Douglas daily dispatch., 1928-03-25

y
fear of the kissing rope and on this
horses left hip they found the iron
mark. 1t was this iron mark that was
interesting. 1t was DIN and the riders
identified the animal as belonging tC
7 Dan Neel, a cattleman of Superior.
1 Knowing that this wise looking horse
had come of good family and had
probably been ridden quite bit, from
the looks of his shoulders which car
ried little spur scars, the cowboys sad
died him up. The wise one was a
strawberry roam and old enough to be
able to look very quiet and domesti-
! Gated. He looked that way when they
drew the cinch up and when one OF
the boys stepped into the saddle and
spurred him.
Roam Out Plays Them
All the roam did was trot around the
corral and the boys we're glad for they
| felt that they could use this horse a
! few days and then turn him out again
! for no one would care and anyway
no one would know. The roam knew,
| however. The little spur marks on his
shoulders should have been warning
to the coWnen.
! They all got ready to leave and open
| ed the corral gates and started Off.
AS they rode out the gates the roam
! suddenly SHE'D as at a striking snake
and throwing his rider out Of balance
by brushing against the other horses
he was off toward the soft sands OF
the river bed and every time his feet
struck the reeling earth he pitched
or sunf: ched or nose dived and pres
emily the cincheS gave way which
showed that he had been swelling his
sides as well, and the roam was gone,
carrying a new hackamore with him
Becomes OUTLAW Pony
He had little spur scars on his
shoulders and men who looked him
over afterward found rope burns on
his neck where the taught rope some
times cuts a roping horse. He had
been a cow pony but he was a COW
pony no more. He was an outlaw and
he proved it, The cowboys saw him
again the next day and the new hacka-
more was not on his head. How he
got rid of it they did not know but
they remembered the wise look.
When the outfit went bcak north
they asked Dan Neel if he knew how
the strawberry roam happened to get
so far away from home. Neel related
that the roam had been stolen several
years before shortly after some Mexl-
cans had broken out of jail in that
district. The cowboys pieced together
a likely story.
They had it that the jail breakers
had stolen the horse with which to
escape and that one of them had prob
ably ridden the roam from Superior to
some point on the border near Doug
| las and then abandoned him. Such
ride, as tie Mexican would travel In
his haste to get across the border
probably was what decided the roam
with the wise eyes to become an out
law, so he wanders in the valley and
defies all men and eats green grass IN
summer and dry grass in winter ana
in bad seasons gets into the hills Tor
! few months and so enjoys lie ana
remembers, when he sees riders IN the
distance, those spur scars on his
shoulders and the rope burn.
I Poundmaster Gets Them
There are hnudreds of roaming
horses up the valley north OF Douglas
Most of the herds are small and one
seldom finds more than dozen AMI
mails together but there are many
/ herds. Instances that indicate that
the theory of the cowboys about the
roam is very likely correct came TO
light often for every now and then the
Douglas city poundmaster rounds up q
horse or maybe several horses within
the city, that have strange brands and
that are sweaty and harness marked.
If these horses were claimed 1T would
be supposed that they were the legal
property of those claiming them but
when many of them are very good
horses and when they are not claimed
the only suppoSition is that tney came
a long distance as borrowed ANIMALS
and will never be returned.
i About three years ago the pound
contained a sorrel gelding with mean
disposition. The horse had weak
ness for flesh He liked to SINK ms
, teeth in it. He knew how to rush q
man and strike forward with his front
feet. He was taken to rodeo held al
the old fair grounds and fell over on
several cowboys and finally broke the
chute and got away. This horse tought
everything that came near him.
Old Army Horse
Came a quiet, calnl sort OF telIo"
who had been horse Wrangler tol
) wears and who understood animals
!, This fellow spent week calming the
sorrel down and finally made friends
. with him and traced him back. He
) carried the U. s. OF the army on his
| left shoulder and on his neck the l., Q
! that showed he had been condemned
} It was easy to see why he had beer
: condemned. He had soured on the
world and decided to quit work. HI
quit very effectively after he had fall
5 en- straight backward with man II
: the saddle few times, No one Woule
: mount him and one man who pu
/ harness on him and hitched him to
| wagon had to buy new harness ana
J. new pole for his wagon.
l The horse that becomes an OUTLAY
will seldom submit to being reclaimed
V for use. This one held out to the bit
r ter end. Investigation disclosed tina
S the United States army had sold hln
I and he had been purchased by th
l Mexican army He was a good size'
2 horse for cavalry and sound as coult