The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1906-08-06
4 Chance For Ills Lie


lC0pyright. 1903 BY Homer spIeesne,4
In the three gun battery at Fort ~
yer vas a horse named Eureka
Eureka had been with the battery for
over two years ana had made two sue.
eessfui Indian campaigns when a trAgs
rdy came into his life. One OF his hind
legs began to SWELL and in three OF
four days he was disabled from duty.
The veterinary took him In hand at
once, but made no progress The iimp
BWelIed to three times its normal SIZE
and no remedy was found to be OF
avail More than dozen veterinaries'
colder and ctrizen, had 4 look at the
horse before a hnal verdict was pro
bounced, and all knew what the end
would be, and all pltied him. At the
end Of three months the leg was no
better, ana the hat went forth that he
was to be shot
Corporal Brlxton and guard win
take the horse out on the prairie ana
shoot him." read the order, and the
colonel added verbally, "And do It as
decentIy as you would shoot man."
When Eureka was ready to be led
forth to execution 300 men insisted on
gathering to bid him goodby. He was
eyerybody's horse to admire and praise,
but it was only the battery men who
bad the privilege of rubbing his arched
neck and smoothing his velvet nose
and telling him that he should never pc
forgotten, though replaced Strangely
enough, the nfln1ent had not ahected
the horses general health. BIS eye
was just us bright and his spirits just
as high as when able to move with the
swlftness OF an antelope. He rubbed
80 11a. fsllnalsu 1f tina
men and whlmpered for sugar, and
when he went IimpIng away caps came
OF and men felt a lump gathering In
their throats.
The cortege wound over the hill a
quarter of a mile away and then de
seconded into the valley, and the pace
was that of a funeral procession. When
It was out of sight of the fort Private
Daily asked of Corporal Brixton:
Corp, are ye man or scoundrelF'
''I'm n man, I'd have ye know, and
I've proved 1t fifty times over" was
che answer.
..And have ye got a heart in yer
bosom?"
GAS big as a beer key"
'And would ye murder a helpless
..Cuss me II 1 would! know what
you are driving at and you leave It to
me"
Half "a mile across the wiley they
came to the fringe of bushes and en-
tered them. Eureka had but the slight
est use of his leg, but he hobbled on
after fashion and made no complaint.
On the contrary, he snOrted and sought
to dance around as in the days Of his
strength. By and by CLASSY glade
was reached. Here was food and wa
ter for n hundred horses, and the cor
poral called a halt.
tDauy and Henderson, listen to me-"
he said. .gThe orders are to shoot Ep-
reka won't"
ed
81 shall have to report him dead, but
II will be a lie, and IL either of you
ever betray me III have n-bullet ready
for YOU In the first slxirmish TINT taxes
Mace. II was cold blOoded enough TO
shoot down a horse like this I'd want
Uncle Sam to kick me out of the army
and me own mother to go back on me.
Make ready now-aim-hreF
The carbIne shots rang out. The
noise did not startlc the horse in the
Ienst hut IT might have been heard
at the fort by any one listening. The
men had aimed above the horse, and
their bullets went singing through the
trcetops.
as he turned his back on the feeding
horse.
''He is, sir" answered Daily.
''Then heaven rest his soul for good
horse, and forward march"
Tor four or 1--WE days thereafter the
men of the entire garrison looked
asl,nnce at the three men and drew
away from them. They had acted
under orders, but they had shot down
Eureka. They knew what allied their
comrades, but they kept their Own
counsel. The report of the corporal
Nns accepted without question, and
the Incident passed Into history.
Had Eureka been well In nrnO nc
would have made his way back TO the
fort before dark. As 1t was, ne ted
and drank and slept. They had given
him his discharge from the service
had made an outlaw Of him, and ne
had no further right on the lines OF IN
the stables. Ho did not move out OF
the GLADE that day or night. ABOUT
midnight a big, timber wolf came out
Of the foothills and circled around MIN
ana glared and growled. and the horse
rose M with painful effort and maze
ready to defend himself with teeth ana
hoof. The wolf did not attack now
ever. and when daylight came the Grip
nile hobbled up the valley In search OF
more secure retreat. mat was "
the last days of May. The valley was
nNNNI n