632 THE MORGAN HORSE 



Slicer, Baltimore, Md., 1877 ; Fred Waddy, Accomack Co., Va. ; Wm. Hopps, 

 Baltimore, Md. The following article by E. C. Walker (Veritas) is from the 

 "Chicago Horseman", 1886: 



" It is a pleasant task for me to bring forward the following array of 

 facts in the career of Walker's Morrill. It was Westward Ho ! for both 

 of us in 1874; he, as a four-year-old, and I well, let that pass. After 

 five days' travel, shunting and jolting, we arrived at Coldwater, Mich., 

 short of provisions, but provided with thousands of large circulars heralding 

 the claims of the southern Michigan Stud Stables, of which Walker's Morrill 

 was the junior member. A copy of that poster (circular) is now before me, 

 and as the horse was never so strong as he is today, it may be interesting to 

 recite what I then said of him, viz. : ' He is a very fast and promising colt, and 

 being descended from a race of trotters for generations, his get must be fast 

 and fine-looking. He is a youngster of remarkable power, combined with 

 smoothness and finish all over, and in motion is very attractive, his gait being 

 as square and level as ever was seen. He is a counterpart of his sire in size, 

 color, form and general appearance. He was got by Winthrop Morrill, out 

 of the dam of Sam Curtis 2 132^ (since lowered his record to 2 128). Win- 

 throp Morrill's dam was by a son of Royal Morgan ; 2d dam by Morgan 

 Eagle ; 3d dam by Bulrush, son of Justin Morgan ; and 4th dam by 

 Kasson Horse. Thus I wrote of Walker's Morrill nearly 13 years ago, and 

 while on the subject of his sire, may quote from H. T. Helm's work, 

 entitled 'American Roadsters and Trotting Horses', as follows: 'Win- 

 throp Morrill is a trotting sire of remarkable success. He stands side by 

 side with Gen. Knox and Daniel Lambert' ; and from J. W. Thompson's 

 'Book of Noted Maine-Bred Horses', I extract the following: 'His get are 

 uniformly of great courage and excellent trotting action. He has to his 

 credit nine in the 2 :3O list, with a sufficient number between 2 :4O and 2 :3O 

 to make a remarkable showing as a sire of speed. By force of his own merit 

 he won a place of honor and distinction'. The dam of Walker's Morrill was 

 got by the Eaton Horse. Mr. Thompson states that the Eaton Horse was a 

 horse of immense size and substance, 16^ hands, weight 1450 pounds, and 

 that his daughters were producers of fast and useful animals. But to the 

 career of Walker's Morrill. He stood in Hillsdale, Mich., the seasons of 

 1875 an d '76. After his stud season of 1875 he started in four races, and 

 won three of them, taking second money in the fourth. In 1876 he made a 

 full spring season, and 10 days afterward, viz., July 27, at Grand Haven, 

 Mich., began his series of victories, most of them from six to eight-heat 

 races. Notably, at Niles, Mich., where he trotted the fourth and fifth heats 

 in 2 137, beating Edward 2 =19, and others. The following spring I sold him 

 to P. M. Slicer of Baltimore, Md. He left some excellent colts in southern 

 Michigan. Chief among them are Kitty Van 2 124, and F. M. Halloway's 

 rangy bay stallion, Brick, good for 2 :3O. Misfortune overtook his new 

 owner, and Morrill's talents were buried for many years on the eastern shore 

 of Virginia and Maryland. Luckily, however, his present owner, Mr. Wm. 

 Hopps, a successful merchant of Baltimore, came to his rescue, and in one 

 short season proved his superior gifts as a sire of speed, stamina and trotting 

 tenacity. The proof was furnished by his colts at the fall meeting of 1886. 

 At Oxford, Penn., Gray Morrill, 16 hands, won a seventh heat and the race 

 in 2 138^, and took ist premium in the showing. He also demonstrated 

 that he could beat 2 :3O on a mile track. At Easton, Md., bay mare Mollie 

 Morrill, 15^ hands, four years old, after dropping two heats, defeated Cy- 

 press 2 =30^ and others, and easily made a record of 2 :34^. Clay Mor- 

 rill, bay colt, 151^ hands, foaled 1883, record 2 134 *^, proved a winner at 

 Dover, Del., beating, among others, Mollie Morrill. They trotted neck and 



