264 AT THE SIGN OF THE STOCK YARD INN 



middle west. Revisiting the old home in quest of 

 a stallion carrying as much of the desired blood as 

 was obtainable, he was fortunate enough to acquire 

 by purchase a seven-eighths-bred horse called Victor 

 Hugo, sired by the famous old-time imported stallion 

 Count Robert, known locally in central Ohio as "the 

 Baker Horse," and shipped him out to Iowa. The 

 nearest railway station was some 30 miles distant, 

 but the big, good-tempered iron-gray was as active 

 as a cat, in fact, a prodigious "walker," and, led by 

 the halter along the country roads, there was no 

 difficulty experienced in landing him safely at the 

 little village county seat of Sigourney. I was a lad 

 of less than 10 at the time, but I have a distinct 

 recollection of the sensation Victor Hugo made 

 upon his arrival in the midst of a farming com- 

 munity where a 1,600-pound drafter was an absolute 

 revelation. Following the first introduction of 

 French horses into Iowa by A. W. COOK of Charles 

 City a few years previous, this was, so far as I can 

 ascertain, the second "importation" of this type into 

 the state. It may be of interest to Percheron 

 breeders to add that this pioneer horse was out of 

 a mare by "Old Bill," also called the "Valley Horse," 

 and his grandam was a mare by old Louis Napoleon. 

 Victor Hugo at once became the pet and pride, 



