FOUNDER OF HIS RACE 87 



CHAPTER Xni. 



THE MORGAN GOES TO MONTPELIER TO LIVE. 



Sometimes Justin Morgan rode his horse to WilHs- 

 ton to visit his friend, the Hon. Lemuel Bottom, who was 

 a lover of good horses ; sometimes they went to Hines- 

 burgh, a short distance from Burlington. They were 

 constantly on the go from one town to another, meeting 

 new people and horses and having fresh experiences. 



Hinesburgh was a quiet little village, and, although 

 there were two saw-mills, they did not have ''bees" as 

 they did at Randolph ; the scenery was beautiful, and the 

 bedding so good that Morgan enjoyed his trips in spite 

 of the lack of excitement which he had grown to love at 

 Chase's Mill. 



His first military experience was when he took his 

 place under an empty saddle in the procession that con- 

 ducted the body of Col. Israel Converse to his grave. 

 Colonel Converse had been a brave soldier and greatly 

 beloved by his townspeople ; over his open grave Morgan 

 heard for the first time a military salute and smelled the 

 acrid odor of gunpowder. For a long time he was 

 thrilled by the memory. 



As time increased Master Morgan's health declined 

 rapidly; in 1795-96 he grew too weak to work, and sold 

 his horse to one William Rice, of Woodstock, who in 

 turn sold him to Jonathan Shepard, a sturdy blacksmith 

 living in the little town of Montpelier. 



Shepard was also landlord of the Farmer's Inn, which 

 stood within a doughnut's toss of his forge. He was 



