The times., 1899-04-23
WILD HORSES DYING OUT.
Fencing I'm Texas Decimating the
Roaming Herds.
From the Galveston News)

(From the Galveston News)
The wild horses which used to roam the
Texas prairies are about all gone / asked
an old resident what had become of them,
and he told me that only a very few re-
manned, and that they were in the large
pastures, and that they were being killed
as often as shot could be had at them.
! asked him the reason for this destruction,
and he said that they were worthless, in
the first place, and that, in the second
they stole other horses which were good
and carried them off with them. He i'll
formed me also that of all the wild animals
a horse or mule which had formerly been
under the dominion of man was the widest
when once it became part of wild herd
The stations of the wild herdd were al
ways ambitious to keep their bunch
filled. and would steal mare or horse, or
even mule, from the settlements or COW
ranches when the occasion presented itself
When once tame horse or mule got with
wild herd he became the widest and
most cunnig OF them all. AT the wire
fences went ZIP the territory of the wild
horces contracted. Finally all that re-
mained were in the large pastures.
/ was told that before the pastures came
IL was the custom TO walk down" the wild
herds and reduce them 10 servitude One
man / met here told me how this walking
down was done. He said that the wild
herd which one was determined to capture
always had a. certain range. This range
was known from men who secuted the
prairies- For instance, one man may have
seen the bunch" for that is what the
herd is called, up near some particular
point in the northwest of the Panhandle.
Another ranger may have been the same
bunch fifty miles southeast of where the
first man saw it. Others may have seen it
along the route between the two points.
Thus ii would be concluded that the
range was between the two points men,
tened Four or five men would enter the
expedition TO walk down the bunch" A
man would be stationed every twenty or
thirty miles along the range route and
then the bunch would be started For
the first day the wild horses would seam
per OFF, throwing their names and tails to
the breeze. making sight that would
whet the desire of those pursuing them 10
capture them. for there is nothing pre,tier
In the world than a troop OF wild horses
at a distance. They look perfection when
they throw up their heads and sniff the
wind and then scamper away. / have seen
one or two punches myself. The man who
starts them on their trips follows them for
a day on a pony, taking his time. His
place is taken by the second man about
nightfull, presuming that the bunch was
started in the morning. The second man
follows them all night. for the hunt is
made when there is full moon, so that
the bunch can be tracked at night as well
as during the day. On the morning when
the third man takes the trail. the stallion,
or master of the bunch, is behind the herd,
biting and kicking the laggards in 1t. The
third day. or even the evening of the sec
ond day. finds the bunch strung out in
straight line, each following the other in
Indian file. They are getting very tired.
They are allowed no time to eat or
drink. The pursuer. knowing that they
are firing. forces them and thus the chase
continues for about five days. when the
whole herd is so tired that it is easily
taken.
But, so said my informant. when the
work is done and every horse taken. the
pursuers are always unanimous in their
verdict that the game was not worth the
labor expended, for the horse taken are
measley set and never good for anything
"Creasing" means shooting the animal
Just below the name, not low enough to
break the neck, and yet low enough so
thar shock sufficient to bring down the
animal will be. inflicted. Ii requires the
best craftsmanship to do this. and as the
distance at which the shooting must be
done is usually great. very few animals
have been taken In this way.