12 THE HOUSE OF AMERICA. 



bearing on the size and action of the horses of that period goes 

 to show that the average size had then increased to fourteen 

 hands and one inch, and in gait fifteen both paced and trotted, 

 nine trotted only, and seven paced only. It is not pretended 

 that these data represent the horses of the early colonial period, 

 but only of the period above indicated. Strains of larger breeds 

 had been* introduced, but the little New England pacer had made 

 his mark on the habits of action. 



In 1665, the next year after the Dutch had surrendered the 

 country to the English, Governor Nicolls established a race-course 

 on Hempstead Plains and offered prizes for the fleetest runners, 

 and his successors kept up annual meetings on that course for 

 many years. This was the first official and regularly organized 

 race-course that we have any trace of in this country. These 

 meetings seem to have been well supported from the very first by 

 both town and country, and as the people were then practically 

 all Dutch, it is a fair inference that the horses engaged in the 

 races were Dutch horses. This was before the English race horse 

 had reached the character of a breed, and a hundred years before 

 the first of that breed was imported into New York. From this 

 beginning many tracks were constructed or improvised in and 

 about the city, upon which racing at all forms and at all gaits has 

 been carried on to the present day. When honestly conducted 

 the sport has always been favorably received by reputable people; 

 but at successive periods it has degenerated into a mere carnival 

 of gambling that placed it under a ban. 



The horses of the New England colonies fill a very important 

 place in the horse history of the country. This is especially true 

 of a remarkable tribe of swift pacers, produced in Ehode Island 

 and known throughout the whole country as the "Narragansett 

 Pacers." To the description of these a special chapter will be 

 devoted. The first horses imported into New England reached 

 Boston harbor in 1629 and were sent direct from England by the 

 proprietary company in London. The same year a small consign- 

 ment reached Salem. The next year about sixty head were 

 shipped to the plantation, but many of them were lost on the 

 voyage. In 1635 two Dutch ships landed at Salem with twenty- 

 seven mares and three stallions, and were sold there at remuner- 

 ative prices. Other shipments followed, no doubt, that have not 

 been noted. In 1640 the colonists seem to have been supplied 

 with all the horses they needed, for that year they shipped a 



