The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-06-05
Campfire storIes-No. !.

Black Deering, l am the leader of the
most feared and hunted gang of out
laws in the entire southwest. These
particular scenes depicted us eluding
pursuit by means of water trail
The location required a river leading
into a big cave. where the bandits IN
the story have their rendezvous We
sought such a location far and wide,
and finally the very spot which might
have been described in the story was
discovered near the little mountain
mining town of Sonora, in the Slerras
OF Northern California.
Here Is a natural bridge formed by
q small river flowing thru big cave
The water is very deep in the center
of the cavern, which is about one hum
bred and fifty yards in length. Inside,
the Stygian darkness made exploration
exceedingly hazardous.
In the story Black Deering leads his
outlaws thru the water trail. men and
horses swimming the river until they
reach the entrance of the cave.
Altho an advance guard of explor-
ers had failed to discover anything
possibly dangerous inside the cavern,
/ cautioned the riders not to follow mo
into the cave until the pinto and had
made It safely. But the unexpected
which often happens in the produc-
ton OF motion pictures occurred after
We disappeared in the subterranean
chamber.
where the pinto and I entered the
cave the water is shallow, and not I'M
til we reached the center did the pony
start swimming. The water was ICY
cold We had gone but snort as
lance across the deep pool when
felt the pintos feet strike something,
which proved to be a wicked ledge
projecting from one side or the cave
about three feet under water. Natur-
ally. thinking it was terra firma, the
pinto started to Chamber up, only 10
fan over backwards, carrying me with
him.
Down, down. down we plunged into
bottomless depths. over and over the
frantic horse turned l did not know
whether we would ever reach the top
aga,n or not After an eternity we
rose to he surface. Following the
instinct Of preservation, 1 swan
clear OF the pony. Before l could
prevent. the crazed pinto tried 10 climb
the walls of the cave. AS they are
arched, he again tumbled over back
wards and went down. I sure thought
my beloved pinto was gone. because a
horse browns more quickly than a
human being. BY some miracle he
came to the top ag lin.
Then there ensued n battle with
death that I shall never forget.
swan back to the game little horse.
NJ only thought now was to rescue my
%.
he was threshing the water furi-
oUs.y, and when ! managed to swim
close to him l could sec in his eyes the
same fear that engulfed me-the fear
Death. I had never felt that way
h. eore. Like a drowning man, a horse
clutch at a straw, as it were. by
attempting to climb anything, but the
game little horse never once tried it.
His eyes told me his story-and I
stuck. I shouted announcement and
gently stroked his head as / turned
ii 4
both gllmpsed a shaft of light from
whence we came. Pinto tore across
the pool like n racing motorboat. [
grasped the saddle horn and he pulled
me thru the water as tho I had been a
bottle cork.
Never before did our old world seem
so glorious to me as when the pinto
and l reached the outside / had never
expected TO see daylight again. 1t was
close call, and as l had just made
leap of s.Xty-one feet the day before
from a cliff into a river, my nerves
were none too well prepared for the
ordeal. Suffice it to say, BOYS. that
there is no human love o. loyalty to
exceed that which animal may show to
man.
Question Box-No. :.
Boys. I have been requested to re-
late the story of my Pinto pony and
why he is called Pinto"
Pinto" is a Spanish word meaning
paint" We American westerners
adopted many words from the Span
ish or Mexican cattlemeu which de-
scribed certain peculiarities of the cat
tie business. These words were
brought into the American southwest.
mingled with our own cowboy Ian
guage." and gradually came into uni
versal use as the cattle raising business
spread northwards thru western
United states. even to Canada.
A pinto, or paint" is a spotted
horse. so beautifully marked as to
designate it by a special term. The
American Indians had valued these pc
culiar horses, or ponies, above any
other kind. So much So in fact. that
an Indian would actually trade fifty
ordinary 'cayuses'-just plain horses
for one spotted pony. An Indian
chief counted his riches by the num-
Der OF his spotted horses. The beau
tiful markings of such a horse mea Mt
much to the proud red man.
The Sioux Indians, among whom
was brought up as a boy in the Da-
kota territory called the spotted
horses sun kle-ska."
These horses were not exactly sa-
cred to the Indians. but their beauty
and uncanny intelligence appealed to
the pride and dignity of the first
Americans" There could be no more
striking picture in the world than an
Indian chteftain in full war regalia,
mounted on his favorite pinto" pony
all decorated in paint and feathers
and bead trappings.
My pinto pony" is a descendant of
the famous Arabian stallion Red
Top" which was presented 20 General
Grant. who later became president of
the United States, during the Civil
war.
About three years ago I retired my
pinto pony because of the many ac-
cidents we had both been thru, escap-
ing eacn time by a miracle. to a life
ohease in the green pastures of a lux
uriOus corral on my Hollywood ranch.
Boys, the story of the accident
which caused me to retire the pinto
pony three years ago is strangely CO.
incidental with the recent escape from
death.
In THE Narrow Trail" the story
which l wrote about the exnlnits of