The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-04-19

best that could be caught, was somewhat
anxious to see my purchase. They were
from a brand of korses the most widely
known of any in Montana, numbering about
5000 head, and famous for being the widest
horses in the West.
The present owner drove band OF GOO
mares of Spanish-Arabian blood from Cali
fornia north, during the summer OF 1870,
and turned them loose for the winter in the
Gallatin Valley. The summer had been
very hot and dry. followed by severe win
ter, and the horses from the long drive were
tired and thin in flesh. The following
spring there were alive out of his 800 mares
but $50. The owner being financially Grip
pied by his loss went to work in the mines
and left his horses to shift for themselves.
They ran thus for about four years with no
care at all except IN occasional inquiry from
cruisers by the owner as to whether they
were LOCATED" in the country.
They did not travel more than twenty-five
miles in any direction from the place where
they had spent their first winter in Mon
tana During this time the increase, consist
ing of the Young stock from colts up to four
year-olds, had not been branded. The mares
that came from California with the strong
strain of Spanish blood were born travel
ers: the stations that ran with the herd
were even better bred than the mares, so
tIat at Tile Gnu Ol ItuI StdlSs With bhO
owner began to try to handle his horses, he
found to his amazement that, although he
had some of as fine horses as ever graced
the Western plains, he could not catch
them. Although his riders were mounted
on the best saddle-h horses to be had, some of
them half thoroughbreds tina: could run
their two miles in four minutes. they could
not "round in" some of the swifteSt OF the
main herd.
Daring their first four years sojourn in
this valley the antelope, elk. buffalo and
other wild animals had been their only as
sociates. The silent vastness of the mount
| aims and the grim solitude of the plains
| have the same effect on animals as on man.
| The stiffness, so intense at tunes as TO be
almost painful, acts directly and powerfully
| on the senses. They become wilder than
any wild animal IF had taken Sharp's
rifle" said the owner to me one day after
| hot chase, land shot down hundred or
more of the leaders l would have been thou
| sands of dollars better off to-day"
| 1t was in the month of May; horses had
| been OIL green grass for six weeks; if any
| had grown thin during the winter they had
| now become sleek and fat. The sight of a
man on horseback was the novel spectacle
| that met the gaze Of the younger herd.
| Curiosity changed to alarm, and in few
moments the herd was in rapid motion. Run
| ming for some distance until they gained
! higher lookout they came to full stop;
standing close together every horse took up
the attitude of alarm. head lifted highin the
air ears erect, eyebrows arched, holding
| their breath for few seconds, looking ill.,
tently and earnestly at that strange Objectin
| the distance. The older members of that
| band quickly recognized the strange object
as a man on horseback, riding at full
speed toward them. Thoroughly alarmed,
| the herd now flies" for safety The fleet
est takes up the lead, aud, in the vernacular
| of the West 'they hit the Eigh places and
! quit the fats" The rider follows at full
| speed, and after hard chase for two or
| three miles some of the mares begin to lag,
are overtaken by the horseman and driven
| to the branding corral. but the leaders of
| the band make good their escape. This plan
| was kept up for some time, but IL was evil
| dent that they were only getting the tail
ends of the herds. One device led to an
other. Some days they would try to sur
| round band before they We re startled aud
thus run them to the corral. In this they
would sometimes succeed, hut, arriving at
| the corral, here was some ching that the
younger members of the Rerd had never
seen, and terrified at being rashed up to this
| strange object, they would, make a rush
through the line of riders and almost fly for
| the mountains.
When | arrived at the ranch in july 1889,
| the boys were set to run in some of the best
geldings and Mares For two DAYS l sat
| around the ranch and listened to the old
man tell of his twenty years in the Rocky
| Mountains, and waited the return of the
| boys late in the afternoon from hard days
| chase with small band of yell-run horses.
| With the air Of thoss fghtir against fate,
| they would recount in the evening how
| several fine geldings got away from them.
| Boys who had been on the .ranch for years
| knew by sight some of the most snowy of
these runawavs, and they weuld tell about
that fine dapple gray that ru'ls in certain
valley, or that high headed, blRzen faced
| sorrel, with silver name and TAIL" or those
| two coal blacks that always run together"
| on such and such mountain.
The morning of the third day / told the
| boss that | would like to go out with the
boys and see for myself why those horses