It is claimed that they are descended from horses cast on the shores of the two districts from the ship-wrecked galleons of the Spanish Armada. In both districts it is a matter of historical notoriety that Spanish war-ships were wrecked at the period in question; and as they doubtless had cavalry on board, there is no cause for disputing the tradition, the rather that the Galloways of both districts have many of the peculiarities of the Andalusian jennets, and show a large tincture of Moorish blood.
"The pure Galloway," says Youatt, "was said to be nearly fourteen hands high and sometimes more, of a bright bay or brown, with black legs, and small head and neck, and peculiarly deep, clean legs. Its qualities were speed, stoutness and sure-footedness over a very rugged and mountainous country." From other authorities, better acquainted, perhaps, than Mr. Youatt, with the race in question, we find that they more often exceeded fourteen hands by half a hand than fell short of that height; that they were quite as often or oftener of a rich, deep, glossy chestnut—a peculiarly Andalusian color—as either brown or bay; that they were conspicuous for their breadth between the eyes, for their basin faces, for their thin, silky manes and tails, and for the total absence of hair on their fetlocks. They were, also, many of them, natural pacers, or amblers, as that pace is called in England, and were all of them easily trained to take and hold it for many hours together. A distinguished Scottish divine thus describes the animal in question: "There was once a breed of small, elegant horses in Scotland, similar to those of Iceland and Sweden, which were known by the name of Galloways, the best of which sometimes reached the height of fourteen hands and a half. One of this description I possessed, it having been bought for my use when I was a boy. In point of elegance of shape it was a perfect picture, and in
