Skene
Lyman and I were wondering the other day if anyone had dug into the records of James Henry Skene, HM’s Consul in Aleppo. He organized the first Blunt importations and Upton’s too, after all.
A blog on desert arabian horses, past, present and future
Lyman and I were wondering the other day if anyone had dug into the records of James Henry Skene, HM’s Consul in Aleppo. He organized the first Blunt importations and Upton’s too, after all.
I have come across a letter of his, published in the March 1864 issue of the Sporting Magazine, Vol 43, pp. 179f.. This magazine was identical in content with the Sporting Review, hence the differing references for this letter in certain sources. (No name is given, but I am pretty certain it is Skene as it comes from Aleppo, and includes the quote attributed to him about “blood and stride in the desert”.) Quoted here in full:
“I have just received your letter of the 10th inst., and reply to it at once.
“I have made five experiments in horses here—
“1st. Out of thorough-bred English mares, by Arab stallions.
“2nd. Out of the best Arab mares, by thorough-bred English horses.
“3rd. Rearing the best Arab blood on succulent forage, as in England.
“4th. Rearing thorough-bred English stock in the Desert, on dry food.
“5th. Buying colts and fillies superior to those usually sold by the Arabs.
“The first experiment has led to no great results, the produce being merely handsomer than English horses, without being faster than Arabs.
“The second experiment has succeeded occasionally; but, out of four, three are leggy, weak, and unfit for racing.
“The third experiment is a complete failure, excepting in increasing the size. The produce has the defects of the English horse, without having the merits of the Arab.
“The fourth experiment is perfectly successful, the stock, though smaller than their parents, being better able to stay a distance. The heat of the Desert, the dryness, the constant galloping (from their birth after their dams, and ridden by children from a year and a half), the she-camel’s milk with which the Arabs feed their foals (and which, they think, imparts the camel’s endurance), the oxygenation of the blood by being always in the open air, the kind treatment (preventing bad temper, which impedes development), have all a great, combined effect in bringing out the good qualities of a horse. A cubic inch of the tibia of a horse so reared weighs twenty per cent. more than stabled stock. I have now a colt out of Test by Touchstone, dam Tarella by Emilius, got by Chilton by Cowl, which I offered a few days ago, in the Desert, as a present to any Arab who could catch him. They tried their best; but he ran right away from them. I must say, however, that there were none present of those very superior Arabs which form my fifth experiment.
“This fifth experiment is, in my opinion, the surest card of all. One has a greater choice, and need buy nothing without speed and stoutness; whereas, breed what you like, more than half your young stock will never be racers. The fact is this: There is blood and stride in the Desert which has never been seen out of it.
“The Indian market is supplied by the Aghel tribe, who go about the Desert, buying chiefly colts rather than fillies, never paying more than five thousand piastres (£40), and sell, with a small profit, to the great purchasers at Bagdad and Quaid, who pass them on, after a year or two, to the Bombay dealers. The Arabs will not give their best blood and figure for that first price. In fact, as you will have found out by this time, it is difficult to get them to sell it at all. I am perhaps the only one who has ever succeeded. I help them in their business with the Turkish pachas, prevent oppression, enable them to trade in safety with English exporters of wool; and, even after a deal of trouble on my part, I buy a first-class horse or mare from them, as a great favour, and at a long price. I have just sold, for instance, two mares to the Emperor of Russia for £500. One of them was of this class, and cost me £300. She had great speed and stoutness. She belonged to the almost extinct breed of Seglawi Jedran. She would have made a fortune in India. Such a stride! 15 ft. 1 in.! The Arabs say no one ever got such a mare from them before. I have another now in my stable which cost me £300. She is of equal breed (Maneghi Stedrudj), equal height, beauty, and lasting power; but unfortunately she has no great speed, otherwise I would propose to send her to you.
“Banbury Cake, after whom you inquire, is a Sweetmeat mare, very handsome and fast; but she has never started, and I believe her to be internally unsound. Her blood is good—dam by Touchstone. I cannot conscientiously recommend her, however. I have a fine brood mare—Alacrity by Archy out of Strayaway, by Orlando. She has brought me the best crosses with Arabs: one now at her foot, very fine; and she is again in foal to a celebrated stallion of mine. The latter is the nephew of the fine Arab mare described above. He is four years old, and is fast and stout.
“I have several others worth looking at ; but the best thing for you, in my mind, is that I should get you such horses and mares as you want from the Desert. The price of the rare specimens of Arab blood such as I describe can never be calculated at less than £200 for horses and £300 for mares. Only yesterday I was asked, as a last price, £400 for a splendid mare; but £200 and £300 can generally get them, though not without much trouble and long delay. I would agree to supply you at that figure.”
Thank you. Can you publish it as an entry of its own?
This gives some background into the purchase of Haidee, Yataghan and others by Upton facilitated by Skene.
Sure, can do. Tomorrow morning, though!
There are some documents in the British National Archives that might turn something up from 1876-77-78 when the Blunts where just purchasing their first horses. I’m not sure if anyone has looked here.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2519775
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2519553
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2519417
I have reviewed these documents. There is nothing of relevance to the Arabian horse in them.
Lyman, I can’t speak for others, but these are new to me. I see they haven’t been digitized yet. Are you planning on putting in a request? I’d be very curious to see what they have to say.
The British Library also has a collection that includes a Skene letter in their undigitized “Archives and Manuscripts” section:
This link contains the following:
– f. 1 James Henry Skene, Vice-Consul at Constantinople 1852: Letter to Lord Strathnaim: 1851.
http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=detailsTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=IAMS040-002003453&indx=3&recIds=IAMS040-002003453&recIdxs=2&elementId=2&renderMode=poppedOut&displayMode=full&frbrVersion=&dscnt=0&frbg=&scp.scps=scope%3A%28BL%29&tab=local&dstmp=1588087862794&srt=rank&mode=Basic&&dum=true&vl(freeText0)=Consul%20James%20Henry%20Skene&vid=IAMS_VU2
Moira- Skene was not in Aleppo until 1856. There are some documents from the 50s and 60s in the archives but the most relevant are likely to be the ones from 76,77 and 78.
Yes, I plan to put in a request when the archives opens back up again.
Lyman
yes, the obvious career path after vice consul in Constantinople is consul in Aleppo, which was the second city in the ottoman empire back then