The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-01-31
WOLVES AND HORSES.
MORTAL COMBAT BETWEEN WILD
STEEDS AND GRAY PROWLERS.

Experience Of Three Hunters In the Pine
nut Mountain Range of Nevada
Thrilling Fight to the Death Beautiful
Specimens OF the Equine Breed.
"One of the queerest things about
Nevada, and one that has kept me Won
dering" said Tom ID. Sellers, of Carson,
to an Examiner reporter at the Baldwin.
''are those wild horses. | have lived in
Nevada twenty-six years. A good deal
of that time | have been in the Comstock
range, but when not there mining have
been off in the hills of Douglas, Nye,
Churchill and Lander counties.
1T is in these that many bands of
wild horses roam at their pleasure, both
winter and summer. In winter the wild
horses usually seek shelter in the Pine
nut range of Douglas county.
"This Pinenut range extends for sew
enty-five or hundred miles out toward
Utah, and is covered with thick growth
of shrublike pines, which bear nutritious
nut and which give ample shelter, while
affording the seclusion which the wild
bands seek. The Indians used to live on
this nut, and they do yet to some extent,
but in the valleys below the pines, and
| growing at intervals among them, is a
very nutritious grass. 1t is on this that
the wild horses live.
LARGE MUSTANGS.
"The real mountain wild horse is a
mustang of large size His shoulders
are untitled for the collar, not being SO
heavy as those of the American horse,
and he is mountain climber, scarcely
excelled by the wild goat.
every color, from bright bay to iron
gray, white and black, can be found.
For steady running nothing of the equine
breed can equal him. The racers which
( run on our tracks would outrun him for
a couple of miles, perhaps, but they have
not the staying qualities of the wild
ones.
81 am just in from the Pinenut range.
went over there hunting deer in COM
pany with William McKendree and John
| Thurston, of Phoebe. We fell afoul of a
band of about twenty wild horses that
dashed into our camp and liked to have
made lis walk more than 100 miles. 1t
was about 10 o'clock. and we had Just
turned in.
"Our camp fire was yet brightly
blazing, and l heard roar off to the
northwest like the tread of an advancing
army. We were on the northwest side
of the range, and there was steady in
cline right down to us for a couple of
miles. / gazed out into the dim light,
but could see nothing, as the fire into
which had previously been looking and
thinking blurred my eyes.
1.-THE roar continued and | called to
Thurston and McKendree to get up, and
that something was going to happen.
One .. NJ. "''""-ing away
off ..' hought it
i into the
4 dal w uneasy
an .. d at their
lal
IT,. .s. sl. nd emerge
FRI ome on to-
ward us. They were running at fear
full rate; their nostrils were dilated, and
their long names and tails flying in the
wind. Their eyes flashed fire. and none
of us could understand the reason OF
their fight On they came, seemingly
seeking protection. and dashed right up
to us.
1--WE saw we were to be ground under
their heels unless we did something, and
we began to shout and halloo for all we
were worth.
"Sur horses were meantime daShine
and charging. and it looked as if every
instant they would break away. We
grasped our guns and fired over the
heads of the horses, for they were Sc
pretty that we didn't want to kill them
FINALLY, just at the last second o1
time, when we thought we were to bt
borne down by the wild throng, they
turned and dashed down the hill into the
darkness.
"By this time we began to hear weirC
howls and neighing and stamping
Every once in while we heard {
whack, as though something was hitting
something else with terrific force, com
bined with louder howls. The noise wa
just behind the spur of pinenut trees, {
quarter of mile away. 1t continued
louder than ever, and two of us con
cluded to push on out and see what tn,
rumpus was.
Judge of our surprise when we SCI
three old stations surrounded by pacl
of big mountain wolvesvand kicking ant
biting for all they were worth. Three o
four of the wolves had been sent t.
grass, their ribs broken and disabled il
other ways.
FIERCE COMBAT.
"Around the stations were the abl
bodied wolves, swapping and growlin.
and showing their long, white, viciou
teeth. Their eyes cleaned wickedly il
the darkness. The side of one of tn
horses was bitten and bleeding.
1.-The horses stood almost head to heat
} and planted terrific blows on the head
and bodies of the wolves.
Every once in while a wolf de
scribed Il parabola in the air. 1t was
scene long to be remembered. Out ther
in the keen, crisp night air of the noun
!, tains the three wild horses were fghtin,
not only for their lives, but for the live
Of the younger and weaker members o
the band, who were being defended from
the wolves, who, hungry, had stolen il
upon them.
I'VE fired on the wolves, and for
minute there was as interesting fusll
lade as you could wish to see. We sho
right into the pack, to the right and lef
of the horses, and several of the big gra..
wolves bit the dust. They did not Civ
up right off, though.
"They still eyed and snapped violentl..
at the horses, and even when we hat
disrupted the band by our firing and tn
horses turned to run away some OF tn
wolves followed them. A shot from
Thurston's gun, however, fixed the oil
lead wolf, and another ball crippled tn
next, and the wild horses fled far ava,
to join the band which they had so valor
ously defended.
''In moment there was nothing bu
the distant resounding of hoofs, as tn
|, horses fled far down the edge of the littl
stream in the distance. The wolves tool
a back track to the trees far back on tn
Pinenut range, and we saw no more o
them that night, though you may b
sure that one or the other of us wa
awake until broad daylight. San Fran
cisco Examiner.
1T says in the paper" quote Mrs
t Spriggins, THAT they are pushing tn
Poughlseepsie bridge very hard. | SUP
pose they want to see if it is real goo
and strong. "-Harper's Bazar.
THE HANDSoAiEsT LADY IN LoNDoNDERR
Remarked to friend the other day ths