378 THE HORSE OF AMERICA. 



sistent, we must consider the condition of the horse interests in 

 New England at that time. When Black Hawk came to the 

 front the Morgans of the real Morgan type had already attained 

 some degree of popularity and here came a horse overtopping 

 them all, with no trace of the Morgan type about him. He and 

 his family attracted the attention of purchasers and threw a 

 shadow of doubt over the little punchy, hairy-legged fellows that 

 knocked out many a sale. Besides this, it was a serious and real 

 question in the minds of a great many honest and intelligent 

 men, as to whether Sherman Morgan, so typical of his family, 

 could possibly have been the sire of a horse so completely outside 

 of the family, not only in appearance and formation, but in his 

 ability to trot. In 1847 Black Hawk was pitted against the 

 Morse Horse, mile heats, best two in three, at the Saratoga State 

 Fair. He won the first heat in 2:50| and the second in 2:43^. 

 He was then fourteen years old and this was very fast, for a. 

 stallion of that period. It is but justice to say that the Morse 

 Horse contingent claimed that Black Hawk was set back in the 

 first heat for running and that the heat was given to the Morse 

 Horse in 2:52| and that the second and third heats were won by 

 Black Hawk in 2:54^ and 2:56. Just what the truth is in this 

 disagreement I am not able to determine. As we look at this 

 horse, so distinct from all his tribe; and as we consider the very 

 indistinct knowledge of the laws of generation as held by the 

 masses in that day, we cannot wonder that the paternity was so 

 vehemently disputed. Neither can we wonder, as his descend- 

 ants pass in review before us, that this dispute has never been 

 settled to the satisfaction of the contending parties. The old 

 Morgan type never reappears in the descendants of this family. 



But, we must not forget that we have considered only half of 

 the inheritance of this horse. He had a dam as well as a sire. 

 To that half of his pedigree we must now give some attention. 

 The story of the "half-bred English mare, brought from New 

 Brunswick" has had its day and we may as well lay it aside as a 

 humbug. Mr. Allen W. Thomson, of Woodstock, Vermont, has 

 brought out the facts with regard to this mare in a form that is 

 very clear and satisfactory. In 1876 Mr. Thomson visited Albany 

 for the purpose of examining everything that had been said in 

 The Country Gentleman newspaper touching on the paternity of 

 Black Hawk. In this search for the sire he would necessarily 

 find many references to the dam and among these references he 



