JUSTIN MORGAN 81 



origin of True Briton he does not say that he was raised by Gen. De 

 Lancey, though he no doubt believed so, but with commendable cau- 

 tion he says : 'He (True Briton) was said to be raised by Gen. DeLan- 

 cey, commander of the refugee troops on Long Island, and ridden by 

 him in the Revolution. It is said that one Smith stole the horse from 

 the general at King's Bridge, while the general was in the tavern, 

 ran him across the bridge and took him to the American army, near 

 White Plains, and sold him to Joseph Ward of Hartford, Connecti- 

 cut. It was said at that time that he was sired by the noted imported 

 horse called the Traveler, said to be kept in New Jersey'. Again, 

 when he comes to speak of Ward, he says positively that Ward was 

 a merchant and kept the horse three or four years for a saddle and 

 carriage horse, and traded him off to Norton, etc., for these facts 

 were within his own knowledge and he was certain. Again, when he 

 comes to speak of what became of the colt, we observe the same cau- 

 tion. He says: T have always understood that Morgan kept the 

 colt for a stud at Randolph, and was very celebrated for his stock'. 

 The considerate reader of this letter will not fail to see that it con- 

 tains the strongest evidence of the honesty and sincerity of John 

 Morgan, and that it shows (which is nearly as valuable in such a 

 matter) that John Morgan thoughtfully and carefully distinguished 

 between what he had a personal knowledge of, and what he believed 

 on the statements of others. If all inquirers on this subject had 

 used the same care, much error would have been avoided." 



The error in dates did not prevent Mr. Linsley from arriving at a 

 logical as well as a correct conclusion as to the sire ; but he stum- 

 bles badly over this provoking mistake when he comes to the dam, 

 as follows (page 125) : 



" With regard to the pedigree of the dam of the Justin Morgan, 

 the only statement we remember to have seen is that published by 

 F. A. Weir, as we have already given it. If this pedigree is correct, 

 the dam must have been at least three-eighths thoroughbred. But 

 there is a grave mistake in the very first sentence of the account pub- 

 lished by Mr. Weir, that very materially diminishes the credit that 

 might, perhaps, otherwise attach to the rest of the history. He 

 says: 'The dam of the Justin Morgan horse, at the time he 

 was sired, was owned by Justin Morgan himself at Springfield, Massa- 

 chusetts, where he then lived;' and he says (as was no doubt true) 

 that he was foaled in 1793, consequently he was sired in 1792 ; but 

 Mr. Morgan, as we have already shown, removed from Springfield to 

 Randolph, Vermont, with his family in 1788, and remained constantly 



