The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1921-01-14
FITTING TRIBUTE
PAID TO HORSE
Usher l.. Burdick of WillistOn
EulOgizes Mans Best Friend
In Address at Chicago.
TRUE FRIEND OF ALL TINES
Down Thru The Ages of Time All of
Accomplishment or Development
Owes Almost Its All to the
Horse. Services to Man.
kind Can Never
Cease.

10y D>AoAS cAS y
and members of the Percheron Society
of America. Usher L. Burdick, a Will
liston attorney and stock raiser, paid
what is considered one of the greatest
tributes ever given to "the friend of
man," the horse. In opening his ad-
dress Mr.. Burdick commented on the
Percheron Society and thanked them
for the opportunity of addressing
them. He went into detail in refer
ence to the development of the draft
horse and ended his speech with the
following appeal for the horse which
was classed by those who heard him
as the greatest tribute ever paid this
animal:
81 wish to conclude by saying
something for the horse that is
not altogether a cold business
proposition, but expresses the
idea that America ought to have more
sentiment for the horse. In all ages
the horse has been mans chief support
in every field of human endeavor.
Whether in the sunny South, or in the
frozen North, there will be found the
horse serving his master faithfully
Whether in the Orient or in the Occi-
dent, the horse has taken his place
with man, in all the great movements
Of history. In war, in peace, in liter
allure, in art, and song, the horse has
supplied a sentiment that has made
tradition lasting and beautiful. What
a wonderful sight we see when the
countless thousands of horses bedecked
with dazzling and costly ornaments
passed across the bridge at Hellespont
under the reviewing eye of Darius
the Great or his way to Marathon.
Again, when the great Alexander had
conquered all of the known world and
his army was drawn up on the shores
OF the Mediterranean, we see thou
sands of battle-tried steeds that had
made Alexander great, prancing and
chatting under the bit, eager to plunge
ahead in a new conquest to make Alex
ander even greater. We can see the
flower Of the French army macrhing
into the heart of Russia with that
wonderful array of chargers that
made Napoleon famous. We can see
that army again, broken, struggling
homeward with starvation, pain and
death written on the faces Of it's SOL
diers, because their steeds had fallen
in starvation and the chief support of
the army gone. We can see the ambi-
tious kaiser's army march to the Bel
gian border in our own day, supported
by that great army of beautiful horses
can see again that mighty army
hemmed in and driven back in disorder,
waving the white flag of surrender,
because their horses were gone. On
the other side of the battle field we can
see the countless thousands of noble
horses, many of them American, bear
ing men, guns and supplies going for
ward in increasing numbers to bring
the final and lasting defeat to the man
who had conquered the world. AS in
war, so in peace, had the horse been
the destiny that shaped human pro-
gress and liberty. What would our
literature be if it did not contain that
most dramatic rae of Ben Hur. What
would our Revolutionary history be if
we should leave out the "Midnight
Ride of Paul Revere" and who would
think the Civil War complete if we
should omit General Sheridan's ride
to Winchester. What the Winning of
the West have been without the horse.
The early pioneers pushed back across
the A~lleghanies into the Ohio Valley
and conquered the wilderness, yet the
horse was ever their companion in
danger, in hardship, and in pleasure.
Onward the pioneers go to the valleys
of the great Mississippi and to the
great plains beyond, with the noble
horse bearing rider and hauling the
covered wagon with the most precious
load of the sturdy pioneer-his wife
and children. The great west has been
conquered and today we pay a tribute
to the early pioneer the trails for gen.
erations yet to be, and we also pay our
tribute to the horse. Through danger,
hunger, sickness and want, he was the
constant friend and companion of the
empire builders of the west. So we
could multiply from history examples
the tradition that the horse has left.
Even are and music are not complete
should this beautiful animal be for
gotten.
"Shall we o say there is no use
for the horse. Shall we now turn our
backs on the best friend that man ever
had, or shall we rather profit by the
lessons of two thousand years or more,
and listen to the best there is of ira
dition and still make the horse our
companion in war and in peace-in
shaping the progress of the Twentieth
Century,? Shall WI not still make our
friend and servant, in work and pleas
ure, and give to future generations
the traditions of mans most loyal,
most useful, and most noble friend ?"