BEGINNINGS OF ILLINOIS CATTLE-BREEDING 167 



Rachael 2d, against the bids of a syndicate of cen- 

 tral Illinois breeders, at the then very large price of 

 $3,025. This was the second highest price ever 

 paid up to that date for a Shorthorn female in 

 North America. The sale was a great success, 

 27 head bringing $31,455, an average of $1,165. 

 HENRY JACOBY and Gapt. BROWN jointly acquired the 

 bull King Alfred at $1,300. The heifer Western 

 Lady also went to Grove Park at $1,325, and be- 

 came the ancestress of a very valuable family of 

 cattle. 



It is of interest to note that this great importa- 

 tion included the first specimens of the afterwards 

 famous Aberdeenshire type of cattle ever brought 

 into the state four head from the then compara- 

 tively unknown, but subsequently world-renowned, 

 herd of. AMOS GRUICKSHANK. 



During the years that followed, the Grove Park 

 Shorthorns gained a national reputation. A constant 

 competitor at the State Fair, and a regular exhibitor 

 at the County Show of his own beloved Sangamon, 

 Gapt. BROWN'S entries were always presented in the 

 pink of condition, and in the famous showyard battles 

 of the ensuing twenty years with PICKRELL, SPEARS, 

 DUNCAN, HILL, SODOWSKY, TAYLOR, and all the invading 

 hosts from other states, there was never a time 



