The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1900-06-14

MFNl LII Lao WILL iOt
" none of them ex-
cept his old bronco, Blowout" To
secure comfort and long life to his
favorite horse, Mr.. Bronson left one
thousand dollars a year, the money to
be paid monthly to Peter Lannon only
so long as the horse shall be alive. AS
Blowout is believed to be twenty years
old now, it Is not likely that Mr.. Ian
non can draw the allowance much
longer.
The explanation Of Bronson's devo-
ton to Blowout was given to me some
years ago by the cattle-king himself.
He began with quite long account
of how he happened to be trapping
alone on the Dismal River, near the
forks in 1884, when he was still a
poor cowboy, although an educated
man; and how one or more of doc
Mlddleton's notorious gang of horse
thieves stole his saddle-horse and
packhorse and all his furs and proyis-
ions, while he himself was on foot
following a wounded antelope through
timber. Then Bronson was left in a
very wild country with nothing but
his rife, a few cartridges, his camp kit,
knife, pipe, tobacco and some matches.
The rest of his story I give in his
own words, which l wrote down soon
after hearing them:
CATER trying to trail the thieves I
went back to camp, broiled some an
telope and took good nights sleep.
The next day decided to cross over
to the Middle Loup, and make my
way down the river to some settle
ment. So set off to the northward,
bat before had gone mile found
2 Blowout-my first acquaintance with
him, you understand. I had seen d
herd of horses there, and tried to
creep up to crease one, but they got
scent of me, and fed. AS I started
on again came to the edged of big
blowout, and saw at the bottom wild
horse. He had somehow got into the
blowout and couldn't get out.
"You don't know what mean by a
blowout? Well, it is hollow scooped
out OF the top or side of a sand-hill
by the wind. They are of all sizes,
from ten feet to ten rods across, and
from one foot to fifty feet deep. Most
of them have one or two places where
horse can walk out, but some are
too steep all around. I never saw but
one that man couldn't get out with
out help.
That one is known all over these
parts as Dead Mans Blowout be-
cause one of the boys at the H. ".
or the Box bari forget which
found man in it-starved to death,
or more likely persisted from thirst.
He got two others to go back with him
and take ropes along to try to get the
body out. But he'd been dead so long
that they just buried him where he
lay. There was nothing about him to
tell who he was, and no one knows
yet.
"WeIl, as I was telling you, the
wild horse was down in big blowout.
could see where he had torn up the
sand in trying to climb out; but he
had stopped trying and stood looking
up at me in despair. He seemed to
have no life left. His eyes were blood
shot and fiery, his tongue hanging
out, dry and parched, his whole ap
pearance showing the greatest dis
tress. pulled up some grass and
threw it down to him; he seized 1t
ravenously, but his mouth and throat
seemed too dry to swallow it.
Stranger, maybe you wouldn't be-
lieve it, but forgot all about my own
troubles, and set to work to do some
thing for that horse. ] got my camp
kettle and carried water from the
river, nearly a mile. 1t took me all
one day and part of the next before
could get enough to satisfy him. |
kept pulling grass for him, too, and
although at first he seemed in mortal
fear of me, yet by the third night he
and I were good friends. Well, to
cut it short, 1 fed him there for nearly
week, and then managed to dig a
path and help him out; and after q
few days more saddled him and rode
him across to the settlements, and
went to work to raise crowd to go
after Middleton and his gang. But
everybody seemed to be afraid.
cat last I got about dozen to-
gether, and we were about to start
when the news came of Middleton's
capture by Major Llewellyn.
And that's how got ,my pom, and
that's why he is SO fond Of me. But
still have to tell you whatNhe did for
me. 1t is the most CURIOUS case OIL
one good turn deserving. another that
ever heard of.