The Meeker herald., 1897-10-16
THE CULT OF THE HORSE.
How the Noble Animal Was Regarded by
Olu-Tlmo Peoples.

Cld-Timc Peoples.
1t is, perhaps, small matter FOR won
der that the nations who first tanned
the horse for riding attached high
honor to the creature seated on whose
back they secured with such swift
ness. The cXhilaration of riding is one
which custom does not stale, and
which affects the civilized rider of TO-
day, if he be of an emotional nature,
probably almost us keenly us it did the
ancient Scythian, German or Slav. In
addition to this, neighborinS races who
haa not this art looked upon those who
had it with kind of supcrstitious Won
der, wearing strange stories about
them. The horscmen of Thessaly ap-
peared to the other Greeks through
n mist of fable as centaurs, half man,
hall brute, but wholly divine. And in
the frank fashion of oil primitive peo-
pie the horsemnn gave back to the
horse the glory that he received re-
Hected from it, and made of his COM
raue in war and chase q kind of deity.
The ancient Germdns took oraces
from white horses, just as the Egyp-
tians did from their sacred oxen. The
animals were kept in groves, and gave
augury by peighing. Among the Siavs
tie sword combined with the horse
to fortteIf futuro cventA Ths ~eAf6nS
were planted in the ground, and the
horses led among them; by the move
ments Of the beasts the attending
prieats judged the will of the gods.
Among the Norsemen the sacrifice of
81 s{t,I DO, \
q token of sacramental allegiance to
Odin. Among the ancient Irish, when
a hing was crowned in Ulster, it was
customary to slny 4 white mare ard
boil it in vat. Into this vat the newly
mace king descended, and there sat,
drinking the broth and tasting small
portions of the meat. The eating of
horseiesh was so well recognized as
heathen rite that the early Christian
saints forbade it to their converts.
Among the Scythians the horse was
deemed sacred to the sun, and its wor-
ship crossed the H;malayas, and was
early established among the Rajput
kings. s.,,,,
Next to q human being who probably
was, as matter of fact, never sac
rificed in ancient India, the horse was
the most acceptable offering 10 the
gods. 1t is laid down in the puranas
that the sacrificer of q hundred horses
Gusts Indra, the king of the gods, from
his throne. and reigns in Paradise
(Swarga) in his stead. There is no rec
ord, however, of anyone having earned
this surprising felicity. Kings, on Mt
tanning the throne. usually sacrificed
horse, their tributary princes per-
forming the more menial duties con-
nccted with the Aswnmedha (horse
sacrifice). Indeed, even the office of
porter in this solemn rite could only
be assumed by one of royal blood. One
of the books of the great Hindoo epic,
the Mahabharats, contains an account
of the Ashwamedha held by Yudhis-
thira, king of the Pandus, when he
he'd, by the defeat of the Kauravas,
firmly established his rule over north
ern India. The sacred horse was turned
loose to wander wherever it listed for
81 year, while the loyal army followed
il everywhere at n respectful distance.
Other tribes whose pastures it crossed
were given the option of either turn
ing out in force to join the triumph of
the horse, or of accepting wager of bat
tic. At the end of the year the horse
was led back to the palace nnd there
sacrificed.-London Standard.