The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1888-01-21
WILD HORSES.
Their Pursuit and Capture in
the Southwest.
The Animals Tired Out by Re-
lays of Mounted Hunters.

ties take several hundred head yearly.
The method generally adopted when
hunting horses is to ''walk thcn," thai.
is, to follow them pcrsistcnt!y until
they 1rc completely tagged out AID
thoroughly subduci. At first sight TIL,
pan would seem impossible, for the
horse carrying the rider would BE- GER
tain to be done for" when the rider
less and unfcttcrcd animal was compar-
ativcly fresh. But the habit of horses
when in a natural stlts is to keep to 4
certain range. generally ajou. fifteen or
twenty niles in diamctcr. To
this ground they vii co"f &c
themselves, even whoa rursued:
consequently they vii! flee more or less
in circle. The horse hunter, knowing
this popularity, forms his plars &C
cordiaGly. When the party have
reached the wi.d-horsc plains, they
pitch their camp near some watcr-holc.
Two of them then sally oat on horse
back, when, if they are lucky enough to
sight herd, they at once give chase.
The wild horses quickly take the alarm,
and .or the first few hours the hunters
have difficulty in keeping their game in
sight. but alter 4 time the wild horses,
finding their pursucrs arc not gaining on
them, slacken their speed, and the hunt
ers, instead of trying to run up to them,
slacken theirs. In accordance with their
habit the herd viii travel in a circle
round their range, and before the hunt
crs have been many hours in pursuit
they will have arrived in the vicinity o.
their camp. If not in sight of it, they
fire quick succession Of pistol shots,
the reports being audible for
many miles on the silent level
prairies. This signifies to the men
in camp that herd is being pursued,
and in a few minutes two men are
mounted, who gallop in the direction of
the shots. They soon come up with
their friends, and the tired men and
horses return to camp to rest themselves
until it is their turn to be called out on
relief; meanwhile the fresh men carry
on the pursuit. This goes on day and
night, until the herd is dead beat"
and can be driven like cattle to the
camp. SJmctim,s, when the pursue
herd is composed of stout, vigorous,
horses the chase extends over four or five
days; but generally they succunb after
two days pursuit. The few short hours
Of darkness which constitute Il summers
night on the prairics is tine time whaa
thc hunters are most liable to have their
game c-cape them; but there Is gcncr-
ally hazy light by which objects can
be distinguished even at a distance;
when this fails the hunter depends en-
tircly upon his stecd, and if well trained
itwillby sense of smell keep in the tracks
of the rowing herd. Instances have
been known of herds when nearly cx.
hau>tcd turning on their pursuers, and
by means OF hoofs and teeth attempting
to drive them away, hut such cases are
rare. the aim of the wild horse being to
Keep as far as possible from his enemies
even when in desperate condition.
When the subducd herd has been driven
TO camp they are surrounded, and by
means OF the lasso several Of them are
caught, and hobbies are fastened on
their forelegs; this effectually prevents
them from straying toany great distance,
and the rest of the herd will always re-
main in the vicinity of their manac!ed
friends. Some hunters adopt the cruel
practice of "kneeling" their captives,
this being done by severing the sincws
Mt the back of the knee joints; it has the
effect of making the animals PAGES ex-
tremcly slow, and is only performed |
on mares. as "kneed" horse !
IS totally unfit for work.
Being the descendants OF the stock
originally brought over by the Spanish !
rorquerors many of these horses retain
the delicate muscles and general build |
of the Spanish horse, but they have
greatly dcgcncrated from in breeding.
nrd seldom exceed fourteen hands in
hei"hG they make useful servants VIXEN
cauGWyouag and well broken, tut they
Away retain their love Of freedom, AID
viii often forsakc their masters and re-