The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1908-04-04
Wild Horses.
From the New York Tribune.


Wild horses by the thousands are
oyerrunning the government national
forests of Nevada and neighboring
states. and the authorities in Wash
ington are besieged with petitions
from stockmen and farmers begging
them to put stop to the nuisance. q
recent dispatch from Reno conveyed
the intelligence that there are fifteen
thousand OF the untarned beasts upon
the Toiyabe, Toquina and Monitor
forest reserves in Lander county
alone. and that orders have been res
,eived by the forest rangers to begin
systematic war of determination
upon them. This dispatch, although
twisted as to facts, does not exagger-
ate the number of horses now sup
posed TO be roaming at large in the
districts mentioned. As a matter OF
probable truth there are good many
more than fifteen thousand wild horses
in Nevada and the neighboring states,
and every herd is pest to the owners
of vegetation and domestic stock.
The part of the Reno telegram which
is not true is that relating to the Or
ders sent from Washington. Neither
the forest rangers nor any other en-
ployees Of the government have been
told to destroy the horses, and unless
they do receive such orders they will
confine their energies to fencing crops
| from the tresp assing animals or round
| ing them up when they appear and
threaten damage to the range. In
deed, if half the stories brought to the
/ capital are true, all the rangers In
Uncle Sans service would have lit
tie chance Of destroying the big herds
that are roaming over the western
states.
Within the last few years they have
/ increased to such an extent that in
many localities they are classed as
i "varmints, :" with wolves, wildcats
and grizzlies, and every mans rife is
turned against them. No fence is
strong enough to stop these horses,
and when they appear in force they
have even been known to knock down
and kill COWS and calves. After each
| visitation from a herd the ranchman
is likely to mourn the loss OF his do.
nestle horses, and it requires only q
few days association with their new
companions for the best broken ami
mails to become as wild as their no.
madie comrades.
A study of the wild horse problem
brings to light many interesting facts
about the animals. The legislature Of
Nevada, it seems, passed law many
years ago specifically allowing hunt
ers to shoot wild horses and to sell
their hides for what they could get IL
the open market. The law opened the
way to new and unusual industry
and many men found the killing o.
wild horses very profitable. Besides
the work was exciting and gave the
business the added zest of sport.
! As time went on and the business OF
killing these "outlaws'' as the Wil6
horses were often termed) on the
ranges assumed greater and greater
proportions, stockmen found that the
professional hunters were, in many
cases, abusing their rights and were
killing branded and shod horses
This put an end to the business, fol-
on complaint of the stockmen the Ne
vada legislature promptly repealed
the law. 1t is estimated that IL, 00(
animals were killed during the time
that the law was in force.
i In a novel insurance case in Geor,
| gia, insured was shot by the husband
OF his paramour while attempting
adultery. The defendant company
contended that it was not liable or
the policy on the ground that such
killing was the administr alton Of
preventive justice'' under the Geor.
/ gfa code, releasing insurer In such
case. The supreme court of Georgia
held, however, that the code contem-
plated the taking OF life only by an
officer of the law.