Laurel outlook., 1950-10-04

The CurIew Calls
BY
By
BERTHE B. HENLEY
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, uVrln"ul"uiiTiI

tTiitTtitTlrpiitpii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
At this writing Coombs Flat has
a covering of snow, which is bene-
flcial for those who have their
winter wheat in the ground, but
the sowing of wheat is INCOMPLETE;
however there seems to be an
abundance of grass in the pastures
as we'll as on the range.
Last Saturday Thomas Eaton of
Billings was a visitor. Undoubtedly
Tommy was in quest of missing
horses, for the horses he used in
the days of the Eaton Trails ranch,
at Beehive, were reared mostly in
this vicinity when the Polytechnic
Institute, under the supervision of
Senator Eaton, owned and operated
the land left them by the late
George Sturm. A few minutes ago,
old Trixie nozzled at the window
where | am writing. She was look
ing for a lump of sugar. Trixie,
the first saddle horse young Bob
Eaton ever owned, could pull a
garden pillow expertly, and carried
a pack faithfully. l adopted Trixie
a long time ago. Somehow | can't
divorce old horses from old people
both should have consideration.
The first horse | ever owned was
bought from the late Fred Harri-
son, was brown in color and had
a crow brand. Fred said his name
.,,o. D.,a IL IA on old Dnur
pony, once owned by Wallie Cor
bett, but he had been broken to
drive single, and was our first
transportation to Coombs Flat
from Park City. | was quite con-
cerned about no shelter for old
Brownie, and bought him a nice
warm blanket, which was held in
place by a surcingle. Brownie ran
away to the Corbett ranch, his
blanket beneath instead of on top,
a bedrabbled ruin when I'VE got
him. There have been many horses
since those early days, but old
Brownie was a loyal member of
the family, and just to be senti-
mental, l will quote, Because of
the horse, that used to be, all
horses are dear to the heart of
me-"
1t was last June that Lewis
Stahl drove a bunch of Eaton
horses through Coombs Flat on
his way to pasture at Clydehurst.
At the cross roads, a newly born
colt was left, not to die, for Roy
Linger, promptly took the little
orphan, supplied her a bottle of
nice warm milk, and a cozy corner
in the barn, and the baby colt
flourished under this humape
treatment. The bottle was dis
carded for the bucket of milk as
she learned to walk, and now she
frisks about in the family pasture
under the watchful eye of a mother
by adoption. Roy named his pro-
tege June and is looking forward
to many years of enjoyment in
the saddle, when his little Ten
nessee-walker is grown and ready
to resume the companionship of
her benefactor on the trails of the
wide open spaces. A horse is a
great pal.
At this time The Rider of the
Yellowstone should not be over
looked. Under the date line of Dec.
81, 1926, with the caption "Bill
Harris Famous Paint Horse Eats
Christmas Dinner of Yellowstone
OATS" the Billings Gazette gives
the following story:
Paint, Bill Harris pinto horse,
immortalized in a o or more
of western epics of the silver
screen, enjoyed a Christmas dinner
of oats grown in the Yellowstone
valley, the Christmas gift of the
Billings Commercial club to this
equine hero.
acknowledging receipt of the
Christmas gift for Paint, Mr.. Hart
SAYS in a letter received by the
club Friday: "The oats came and
you should see the little fellow
nicker until he got his snoot into
them. He had a regular Christ
mas dinner, but | made him give
his pals just a little bit Of it. Who
shall say animals do not under
stand? l believe they do. He knew
it was some sort of a special event.
referring to the bronze statue
he has presented to Billings on
the rimrock overlooking the city on
the north the moving picture star
writes,
4 am looking forward to the
time when the bronze pony will be
grazing and the bronze production
of one of those cow waddies of
the Yellowstone will be looking out
over his native YalleY.'"