Horse Raising in Colonial New England 895 



the famous Narragansett pacers which were later developed in Rhode 

 Island.^ 



FREE RANGE AND ITS EFFECTS 



From the very earliest period of New England history it was cus- 

 tomary to allow both horses and cattle to run at large on the public 

 commons. At times some provision for a herdsman was made, but as 

 the herds increased in numbers and the settlements became more scattered 

 the animals began to roam more or less at w411 about the settled areas 

 and often strayed away for considerable distances into the forest or 

 were lost completely. Winthrop records a happening of this sort in a 

 letter written to Governor Endicott on behalf of a widow whose horse 

 had been impressed for military service. Pleading her need for the one 

 that had been taken from her, he says, ' ' She hath another horse but 

 has not seen him for several months " (36). Strays of this sort were 

 numerous and this often led to many difficulties of ownership, which in 

 time compelled definite legislative provisions to be made. 



Where horse raising developed, as it did later, on the islands of Long 

 Island Sound and on the water-guarded points and necks of Rhode 

 Island, this free range was not a serious problem. But where the 

 horses and cattle were running loose about the towns in a semi-wild 

 state and in ever-increasing numbers, many difficulties were bound to 

 arise. The chief trouble came from damage done to gardens and crops 

 by herds of these equine and bovine marauders. At first '' all greate 

 cattle " were herded by day by a public herdsman, and the owners 

 were held responsible for any harm inflicted by their animals after night- 

 fall (37). But soon the "burden was put on the other side, and in 

 Massachusetts Bay, for example, in 1642 the court repealed the former 

 act and provided that '' every man must now secure his own corn and 

 meadow against damage " (38). It was provided further that only in 

 case animals running at laro:e had broken through an admittedly strong 

 fence could the person suffering the damage have any redress. Com- 

 plaints for damages of this sort appear continually in the court records 

 of all the colonies, and it was apparently a cause of endless litigation, 

 Avhich persisted until a late date. 



2 A more detailecl discussion of ttie origin of the Narragansett pacers is given on 

 page 922. 



