Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-05-25

staid over night at Oscar Sheldons, who
lived down here about two miles OH the
Salisbury road where Moses Sheldon now
lives. Kneeland Olmstead of East Mid
dlebury had been building me a peddler's
wagon. l was delayed couple of
weeks, and then, as the snow was off on
this side, | hitched the mare to the wagon
and went to Albany, N. Y, where |
bought $1,000 worth of goods and came
back. This mare was then five years old
and a mare of great bottom. drove her !
from Albany, n. Y, to Fair Haven, VT,
with those goods in one day. There | |
met Shaw, who was just going to work
1910. He had another horse there that
belonged to me, and a cart, and then we
unlocked the goods and prepared them
for sale. and we divided them, and start
ed out; and we came along together up
by the lake, and he went across the lake
and came up here to Middlebury. He
went to Schroon, Hague, etc. Bye and
bye we met back at Whitehall There
the mare ran away-didn't do any dam
age, but she was so skittish | made up
my mind she wouldn't do for our bust
ness; we wanted a horse we could make
stand without hitching and we could not
make her, she was so full of mettle.
Shaw was driving her. I never drove
her after got back from Albany. | had
good horse that got at Rutland that |
drove and which | let Shaw take after |
traded the mare, and | took the gray
horse. She didn't get away when he was
driving her, but he left her at door and
something started her and she ran. She
was a good mare, but she was nervous
and high-spirited. Shaw frightened her
once with the bear-skin; we had bear
skins over the names. and in throwing
the harness on to her he frightened her
so with it that he had to take the bear
skin off from the harness. This was a
bear-skin cut in two for the two harnesses,
half for each; we used iron names; these
skins went over the top of the shoulders
to protect them. If | had the mare to-
day | wouldn't take two hundred dollars
for her, but | made up my mind then |
had got to sell or trade her as she was
not Fitted for that business. She was
driven after that by Shaw up through the
lake towns to where he crossed the lake,
and he went through his trip and was
back again with the mare. had ordered
him to trade her, but he felt loath to do
} so, as it was my horse. He wrote me to
meet him at Apollos Austin's in Orwell.
, 1t seems he had customer. He came to
Austins with man whom he introduced
as Mr.. Rufus Rising. This was in 1885,
and | think early in July. Shaw had al
ready got the terms of the trade but had
not completed it. | agreed to the terms,
and the horses were exchanged, and
got ii gray gelding which | took and
drove on my peddle cart, and Shaw tool
the bay | had been driving. The gray
gelding got was young horse, | don
know just how old, rathera snowy horse
about 10 hands high, not a heavy horse
He was little dappled on the hips, other
q wise straight gray, with, think, light
sh name and tail The mare when | lei
, her go had got to be considerably gray
I She was a good, fair, comfortably gray
e when she was four years old-she wa
( not white when | let her go but gray
q Shaw used to stop with Jewett Bly,, wht
y then lived at Ticonderoga, but who NOV
a ed here to Middlebury the next year, 1886
nd liua1 did
n numbering business, and then move,
: back to Ticonderoga. Shaw got him t
+ look the horses over before the trade ant
o got his Judgment on them. | knew
q Middlebury. He told Shaw the mar
d was worth more than the gelding
,. but perhaps we could afford to trade TO
S our purposes. Bly, frequently spoke t.
me about the mare traded to Rising ,anC
n several years afterward, after he had liv
ed here at Middlebury and had gon
d back, | was at his place in Ticonderog;
G and he pointed her out to me on the stree
G and said, "there goes your gray mare"
think should have known her, though
8 she had grown lighter in color. 1t wa
not j. w. Holcomb that was driving her
q for | knew him and did not know tn
S man driving the mare. Bly, told m
d what hands she had passed through bu
O being strangers to me of course did no
remember the names. cannot tell wha
Y year it was that saw her in Ticonderoga
II @. When did you next see the mar
and where?
IT A. l don't recollett seeing her agail
l. till saw her at Brdport. David Hill ant
1t l were particular friends, and | used t
a make it my home there when travelling
e l had some notion of breeding to Blac
l, Hawk, but the terms were pretty hig
e and finally Hill said to me, "bring you
II mare out and you may breed her 70
a nothing" Upon that did take mar
Is fhara and cta;J thara avar ninht nd ha N