The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1917-04-26
FREMONT COUNTY HORSES
SHIPPED TO WAR ZONE

What expert judges in such matters
pronounce to have been the fnesi
bunch of military horses collected In
Canon City since the outbreak of the
European war was shipped from here
to Denver today by C. z. Reeves to
be forwarded to Canada to be train.
ed for service with the English army
in France. There were twenty ami.
mails in the lot and they will be about
evenly divided between the artillery
and cavalry branches Of the service.
They were all young horses and var
led in weight from a thousand TO six
teen hundred pounds.
Mr.. Reeves. who acted as the inter
mediary in the purchase. of these hors-
es Tor William Bleasley. representing
the English government, Says that he
has handled more than three hundred
head OF horses for the. English and
| French armies since the outbreak OF
the, war in August. 1914; all of them
reared on the ranches of Fremont.
Custer and Park counties. He has
paid out on account of his principals
FOR these horses between forty. and
fifty thousand dollars. The greater.
proportion of these animals. have, OF
course. come from Fremont county. A
few came from the Wet Mountain val.
ley and still smaller number from
Park county.
All horses for military purposes.
whether for artillery or cavalry pur.
poses. in either the English or French
years of age and are required to
measure fifteen hands and one inch
high Cor sixty-one inchesl. Weight
is not taken into consideration in
buying army horses. but wind. limb
eyesight. knee-a,tion and many other
qualities and characteristics are Civ
on the closest attention and scrutiny
The specifications in these respects
are very exacting. The United States
government is said TO be the most dis
eliminating buyer of military horses
in the world and is followed by tn,
English and French governments.
Many horses that would be rejected
by them would be accepted for army
uses in Italy. Russia. Spain or the
Scandinavian countries.
In view of the fact that cavalry
has not taken a very prominent part
in the present war in Europe fully
eighty per cent OF all OF the horses
being purchased in the United States
for the allied armies are used for
moving artillery. ammunition trains
and in the quartermaster's depart
ment. The cavalry mounts weigh from
thousand to twelve hundred pounds
and do not cost quite so much az the
4 neavier horses used in the transport
service. In the purchase of horses
4 for military purposes the United Stat
es wants what is known among deal
ers as the breeders type: clean
cut. alert appearing animal and a
good saddier. The English prefer
more bone: feathsrieggcd horse
with more OF potential power than
quick action. Other nationalities are
not so particular as TO q general kind
William BIeasiey. who has been
here for some time past passing final
| Judgment on the horses rounded up
by Mr.. Reeves. is a typical English.
man and has seen military service
with the armies OF His Britanic mai.
esty in different parts of the world.
notably in Indian and South Africa.
He served under Lord Kitchener in
the campaign against the Beers in
the Transvaal and later established
his home at Cape Town. One OF his
brothers was a trooper under General
Smuts in the campaign against Ger
man East Africa. but was later sent
TO the trenches somewhere in
France" He was believed by his rel
/ atives to have been killed at the bat
tie Of the Somme. but few days ago
a letter was received from him In
one OF the German hospitals where
he was recovering from wound re-
ceived while on the firing line. The
announcement that his brother was
alive reached Mr.. Bleasley one day
this week.
Mr.. Bieasley. who personally knew
Lord Kitchener while commander of
the British armies In India and South
Africa and was a great admirer OF
his soldierly qualities. expresses the
conviction that he was not drowned
OF the coast of Scotland a year or 30
ago while on his way to Pet-ograd
on secret mission for the Englis'
government as is generally believed
but that he is in Russia organizing
and directing the Muscoyite armies