RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN AND HORSES 



Mohawk Jr., Mambrino Bertie, and Bella were pur- 

 chased at long figures by him. Kate Crockett, dam 

 of Lula, 2.15, was seventeen years old when she 

 became his property. She died January 18, 1876, 

 when twenty-two years old, the result of an acci- 

 dent. Lula, bred to George Wilkes, produced Lula 

 Wilkes, and she, bred to Electioneer, produced Ad- 

 vertiser, 2.15!, sire of the champion yearling trotter, 

 Abdell, 2.23. 



A short time before Mr. Durkee died he wrote 

 me a note, saying that time hung heavily on him, and 

 asking me to come and see him. I found him so 

 weak that he could not walk, but his eyes were 

 bright, and the conversation quickly drifted to the 

 pleasant hours spent at Spring Hill. He talked so 

 eagerly of the horses as to make me forget for the 

 moment that the shadow of death was upon him. 

 The snow lay white on Fifth Avenue and the Park 

 beyond, and he proposed a ride. Muffled in furs 

 he was carried to the sleigh, and the crisp air, as we 

 drove slowly through Central Park, fairly alive with 

 prancing horses and jingling bells, brought color to 

 his cheeks. 



He enjoyed the ride, but was quite weary on his 

 return to the house, and soon after this he entered 

 into absolute rest. His breeding establishment was 

 sold, and the farm at Flushing, which had been his 

 pride, dropped back into an atmosphere of dullness 

 and obscurity. 



270 



