MESSENGER'S SONS. 239 



prominently connected with the breeding interests of the coun- 

 try for many years, the following description is given: 



" I saw him several times, first in 1828. In the latter years of his life he 

 stood mostly at Anson, on the Kennebec Kiver, and I think died there about 

 1831 [he died at Dixfieldj. He appeared like an old horse when I first saw 

 him, older, perhaps, from being much afflicted with grease, which had become 

 chronic, and at length had almost destroyed his hoofs; so that the last time I 

 saw him he was nearly incapable of locomotion. His feet and legs looked like 

 those of an elephant. This trouble was transmitted to his offspring through 

 several generations (though not invariably so), and constituted, perhaps, in con- 

 nection with, in many cases, a fiat foot and low heels, their greatest defect. 



M Mr. Hayward states, in concluding his letter, that he has no doubt the 

 horse he took to Maine was got by imp. Messenger. The remark is probably 

 elicited by intimations that he might have been gotten by a son of Messenger. 

 I presume Mr. Hayward's belief was well founded. As imported Messenger 

 did not die until the 28th of January, 1808, there is no discrepancy between 

 that event and the age of Mr. H.'s horse. At the same time I must admit that 

 Maine Messenger hardly looked like a half-blood horse. He was pretty large, 

 rather short-legged, thick-set, with heavy mane and tail, very hairy legs, long 

 hair on his jaws, and was heavy coated (in winter) all over his body. These 

 characteristics were sometimes accounted for by saying he was probably out of 

 a Dutch mare, meaning such mares as the Dutch farmers of New York kept. 

 I never heard of any claim being set up for his speed in trotting, and I pre- 

 sume he was never tried at running. He was strong and plucky, and the story 

 was told at Winthrop that on an occasion when all the stallions of the neighbor- 

 hood were brought out to be shown, they were put to a troc in sleighs for half 

 a mile or so, and Messenger was beaten. Whereupon his owner proposed that 

 the horses should each draw a sled with six men on it up to Winthrop hill, 

 and be timed. It was done, and Messenger beat them all. I think the first of 

 his offspring that became noted for fast trotting was a gelding called Lion, 

 taken to Boston by a well-known horse dealer by the name of Hodges, of 

 Hallowell, Maine. He was sold, I think, for four hundred dollars, which 

 made quite a sensation among the Kennebec farmers who had any stock of the 

 same sort. I do not recollect the rate of speed this horse showed, but a mile 

 in three minutes was then considered wonderful, and probably this was about 

 his rate. Other horses of the stock were soon brought out as fast travelers. I 

 remember a friend of mine showing me some young horses he was training, 

 and I rode with him after several of them. They were natural trotters, and 

 would do nothing but trot, even under severe applications of the whip. But I 

 think the second generation from Mr. Hayward's horse were generally faster 

 trotters than the first. They were also generally handsomer horses, not so 

 rough looking. Nearly all the horses of this stock which have acquired a 

 reputation in Massachusetts, New York, etc. , as fast trotters, had not more 

 than a quarter of the blood of the horse that Mr. Hayward took to Maine, and 

 consequently had not more than an eighth of the blood of imported Messenger. 



" The mares that produced these horses were of no particular blood. 

 Various stallions had been kept in that section. Morgans from New Hamp- 



