OF THE SADDLE AND SIRLOIN CLUB 117 



he told them they had partaken of the American beef. Thence- 

 forward, he had no difficulty in disposing of American cattle, 

 and became one of the leading factors in the British end of the 

 export cattle trade. 



In 1877 the French firm of T. M. Duche & Sons, commis- 

 sioned him to proceed to Chicago and buy them a cargo of 

 American cattle as an experiment. So successful was this pro- 

 cedure that the early part of 1878 found him again at the 

 Union Stock Yards, buying and shipping fat cattle and sheep 

 to Britain. For several years he spent about nine months out 

 of each twelve at the Chicago market and during this period 

 he studied carefully the horse breeding interests of the Missis- 

 sippi valley. He saw a notable opportunity to introduce a few 

 Shire horses, himself being a breeder of the Cart horse in Eng- 

 land. So successful was his first importation that he quit com- 

 pletely the cattle export trade and devoted his entire time to 

 the introduction and promotion of the Shire horse. As a base 

 for his operations he founded Truman's Pioneer Stud Farm at 

 Bushnell, 111., and became its president. Never having given 

 up his residence in England, he returned to his home after the 

 firm establishment of his American business, leaving its opera- 

 tion in the hands of his sons, J. G., W. E., and H. W. Truman. 

 Thenceforward he handled the English end of his export trade, 

 and purchased and shipped to America numbers of high class 

 winners in the International Shire and Hackney Rings. In addi- 

 tion he has exported many noteworthy Shires, Suffolks and 

 Hackneys to the Argentine. 



In appreciation of his work in the cattle trade, John B. Sher- 

 man (66) named one of the Union Stock Yards fat bullocks 



