398 THE HORSE OF AMERICA. 



''Family Encyclopedia of Useful Knowledge." This dodge wa& 

 exceedingly effective, and as it appeared in a book it must be true. 

 Thousands of people interpreted the picture to mean that im- 

 ported Bellfounder had trotted seventeen and a half miles in an 

 hour. Mr. Jaques did not say this in letters and figures, but he 

 said it even more plainly in a picture. The basis of this decep- 

 tion is found in the advertisement itself, where, in speaking of 

 the speed of old Bellfounder in England, he says: " His 

 owner challenged to perform with him seventeen miles'ai d a half 

 in one hour, but it was not accepted." Here we have a possible 

 challenge of the sire transmuted into an actual performance of 

 the son, for the sole purpose of securing public patronage. 



There can be no doubt that this horse was a true representative 

 of what was then known as the Norfolk Trotters and at this time 

 designated as Hackneys or Cubs. Bellfounder was of a quiet, 

 docile disposition, with a display of great nervous energy in his 

 movements when aroused. His knee and hock action was high 

 and showy, giving the impression of a great trotter, without 

 much speed. At several points his form was measurably repro- 

 duced in Hambletonian, especially in his low, round withers and 

 his great, meaty buttocks. In seeing these points so plainly de- 

 veloped in his idol it is not remarkable that Mr. Rysdyk should 

 have placed too high an estimate on Bellfounder blood as a factor 

 in the American trotting horse. If he had thoughtfully asked 

 himself the question, What has Bellfounder blood done in its 

 own right in the way of getting trotters? the illusion would have 

 vanished. 



Bellfounder was in the control of Mr. Jaques for six years, and 

 never in my knowledge of trotting stallions have I known one so 

 widely and successfully advertised. The name "Bellfounder" 

 was heard and known everywhere. From 1829 to 1833, inclusive, 

 he was under the control of Mr. T. T. Kissam, of Long Island. 

 After that time he seems to have gone "a-begging" wherever 

 there seemed to be a chance to earn his oats. At last, at 

 Jamaica, Long Island, he died, having made twenty-one seasons 

 in this country one more than Messenger. The question was 

 once raised as to where Hambletonian got his aversion to the 

 chestnut color, and it was flippantly assigned to Bellfounder. 

 The truth is, quite a number of Bellfounder's get were chestnuts, 

 perhaps as large a percentage as would naturally come from the 

 average stallion. 



