The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1904-01-14

used horses for food. If the prehistoric
horse persisted with the Mound Builders
may not the Red Man, who was the
probable successor of the Mound
Builders have consumed the horse of
the Mound Builders as food.
On the island of Chinto League off of
the coast of Virginia there is still bands
Of wild horses and only recently have
of them. They are said to be of all
colors but uniform in size and not over
thirteen hands high. Whether these
wild horses are the descendants Of the
Spanish horse imported early in the
sixteenth century or belong to the pre-
historic horse is the question. Those
who claim they are, have concocted
theory that the island of Chintoteague
was formerly peninsula and that
bands of Virginian horses that had been
turned loose by the early settlers were
cut Off from the mainland when the
wash of the raging Atlantic seas con-
verified the peninsula into an island.
This may seem possible to those who
believe that Ham, one of the sons of
Noah, escaped to Africa where he be-
came sunburnt and established the
African race. The new encyclopedia
does not attempt to give the, origin of
the horse but enough is stated to prove
that he did not originate in any known
country. He was undoubtedly created
as mans natural companion and is in
the universal nature class, wherever
the grass grows, or the wild roses
bloom or the oak tree tlourishes. Every
where around the world in the temper
ate zones the horse has been found. AS
to the native country of the horse we
know now all that science will ever
know. We know that the American
horse was the avaunt courier of all
pioneer civilization. For two hundred
years on this continent he was our sole
means of travel, the most vital force in
the intermingling of the early colonists
with each other in the evolution of a
eliminating democracy. Today as the
season just closed simply demonstrates
the horse, the harness horse, the horse
of sport and pleasure is one of the most
potent forces of enlightened society.
None of the wonderful inventions of
modern times, railroads, bicycles, auto
mobiles or any man made machines are
capable Of supplanting him in the
objections of his masters or the popular
heart from spontaneous admirations OF
his marvellous speed, endurance and
attractiveness in the domain of the
most wholesome of all our national
sports and pastimes. The youngest
man or boy within the sound of my
voice will never live to see the day
when any of mans inventions, the
bicycle the automobile, DuPont's fly
, ing machine or Edison's electric Of
magnetic apparatus, will take the place
of a master draft horse of the American
type Of today in moving the products O
the farm over our roads, or supplant {
Lou Dillon, or Dan Patch for mans
conveyance from place to place and his
comfort and pleasure as well as sport
It's idle talk when we hear and reat
} about the horseless age. In all the ages
past there has never been anything thai
has taken the horses place or removed
him from being one of the most desir
able acq, ,itions of ambitious man.
The horse of today, either the typica
draft or the to-day road or trottins
horse stands as living monument O.
mans intelligence and civilization; nc
other nation can boast of horse equa
toIor as great as the American horse
And he is as much superior to al
foreign breeds as the American man is
to all other nationalities. And the
state of Iowa may we'll feel proud of the
rank she holds in the horse breeding in
) dustry. She ranks among the brightes
, stars in the constellation known as tn,
United States, and today she has NOR,
} good horses, more speed horses, ant
} more horses than any one other state
J more in value and like silver, crown the
white Short-Horn shown by the Iowa CO.
lege at Chicago, in the great cattle SHOW
, she always takes the cake, at the grea
contests, and like Queen Alex, if not al
Iowa product they are the sons ant
daughters sometime in life of the great
blue grass and corn growing state ant
received their finishing touches from
!; the master hands of our intellectual
) people. No state in the union today il
better supplied with high grade draft
horses in the stallion line, and the higf
headed, fleet footed, never firing stand
ard trotter and PAGER than Iowa and the
} records show that Iowa furnishes 60 pei
) cent. of all the horses sold in the Chica
go markets conceded by all to be the
greatest market for horses in the world