The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-07-12
A Chance For His Life


copyright, 1906, by Homer Sprague]
In the three gun battery at Fort Gull
yer was horse named Eureka
Eureka had been with the artery for
over two years and had made two sue
cessful Indian campaigns when trag-
edy came into his life One Of his hind
legs began to swell, and in three or
four days he was disabled from duty.
The veterinary took him in hand at
once, but made no progress The limb
Swelled to three times it's normal size,
and no remedy was found to be of
avail. More than a dozen veterinaries,
soldier and citizen, had look at the
horse before a final verdict was pro-
nounced, and all knew what the end
would be, and all pitied him. AT the
end of three months the leg was no
better, and the fiat went forth that he
was to be shot.
Corporal Brixton and guard will
take the horse out on the prairie and
shoot him." read the order, and the
colonel added verbally, "And do it as
decently 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
everybody's horse to admire and praise,
but it was only the battery men who
had the privilege of rubbing his arched
neck and smoothing his velvet nose
and 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 as bright and his spirits just
as high as when able to move with the
swiftness Of an antelope. He rubbed
his muzzle against the cheeks Of the
men and whimpered for sugar, and
when he went limping away caps came
off and men felt lump gathering in
their threats.
The cortege wound over the hill a
quarter of mile away and then de-
scended into the valley, and the pace
was that of funeral procession. When
it was out Of sight of the fort Private
Daily asked of Corporal Brixton:
Corp, are We man or a scoundrelY'
I'm man, I'd have We know, and
I've proved it fifty times over" was
the answer.
and have We got a heart in yer
bosom?"
LAS big as beer key"
and would We murder a helpless
baby?"
"Cuss me If 1 would! l know what
you are driving at, and you leave it to
me-
Half mile across the valley 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 a CLASSY glade
was reached. Here was food and wa
ter for a hundred horses, and the cor
poral called a halt
Daily and Henderson, listen to me-
he said. 1.-The orders are to shoot Eu-
reka. l won't"
Bully for you, old man." they shout
! ed
II shall have to report him dead, but
it will be a lie, and if either of you
ever betray me I'll have a bullet ready
for you in the first skirmish that takes
place. If 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 -aim-fre"'
The carbine shots rang out The
noise did not startle the horse in the
least, but 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
treetops.
rs he finished?' asked the corporal
horse.
He is, SIR" answered Daily.
I Then heaven rest his soul for good
horse and forward march,
For 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 we'll in limb he
would have made his way back to the
fort before dark. AS it was, he fed
and drank and slept They had given
him his discharge from the service
had made an outlaw Of him, and he
had no further right on the lines or in
the stables. He did not move out of
the glade that day or night About
midnight big timber wolf came out
of the foothills and circled around him
and glared and growled, and the horse
rose up with painful effort and made
ready to defend himself with teeth and
hoof. The wolf did not attack, how
ever, and when daylight came the Grip
pie hobbled up the valley in search Of
a more secure retreat. That was TN
the last days of May. The valley was
not settled, and the horse had it all to
himself except for the few deer. buffa-
10 and wild horses that strayed in occa-