1883.] THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 225 



established until considerably more than a century after the settle- 

 ment of both colonies. Lady Murray introduced the first private 

 coach into New York about 1745, but they were scarce until some 

 time after the Revolutionary War, and were unpopular as signs of 

 aristocracy, and carriages were taxed as luxuries in the early days 

 of the Republic. 



The roads were unfitted to fast traveling until long after the 

 Revolution. The Declaration of Independence of July 4th, 1776, 

 was received at Washington's head -quarters in New York city, 

 and at the Provincial Assembly, at White Plains, on July 9th, five 

 days on the way, and that not considered as long for the times as 

 five hours would be now. It took about as long for the news of 

 the battle of Lexington to reach New York city. What need 

 then, with such roads, for fast trotters ? Now that the distance is 

 made in a few hours by steam, we need the trotters to carry us to 

 the station. 



The greatest use of trotters is for ligbt wagons, but these in 

 their present form are still more modern. I have made many 

 inquiries about this matter both in this State and in New York, 

 the regions where the trotter originated. Moreover, my present 

 home, New Haven, is one celebrated the world over for its manu- 

 factures of light carriages, so I think my information pertaining 

 to this is sound. Down to the present century one-horse vehicles 

 were usually two-wheeled, and even these not abundant, and were 

 heavy. The present buggy with steel springs began to be used 

 between 1820 and 1830, but they were so scarce and rare until 

 about 1840 as to attract notice when on the street. I well re- 

 member the first one I saw, and it was eyed with curiosity. 



I have carefully examined the advertisements pertaining to 

 wheeled vehicles in the Connecticut papers of the last quarter of 

 the last and the first quarter of this century. Steel springs of 

 some kind were used early. In the Connecticut Journal, October 

 28, 1798, Jonathan Mix of New Haven advertises a chaise with 

 steel springs, -and in 1807 coaches and chaises with steel springs, 

 and a "steel spring sulky," but they were uncommon, and not 

 of the form used now under buggies. 



Among the many formal statements made to me pertaining to 

 this matter, I will cite only a few. An aged citizen, born in the 

 last century, says that in his early boyhood there was but one 

 four-wheeled wagon in his neighborhood (in Ridgefield), that 



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