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TIIE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTIAND, APRIL 21, 1912.
fimous Equines Of Long Ao Leave Fast Progeny
Many Notable
een
Bred In State
Racers nave
Pioneers Brought Purpose to Develop a Noble Breed of Horses
and Turf History Grew Apace Altamont and Other Famous
Sins, Produce Many Fast Performers Some Oregon Horsemen
and Their Achievements.
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77z43.S732g. Oregon Soj-jejS" J&rpi'fz ort fj?a
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BT G- A- WESTGATE.
iHKRK Is a certain persistency
about a horseman. Ha ts apt to
find his share of bad luck. In fact.
career Is full of It. But. Just be
yond. Is the time when a certain colt
In the pasture Is to pad up the family
fortunes. The old man sees his picture
in the Horse Review, with floral horse
shoe and other accompaniments. It is
tlia hopefulness of the horseman and
t!ie breeder that keeps alive Interest In
the harness horse. In the midst of vast
exploitation for mechanical substitutes.
To the born horseman the horse Is
the king of beasts and the noblest of
the four-footed, while a gocd pair, on
a smooth road. Is the pleasantest earth
ly means of transportation. Oregon has
had a share of this type of humanity.
Ortgon horsemen live ions and reach
Bt!:ov age still with a held on the
relr.1. Lute Llndssy Is the dean cf the
corps, and Is an active roan, though
we.'l up In the eighties. Pap Mcshler Is
in California, halo and hearty. The
Chi-ds family cow comprises several
gcr.e-a'.ions of drivers. John Sawyer
is but a boy and appears every Fall for
the word when the races are called.
U oli-t'.me Oresron breeders have
joined on, but their wor't remains, and
f.o (trains of e".ulne blood they estab
l'shed are still potent, as the sum
tr.srloa show.
The late 5f. D. Wisdom was the
Northwest historian of the harness
hone. For many years he wrote,
planned and directed for the best In
terests of the turf. To his view, the ,
Northwest was the natural home of the
horse and in his vision, better blood,
better racing programmes, witn tne
elimination of objectional track feat
ures, would Interest good men In the
gsir.e and keep them there. It Is a
mistake to assume that a wellbred trot
ter Is a mere racing machine. He Is a
business horse, a fun horse, a work
Sorse. a war horse and can answer more
ra'.is than any other, besides man. In
ihc "creaturehoodJ
In the states where men really live,
where regard 'for out of doors Is a
principle of conduct, the horse Is an in
stitution. In the Northwest. In the
South. In California and through the
Hlii- Grass region, the parts of the
I'nion with most romantic flavor in
their history, the horse has been and
l.i held In high esteem. The pioneers
of Oregon had In their number men
who brought to the new soil turf tradi
tions and a purpose to develop here a
noble tribe of horses.
C at Faaou Ileraea.
So came Oregon Pathfinder, Rock
wood. Hambletonlan Mambrlno. Fred
Hambleton, Planter, Autocrat and Alta
mont. to become In their hour "lords
of the ascendent."
Turf history in Oregon was easier
to make, it seems, than to write. A
well-known local trainer commenced a
while ago to set down his experiences
and recollections, but the first chapter
noon became an orphan, for the hoot
marks of the early days are hard to
find. Ghosts there are. four-footed and
swift, along the old White House road,
at Witch Hazel. Vancouver, HHlsboro,
F road mead. Salem. Albany and about
the tracks east of the mountains, for a
horses has his claim to spookhood quite
as much as another, and the equine
greatness of the past Is not departed.
At least, this theory Js held where the
Winter smoke curls above the training
quarters.
Old-timers in Oregon liked the long
gun and the fishing rod. Also, they
liked the harness horse. Good blood,
for the times, was brought out and
from the foundation of many years
ago soma really notable race perform
ers rose.
It is hard to say on which side of
the Columbia certain horses were
foaled, and for proper purposes of ap
preciation It is fair to consider North
west horses, rather than merely those
bred in what is now the Ctate of Ore
gon. Mostly, though. Oregon breeders
and Oregon horses are to be considered.
Jay Beach. Van De Lashmutt. Thom
as H. Tongue and Ladd tc Reed had
a large place in foundation breeding.
