who is relative
of Mrs. w. H. Cook told me that he
once asked Mr.. w. H. Cook what horse
sired the dam of Ethan Allen, and Mr..
Cook replied that he did not know; that
he got the mare of his father, who had
her of Rising; that she came from over
the Green Mountains, and there was moth
ing definite known about it.
will say, in passing, that w. G. Bald
win, Gustavus and Charles Wicker, Will
liam A. G. Arthur, John A. Pnchin and
AFRO M. Bailey (since deceased), all old
horsemen of Ticonderoga, familiar With
w. Holcomb from before the time he bred
Ethan Allen, have all assured me that
the talk about Ethan Aliens being sired
by any other horse than Vermont Black
Hawk was the merest CANNON. l have
| pouar rat coan hOrsanap of ri hot
treated the Flying Morgan theory with
anything but contempt.
But, to resume. In the evening we
drove up to the Upper Falls and called on
Justus B. Rising at his comfortable home
l called Mr.. Rising's attention to the Mir
ror letters and showed him copy of his
interviews with us. He said that he tolC
us in those interviews all that he recol
lected, and according to his best recollec-
ton, concerning this mare. He spoke
about receiving letters from Thomson
and finally of having had visit last fall
from Joseph G. Balloon, who talked 6
bered the w. H. Balloon gray mare, anG
Mr.. j. G.. Balloon was so positive tina
this mare was the dam of Ethan, anG
that the dam of Ethan was hipped, and
that he must have seen her in his uncle
Rufus hands as early as 1888, that he be
came pretty much convinced that it was
so, and that his former recollection was
at fault. He had no idea that Balconl
had any object in making these repre-
sensations to him, or that he was at worl
for Mr.. Thomson, but supposed that Bal
com was speaking from clearer know
ledge of the facts than he himself had
So when written to by Mr.. Thomson hi
gave him his information as revised anC
corrected by Mr.. Balloon.
l showed him my article of May 20
1887, and on the evidence therein givel
Mr.. Rising said that had he known thos,
facts, he should not have made the state
ments contained in the Mirror letters
and he gave me the following writer
statement, which he signed:
TICONDEROGA, n. Y, Oct. 80, 1888.
thereby certify that, on reviewing tn
IdctS concerning Tile ualll VI EtIldn Alleu
contained in an article by w. H. Bliss il
the MIDDLEBURY REGISTER of May 20
1887, l think that what | am there re
ported as saying is correctly stated, an,
that the facts are as there stated. Wha
, | have stated in regard to the mares be
ing i'm w. Ii. BalcOm's hands, or bein,
the same mare that w. ii. Balloon had
arose principally from conversations
| had last fall with Joseph G. Balloon, il
, which l became pretty much convince
!, that such was the fact. l now think tn
w. III. Balloon mare was different mare
} and that Warner Cook got the mare tina
r became the dam of Ethan Allen direc
from George johnson. 1t was never clea
to me that the dam of Ethan was hipped
: or half-hipped, and | cannot say no,
r whether she was or not. | remember sh
was lame when Holcomb had her.
(Signed) j. B. RISING.
Witness-S. G. BAILEY.
The former testimony of Mr.. Rising
uhinb ha pnw raa firms ia mostly SIM