St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-06
Dressing Up the Story Told
Him by an Old Ranchman
Named Steine.
The Singular Habits Of the
Wild HopSe--A Nuisance
to Stock Growers.
How the Indians Hunt Them
Great Fun for the OAR
ing Cowboys.


hole in his lungs, writes Gen. BriSbin
from Fort Mckinney, w. T., to the New
York World.
There said the old ranchlnan, as
he stopped over the dying horse. Il
guess you won't steal any more of my
mares, you old rascal ,you," and he con-
temptuously kicked the carcass. The
ranchman was old Steine, well-known
horse raiser in the Big Horn mountains.
What did you kill him for?'' asked.
"W hat did L kill him forP' said old
my mares,of course g You don't suppose
l killed him for fun, did yer'
Il don't know" replied modestly,
''but it seems a pity to kill SO fine a
beast"
"A fine old thief" said Steine, kick
ing the carcass again. why, man, do
you know that old cuSs has stolen more
| than dozen of my mares, and reckon
| $1,000 wouldn pay for the damage he
has done i'll this valley during the past
summer"
Tell me all about it, 1 said, ''for it
| all seems very strange to me-"
81 reckon it wouldn't seem very
| strange to you, stranger. il you lived up
in these parts and were a-trying to raise
| horses" And the man smiled at me
contemptuously, as if he thought was
greenhorn just up from the East.
See here, old man." L said sharply,
''I'll thank you not to take me for ten
derfOOt, for | reckon | have been on the
| plains as long as you have, but [ never
saw anybody kill horse like that be-
FORE"
''Guess your experience at horse
raising, then.i rather limited, stranger
said old Steine, ''but as you ask ME a
| civil question, and seem to be an honest
sort of a chap, I'll tell you all about il"
Didn't you never hear Of wild
| horseS~ he asked, suddenly.
Yes" | said, II have, Of course"
"Well," continued Steine, that's one
| was the biggest thief in the whole lot.
You see, they run in gangs of fifty to a
hundred, and the stations steal our
mares, and drive them off into the wild
bands, and that's the last we ever see of
them, unless it is with aspy-glass. They
| just go plum wild, and seem worse nor
the real wild Mares"
l then learned from the old ranchman
some curious facts about the wild horses
of the plains. Every effort to destroy
them has proved futile, and the aid of
the territorial government is now to be
asked to eradicate their bands. They
have increased SO wonderfully within
the past few years that they have be-
come an unbearable nuisance to the
Stock-groWers of the plains. They
Craze in bands of twenty, fifty and even
100, and are very difficult to approach.
An old stallion generally occupies some
elevation, and
HE WILL. TRUMPET AN ALARM
to the herd if he sees any one coming.
In times of danger from wild beasts the
stations form circle, and the mares
and colts are put inside. The colts are
often attacked by wolves or Rocky
mountain lions, out they never succeed
in killing colt without battle with
the horses, and often the wolves and
lions are kicked and beaten so badly
that they have to beat retreat without
are regular MOrmonS, and get all
the mares they can. They cross and re-
cross the country looking for mares, and
even PROSECUTING for horses to enter
their band. If cow ponies stray too far
from the cattle or camp the first thing
they know they are rounded up by an
old stallion and driven off into the hills.
Often wild herd will discover tame
band of horses grazing quietly in the
valley with no intention of leaving their
range, but the band of wild horses, led
on by their stations, dash down into the
valley, capture them and carry them
away. The wild stations are shot with
out mercy by the ranchmen. Ii one is
seen gazing on hill he is sneaked
upon and dropped in his tracks. They
are very alert and difficult to approach,
but like the tame horse are easily
killed. A bullet in almost any part of
the body will cause the horse to drop Oh
the plain. The Indians are the best
Wild-hOrse hunters, but they do
not like to be out in stormy
weather, and they cannot stand
the cold of winter gs well as white men.
In storm is the best time to hunt wild
horses, for then they bunch and cannot
see any one approaching until it is too
late to get out of the way of the bullets.
1t is generally useless for hunter to at
tempt to run down a wild horse with a
down by the burden of the hunters
body, soon tires, and the wild horse
easily escapes. Sometimes the hunters
discover the tracks of wild horses near
a stream, and they then hunt for their
Watering-p1ace. The band always
water at the same place, and, although
right on the stream, the horses will 90
up or down it for mile or more in
order to drink at their accustomed
watering place. Hiding in the brush or
crawling to bluff, the hunter lies
i'll wait until the horses come
to the water, and then shoots
them. 1t is difficult to catch them,
as they seem to know inStinctively when
hunters are about. and if they even sus-
pect danger they will at once leave the
locality. A smoke OF any thing unusual
will stampede them, and they will run
forty or fifty miles before letting up.
Their sense of smell is very acute, and
on the wind side about mile is as close
as hunter can get before being discov-
cred by his Odor, and the horses are off
in a jiffy.
The winter is the best season for
wild-horse hunting in Wyoming. The
animals get discouraged by the deep
SHOWS and become hungry and poor.
They are apt at such times to bunch in
the cottonwood groves, where they eat
the bark off the trees and chew up all
small limbs they can reach. In winter.
too, the horse-hunters can unite with
it the business of "wolfing."
Perhaps some people do not
know what ''wolfng" is. Well, a
''wolfer' is simply pot-hunter, or a
man who kills wolves for their hides
and the reward offered for their destruc-
ton. In earlier years wolves on the
plains were
KILLED ONLY FOR THEIR PELTS,
but now they are killed to save the
game and sheep as we'll as for their
peltS. Next to man the wolf is the
greatest destroyer of game. The gray
wolf is dangerous, too, and will
attack anything, from chip
munk to mann. They used
to hunt in gangs and destroy a great
many buffaloes. They would follow an
old bull. biting him until they had ham
strung him, and then they would kill
and eat him. The buffalo being gone.
the sheep, cattle and small game of ali