Mexico weekly ledger., 1877-11-08
WHITE DEVIL.
THRILLING TALE OF INDIAN LIFE.
-

night in June ten years ago
: the shtinel pacing up and down be-
fore the gates of Fort Defiance, up in
the northeastern part of Arizona,
suddenly heard the hoof-beat of a
horse.
"Halt! Who comes there?" rang
out the challenge, but there was no
answer. |
1t was a startling night. Two or
three hundred feet away the sentinel
caught sight of q White horse ap-
preaching him at a brisk walk. when
he could see the horse he could aiso
see that it had no rider. Droves>oi
wild horses and still wilder mustangs
were frequently seen from the fort,
and the sentinel was rather pleased
that one of them IVES being led by
curiosity to approach the gate.
The horse grew whittier and larger
as he came nearer, and when he halt
ed he was not over ten feet from the
guard. He was tall and powerfully
built, name hanging almost to his
knees and tail sweeping the ground,
and he was as white a snow. Head
up, ears pointed forward, and eyes
opened to their widest extent, the
wild horse stood for a long minate
anu IooKed 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 sur
prise and admiration were so great
that he stood like a s~tatae, musket on
his shoulder, and his mind almost
doubling what his eyes saw.
Suddenly, anG 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 we're an
empty grain bag, and then hurled
him against the gate with terrible
force. The yell of pain and alarm
uttered by the sentinel had scarcely
died away before the relief came hur-
rying out. They found him lying in
I'M heap beside the stockade uncon-
s%cious, and his uniform in tatters.
There was no enemywin sight-not
even a wolf skulked away through the
darkness. A general alarm was
sounded, the drums beat to arm, and
for a quarter of an hour the excite
ment was intense, every one believ-
ing that a large fore of Indians was
Oh the point of making an attack.
When the sentinel recovered his
senses and related his adventure, nc
one would believe his story until q
sergeant had examined the earth and
discovered the footprints of the
horse. 1t was however, such a sir
gular adventure that no one felt easy
until morning anne. They>the trail
of the white horse could be followed
far out on the prairie, and soon after
sunrise the horse himself was discov.
cred bearing down on the fort from
the direction of the mountain rang,
three miles away. AS the word wen
round, every nan turned out to catcl
sight of the animal about which 81
much had been said. He came Tor
ward at a sweeping trot, head up, tai
streaming far behind, and his knee
action as perfect as if he had beer
trained on the course for years. III
swerved neither to the right or left
aad never halted until he was within
pistol-shot of the crowd at the stock
ade.
Tie sentinel had not exeggeratt I
in his statements. The color va
snow-white, and such strength ant
symmetry no n had ever befor
seen in a horse. The ears were point
ed, the eyes as bright as stars, an,
the sun glisteHcd on his hide rs if j
had been vanished. For two o
1hPaa fpintttos t,nt N urx,.I xraz onalar
by any man, and the horse did nc
move q foot. Then a scout and hun
ter, who had come into the fort abou
half an hour before, said to the com
mander:
"Why, that's the boss know
among us and the Injuns as whit
Devil" j have seen him four OF fiv
times, and I've heard OF him at leas
once a week for the last five years
He's the ugliest, slyest and mos
treacherous beast standing on fou
legs"
The scout related that the hors
before them came to his notice abou
five years before, when the Indian
made several attempts to capture hin
He was singled out from the drov
and pursued for several days, and j
despair ~ofsecuring him, one of til
red men sought to kill him, SO ths
10 one else should secure the prize
The horse was only wounded by til
bullet that Uas meant to take his life
He at once separated himself from til
drove and followed his former pursr
crs like a shadow. He dashed int
their camps at night, attacked thei
ponies when he found them grazing
and had on several occasions attacke
lone Indians and quickly killed q
disabled them.
"I'H give two hundred dollars t