Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-12-27
THAT FLYING MORGAN THEORY
THE REST OF MR.. BLISS ARTloLEIN THE
MIRROR AND FARMER.


THE REST OF MR.. BLISS ARTloLEiN THE
MIRROR AND FARMER.
From the two entries in the ledger,
allowing Sl75 for the horse and SO in
terest on the sum to Feb. 2, 1850, when
the entries were made, | inferred that
the horse was purchased long enough
only before that date to allow S175 to
draw SO interest, which would be about
three and one-half months, from which
l inferred that DR.. Russell bought the
horse in the fall of 1919; and as l saw
that the only trip that the doctor took
during the twelve months above speci-
fled in which he could be at Ticondero-
ga was the one to Saratoga in August,
1850, whittier he would be likely to go
by way of Ticonderoga and leave his
team there; and knowing that after
the doctor purchased the horse he kept
him in Harvey Iale's hands stud
season and did not part with him till
early the following winter; | was nat
urally led to infer further that the season
of 1850, the next after the supposed
purchase in the fall of 1919, was the
season Yale had the horse for Russell,
and that he was driven to TiconderOga
by Russell on the Saratoga trip in Au-
gust, 1850. 1t turns out that these in
ferences were incorrect. DR.. Russell,
despite the entry, did not get Flying
Morgan in the fall of 1919; he was not
in Yale's hands in 1850, and DR.. Russell
did not have him in August of that
year. | was aware of this from other
sources before the publication of Mr..
Thomson's last article, but his publ
cation of Il portion (why not the whole y
of Adams stud bill for 1850, dated April
II, is alone conclusive. | concede then
that the season that DIR. Russell had
Flying Morgan in Iales hands was
earlier than 1850, and that DR.. Russell
had the horse of Daniels earlier than
the fall of 1919. 1t is fair to say that
l should have published these conces-
sions before but that Mr.. Thomson had
stated that he should put out an article,
and, as it was his turn, | courteously
waited to reply.
But where does this leave the Flying
Morgan theory? The claim is that DR..
Russell drove him to Ticonderoga, on a
fishing trip. 1t must have been in July,
1913, or he did not get Ethan Allen.
The entries in his day book prove that
ha To,
day from the first day of June till the
eighth day of August, 1913, when he
went in the opposite direction to Mont
pelier and Burlington. DR.. f. p. Rus
sci tells us that his father was leading
free mason, and that these August trips
to Montpelier were to the annual meet
ings of the grand lodge; so this was
not "fishing trip to Ticonderoga."
He was at home every following day
from August ID to September as is
shown by the same record This evidence
in neither recollection nor guess. 1t is
the record made by man of his own
daily business transactions and is the
highest evidence known to the law fol
the proof of such transactions. Stable.
boys forty-y ears-old recollections OF
fishing trips will not stand against it
Mr.. Thomson says: "We had it from
numerous persons that DR.. Russell weni
each summer for several seasons to III
conderoga a-fishing." Who were those
numerous persons? for l beg to say
that the time when Mr.. Thomson's state
ment would be received as proof of q
fact is gone by. l have never known
since | have lived in Middlebury of any
persons going thence to Ticonderogf
fishing; nor have | been able to learI
that Dr. Russell went fishing anywhere
He was very busy man, with drug
store and a flourishing medical practice
And all this talk about the certainty
that he must have known when a col
bred by Whit. Holcomb in Ticondero
ga was foaled, or that he must hav,
taken particular notice when Holcoml
had two-year-old at the fair at Middle
bury, is the widest nonsense. Equally
so is the assumption that Mr.. ID. C
Linsley, one of the most honest, ingen
uous and open-hearted of men, mus
have known facts favorable to Thorn
sons theory because he did not stat
the contrary.
Now one word as to r. M. Adams
In an article on this very question, pub
Iished in Wallace's Monthly for July