Evening star., 1898-09-10
1T WAS A HORSE ON THEM

ton man who went to Camp wikoff last
| week to see his son, a member of the Dis
| trict regiment, ''is to induce their young
| men friends who visit them at the camp to
ride their horses. The boys in the canary
| uniforms had lot of fun at this game
| While l was at the camp. The Rough
| Riders horses are a pretty fiery untamed
| lot. They were kept most of them on
| half or quarter rations while the outfit was
| down in Cuba, but they're getting their
fun allowance of oats now that they re in
an American camp, and, besides, they are
turned loose on as fine a grazing ground
as We seen on this side of the Mississippi
They have naturally gone bit wild, there
tore. since they were disembarked from the
| transports at Montauk Point. Another
! thing that needs to be said about a troop
er's horse is that when the animal gets
used to the troopers ways {rny boy in the
guard told me all this) he won't permit
himself to be ridden by another man under
any circumstances without making a hard
hsnt for 1t before he's conquered. They
say, in fact. that in the regular cavalry
OF the United States the horses become 50
Attached to their respective riders and care
takers that they are entirely useless for
cavalry purpoSeS-a good percentage of
them-wieu their particular soldier train
ers are mustered out. Even among the
this feeling on the part of the horses. One
OF the t6rrors, to prove the point. essayed
to mount and ride the horse of one of the
soldiers belonging to another troop. and he
never even got astride of the horses ba ck.
l lie animal simply bucked and reared and
threw him every time he tried it, and he
finally gave the job up.
"A great many friends of the New York
Rough Riders were up at Camp Wikoff
during the three days that l spent on the
Point and the troopers had all kinds of
run with the tenderfeet, who took it all
good-naturedly. however probably consid-
ering that the boys who had been down in
the trenches We're entitled to a bit of
amusement, no matter who got the worst
of it.
Take a little ride around the camp on
my nag one of the riders would say to
the young man visiting him.
No; L guess I'll cut that OUT would
be the usual reply.
why what for?" the rider would ask
in surprise. 'Riding's better than walking
around in this hot sun, isn't it? What are
you afraid Off
"'What do you think 1 am to be tackln-
one of these vicious brutes you chaps have
been racing over the cactus brush of Cuba
on?' the young man visiting his Rough
Rider chum at the camp would say.
Vicious? Listen to the man" the
rider would eXclaim, turning to some of
the boys standing around. Why these
Eass of ours are as gentle as kittens.
Regular ladies' horses. I'd let my sisters
roe that brute of mine, standing over
there. any old time, without Il bit of hesi-
tation. Nouldn you, fellows?
Course we would the fellows would
reply. chewing straws and looking inno-
cent.
THE visitor would scrutinize them care
fully TO see if they were in earnest or only
jollying him, and then. the idea of jogging
around the camp on a really and truly and
sure-.nough Rough Riders horse, that was
yet as gentle a lamb, would begin to work
wi nrIrNla of ,1i,nr, Ia
would be hanging to the tangled name
of buckng, pitching, rearing plunging.
Snortlng brute of a cayuSe heading direct
for the open sea or for the top of a tall
cliff over which to pitch his rider. As a
matter of fact it's wonder that this sort
OF fun didn't cause number of serious ac-
cidents. so wild were some of the horses
when they found the tenderfoot riders on
their backs.
Il was dawdling around the camp, TAX
Ing in the sights, with my boy on the last
afternoon L spent there, when we We're
Joined by grizzled man Of fifty or there
abouts- He looked to me like a man from
the far west His cheeks were bronzed,
and there was the brightness of the open
air in his clear blue eyes. He was dressed
in suit of store clothes and he was a
bit awkward in his movements. He was
rambling around alone. He got into con-
versation with us. and accompanied US
to the layout of the Rough Riders. He was
quiet sort Of man, but the few remarks
shrewd and pretty nearly right.
Things were pretty quiet with the riders
when we got to their camp. The men We're
sitting around. chewing straws, and medi-
tating mischief. They got their eyes on
the grizzled man who had joined us.
Hey pop called out one of them, isn't
1t pretty warm work, walking? Wouldn't
you rather take a ride around the camp
on one Of our horses?'
THE grizZed man looked up at the boy
in uniform and smiled blandly.
-" Dunno but what L would he replied.
THE riders We're all alertness right off.
They saw fun ahead. A couple of them
raced for the grazing ground and in a
short time they brought up one of the
horses already saddled. 1t was the most
vicious horse in the outfit, as L afterward
learned. Yet the horse looked as mild as
rabbit when he was led up.
" Get right on, pop, said one of the SOL
dfers. Want lift?
=" oh. l guess not said the grizzled
man, pulling his black slouch hat down
over his eyes.
He didn't use any stirrup to get on that
horses back. He just put one hand on the
pommel of the saddle and vaulted. He had
the bride clutched in a second after he
was well astride. and then we saw an ex-
hbition of horsemanshp that like to have
taken our breath away. The horse reared
and plunged, and jumped sidewise and
stood up on his hind legs, and practically
stood on his head and kicked backwards
and all the time the griZZled man sat like
statue, just riding the horse Finally the
animal gave leap and was off like the
wind. The man on the brute's back settled
back and seemed to be enjoying himself
hugely as long could see him. which
was for distance of about two miles, In
hfteen minutes the griZzled man came can
tering back on mild, thoroughly SUBJ
dued piece of horsefeSh as | ever saw in
my life. The Rough Riders weren't saying a
word. Nobody was saying word Just as
the grizzied man came up with the beaten
horse one of the Rough Riders who had
been taking a snooZe in his tent during this
performance came to the door of his tent,
rubbing his eyes. This Rough Rider was
| from Corsicana, Tex. When he was suffi-
ciently awake to look around him under
standingly he caught sight of the gr1zzled
man on the back of the horse. He stared
and rubbed his eyes some more. Then he
gave a yell.
Well, blow me- he shouted, if it amt
Buck Taylor. Hey, there. Buck Why,
dcggone your eyes, how about the XXX out
fit. When die quit the show? And how
the ID are you, anyhow?
THE Corsican Rough Rider was shaking
hands with Buck Taylor ten seconds later
Buck Taylor, formerly with the Wild West
show, the champion tanner and rider Of
American cayuses and bucking bronchos,
who spent over twenty years of his life at
that business on the ranges of the SOUTH