The Red Cloud chief., 1886-01-01

OuOuTeu uOii3Es lOI tuc staiiiou' ucSeh
heard Of more than fifteen or twenty
horses being returned. Some Mexicans
hearing Of il came to capture them with
twenty men and forty or fifty horses.
but after racing for them until their
own horses had given out, they only
succeeded in getting the fifteen or
twenty above mentioned. The result
was Mr. Gilbert was ruined. Many
other cases of the kind have happened.
Horse raising. however, on the plains
is very profitable. and horses will live
where cattle will die and never have
diseases that assume the character o:
an epidemic; barring the continued
danger Of their going wild. there is no
such profitable business in stock raising
on the plains or mountains.
Wild stations often become aggres-
sive and even dangerous. Mr.. Blod-
som. a friend of mine, was going on
trip with his family partly hunting ans
partly to look over the range to see the
condition of his stock. One night
while in camp at Antelope Valley his
team of horses 1.-TWO fine mares) dis
appeared. Awaking the next morning
he found himself without his horses,
and starting his two boys to follow
some tracks in one direction. he and
his wife started in another. Presently
he came in sight of his lost horses in
company with several wild ones. and
to his horror. he saw coming toward
him the stallion 'boss of the -ffsrd."
and although he had his double-bar-
relied shotgun. he knew it was loaded
with fine shot, and these two loads were
the only things standing between him
and destruction. Had he been
''tender foot" undoubtedly he would
have been injured. Being. however.
an old-iimcr, he stood his ground. tell
ing his wife 10 keep continually behind
him. On came the infuriated beast.
head down, ears back and mouth oDei.
to within a few PAGES of blossom,
who, at this critical moment,
began to swing his arms in the
manner done when throwing lasso.
This recalled to his horsc5i Dip the un-
mcrciful and uncontrollae character
of these ropes when once in their fold,
and. fearing his own captivity, he
stopped on his charge. but continually
circling around just out Of reach Of a
rope, he cndeavored to scare his cnc-
Inies away. Blossom kept swinging
his arm and yelling constantly. work
ing toward his own horses, until finally
he reached them. Fortunately they
were the gentlest possible, and Lot yet
under the influence of their wild COM
paniOns.
Assisting his wife to mount one, he
M oil lao. of hur h. al
back to camp the stallion saw his
efforts We're hopeless and went back to
his wild herd in the distance, assisted
by the two loads of small shot before
mentioned. Had Blossom, when first
attacked, shot this horse and failed to
kill him. As he did after being mounted.
he would undoubtedly never have lived
TO tell the tale. Should he have killed
him the report of the gun would have
stampcdcd the band. and i'm all prob
ability his team would have followed;
but once on their backs he had them,
beside forming a combination, viz:
Horse and rider" of which all horses
and cattle are afraid in the far West.
Dow HuntSman, at that time, about
1880. a wealthy mining and stockman.
Drought Il Dtautiiul Sorrcl STATION from
California. called Patches This horse
becoming nearly wild on the range.
gathered his band, and was so cnerget-
ic in his endeavOrs that he got to stop
ping the stage on the road between
Battle Mountain and Tuscarora, in Ne
vada. endeavoring to drive the stage
horses into his band. Ii required all
the efforts possible by the drivers to
make him desist. One unfortunate
night for him he ran his head into the
lasso and was deprived of his liberty.
assuming the role Of the common sad
dlc-hOrse on the range. on whose back
l can recall many pleasant days follow
ing the chase or i'm quest of game, for
he finally fell into my possession.
should guess from my observations
and the extent Of the country. viz:
about 200 miles wide by nearly 1000
long. there must be ut least $4,000 to
$4,000 wild horses and ponies within
the limits of the United States west of
the Missouri River.-T. ". Dunn, in
Chicago Journal.