The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1894-06-01
1@-7-7--7-7-7
THE MORGAN ROADSTER.
Two Interesting Individual Perform
ances.
[From the Horseman.J

The first Morgan of my remembrance wa,
a chestnut mare scant Is hands, andweigh
ing about 900 pounds. She was one Of a spar
driven by DR.. Pierce of STAFFORD, VT, on &
visit to his wife's relations at Templeton
Mass. some time about 1886, and traded to
my father, who kept her for 10 years ormore
This was the first horse ever saw, she would
hold down her head so l could halter her in the
pasture, and stand up by the stone-wall to
enable me to climb on her neck. She was
round as an apple, and clinging to her name
she stepped with gentleness, so | should not
held the rens, hitched to Concord wagon or
chase, she was in the lead. | have ridden
her to pillow corn. Templeton is flush 80
miles from Boston, and was the nome of
ARENAS Lee, who always kept the best of
road horses. For pastime as well as the
wild pigeons and sold them at Faneuil Hall
market. The net would be sprung i'll the
morning, the pigeons dressed during the day,
and just as evening came on they would be
loaded on the wagon, and the mares head
turned oceanward. At daylight the follow
between the mare and "Long Wharf" The
load sold, she went over to Cambridge, and
after breakfast began the home trip. Suffice
it to say, she fed in her own pasture and
drank of the water of, softer" river that
night. This hundred mile journey, performed
IL
IA season, according to luck had with the
..crop of pigeons" Grass-fed. The mare
fed in the summer with the yoke of oxen; a
lane connected that pasture with the harm
yard, and she came to the barn whittier she
worked or not every day to get her two
quarts of oats.
As the years went on, and "grew up" as
boys will, my father sometimes criticised me
for driving too hard. When required (seek-
ing for a precedent to justify myself, if he did
n nj hp al T,,lI = he,
returns from Boston were rather hard ones,
he replied: MY son, did not drive her
hard; she wanted to go home to mother and
the children. and / let her take her own
gait Doll was natural roadster, a grand
daughter of Bull Rush Morgan.
Some time about the year 1854 it became
necessary to procure, for prominent citizen
whose liberty was in jeopardy ION account of
the false testimony that was brought against
him in the Court of Common Pleas being held
at the old court house in the city of Worces-
ter, Mass. }. the presence of certain witnesses.
When court adjourned on Saturday afternoon
| was deputed to seek these witnesses, who
lived in the town of Somerset, Vt, and Sc
cure their attendance at court on Tuesday
morning. Midnight found me Thy rairoad) |
at the Island house, Bellows Falls, Sunday
l called at the livery barn of Charles |
Towns, between whose knee l, as am eight
year-old boy, had often sat- believing / was
driving his four horses as they sped down the |
hill into Fitz William village. and told him of |
the necessity for my having Il good horse. 1t /
was winter, the drifts were high, and | had
got to plunge into the mountains after left .
Newfane. Charley loaned me his fur over
coat and glove, hitched to the cutter a black
mare, IA 1-2 hands. weight $50 pounsis, re-
marking as the hitching up process went on:
George, this is one of your fathers kind.
When YOU leave the river road lower the
check line, so if she founders in the snow she
IAN have her head, and if you are as attentive
10 the mare as you used to be when l was
eaching you to drive stage horses, you will
De back tonight all right, and | will sit UP
or YOU until 10 O'Clock"
The mercury stood at about 10 degrees
ibove zero all day. The mare went like
bird. | rested her at Newfane and rested my
elf by walking up to the court house there
,er, $ X Bradley, and pushed on. The mare
lever faltered or tired, and having secured
he promised attendance at court of the par
les / sought l was back at Newfane for sup
'er. Towards night it grew colder: the {
Wind swept the mountain heights; the snow
riffs went the little mare, never making
mistake in his footing and seemingly IA cheer q
nj as i'm the morning. When we got to Sax q
Dn's River and she realized she was nearing Ii
ONE, with a smooth road and no more drifts /
he expressed her joy at the journey nearly l
lone by sharp whlnny, and with uplifted
cad struck sharper trOt. found Mr. Towns v
rafting for me at 8 80 o'clock, p IN. U was a
alf an hour ahead of the time allotted.l l /.
ad driven not an inch less than 100 miles my
Mission had been successful; ''felt good,'
nd up in the Island house tdespite the Maine
WI Charley and drank a shot flip with a
epeat. What of the mare! i called on her
he next morning before the train left and
ne was as fine as silk. Why shouldn't she
e. She was daughter of Clifford Morgan.
GEORGE Il. BRYANT.
Madison Wis