The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1897-05-07
THE CULT OF TIE HORSE.
How the Noble Animal Was Regarded by
Old-Time Peoples. 4

How the Noble Animal was heSarueu Dy
Old-Time Peoples. q
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 eXhilaration Of riding is oAC
which custom does not stale, and
which affects the civilized rider of TO-
day, if he be of an emotional nature,
probably almost as keenly as it did the
ancient Scythian, German or SlaN In
addition to this, neighboring races who
had not this art looked upon those who
had it with a kind of superstitious won
der, weaving strange stories about
hem. The horsemen of Thessaly ap-
cared to the other Greeks throueb
l mist of fable as centaurs, half man
half brute, but wholly divine. And il
lie frank fashion of all primitive PEG
lie the horseman gave. back to the
lorse the glory that he received re-
lected from it, and made of his com
ade in war and chase kind of deity.
The ancient Germans took oracle
rom white horses, just as the Egyp-
tlans did from their sacred oxen. The
animals were kept in groves, and gave
augury by neighing. Among the Slavs
the sword combined with the horse
to foretell future events. The weapons
were planted in the ground, and the
horses led among them; by the move
mentS of the beasts the attending
priests judged the will of the gods.
Among the Norsemen the sacrifice o.
4 horse and the eating of its flesh wa
a token of sacramento allegiance t
Odin. Among the ancient Irish, whel
} king was crowned in Ulster, it was
customary to Stay a white mare ans
joil it in a vat. Into this vat the newl
.aGe king descended, and there sa
lrlnlzing the broth and tasting sm;iii
portions Of the meat. The eating O.
iorsefesh was so well recognized a.
/ heather rite that the early Christian
:aints forbade it to their converts.
Among the Scythians the horse was
deemed sacred to the sun, and it's wor-
ship crossed the Himalayas, and was
early established among the Rajput
kings.
Next to human being, who probably
was, as a matter of fact, never sac
rificed in ancient India, the horse was
the most acceptable offering to the
gods. 1t is laid down in the puranas
that the sacrifcer of 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 at
tanning the throne, usually sacrificed
a horse, their tributary princes per-
forming the more mental duties con-
nected with the Aswamedha (horse
sacrifice). Indeed, even the office O.
porter in this solemn rite could only
be assumed by one of royal blood. One
of the books Of the great Hindoo epic,
the Mahabharata, contains an account
of the Ashwamedha held by Yudhis-
thira, king of the Pandus, when he
had, 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 fol
year, while the loyal army followed
it everywhere at a 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
tie. At the end of the year the horse
was led back to the palace and there
sacrifced.-London Standard.