4 
FOREST. AND STREAM. 
tjAN. 3, 1903- 
The Wild Horse. 
Excepting only the buffalo, no animal of the Western 
plains was more impressive to the early travelers than 
the introduced wild horse. By their numbers, their 
grace, and their beauty, they appealed strongly to the 
imagination of men who v^'ere familiar with horses, 
and whose life, indeed, for a large part of early West- 
ern exploration w^as inseparably bound up with the 
horse. Su strong was this appeal to the imagination 
that a series of legends or folk tales grew up in differ- 
ent parts of the plains about certain horses which had 
been seen, and such tales, growing with age and gath- 
ering material from the imagination of successive nar- 
rators, finally developed into stories like that of the 
"White Steed of the Prairie," spoken of by Kendall 
and others, and used by Majme Reid, in one of his 
tales, as a sort of animal hero, the ultimate capture of 
which brought the story's hero the favor of the girl 
he loved. There were other stories of a black stal- 
lion, and of a red stallion, each fleet beyond com- 
pare, and each of which had been pursued many, 
many times. One of the earliest tales of the white 
horse is given by Kendall in the following language: 
"At sundown a drove of mustangs, or wild horses 
of the prairie, paid us a flying visit. They were first 
seen ascending a hill at the distance of half a mile, 
and as they were coming toward us were taken for 
Indians. When seen on a distant hill, standing with 
their raised heads toward a person, and forming a 
line, as is their custom, it is almost impossible to take 
them for anything but mounted men. Having satisfied 
their curiosity, they wheeled with almost the regu- 
larity of a cavalry company and galloped off, their 
long, thick manes waving in the air, and their tails 
nearly sweeping the ground. They are beautiful an- 
imals, always in excellent condition, and although 
smaller than our American horses, are still very 
compact, and will bear much fatigue. 
"Many were the stories told that night in- camp, by 
some of the older hunters, of a large white horse that 
had often been seen in the vicinity of the Cross Tim- 
bers and near Red River. That many of these stories, 
like a majority of those told by gossiping camjjaign- 
ers, were either apocryphal or marvelously garnished, 
I have little doubt; but that such a horse has been 
seen, and that he possesses wonderful speed and great 
powers of endurance, there is no reason to disbelieve. 
As the camp stories ran, he has never been known to 
gallop or trot, but paces faster than any horse that 
has been sent out after him can run; and so game 
and untiring is the 'White Steed of the Prairies,'- for 
he is well knovsm to trappers and hunters by that 
name, that he has tired down no less than, three race 
nags, sent expressly to catch him, with Mexican rider 
well trained to the business of taking .wald horses. 
The latter had nothing but a lasso or lariat with him 
— a long rope made either of hemp or horse hair, but 
generally the latter. One end of this rope is made 
fast to the pommel of the saddle, while the other is 
formed into a noose; the Mexican carries it coiled up 
in the right hand, and throws it with astonishing dex- 
terity and precision, casting it directly over the head, 
feet, or even tail, of the animal he may be pursuing. 
"The Mexican who was sent out, to take the wild 
steed, although he mounted a fresh horse, as the one 
he was riding became tired, was never near enough 
the noble animal to throw a slip noose over his head, 
or even to drive him into a regular gallop. Some of 
the hunters go so far as to say that the white steed 
has been known to pace his mile in less than two 
minutes, and that he could keep up this rate of speed 
until he had tired down everything in pursuit. Large 
sums had been offered for his capture, and the attempt 
had been frequently made; but he still roamed his 
native prairies in freedom, solitary and alone. The 
fact of his being always found with no other horse 
in company was accounted for, by an old hunter, on 
the ground that he was too proud ,to be seen with 
those of his class, being an animal far,,superior in form 
and action to any of his brothers.". ... 
This horse, however, was said lateir to have been 
captured, but lived only a short time? aiterward. 
Kendall seems to have had a great.^adTmration for 
these wild horses, for he frequently refers. to them, and 
always in terms of great enthusiasm. ' Once, when 
scouting far in advance of his expedition, he and his 
companions stopped to rest, and "we scarcely had 
time to establish ourselves comfortably before three 
or four mustangs were seen approaching at a rapid 
gallop. Ever and anon they would halt for a moment, 
throw up their heads as if to scan us more closely, and 
then, as though not satisfied with the scrutiny, would 
again approach at the same rapid pace. It may be that 
they could not see us while reclining under the shade 
trees, or mistook our animals for some of their own 
wild companions; be this as it may, they approached 
within a few hundred yards, wheeling and dashing 
about with all the joyousness of unrestrained freedom, 
and occasionally stopping to examine our encampment 
more closely. The leader was a bright bay, with long 
and glossy black tail and mane. With the most dash- 
ing and buoyant action, he would trot around our 
camp> and throw aloft his beautifully formed head, 
as if' after the manner of some ringleted school girl, 
to toss the truant hair from his eyes. Then he would 
lash his silken tail, shake his flowmg mane m pride, 
and eye us with looks that plainly told his confidence 
in his powers of flight should danger or treachery be 
lurking in our vicinity. I had formed a strong attach- 
ment for my own powerful bay, for he was gentle as a 
house dog, and would run all day if necessity required 
if vet I would instantly have 'swapped even him for 
this wild horse of the prairies, with no other knovvl- 
ed<^e of his qualities than what I could discover at the 
distance of a hundred and fifty or two hundred yards. 
