Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-09-14

during their quieter periods. They choose
| those sections of the country which are
! irregular and broken. yet are accessible
| to the water holes ana meadows. TIL
| agility with which they ascend and de-
| scend the most PERCEPTIONS slopes is as
tcrishing. Every faculty which they
| possess is trained to act quickly ard
surely. They can scent danger at Ions
distance and their sight is perfect. The
hcofs which know not the feel of iron
shoes carry them safely over the most
| lGeacherOus ground. and thsy are as diff
cult to approach as the Car of Russia.
In our own Stale of California havn
bands of these wild horses, as instanced
| by d recent roundup Of them Oh the Mo
doc National Forest by the forest rang
nrs in cooperation with local stock men.
| 1t is estimated that there are more than
| four hundred wild horses in this forest.
| ana in order to get rid Of them q rodeo
WAS organized and plans were made to
capture as many of them as possible. The
| ture of more than fifty head of which
about half proved to be branded stock
which had grown wild, those remaining
| being horses who had never known thu
Ownership of man. The horses which Dor
brands We're turned over to their owners,
and the others were sold to pay the cost
| of the roGeO.
| One of the most favorite plans for cap
| turing wild horses at water holes is to
almost surround the place by harricade
| so prepared as to look as natural as pos
| SIDE. All opening Is ltll IUl til' dDllllal5
| to enter, and when thus corraled, tn -
orenin2 is closed before they can escape.
To successfully carry out this scheme r.
QureS the most careful preparation and
skill and variety of precautions mus
be observed to warrant success. Under no
circumstances should the animals feei
that IA trap has been laid for them and
he natural appearance OF the scene must
he preserved as much as possible. or
| course. the human element enters this
scheme in the person of the man who
must close the opening Of the corral af-
ter the horses have entered. and this re-
quires not only skill in its performance,
but what is more important. some plan
must be devised for destroying his scent.
which would act as warning to the ami
mails. If the spring is the only source of
water supply around there. recourse is
had to nature. and the hunters patiently
wait until thirst has overcome the scru-
piles of the horses and they enter in spite
Of their fears. If nature cannOt be relied
upon to assist craft is ptted against SlS-
piciOn and tie whereabouts Of the watch
",s is disguised by some such device
large enough to hide two men and then
covered up with earth and boughs to Civ
| il natural appearance. Within this pit
the watchers take their position TO await
| t he coming of the horses. This device
prevents the exact whereabouts of the
men being scented by the animals, and
| has often resulted III allaying their sus-
| picionS. and they will enter the Enclosure
when they would have refused had the
| men been concealed above ground.
one OF the most frequent methods of
catching wild horses, and the one pursued
| on the Modoc forest. is to have sufficient
riders scattered along the route of the
| fleeing horses, and by running them at
hieakneck speed with frequent relays.
wear out the wild horSn and thus easily
secure their capture When the band is
| sighted, one rider will show himself a Il
| point designed to cause the fleeing ami
rails to take particular course. and by
1 l, and ,.tta L.,
| thoroughly frightened. When the hors
on which the first rider starts begins to
feel the terrible pace at which the race is
| maintained another rider relieves him.
| from point where he has been in hiding
and so tine chase is continued until the
wild horses are either captured or manag
to escape through native cleverness. Th
method IS resorted to more frequently
during the winter months. when the
ground is hard and the horses hoofs are
easily worn down rendering them tender.
Another method of capturing these
horses is 10 walk them down. This is
done by starting in pursuit of band on a
! horse capable of great endurance. At
| he first sight of the horseman the band
rapid chase, the hunter follows them at a
| fast walk, keeping always in the direction
/ OF the fleeing horses. BY his steady pro-
Sress ii Will not be long before he sights
them again. and by pursuing them =
stantly, and by causing them to exhaust
themselves by rapid flights. allowing pul
little time Tor food and rest, thew will il
the course of several days, be worn out
and easily captured
A clever method of capture is to use a
bunch OF gentle horses as decoy. These
horses are dflVen TO the Iocantv fre-
quented by the wild ones and are allowed
to craze quietly. watched over by several
of the men, who are in hiding. Other
members of the party are sent out to
scout for the animalsAand when found to
cause them to run toward the tame ones.
BY hedging the band of wild mustangs
and gradually forcing them nearer and
nearer to the grazing horses, they are
eventually merged with the latter and
thus can be driven off to a corral
Occasionally they are captured by being
lassoed, but the success of this plan de-
ponds entirely upon the speed of the
pursuing horse and the skill of the rider.
If he can outrun his quarry. or can an
and good: otherwise he will have his rid
f"r r"thiH" III dir d-nntnea ~ nj.
plan lies in the fact fiat only one horse
+. am tri's b. cuptured>at A ti,N Fen Il
the rider succeeds in roping tie anir,at