The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1894-03-24


Brute Is Fitted For Approval h..
.,s tro.yv s,xells. 1--WE
The sun Is beating pitilcssly down ~, q,
brown foothills of Colorado. for it is ht'e
noon, and the month is August
a pony mare, dun IN color and onlv H..
IA hands in height, IS moving abont ,,.
EASILY. evidently weary, anxious and wa,oi
full Her coat is rough, her ribs sho.-
gauntly, and her hoofs are innocent =,
shoes. Altogether the little mare Is no, ~
attractive animal, yet were horseman ~
pass by and cast, as he undoubtedly woul5
second glance at the pony, he wouid h,
sure to see some rare good points IN Ia.
makeup.
She has good. intelligent head. fair
shoulders, roomy middle piece and nost
excellent legs-hard. clean and without rho
least sign of splint or SPAWN. Her mean
est point is poor quarter. She is also
somewhat goose rumped. Although i
might be difficult To prove 1t, for stud book,
are not kept very carefully on the ranches
she has drop OF the desert blood ber
grandsire being half bred. imported bvan
English ranchman somewhere in the los
The air is growing hotter each minute
Far as the eye can reach is the same SIM
baked, rolling expanse Of dried buffalo
grass. The mare moves toward n stunted
patch of sage bush scrub, and in a second
or two has come to where little foal
scarcely more than n few hours old, is lying
painting in the shade. She dares not On
very far away, for the lean wolf and hungry
coyote would soon make short wo.L Of her
offspring did they not know that a kick
from even an unshod hoof will pulverize the
stoutest wolf that ever prowled the plains
The poor little immature thing would
were it born in the east instead of in the
west, be the object of tender solicitude to
numerous stablemen, and its every want
would be supplied, but here, among the
foothills, it will have to be built of pretty
good timber to stand the strain Of exist
ence. The nearest water is five miles away.
and yet that distance viii have to be tray
ersed every time the dam has to drink, and
even now she cannot resist the temptation
much longer.
With low whinny the gentle creature
calls the youngster, and as ii comes gam
boiling up she starts in direction which
her instinct tells her will be n bee line to
the nearest spring-a dirty. muddy pool.
rolled by cattle, and favoritc haunt Of the,
The mare and foal reach their destination
in safety, and each day the same dreary
path has to be traversed and retrayersed.
Is it any wonder that the western pony is
tough and enduringY Muscles of steel and
bones Of iron. When in after life the gal
liant little beast has to carry a heavy foot
rider in some cup match ut Newport, Cedar
hurst or Wenham, il is mere child's play
pnnnnrQn CT L. for
istence when foal.
In due season the foal becomes a coltand
is taken into the corals of the ranch to
which it belongs. Naturally docile, though
spirited, it happily gets broken without be-
coming "mean," though, seeing that Sin
gleshot Mike did the breaking after his
usual rough and ready fashion, this is some
thing to be wondered at.
Ridden at the annual roundup, and also
at the usual routine work of the ranch by
one of the boys, the dun colt, or as it is now
called, buckskin, eventually becomes one
OF the handiest ponies owned by the outfit,
and being naturally gifted with a very fair
turn of speed, owing to the diluted but
still potent drop of desert blood inherited
from the imported great-grandsire finally
attracts the attention of the boss and be
- N''H N.'leeioi AhfoAA1c AioNANs
The dun pony is now just 8 years old, Il
hands high, and just the stamp to catch a
polo players eye. One fine day Cutaway,
the noted horse dealer, comes along, on the
lookout for anything that will sell for q
good price at Newport. He has an almost
unlimited order for really good geldings,
but cannot sell more than half dozen
mares during the season, as the eastern
players will have nothing to do with them
as a rule, much to the bewilderment Of the
COW punchers, who consider, and rightly
enough, too, that the mare is usually more
enduring, quicker and handler than the
horse or gelding.
Cutaway notes the buckskin at q glance.
and although he is far too astute to let on
inwardly determines to have the little beg
gar. Well he knows that he will be amply
able to give any sum likelyto be demanded
by the boss, and still make handsome
profit on the transaction when he gets to
Newport.
The scene now shifts a couple Of thousand
miles to the eastward. The dun was pur-
chased for $3.50. and it cost another S25 to
put him where he is-in u comfortable but
unpretentioUs stable in the rear Of the
Ocean House. a probable purchaser is ex-
pected; the litter in the stall is changed,
the pony given a final rundown, his tail has
been locked before starting for the east,
and in the sleek, neatly groomed little nag