134 A HISTORY OF THE PEECHERON HORSE 



he imported. It is to the courtesy of his son and 

 successor, T. L. Bigelow, that this history is indebted 

 for the portrait of Pleasant Valley Bill and for much 

 authentic information gathered from his own per- 

 sonal recollections and the papers belonging to the 

 old firm, dating back to 1851 and including the orig- 

 inal documents in French relating to the purchase 

 by Mr. Holman of Old Bill and Gray Billy at Kouen 

 in 1851. 



Brown, Bigelow & Co. imported in that year Na- 

 poleon 325, Black Eobert 54, and Duke of France 

 165. Wallace, "Watkins & Co. brought Conqueror 

 109, a big gray horse already referred to in connec- 

 tion with the history of old Doll 540, and Gilmore 

 & Houser had Napoleon 2d 335, later sold to E. Dillon 

 & Co., Normal, 111. The two Ohio firms last men- 

 tioned were later amalgamated into the Marion 

 County Importing Co., which at one time was classed 

 as handling better stallions on the average than any 

 one in the business at the time. "Wat" Watkins 

 was the brains of the coalition, but quit before the 

 ball had been fairly set a-rolling. There is a story 

 told of him in connection with the Illinois State Fair 

 of 1872, which throws light on the state of live stock 

 improvement in that era: 



Decatur was the place of holding the Illinois show 

 that season and substantially all the men interested 

 in draft horses were on hand, the count showing a 

 total of forty-two imported and grade animals on 

 exhibition. These were all lined up in some sort of a 

 parade and "Wat" Watkins happened to be stand- 



