Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1886-01-27
WILD IVES TERN STEEDs
The Herds of the Mountain and Their
Fierce Bosses

/ lll lllt VIII llOIStS Il SldlllOI ID Il
the head, and is the leader of every
herd, having such control over then
that no band of cowboys are able 4
| drive band of horses so fast or we'll 81
a stallion can. All in the band are a.
thoroughly afraid of him they keep il
a bunch, and their speed is gauged by
his own, he running behind with hi,
head low, scarcely above the ground
He advances quickly on the hindermOS
ones, giving them a sharp bite on the
haunch, thereby giving them to under.
stand they must keep up. Should one
turn out he follows him. much after
the fashion of the shepherd dog, anC
runs him back. Until his band are out
of sight in the mountains he keeps thi,
up. Here they seem to understand that
he can't follow them all, and they scatter
in all directions, in ravines, canyons and
inaccessible places, so that when the
rider arrives at the place he last saw
them usually around some sharp point
or some high peak he is mortified to
find his own horse almost exhausted and
his herd 50 scattered probably only two
or three in sight that he gives up the
chase in disgust.
The usual idea is that very fleet
horse, such an one as is usually used by
the hero in novel. carries his master
mp to a wild horse sufficiently close tO
laSsO him.
This is erroneous, for no horse on
earth can carry rider and saddle sufli-
ciently heavy to stand the strain of Il
laSso fast enough on the rough ground
of the mountains to catch wild horse
in good health. and | doubt very much
their ability to do it on a smooth plain.
1t is surprising how easily and thor
Oughly domestic horses go wild under
the influence of these wild stations.
Many is the emigrant or hOrSe-raiSer
who gave gone 10 bed at night full of
confidence and often pride at the con-
dition and numbers of his stock. only
to wake up in the morning to find moth
ing left but the one horse on the picket
rope and the train of their fleeing ami
mails. driven or cOaXed away by these
wild horses-gone. and forever. Irecall
to mind now an acquaintance of mine
i'll Nevada, one Joseph Gilbert, who
lived on Reese River Valley, in Louder
County, who took pride in the qualiey
and quantity of his horses. His herd
numbered about five hundred head. and
was generally conceded to be the best
in that section. Joe was in fine circum-
stances, and bore the reputation of
being well off and an excellent man.
but somehow a band of wild horses
began to prey upon his herd, finally
securing To themselves beautiful
stallion recently purchased by Joe at an
expense of one Thousand dollars. After
his capture .Joe's herd was of short
duration, rs with the assistance of this
stallion they nearly or quite all went
wild, and though rewards of five dollars,
AMI afterward ten dollars per head was
offered Tor the horses in any corral,
with assae<liis sic,.s-.. Ger of five hundred
dollars for the stallion, 1 never heard or
more than fifteen or twenty horses
being returned. Some MeXicans hear
ing of it 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
in getting the fifteen or
twenty above mentioned. The result
was Mr.. Gilbert was ruined. Many
other eases of the knd 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 of
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 and
partly to look over the range to see the
of his stock. One night while
in camp at Antelope Valley his team of
horses two fine mareSl disappeared.
Awaking the next morning he found
himself without his horses, and starting
his two BOYS to follow some tracks in
Dme direction, he and his wife started in
Presently lie came in sight of
his lost horses in company with several |
Wild ones, and to his horror. lie saw |
coming toward him the stallion boss of |
he herd" and although he had his |
louble-barreled shotgun, he knew 1t |
was loaded with fine shot, and these two |
Oads were the only things standing /
between him and destruction. Had he |
been a ''tender foot undoubtedly he /
would have been injured. Being, how
.ver. an old-timer, he stood his ground,
elling his wife TO keep continually |
lehind him. On came the infuriated .
BEAST. head down, ears back and mouth |
,pen, to within few PAGES Of Blossom,
Who. at this critical moment, began to .
swing his arms in the manner done /
when throwing a laSSO. This recalled
20 his horseship the ummerciful and I'M
.ontrOllable character of these ropes
when once in their fold, and, fearing
his own captivity, he stopped on his
'harge, but continually circling around
ust out of reach of 4 rope, he endeavor-
Il to scare his enemies away. Blossom
lept swinging his arm and yelling
working toward his own
horses. until finally he reached them.
they were the gentleSt
possible. and not yet under the influence
If their wild companions.
Assisting his wife to mount one, he
mounted the other, and as he started
Jack to camp the stallion saw his efforts
we're hopeless and went back to his wild
ierd in the distance. assisted by the two
Dads of small shot before mentioned.
II,d Blossom, when first attacked, shot
his horse and failed to kill him, as he
lid after being mounted, he would I'M
never have lived to tell the
ale. Should he have killed him the
eport of the gun would have stamped
ii the band, and in all probability his
cam would have followed; but once on
heir backs he had them, beside forming
combination. viz: Horse and rider"
# which all horses and cattle are afraid
IL the far West.
Dow Huntsman. at that time, about
$50, wealthy mining and stOckman,
,rought beautiful sorrel stallion from
california. called Patchen. This horse
,ecoming nearly wild on the range,
his band, and was so energet-
c in his endeavors that he got to stop
ling the stage on the road between
Cattle Mountain and Tuscarora, in Ne
ada. endeavoring to drive the stage
lorses into his band. 1t required all
he efforts possible by the drivers to
+a, !