WILD PONIES OF THE PLAINS 



One day late in winter, when the school 

 teacher and her companion were riding over 

 the prairie in quest of jack-rabbits, they gal- 

 loped to the top of a hill, moving against the 

 wind. There at the mouth of the canon stood 

 the stallion and the greatly coveted mare, but a 

 hundred rods away ! The horses were standing 

 with their backs towards the riders, the stallion 

 with his neck placed affectionately over that of 

 the mare. Here was the cowboy's chance ! 

 Dismounting, he drew a revolver from his belt 

 and crept along in the dry grass, stopping a 

 short distance from the horses. There he im- 

 patiently waited for the stallion to move his 

 head away from the mare that he might shoot 

 her through the gristle on the top of the neck. 

 In this way he expected to stun her ; she would 

 probably fall and then be easily captured. The 

 teacher, trembling with suppressed excitement, 

 took a rope from her saddle-horn and the rein 

 from her horse's bridle; she crept through the 

 grass and reached her companion's side. Each 

 moment seemed an hour, as the excited couple 

 waited for the unsuspecting mare to place herself 

 in the desired position. The teacher handed 

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