The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1915-04-15
ITALIAN SHIPMENT
SENT BY EXPRESS
Millions Of Dollars Paid for Cavalry
Mounts and Artillery Animals
and Demand is Still
Large
By United Press.

Denver, April 15.-The European
war promises to mark the final pass
ing Of the wild horse of the range. the
disappearance of the bucking broncho
SO long associated with the west.
Even now there are practically no
Wild horses such as once roamed the
ranges and with the inroads being
made upon the horses of the west by
the war his half-civilized brother. the
Droncho. promises to disappear. Thou
sands of horses have been taken from
Colorado, Wyoming and other western
states. Not only have British and
French buyers invaded this section.
but representatives of the Italian gov
ernment have combed the country for
months. During the last few weeks
an Italian buyer purchased several
hundred horses and so great was his
haste to get them to his home country
they were sent by express from Den
yer to the east instead Of by freight
There they were to be hurried aboard
a steamer for Italy.
Several million dollars have been
spent for these horses for war pr.
poses. The greatest demand, of course.
is for stout, sound horses, capable Of
work as cavalry mounts or for artiI-
lery The entire country has been
gone over two or three times by buy
ers for different countries and still
the demand has not been filled.
This draining of the west of horses
means that in the rehabilitation a bet
ter breed of horse will be produced.
1t is this that sounds the death knell of
the bronco The government has been
working for years encouraging the
breeding of better horses. Stations
and mares of standard breeds, draft
and general purposes horses, have
been placed throughout the west. Their
progeny are already influencing the
general trend of development of the
horses in the sections in which the
work of the government is being cen
tered. AS the demand for horses to
replace those sold for war service in
creases, it will be animals of better
breeds which will take their places.
Another factor having a great influ-
ic ho nj, <.f~ i,
thing which was unknown in years
gone by This ended the day of the
wild horses and the bronco. although
given to bucking and pitching, has
gradually become tanner and more do
mesticated
There was time when it was not
SO very difficult to find horse in
the west which no human being could
ride. That day has now gone by. The
last great horse of this stripe was
Steamboat which died only this
year. 1t is claimed that no man ever
rode Steamboat" legitimately. The
greatest riders in the entire west tried
and failed, all finally being thrown in
some way or other.
When the British government was
purchasing horses for use in the Boer
war it was necessary to employ bronco
busters, who spent weeks battling with
the prospective mounts for British cav
alrymen. before they we're conquered
and sufficiently subdued to the saddle
to satisfy the government agent. This
year there is little evidence that the
British or French are in danger OF
suffering casualties through encoun
| tering the American horses.
Constant association with man
through the years between the Boer
war and the present, instead of roam
ing over unfenced plains, has had it's
Influence on the horse. The never
say die fighting spirit of the old
bronco in his struggle against the
touch OF leather. and his intense
hatred of man. because he was repre-
sentative of enslavement to the sad
die. has slowly flickered out. Breed
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