, 1888-10-05
FANCIES B 0 HORSES.
FOLK LORE CONCERNING THE WELL
KNOWN DOMESTIC ANIMAL

The Horse as = Water sprite-Scotland's
Water KeIpy-Horses Ridden by Witches
and Fairies-various omens and Be-
uefs-As an Emblem.
In folk lore the horse figures most as a
water sprite. Neptune having tradition
ally created the animal, we should not be
astonished to find him powerful at sea.
'Mystic water horses. water bulls, or
COWS, are to be found in the religious sys-
tens of many nations of old, and they
still haunt the imagination of living men
In the shape of dapple gray stations and
brown steers that still rise from some
German lake"
These water horses appear in many
lands. In Iceland. Nick, or Hnickur, also
called by other names. appears as a gray
horse with hoofs turned backward. When
the ice splits open in the winter it is said
to be the water horse coming up. One
was said to have eight feet and ten heads.
This steed sometimes induces young per-
som to mount his back when he rushes
into the water, n 1t is said that he can
be tanned, but his bride must never be
taken off.
In the Orkney islands the water sprite
comes as a handsome little horse, with
his name covered with weeds. In the
Shetland islands, S%hoopultie is the name
given to him. as well as Njuggle or Nick.
An old historical chronicle asserts one
was tanned and worked during the day.
Popular counts represent him as having
q tail like a wheel. He is usually mis-
chievous. stopping mills, carrying persons
into the sea, etc.
THE WATER KELPY.
Nearly every Scotch lake or stream had
its water kelpy. He would decoy travellers
to mount him, and rush into the water
with them. He could be caught by fling
ing over his mead a bride marked with
the sign of the cross. A blacksmith, sus.
picious of one of these water sprites,
thrust a hot iron into it's side, reducing it
to a heap of starch.
Water horses are called Phookie and
Aughisky in Ireland, and are said to come
up out of the lakes, some of them being
carnivorous. One had a serpent's body,
with a horses head In north Germany
Jagowd is the name applied to the water
horse. One is said to have come out of a
lake, harnessed himself to a harrow, and
worried the other horses to death.
Mosquito Indians say Wikwin, a demon,
appears in the shape of a horse. Eastern
lore is not without it's stories of water
horses. FL Kazwini, q medieval Arab
writer, says sea horses are larger than
those of the land, and have cloven hoofs
and a small name and tail.
Throughout England and Scotland it
was formerly supposed that horses were
at times ridden by witches and fairies.
1t was said that if the names and tails of
the horses were foun to be plated and
knotted together it was q sure sign the
fairies had been riding the steeds. To
prevent this, as well as to guard against
the unwelcome visits of witches, it was
the custom to hang about the doors of the
stables n in the stalls and g
branches of ash or yew, hazel or broom.
The horseshoe, nailed up over the door,
was also eficacious here. When the in
mates of the stables were found covered
with a cold sweat or moisture in the
morning it was deemed q sure sign that
witches had ridden them during the
night.
Nor were these beldames satisfied with
the chargers thus surreptitiously pro
cured. 1t was wildly believed, here and
on the continent, that witches were able
to transform persons into horses, and
that sucE steeds were ridden to the night
ly rendezvous of these hays.
VARIOUS oMENs.
There are few omens connected with
the horse. In Yorkshire, England, it is
thought unlucky to see a white horse.
Probably here is a key to the connection
between the white steed and the i'll
omened red haired girl. In many parts
of England it is believed hat any person
riding a piebald horse is able to cure the
~whooping cough.
Around the neck of a horse in York
shire, some years since, was found o
string tied to a bag made of the thumb of
an old glove. containing the Lords prayer
written on This WAS thoupht
to preserve the animal from evil In the
same district. If a horse became foul" or
'%..fellen, the owner cured it by going into
the orchard at midnight, cutting into a
tuEt from the foot of an apple tree and
hanging it in the branches of the tree.
AS the turf decayed it was said the horse
would 20 In Ireland it is thought
that you may subdue an unruly horse by
whispering in his ear the Greed.
1t is said that Darius. king of Persia,
was chosen ruler by the neighing of his
horse, 1t having been left by lot to decide
who should hold the reins of power by
choosing the noble whose steed neighed
first.
The horse is a well known emblem in
heraldry and in art. 1t is frequently fig
ured on the tombs in the catacombs,
where it is the emblem of the swiftness
of life In early Christian art it typifed
courage and generosity. and St. Martin,
st. Maurice, st George. st. Victor and
st. Leon are all represented on horseback.
In Aryan mythology the swift flying
clouds were said to be horses. Gothic and
Germanic tribes sometimes sacrificed
horses on the funeral piles of their chief.
tains.-F s Bassett in Globe Democrat,
Forks "a Modern Invention.