Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-07-07
WAR HORSEX

WAR HORSE&
BoMS FAmous ChsrEers which Have Car
. rSssi Gscat Soldiers Upon tho Field a
Honor.
There is, perhaps, nothing connected
with the romance Of war; as to which
the popular imagination INDUCES in
more e~xtravagant flights than the sub
ject OF chargers which once carried
great soldiers upon the field Of honor.
We know from Plutarch that, with the
exception Of Alexander the Great, no
man dared to mount Bucephalus, the
noble war-steed, upon whose head q
black mark resembling an OK was i'm.
pressed, the rest Of his body, like that
Of Napoleon's fayorite charger, being
white. 1t was represeted that Buceph-
alus always knelt down when APP
preached by his master, and that, while
the pair were taking part in the great
engagement which was fatal to Porus,
the Indian monarch, Eucephalus re-
ceiyed a heavy wound, and dropped
dead after carrying the Macedonian
king out OF battle and landing him in a
safe spot. The horse was said to have
been 80 years old when he died, and as
an affectionate tribute to his memory
Alexander built a city called after him
upon the banks of the Hydaspes. Who,
again, that has read S~outhey's fascinat-
ing "Chronicle Of the Cid" can have
forgotten Boyiecn, tho charger whom
SPANS semi-mythical champion be-
strobe in a hundred battles? 1t is re-
lated by Southey that when Roderigo
Ruy Diaz-commonly called "the Cid"
from an Arabic word meaning "the
Chief" or "Lord"-was taken in his
boyhood to chose q horse he passed
over the best steed and selected a shah
by-looking colt. His godfather ac-
cordingly called the boy "bavieca," or
q BOBBY, for making such q silly choice,
and thus the name deyolved upon the
horse, who survived his master for two
years and a half, and finally was buried
at Valencia. After the death Of the
Cid, no man wat permitted to get upon
the back of Bavieca, who may, there
fore, be said to have died in odor
OF sanctity. Scarcely less poetical is
the legend adopted by the great italian
poet Aristo in connection with Boiardo,
or Bayardo, the famous steed of Ri
naldo, and once the property of Amadis
Of Ganl. Is is recorded by Aristo that
Roiardo was discovered in a grotto by
the wizard Malagigi, who gave him and
the magic sword Fusberta, which was
found in the same spot, to the wizards
cousin, Rinaldo. Readers OF Homer
are ware that nearly every chieftain
who fought for or against Troy had
some celebrated horse or horses which
he drove in his chariot, and upon which
Homer bestows a name or names. Com
ing down to our own times, what q
wealth OF affection has been lavished
since 1915 upon Copenhagen, the thor
oughbred chestnut charger bestridden
by the Duke of Wellington at the bat
tie of Waterloo! We, know from the
"Stud Book" that Copenhagen was a
grandson of Eclipse, and that he was
bred by Gen. Grosvenor in 1908. After
running unsuccessfully as a race horse
in 1911 and 1912, Copenhagen was sold
by Gen. Grosvenor to Lord London
derry, who took him out to the PENN
sula, where, shortly after the battle of
Salamanca, he was bought from Lord
AACAuOii0CAly w IL LiI1 VI NSIllug-
ton-such was then our great captains
title-for 400 guineas.
Copenhagen was-as the late Sir Tat
ton Sykes often loved to remind his
hearers--a little horse, standing about
half an inch over fifteen hands in
height. The Duke was in the habit Of
saying that no day was long enough to
tire him, and that no sight or sound,
however unexpected, could make him
start. 1t would perhaps have been bet
ter ii Copenhagen had tired somewhat
on that last and most famous day which
saw him carry the Iron Duke upon a bat
tle-tield. 1t is related by Col. Gurwood
that when the Duke descended from the
saddle which he had occupied for eight
een consecutive hours Copenhagen let
fly with both hind legs, and narrowly
missed his masters head and chest.
The incident occurred in the little Bel
gian village from which the great bat
tie, fought two miles away upon the
plateau of MontSt. Jean, takes its i'm
mortal name. Despite his misbehavior
Copenhagen was brought back to En-
gland and enjoyed what our trans-At-
tantic kinsmen call a "high old time"
between 1916 and his death in 1926.
He was Z years old when he carried the
Duke at Waterloo, and II when he died
full Of honors at Strathtieldsaye.
Whenever the Duchess was at the coun-
try-seat in Hampshire given by this ma
ton to her illustrious husband, she
made o point Of carrying a bit Of bread
every day after luncheon to her favor
tie in the paddock. In addition, she
frequently wore a bracelet made Of Co
~penhagen's hair, and when the old
horse died he was buried with full
military honors, the Duke and Duchess
themselves being chief mourners.-
London Telegraph.
The Sufferidgs Of a Lute.Strung Being.