Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-06-29
HE ElRST ION Hal.

THE FIRST TOM HAL.
The first Tom Hal of which there is
any authentic record was small bay
roam PAGER known as The Boswell
Horse" or Boswell's Tom Hal, from DR..
Boswell. the name of the gentleman who
first brought him to Kentucky, it is said,
from Virginia. But very little Is known
of this horses origin, and nothing of his
pedigree. Though Boswell is said to
have brought him from Virginia, he was
known during his life also as the
canadian PAGER" | have among my
letters a description of him written in
1891, by Mr.. Wesley Warnock, who was
at that time living at Butler, Mo-, but
who was raised near Leesburg, where
the old horse was owned, and who thus
describes the first Tom Hal: IL first
saw old Tom Hal in the spring of 1888,
at Georgetown, Ky, at the spring stall
lion show, where he showed great speed
at the pace for blind horse. Benjamin
Osburn, an extensive horse trader who
lived near Georgetown, Ky, told me
that day that he had made more money
out of horses by Old Tom Hal than any
horses he had taken South, saying that
people were Just beginning to find out
his worth as a breeder when he was
worn out with old age and couldn't be
expected to live much longer. He was
bay-roan in color, black legs, black
name and tail, very little if any over II
hands high, with good weight and the
best quality of feet and legs. was told
about that time that he was made blind
by the result of bet being made that
he could be ridden from Lexington, Ky,
to Louisville, Ky, in one day and back
the next day, which he did, winning the
wager, but the strain made him blind.
When | saw him at Georgetown, he
must have been over twenty years old,
but do not think he lived long after that,
as did not know any more of him."
In his register Mr.. Wallace has it tina
DR.. Boswell bought this horse in Phia-
delphia and rode him home, but DR.. j.
l.. Shy of Franklin, Tenn, mentions
that he was bought in Virginia. DIR.
Shy also says that Boswell rode the
horse altogether in his practice, and
mentions that several fines he knew him
to ride him from Leesburg to Louisville,
a distance of seyenty-tive miles, in one
day, and back the next.
This old PAGER must have been horse
of wonderful endurance. 1t is said that
only six of his sons were known to have
been foaled. But the greatness of the
old horse must have asserted itself In
these. for his sons at once became very
popular in Kentucky at time when
PAGERS were little thought of. The best
of these was horse which was bred by
Higgins Chin, and passed successfully
to John Lucas, Joe Lail, Edwin Clark
and John p. Shropshire, dying the prop
erty of the latter. The horse was varl-
ously called Chim's, Iail's, Clark's, and
Shropshires Tom Hal. He was also
called Bald Stockings, from his peculiar
markings, he having a blaze face and
four white legs. In letter from Jack
sonville, Ky, Mr.. Gus Shropshire says,
"both the old Canadian PAGER and Bald
Stockings, OF Shropshire's Tom Hal,
died the property of my father, Col. b.
n. Shropshire" From this it would seem
that the original Tom Hal was also
known as IA Canadian PAGER" Bald
Stockings dam was by George Chim's
Copperbottom, son of old Copperbot-
tom, and his second dam was by Tarquin,
horse said to have been by imp. dom
ed Bald Stockings sired a number of
good horses, among them one called
Clark's Bay Tom, from which horse
came the Bay Tom branch of the Tom
Hal family in Kentucky; but the Ten
nessee branch came from kittrell's Tom
Hal.
The most important son of Bald Stock
ings was Kittrells Tom Hal, large bay
PAGER, bred by MIR. Coons, out of a
Whip Comet mare, and sold by Coons
to Simeon Kirtley, who brought him to
Tennessee. This horse sired Gibson's
Tom Hal, the sire of Hal Pointer. Bald