The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
4ERRORIZED BY
EQUINE PESTS
Stock men Of Northern
Arizona at Their
Mercy.
Twenty Thousand Wild Mus
tangS Roam and Rule
the Ranges.
Slaughtered by Indians and So d to
Butchers as Fe for Fat
tening Hogs.
Special Dispatch to HE Al

PRESCOTT, Oct. 29 Wild horses are
Navajo County the reservation Indians
are selling wild ponies 10 butchers. who
use them as feed for flttening hogs. Their
number is constantly increasing, and they
are becoming a menace to the cattle
ranges. Sheep and cattle owners are
looking about for some means of relief,
and it is not unlikely that they will or
ganize grand rCdeo, ora series of them,
wherein the wild horses will be gathered
in only to be shot.
There must be 10000 head of wild
horses in Northern Arizona" said Will
Barnes one of the largest cattle-owners in
Navajo County, yesterday. lover in our
county, south of oibrook, they are the
worst nuisance that can be imagined. 1t
has reached the point where we cannot
safely turn olt a riding horse to Craze.
We have to keep our saddle animals and
roundup horses stabbed all winter or take
Them down TO Pb@nix for pasture. The
wild stock not only eat up the iced but
they run cattle off the range. They have
chased off all the cattle from the wost end
of the Hash knife Range, one of the b. st
grass districts IN Northeastern Arizona
ut Is useless TO put out salt for the
stock, for the wild horses chase aWay all
the cattle that come near il. At this sea-
son of the year they are fat and have
shining hide. They sweep over the coun-
Try IN great bands, gathering up any stray
animals they may come across. A horse
is as good as lost that crosses Their tracks.
Some OF these wild horses ale good
stock. Not long ago the Circle s. ponies
were the very best in Northern Arizona.
They made hne mounts and their value
correspondent. Now there must be over
5000 OF these ponies running wild and
without brand. On the PCerco in central
Apache County there must be 1000 head
of loose bronCos and perhaps the same
number are on the Navajo Reservation,
the property OF the Indians, who do not
seem to know what 10 do with them.
"Some OF the Indians are getting quite
revenue from the ponies, which they
sell TO a Holbrook butcher for So head
" hat does the butcher want with them?
he is fattening hogs on them. Three dol
lars is the ruling price for the wild horses.
| would like 10 sell great many off nv
ranges at that price, and some Cf them
are very We bred and would made valu-
able horses If broken.
The only time when it is possible TO
capture any of the wild stock is in the
early spring, before the grass has come
and when the ponies are lean and weak
Then, on the Esperanca ranch four men
are mounted on horses especially trained
and of speed and bottom. The wild
horses are started just after they have
drank and are the more 'loay,' and
bunch OF the animals Is cut off from the
main herd and corraIed. Sometimes it is
neces sary o shoot the lead mares-for the
females always lead the wild bunch"
Mr.. Barnes is n member OF the Live
stock Sanitary Commission of Arizona,
and will Law the mater before that BODY
with the view of having some legal action
taken TO rid the northern ranges of their
equine pests.