The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1906-07-25
4 Chance For His Lie

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yer was horse named Eureka.
Eureka had been with the battery for
/ over two years and Ind made two sue
aessful indian campaigns when trag
eiv came into his life. One of bis hind
LEGS began to swell, and In three OF
four DAYS he was disabled from duty.
The veterinary took him In hand az
lonce. but made no progress The limb
swclIed to three times its normal size,
! and no remedy was found to be OF
laval. More than a dozen yeterlnaries,
colder and clIizen. had "A look at the
xorse before final verdict was pro
InOunced, and all knew what the end
would be, md all pitied him. At the
end of three months the leg was no
better, and the fat went forth that he
was to be shot
Corporal Brixton and guard win
take the horse out on the prairie and
shoot him. read the order. and the
fcoIoncl added verbally, And do It as
decently as you would shoot man"
| When Eureka was ready to be led
forth to execution 800 men Insisted on
gathering to bid him goodby. He was
every body's horse to admire and praise,
but 1t was only the battery men who
had the privilege OF rubbing his arched
neck and smoothing his velvet nose
aud telling him that he should never be
forgotten, though replaced Strangely
enough, the ailment had not affected
the horses general health His eye
was just US bright and his spirits just
as high us when able to move with the
swiftness of an antelope. He rubbed
his muzzIe against the checks of the
men and whimperod for sugar, and
when he went limping away caps came
OF and men felt lump gathering in
their thrOats.
The cortege wound over the hill
quarter of mile away and then de
scended 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 a man or scoundrel?"
'I'm man, I'd have We know, and
I'VE proved it fifty times over" was
the answer.
and have ye got heart in yer
bosom?".
-"As big as beer key"
"And would ye murder 3 helpless
baby?"
t.cuss me If I would. 1 know what
you are driving at and you leave it to
me-"
Half a nile across the valley they
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 halt.
Daily aud Henderson. listen to me-
he said. 'The orders are to shoot Eu-
relzn. won't"
..BulIy for you. old mnnF' they shout
ed.
II shall have to report him dend' but
It will be lie. and II either of you
for you in the first slSirmish that takes
place II was cold blooded enough to
shoot down n 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-freH
The carbine shots rang out. The
noise did. not startle the horse in the
least, but 1t might have been heard
Mt the fort by any one listening. The
men had aimed above the horse, and
their bullets went singing through the
treetops.
rs he fnished?" asked the corporal
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 five days thereafter the
men of the entire garrison looked
askance 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
was accepted without question, and
the incident passed into history.
Had Eureka been well In limb he
would have made his way back to the
fort before dark. AS 1t wns, he fed
and drank and slept They had given
him his discharge from the service
had made an outlaw Of him, and he
lad no further right on the lines or in
the stables de 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 him
and glared and growled, and tile horse
rose up with painful effort and made
ready to defend himself with teeth and
boot The wolf did not attack, how.
ever. and when daylight came the Grip
pie hobbIed up the valley In search of
more secure retreat. That was IN
the Inst days of May. The valley was
not settled, and the horse hid 1t all to
himself except for the few deer, buffa-
10 and Wild horses that strHyed In occ0-