164 HISTORY OF THE SHORT-HORNS. 







The Long-horns were bred together, and left some produce. A 

 Long-horn bull, from Capt. Smith's cow, was sold to Mr. George 

 Renick, of the Scioto valley, in Ohio, where he was bred for some 

 years. The original Long-horn bulls were bred to some extent to 

 other cows than those which were imported with them, but they did not 

 prove popular with the cattle breeders of Kentucky, and after a trial 

 of some years they gradually run out, as many years ago no trace of 

 them, in pure blood, could be found in the vicinity of their importa- 

 tion. Through the bull taken to Ohio by Mr. Renick (but whether 

 from pure Long-horn heifers or not we have no information), several 

 cattle with marked characteristics of the blood were bred in the 

 Scioto valley. We recollect, in 1821, when just verging into man- 

 hood, taking a horseback journey from Columbus to Circleville, in 

 the vicinity of which latter town the Renick brothers owned large 

 landed estates, we saw a herd of a dozen or more Long-horned cattle 

 grazing in a field by the side of the road. Their singular appearance, 

 grazing on the rich blue-grass, or lying under the shade of the majes- 

 tic trees, attracted our attention. We rode up to the fence, hitched 

 our horse, and went into the field to view them. They had every 

 appearance of being either thorough-bred, or high grades of the 

 Long-horn breed, with long drooping horns, pushing forward beyond 

 their noses, or falling below their jaws, light brindle in color, with 

 white stripes along their backs, as we now see their portraits in the 

 books. They were long-bodied, a little swayed in the back, not 

 very compact in shape, but withal imposing animals to the eye. 

 We made no inquiries about them at the time, as we then knew little 

 of breeds of cattle. Thirty years afterwards being again at Circle- 

 ville, and having a better knowledge of breeds, on inquiry for cattle 

 of that character, we could find no trace, nor even a recollection of 

 them among the older farmers of the vicinity. 



We have diverged into this somewhat extended episode of the 

 Long-horns to explain why and wherefore it has since become a sub- 

 ject of more or less controversy with doubters of the integrity of 

 the Short-horn blood of the 1817 importation, that the Long-horn 

 blood became to some extent amalgamated with the true Short-horn 

 blood of the stock which came into Kentucky with them. It is cer- 

 tain that the bull " Rising Sun " got into the English Herd Book 

 (6386), as "imported into the United States of America." It is also 

 certain that some pedigrees of crosses between the Long-horned 

 and Short-horned cattle have crept into the Herd Books, both Eng- 

 lish and American ; but, as the Long-horns in England have for a 



