Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-03-22

Iaroused the ire Of tie soErel leader 81
the herd. and that tho question Of
championship had como up t. be ret
tied at once. The two stations were
between us and the herd. and were al.
ready skirmishing. Every one of the
horses had his head toward the pair.
and was an interesting spectator. Al
any other time our presence would
have put them to fight, but under the
circumstances they gave US NO atten-
ton.
Now occurred q combat the like Of
which few men have ever witnessed.
The horses were pretty evenly matched
for size. Our champion had an ad-
vantage in being shod, but to Offset
this the sorrel was the quicker. Their
movements showed the broad disparity
between wild and domestic life. Our
horse was agile and smart as the
terms go, but the sorrel had the sup
pleness of a panther. As boxers feint
for an opening, SO these horses skir-
mished for an advantage They APP
preached until their noses almost met,
and then reared up with shrill neighs.
struck at each other, and came down
to wheel and kick. The iron shoes OF
our horse hit nothing but air. but we
heard tie double thud Of the sorrels
hind feet as he sent them home. They
ran off to wheel and come together
again and repeat the same tactics. and
again our horse got the worst of it.
He was a headstrong. high-strung
beast, and his temper was now up.
When he wheeled the third time he
came back with a rush, screaming out
in his anger. The sorrel turned end
for end like fash to use his heels, but
our champion lodged the kicks and
seized him by the shoulder with his
teeth. There was q terrific struggle
before the hold was broken, and then
they backed into each other and kicked
with all fury for a few seconds. Every
hoof hit something solid. but the iron
shoes of our horse scored point in his
favor When they separated we could
see that the sorrel had been badly used,
especially about the legs.
When the horses wheeled for the
third time. both were bent on mischief
As they came together they reared up
like dogs and struck at each other, and
for five minutes they were scarcely Of
their hind feet. Some hard blows were
exchanged. and our horse had the best
of the round. Indeed, when tho sorrel
wheeled and ran away he had his head
down and he seemed to acknowledge
defeat. He ran off about twenty rods
before wheeling. and as he stood for a
moment Hooked at him through field
glass which one of the men handed me.
His ears lay fat his eyes looked blood
shot, and there was bloody foam on his
lips He had been severely handled,
but was by no means defeated. In
deed. he had run away for the moment
to adopt new tactics When he moved
up again he was the picture Of ferocity.,
He came at full speed, reared, and
struck right and left, and the second
blow knocked our horse fiat on the
ground. It was a Knockout blow.
The victor stood over him for q mo-
ment, watching for movement, but
as none was made he joined the herd.
and all went off at gallop. It was
five minutes before our horse staggered
to his feet, and he wanted no more
fighting. He had three bad bites about
the shoulders. and his legs were
skinned in a dozen places. and it was a
week before he got his spirit back.
Two or three times during the next
ten days I saw lone wild horses, and
one of the old hunters with US was
asked for an explanation. He said
they were "rogues '-stallions which
had been driven from the herd in dis
grace-and that they were always con-
sidered ugly and dangerous. He had
known of them attacking single
horseman. but the presence of large
party like ours would of course brighten
them of: Two days after this ex-
PLANTATION we were strung out for three
miles along the river, on the march
and survey. Something was lost by
an officer. and one of the troopers was
sent back to recover it. Ten minutes
later the article supposed to be lost
was found in one of the ambulances.
and l was sent hack to notify the
trooper. He had galloped back ia
camp. a distance of two miles, and
was searching around on foot when ]
arrived in sight was about to fire q
shot to attract his attention. when
from the cottonwood grove beyond the
camp horse came charging out He
was "rogue." and bent on mischief
The soldiers horse was grazing. and
the soldier had his eyes on the ground.
and was so astonished BY the sudden
charge Of the rogue that l made nc
move to stop him or to warn the
trooper. Indeed. . warning could
have hardly reached him in time. Hi
back was to the approaching horse,
and the rogue seized him in his teeth
by hold between the shoulders and
draroed him twenty rods before ding.