Thứ Sáu, 27 tháng 12, 2019

Hammond Gordons

BY JAMES H. HAMMOND
Strange  as  it may  seem,  the  history  of  the Hammond Gordons  could  be written  in  a  single  sentence,  for  the  Gordons  were  made  from  two  well known strains, but since many versions have been given as to the true origin of  the  two  strains  from which  the Gordons were made  I  shall  endeavor  to give a correct history of both.
It is a peculiar fact that if a man report something he has seen with his own eyes there are those in a distant land who will rise up to deny the report of the eye witness, so, even  though  I was  intimately acquainted with  the men who were  most  prominent  in  founding  and  establishing  the  reputations  of  the strains I am about to mention, I do not expect everyone to agree with me. As I  am  nearing  my  three  score  and  ten  you  will  realize  that  it  was  not impossible  for me  to have  firsthand knowledge of many of  the  facts  I  shall presently set forth, but in the outset I want it distinctly understood that I will not take issue with those who refuse to accept as authentic the events herein enumerated.  I have but  two  reasons  for writing  this article; First,  to comply with  the  wish  of  Grit  and  Steel;  and,  Second,  to  do  what  I  can  towards establishing a permanent record of the strains that have been, and are famous today. If  through my  feeble efforts  just one man  is benefited  then  I shall be adequately compensated.
First I shall endeavor to give you, as briefly as possible, a correct account of the origination of the great strain known as Warhorses.
In  Augusta,  Georgia,  there  once  lived  a  man  by  the  name  of  Barney Dunbar, who, in that particular period, was considered the wealthiest man in that entire section. Mr. Dunbar was a great fancier and lover of game cocks, though  he  never  fought  them.  About  1850  he  sent  to  John  Stone,  of Marblehead, Massachusetts,  and  purchased  a  trio  of  Stone’s  Irish  Gilders. These fowl were placed with Mr. Tom Wilson at Beech Island, S. C., where they were to be bred for Dunbar. After a trial of a few seasons these Gilders proved to be absolutely game. 
In  the  meantime,  Col.  Thos.  G.  Bacon,  of  Edgefield,  S.  C.,  discovered some wonderful  fighting cocks  in Baltimore, Maryland. Col. Bacon brought some of  these cocks  to his Carolina plantation and  they  turned out  to be  the greatest  winners  shown  in  that  section  up  to  that  time.  Occasionally  one would  run  away  despite  their wonderful  fighting  and  cutting  qualities. Col. Bacon and other prominent cockers decided to try a cross of these Baltimore fowls  on  the  Irish  Gilders,  thinking  they  would  probably  get  the  fighting qualities  of  the  Baltimore  fowl,  (Burnt  Eyes)  together  with  the  staying qualities of the Gilders, and thereby produce a great strain of fowls.
So  the Burnt Eye cock from Baltimore was put over  the Irish Gilder hens that  came  from Massachusetts  and  a number of  stags were  raised  from  this mating.
It will  be  remembered  that  the  Irish Gilder  hens were  placed with  Tom Wilson and so it was he who raised the stags from the Burnt Eye cock and the Gilder hens. Wilson was known  to his friends as “Fowl” Wilson on account of his consumate fondness for game fowl. It so happened that Tom wanted a saddle,  which,  in  that  day  and  time,  was  a  most  important  item  in  every would-be “traveling” man’s equipment In “the good old days” a man seldom bought or  traded  for  anything  as  it was  the  custom  then  to  “swap.” At  this time,  about  which  I  write,  one  Peter  Sherron,  a  policeman  in  Augusta, Georgia, had a saddle for which he had no particular need, but being a fancier of game fowl he very much wanted one of the stags of the Burnt Eye-Gilder cross. So, it naturally followed that Tom and Peter “swapped.”
In 1856 at the Old Shades on Ellis Street in Augusta, Georgia, Bacon and Bohler fought a main against Franklin, of Columbia, S. C. Bacon and Bohler used a number of these half Gilder, half Burnt Eye birds, among them being the Sherron stag for which  the saddle was  traded, now grown  to a cock and making  top weight at 6.04. This cock met his opponent high  in  the air; both came  to  the  ground  shuffling  and  fell  apart  as  if  in  a  dying  condition, whereupon  the  half  Burnt  Eye,  half  Gilder  vomited  a  mouthful  of  blood, staggered over  to  the Columbia cock and  shuffled. The Sherron cock killed the Columbia cock in this terrific shuffle. Peter Sherron, the proud owner of this wonderful  bird, was  so  enthused  he  did  not wait  for Henry Hicks,  the handler, to handle the cock, but jumped in the pit, grabbed the cock up, raised him above his head and yelled: “Be faither-rs! But ain’t he a War-rhorse?”
This  Sherron  cock was  a  typical  Burnt  Eye  in  appearance:  Black  body, dark legs, black eyes, lemon hackle. In blood he was, as has been explained, one-half Burnt Eye, one-half Irish Gilder. This was the cock, and this was the occasion, of the origin of the strain of fowls called “War-horses”
The Burnt Eyes  and Gilders were  so  entirely  different  in  every  detail  of appearances that the off-spring from this cross (the birds that were destined to become Warhorses)  came many  colors:  Some  black-breasted  reds with  the white  fluff,  coloring  after  the  Irish Gilder  cocks;  some  brown-red with  red eyes and some with black eyes; others exactly the same as the Sherron cock, a description of which has been given.
Col. Bacon seemed to have fancied the brown-reds, and on my visits to his yards most of the fowls I saw there were of that type. Old Col. John Fair also fancied this type. Hopkinson fancied the darker fowl; his hens came jet black and  cocks  the  type  of  the  original Warhorse  founder—the Baltimore Burnt Eye cock. And so  it was  that many people had  these fowls (Warhorses)  just as they carried them from that yard, of just such color as appealed most to the taste of each purchaser. And so  it  is,  too,  that many people  today may have pure Warhorses, yet strikingly different in appearances.
