444 A HISTORY OF SHORT-HORN CATTLE. 



ment. The desire to possess the "pure" blood, 

 regardless of all other considerations, had taken 

 firm hold upon those who considered that the 

 Duchesses as Bates had left them constituted 

 the creme de la creme of the Short-horn breed. 

 The National pride of the English breeders was 

 appealed to with success. America had taken 

 from the mother-land what many of the Britons 

 esteemed as the highest single source of Short- 

 horn excellence. Hence they came to New 

 York Mills prepared to heap their golden guin- 

 eas high against American dollars. History 

 has long since characterized this as a day of 

 monumental folly, but as the event stands out 

 in bold relief as the crowning sensation of the 

 century in the realm of stock-breeding it there- 

 fore demands adequate record in these pages. 

 Some idea of the nature of the scene may be 

 gleaned from the following notes made by an 

 eye witness the late George W. Rust, whose 

 library and manuscripts were acquired by pur- 

 chase by the author many years ago: 



The Duchesses of course formed the attractive feature of this 

 sale : and in the lobbies at the hotels, which were thronged with 

 breeders from all parts of this country, and a liberal representa- 

 tion of English breeders, speculation was rife as to the prices 

 which would be realized. It was rumored that the Englishmen 

 (with the exception of Mr. Kello, who represented Mr. R. Pavin 

 Davies, with whom the other English gentlemen refused to enter 

 into any arrangement) had a private understanding as to which 

 animal each person would bid upon, the others agreeing not to 

 compete with their countrymen in these cases, and that Earl Bec- 

 fcive's representative had brought 13,000 (about 170.000; with 