The sirs that has produced the most
speed in Oregon 1 Altamont H9i, with.
fit
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Jiace Of ! . Oassz Sj3- zxi: 2Ves zsi per:
a wagon record of 1:2 3-4. Altamont
was a bay or brown stallion foaled In
1875. bred by Colonel R. West. George
town, Kentucky, and brought to the
West by Jay Beach, then of Fort
Klamath, Or. His sire was the famous
Almont 33. son of Alexander's Ab
dullah 15. sire of Goldsmith Maid. ::1,
and a family builder. Altamont's dam
was by Brown Chief, son of Mambrlno
Chief, his other maternal foundation
being thoroughbred. Altamont was a
horse of medium size, good finish and
fixed his type upon his descendants tn
a remarkably potent manner. His
claims to greatness have been quite
generally admitted and his name is a
household word with harness horsemen.
His opportunities were limited for
many years, as good mares were scarce
and Altamont rose to greatness
through merit, lacking the prompt
ing of wealthy ownership.
Fast Stock la Bred.
The Altamonts were a game race, in
clining to splclness of disposition, liv
ing to old age and able to come back
in long-drawn-out races. Of 2:10 per
formers. Altamont sired seven, the
pacers Chehalls, 2:04 'i; Del Norte, 1:08;
Ella T, 2:08U. Doc Sperry. 2:0; Path
mont, 2:0S4. and the trotters Ala
meda, 2:04. and Altao, 2:09. Daugh
ters of Altamont produced five In the
2:10 list, and his sons Chehalls, Del
Norte and others are recoglnxed In the
"Great Table." It is a curious circum
stance that much of Altamont's great
ness is ahared by the famous brood
mare Tecora. who, mated with him.
produced eight performers In the list.
Including Chehalls. 2:04 Si. and Del
Norte, 2:0S, and a daughter of Alta
mont and Tecora, Beulah, is the dam of
The Zop, 2:09, one of the fastest trotters
in Oregon history; a hsndsome stallion
bred by Jasper Reaves, of Cornelius,
Or., raced through the East and later
sold for export. Tecora has been
termed the "Beautiful Belle of the
North. Another matron whose blood
united famously with that of Altamont
was Sally M. known as Sally-Come-Up,
and the dam of Alrao, 2;0, and Path
moot, p. 2:0 4. '
What speed Tecora had Is not known
to the writer. But Lute Undaey Is au
thority for the statement that Sally M
was a mare with nitx-h speed and a
good bruaher on the White House Koad.
Pt tsf mora famous descendants el
Altamont and Tecora. Del Norte re
mains, in a hale old age, near Walla
Walla. Altacora, 2:13, is In Portland.
Chehalls, 2:04 4. a stallion of rare beau
ty Is dead. He appeared In many cam
paigns' and in addition to the usual
routine, for a time held the world's
two-mile pacing record. If memory
serves, of 4:19Vi. taken at the State
Fair grounds track.
Del Norte raced his turn and was
then put to "guldeless',' exhibitions, with
a mile claimed In 2:04 In this way of
going. Altao was a mighty racehorse
and Alameda a sweet-going trotter and'
one of the handsomest of the Altamont
family. The Altamonts are going on
through second and third generations.
What this horse might have done at
Palo Alto, or some such establishment.
Is an Interesting problem. Perhaps he
was cast for his Oregon environment,
but evidently would have been one of
the world's really great sires with op
portunity. Altamont died some ten
years ago in California, having been for
a long time "like Homer and like Be
llsarlus. blind."
Klamath, 2:07H, by Morookus. son of
Altamont, wa one of the world's fa
mous trotters in bis day and was per
haps the greatest trotter of about 1896
or 1897. Klamath was bred at Olene,
Or, and took his record at Columbus,
Ohio, August 5, 1896.
Svsse Enlsut Oregoa Breeders.
Van B. De Lashmutt, once Mayor of
Portland, had at Witch Hazel a horse
farm famous In Its day, and WMch
Hazel colts and matured horses were
first In many races. Here was the
home of Hambletonlan Mambrlno 5241,
a horse of which much was expected,
and which sired Carlye Came. 2:114,
and several other speedy animals.
Blondle was another Witch Hazel farm
stallion. Mr. De Lashmutt was an en
thusiastic horseman, and probably Is
yet. Pathfinder, Rockwood, Autocrat
and Caution were useful sires.
