The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-03-23
The Banks Ponies and Their Origin.
tBy A. H. Webb, Sr., in the Morehead
CitY COaSterl


City Coaster)
There is a faint tradition that tho banl,
ponies came from horses sent over nv Sir
Walter Raleigh in 1887 with Whites col
ony TO Roanoke Island, and from Roa-
noke Island, they were either carried bv
the Indians, or themselves migrated from
I Danks to banks, passing over the inlets
to Ch1camacomack, Kenakeet Hatteras.
Ocracoke, Portsmouth, Core and Shackle-
ford banks, or islands separating Pam
leo and Core Sound from the Atlantic
ocean.
! BY some it is supposed that when Car
teret county was first settled, some of
the settlers brought horses with them
and on finding that on Shackleford banks
opposite Beaufort there was good grazing,
the experiment was made to raise horses
there and proved as successful as they
could wish
Shackleford banks together with Core
banks is an island thirty miles long. sur
rounded by sound and sea and inlets to
connect the ocean with the sound, Old
Topsail inlet nearly opposite Beaufort
| Whalebone inlet thirty five miles further
| east
Shackelford banks appear to be secu-
llarly adapted TO raising these ponies and
! by some 1T is supposed that the first
horses on the other banks were carried
| from Shackleford banks. 1t is supposed
that when first placed on the banks they
were or greater size than now, but be-
ing left to get their living entirely by
grazing on the banks grasses and rushes.
without shelter other than trees and
/ pushes, they deteriorated in size, but
gained in hardihOod and longevity.
! They are gregarious and roam the banks
like the wild horses of the Western prai-
ries and always in herds, with a leader,
| separating somewhat when feeding, but
always collecting and moving together
i when moving from one place to another.
| Wherever they may be, they have a pc
culiar instinct for finding water. If they
/ do not find ponds, or springs, or fresh
water creeks to drink from, they select
| a spot where they seem to know there is
water in the ground and dig holes by
paving with their forefeet, thus forming
wells where they may drink when thirsty
They are allowed to roam the banks
at pleasure, but are penned generally
twice a year-in May and August, so the
owners may brand the colts and take
out such as they wish to sell, or break
for farm use.
Who were the original owners, or the
first who branded horses on the banks
is not known Those on Shackleford
banks belong to the LETTERS, Bells, Lup-
tons, Fulchers, Bloxoms, Whtehursts
WilIises. Harkers, Chadwcks, Davises
Wades, and others.
When the owners wish to pen them
they get together a considerable crowd
and making a strong pound with wings
extending somewhat like quail nets. but
made of stakes and bushes, and stretching
across the island. they advance gradually
on the ponies until driven into the pound
When feeding along the banks, the
ponies are sometimes caught by high tides
on the low fiat marshes. They generally
manage to wade and swim back to the
highland of the banks, but very high
b tides occasionally render it very difficult
for them to do so. Yet very seldom has
it happened that many of them have been
destroyed in this manner. The great
storm, however, on the It'll of April 1877
proved the most disastrous ever known
not only to cattle and sheep, (nearly all
of which on Portsmouth and Core banks
were destroyed) but also to the horses
as out of $50 ponies on Portsmouth, Core
and Shackleford banks, 300 were swept
! away by the tide and drowned.
/ The ponies when first taken from the
pens were wild, but are easily broken to
saddle pillow or vehicle, the main diff
ficulty at first is to teach them to eat,
as having been accustomed to eat moth
ing but grass and ruShes, they refuse
corn, oats and hay, or the most savory
compounds of horse feed. But by de-
grees they can be taught to eat almost
anything good for horsefesh and by
careful handling, become the most docile,
I affectionate, and if not overworked, the
most durable horses known. The only
objection to them is their small size; but
for the saddle this objection disappears,
as they are much better suited for la
dies or children than large horses. Though
too light for heavy lands up country they
do we'll for the light lands on the coast
with this great advantage, it takes much
less food for them than for large up