Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-02-04
INUNDATED MUSTANGS.
They Object to Drawing Street Cars as a
Profession.

From the New York Times.
The time for the degrading slavery Of the
wild western mustang has come. Within
very few months he has been brought to this
city in droves, and at present on the 3d-avenue
surface railway at least, he outnumbers the
eastern horse in the ratio of nearly five to one.
They may be seen on most of the cars which
run from the stables at 65th street to city hail.
scarcely larger than a good-sized pony. with
rough coats and an evident distrust of the ele-
waited railway trains which go laundering along
overhead. They have been tried and unwit-
tingly passed their trial successfully. The re-
suit will be, therefore, that they will have to do
most of the pulling for the 3d-avenue road
until il begins its new cable system.
The number of the little horses in use here
is daily increasing for several reasons. They
eat less than big horse, they keep in better
condition, they are less subject to disorders,
they have much more endurance. and after
they are once trained they work together with
quite as much ease as their more civilized
brothers. But before they are trainod they are
not inclined to peace and are familiar with
their hostlers that the latter. in order to keep
whole clothing on their backs, are compelled
to endow their charges with muzzles OF the
wrought-iron order. The mustangs are pur-
chased in the west, particularly in Texas, by
the agents of the company. which no longer
ucpcuus upOu tut uOTst-trduiilS ldltuts Oh UrH1S
in this city. They are sent here in patches of
twenty and forty and are as wild as a Manitoba
blizzard
Their training is done in the stable at 65th
street. For considerable time they won't eat
''but by an by" as driver described it, ''they
git SO hungry that their insides git all knotted
up, and then they eat their stalls" As this is
not particularly nutritious diet the mustangs
begin to show a longing for hay, but what they
really delight in is bran. When this main diff
ficulty of eating is overcome the little horses
are harnessed to cars with old settled-down
car-horses as their mates, and with poles are
driven around the stable They have a partic-
ular fondness for climbing posts and trying to
get on the tops of the cars, but by means of
well-administered hints that such conduct is
not tolerated in civilized communities they
manage to canter around little. Two DAYS
are generally sufficient to convince the mus
tangs that there is a point where obstnacy
ceases to become praisewOrthy attribute.
But there comes another difficulty. Despite
their utter detestation for all manner Of tanned
horses they are harnessed to old stagers and be-
gin their trips down town. At the appearance
of every train they endeavor to climb up the
pillars to see what it looks like, but restrained
by the other horse and the repeated evidences
of dissatisfaction from their driver they settle
down to endurance. Two weeks of this sort of
thing and set of tired drivers generally brings
consignment of mustangs into an appreciation
of the dull realities of eastern life. After that
they are harnessed to one of their own race and
pass their lives in exchanging memories of the
Texan plains and in drawing cars.