Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-05-03

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grandam Nancy Taylor, by imp. Alphred
This is the pedigree given him by Mr..
Pope, who owned the dam and grandam
of Pilot, Jr. His sire was known through
the State and was pure French Canadi-
an.
Yours very respectfully,
ID. HEINSOIIN IL Co.
At the time this document was writ
ten and sent to Mr.. Il. A. Alexander Mr..
Pope was alive, and in the employ of
IIeinsohn & Co. 1t is conceded that Mr..
Pope made a slip as to the breeding of
Havoc, but this does not impair the state
ment which he made with regard to the
blood lines of his own mare. He says
that she Nancy Pope was by Havoc,
out of Nancy Taylor, by Alfred. And
so it is recorded.
3. Were either the breeder of Nancy
Pope or the owner of the stallion Havoc
living at the time it was currently repor-
ted that Havoc was her sire?
Mr.. John Funk, son of Peter Funk,
owner of Havoc, is still alive, and he has
repeatedly stated that Havoc was a
chestnut horse, reputed to be thorough
bred, and he believes that he was tho
roughbred, for the reason that his father,
a racing man. bred thoroughbred mares
to him. The papers of Mr.. Peter Funk,
among them the pedigree of Havoc, were
destroyed by fire. Mr.. w. II. Pope was
alive when it was currently reported that
Havoc sired Nancy Pope. Mr.. Bates,
who bred to Havoc at the time Mr.. Pope
bred to him, has left memorandum to
the effect that Havoc was by Sir Charles,
a son of Sir Archy.
The three censors of the National As
ISOLATION of rrotting Horse Breeders de-
cided that "IIavoc, the reputed sire of
Nancy Pope, the dam of Pilot, Jr., died
in 1928" And that "Nancy Pope, the
dam of Pilot, Jr., was not foaled until
1892" If these dates are correct, the
verdict that the sire of Nancy Pope is
unknown, is correct. But are the dates
correct? Mr.. John Funk says he never
! fixed the death of Pilot, ,Jr., in 1928. He
simply stated that the horse did not die
"earlier than 1928, and it might have
been much later" The foal date of Nam
cy Pope was fixed by Edmund Pearce, a
gentleman whose recollection is as faul-
ty as that of other good men. On this
point Mr.. Brodhead expressed himself
with clearness four years ago:
"The owner of Nancy Pope's dam and
the owner of Havoc were neighbors and
intimate friends, and this fact is comfir-
matory of the pedigree. Against this is
set up the statement that Havoc died in
1928, and that Nancy Pope was foaled in
1882. These dates are fixed by the recol-
lection of an occurrence nearly fifty
years ago is put against the statement Of
men made when the facts were new
men that made the facts and knew them.
My experience is that recollection of out
side parties as to dates of births and
death of animals is very unreliable, es-
pecially so when any time has elapsed.
Such recollection is not reliable five
years, much less fifty"
The argument of Mr.. BrOdhead car
ried conviction to minds which began to
doubt.
4. Has there ever been any evidence
from well-informed parties showing that
Havoc was her sire, and if so, who were
the parties?
Messrs. Alexander, Neach, McFreran,
West, Mcdowell and Brodhead, we think
you will concede, after reading the fore
going, were well informed when they de-
cided that Nancy Pope was got by Hav-
oc. We think that you will also con,
cede that Messrs. Dooittle, Miller and
Norris were poorly Informed when they
decided to the contrary. As the Pilot
Jr., mares are such wonderful producers
of light harness speed, the questions
asked by our correspondent are of much
importance to the breeding world, and
we have tried to answer them without
prejudice.