West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1877-11-24

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 a horse
! The ears were pointed, the ewes as bright
rs stars, and the sun glistened on hi
hide as if it had been vanished Fol
two or three minutes not a word wa.
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 au hour before, said to the
commander:
Why, that's the hoss known among
us and the lnjuns as White Devil ,
I've seen him four or five times. and
I've heard of him at least once a week
for the last five years. He's the ugliest.
slyest, and most treacherous beast stand
ing 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. lie
was singled out from the drove and pur-
sued Tor several days, and i'm despair of
securing him, one OF the red men sought
TO kill him, SO that no one else should
secure the prize. The horse was only
wounded by the bullet that was meant
TO take his life. He at once separated
himself from the drove and followed his
former pursuers like shadow. He
dashed into their camp, at night, at
tackled their ponies when he found them
grazing, and had on several occasions at
tackled lone Indians aud quickly killed
or disabled them.
"Pll give two hundred dollars to the
man who captures that horse for me :"
said the commander, as he noted every
fine point about the majestic animal.
You might just as we'll offer ten
thousand" replied the scout. THAT
ere hoss can pace, trot, and gallop, and
thar isn't wolf in the hull Sierra range
which can smell of his heels. I'd as
quick take the job of cleaning out all
the reds in Arizona as of catchin' the
White Devil. See that fore foot 20 up I
See them ears lay back He'll charge
the hull crowd in less'n "A minutew
Before word of warning could be
spoken the horse made a dash upon the
men, screaming out as troop horse
does when badly wounded i'm battle. The
soldiers rushed for the gate. One of the
hindermOst was a private named O'Mea-
ry, scarcely up TO the regulation height,
and run down by sickness until his
weight did not exceed hundred pounds
The White Devil seized him by the
back, lifted him off his feet by a toss,
and when the soldiers next looked
O'Meary was being borne away with the
swiftness of the wind. The horse had a
firm grip of clothing and flesh, and keep
ing his head well up he swept over the
prairie with the soldier held almost per
pendicularly before him. He was out
of range before anybody could pick up
n gun. There were dozen or fifteen
horses at the post, and in five minutes
as many men had mounted them and
were galloping away in pursuit.
White Devil and his victim had dis
appeared over a swell about mile from
the fort. AS the horsemen reached the
crest they found the dead body of their
companion on the grass, bitten and
stamped and kneaded to bloody mass,
The horse stood facing them, forty rods
away, as If he had waited for them to
come up. As the remains were being
conveyed TO the fort, several hunters
came in, and in a short time force Of
twenty mounted men left the gates to
try and effect the capture of the vicious
animal. The men had lasoes, hobbies
and ropes, and the instructions were to
drive the horse away from the neighbor-
hood if he could not be captured. He
stood on the ri2de and looked down upon
the band as it left the fort. The four
lassO-throwers rode directly at him, while
the rest of the men separated and rode
to cut off retreat by way of the noun
tain.
When the first hOrseman was within
a hundred feet White Devil, who had
been standing live block of stone threw
up his head and started off at sharp
trot. Ten rods beyond the first ridge
was a second, with a little green valley
between. Ridges and valleys ran straight
away to the west for twenty miles, and
as the horse headed that way one of the
hunters said:
The beast is in for long race. lie
will go down 10 the end of the valley,
turn to the left, and before noon he will
be back here, returning on the fort side
of this first ridge. Three of us will push
him along as fast as we can 10 the end of
the valley. The rest Of you drop out i'm
squads here and there and race him a.
he comes back. Let three or four men
halt right here to give him a last push -
The wild horse courted pursuit. Half
Hlit away nc WIS IaClHN up anu uOWni
throwing his heels into the air, snorting,
and paving the sod in his impatience to
be off With n whOop and yell, three
lassO throwers started in pursuit. They
were almost near enough for throw
when the horse headed away at a trOt
They could not gain an inch, though
/ they had three Of the best mustangs in
the territory, and the animals were
| pushed 10 the top Of their speed Head
/ up, name rolling back over his shoulders
| like a wave Of foam, and his massive tai
| streaming out like flag, the White
Devil lifted his feet and put them dowr
as steadily a. clock-work. While they
were doing their best, they could sec
that he was not using all his power
kept up q continual yelling for the frs
five miles, hoping to break his pace but
neither shouts nor the reports Of rifles
/ lost him y step.
In seventy minutes the White Devi
was at the end Of the valley, fresh as
daisy, while the mustangs, half mil,
behind, we're reeking and blown. VI,
waited for them TO come up, and ther
turned to the left, struck a pace auC
sweptaway at such n gait that he wal
soon out Of sight. Ten miles to- the cas-
was the first squad Of men. They sighted
him mile away, and were all ready fol