Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1911-09-01
THE HORSE IN OREGON.
BY Capt. Thomas 3. Merry.


BY Capt. Thomas 3. Merry.
Astoria, Ore, July Pas Oregon
mas more green grass in the year
than any other state in the Union,
she should naturally produce stronger
and better type of horses, for it is
generally conceded that grass is what
makes bone and substance.
California has milder winters than
Oregon, which enables the trainers
to make greater progress with two
year-o1di5 and three-year4olds, but
there Is an old saying among fruit
growers, Early ripe, early rotten"
which holds good particularly in this
matter, for you seldom hear of any
good horses Of seven or eight years
old In that state, except a few which,
1or some reason not generally given,
nave not been trained at an early
age. The Oregon horse, on the con-
trary, receives little or no handling
until he is four and then, with all
his muscles developed and his bone
thoroughly hardened, he is cam
palgner worth owning.
The first trotting stallion was,
brought into Oregon by John P.
Welch in 1860 and was named
Waterloo" He had a record of
2:45 made in Wisconsin. He was not
much himself, but was good enough
to set the ball a-rolling, for in the
following year a man from Jackson
vile went down to San Francisco
and brought back very handsome
little brown stallion named Yer
mont" who had a record of 2:50
| g.
nous Werner's Rather" who after
wards trotted in 2:34.
vermont got three performers with
records of 2:3O or better. Parrot"
2:26; ELLA Lewis" 2:29," and Fan
silva" 2;3O. He also got big horse,
Blue Mountain Boy" that won a
race at seven heats in a field of six
starters, at. the old Bay District track
near San Francisco. No heat was
trotted in 2:30, but the big brown
stallion wore\ down every horse in
the race and finished the race In
:34. Besides these, Vermont" got
a horse called Jim McDonough, "
that could beat any horse in Califor.
MIA from the City Hall to the Cliff
House, with two men in an ordinary
road wagon.
"Hambletonian Mambrino" was a
small but beautifully shaped bay
stallion brought to Portland in 1877
by Simeon G. Reed, then vice-presi.
dent Of the Oregon Steam Navigation
Co. He was by "Menelaus," son
of THE Hero of Chester" and his
dam was by son of that other ia
nous sire, "Mambrino Chief" This
horse was kept at Reedsville, on the
West Side road, and was a success
from the very start.
w. Reed had previously brought out
a horse called "Autocrat" that is still
living in Portland at the advanced
age of "a years, but his contribution
to the trotting world was insignifi
cant. On the contrary, "Hambleton
ian Mambrino" got as many fast ones
as any other stallion with the same
opportunities. His roll of honor in
cludes the following.
Vanquish, 2:10; Susie S., 2:2O; Jane
L., 2:19R; Fred Hambleton, 1925;
Stella H., 2:29A; Hammock, 2:22;
Carlyle Game, 2:25; Kitty Ham, 1926
The Coming Of AItamont.
Jay Beach was post sutler at For
klamath up to the time of it's aban
donment as a military post. Having
fair supply Of money at his com
mand, he sent East in 1881 and pur
chased from DR.. William T. Withers
of Lexington, KY, brown stallion
named "Altamont," together with
some four or five mares, all gotter
by stations having public records
Altamont made one season at the
Fort, where he got a stallion named
"Morookers," who in turn got bay
horse named klamath" that was the
leading campaigner of the Paclnt
Coast in 1898.
"Altamont" was rather on a small
order, but about the strongest horse
of his size. This is proven by thu
fact that while his best time to ;
. sulky was 2:24, he actually trottet
third heat to a skeleton wagon IL
1926, something that is not true o
one horse in five hundred. Follow
ing Is his roll of honor:
AIlnonette ..............' 20
AICa ..'........ ...'....... - 20
Altar .................. ..........l 10
A!tona ................. .l'1o
-, George Woodhope. ..2:24
I Canemah ................... .2:2OE
Coqueta ............Z: 81
Lady Bench. .2:26k
McMinnville Maid. .2:21k
Lady Daphne. ............. ..2:22
lNJneC0