The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-11-02

with a fresh horse. And SO it goes for
hour after hour with relay riders.
The light of day, with it's blazing
furnace heat, fades into cool and shady
night. The hours of the race have
passed twelve and are going on into
twenty-four. The rising sun glows
across the eastern hills on its diurnal
earth-encircling tour, but still the mer-
CHESS pursuit goes on and is never all
lowed to fag. Behind the flying band
is that ever-amazingly fresh little pony
and it's determined rider.
All day long the grim messenger of
death has been in their wake, and now
is forcing the pace, which for the first
twelve hours the fleeing horses were
themselves allowed to set. The circle
around which they whirl is much small
er now and the plains sand is heavy
and deep from the trampling of the
former laps. The sitting alkali dust
hangs over the plain in clouds, blood is
mixed with the feclzs of foam now flung
from tortured nostrils and the bloodshot,
but still defiantly cleaning eyes of the
mettled rovers of the range. All show
that it is only the sturdy strain of CEN
turies coursing through their veins
which keeps them, with their leader at
the head, from plunging into some con-
venient draw to wild and suicidal
death. But life is sweet, and on they
GO It is forty-eight hours now since
these hated herders first disturbed their
peace, and one can see the end of the
race is not far distant.
A little brown FLY from the flying
band falls, and is left behind, too ex-
hausted to rise.
'sA-ha-a!" says the trailer under his
breath. A shot rings out and at the
signal two extras come riding up. The
animal is roped, but Immediately leaps
to her feet, lashes out viciously and in a
frenzy of strength tries to break away.
Another hurting moose comes sailing
through the air, sinking over her head,
and she Is led away helpless captive
More hours go by and one by one the
weaker fall behind and after a brief
struggle are tied up. The band is
completely broken down, and now at
the end of sixty hours of continuous
fight can scarcely stagger.
Then comes the massacre of liberty
for them. ALI the cowboys come
crowding close around the helpless an
imals, which make but feeble resist
ance. An audacious cowboy even gives
the lately proud and defiant leader a
cruel cut in the TANKS with the flying
tip of his lariat as he quietly steals up
But even this indignity ELECTS but a few
spasmodic bounds, SO greatly swollen
have become the stiffened muscles and
so fiery the thirst in the captlve's
throat. The weaker have sunk down
in the sand, and it is only a question of
how many of the animals can be roped
and secured by the means at hand to
the rounding up outfit. Our Kit Carson
cowboys were hampered in their forces,
and, as usual, were compelled to allow
the greater portion of the band to final
" escape.
The animals we captured are fine
specimens, being beautiful bays, jet
blacks, roans, sorrels, three of them
cream whites. and four calico colored
We took them to the home ranch with
the rest of the stock, where they are
now kept, the pride of the Xxx outfit
and the subjects of much speculation
on the part of the boys in anticipation
of their speed and other qualities,
when the time shall come to put them
under the saddle.
'sI'll gamble anything y want that
my little black kin ketch any outfit O.
other wild uns tibet ever tore up tn
cara said Toe the other day to me- AZ
he afectionately embraced the delicate
head of his beautiful little horse and
swept with admiring eye the deer-like
build of his now favorite possession.
FARMER P. GAspnE-