BREEDING THE TROTTER 



my mare up, I turned around and went back to 

 the stable. 



I talked Chimes all winter. He was a rapid- 

 going colt and would, I thought, mate well with 

 the Mambrino Kings, which did not have enough 

 knee action and were long striders. Mr. Hamlin 

 saw Chimes that fall at the St. Louis Fair but was 

 not greatly impressed, because the colt went low 

 headed and did not carry his tail as Mr. Hamlin 

 liked to see a horse do. In 1886, while at Sagi- 

 naw, Mich., Mr. Hamlin promised to make an 

 offer for Chimes. He asked Marvin what the colt 

 could be bought for. Marvin replied, " He is the 

 best colt we ever raised and I do not care to price 

 him. However, I will telegraph any fair offer 

 you may make to Governor Stanford. " Stanford 

 was at that time in the Senate at Washington. 

 Mr. Hamlin offered ten thousand dollars for the 

 colt. Marvin said he did not like to telegraph so 

 low an offer. Mr. Hamlin then offered twelve 

 thousand dollars and Marvin telegraphed his 

 employer to that effect. Governor Stanford's 

 answer was that if the colt was going to a good 

 home and the sale was for cash, to sell. That was 

 how Chimes came into the possession of Mr. 

 Hamlin. 



We worked Chimes a mile in 2.25 as a two-year- 

 old. In the spring of 1887, as a three-year-old, 

 we bred him to sixteen mares and raced him that 

 summer. He won nine thousand dollars and took 

 a record of 2.30%, which was no measure of his 

 speed. Marvin, in his book, tells of driving 



37 



