ioo THE MORGAN HORSE 



owned the old Justin Morgan ; that he used him for all kinds of work ; 

 that he could take him out of the team and run him against any 

 horse they could bring on, and beat every time. Mr. Shepard said 

 he traded for this horse. Mr. Shepard was a truthful man and I sup- 

 pose it was as he said. The Justin Morgan was a blood bay horse 

 with black mane and tail. He sired a very good and even lot of 

 horses, sound, smart and speedy. 



"Figure Eagle was a bay horse, fifteen and one-fourth hands, 

 I IOO to 1 2OO pounds, a thick-set, heavy horse, bred by Captain 

 Farnham of Tunbridge. He was sold to a man at Barre when not 

 more than ten years old, I think, and was poisoned soon after. I 

 think that Figure Eagle looked the best on parade of any horse I 

 have ever seen. 



"In my earliest recollection about horses, it was claimed that 

 the original Justin Morgan was Arabian ; he was also claimed to be 

 of other blood and there was quite a controversy about it. My re- 

 collection is that Mr. Shepard said he traded for Justin Morgan; 

 that he did not keep him more than a year or a year and a half, and 

 that he bred him to some mares. I used to take a good many horses 

 down the river to Hartford and Springfield". 



These gentlemen were both horsemen, very reliable and intel- 

 ligent, and old residents in Barnard, which adjoins Royalton, where 

 the Justin Morgan stood, and Bethel, long the home of VVoodbury 

 Morgan. It is noticeable that they both stated, and wholly from their 

 recollection, that the Justin Morgan came from Connecticut, and 

 one said from Hartford ; agreeing exactly with the advertisement of 

 the Figure horse. The substitution of the word Figure for Morgan, 

 in Figure Eagle, is also very significant, as the horse referred to is 

 without question the one so well known as Morgan Eagle, sire of 

 Lady Sutton(2:3o) and grandsire of Magna Charta. What Mr. 

 Davis said as to Jonathan Shepard's owning the Justin Morgan will 

 be found very pertinent when we come to trace the history of the 

 horse. 



Mr. Charles W. Bliss of Royalton, born in 1815, lived next 

 neighbor to General Lovell Hibbard, long since deceased. Both were 

 interested in Morgan stock, and each had a son of Woodbury 

 Morgan for service; Mr. Bliss having charge of the Bliss Horse, owned 

 by his father, John Bliss; and General Hibbard owning the horse that 

 has been known by his name. Mr. Bliss, who is now a practical 

 breeder and has long been a leading citizen of Royalton, in a recent 

 interview, said : 



