The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-12-01

| stood on his feet paving and snurting,
ana the camp sentinels reported the wild
horses as hanging about within half q
mile of us.
Daylight had come. and the ssntinsls
CT the night were coming into camp. when
the wild horses rushed into view q mile
below us. On the Instant we discovered
them, and, while four fifths of the men
we're yet under their blan kets, the ca o.
tain's horse uttered a scie cam which must
| have been taken as signal. He reared
| up, shook his head like an angry lion.
and freed himself OF his halter. In the
same instant every other horse in the
| command secured his liberty; some
! pulled up the pins. some worked their
heads clear of the straps. and away went
| the whole drove down the valley. 1t
was not a stampede, as we naturally
| feared. Even had our animals desired to
join the ranks of the free they would have
been rebuffed. Our horses were punched
and in solid bunch they drove right
through the lines Of the wild horses, and
left four Of them lying crippled on the
retreated up the valley MALT a mile and
then wheeled about in single line.
When our drove halted and turned there
was a distance of three quarters of a Z lie
between the combatants. We were Or
dered to fall in, with q view of advauc-
ing upon the wild horses and driving them
off, bit before We had gotten into line
il was too late.
The flight was a wonderful one. The
two leaders advanced as if they meant to
decide the issue between them, but when
within Sforsy yards of each other they
wheeled and returned tn their respective
lines. Then we witnessed something
which only cavalfyman will credit:
Our horses fell into double line and
dressed to the right as perfectly as II
trooper had occupied each saddle. anu
while We looked the lines suddenly moved
forward on charge. When they swept
past us the alignment was absolutely per-
feet, with the captains horses on the
right and leading by about twenty feet.
The line OF wild horses bent and waver-
ed, but did not break until struck. 1t vas
like striking a drumhead with sledsc
hammer. l believe that forty horses
went down under the shock, bat all sx-
cept four we're speedily on their feet
again. From this on it was melee. the
whole drove circling aroun", and each
horse biting and kicking and displaying
such ferocity as to astonish us. The
mob fought past US down the valley and
back, and right in front of the cam D the
climax came. The battle had heen rag
ing half an hour, when the spotted
stallion hol pled out of it on three legs
and bleeding from half dozen wounds,
and that seemed to take the pluck out OF
his followers. Some ran up the valley
am SOID6 uuWIl, put VI tueSo -clsHt
only hfty.seven got away. When the
hottest OF it was over we dashed IN and
secured horse here and there. and in
this manner we finally got hold of the
last one, which was the captains.
OF the seventy-tvs only five had escap-
ed scot free. Every one OF the others hao
been bitten and Kicked. and twelve OF
them were so crippled as to be worthless.
In almost every instance our horses had
kicked off both hind shoes and IN some
cases the front ones were gone, as we'll.
There were seven dead and thirty-six
crippled horses on the battle field when
hostilites ceased, and of the ifty-seven
wild horses which made their escape,
many were llmping badly. Before break
ing camp we turned to and put an end to
the sufferings of the cripples, and We
were not yet in the saddle when a hun
dred great buzzards and dozen wolves
were Teasing on the bodies. Detroit Free
PrpSs.