A WILD THOROUGHBRED 151 



When Black Diamond was unloaded at the 

 Bar "J" Ranch he was a handsome animal of 

 perhaps seven summers, and with seven devils 

 of activity and endurance. The blind, brutal 

 methods of men in trying to break him had not 

 subdued him, nor maddened him. Of the nearly 

 four hundred saddle ponies on the ranch he was 

 not only the finest looking, but probably had 

 the most horse sense. But he was almost at 

 the point of "looking for trouble." To appre- 

 ciate him, you must know of his history his 

 past. In him we have a real horse whose career 

 reads like strange fiction. 



For three years the Butte Springs outfit had 

 tried to capture Black Diamond a black horse 

 with a shining white star in his forehead. But 

 proudly, defiantly, he still ran wild in the Great 

 Basin. These cowboy-trained wild-horse hunt- 

 ers of Nevada had an exciting and an exacting 

 occupation. They were just about one hundred 

 per cent, efficient. And they needed to be, for 

 the least desirable broncho which they cap- 

 tured had endurance and alertness and was 

 exceedingly capable in taking care of himself. 

 Many of these horses long succeeded in keeping 

 beyond the reach of a rope, and were wary 

 enough to detect the most skilfully placed and 

 thoroughly camouflaged corral. 



Everything that can be said for any thorough- 



