The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1900-01-26
was the three grace. rolled into one ,hs

was the three graces rolled into one she
was so quiet; but it didn't last long.
She finished her oats, and maybe she
got tired or thirsty, or something. Any
how, she pulled away one section of the
fence, and broke loose from that, and
then she started for the stable again.
Some of us heard the horses squealing
and kicking, and we went down to see
what was the matter, and I'm blessed
if Blazes wasn't trying to eat them.
She'd reach in and take mouthful
of loose flesh, set her teeth on it and
pull, and then, when the horse she was
biting kicked, she'd wheel and kick
too. After that we made Jeb tie her
with chain and always to something
that she could not pull aapart.
She ruined ten horses, kicked one
mule to death and another one so that
we had TO kill him, and she tore the
clothes all off of darby who tried to
feed her one day; but it got to be an old
story after awhile, and we didn't pay
much attention.
Nobody will ever forget the first time
she was seen in a fight. You'd have
thought she was human, from the sense
she showed, and fiend 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 on the road as we'll as in
the stable, when we came upon a de-
tachment of rebel cavalry between us
and home. They had more men than
We did, but there was only one thing to
do, and tina! was to charge-and we did
it.
was abreast of Jeb when we got the
word, and l never saw anything made
then. Jeb couldn't hold her any more
than you could hold cyclone, and she
ran like streak of lightning. In the 80
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 30 feet at
every jump, and finally she took an adj
mighty plunge into the air, and landed
plump on top of 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 Il tiger.
She'd grab a rebel horse by the throat
and tear out chunk of flesh; she'd
seize a man by the leg or the arm, and
pull him out of the saddle and trample
upon him quicker than you could knock
him out with a saber, and every time
she had chance she'd jump into the air
and land right on top of horse and
rider, and then bite and tear and strike
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 a quarter of 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 a second
we were all mixed up. They surround
ed MS like flies around a 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 that
one thing kicks up enough extra COM
motion to be noticed, you can bet it's
moving.
| got bullet through my right shout
der and another one in my left arm, and
I was helpless; and just then my horse
got saber clip on the side of his head
which sent him crazy, and somehow, he
managed to kick himself out of the
melee before he dropped, which he did
with one of my legs under him; but
I was where could see the fight, and I
kept my eyes on Blazes.
Just as l discovered her. I 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
had been wild before, but she became q
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 and'went in
for vengeance.
She no longer paid any attention to
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 hoofs and
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 was
that wild mare, there was another yell
from the top of the hill, and I saw
three companies of our own men COM
ing to the rescue.
The Johnnies saw them, too, andthey
broke and ran, and as sure as live,
BlaZes started after them.