The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-06-22
THE HORSE IN FICTION.

Societies for the prevention Of cruelty
TO animals ought to take some steps 10
protect the horses that appear in historical
fiction. The terrible pace at which they
are driven, hauling heavy coaches after
them over bad roads, the tremendous num-
Der of miles they are made to cover under
the saddle, are incidents that no reader
can have failed to notice. They figure
with as much regularity in historical
novels as the duel with swords, and, as
everybody knows, no novel of this type is
complete without at least one such duel.
But, though one Of the participants of
each du~el-usually the one who is famous
as a swordsman, but, after ali, does not
know the new and irresistible twist of the
wrist practiced by the other man-is pierced
through som portion of his anatomy and.
loses blood, if not his life, his fate is so
much a matter of course that it harrows
no ones sensibilities. y duel must be
fought before the story can go any
further, some one must be hurt, the victim
takes the risk voluntarily, and the expert
enced reader suffers no pangs on his ac-
count. Commonly the man deserves what
he gets. But it is not thus with the horses.
They are invariably intelligent, spirited
and powerful animals, and win sympathy
to themselves at once. They are not in
the stories because they want to be, but
because the conventionalities of historical
fiction enforce their presence. The hero
could not get out of his tight scrapes or
the heroine be rescued without marvellous
achievements on their part in the way of
getting over the ground. Therefore, it is
that many a noble beast, deserving a bet
ter fate, is driven mercilessly over hill and
dale until, the goal reached, he is turned
loose, stiff i'm the knees and broken-winded
"a wreck of a horse forever after. Or he
carries his owner, sometimes with the bur-
den of a fair lady added, at a galloping
pace for hours and even days, hardly stop
ping for food or water, much less rest, and
falls dead in his tracks when the journey
is done and the enemy safely distanced.
This sacrifice of good horsefesh is very
trying to readers with a proper regard for
the animals, and, the more so, that ii is
entirely unnecessary, since it is obvious
that the matter is quite within the novel;
lists own control. If he can provide one
horse for his hero he can as easily provide
two. With all the facilities at an authors
command, he might readily enough have a.
second horse of good quality grazing by
the roadside. ready for saddle and bride
at the moment the first begins to show
signs of WEAKNESS. The arrangement of
relays, accidental or otherwise, should
cause a properly ingenious novelist no
trouble whatever. The horse is an animal
whose presence needs no accounting for
during the periods commonly chosen by
historical novelists for their narratives.
and the utilizing of a greater number will
not only cause no comment, but will ex-
pedite travel for the personages in the
tale and save the feelings of a multitude
of readers. Authors of other classes of
novels are not open to the same criticism,
for the reason that railroads, trolley lines.
automobiles and bicycles provide them
with abundant means for the rapid transit
of their characters. 1t is only the pro-
ducers Of historical fiction who, in the in
terests of humanity, need to enlarge their
stables.