Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-11-18
BREAKING A WILD HORSE.
& Cowboy Rider Who Didnst L,
Little Things Trouble Him.

{ Cowboy Rider Who Didnst Let
Little Things Trouble Him.
The coolness Of the practiced COW.
boy. who feels in duty bound to appear
nnhurt and without agitation even
when he may be wounded and possess.
ed Of every excuse for excitement, Is
well illustrated by an Incident of
rough riding in Idaho, related BY q
frontiersman Just below Asotin, on
the Snake River, there Is a clif at least
fifty feet high, at the foot Of which
the deep water Of the river winds; It
Is, in fact. rather a cape than q mere
cliff. for the race Of the rock forms a
sharp, Jutting point around which .
narrow bridle-path runs.
To Asotin there once came q cowboy
Of considerable skill named Billy
Critics; and to him was brought wild
horse from neighboring ranch, which
no one could tame. Billy at once un.
dertcok the task OF riding the animal,
and stood by impassively while his as.
sista nts performed the preparatory
task Of throwing. blindfolding and
saddling the bronco. When the girth
had been bound on very tightly, the
animal was allowed to get up. and
Critics mounted isto the saddle. "Au
ready! he shouted, and the bandage
was removed from the wild horses
eyes.
At the same instant Billy touched
the horse with his spurs; and the crea-
ture, intent, as wild horses under such
conditions generally are. only on get.
ting the rider OF his back. began to
"buck" violently. This performance
was repeated for some time. quite In
vain. Critics was far from being the
sort Of rider who could be dislodged
by this proceeding.
All at once the animal began the men
performance on the bronco program.
He started of on a dead run, and took
the trail down the Snake. The spec.
tators looked to see Critics manage to
rein him OF this dangerous path. bat
evidently from his unfamiliarity with
the ground, the cowboy did not do 80,
but kept straight on.
He'll be killed. several yelled. "Ne
human being can keep a running horse
va LAG kAsAAA akOuhu tudt pOiatS
This was quite true. All riders who
came to this point on the trail dis
mounted, even when their animals were
walking, and led them around the dan.
gerous place. It was but q slopins
path, and the river ran swiftly straight
below.
There was q sharp bend before the
point was reached, and Billy and his
bronco disappeared from the specta.
tors view. This added to their sus.
pense.
The bronco went straight on to the
very edge Of the precipice, and then
paused Of bis own accord as II fright.
ened at the gulf. But the presence Of
the awful object on his back overmaS
tered the horses fear Of the cliff. and
standing on the very edge Of it he be-
gan to buck violently. Billy clung
bard. The first leap Of the bronco did
what must have been expected-it car.
ried him and his rider straight down
the precipice and into the current OF
the river.
When the spectators, who had fol
lowed on as fast as they could, reached
the place, neither cowboy nor bronco
was to be seen. The trail Of the AM.
nal was plain to the place where ht
had gone off the rock. 1t was quite
apparent what had happened.
By a circuitous route the men went
down to the river shore, and followed
along to see If they could find B1lly's
body. There was a deep gorge below
with q bit Of shore, and there the
people found Billy Critics, not dead,
but standing on the shore apparently
unhurt, unexcited, very wet, and en-
gagged in en- attempt to fish out with
pole a drowned horse in the stream, in
order to recover his saddle and bridlei
When the horse went over the precl.
pices the cowboy kept his seat but
left 1t as soon Is the animals body had
broken the fall. The bronco was killed
instantly. but Critics swan out quite
unhurt. Seeing the men, he yelled to
know why they had not brought him
a rope, and when this was brought be
soon recovered his saddle and bride