INVESTIGATION OF DISPUTED PEDIGREES. 427 



The mare Sally Russell, the grandam of Maud S., had been 

 sold to Mr. Alexander by the foreman of Captain Russell's farm, 

 and it does not appear that he represented her as having been 

 bred by Captain Russell. Indeed, it was not claimed at Wood- 

 burn that Captain Russell bred her until a representative of that 

 establishment called at my office to examine the service books of 

 Boston and there found that "John Russell's one-eyed mare" 

 had been bred in 1849. If a fraud, therefore, was established 

 the Russell family must bear the odium. Hence all evidence 

 from that source must be considered in the light of the fact that 

 every member of the family is deeply interested. But notwith- 

 standing the efforts of the Russell family to preserve the father's 

 name from obloquy, and notwithstanding the trip in search of 

 some superannuated darkey who could remember anything and 

 everything in consideration of the pour-boire that would be forth- 

 coming, there stood that terrible statement of Llewellyn Holton 

 that could not be met by evidence. The whole matter was 

 against him, and Mr. Brodhead was not happy. He knew he 

 could not prove him wrong, and the only course left open was 

 to get him to take back certain things that he had said on the 

 ground that his memory had failed and that the fight was be- 

 tween "Old Kaintuck" and outside parties who had no business 

 to interfere with Kentucky affairs. On an appointed day, there- 

 fore, all who were supposed to have any influence with Mr. Hol- 

 ton, in the whole countryside, met Mr. Brodhead, and they came 

 down on "the poor old paralytic" hammer and tongs. They 

 asked him what he remembered about all the horses, each in his 

 turn, in the whole neighborhood, whether he had ever heard of 

 them before or not. This was kept up a long time, but they 

 could not prevail on him to take back a single specific statement 

 he had made. He had said Captain Russell had never owned 

 Maria Russell or any of her produce, and he would not take it 

 back. He had said Maria Russell had two good eyes when she died, 

 and he would not take it back. At last when the poor old in- 

 valid was worn out they sprung the patriotic dodge of "Kentucky 

 against the world" upon him and this had some effect, but not 

 enough to save the anxious "bulldozers" from a feeling of great 

 depression. At last Mr. Brodhead seized a pen and indited a 

 letter for him to sign, addressed to me, with the request that I 

 would publish it. I am not able to say how many attempts were 

 made to get such a letter as he would be willing to sign, but 



