Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1906-09-13
The Horse In History.

cOrueu III history Tue uoIee aPPeois
by the side of man as his favorite
companion and most valued assistant.
His first use was in war, as fighting
was the principal industry of the
races living in lands indigenous to
the horse. When those people adj
vanced sufficiently to establish a lit
ersture, the horse figures extensive
ly in theiriwritings. Homers "Ilsd,
which deals with the fabulous and ira.
ditional age of Greece, is filled with
illusions TO the animals which were OF
such great service to them IN the
siege of Troy. Many are the fine
compliments paid to the steeds of
Agamemnon, Arehilles and the other
worthless who figured in the overthrow
of the house of Prism. The Grecian
and Roman mythologies abound in
descriptions Of equine wonders and
marvellous monsters. There, for in
stance, were the ferocious horses Of
Diomed, the tyrant Of Thrace, which
fed on the strangers that visited the
kingdom and eventually devoured
their master. Cavalrymen insist that
horses in war acquire the spirit of
their masters and become fond of
fighting. They also develops fero-
ciOus spirit and the tendency to cru.
city which grow naturally out of mil
itary movements. Thus We are told
that Bucephalos, the favorite war
horse of Alexander the Great, was a
man eater aud SO fierce that all save
his master feared to mount him. The
same evil disposition is attributed to
Copenhagen, the steed ridden by the
Duke Of Wellington, who had a kick
and bite for all who approached ex-
cept his lordly owner. Marengo,
the white stallion that bore Napoleon
through the bloody battle Of Waterloo,
unless much belied by the chro nicles,
had absorbed the warlike spirit Of
his imperial rider.
1t would not be too much to say
that the horse was potent factor in
changing the whole course of history.
The nations which possessed these an.
finals in abundance had a great su.
periority over those not so fortunate.
1t was their horses that enabled the
northern barbsrians to ride rough
shod over the Roman empire and f.
nally work complete change in the
government of modern Europe. At
later period it was undoubtedly
their superior cavalry that enabled
the Arabians to overrun all the sur
rounding nations and subdue a large
part of the civilized world. Nothing
could resist the impetuous onset OF
fierce Khaled and his vast hordes OF
horses, while Amru rode easily over
the unwarlike Egyptians and other
horseless nations. Without horses
these ferocious tribes would never
have been able to advance far from
their desert homes, and history would
not record that marvellous career Of
conquests that made the seventh CEN
fury so notable in the annals of war.
Thoee who have read Of the Spanish
invasions of Peru and Mexico will
remember how potential part was
wrought by the cavalry. The ma
tives thought man and horse were
one animal, and 80 great was their
terror at the approach Of these Gen.
taur-like monsters that they were In
capable of resistance and fed in alb
ject fear. When De Soto galloped up
to Atahualpa on his foaming war
steed the Inca king tremblingly sur.
rendered without a murmur, and. the
march of the cruel conquer ors was
practically unrestricted from one end
of the country to the other.
But for the horse, the advance OF
civilization would have been greatly
retarded. Asa all ancient nations were
built up by immigration and conquest,
and as INSTRUMENTATION was 70 es-
sential factor Of commerce, the part
performed by the beasts Of burden
will be recognized at glance. So,
important as he was for the purposes
Of war. the horse was more indis.
pensable az an agency of peace. At
ter carrying his master TO distant
country and helping in its conquest,
he aided in the work Of blowing the
ground. carrying the burdens and
hauling the loads. Agriculture's
debt to the horse therefore is great,
and it is difficult to zee how it could
have made much Roadway in the old
times without him. Even in this