Tbos. H. Tongue, who for several
terms, and until the time of his death,
ably represented the First District In
Congress, was a horseman of wide in
formation and bred many good ones.
Fred Hambleton, 2:26, Planter, 2:18, son
of Pancoast and. later, Lovelace, 2:20,
a fashionably bred sire, were used at
the Tongue Farm. Loveluco sired Lord
LovtUeo, fattest Oreson bred, pater, aa
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Chehalls. 2:0 4 '4. hails In the books from
Vancouver, Wash. It remained ' for
Lord Lovelace to meet the crack south,
ern pacers a few years ago In the pac
ing classic at the Oregon State Fair
and defeat them both in the mud and
the dry, which was certainly pacing
quite a bit.
Dr. T. W. Harris, of Eugene, a phys
ician learned in horse lore, a judge at
horse shows, to whom the horse game
In all Its phases was Interesting,
brought out a number of trotters.
Memo, son of Sidney, was a stallion, he
expected much from. Memo sired hand
some roadsters and many of his get
had speed. A daughter of Memo pro
duced the fast pacer Charley D 2:064..
Dr. Harris at one time owned Ante
volo and Farosltus Wilkes. Some of the
old-time horsemen started at Hamble
tonlan 10 and went back In their the
ories, but njany others were and are
strictly Up . to date. Lady Jones,
2:074, the only trotter to defeat The
Harvester, 2:01, was raised here by J.
A. Jones, of Newberg, her sire being
Captain McKlnney, also being owned
by Mr. Jones.
To this recollection Mack Mack, 2:08,
la the fastest Oregon-bred trotter.
Mack Mack was a big bay gelding,
bred in the Umpqua country, and met
the good trotters of the Grand Circuit.
He is a son of McKlnley, 2:114. king
of speed sires.
McKlnney spent several Springs in
Oregon, as did his distinguished sons,
Zombro. 2:11, and Zolock, 2:054. Belle
mont, 2:094, daughter of Daisy Q.
Hill, by Altamont, a famous race mare,
waa the result of Zombro's first season
In this state, Diablo, p., 2:094. a
great sire, also spent a couple of years
at Salem, and some of his Northwest
descendants are most promising race
material.
Last year Captain C. P. McCan. of
Hood River, a. young man of wealth,
who was attracted to the Oregon coun
try and established his home in the
happy valley of the apples, determined
to become a breeder of fine horses. So
he bought The Patchen Boy (3), 2:10i.
Kood pactr and a successful giro and ,
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a son of the century sire, Wilkes Boy.
Fsancis J.,-p., 2:08, added laurels last
season to his house.
Captain McCan wished to bring a
trotting sire of the first rank to the
Pacific Coast, so he attended the New
York sale In 1911 and paid $11,000 for
The Bondsman, sire of the world's
champion 3-year-old trotter, Colorado
E.. 2:044, and many other distin
guished race horses and futurity, win
ners. So The Bondsman is owned In
Oregon. Paul Wessinger a few years
ago bought Hal B., 2:04. son of Hal
Dillard, 2:04, own brother to Fanny
Dlllard, 2:04. Hal B. was the great
est Grand Circuit pacer of 1899 and at
the time Mr. Wessinger purchased him
Hal B.'s colts were beginning to write
their names In the hall of fame. In
1911 ten of the Hal B.'s took race rec
ords, stamping Hal B. as the greatest
pacing sire of the year. In his list
are Hal B., Jr., 2:03; Hal Raven, 2:03,
and 3T. others with fast records. Hal B.
is now owned by S. J. Vaughn and W.
A. Kendall, of Canby, Or.
Probably the largest breeding estab
lishment in the world devoted to the
standard-bred and Morgan horse is
Brook Nook Ranche, Montana, owned
by a Portland man, C. X. Larrabee.
At Brook Nook some 15,000 acres of
meadow and pasture form the home of
hundreds of matrons and colts, carry
ing the rich blood of George Wilkes,
Mambrlno Patchen, Robert McGregor
and the historic family lines of the
Black Hawk Morgans. At present
Bonaday Farm, near Roseburg, Or.,
owned by Frank E. Alley, is probably
the largest Oregon harness horse es
tablishment. At Bonaday Farm such
stallions as Sonoma Boy, 2:20, brother
to Sonoma Girl, 2:044; Bonaday (2),
2:274, scion of the Wilkes-Electloneer
families, with a royal band of brood
mares, are kept In meadowed luxury
and hope rests that a future world's
champion may como from Bonaday
Farm.
