The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-11-28

in the Saddle on One Of These Beasts
An Account OF Dihcult 59ouut.
Mr.. Finch-Hgttou who has much to say
about bucilcrs. tolls us that sore backs anc
girth calling are the curses Of Australian
bush riGing-curses which are chiefly due
TO the carelesspess Of riders. A horse fec
solely on grass and gallopcd nearly hun
dred miles at a stretch is. of course, mo-.
liable to sore buck than one led upon oats,
and an additional disadvantage to Austria
liam "walers" is that they are never
groomed and Therefore have very dirty
coats Moreover they are ridden in e
shapeless, cumbersome machine called "a
colonial saddle, which IS made Of rough
leath with q high pommel and cantle
and huge knee pads.
Altogether this unwieldy contrivance
weighs about twenty pounds, and any
thing better devised to create a sore back
1t would be impossible to invent. The Aus
tralian winter nights are cold and fresh,
and it is astonishing that there should not
he more roarers in the island continent.
Nature reveages herself however, by in
ficting on almost every Aus; raljan horse
r. sore back, and il was the belief Of Lieut..
Col. Mundy, the author Of Our Anti
podes," that the large number of Austria
liam buck jumpers was directly attribute
bic to the universally among them Of
sore back.
ONE MANS OPINION.
Mr.. Finch Hatton adds that this trouble
some complaint Is seldom caused by an
English saddle, and for this reason he
made a point Of invariably using one dur
. in, Z M
unless he knew that the animal he was
about to bestride was certain to buck, 'in
which case it is perfectly hopeless TO stick
On in an English saddle"
Seated on a buck jumper the rider sees
nothing In front Of him but the pommel
of the saddle, and feels, in Mr.. Finch Hat
tons words, "as if he were assisting at an
earthquake or a railway accident" In
bucking horse tucks his head between
his forelegs. and holds il so low as some
times TO strike his under jaw with his hind
feet. Meantime the back is areheG like
that of pugnacioUs cat, and the tremen-
doUs bounds, sometimes forward, some
times backward, and sometimes aside,
made By the animal in this position are
kept up almost without intermission for
several minutes, until, in some cases, he
throws himself on the ground, baf1ied in
his attempt TO unseat his rider, whom he
tries to crush by rolling over him.
To sit him, unless the saddle has knee
pads, is said BY Mr. Finch atton to be an
absolute impcssibility; but in a colonial
saddle any one who keeps his nerve and is
& fair horseDan can triumph over the
worst and most violent offender.
A ROYAL BATTLE.
One hundred and thirty years ago the
celebrated Col carleton, who was called
the ScoUrGe Of the Carolinas," had tus-
sic in Virginia-where lac was fighting for
King George III against the American reb-
els--with "A formidable black thoroughbred
who was credited with being able to jump
six feet high, and TO keep on Jumping and
bucling, sometimes straight and some
times with sidelong bounds, for half an
hour at a time. An account of the strug-
gle between the mad horse and his indom-
liable rider was given not long after its
occurrence by Virginia newspaper in as
dramatic and stirring a bit of writing as
ever appeared in print.
Just then" exclaims the narrator. "my
attention was attracted by the violent
plUngings of a horse which two stout En-
glish grooms were endeavoring 20 lead to
she spot where Col. Tarleton and / were
standing. The horse was large and pow
erful brute, beautifully formed, aud as
black as a crow, with an eye that seemed
TO blaze with ire. His progress was one
continued bound-at times swinging the
grooms of the ground, as though they
were tassels hung on his huge Spanish bit.
] asked Col. Tarle;on the meaning Of this
scene, and be answered quietly that he had
heard Of the horse as an unmanageable
brute, and had bought him Tor the large
sum Of 9lO0'--the word dollar" was then
unknown in North America-"in order TO
ride him. Ride himp said ]; you might
as well try to back "A streak of lightning"
THE BRUTE CONQUERED.
Col. Tarleton, however, had not miscal-
Culated his own powers in the saddle.
Rather below the middle height, and with
Il face almost femininely beautiful, the
brave s3breur' of the British army was
ut that time a perfect model Of sinewy
strength and vigor. Without particle Of
supertluous flesh, his rounded limbs and
broad chest seemed 10 be melded out of
iron, yet with an elasticity and suppleness
which usually accompany faultleSSness of
shape His dress-it was the height of
summer-was jacket and hreeches of
white linen, fitting close to the figure.
Boots OF russell leather hung below the
knee, with their tops turned down and
their heels Carnished with bright military
spgrs. In his hand was sCOurge with
shot twisted into its knotted lash" He
approached the side of the dancing horse,
and disdaining the use of the stirrup
threw himself at one bound into the sad
die. With a snort Of rage or fear the lib
Grated animal leaped into the air like
stricken deer.
Every device which instinct could suC-
Cest was reSorted 10 bv the furious brute
TO unship bis rider. Remorseless as fate,
however, the high couraSed horSeman sat
mistaken in his saddle, plying the scourge
and driving home the rowels until drops
of blood trickled freely 10 the ground. Tn
able to endure his punishment the horse
soon flew with the speed Of an arrow across
the 'terre PLANE in front Of the camp. In
quarter of an hour. during which the
tortured beast was kept 10 the gallop, he
stood, with trembling limbs and lack-lus-
tereye, before his conqueror's tent. Ihave
seen many stirring scenes, concludes the
narrator, but none half SO exciting as the
strife between that dauntleSs man and
savage horse. London Telegraph.
The Shakes.