The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1890-10-25

HIS ROM ANTic oa,o ~ AND HIS
Es Rern>d a, rliIss fxen tss Borders Of Old
Ksxieo q Lsie winiiYss h The Far
KerA --rew rAey wsrs ErsSsn
.: Tra'ssi For llss.

Tho wild horses VI the american
cont mont once roamed from the border
OF Old Mexico as far north. as Lake
Winni peg. Twenty-three years uso
there wore a great many wandering
over the broad. grassy bottoms Of the
Cimarron in Southwestern Kans as; pcr-
b pc they are not all exit net yet All
the wild horses that over saw, writes
Major Inman. were OF small stature
pony-built In every instance but pos
sesslng wonderful amount OF indur-
ance; u tou I'll. hardy amin dwell fitted
to perform the peculi,r duties tho In
dian demanded OF him. Tho average
savage is very hard on his animals.and
unless their horses were constituted to
live on cactus and drink tho green
slime Of the Buffalo wallows" they
would have become extinct, probably.
long ago When caught young they
are easily ..br,ken." but II taken at IN
advanced age they IRE perfectly incor-
rigible. remember one that used TO
do duty on the old stare line between
Ellsworth and Sterling about seven-
teen years ngo. lie was the most VIC
ious brute it has ever been my fortune
to have seon.s Whensver it became
necessary 70 shoe him he had to be
knocked down with an IKE. and before
he recovered his senses tod, and only
in that condition would the blacksmith
dare approach him. His endurance
was something marvellous; his driver.
the only man who could do anything
with him at all, tried for years TO wear
him out but without success, and he
succumbed at last only to old age. l
have ridden behind him many u Nme.
but 10 momentary expectation OF liav-
ing my brains kicked out oFdashed to
pieces Whenever he started down hill.
His bones lie bleaching somewhere on
the divide between the Smokey Hill
and the Arkansas.
The usual method OF capturing the
wild horse by the plains tribes was
with the lariat, in the early days
made OF the hair OF the buffalo. or that
of the tail OF the ponies. The Chey-
ennes. Kiowas and Dacotahs. improp-
erly called Sioux. whenever they
started out on an expedition to catch
wild horses, always picked tho fastest
animals they possessed. The rider.
winding his lariat on his arm. dash S
into. the herd ut dead run. and. as
soon rs he gets the rope on the neck OF
a wild horse. jumps OF his own rs
quick rs flash, aud. running rs fast
rs he can, allows tho lnriat to slip
through his. hands gradually. until the
animal Is choked and falls TO the
ground for want OF breath. and lies
there a Quivering. helpless mass. Then
the Indian moves forward very slowly,
step by step. towards the horses held.
still keeping the animal we'll cho!sed,
and proceeds to fasten n pnir OF raw
hide hobbies on his forefeet Then he
lets up on the riat. so that the ami
nal can catch his breath. md then
takes turn with tho lariat around the
jaw, like a bit which gives him won
der'ul power over the frightened
horse. which pitches and plunges.
snorts and tumbles around until heis
nearly exhausted. Then the Indian.
by careful management. gets his hand
on the horse's nose. pats him little.
and Is soon able to mount him and no
is ..brokcnw
In later YER, they sometimes
"cr,ased" the animal, custom taught
the Indians by the old trappers I sus-
pect. .'Creasing" was simply sending
a ball through the tough mass OF gristle
Of the neck, which by stunning the
brain for n few moments. caused the
animal To fall as IL deal. every limb
stretched out and qniverin2; this lasts
long enough for them TO be secured,
whom they rise as II nothing had hap
rened TO tbem.-
The whiH MN used to ndopt ltirely
drffsrsnt Nctics in capturing the wild
horses on the Cimnrron, in Kansas.
They simply wore them out by never
letting them stop to eat or drink and
by iseeping'up that pl the animal
was easily '.ropel' after day or two's
on slant travel.
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