For a period of sixty years the Vermonters bred nothing but Morgans, and during the Civil War Vermont was one of the few places where horses could be obtained. They proved so efficient for cavalry purposes that the State was almost stripped of them. It is well known that the best mounted regiments were on Morgan horses. Their reputation was such that after the war the West Point Academy was furnished with none but Morgans, until about twenty-five years ago the Western horse has been supplied as a substitute, greatly to the detriment of the service. Following the depletion made in 1861-65 came the popularity of the Hambletonian horse to lead the Vermonters into untried experiments of doubtful value. The result was that, by 1890, the pure Morgan horse was found to be the exception, and the few breeders who realized what had been lost began to cherish the remnants of an almost lost race, and prizes were offered for the best Morgans. Mr. Joseph Battell, upon whose investigations this author has founded her historic narrative of the first Morgan horse, gathered with infinite pains all the pedigrees he could find and established The Morgan Horse Register, which is now accepted as the authority. In 1907 the Morgan horse-breeding work of the United States Government received a great impetus when Mr. Battell presented to the Department of Agriculture four hundred acres of fine land lying two miles from Middlebury, Vermont, now known as the Morgan Horse Farm, and equipped with farmhouse, stables, barns, etc., to which were removed all the horses from the Vermont Agricultural Experimental Station, near Burlington. The Morgan horse has always been noted for his longevity, retaining his spirit and vigor in extreme old age. They are free from almost every species of disease, showing their soundness of constitution. They mature early, and are easily kept, because they are very hardy. To-day they show the traits of OLD JUSTIN MORGAN in their docility and symmetry of form, and this Founder of his race, according to Mr. Battell, was but six generations of English breeding from the original Arab stock, including Byerly Turk and Godolphin Arabian. The Morgan horse has quietly won all the honors a grateful people can bestow upon him, and we are glad to greet his embodiment of character in this form. H. K. BUSH-BROWN, (Morgan Horse Club). WASHINGTON, D. C. JUSTIN MORGAN CHAPTER I. EARLY INFLUENCES. Once upon a time--but why should I begin this horse-tale as if it were a mere fairy-tale? It is founded on the story of a real horse in a setting of incidents related in the histories of the various localities in which he lived. Where possible, history has been so closely followed as to use the real names of those vigorous pioneers who helped to make it.