102 MY HORSE ; MY LOVE 



'The dam of George Wilkes was a daughter of Henry 

 Clay, which blood made him the phenomenal sire he was. 

 Rysdyk's Hambletonian is credited to the Wilkes family.' 

 Was there not a famous Arab called Black Emperor ? 

 'Yes, madam. Black Emperor was a Barb, although 

 registered in Bruce's American thoroughbred stud-book as 

 an Arab. He was presented to the ambassador from 

 France in 1857 by the Sultan of Morocco. Mr Scott, an 

 American, purchased him in Morocco from the ambassador 

 for $7000. He was at once shipped to England, and thence 

 brought to America by Mr Scott, who subsequently sold 

 him to Mr John B. Hall, of Toronto, Canada. Black 

 Emperor left a son, whom Mr Hall presented to his son-in- 

 law. President H. M. Claflin, of Cleveland, Ohio. This 

 son was known as Black Emperor, Jr., a daughter of his 

 — and granddaughter of the imported Arab, Black Emperor 

 — made a visit not many years ago to Abdul Hamid H, 

 of the Americo-Arab Company of Long Island. The 

 result was the colt Fez, who was shown at the World's 

 Fair Exposition in Chicago, matching, if not rivalling, any- 

 thing of his age there on exhibition. 



' Although the English claim that the best horses in 

 the United States are derived mainly from English strains 

 of blood, yet the genius of one man really developed a 

 new animal. The man was Hiram Washington Woodruff, 

 and the animal the trotting horse of America, which is 

 an entirely distinct species of the equine race. The best 

 trotters are not only descended from an imported horse 

 named Messenger, but owe to him, as sire, their peculiar 

 characteristics. At the time of his importation Mr George 

 Wilkes, an eminent authority in those days, said, " When 

 Messenger came charging down the gang-plank of the 



