104 THE MORGAN HORSE 



" It has been my privilege in early life to often see the original 

 Morgan horse, called by this name from the fact that Justin Morgan 

 brought him to Randolph, Vermont, from Massachusetts, in the 

 autumn of 1/95. Mr. Morgan intended to apply him to the pay- 

 ment of a note held against him, but not being able to obtain what he 

 considered a reasonable price for him, and having no keeping for 

 him, he let him to a man by the name of Robert Evans, for one 

 year, for the sum of fifteen dollars. Immediately after this, Evans 

 undertook the job of clearing fifteen acres of heavy timbered land for 

 a Mr. Fisk, and, before the first of June following, had completed the 

 job, with no other team but this colt". 



It appears in this letter that the source of Mr. Steele's early in- 

 formation as to the horse came from the same Nathan Nye who in- 

 formed Mr. Benham. Throwing out the obvious error that the horse had 

 but just come to Randolph in the fall of 1795, we think the date and 

 circumstances of his being let to Evans are correctly given. Both Nye 

 and Steele were very careful and reliable men, and not only is the person 

 to whom and the purpose for which he was let given, but the price 

 for which he was let and the name of the man for whom the job was 

 done are also stated. Moreover, it is very probable that he did intend 

 to apply him to the payment of a note, for it is understood that the 

 horse finally went to William Rice to pay a debt. 



It will be recalled that Mr. Davis said, page 99, that Jonathan 

 Shepard of Montpelier claimed to have had the horse a year or so. 

 The following passage appears in " The History of Montpelier", 

 published in 1860, and written by Mr. D. P. Thompson, well known 

 as the author of the popular romances, "The Green Mountain 

 Boys", "The Rangers, or Tory's Daughter", "The Money Diggers", 

 etc. : 



"Jonathan Shepard of Montpelier built the first blacksmith 

 shop in Montpelier village. Some years after, he sold out his shop 

 and custom to James Hawkins, taking his (Hawkins') farm, and let- 

 ting Hawkins have, too, the first Morgan horse ever known in Ver- 

 mont or elsewhere". 



In a note at the end of the page Mr. Thompson says : 



"Mr. Shepard is still living (1860) and Mr. Shepard's statement 

 in regard to the horse is that he purchased him of a man in Wood- 

 stock for about two hundred dollars, a very large price at that time. 

 The man in Woodstock had the horse of one Justin Morgan, a man 

 of that section who reared him from a colt. Mr. Shepard states of 

 his own knowledge that Justin Morgan owned the mare that brought 

 the colt; that she was a great traveler", etc. 



