JUSTIN MORGAN 77 



his stock is well known, and well remember that my father always 

 spoke of him as a horse of the best blood". 



Some time between the date of this letter and the publication of 

 Mr. Linsley's work, in 1857, Robbins Battell of Norfolk, Connecticut, 

 discovered in the "Connecticut Courant" of May 8, 1791, the follow- 

 ing advertisement, and furnished a copy to Mr. Linsley: 



"BEAUTIFUL BAY will cover at my stable (for the benefit of the 

 public) at fifteen shillings the season, cash or grain next fall, and nine 

 shillings the leap, pay down. His sire was the imported horse Trav- 

 eler, owned in New Jersey. His dam, DeLancey's imported racer. 

 Ten pounds was offered for one of his colts, at ten days old, at Lanes- 

 borough, and it is affirmed that he sired sixteen colts in one day, at 

 Springfield. He is in his prime, in fine order, bright bay, fifteen 

 hands high, trots and canters very light ; the price is low and so is 

 the price of shipping horses ; one thing ought to be in proportion 

 to another. SELAH NORTON. 



East Hartford, April 26, 1791." 



This was followed by the announcement in the same paper, June 

 6, 1791 : "Beautiful Bay will not cover at East Hartford this season". 



Mr. Linsley, who had not seen the Fishkill account, in 1870, of 

 the capture of the horse, inserting this advertisement, says : 



" In the above advertisement, it is stated that he had been kept 

 at Springfield, which corroborates the statement of John Morgan. 



"The fact that True Briton was stolen from General DeLancey 

 at King's Bridge seems to admit of little doubt, for the story is con- 

 firmed by many persons living in Connecticut, who well recollect the 

 occurrence, and we have never heard but one version of the story in 

 all its main features, though told by many different individuals. The 

 striking harmony that may be noticed between these accounts of the 

 manner in which True Briton was brought into Connecticut is very 

 strong evidence of their correctness ; and the harmony is itself ac- 

 counted for by the singular manner in which he was obtained. Such 

 a fact as the stealing of a valuable horse from a British officer, and 

 escaping with him, was no every-day occurrence. It would be 

 known to all the surrounding country in a very short time, and the 

 man who stole him, instead of being shunned as a thief, would be 

 respected as the hero of a successful foray into the enemy's country. 

 The fact that the horse was a valuable one, and was, after a time, 

 kept for a stock horse in that section of the country, would tend to 

 keep alive in the minds of those who knew him the singular circum- 

 stances of his coming into the country. Although Mr. John Mor- 



