AMERICAN' STAR, PILOT, CHAMPION, AND NORMAN. 345 



liim, and in June, 1846, Mr. William R. Grinnell paid two thou- 

 sand six hundred dollars for him and took him to Cayuga County, 

 New York. After keeping Champion in that county till the 

 close of the season of 1849, Mr. Grinnell concluded to sell the 

 horse, as in all that time he had not covered one hundred mares. 

 Mr. Grinnell complained that the farmers did not appreciate the 

 horse, and many of them failed to pay for his services. But the 

 fault was not all on the part of the farmers, for the price, to 

 them, was very high, and he was a very uncertain foal getter. 



In April, 1850, he was sent to New York and kept in the stable 

 of Mr. Van Cott, on the Harlem road. He had been very badly 

 handled, and Mr. Van Cott says he had been abused and ill- 

 treated, and when he came to his place he was as vicious and 

 savage as a wild beast. The horse was kept there for sale, and in 

 his daily exercise Mr. Van Cott says he could "show considera- 

 bly better than 2:40 at any time." In 1851 he was sent over to 

 Jersey and kept for public use at a fee of fifty dollars, by Samuel 

 Taylor, at Newmarket, Metuchen, Boundbrook and Millstone. 

 After making three or four seasons in the region of Boundbrook, 

 in the year 1854, Mr. Grinnell, who still owned him, sold him to 

 Mr. James Harkness, of St. Louis, Missouri, for about seven 

 hundred and dfty dollars. On reaching St. Louis he proved to 

 l>e as dangerous as ever, and no man dared to go into his stall, 

 except Mr. Harkness and one assistant. In 1858 Mr. Harkness 

 sold him to Thomas T. Smith, of Independence, Missouri, for 

 one thousand dollars. He was there stolen by "jayhawkers" 

 and taken to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he made two seasons 

 .and died 1864. Although he lived to be old, he left compara- 

 tively few colts, but a large proportion of that few were of excel- 

 lent quality and many of them trotters. 



CHAMPIOX (SCOBEY'S also known as King's Champion) was the 

 l)est son of GrinnelPs Champion, the son of Almack, and he came 

 out of a mare called Bird, by Redbird, son of Billy Duroc. He was 

 foaled 1849, and was bred by Jesse M . Davis, then of Cayuga County, 

 New York, and sold to David King, of North ville, New York, 

 .and by him in 1861 to Mr. Kellogg, of Battle Creek, Michigan. 

 He was repurchased by Messrs. Backus, Scobey and Burlew in 

 August, 1865, and soon became the property of Mr. C. Scobey 

 and died his in May, 1874. It has been claimed this horse had 

 speed and a record of 2:42 in 1857, but I have no data to deter- 

 mine how fast he was. From his own loins he put eight per- 



