126 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHEEON HORSE 



Louis Napoleon, when sooth to say the big gray- 

 horse had come to be looked upon more or less as 

 "trading stock," which is well proved by the terms 

 of the long-time deal on which he was acquired by a 

 professional trader in an era when good horses were 

 easily cashed. Sentiment had begun to veer, how- 

 ever, in favor of the imported horse. 



RoUin was somewhat larger than Louis Napoleon, 

 very thick at both ends and in the middle, not at all 

 high-headed or stylish, but short-legged and drafty, 

 and an impressive sire, a peculiar rotundity of barrel 

 persisting in his get and descendants for genera- 

 tions, as well as a tendency to the production of 

 red-roans. H. Dorr Martin, a banker of Woodstock, 

 0., and son of the late Erastus Martin, says of Rollint' 



"He left a lot of good colts. I remember some of 

 them — mostly bays and browns, good blocky fellows. 

 When the rebellion broke out we had some of his 

 stock and they sold like hot cakes. They had good 

 action for such large horses. ' ' 



Despite his increased popularity, however, Eollin 

 was not destined to remain long in the Darby Plains 

 country. Inter-ownership trouble of some sort 

 forced his sale and in 1859 the big bay horse left 

 the new barn that had been built for him on a journey 

 west to Onarga, 111., L. Russ, later of the firm of 

 Russ, McCourtey & Slattery of that point, having 

 purchased him at a price recalled by Mr. Martin as 

 $3,000. Rollin stood in Onarga and nearby towns 

 for several seasons, doing a fine business, and in 

 1865 was bought by Jas. L. Owen, Mokena, 111., as 



