Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1908-01-10
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The White Foot Horse.

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copyright 1907. by M. M. Cunningham
The wild white foot horse of the
plains was known for 200 miles north
and south of the Three Bar ranch. He
was sorrel stallion with one white
fore foot.
For a year the white foot horse en-
joyed immunity. Then. he began rob
bling the Three Bar ranch. Colonel
Miller, the owner, was raising horses
and mules for the market. Despite
the vigilance of the riders by day the
sorrel would mingle with the herds and
coax from three to dozen head away
at once.
A Mexican cowboy came riding up
and asked for work about the place.
Inere was no want Of hands, and the
foreman shook his head. The colonel
looked at the stranger for a moment,
saw that he had a fine broncho under
him and then said:
"Have you ever heard Of the white
foot horse?"
AYE, senior, as who has notT' was
the reply.
"He must be either captured or kill
ed. want to trLcapture first. To
run him down you must have two
more bronchos, and you must have pro.
visions for month. Can you trail
him until he is finally tired out? II SO,
l Will outfit you and give you $500 the
day you bring him In :
Isl, senior. I want work, and I will
bring you the white foot horse"
1t took the man a week to make his
arrangements, and during that time five
other horses were coaxed away. Proyi
s1ons were cached at distances of fifty
miles apart. One extra pony was sta.
toned $50 miles to the north, the other
the same distance to the south. Word
was sent to other ranches, and some of
them would have riders ready to take
up the pursuit while the Mexican rest,
Cd and slept. 1t was to be two, three,
Tour or five men against wild horse.
1t was to be two, three, four or five
horses against one. The chase began
on Sunday morning when the sorrel
came galloping down upon a grazing
herd to make more friends and more
capt1ves. He held his head and tail
high when he got the first alarm. He
took long look at the man on the
pony, and then, with snort Of con-
tempt, he turned and cantered up the
valley. 1t was only a canter, but it
soon placed him out Of sight Then
the trailer bent over his saddle and
followed by the tracks alone. He did
not increase his pace. He did not care
to sight the sorrel for days and days
yet. Before nightfall he had made
eighty miles. Then he ate and rested
and took up the chase again, but at
slower pace. He could no longer see
the trail, but for that he did not care.
at midnight the white foot horse was
routed. He heard the coming of the
man a mile away. He sprang up in
alarm and struck into a mad gallon
and did not pause until he had COW
cred twenty miles. While he was
running like shadow through the
darkness the Nemesis was resting. The
sorrel had had but three hours in
which to drink and Craze and rest
again when some one else routed him
up. Away he went supple as ever and
with undiminished speed, but now het
was puzzled. No one man had everI
chased him above five miles before
Now one man had hung to his trail ALL
DAY long, and second appeared. It'll
was something to puzzle over. 1t wasf
a new experience. The horse was firstf
puzzled, then uneasy, then fr1ghtened.t
The Mexican had counted on this. It
was to be great aid in wearing him
down.
Straightaway up the valley for 800
miles went the white foot horse be.
fore he turned to gallop back. Out of
a hundred hours he had been kept on
the move for fully ninety. Sometimes
he had looked back from the crest Of q
hill and seen the man in pursuit, but
the man had not seen him or seemed to
care to. No matter what the pace
was In front, that in the rear was only
a steady canter
AS the sorrel turned third man took
up the chase. When he had held to the
trail for hundred miles the first was
there and ready to resume that steady
canter. Now the wild horse was thor.
oughly frightened. It wasn't that he
had seen men or that he was running
from men, but it was that he was dog.
ged with such persistency-that he was
being hunted to his death. In his
fright he did foolish things. He drank
too much water. BE took to rough
ground to hide his trail. He founder
ed through quicksands and used up his
strength for naught. He continued his
pace when he should have rested.
Ten times the white foot sorrel
swept up and down the Mesilla valley,
with the great Sierra range on his
right or his left and ten times did tho
rider keep his trail. As the days pass
ed his pace became slower and slower.
and finally it was left to the Mexican
alone to follow him. The pace slowed
from gallop to a canter, from can