The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-15
WILD HORSES TO DE DESTROYED.
So Numerous in Utah That They
Have BecOme IA Nuisance.

From the Denver News
On the undulating sandy desert south of
Milford, Beaver county, are situated the
warm springs of the old wagon road which
freighters used for reaching Phoebe in her
palmiest mining days; and south of these
warm springs could be seen by these
freighters twenty-five years ago bands OF
wild horses, scurrying away at the APP
proach of man and raising a cloud of dust
as they rushed over the sand dunes and
rabbit brush hollows.
AT that time the freighters were com
PEELED to pay toll for water. at these warm
springs-and perhaps they do still-because
the precious fluid was run into large shall
low wooden tanks buried in the ground and
allowed to cool For the privilege of serv
ing their horses and themselves with the
braclxish water and filling the regulation
barrel strapped to the side of the wagon
the teamsters paid the man in charge the
sum of % cents per man and team The
water that ran away from these springs
in those days formed a soggy pool below
the springs proper, and here was one of
the watering places of the bands of wild
horses that were even then plentiful upon
the desert
The western edge of the desert was
fringed by very precipitous mountains
which were here and there deeply scanned
with canyons which were simply a mighty
cleft in the black, rugged volcanic rock.
Usually these canyons ended very abrupt
ly after their course had been followed
for distance--anyWhere from one to three
miles.
Ingenious man at once saw use for
these canyons, and, selecting those which
best suited his purpose, he placed away
up near the abrupt ending of each of them
a strong gateway of poles. Periodically
the cowboys of that country would go
out to replensh' their stock of saddle
horses from among the bands of wild
equines on the desert. SO feet of foot were
they, however, and so thoroughly famil-
lar with the ground over which they sped
when pursued and enjoying the advan-.
tages of being riderless. that they eluded
their pursuers and easily frustrated any
attempt al their apprehension by means
of lasso. This was the incentive which i'm
PEELED the cowboys to seek the aid of ma
ture in securing for themselves that which
they most coVeted-''the goldarndest orne-
REST widest kyuse on the hull darned
range"
So it came about that these gateways
were built in the preciptous canyons.
Knowing the location of a big band of
wild horses, the cowboys would line out
upon their wiry ponies and gradually
swing the band around in the direction
of one of the canyons. up which the I'M
sUspecting creatures would clatter among
the loose volcanic stones in the bottom
of the big crevasse, bounding through the
improvised gateway. Then the poles were
put up after the cowboys had ridden into
the natural corral and che rest was easy.
Usually the horses thus caught were suf-
ficiently tractable by the time they had
been handled awhile by their captors-that
is, tame enough for a cowboy.
Despite the large number thus caught
in those days these bands have so increas-
ed that they are now almost overrunnng
the country. Occasionally of late the
rangers down in Washington, SEWER, Mil
lard, Beaver. Wayne and Garfield have
been compelled to organize raids Of ex-
termination upon them. These wild
horses are so numerous that they destroy
the range for cattle and sheep and other
more valuable animals. And this, to-
gether with the great drought, is making
the outlook down there so gloomy for
sheepmen that many of them are moving
their focks into other localities. Grass
Is this fall an unknown feed in some of
the southern counties and cattlemen have
been obliged to move out theiu herds. The
few sheepmen who are keeping their hocks
i'm such localities are taking great risks.
OF course sheep would browse upon brush
where cattle would strave to DEATH but
even that is now so dried up in some parts
that a very precarious existence Is nibbled
out by the woolly little animals. This
winter is likely to witness very fatal re-
suits to the herds Of sheep remaining In
the southeastern counties. The only sal
walton for the herds seems to be In an
escape in time to the Henry mountains
and even this hope is very likely to over
run as already there are estimated 10 be
over 100000 sheep driven to this browsing
ground