146 THE HOUSE OF AMERICA. 



came quite active as to what Tippoo was, and all kinds of imaginable 

 stories were told about him. In the search for the history and 

 breeding of the horse Tippoo, extending through more than 

 twenty years, many curious and some impossible things were 

 developed, and as these old "fads" may come as new discoveries in 

 future generations, I will mention two or three of them here. 

 The first of these untruthful statements to assume tangible form 

 was to the eifect that Tippoo was imported from England, and 

 that he was got there by Nesthall's Messenger. I never could 

 tell how or where this story originated, but it first appeared in the 

 pedigree given to Toronto Chief when he went into the stud on 

 Long Island. This was settled by the facts, expressed in very 

 few words, that the horse was not imported, but bred in Canada, 

 and that there was no such horse in England as "Nesthall's. 

 Messenger." 



The next representation came from an old horseman, Mr. V. 

 Sheldon, of Canton, New York, a very intelligent and careful 

 correspondent, who had given much labor to the question. He 

 had learned from different sources, that were satisfactory to his 

 mind, that a Mr. Howard, a traveling preacher, had ridden a 

 mare from Lowville, New York, over into Canada; that this mare 

 was in foal "by a very noted horse that stood at Lowville;" that 

 when the mare became too heavy for his use under the saddle he 

 sold her to Isaac Morden, and that the foal she dropped was the 

 famous Tippoo. The name of the "very famous horse that stood 

 at Lowville" was not remembered, but as Ogden's Messenger 

 was there at that time 1816-17 the conclusion followed that 

 he was the horse. This representation was far from complete, 

 but as there was nothing unreasonable about it, and nothing 

 known to be untrue, I accepted it for a time, awaiting further light. 



The third representation came from Mr. Lewis T. Leavens, of 

 Bloomfield, Ontario, who was born 1792, and was, therefore, old 

 enough to have had some personal knowledge of the horse. But 

 whether his knowledge was personal or only traditional cannot 

 now be made to appear. He says that Tippoo was got by a horse 

 called Escape, and I will ask the reader to note this name 

 "Escape" as we progress. He says that "when Escape was on 

 the ocean, the vessel encountered a severe gale, and the horse 

 had to be thrown overboard, and he was picked up the ninth day 

 off the coast of Newfoundland, on a bar, eating rushes." This, 

 silly and ridiculous story had been told and possibly believed by 



