Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-03-27
THE HORSE THAT FALLS DOWN.
How the Poor Brute Is Treated by
Beings Claiming to He Human.

Slip, slap!
A tug at the reins-yank. haul, pull,
and jerk.
No use; down he goes, broadside,
with a snort of fear and grunt of
pain.
The icy asphalt, when it starts in to
be slippery, knows where it is at.
A crowd at once gathers. A SYM
pathetic lady in spectacles solicitously
inquiries:
whats the matterp"
"Only horse down, num-" volun-
teers a bystander.
Yes, that is all; only horse down.
Poor creature! Have you ever criti-
cally observed this simple and familiar
metropolitan sight? asks the Washing
ton Star. No? There's a lesson in it.
There are always a dozen men ready
to assist in getting the fallen animal to
his feet.
The man with the faded ginger hat
and anti9uated coat grasps the horse
bv the ears Hold his head down and
he can't struggle to his feet. Keep him
down at all hazards. The ginger hat
generally places one knee on the
animals head; sometimes it's both
knees. This makes the ginger hat
feel big in the eyes of the spectators.
The harder the ginger hat can press
the poor brute's head into the un-
yielding pavement the happier he
feels. It's the horse underneath and
not the ginger hat. Grind his eye
nearest the pavement into the sharp
icy particles; put it out if possible. II
you succeed in binding the beast the
more credit to you.
The man with the leeward eye seizes
the horse by the nose. Shut off his
wind without fail. This makes him
struggle violently, and affords the
ginger hat golden opportunity to get
in an extra grind on the horses eye
and a pull at the ears. The leeward
man also places his knee on the nose
and yanks the bit so that the ring will
fay the corrugated roof of the horses
mouth down to smoothness- The
horse doesn't like this. The owner
doesn't care. A horse with a sore
mouth eats less.
Strange as it may appear, the horse
is uneasy. Horses are not inconsider-
ate of polite attention. So the man
with the calico shirt jumps on the
animals hip, and of course this grinds
the hair and skin off the under hip.
Bat no matter; keep him down if it
takes an army.
Horses under these circumstances
seem to be unreasonable. The man
with the game leg gets in his work
now. He's been waiting anNiously in
the crowd for the chance. The horse
has a raw sore under the saddle.
The man with the game leg grasps
the saddle with both hands, braces his
feet against the animals back, pulls,
and presses, and peels off the raw, SEN
sitive flesh by the square inch The end
of the saddle ring is pushed through
the hair padding and bores another
hole on the other side of the vertebra.
And still the horse continues to strug-
gle.
All, now it is the drivers turn. He
has been christening the harness and
traces and all is free.
stand clear" he shouts.
The ginger hat puts out the horses
eve for good. the calico shirt makes
the bare hip bone and pavement meet,
the game leg pulls off an extra chunk
of raw flesh, while the leeward eve
causes the blood to run from the LAGER
ated mouth.
Whack! Whack!
1t wouldn't do. You know. to let the
horse get up oy his own unaided eff
forts. 80 as the joriurers release their
holds the driver brings that cruel lash
once. twice. thrice down upon the ribs,
that raise wells on the quivering flesh
as big Is 4 mans in rer.
Now he i up. nervous. trem blIu~
excited, sore. and lame. No matter. ha
is only a horse.
Who cares?