The Portland daily press., 1891-10-08
Arlstocracv Of borses.


The two horses. Nelson and AllertoI
which are to contend for the title of king
their kind at Grand Rapids, are the fines
products OF the efforts of science and pi
thence as applied through many years to th
art OF horse breeding. An eminent man VIII
was asked at what age the education of
child should begip, replied that it should be
gin many years before birth. He mean
by that reply to express his opinion of tn
Influence Of heredity In the making of tn
man. In the making Of the fast and endur
Ing horse heredity has as much, or more, t.
do than In the making Of the complete man
The men who know most about horses be
lieve that Nelson and Allerton are th,
speedy animals that they are because the,
have In their veins the blood Of great euuin,
families, famous for centuries. The blood
that flows In the veins of some OF the oldes
and most famous families of the Euglisl
aristocracy Is not much older, and has flowet
down in channels only little better define,
than those OF the blood in the veins of Aller
ton and Nelson. No proud and opulen
American Of the present day, anxious 70
the foolish satisfaction to be obtained fror
coat OF arms, can psint to a more direc
descent from English nobility than are th
descents Of Allerton and Nelson from th
world-famous thoroughbreds of England.
The English thoroughbred is q runnin,
horse, ridden on the back on great course.
like that at EPSON, while royalty, nobility
and the rabble shout, applaud and bet
Strictly speaking an English thoroughbred
OF the present time Is horse whose progeni-
tors for five generations are to be found In
the stud book" great record of horses
bred for racing purposes since 100, the com
plete pedigrees commencing about 1859. But
the ancestry Of the English thoroughbred
began to be distinct many years before
100. A hundred years before that the
horses OF England were famous for racing
and hunting purposes, when began to be
carried out the happy idea of union be-
tween the best horse families of England
and those other more famous equine families
OF Arabia, celebrated In song and story for
centuries. In the reign OF James /. Mark
hams Arabian and Places White Turk
were imported to take their place at the
head of noble equine families, as the Nor
man soldiers Of William the Conqueror or
the Dutch Of William of Orange, were
brought in to found noble English houses.
In the reign Of Queen Anne, the famous
barley Arabian was brought in. By cross
Ing these with the best native animals a race
81 -hcrseswRS produced of such speed. en-.
durance and strength that even the horses OF
Arabia were surpassed, and now there Ii
thought to be no advantage from further ad.
mixture Of Arabian blood. Some of the
intelligence and docility OF the Arabian have
been lost, however, In the resulting race.
Both Nelson and Allerton trace a line Of
ancestry back to the Arabian. Adopting the
Bible method Of stating genealogy, 1t may be
said that the barley Arabian, brought into
England from the East In the reign of Queen
Anne. begot Flying Childers; Flying Child
ers begot Blaze; Blaze begot Sampson !;
Sampson begot Engineer; Engineer begot
English Mambrino; and English Mambrino
begot Messenger.
With Messenger we will stop moment.
He was famous English thoroughbred
trained to run. brought to this country about
1870, and the great progenitor of race of
excellent horses. Years ago, before Maine
went wild over the performances of Nelson.
and when the business of raising fast horses
was hardly started In this State, the Maine
farmer who had horse to sell could find no
higher recommendation for it than the fact
that it had Messenger blood in its veins.
There is tradition that Messenger, when
he arrived In this country after the long sea
voyage OF those days, still showed so much
spirit In spite of the hardships Of the voyage.
that four men we're required to lead him off
the ship.
Messenger left thousands of descendants
in this country, but his great qualities were
not transmitted to all alike. A few families
among those descendants have preserved or
Increased the wonderful powers of the
Messenger stock. A son of Messenger named
Bush Messenger propagated the race In
Maine; a grandson named Hambletonian
became the ancestor of excellent Vermont
Messengers; while son, Mambrino, and
two famous grandsons, Rysdicks Hamble-
tonian and Mambrino Chief, propagated the
race in New York, the Central States and
finally in Kentucky.
1t is from Rysdicks Hambletonian that
both Nelson and Allerton draw their royal
blood. Both horses CONS from branches of
this old Messenger family; but even In
Maine 1t must be conceded that Allerton
comes from the ADLER and more famous
branch. Let us glance a moment at the de-
scent OF Allerton. Probably the most ia
nous son Of Rysdlcks Hambletonian was
George Wilkes, thought by some to have
been the greatest horse ever produced In
America. So great indeed, was George
Wilkes that the Wilkes family of horses has
a reputation apart from all connection with
the Messenger blood. George Wilkes was
owned by W. l.. Simmonds, of Kentucky.
The horse was very fast, with record of a
mile In 2.22 In harness, 2.28 in a double rig.
Or to pole, as the saying is among horsemen.
this is fast time, and was consid.
cred remarkable at the time Wilkes made Il
The great reputation of the horse rests rather
On other grounds. Although seventeen
years old before having any descendants.
George Wilkes left seventy-two sons and
daughters good enough horses TO be able
each to trot mile in 230 or less; and more
still, about forty five of his sons
we're the fathers of trotters able to 20 in $50
" less. Among those forty-fve able sons
vas Jay Bird, which at two years of age
Won the Kentucky stakes; and Jay Bird was
he father Of Allerton. Thus Allerton may
70 called Messenger horse of the Wilkes
amiiy. He is. moreover. what is called an
nDred Wilkes, that Is by one of his maternal |
ncestors he inherits Wilkes blood also.
'or Allerton's mother is GussIe Wilkes,
'nose father is Mambrino Boy, and whose
Mother is Nora Wilkes. daughter of George
Wilkes.
we nave said that Nelson's branch of the
iessenger family is hardly so illustrious.
'ysoicks Hambletonian, which was the
asner Oh the great George Wilkes, was also
ne iather OF horse named Gideon. This
orse came to Maine, passing the greater
az. Oh his youth with little consideration.
=. nnaiiy receiving In his old age the fame
,ss'y MS due. Some years ago there was
,Ov - maine very fine mare named Kate.
aughter Of quite famous horse known os
III |