THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 453 



himself in serviceable condition we considered to 

 be of decided economic importance on the ranch. 

 Our Percherons, as the result of their activity 

 proved surer than any other draft horses we used. 

 Our Percheron stallions proved to be the most pre- 

 potent of any draft sires we ever used. So marked 

 was their impress on the range mares that the 

 Percheron foals could be picked out without diffi- 

 culty or question." 



Jericho 12609 (18827) was one of the first stal- 

 lions used. Included in the importation made by 

 Mr. Huidekoper in 1889, he was a high-class 

 horse, heavy-boned, with great finish, and weighed 

 over a ton. He was a horse of showyard cal- 

 iber in use on a ranch, and while his merits seemed 

 wasted in some degree, his type was so distinctive 

 that he proved an extremely valuable sire on the 

 purebred mares, as well as on the grades. One of 

 the best stallions used later was Rival 22471, bred 

 on the ranch and sired by Jericho. Although 

 range-bred he weighed over a ton and was a beaut- 

 ifully balanced, deep-bodied, heavy-boned, sym- 

 metrical horse of real showyard character. Peer 

 14379 was another range-bred sire of much the 

 same type, but smaller. 



The Percheron sires used by the Little Missouri 

 Horse Co. were so notably successful that the draft 

 stallions of other breeds were soon discarded. The 

 colts by the Percheron sires were uniform in type, 

 whether from large or small mares, and were so 

 like the sires in conformation, symmetry, quality 

 and spirit that they proved to be durable, saleable 