Having established the facts as to the foundation of the strain of Warhorses we will no longer refer to these chickens as Burnt Eye-Gilder cross, but will call them by their rightful name: Warhorses. As  proof  of  the  splendid  fighting  qualities  of  the Warhorses,  and  as  a tribute  to  one  of  the  greatest  feeders  and  handlers  it  has  ever  been  my privilege  to  know,  I  want  to  state  that  the  Warhorses  were  used  in  42 important mains, winning  40  and  losing  2.  Forty-one  of  these mains were          fought  by  Bacon  and  Bohler,  with  Henry  Hicks,  half  brother  to  Bohler, feeding  and handling. Of  this number only one was  lost,  this  to Dr. Gee  at Selma,  Alabama,  about  45  or  46  years  ago.  About  25  years  ago  the Warhorses  lost  one main  to  S.  S. Moore,  but  Bacon  and  Bohler were  not interested in this main; Hicks fought the main on his own account, using the Warhorse  cocks.  Right  here  I would  like  to  say  that while  Hicks  fed  and handled all the mains for Bohler and Bacon, it is my belief that Hicks never
bred any cocks. He was not a breeder, not even a fancier in the true sense of the word,  but  as  a  feeder  and  handler  he  ranked  among  the  very  best  the world has ever known.
Some years  ago  I had  the misfortune  to  lose my house by  fire,  at which time all letters and notes I had were destroyed, so I am, of necessity, writing entirely from memory. It is possible that there may be some little inaccuracies in  dates, but  the  sum  and  substance  of  this  history  is  correct.  And  this represents  one  side  of  the Gordons.  The  other  side  of  the  Gordons is represented by Col. Alfred Aldrich’s Mugwumps, and these two strains make up the blood lines of the Hammond Gordons except a thirty-second infusion of Rood Warhorse, which, no  doubt, was  a  direct  descendant  of  the same Warhorses used by me  in  founding my Gordons. The Rood cock  resembled very much  the Bacon cocks and  I am  sure  there was  little difference  in  the blood except that this Rood cock had a round head, and it was from him that the round head is now seen in the Gordons. In color he was brown-red.
Greenwood, S. C., March 1, 1919.
Mr. C. R. Wilson,
 Allendale, S. C.
Friend Wilson:—The  request  that  you  have made  of me  to write  out  for publication the origin and breeding of the Mugwump strain of game fowls is one that has frequently come to me within the last five years, but leisure and inclination would never come simultaneously and so  I have never complied until now.
Referring  to  the origin of  the Mugwump  strain of game  fowls,  I will  say        that back in the distant past there was a turfman and cock fighter of this state by the name of Col. Thos. G. Bacon who bred and pitted the most successful cocks of that age. His original stock came from John Stone, of Massachusetts. About  the  same  time Major  Burnett  Rhett,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  bred  and fought a strain B. B.  red cocks  that had  the  reputation, deservedly, of being the gamest cocks of their age.
I got a pair of Bacon fowls and a trio of Rhett’s and crossed them and by selection  produced  a  strain  which  I  named  Mugwump.  Mugwump  is  an Indian name and in the Algonquin language it means Big Chief.
About the year 1890 I crossed into my strain a B. B. red cock with yellow legs  that  I  got  from Baltimore.  I  do  not  know who  bred  this  cock  or what strain he came from. This cock was a spangle in his third year, a white at the fourth moulting and remained white until his death. Before I bred any of his sons  to a yard of my Mugwump hens, I satisfied myself  that he was a game cock.
The first and only one of his sons that I used as a brood cock was a black with yellow  legs and beak, had a  few white  feathers  in his  tail and wings.  I fought him in a main at Hibernia Park, Charleston, S. C., where a number of fine cocks fought in the two days of the main, and the concensus of opinion was  that he outclassed any cock shown on either side. He was a high flying cock and never tried to bill as long as his adversary could stand on his feet. In several of his  fights, he killed his opponent without ever  touching him with his mouth.
It was invariably my practice to breed from the best fighter of his year and never to breed from any cock until he had fought several battles, in order that I might determine his quality. I bred this black cock to a yard of my choicest pure Mugwump  hens  and  he  sired  several  black  stags  and  occasionally  a white stag or pullet. From him I got my white and black Mugwumps. Always the white and black Mugwumps were bred exactly alike.
Note the statement that I am about to make, namely: that no Mugwump of the present day, no matter where he or she may be found, has any blood in its composition save what came from that black cock. He was the only son of the Baltimore cock that I bred from and I never used any of the daughters of the Baltimore  cock  for breeding purposes.  If  I used  a  son of  the black  cock he was invariably mated to pure Mugwump hens.
I once shipped a coop of five cocks to Sr. Bustamente, three reds, 1 black and 1 white, all brothers, and all acted alike in the pit In the foregoing I have given the origin of the Mugwumps, as many of the cock fighters in the South know it to be.
You  are  at  liberty  to  give  this  history  to  any  game  fowl  paper  for publication, if you see fit to do so, on my responsibility.
In  conclusion  I  will  say  my  main  reason  in  giving  you  the  foregoing information  is  that  I  have  replied  to many  letters  asking  to  find  the  purest Mugwump,  to  the effect  that,  in my  judgment, your yards will come nearest filling the bill If you use any part of this communication in a game fowl paper, kindly say that I am out of the game and have no fowls for sale.
Your friend,
(Signed) Alfred Aldrich.

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