Albuquerque morning journal., 1906-09-30
TEXAS CHARLIE IS
ALMOST K|LLEDBY
LOGGED PONY
Positive Proof Comes From
Northern Range That AMI
mails Go Literally Mad Af-
ter Eating Poisonous Weed,

Bellefourche. S. D., Sept. pa
Texas Charlie" cowboy on the
ranges north, barely escaped a horri-
BILE death by a vicious attack of his
favorite COW pony, Patsy, which had
became fatally lOcoed. Early In the
summer Charlie noticed something
wrong with the pony and from the
symptoms suspected loco, as the weed
has again made its appearance in the
Slim Buttes country this year. The
pony was nervous, irritable and at
the sine time stupid. Once or twice
he had even appeared like horse
with the blind staggers, but Charlie
was unwilling to give him up and did
his best to keep the horse away from
the fatal weed, for which horses af-
ter they have once eaten 1t acquire
an uncomfortable appetite.
Pony Shows Signs of Madness.
But a few days ago when about
to mount the man noted with appre-
hension that the pony's eyes had
turned white. one of the surest signs
of approaching madness in a locoed
horse. They were then a good twenty
miles from a ranch house and the
cowboy decided to try for home. 1t
was too late, however, and they had
not gone a mile before the horse rose
| in the air with tremendous leap
and fell to the ground. The cowboy
escaped injury from the fall, but the
pony scrambled to its feet and in
stantly charged ferociously at the
man who had been it's best friend.
1t was not alone the frenzy of pain
that attacked the horse, it was the
desire to kill. The man lodged, the
horse sprang at him. but the battle
lasted only until the cowboy could
get his gun and then the horses suf-
ferings were quickly ended.
First Case In Twenty Years.
This is the first season in over
twenty years that the loco weed has
caused any trouble in this section.
Wet weather seems especially favor
able to the growth of the weed, and
this time of the year, after the cot
ton comes out, it is more quickly
fatal than earlier in the season. Not
only horses but also cattle and some
times sheep foBm the fatal habir.
After an animal has tasted it he be-
comes mad for it, will eat nothing
else and hunts the range over to find
it, as a dope fend" in human form
will try to obtain his favorite drug
After eating it the animal is practi-
cally intoxicated, unreasonable, unre-
liable and senseless. Some stockmer
even go so far as to say that ami
mails crave it. not because they like
the taste of it, but because they de-
sire the peculiar effect which it pro-
duces.
Habit Ruins Animals.
! The most alarming characteristic;
of the habit are that it is almos
I impossible to break and also that i
> a horse is broken of it he Is seldom
! good for anything afterward. Th'
+ only hope is to change his range, bu
even this expedient often fails, as
? If he cannot obtain the weed th'
/, animal may refuse to eat and ulti
/ matey die of starvation. Hofsemel
: and cowboys driving stock over tn,
: country in season when loco 4
: abundant will send an outrder t
. look up a place to camp and he scan
| the ground carefully to be sure tina
h there is none of the weed around
: The plant itself is harmless looking
z bit of vegetation, resembling the oil
!, fashioned tansy in looks. 1t is
4 stout, slky-haired plant with oblon
: leaves, and grows from eight inche
K to foot high The state of Colo
o rado alone spent nearly a quarter 0
h a million dollars trying to find
Q cure for the habit, but thus far non
= has been found.