The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-28

p S.-Bring some butter with you; ouIs
might keep you awake nights.
But we were speaking of the horse
mans best friend. | began fifteen years
ago by owning little pack jack called
Boomerang. He cost me eight dollars,
but l was poor and could not buy a
horse. Also it was unpopular to get one
in any other way. If you got one in any
other way, in the language Of the vigi-
lance committee, the community gen
orally threw in halter at its own e.
pense.
Boomerang was bright young ass
with dark cross on his back and saw
buck saddle on which | used to pack
sidepork and other titbits to tempt my
appetite and tickle my palate while
prospecting for gold in the bowels of the
earth. Also carried salt with which to
salt my mines if l found them in hot
weather and feared that they might get
too gamey.
Boomerang had no home ties. If he
had any relatives they did not CORE
spond with him. He and l grew up to-
gether on the Medicine Bow range; al
most like boys and girls together, you
might say. But he was not happy.
Sometimes l thought that possibly, as
he got to Knowing me better, perhaps 1
was a disappointment to him. He acted
that way. Anyhow he would sob and
cry while he thought l was asleep, many
and many night.
After that l got more forehanded, and
when | got the first payment on one Of
my justly celebrated picked mines l
bought a mule called Yellow Fever.
This mule was sold to me as good,
kind family mule, and I intended to
raise yet other mules for the market.
Yellow Fever was almost always fatal,
however, no matter where she broke
out. Our first grave on Vinegar Hill was
taken charge of by man who partially
reached the tail of Yellow Fever. She
is still alive, but childless. No little feet
patter about her corral. No little croupy
voices salute the silent night in her sim
pie home.
Five years later l bought an American
horse off comparative stranger. He
was a spirited horse, with a piercing eye
on the side where stood. Oh, he was q
corker. He had lots CT pop and enter
prise and high purposes into him, also
bright red nostrils, and he was checked
up real high.
The man who sold me this horse said
that he intended settling down and
starting bank in our town, but he did
not. There was some hitch about get
ting large enough building, | believe.
He sold me this horse-Hectic, by Judas
Priest-because his wife had died. He
said that Hectic was her horse, and
since she died he could not bear to look
at him. Then he came and cried into
my lap quite little spell.
That night the horse was III all night.
A neighbor told me that Hectic had the
collie, but when put my hand on the
little hot stomach Of my steed he kicked
me across the plaza and into bed of
cacti. 1t hurt me good deal, especially
in my finer feelings. It doesn't take
much to hurt my finer feelings. sup
pose that it would be very difficult, in
deed, to find a man who is so susceptible
to kick at the hands of spirited horse
as am.
On the following day a veterinarian
from Leipsic examined Hectic and made
quite an extended report. am not
horse man, so cannot remember what
he said, but know he said that his
hampers We're down. l asked him if we
could not get them up again. would
do all that / could to boom them through
the press and on the street. But he looked
at me sadly, and | could see the tears
gathering in his eyes. Then he turned
away, and | could hear him mutteT
to himself in German. | do
not understand German readily, but
would not be the man he was talking
about for anything in this world.
Later, when | had taken the Grape off
the stable door and had waited a year
after the death of Hectic-for he could
not eat anything but kumiss with his
artificial teeth, and so died about six
weeks after his mind failed-I bought
an Indian pony called Hiawatha. Hia-