FIRST PEENCH HORSES IN AMERICA 127 



whose property he died six years later. He was the 

 second imported stallion in Illinois and quite a num- 

 ber of mares by Louis Napoleon were sent from Taze- 

 well, McLean and La Salle counties to be bred to 

 him. His get included few grays, bays and browns 

 persisting strongly except when the red-roan cropped 

 out, so that his descendants could not be readily 

 followed, except by records privately kept, among 

 the native stock of the region where he stood for 

 service. It is certain, though, that Eollin was a 

 successful sire and did much to improve the farm 

 horses of northern Illinois. 



Darby Plains Importation of 1857. — Along in the 

 later '50 's Ohio stockmen were very active in the 

 effort to improve their sheep and cattle and in 1857 

 the Darby Plains Importing Co., the membership of 

 which included stockmen in Union, Madison and 

 Champaign counties, dispatched representatives to 

 Europe. In this delegation were Henry Guy, 

 Mechanicsburg, and Charles FuUington, Milford 

 Center. After they had acquired cattle and other 

 stock in Britain they crossed the channel to France 

 in quest of Merino sheep and horses. Journeying 

 together to Eouen Mr. Fullington left Mr. Guy and 

 continued further afield after sheep. 



Mr. Guy relates personally that having taken up 

 a coign of vantage in front of an inn in Eouen he sat 

 for days watching the horses as they were driven 

 to town from the surrounding country. Finally he 

 saw a four-horse outfit, the leaders of which just 

 filled his eye. After much haggling he succeeded in 



