American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1877-11-10
WHITE DEVIL.

One night in June, 10 years ago, the
sentinel pacing up and down before the
gates of Fort Defiance, up in the north
eastern part of Arizona, suddenly heard
the hoof-beat of a horse.
s'Halt! Who comes THEREOF rang
out the challenge, but there was no an
swer. t-tt
ItwaSa starlight night. Two or three
hundred feet away the sentinel caught
sight of white horse approaching him
at brisk walk. When he could see the
horse he could also see that it had no
rider Droves of wild horses and still
wilder mustangs were frequently seen
from the fort, and the sentinel was rath-
er pleased that one of them was being
led by curiosity to approach the gate.
The horse grew whittier and larger as
he came nearer, and when he halted he
was not over ten feet from the guard.
He was tall and.Fpowerfully built, name
hanging almost to his knees, and tail
sweeping the ground, and he was as
white as snow. Head up, ears pointed
forward, and eyes opened to their widest
extent, the wild horse stood for a long
minute and looked into the soldiers
face. His nostrils dilated, his tail moved
this way and that, and the muscles in
his powerful chest and legs stood out in
bold relief. The soldiers surprise and
admiration were so great that he stood
like a statue, musket on his shoulder,
and his mind almost doubling what his
eyes saw.
Suddenly, and without an instant's
warning, the horse sprang forward to
the attack. Catching the sentinel by
the shoulder with his teeth, he raised
him clear off the ground, and shook
him right and left as if he were an empty
grain bag, and then hurled him against
the heavy gate with terrible force. The
yell of pain and alarm uttered by the
sentinel had scarcely died away before
the relief came hurrying out. They
found him lying in a heap beside the
stockade, unconscious, and his uniform
in tatters. There was no enemy in
sight-not even a wolf skulked away
through the darkness. A general alarm
was sounded, the drums beat to arms,
and for quarter of an hour the excite
ment was intense, every one believing
that large force of Indians was on the
point of making an assault.
When the sentinel recovered his
senses and related his adventure, no
one would believe his story until a SER
geant had examined the earth and dis
covered the hoof prints of a horse. 1t
was, however, such a singular adventure
that no one felt easy until the morning
came. Then the trail of the white horse
could be followed far out on the prairie;
and soon after sunrise the horse himself
was discovered bearing down on the
fort from the direction of the mountain
range three miles away. AS the word
went round, every man turned out to
catch sight of the animal about which
so much had been said. He came for
ward at a sweeping trot, head up, tail
streaming far behind, and his knee
action as perfect as if he had been train
ed on the course for years. He swerved
neither to the right nor left, and never
halted until he was within pistol shot of
the crowd at the stockade.
The sentinel had not exaggerated in
his statements. The color was snow
white, and such strength and symmetry
no one had ever before seen in horse.
The ears were pointed, the eyes as
bright as stars, and the sun glistened on
his hide as if it had been vanished. For
two or three minutes not word was
spoken by any man, and the horse did
not move a foot. Then a scout and
hunter, who had come into the fort
about half an hour before, said to the
commander:
"Why, that's the boss known among
us and the Injuns as White Devill''
I've seen him four or five times, and I've
heard of him at least once week for
the last five years. He's the ughest,
slyest, and most treacherous beast
standing on four legs
The scout related that the horse be-
fore them came to his notice about five
years before, when the Indians made
several attempts to capture him. He