922 Deane Phillips 



were the famous Narragansett pacers, whose praises were sung by all 

 the contemporary writers of the period and tales of whose remarkable 

 performances still linger as part of our American horse lore. 



The best description of these unusual pacing horses is given in an 

 article on American agriculture in the first American edition of the 

 Edinburgh Encyclopedia (160), written about 1830 by Robert Living- 

 ston. The description reads as follows : 



They have handsome foreheads, the head clean, the neck long, the arms and legs 

 thin and taper; the hindquarters are narrow and the hocks a little crooked, which 

 is here called sickle hocked, which turns the hind feet out a little: their color is 

 generally, though not always, bright sorrel ; they are very spirited and carry both 

 head and tail high. But what is most remarkable is that they amble with more 

 speed than most horses trot, so that it is difficult to put some of them upon a 

 gallop. Notwithstanding this facility of ambling, where the ground requires it, 

 as when the roads are rough and stony, they have a fine easy single footed trot. 

 These circumstances, together with their being very sure footed, render them the 

 finest saddle horses in the world; they neither fatigue themselves nor their rider. 

 It is generally to be lamented that this invaluable breed of horses is now almost 

 lost by being mixed with those imported from England and from other parts of 

 the United States. 



The sturdy qualities of the Narragansett pacers have been perpetuated 

 also by James Fenimore Cooper in his tales of the American wilder- 

 ness. The horses were evidently still obtainable in Cooper's day (161) 

 and he must have been an admirer of the breed, for he brings them 

 into his stories frequently. The}^ are described by Cooper as being small, 

 sorrel in color, and distinguished by their easy pacing gait and great 

 endurance. 



As to the origin of these pacers — the first distinctly American breed 

 of horses — there have been many stories current at one time or another, 

 most of which tales are obviously fanciful. One of the most plausible 

 accounts is a tradition handed down in the Hazard family, of Rhode 

 Island, the early members of which were among the more important 

 breeders of the animals. According to this story the progenitor of the 

 breed was imported from Andalusia, in Spain, by Deputy Governor 

 Robinson (162), whose estate the Hazards inherited. 



Wallace (163), a modern writer who has given some attention to 

 the various stories regarding the origin of the Narragansetts, contends 

 that they resulted solely from careful selection and breeding of the 

 common New England stock. He refuses to give credence to the story 



