LINDSEYS ARABIAN. 



75 



OBITUARY NOTICE OF GEN. T. M. FORMAN OF MARYLAND. 



WITH A CURIOUS HISTORY, DERIVED FROM HIM, OF THE IMPORTATION OF THE CELE- 

 ■ BRATED STALLION, LINDSEY'S ARABIAN. 



The brilliant exploits pcrfonwed, in the Revo- 

 lutionary War, by Lee's famous Legion, alluded 

 to in the close of the preceding chapter, were 

 ascribed at the time, in a great measure, to the 

 high breeding of his cavalry liorses, rendering 

 that Legion, as already stated, at once " the terror 

 and the scourge of the enemy." 



The reader ^^•ill not take it amiss that we 

 should transfer to our columns the curious ac- 

 count of the importation of that renowned horse. 

 This accoiint was derived by the Editor, from 

 the late General T. M. Forma.v, who was too 

 good a judge of the virtues of a good horse, and 

 when alive loved a good horse too well, to take 

 it amiss that his name should be associated in 

 the same obituaiy notice, with one so distin- 

 guished in equestrian annals. G^n. T. M. For- 

 man was a Revolutionary compeer of such men 

 as Howard and Smith and Guest and Stewart, 

 and survived them all until very lately, respect- 

 ed as a fine specimen of the " time that tried 

 men's .souls." He was truly a gentleman of the 

 old school. At the time of his decease, which 

 occurred recently, he must have been more tVian 

 four score years of age, and yet he continued, 

 sedulously, to the last, not only to bud and graft 

 choice fruit, but to plant the nuts and seeds of 

 forest trees, and to embellish with exotic trees 

 and shrubberj', his much-loved garden, at Rose- 

 mount, on the beautiful shores of the Sassafras. 



A memoir, in illn.stration of his partiality for 

 rural life, and his disposition to grace and em- 

 bellish it with hospitality, literature, and flori- 

 culture, is due to his memory, and would be, 

 we need hardly say, an acceptable offering to 

 tlie pages of the Farmers' Library. 



LIND.SEY'S ARABIAN. 



Abotit the year 1777 or '78, Gen. H. Lee, of 

 the Cavalry, and his officers, had their attention 

 drawn to some uncommonly fine Eastern horses 

 employed in the public service — horses of such 

 superior form and appearance, that the above 

 officers were led to make much inquiry re.spect- 

 ing their historj- ; and this proved so extraordi- 

 nary, that Captain Lind.sey was sent to examine 

 and make more particular inquiry respecting 

 the fine cavalry, which had been so much ad- 

 mired, and with instnictions, that if the sire 

 answered the description given of him, the 

 Captain was to purchase him, if to be sold 



The Captain succeeded in purcha.sing the 

 horse, who was taken to Virginia, where he 

 covered at a high price and with considerable 

 success. 



(183) 



It was not until this fine horse became old and 

 feeble that the writerofthe.se recollections rode 

 thirty miles expressly to see him. Ho was a 

 white horse, of the most perfect fonn and Sym- 

 metry-, rather above fifteen hands high, and 

 although old and crippled, pppeared to possess 

 a high and gallant temper, which gave him a 

 lofty and commanding carriage and appearance. 



The history of this horse, as given to me during 

 ■' c Revolutionary war, by sev^eral respectable 

 persons from Connecticut, "at vsrious times, is: — 



" For some very important service, rendered 

 by the Commander of a Briti.sh frigate, to a sou 

 of the then Emperor of Morocco, the Emperor 

 presented this horse (the most valuable of his 

 stud) to the Captain, who shipped him on board 

 the frigate, with the sanguine expectation of 

 obtaining a great pi-ice for him, if safely landed 

 in England. Either in obedience to orders, or 

 from some other cause, the frigate called at one 

 of the English Wesf-lndia islands, where being 

 obliged to remain some time, the Captain, in 

 compassion to the horse, landed him for the pur- 

 pose of exercise. No convenient securely en- 

 clo.sed place -could be found but a large lumber 

 yard, into which the horse was turned loose; 

 but delighted and playful as a kitten, his liberty 

 soon proved nearlv fatal to him. He ascended 

 one of the piles, frBm which and with it he fell, 

 and broke three of his legs. At this time in the 

 same harbor, the English Captain met with an 

 old acquaintance from one of our now Eastern 

 States. To him he offered the hor.se, as an 

 animal of inestimable value could he be cured. 

 The Eastern Captain gladly accepted the horse, 

 and knowing he must be detained a consider- 

 able time in the Island before he could dispose 

 of his assorted cargo, got the horse on board his 

 vessel, secured him in slings, and very carefully 

 set and bound up his broken legs. It matters 

 not how long he remained in the harbor, or if 

 quite cured before he arrived on our shore ; but 

 he did arrive, and he must certainly have cov- 

 ered several seasons, before he was noticed as 

 first mentioned. 



" When the writer of these remarks went to 

 see the horse, his first attention was to examine 

 his leg.s, respecting the reported fracture, and he 

 was fully satisfied, not merely by seeing the 

 lumps and inequalities on the three legs, but 

 by actually feeling the irregularities and pro- 

 jections of broken bones. 



" In Connecticut (I think) this horse was called 

 Ranger; in Virginia (as it should be) he was 

 called Lindsey's Arabian. He was the sire of 

 Tulip and many good runners ; to all his stock 

 he gave gi-eat perfection of form ; and his blood 

 flows in the veins of some of the best horses of 

 the present day. Make what use you plea.se of 

 this statement: I will stand corrected in my 

 nan-ative, by any per.son ^^•ho can produce bet- 

 ter testimony respecting Lindsey's Arabian. 

 " Your obedient servant, F." 



September 10, 1827. 



