Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-04-23
Stories About n Horse.

''NN'sN -s'"'N ~
"Thur he stands ez innocent-lookin'
and clipper ez cr yearlin' colt, an nc
I'm w'u'd b'lieye that boss wliz twenty.
six var old. Yaas I've owned him SEM
he wor er colt, an I've teached him
everything that he knows 'cept his
,mcanness. He coined raj by that,
pardner-hit was horned in him."
Old Zeke, Of Texas, Is veritable
frontier patriarch. His horse is large
blood-bay animal, who has wicked
fashion of showing the whites of his
eyes and laying back his thin ears.
''He looks so much like one NV them
thur Mexican lions,' explained the old
hunter, "that | named him Cougar"
He had often spoken to me of this fa-
nous animal, and one day shall
never forget the circumstance made
Cougar acquaintance. l was on my
way through IA corral when screaming
neigh, the sound of quickly falling hoofs
and a warning cry caused me TO turn
my head. A blood-bay horse, with
proudly arched neck, flowing name and
tail, and head erect, was coming toward
me at n quick gallop. His thin ears
were laid back close to his head and his
red tongue hung from his mouth be-
tween two rows of vicious-looking teeth.
| turned and faced the rapidly adj
vancing animal. The nearer he came
the more dangerous he looked, and /
was unarmed. | would have run to-
ward the row of stalls OH the north side
of the corral for shelter, but they
were too far away. | could hear the
champ of his teeth and the sound
made cold chills run down my
vertebral column. Fire seemed to flash
from his eyes and great flecks of foam
dropped from his open mouth When
he was in ten feet of me he reared,
evidently intending to crush me beneath
his forefeet. l shudered-most any man
would have done so under the circum-
stances and braced myself for q spring.
The anticipated shock did not come
however. / heard the sternly-spoken
caution "Hyarr' in the well-known
voice of One-eyed Zeke, and the horse,
but recently so full of vicious fire,
halted, pricked up his ears and stood
meekly in front of me, with such an ex-
preston of innocent wonder on his face
that burst out laughing. He did not
like this and laid back his ears again.
"Hyar, We rascal!'' shouted his master.
None NV that"
He walked up TO where | was stand
ing and placed his hand on my shoulder.
This hyar's pardner NV mine,
Cougar he said. 'Shake!h
Cougar who had inclined his head
gravely, as though listening to his mas
ter's words, lifted one of his fore feet
and extended it toward me in very
friendly manner. | grabbed the out
streatched limb, and since that time
Cougar and l have been very good
friends, although | never cared TO
presume on our acquaintance by any
undue familiarity.
In 1874 party of soldiers who were
being guided by Zeke followed an In
dian trail which extended across FL
Llano del Marie, which is an arid,
sandy, alkai desert. 1t is about one
hundred miles wide and there is very
little water on il. The soldiers had
reached the middle of the desert when
they were ovcrtaken by terrible sand
storm, which lasted about twelve hours.
Many of the men and horses were suf-
located by the sand. The packs and
Watersheds were blown away and those
| of the horses that were not killed
stampedcd. Old Zekc was badly
bruised, and the alkali dust cRering his
throat had so swollen it that he could
hardly speak. The soldiers were lying
about suffering from the same difficulty,
and Zcke knew that unless they could
reach water they would all perish.
| When he came to his senses Cougar was
standing near him, and he called the
animal to his side. With great difficulty
he managed to Chamber into the saddle.
Water he whispered hoarsely into
the horses ear.
Cougar threw up his head, shifted the
air for moment, and then started of
at gallOp. He made straight for a
water hole, about three miles distant,
and when he reached there Ickc was
enabled to allay his burning thirst. He
! filed his canteen with water and started
! Cougar back with it to the suffering sol
diers. He made the journey swiftly,
and when he returned his saddle was
loaded down with canteens.. Zekc filled
these and started the horse back again.
He made several trips, and when every
body had been supplied the missing
horses and pack animals were hunted
up and the outfit turned back toward
the post. When they reached there,
and the story of Cougars sagacity be-
came known, they made hero of the
horse. The officers drunk his health,
their wives and daughters made him a
blanket, the soldiers whose lives he had
saved contributed money enough to buy
him costly saddle and bride, and the
commander of the scouting party had a
gold medal struck on which is engraved
an account of the affair "Yaas,' said
Zcke, when he finished this story, "Cou-
gar ca tolcrbul keen an. he hez more
sense than half the humans what
meets; but he's no angel, ez the man
what fools around his head or heels kin
testify to- Philadelphia Times.