68 THE FIGHTING HERD 



between grass and water, he is most particular 

 to close herd his mares, to hold his own pasture 

 which he never leaves except under dire stress, 

 and to have special places where he casts his 

 droppings. In range hfe the geldings have 

 separate famihes, and their own private runs. 

 There is not very much known about the 

 internal arrangements of wild harems, but a 

 good deal can be guessed from watching the 

 Red Indian's pon}- herd, the Cow outfit's 

 bunch of remounts, the Mexican remuda, the 

 Argentino tropilla, the stock of a horse ranch, 

 or even a herd camp of Mounted Police, all 

 units of horses living more or less the wild life 

 of the range. From these it is known that a 

 feral pony herd keeps a certain mihtary forma- 

 tion while grazing, with the weaker animals 

 ringed by the stronger, and a few vedettes and 

 flankers thrown out to watch for danger. At 

 the assault of a wolf pack the formation closes, 

 the fighting horses and mares making an outer 

 ring, close-set and facing outwards. When a 

 w^olf comes within range, the nearest horse 

 swings round and lashes out with the hind feet 

 to kill. As American wolves only pack in 

 winters of famine this event is rare, but in one 

 case an Indian boy who was herder to a Black- 

 foot tribal camp, was, with his mount, placed 



