- THE NATIONAL HORSE OF AMERICA, 7038 
lack of breeding and the lack of breeding in the mares to which he 
was bred are against the chances of his tribe taking high rank as a 
family. Still, taking the individual himself (although I regard him 
as a phenomenal transmitter of speed rather than asa great progenitor 
of trotters and sires of trotters) 1t must be conceded that in some re- 
spects he was the most remarkable horse of his time. In estimating 
the rank of Blue Bull as a sire, in his favor it must be remembered 
that by his own merit he forced himself, under the most untoward 
circumstances and in spite of prejudice, out of the very depths of 
obscurity into the front rank of trotting sires. Rich lineage did not 
attract to him fleet and pure-blooded matrons. He made his repu- 
tation in an out of the way country town, and he got speed with 
unsurpassed uniformity upon the coldest of ‘‘cold” blood. Only 
two or three of his performers are out of mares of any degree of good 
breeding, and under such circumstances he transmitted speed so well 
that for a time he had more trotters to his credit than any horse that 
ever lived. To say this of Blue Bull is full justice, and only that. 
Of the other pacing families mentioned, the Columbuses are of 
Canadian origin. The original Columbus came from a town in the 
province of Quebec ‘30 or 40 miles below Montreal.” From this same 
mysterious region came St. Lawrence, another Canadian trotting sire, 
and to the blood of that district is traced lines in many of our famous 
trotters. I should like to know the truth as to the original stock of 
that part of the province of Quebec. That there were there long ago 
horses of the true trotting gait and instinct is undeniable. 
The Hiatoga family traces to early Virginia pacing ancestry. The 
first noted horse of the line was taken to Fairfield County, Ohio, about 
1840, is known as Rice’s Hiatoga, and from him the trotting family 
of this name is descended. The Copper-Bottoms, a noted ete fam- 
ily that figurein many trotting pedigrees, were, like the Columbuses 
and probably the Pilots, it is believed, of Canadian origin. The orig- 
inal was, according to the Trotting Register, taken from Canada to 
Kentucky in 1812. 
Another Canadian family that may or may not have been of kin- 
dred blood to those just named, but a family far superior to any other 
of Canadian origin, is that bearing the name of Royal George. The 
founder of this line was Tippo, a horse whose blood is unknown. I 
quite recently attempted to learn something further about this horse, 
but like many who have already investigated, I could ascertain little 
that is new. His son, Black Warrior, got Royal George, and from 
this line a really good trotting family has been produced. 
A tribe that has held a foremost place in turf history as a cross for 
Hambletonian blood was that of American Star, a horse that flour- 
ished previous to and intheearly part of thecareer of Rysdyk’s Ham- 
bletonian. The pedigree of this horse is extremely doubtful, but he 
was a trotter of some merit. From great numbers of his daughters 
bred to Hambletonian a goodly numberof trotters came, but the fam- 
ily lacked the capacity to transmitspeed potently from generation to 
generation, and its only standing as a trotting line rests upon what 
Hambletonian accomplished upon its:-daughters. 
Other sources and minor branches of trotting families there are 
innumerable, .but I haye touched upon the chief fountains from 
which came the currents blended in the trotting breed of to-day. 
Now, after a brief paragraph or two on the subject of the progress 
in speed made by the trotter, the historical part of my sketch will 
close, and we will conclude with remark upon the principles on 