N. K. West, La Grande. Or., was for
many years a larj?e breeder. Mr. West
brought out the good Onward stallion.
The Commonwealth, 2:13, and devel
oped Satin Royal. S.l&ft, one f Js i
most handsome representatives of the
harness horse produced in Oregon and
a descendant of old Sally M. W. L.
Whitmore, of Pomeroy, Wash., bred
many winners. Including Vinnie Mann,
p., 2:11A. Judge Thomas S. Brents, of
Walla Walla, had the rare distinction
of breeding from Laurelia, by Caution,
two 2:10 performers.
There are others, not a few, who
liked the horse and with whom the
kindly sentiment Is not abated. Oregon
race meetings have grown to Grand
Circuit character. Oregon soil, climate,
hay and oats tend to produce and ma
ture good horses and thera Is still en
couragement to follow the horse In
dustry, in spite of the inroads of things
mechanical on our roads and streets.
BLOW TO THE BACONIANS
J Documents long Thought Spurious Found to Bo Genuine.
The Bacon-Shakespeare controversy
Is again brought up In Ernest Law's
recent book, "Some' Supposed Shakes
peare Forgeries." Some documents pub
lished 70 years ago by Peter Cunning
ham, the author of the "Story of Nell
Gwyn" and treasurer of the Shakes
peare Society, who in 1842 edited "Ex
tracts From the Accounts of the Rev
els at Court in the Reigns of Eliza
beth and James I," for 60 years have
been considered spurious forged con
temporary evidence that Shakespeare
wrote the plays. Cunningham himself
died a broken man, crushed by the ac
cusation of forgery. Now says the
London Graphic:
That the documents were forged has
ever since been accepted by all Shakes
pearean scholars as an Incontrovertible
fact. Now, however, Mr. Law claims
to have proved them to be absolutely
genuine.
The writing and ink were tested mi
croscopically by Professor James Dob
bie, F. R. S.. chief analyst to the gov
ernment, and head of the state labor
atories, and they have been closely
scrutinized by the greatest paleograph
ers of the present day, by Sir George
Warner, head of the manuscript de
partment of the British Museum; by
Sir Henry Maxwell-Lyte, deputy keep
er of the public records; by other of
ficers in his department, and by Dr.
Wallace, the American scholar and
Shakespearian discoverer.
All these high authorities have ec
cepted without qualification Mr. Law's
conclusions with results that Peter
Cunnlngbm's name Is now entirely
cleared of the charge of forgery
brought against him and the stigma
ftfflxed by. thfl documents half a cen
tury ago completely and once for all
removed.
Sir Sidney Lee, when presiding re
cently at the annual meeting of the
Shakespeare birthplace trustees, de
clared that "Mr. Law has proved Ms
point up to the hilt. He has estab
lished beyond any possibility of doubt
that these suspected papers are per
fectly genuine and that their accounts
of the earliest recorded performances
of "Othello," "Measure for Measure,"
"The Tempest," and "Winter's Tale"
are gospel truths."
"Every Shakespearian student," he
proceeded to say. "is under a deep debt
of gratitude to Mr. Law, for not mere
ly, has he added materially to our
stock of indisputable knowledge of
Shakespeare's work in his own lifetime
but he has relieved an old Shakespear
ian student of an unmerited imputa
tion." "The fact," added Sir Sidney, "that
in. these documents Shakespeare is
mentioned categorically a3 the 'poet
which made the plays' should be es
pecially interesting, if a little disap
pointing, to certain persons who think
that there is no genuine contemporary
evidence of the existence of any such
author." .
James I's Master of the Revels at,
any rate, who read every play before,
licensing it for production and who
was responsible for the mounting of
the performances at court, evidently
had no doubt about the matter, for it
Is duly recorded In 'his account book
that the "poet who mayde the plales"
was "Shaxberd" an his somewhat il
literate clerk spelled the immortal
name. The newly revealed authentic
ity of these documents is indeed alto
gether a rather nasty blow for our
"Baconians," New York Sun,