GEORGE WILKES. 249 



take the colt away, but sold him to Jones for $3,000 

 and a gray mare valued at $1,000. Jones afterwards 

 sold him to Z. E. Simmons. This was in the fall of 

 i860. 



"Next spring there was much talk about the fast 

 trotters that were in Jones' stable at the Union 

 Course. There were three of which great things 

 were expected. In regard to two of them such ex- 

 pectations have been answered. The brown stallion 

 was one, the bay gelding, Nutwood, another; and 

 from these two first proceeded that great volume of 

 fame for their sire, Hambletonian, which has since 

 well-nigh filled the land. But the common talk then 

 ran upon the Alley colt (Dexter), who was the third 

 in the stable. It was generally thought that this was 

 the fiver of whom Dame Rumor had it that he could 

 trot in 2 m. 17 s., or thereabout. One bright May 

 morning, at the request of Z. E. Simmons, I met him 

 and H. D. Felter at Jones' stable. The Alley colt 

 was shown as the wonder ; but upon modestly inti- 

 mating an opinion to Simmons and Jones . that the 

 brown stallion was worth about a field full of such 

 as the other, they confidentially admitted that he was 

 the real "Simon Pure." He was just then shaping 

 into the fine horse he has since become, and showed 

 quite as much speed in rushes as he has ever done 

 since. In size, make and shape, as well as color, he 

 resembled the illustrious little four-mile horse, 

 Whalebone, who forms, with his sire, Waxy, the great 

 double link between Eclipse and the best race horses 

 of modern times. This struck me the moment I laid 

 eyes on him. There was more stuff in him than in 

 half the big horses, and so it is with (Robert Filling- 



