Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1892-01-28
THE WILD HORSE.
He Makes Rovers Of His Demonstrated
Brethren when He Meets Them.

HE Makes Royers Of Hts Demonstrated
Brethren when He Meets Them.
Very young students. in their first nj
llempts Ill composition. often informed us
lIhat the horse is useful animal This
llweepiug generalization is subject to i'm
h ntant notifications before il is accepted
/ all communities. There are many thou
ilAntiS OF horses that toll not like their pro
Ienitors. hat 70 like the wind where il
/ steth, and are looked upon as intoleralle
lhnisances in the civilized regions they
,unctimes invade Our Australian friends
Tor instance. are no lovers Of the horse in
His untamed state. and some of the colonies
! "A price upon his head, and do all they
I'm to stimulate movements for his de
htruction.
| Several thousand wild horses were shot
In New South Wales alone in 1915. These
royers of the plains play the mischief with
dOmesticated animals when they come
nmong them. and the colonists are very
mach disglIsted to observe that the noble
horse, relapsing into barbarism, and for
getting his oats and the other comforts of
civilization, runs off with his wild breth
rem who have not enjoyed his superior ad
vantages
| Unjust be confessed that our horses need
the restraint imposed upon them topreyenl
them from disgracing their ancestors, who
were certainly domesticated when they
were introduced into this country. Years
ago it used to be the custom In our south
western territory TO brand the young stock
and even many work animals and turn
them loose to shift for themselves for
year or two. When they were wanted
they were always as wild as Mexican mus
tangs Mr. Powell wrote "A book on the
best method Of tanning wild horses. The
specimens on which he exerted his talents
as tanner were for the most part former
ly domesticated animals who had forgotten
all about their restraints while wandering
over the plains Of our southwestern terri
tory
Travellers in western territories are no
longer in danger Of such an eruption OF
horsefesh as Murray described in his
"Traves IN North America" He not only
witnessed stampede Of thousands OF
panic stricken horses, but the living tor
rent swept along toward and over his
camp. trampling skins and dried meat into
the ground, knocking down some Of the
tents and taking with them all its horses
except his riding mare, who vainly strug
gled to break her fastenings. They still
range in much smaller herds than former
ly on the plains Of the upper Colorado, but
the wild horse like the buffalo, has prac
tically disappeared before the advance Of
the white man.
In spite OF the experience Of the Austrs,l
ans many peoples, chiefly savage, have
been able to turn the wild horse to good
account Hundreds Of thousands Of Mex
can mustangs have been reduced to servis
tude The wild horse Of the South Ameri
can pampas. which three centuries ago
only fifteen years after the horse WAS intro
duced from Europe, had spread TO regions
as remote as Patagonia, has been tanned by
thousands and has become the useful serv
ant OF Indian tribes
Naturalists often discuss the question
whether there is now in the world such
creature a. an aboriginal or truly wild
horse We know very we'll that the wild
horses of the western hemisphere are all
descendants of dOmesticated animals
Where, then. is the aboriginal wild horse
TO be foundg The question will probably
never be settled. Mr., j. H. Steel thinks
the evidence is In favor Of the existence Of
the wild horse in central Asia Gesner the
great authority on zoology Of the Sixteenth
century. WAS OF the same opinion, but the
fact has often been question and the
assertion cannot positively be made that
the wild horse OF the great mountain
region which the Russians are now tx
ploring. and of which they have secured
some specimens. is not himself the de
scendant OF ancient domestic animals. =
Goldthwitite's Geographical Magazine.