Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-06-05
~3CREAsING' A MUSTANG.
SKILL DISPLAYED BY TEXAS Marks
MEN IN CAPTURING WILD HORSES.

The Animals Formerly n Great Nuisance
to Cattle MISUNDERSTANDING an Untamed
Mustang with q Riae Ball-Irreclaim-
IDLY Vicious Brutes.
]. 7. Hill, who for many years has been
engaged in cattle raising in Texas and the
Indian territory, remarked to n reporter
the other day: 'In the early days of the
cattle business in Texas, from 1857 to
1860, tho ranges were overrun by bands
Of wild horses. These animals were a
great nuisance, as they would get mixed
with our loose horses and run them off
when any n approached. AS q rule they
were a rough, i'll shaped set of beasts, and
almost untamable, 50 that few attempts
were ever made to catch them, IL being
considered best to shoot them on sight
and thus get rid of a disturbing influence
in our horse herds. Sometimes, however,
a really fine animal would be seen and the
ranchmen would try hard to secure 1t.
But the ordinary mode of capture, lasso-
ing, could seldom be Used against wild
horses, and these beasts were very shy,
and even a poor horse, carrying no weight,
could outstrip a very fine animal with a
man on his back. / have chased wild
horses 100 times and have become thor
oughly convinced of the truth of the
English racing saying that the weight of
a stable key will win or lose a race.
NOVEL METHOD OF CAPTURE.
Elm this extremity the Texans used to
resort to a means of capturing the horses
which Is, I believe, exclusively American
1t was discovered, / do not know how,
that a blow upon a particular sinew in a
horses neck, located just above where the
spine joins the skull, would ~paralyze the
animal temporarily without doing it any
permanent injury. In those days the
Texans were nearly without exception
fine shots, and at short range could send
o rifle ball with phenomenal accuracy.
The horses could not be approached ex-
cept on foot, and 1t was impossible to
catch them on horseback. But, not to be
overcome by any such difficulties, the
cowboys discovered n way to capture
them. Taking his rife, o hunter would
crawl through the thick chaparral until
within fifty or sixty yards of the horse he
desired to secure. Then, taking careful
aim, he would endeayor to send q bullet
through the top of the neck so as to strike
the sSnew. When this was properly lone
the horse would fall as If struck by light
ning and remain insensible for ten or ff-
teen minutes, recovering completely in In
hour or two, with no worse injury than a
cliolt ,-or,Jt L., AZ. Iaa1- - Ak ,,aal- {lo4
soon healed. OF course many bullets went
astray and hundreds of horses were killed,
but 81 good shot would secure about one
horse In three that he attempted to
crease as this mode of capture was
called.
The large calibre rifles commonly In
use were not adapted to this peculiar mode
of hunting, as if they touched the sinew
they We're sure to break it, and the
wounds the a or SO calibre balls inflicted
were too severe. The weapon universally
employed in creasing mustangs was the
old Hawkins riffs, which carried a bullet
not much larger than a pea, had a set
trigger and required but q small charge OF
powder. These weapons were wonder
fully accurate up to 100 yards, but in
flicted a trifling wound. and the bullet
was likely to take a course through soft
flesh around any hard object, instead Of
tearing through it, as a larger ball pro-
PEELED by a heavier charge of powder
would do. Hundreds of mustangs, al
ways the best animals in the herd, used
to be creased every year, and this prac.
tice was kept up until the herds had en-
tirely disappeared.