The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-09-19
MERC|FuL TO HIS BEAST.
The Old Saw is That Mereiful Man
is of That Dispo-
sltion.
An Instance of Fearful Punishment
Inflicted on Fractions
Horse
Fate of an Ohio Horse That Had Achieved
the Ripe Old Age of Forty
Five.

A disabled, worthless horse, the property
of Samuel j. Haynes, a Racine county
farmer, was shot and killed recently by
Supt. Whitehead, says the Milwaukee Sen
tinel. Haynes was taken before Justice
DR.. Palmer, in Raymond Center, and
pleaded guilty to the charge of torturing
and tormenting an animal. He was fined
$25 and costs, 1871 in all, which he paid.
The case is very peculiar one. Nine
years ago, while hitched to moving ma
chine, the horse ran away with Haynes.
This SO enraged him that he swore he would
keep him locked up from that time on. He
was true to his word, and from May l, 1881,
until last week the poor animal was not al
lowed to leave his stall.
information of the fact of horse being
kept prisoner reached Supt. Whitehead n
few days ago. Accompanied by Deputy
Sheriff Drought, he started out one morn
ing to find the man. Haynes is about GO
years old, bachelor, and has the reputa-
ton among all who know him of being an
unusually kind-hearted man.
Supt. Whitehead, who returned last week,
speaking about his trip, said:
"When we reached Haynes place we
found nobody at home and proceeded at
once to the barn. There we found the
horse. l never saw such sight before.
Imagine once beautiful sorrel horse, with
curved neck and big flashing eyes, reduced
to mere skeleton, the eyes sunk deep in
their sockets, the ribs projecting and both
sides covered with bedsores all over. and
You'll get an idea of what l saw. When
we examined the horse and the
,tall that it stood in We found
hat the manure had not been re-
moved from it for long time. The hoofs
of the animal had grown in wonderful
manner, until they had formed perfect
half circle, curying upward and coming
within an inch of the shins. They appeared
like the rockers under a chair. As the
owner told us afterward, he had once sawed
the hoofs off, or else they would have
grown around the shins. Drought and
were too surprised to say much. just then
HAYNES came limping into the stable and
wanted to know what we wanted. Drought
knew him. and explained who was and
what l had come for. While united the
horse, the first time in nine years, Haynes
protested, but ] continued and the horse
hobbled slowly out of the stable. The mo-
ment it touched the grass and saw the blue
sky overhead it rubbed it's head against my
arm and gave low whinny. The farmer
stood astounded, and said he had not
thought it could walk. Slowly and labori-
ously propelling itself on the rocker-lik
hoofs, the animal began to nibble the grass
where it could reach it.
II convinced the farmer that the horse
was entirely useless, but it required more
than twenty minutes talk before he gave
orders to shoot it.
without word of objection Haynes
then got in with US in the buggy, and we
drove to the office of Justice Palmer at Ray.
mond Center. Haynes paid his fine, and we
returned"
Haynes offered no explanation of his
strange and unnatural cruelty to the animal
during these years, and refused to speak of
it. The hind feet of the horse measured ten
and the fore feet nineteen inches. They
were sawed off from the legs by Superin-
tendent Whitehead and brought to town.
Veterinary Surgeon Touissant will mount
them properly, when they are to be edded
to the collection of curiosities now in the
office of the Humane Society.