The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1900-05-25
with a chain and always to something

mu.r to death and another one so that
we haG 10 kill him. and she tore me
ti.,;...c> all of Of darky who :r1ro 10
feed her one day; but it got 10 be an Ole
story after awhile, and We didn't pay
mut Il attention. -.
Nobody wiIrever forget the first time
she was seen in fight. You'd have
though She was human, from the sense
she showed, and tiend incarnate from
the way she fought.
Our company had been out'on sor-
tie and we were on our way home. every
body giving Jeb and Blazes wide
berth, for she'd kick and bite every
thing in reach Cd the road as well as in
the stable, when we came upon Ge-
tachment of rebel cavalry between us
and home. They had more E.'u than
we did, but there was only oLt thing to
do, and that was to charge-anG we did
it.
was abreast of Jeb when we got the
word, and | never saw anything mace
of flesh and blood do what Blazes die
then. Jeb couldn't hold her any more
than you could hold cyclone, and she
ran like astreak Of lightning. In he 30
or 40 rods between us and the confed-
crates she got more than two rods
ahead of the rest Of us. so she struck The
line first. I'll BET she covered 80 feet al
every jump. and finally she took an adj
mighty plunge into the air, and landed
plump on top Of a confederate sergeant
and his horse, knocking them both
down as easily as she would blade of
grass.
She reared and plunged, struck with
her forefeet, kicked with her hind ones,
and she used her teeth like tiger.
She'd grab rebel horse by the throat
and tear out chunk of flesh; she'd
seize man by the leg or the arm. and
pull him out of the saddle and lrampie
upon him quicker than you could knock
him out with a saber. and every time
she had chance she'd jump into be air
and land right on top of horse and
rider, and then bite and tear andls trike
her way through or past the next one
she met.
don't see how Jeb ever stayed on her
back, but he did, and he came out with
out a scratch, too. Nobody ever made
fun of Blazes after that brush, but her
greatest fight was her last one.
We'd been out on scouting and for
aging expedition and were on our way
| back when we had that set-to. There
were only ten Of us, and we thought we
had got past the point where we were
likely to fall in with any rebs, when
we saw full company of confederate
| cavalry come over the top of knoll
not quarter of a mile away.
There was no use for us to try to run.
for we would only have run into their
lines. and there wasn't man there
who wanted to surrender, so we yelled
back and started to meet them.
We came together, and in second
we were all mixed up. They surround
ed us like flies around honey pot. We
were so few that we could not keep
| together, and every man fought for
himself, regardless of the others. Still.
everybody could tell where BlaZes was
all the time, by the commotion she
kicked up; and when in fight like hat
one thing kicks up enough extra COM
motion to be noticed, you can bet it's
| moving.
got a bullet through my right shout
der and another one in my left arm. and
| was helpless; and just then my horse
got saber clip on the side Of bis head
which sent him crazy. and somehow, he
managed to kick himself out of the
melee before he dropped. which be did
with one of my legs under him; but
| was where could see the fight, and
kept my eyes on Blazes.
| just as discovered her, saw Jeb
Smith pitch head first out of his saddle.
| and l knew that the parson was done
| for.
Blazes seemed to know it, too. She
bad been wild before, but she became a
perfect demon then. She must have
known that she had no rider, and most
horses quit fighting when the man is
gone off from their backs; but she
didn't. She only got wilder dlwent in
for vengeance.
She no longer paid any attention tc
the horses, but she went for the men
and whenever she grabbed one she liter
ally tore him apart. Hundreds of shots
were fired at her, and her body was
covered with blood from the saber cuts
she had received, but she paved and
| kicked, and tore with her boots anG
teeth, turning like cat, and bounding
about with the ease and grace of q
panther.
Then. when most of our men had gone
down. and when practically all that
there was left for the rebs to fight wa.
that wild mare, there was another vel
from the top of the hill, and / saw
three companies of our own men com
.pg to the rescue.
=. The Johnnies saw them, too, and'they
broke and ran. and as sure as / live
Blazes started after them.
She overlook the last man and seizet
him by the shoulder. dragging hin
from his horse to the ground. AS b,
| fell be fred. bis pistol, and the sho
went through her heart, but she cluns
to her prey and her body fell upon th'
man who killed her.
There were only three of MS left alive
out of the ten who went into that fight
and we felt almost as badly abou
Blazes as we did about our comrades.
Poor Jeb was shot through the bead
and never knew what struck him. W
buried him and the mare side by side
and there wasn't dry eye in the crow,
when we did it. She did more fight
ing that day than the whole ten of us
| and there were nrar 2Cf ,xonnds or, ha.