San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-10-28
ONLY A MAD STALLION.
BUT HEaHAD slooo IN HIS EYE AND
MADE THINGS WARM.


have had several disagreeable encoun-
tiers with vicious horses, but only once was
| so unfortunate as to fall in with one pos
sessed by homicidal mania. My escape
was so narrow, and the experience left so
deep an impression upon my mind, that
have felt ever since an instructive distrust
for this most noble of domestic animals.
One autumn, when | was about 10, was
taking tramp through the eastern town.
ships of Quebec, preparatory to resuming
work at college | reached the little village
of Maybury one day at noon and dropped
into the village inn for luncheon. The
village was in state of excitement over
tragedy which had taken place that very
morning, and which was speedily detailed
to me by every one with whom ! came in
contact boy living on farm near the
village had been killed in the most horri.
BILE manner by fine stallion that had gone
suddenly mad A fierce anger stirred in
my veins as listened to the story, and ]
asked the inn keeper, who was my inform
ant, what they had done to the brute.
"Well," answered Boniface. 'this after
noon there's crowd goin' out to ketch
him an tie him up. If he's too bad fur
that-an' if know anything about horses
he's just gone mad, stark mad-why,
they'll have to shoot him off hand to save
their own necks."
81 wonder if I'll run any risk of meeting
him'" | queried rather anxiously. I had
no weapon but my heavy walking stick,
and had almost a sentimental regard for
the integrity of my neck.
(which way be you bound?" inquired
Bonface
FOR Blissville," answered.
"Oh," said he, you're all right then.
The horses are feedin' ont yonder to the
northeast, and Blissville lays SOUTH"
AN UNPLEASANT MEETING.
1t was with few misgivings that now
resumed my journey.
was soon beyond the cultivated fields,
past the last of the fences had climbed
one of those rocky terraces and made 200
yards across the breezy down when be-
hind a low knoll caught sight Of a group
of horses quietly pasturing, and remem-
bered with aqualm the mornings tragedy.
Could this, asked myself, be the herd
containing that mad stallioni
halted and was about to retrace my
steps unobtrusively, in the hope that had
escaped their notice. But it was too late.
Two or three of the animals raised their
heads and looked at me. One in the group
snorted with n peculiar half whinny, at the
sound of which my heart sunk.
Then ! caught sight of one in the center,
which seemed to he jumping up in the air
off all four feet at once The next minute
this creature, a great black animal, ap-
peared outside the group, plunging and
biting at his flank. Then, with short,
dreadful sound, he darted toward me. open
mouthed
Up to this point had stood my ground,
cycling the brute resolutely, with an ap-
pearance of fearlessness that ! was very
far from feeling But now l saw that my
only hope, and that desperate one, lay in
flight. | was accounted at college a first
rate sprinter, and now l ran my best. The
200 yards that lay between me andsthe ter.
race had just left must have been GOV.
cred in not much more than twenty Sec
onds. But as I reached the brow of the
slope the mad brute was close on my heels.
had no time to check myself, and even
less notion TO do so. In fact | fell. and
rolled headlong down, dropping, bruised
and bewildered, into a crevice between two
powders. The next instant | saw the
black mass of my pursuer dashing over me
in q splendid heap. Before he could turn
and seize me had rolled further into the
crevice, and found that one of the rocks
overhung so as TO form a little narrow
cave, into which could squeeze myself SD
far as to be quite beyond the animals
reach.
Never before or since have discovered
so unexpected and proyidential a refuge.
The raving stallion came bounding and
Ieaping up to the very door of my burrow,
but | felt safe He would roll back his
lips, lay his ears fat to his head, spring
straight into the air and shrek through
his wide red nostrils his fury and his chal-
lenge The latter did not think it incum
bent upon me to accept. | waived 1t in dis
dainful silence.
For a time the brute kept up his bound
ings and those strange, proud Jerklngs OF
his head, but at last he actually tried to
stretch his neck into my burrow and reach
me with his frightful naked teeth.
1t must have teen for nearly an hour
that watched the mad creatures antics
from my den.
was beginning to cast about somewhat
anXiously for a way of escape from this
imprisonment when ! saw the pasturing
herd suddenly toss up their heads and then
go scurrying away across the down. My
adversary saw this, too, and turned his at
tention away from me. | peered forth
cautiously, and to my profound relief OBJ
served party of men, several carrying
ropes and halters and others armed with
rifles, approaching the terrace foot. One
man walked little ahead Of the Others
and held out peck measure in which he
shook something, which presume to have
been oats. ....
THE RESCUE PARTY.
The stallion eyed them somberly for an