Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-01-28
THE WILD HORSE.
he Makes ROvers of His DOmesticate
Brethren when He Meets Them.

| he Makes Rovers Of His DOmestieated
brethren when He Meets Them.
| Very young students, in their hrt IL
tempts at composition. often informed us
that the horse is useful animal This
sweeping generalization is subject 70 i'm
I portant notifications before IL IL accepted
I In all communities. There are many thou
sands Of horses that toll not like their pro
| genitOrs, but go like the wind where il
| listeth, and are looked upon rs intolerablr
nuisances in the civilized regions they
sometimes invade Our Australian friends
for instance. are no lovers Of the horse in
his untamed state, and some OF the colonies
set a price upon his head. and do all they
can to stimulate movements for his de
struction
Several thousand wild horses were shot
I in New South Wales alone in 1915 ThesSp
rovers Of the plains play the mischief with
domesticated animals when they come
among them, and the colonists are very
much disguised 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 nd
vantages.
1t must be confessed that our horses need
the restraint imposed upon them to prevent
them from disgracing their ancestors. who
were certainly domesticated when they
were introduced into this country. Years
ago 1t 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 a
year or two. When they were wanted
they were always as wild as Mexican mus
tangs Mr. Powell wrote book on the
best method of tanning wild horses The
specimens on which he exerted his talents
as a 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
horsefiesh as Murray described in his
Travels in North America" He not only
witnessed a 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 it's horses
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 Austral
ians, many peoples, chiefly savage have
been able to turn the wild horse to good
account. Hundreds Of thous'; nds Of Mex
can mustangs have been reduced to servi
tude. The wild horse of the South Ameri
can pafnpas, which three centuries ago
only fifteen years after the horse was intro
duced from Europe, had spread to regions
rs remote as Patagonia, has been tanned by
thousands and has become the useful sery
ant Of Indian tribes.
Naturalists often discuss the question
whether there is now in the world such
creature as 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 found? The question will probably
never be settled. Mr.. j. Fl. 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 questioned and the
assertion cannot positively be made that
the wild horse Of the great mountain
region which the Russians are now ex.
ploring, and Of which they have secured
some specimens, is not himself the do
scendant of ancient domestic animals
Goldthvaite's GeogPaphical MauuZjne