Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-09-13

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stallion, was owned at Oskaloosa, Ia, by
a Mr.. Terrence. Some of his colts are
creditable trotters, but none of them have
been particularly distinguished"
Following is the last of the testimony
in this question of identity and breeding.
1t Is letter from Mr.. James Terrence,
now of CANDLES, Allegheny county, Pa.
Mr.. Terrence is evidently man some
what aggressive in his nature, who, find
ing the same characteristic fairly we'll
developed in the editor of Wallace's
Monthly, proceeded to erect hostile bar
ricades across which a truce has never
been declared, while Vermont Boy and
his descendants have been the sufferers
CANDLES, Allegheny Co.. Pa, |
June 5, 1885.
Dear Sir Yours of May 9th, in re-
gard to Vermont Boy, received. l have
delayed answering in order to find poster
for which you enquired. Not having
time to copy it of l take the risk of send
ing it to you, trusting you will return it,
as l wish to preserve it. 1t is made up
from letters l have received from all
parties that owned him, from his import
alton by Trask and Barboo down to his
sale to me. He died mine, near Newton,
Ia, at the age of SO, without blemish
on his limbs. An unskilled man, believ-
ing in the "freezing out theory" turned
I
him out. His grinders, for want of float
ing, became so sore that he could not
eat, and he died of starvation after living
fifteen days without drop of nourish-
ment. He never laid down until two or
three hours before he died, nor made a
struggle or showed sign of death, but
at the last moment just seemed to die all
over. l firmly believe that if had kept
him uuder my own eye he would be
living today. He never seemed to lose
any of his vitality, but served a mare a
week after he had quit eating with as
much vigor AS ever in his life. have his
son, Reconstruction, here, now over "a
years old, serving mares as readily and
vigorously as he ever did, and gets nearly
every mare bred to him with foal. He is
without bemish, and with all his hard
trotting has not even a windgall is as
nimble and active as a six-year-old, and
seems to be yet in the prime of life.
There are two mares here % years old got
by Vermont Boy before took him West.
They belong to adjoining neighbors of
mine who have worked and driven them
since they were three-year-olds. They
ale without blemish, work daily against
the younger animals, and could not either
one be purchased for 5000.
Wallace knows nothing about Vermont
Boy more than some gossip and conec.
lures he got hold of since the horse came
into my hands. The man from whom he
got most of his information, think, was
Alexander King, liquor dealer of Pitts
burgh, who owned a rival stallion wher
had Vermont Boy in that city. pub
licly offered Mr.. Wallace $1,000 in the
judges stand at an Iowa State fair, hello
in Des Moines, if he could find one droI
of Morgan blood in his veins, or could
find any other pedigree of him than is or
this printed bill (hOlding the bill enclose
you in my hand).
have spent years writing about thi,
horse and had letters certified to from al
parties through whose hands he passed
and have personally talked to Trask Of
Canada, and Conklin of Philadelphia, the
latter of whom owned the horse for three
years. l left these papers and certificate:
in the hands of Thomas Powell of Lawr
Ridge, who had my horse in 1865 and ht
lost them-causing to me one of the
greatest losses of my life. While l hat
those letters and certificates no Journalist
or horseman ever doubted the history Of
him or his breeding.
The remainder of Mr.. Torrence's letter
is so personal in its character that, con
sidering the amicable relations existing
between the Mark Field Monthly and its
fellow journals, the matter cannot be in
corporated in this article. Its purport
however, is that upon Mr.. Torrence's
taking Vermont Boy and his son, Recon
struction, to Iowa, the interests of the
Bashaw and Golddust stock, then popu
lar strains in the State, demanded a cham
pion who could attack as we'll as defend
This attack was made and Mr.. Terrence
thinks that besides the injury to himself
it occasiOned thousands of dollars loss to
the horse interest of Iowa and Illinois
Here we will end the arguments upon
this horses history and breeding. Thai
he was in his time race horse of merit
the negatives admit, and that he was in
addition one of the finest blooded horses
ever in the United States, the ALTERNATIVES
claim with some reason and facts to sub.
stantate their case.
The unfortunate dsagreements regard.
ing his breeding and his nomadic life
kept from him class of mares that would
have given him that aid to popularity
which would have made many another in