The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-08-02

the throw was Joe's. He grumy chose
the horse that should be nearer the
corral gate. Then they shook out
again for precedence In order Of rid
ing, and this time the South Valley
broncho buster won, electing to ride
second. There was one other contest
ant, who did not throw-but I am an
~ticipating my story.
After these preliminaries all roads
pointed corralward, the exodus even
stripping billions bar Of its deft at
tendants. The corral was situated at
the open extremity OF the gulch, on a
fat Of much lower level than that Of
billions and the other main division Of
the town.
When I got down the nat was cleared
for action. and the man called Curlew
was preparing to ride.
He had barely time to draw his
sleeve across his perspiring face when
the ha~lf-choked and bewildered pony
had leaped, like a flash, to his feet;
at the same fractional part Of a second,
Curlew was lightly ensconced in the
saddle, stirruped and pulling of the
pony's hood. Blinded by the sun, dazed
and frightened by the weight on his
back, the bay stood quivering for a
short space. But a singing cut from
Curlew's quirt discovered his bond
age to him. Up he reared, straight
and unhesitatingly, till. losing his bal
ance, he dropped over backward with
an ugly thud, the broad horn Of the
COW saddle digging into the ground
just where Curlew should have been.
But the red-haired rider was to one
side, waiting. He must have been
quick as light, for l assure yoa the
play Of the pony was not slow. Again
and again the bay rose in the air
and repeated the backward fall, Curlew
each time eluding it and each time
swinging in the saddle as the playful
brute came to his feet. It was all
Incredibly rapid, and how the boy
handled his long, lo~ose-iointed legs
is yet a mystery to me. There were
~ Of these backward half-somersaults
in that 90-foot corral, and then the
m%anOeuvre was over, forming merely
an unostentatious prelude to the real
tactics Of the fight.
With a shril1 whistle Of rage that
brought my heart against my ribs the
bay made several sharp sidelong jumps
and then took to running. Through
the corral gate. across the fiat, up the
steep pitch, and into the town he went.
the whole company Of interested spec
tators following at their variously best
PAGES. Curlew set him with swaying
ease, the hackamore o p hanging
loose in his hand; he made no attempt
to stop or to guide.
In the midst Of the town the run
ended in the inevitable buck, and
thenceforth the fun waxed fast and flu
rious. We we're not mistaken in our
horse; the brute was all his looks in
~dicated-and more. The battle only
lasted some Is minutes. but in that
short space Of time he called into &C
tive use every resource of equine trick
cry and threw himself into every start
ling c%ontortion that horse anatomy
permits Of. He bucked straight and
sideways, and turned and fell, and
reared and kicked. squealing again and
again in that fierce, unholy manner.
till 1t seemed impossible that the
plucky red-haired rider could longer
endure the awful back-Wrenching
strain. A fall; too, meant death, for
the horse would have slashed him be-
fore he touched ground or struck with
front feet as he lay. During the first
p or IA minutes Of the fight that
boys life vas not worth the value OF
a cigarette; between rage and fear the
horse was stark mad, and had there
been the sign OF an opening would
have leaped h~eadlong into the reputed
inferno a half a mile below.
AS the moments wore on and his
whole repertoire of strength and STRAIT
ergy was worked through, without in
the least unixing his rider, the white
eyed pony began to lose heart; 1t was
the first time that any man had been
SO tenacious of grip, and gradually his
leaps became weaker and less vicious.
Then Curlew's quirt and blood-seekine
spurs urged him to more vigorous ef-
forts, but even these could not much
longer sustain the engagement. Drip
ping with blood and sweat, nearly
dead with fatigue, he finally sue
cumbed, and permitted himself to be
guided by the rider at will. A hearty
cheer burst from the crowd, and Cur
lew, rather pale and weak, but ever
smiling, was rapturously dragged from
the saddle and carried into billions
an inert monument Of glory to his
memory and-demonstrative friends.
After the hero, his wo~rshippers, the
antagonistic party, and all outsiders
had been duly refreshed, which re
quired ome little time, we bent our
selves again to the matter in hand
and prepared to witness the second
bout Of the man against horse battle
There Was almost as wide a differ.
ence Of the two riders as between the
bay and the buckskin. The soutl
Valley champion was much shorter
than Curlew, and better knit. II
had not seen the confusing dexterity
Of the lanky. red-haired boy, / shoult
have esteemed this the likelier man
His movements were alert and h,
showed much experience; en- complex.
ion almost black, with a bearded ant
somewhat sinister face-"Charley Raw
Inns. late av N'Mixieo. an bad whir
he's dhrinkin. as Dillon cataloguet
him.
The buckskin pony remained in hil
downcast posture and allowed thu
New Mexican to saddle him ~unresist
ingly, merely cooking his hairy ears
nna Onward and the ofhor haoN-on.