Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1888-05-24

would paralyze the animal temporaTily
without doing it any permanent ipinry.
la those days the Texans were nearly
without exception fine shots, and at short
range could send rifle ball with pheu-
omenal accuracy. The horses could not
be approached except on foot, and it was
impossible to catch them on horseback.
But, not to be oyfrcome by any such off.
tculties, the cowboys discovered a way 10
capture them. Taking his rifle, hunter
would crawl through the thick csaparral
until within fifty or sixty yards of the
horse he desired to secure. Then. taking
careful aim, he would endeayor 10 send a
bullet through the top of the neck SO as
to strike the sinew. When this was prop
erly done the horse would fall as il struck
by Lightning and remain inseusible for
ten or fifteen minutes, recovering com
pletely in an hour or two, with no worse
injury than slight wound in the back of
the neck that soon healed. OF course
many bullets went astrRy and hundreds
of horses we're killed, but a good shot
would secure about one horse in three that
he attempted to crease as this mode OF
capture was called. The large-cahher
rifles commonly IN use were not adapted to
this peculiar mode of hunting, for if they
touched the slnew they were sure to break
1t, and the wounds the a. or % caliber
balls inflicted were to severe. The weapon
universally employed in creasing mus
tangs was the Cd Hawkins rifle, which
carried bullet not much larger than a
pea, had a set trigger, and required but
asmall charge of powder. These weapons
were wonderfully accurate up to 100 yards,
but indicted trihiug wound, and the bull
let was likely to take course through soft
flesh around any hard object, instead OF
tearing through it, as a larger ball pro
PEELED by heavier charge of powder
would do. Hundreds of mustangs, always
the best animals in the herd, used to be
creased every year, and this practice was
kept up until the herds had entirely dis
appeared.
Some of the horses thus secured were
very tough and fleet animals, but few were
of any practical use. Nearly all were
stations, as a wild marc that was good
for anything was seldom seen, and the
captured horses were nearly, without ex-
ception, irreclaimably vicious, even when
judged from n Texas standpoint. Even
when broken to the saddle they could only
be ridden by the very best horseman, and
were always on the lookout TO do their
riders an injury. Strange to say, they
seldom tried to kick but man had TO be
continually on the lookout for their fore
feet and teeth. They only used their
hind feet when man WAS about TO mount
but nearly every one OF them had tricA
of kicking forward IS soon as the rider
put his foot in the strrup, and unless he
was wary he would receive a terrible blow
on the leg. used to own horse that,
believe, could scratch himself between the
ears with his hind foot, his hind legs be
ing apparently made of india rubber
The instant he felt a foot in the stirruI
bis hind hoof would come forward Will
the speed OF lightning, ia the attempt tC
iuhict most vicious kick. l gave NJ
mounting him in the usual way, and Away
used TO vault into the saddle withou
touching the stirrups, feat easily enough
performed in my younger days, although
| would have some difficulty in doing j
now. fused TO like TO ride wild horses
but after one or two narrow escapes from
their deadly fore feet, which they wOulC
use if a man carelessly stood in front o.
them, gave it up and stuck TO the tam
stock,