MESSENGER'S SONS. 235 



1825. He made one season, at least, at Burlington, Vermont, 

 and some seasons or parts of seasons at Poultney, Vermont. It 

 is said he lived till 1834. 



At Wallingford, Vermont, he was bred upon the "Munson 

 Mare," said to be a daughter of imported Messenger, and doubt- 

 less either by him or one of his earlier sous, and the produce 

 was Harris' Hambletonian, also known as "The Eemington 

 Horse" and Bristol Grey, and this son became the progenitor of 

 a great tribe of trotters, known as the "Vermont Hamble- 

 tonians," some of which were very fast pacers, among them the 

 famous Hero, the fastest of his generation. Another son of 

 Mr. Bishop's horse was the Judson Hambletonian, that was the 

 sire of the Andrus horse, that got the famous Princess, that was 

 pitted against Flora Temple. He was also bred on his half-sister, 

 Silvertail, by Messenger, and produced One Eye, a very fast mare, 

 the grandam of Rysdyk's Hambletonian, and I have always 

 thought that this combination was the very cream of the pedi- 

 gree of that great horse. He was also bred on a daughter of Mr. 

 Coffin's son of Messenger and produced Whalebone, that was the 

 phenomenal long-distance trotter of his generation. His son, Sir 

 Peter, out of an unknown mare, was also a famous old-time trot- 

 ter. One of his daughters was bred to Coriander, son of Mes- 

 senger, and the produce was Topgallant, the fastest horse of his 

 time. These individual enumerations might be extended in- 

 definitely, but I have given enough to show that he was not 

 merely a progenitor of trotting speed in remote generations, but 

 that speed came directly from his own loins. Another most sig- 

 nificant fact is here brought to light, namely, that when bred 

 back upon the blood of his own sire he achieved his greatest suc- 

 cesses. 



MAMBRINO. This great son of Messenger was a bright bay 

 with a star and one white ankle. He was fully sixteen hands 

 high, with great length of body and generally of coarse appear- 

 ance. He was foaled 1806, and was bred by Mr. Lewis Morris, of 

 Westchester County, New York. His dam was by imported 

 Sour Crout, out of a mare by imported Whirligig, and she out of 

 the famous Miss Slammerkin, that is a well-known landmark 

 reaching beyond the Revolution. The late William T. Porter, of 

 the Spirit of the Times, stoutly maintained that Mambrino was 

 not a thoroughbred horse, and his reasons seemed to rest wholly 

 upon his coarse and cart-horse appearance. Technically, Mr. 



