The Kalida venture. [volume] (Kalida, Ohio) 1841-1865, 1851-06-13
This is lie Mustang as he really Is

! :
bis native wilds, for the reasonI have
g;ven above. and which must be seIfevi
4 dent--that he is seldom taken, and wher
he has been, is far too valuable TO the
hunter 10 be parted with Mounted upor
these magnificent animals, they take il
hundreds, the stinted, vicious little devils
that have given the reputation to the
Mustang among us! Like human hunch
banks, these creatures seem to become
splenetic and unconquerably ill-grained
in raio of their declension from the
full standard ofproportion and power,
The colors Of the Mustang arc sur.
passingly rich and beautiful. They are
all intense ard decided-you will find
them white as the driven snow without
a dark hair on their bodies, and again
black as the concentrated essence OF
midnighi--the sunbeams Smoothing the
ebon-down Of darkness till it smiled" at
every moment Of their buoyant humor--
then deep blood bay, with black name
and tailor a rich red sorrel. Again
you find these dark colors mottIed in clear
relief upon the pure white. The effect
is sometime exquisite beyond description
| have seen them "spotted like a Pard''
aud markedin elegant roseites like the
skin Of a Panther. The startling contrast
of these deep colors, in graceful lines,
banded, and starr'd, Aecked, and dotted
upon the snowy ground, is above the
"ken Of Fancie" beautiful. :! ws.
The Comanches--Nomadc tribes,
who from their mountain iastness de-
scend upon the plains below for plunder
like birds of prey STOPPING from their
eyries, are mounted upon the finest speci-
mems of these horses that are to be found
and with such rapidty do they move that
they will traverse hundreds Of miles,
carrying death and fear with them along
whole frontier, and yet retreat TO their
rocky holds in safety, before the inhabi-
tanfs can organize a pursuit. ,-
The warriors have great pas ssion for
these "Paint Horses" as they are called
and ifI live TO the age Of Ma!husela, /
shall never forget the. picturesque sp-
pearance Of party Of twenty Of them,
we pursued once for fifteen miles, all Of
whom were mounted upon fanciiully
mottled horses. Over the prairie and
through the deep woods we scutried in
that wild desperate chase-.the dark gaunt
savage forms on their snowy end freckled
steeds, now and then TO be seen ahead of
US glancing past the leafy trunks of the
great trees-now in line like great
spotted snake, arrowy gliding over the
green sea of grass.
They had run their horses nearly 40
miles before we got on their trail, and yet
our American Horses, which were per-
fectly fresh, were thoroughly used up
before we closed with them--but ''there
by hangs tale," touching and strange
indeed, which we cannot stop here TO
tell.
The incident strikngly illustrates
though, the wonderful powers Of this
animal. .........,..... ...,. ...
The bearing of the stations toward
their families is the very idea of chivalry.
each one seems to consider himself
solely responsible for the safety Of those
he has taken under his protection. He
is always on the alert, feeding apart from
them on the highest ground, in his watch
full survey, every moment or two he scans
the horizon, and If anything suspicious
is detected, off he dashes, fearless in his
nigh, and speed, and circling around the
doubtful object, till he has determined its
charac,er--ifit il be an enemy, his trumpet
neigh gives warning 10 his companions
who have been quietly feeding all this
time, 10 be nf upon their fight! while
he with proud cdrvettings follows on as
If half determined not 10 fly at all 'some-
times he trots as though he told his steps,
facing back towards his pursuer, while |
'.His nostrils drink the air and forth again
AS from furnace vapots doth he send,''
and when long look, and the nearer
approach Of the etemy has satisfied his
curiosity, wheeling again he flies with
surprising speed and louder neigblngs
after his retreating herds, while
rThrough his name and tail the high wind
sighs
Tanning the hairs that wave like feathered
wings" fE,A t,tt!
LISA very common thing, when the
hunters with the lasso dash in among tie
herd, for these gallant fellows to injure
them or their horses seriously by
kicking and biting them. The hunters
seldom venture upon the experiment of
lassoing them; for the moment an old
stallion feels the rope upon his neck, he
will rush at the man and tear. him from
his seat. knew one instance in which !
Mexican was manned for life under such
Some of these stations
are very famous for their incredible swift.
ness, beauty and endurance. The hun
Iers know their color, their fine parts and
haunts, as well as they know the features
Of the Pilo! Knobs. 2 BIZ! aa
You all remember Kendall's fine des.
cripiion ofthe "White Steed of the Prai.
ries," so remarkable for his pace, tina. no
huntor had avnr vat haat, .hlos - ,o.l,.