Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1881-12-01
WILD HORSES.



A letter from Fort Collins, Col, to
the Cincinnati Commercial, says
Some of the most fascinating scenes
in the boys book world being those in
which the wild horse figures. it was
with something of the old youthful
thrill thata party of Us the other day
heard our driver exclaim, "There is
Wild Horse Jerry and a lot of wild
bronccs in that corral yonder." Bust
ness was left to take care of itself for
the present, and we drove quickly over
to the place indicated, q rude inclosure
about fifty feet square, in which were
some dozen horses, mostly about two
years old, and in their appearance well
justifying the name applied to the ma
tive horses Of the west, "broncos," the
Spanish word for trough" The dime
novel prefix to Jerry's name had led US
TO expect such looking character as
adorns the initial page Of that class Of
literature, or the second-rate stage;
but we found him and his two partners
certainly 'sas mild hammered men as
ever cut throat" merely dressed in
the usual local costume of men who
follow an outdoor life of any kind
here--broad felt hat. blue flannel shirt,
and "uverhauls thrust INTO a pair of
heavy cowhide boots. And they were
quite genial and communicative, and
as we sat safely perched on the top rail
of the corral waiting for operations to
begin, they told us how they chase the
bands Of wild horses on the platte, not
taking them with the lasso. at full
speed, as they do in the books, but
running them with fresh relays until
tired down sufficiently to be driven
into an inclosure. The laliat f" or
lasso" is used only to "cut out and
bring under control for branding,
breaking and like purposes
The "brand," BY the way. is very
important thing to the cattle and
horsemen, owing to the risk Of the
animals straying and the difficulty of
otherwise identifying them and the
law here, in this respect at least, is
always vindicated, both by the courts
and by Judge Lynch" with prompt
ness and severity against any who may
dare attempt to infringe on the prop
erty rights thus indicated. A brand
when chosen must be approved by the
county authorities and then registered,
care heing taken to allow none SIM
liar to exiting brands or liable to be
altered into them. Il. is usually some
| peculiar device, an Fl with a a1iipverted
i v over it, for instance and having
been executed in iron of the dimen
sions OF some four or five inches
square, more or less, it is applied rec
hot to the animals side in some con
spicuous spot. The herds that Craze OF
the plains are gone over yearly for this
purpose, and the annual "round-ups,
or meeting of herds and herdslnen te
T. effect this and also to sort out and re-
claim " strays," are occasions of greai
local interest.
/ To return to our wild horses. We
had arrived just as the men were about
to cut out a fne-looking black mare
for the purpose of hobbling her, she
having shown disposition to lead the
others into mischief. and it was with
40 desire Of changing places with the
men that we saw them enter the corral
on foot amongst the wild animals with
their lariats, three-quarter inch ropes
OF great suppleness, with running
moose some six feet in length hanging
on their left arms. The horses seemed
to know that something was about to
happen and Immediately began charg-
ing wildly around the inclosure, and it
appeared impossible that the men could
retain their places moment without
being crushed but the brutes seemed
to recognize the higher power, and
sweryed from the dreadful lariat, whose
coercive powers they had already felt,
as the double s'fsh-hoo brands on
their fanks testified. And now the
moose in Jerry's right hand began to
circle horizontally over his head at
arms length, and the horses to plunge
more wildly than ever around the cor.
raj. Suddenly quick, forward mo-
tion of the arm IS seen, and the moose
flies toward ths intended victim, but a
sudden swerve causes it to fall short.
and the whole drove gallop wildly to a
remote corner. But now they are again
started, the moose swings, and this time
drops over the mares neck. The
weight of a second man is immediately
thrown upon the rope and the struggle
begins, the mare wildly plunging and
rearing, and the men resisting, until it
would seem that the animal must
either strangle herself or break her
neck. But in a moment another moose
Is thrown, this time catching her hind
legs; and as she plunges again, sud-
den pull throws her fairly on her side.
her head is caught, and she is van
quished. The hobbler, long chain,
is then attached to her right fore foot,
and the ropes then being quickly and
skillfully removed, she scrambles again
to her feet, erect once more. but shorn
OF her power for mischief.
The native horses raised by the
herders are all handled in this way,