918 Deane Phillips 



In addition to those shipped from New London, many Connecticut 

 horses were put directly aboard ship at the towns on the Connecticut 

 river, especially at Windsor, which had a considerable trade with the 

 West Indies (139) ; and after the middle of the centur3^ considerable 

 numbers were sent out from New Haven. New London, however, was 

 the chief point of embarkation, and many horses, as well as other live- 

 stock, were driven in from other colonies to be sent from there to the 

 southern market (140). All the Connecticut vessels were supposed to 

 clear at this port (141), and some of the river vessels undoubtedly 

 took on board their cargoes of horses there (142), although, according 

 to Caulkins, many such vessels " slipped over the bar uncounted " and 

 sailed directly to the Indies (143). 



This commerce of the Connecticut coast towns was well known. 

 James Fenimore Cooper, in one of his tales of frontier life written at 

 a date (1832) near enough to the heyday of this trade to have enabled 

 him to get direct testimony as to its extent, puts the following in the 

 mouth of one of his characters: " I have been down at the mouth of 

 both Havens, that . . . named after the capital of Old England, 

 and that Avhich is called Haven with the addition of the word ' New,' 

 and have seen the snows and brigantines collecting their droves like 

 the ark, being outward bound . . . for barter and traffic in four 

 footed animals " (144). 



The Connecticut vessels were mainly sloops and schooners, single- 

 decked and without topmasts; and, unlike those of the other colonies, 

 they were engaged almost entirely in the West Indies trade, making 

 two trips a year. In New London, however, there were built some 

 larger square-rigged ships, with more ample deck space designed to 

 facilitate the transportation of large cargoes of livestock. These " horse 

 jockeys," as the}' were called, have already been mentioned; one of 

 them sailed from New London in 1716 bound for Barbados with forty- 

 five horses on board, and later others were built which could carry even 

 greater numbers (145). In 1724 six of these ships left port together, 

 all freighted with similar cargoes (146), and in 1731 three arrived in 

 Antigua with so many horses as to completely swamp the market (147). 



Taken as a whole, the commerce of Connecticut increased very rapidlj" 

 during this period and continued to increase until the beginning of 



