452 APPENDIX. 



AMERICAN GIRL. 



This renowned mave, a powerful bay, about sixteen hands hij,h, 

 •was bred in Westchester county in this state. She is now twelve 

 years old, and first appearing on the turf when five, in 1867, has 

 been trotting seven years. She was bred by Mr. Philip Travis, 

 and was got by a son of Cassius M. Clay, whose dam's pedigree 

 was unknown. I had this account of Cassius M. Clay's son from 

 Mr. Amos, of Rockland county, who owned the dam of the latter 

 horse and bred him. The pedigree of the dam of American Girl 

 is also unknown. There was one once cut and dried for her, as 

 the daughter of a mare got by imported Trustee, out of a Bell- 

 founder mare, and the dam of the latter by Hardware, son of 

 Messenger. It was all a fable. All that is known of the dam 

 of American Girl is, that she was an old mare from Virginia, 

 purchased for $40 at the breaking out of the war, was brought to 

 Westchester county as one of a truck wagon team by the brother 

 of Philip Travis, was served by the black horse bred by Mr. 

 Amos, in 1861, threw American Girl in 1862, and died while doing 

 laborious service in a brickyard at Kruger's Station on the Hudson 

 River Road. I have no doubt the old mare had good blood in 

 her, though what the sources of it were cannot be ascertained. 

 It happened that Mr. White Travis was in Virginia building 

 bridges, when the upheaval began which preceded the breaking 

 out of the war. Of course he wanted to come home with his 

 family. The lines of travel were impeded and uncertain, and for 

 the purposes of his journey he bought a wagon and two horses, 

 one of which was the old mare in question. Her filly foal by the 

 son of Cassius M. Clay was given to the two sons of Mr. Philip 

 Travis, and they sold her to Mr. Odell. He first trotted her at 

 Newburgh, and then sold her to Messrs. Travis & Mason, brick- 

 makers, of Verplanck's Point, near Peekskill. Travis & Mason, 

 in the course of their dealint^s in New York with brick merchajits. 