"After gambolling about us for some little time, his 
bright eyes apparently gleaming with satisfaction, as li 
conscious that w^e were watching and admiring his 
showy points, he suddenly wheeled, and in a canter, 
placed himself at a more prudent distance. Then he 
turned again, to take another look, curved his beauti- 
ful neck, once more tossed his head, half timidly, half 
in sport, pawed the ground playfully, and again dashed 
off. Several times he turned to take still another look 
at our encampment, and even in the far distance we 
could distinguish his proud and expanded nostrils, his 
bright, flashing eyes, and the elastic movements of his 
symmetrical limbs as he playfully pranced and cur- 
vetted about. I watched him until he was but a 
speck upon the prairie, and then turned from gazing 
w-ith regret he was not mine. 
"The Indians and Mexicans have a way of captur- 
ing mustangs by running up on their fleetest and 
most untiring horses and noosing them with a lariat. 
The white hunters have also a method, which is often 
successful, of taking the wild horses. It is called 
creasing, and is done by shooting them with a rifle 
ball upon a particular cord or tendon in the neck, 
immediately under the mane. If the ball takes effect 
precisely in the right spot, the animal falls benumbed, 
and without the power to move for several minutes, 
when he is easily secured. Should it strike too low, 
the horse is still able to run off, but eventually dies. 
An attempt was made to crease the magnificent steed 
I have mentioned; but it was impossible to approach 
near enough to shoot with accuracy, and to endanger 
his life would have been a wanton act, which the most 
eager hunter among us would not have committed. 
When our provisions became scarce, several of these 
animals were shot for their flesh. It seems repugnant 
to the feelings to eat horse flesh; but the meat is 
tender and finely flavored, and a three-year-old mus- 
tang is really better food than either buffalo or com- 
mon beef." 
The term to "crease" a horse is one familiar enough 
to persons who traveled in the old-time West, and 
occurs in much of the literature of that day. It may 
be questioned whether the act was often practiced, but 
it was frequently talked about. It consisted in send- 
ing a ball through the nape of the neck, so close to the 
cervical vertebrae as to stun the animal. When it was 
properly done, the horse fell to the ground, and was 
tied before he recovered; but it took very good shoot- 
ing to perform the operation. Years ago, a story used 
to be told of William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), that in 
his young days he became greatly enamored of a black 
stallion that ranged on the Smoky Hill, _ and deter- 
mined, after many vain attempts to_ run it down, to 
crease it. Watching the animal patiently for a con- 
siderable time, he learned that it usually watered at a 
particular place, and concealing himself there, en- 
deavored to crease the animal when it came to water. 
The horse fell, and Cody hurried up and tied the ani- 
mal's legs, but it did not recover, and a little investi- 
gation showed that he had broken the creature's neck. 
Pike, during his journey through Texas, actually as 
a prisoner, but nominally as a guest of the Spaniards, 
saw many wild horses, and gave an account of the 
way in which they were captured there. Henry, at a 
little earlier date, speaking of. the country of the 
Kutenais, then and now chiefly to the north of 
Flathead Lake, says of it, after enumerating the dif- 
ferent animals to be found there, "Wild horses are 
also common, and frequently seen in large gangs. 
They are caught in winter, when the snow is deep, by 
running them down with relays of fresh horses, and 
driving them up the mountains, in the deepest snow, 
or into some narrow mountain pass. The noose is 
thrown about their necks; they are taken, exhausted, 
instantly mounted, and broken immediately to the 
saddle. Their respiration through the nostrils is much 
louder than would be imagined. When surprised they 
can be heard at a distance of four or five hundred 
yards. Some of them are exceedingly swift, well- 
proportioned, and handsome beasts; but they seldom 
attain the docility of our horses." 
At the present day the Kutenai horses are wonder- 
fully good, strong and well built, and are the best 
mountain horses in all the West. 
During his journeyings across the plains. Pike had 
frequently seen and remarked on the wild horses, 
and in his description of the province of Texas — then, 
of course, a part of Mexico— he gives, as just stated, a 
more detailed account of them. In enumerating the 
animals of this province, he speaks of "buffalo, deer, 
elk, wild hogs, and wild horses, the latter of which 
are in such numbers as to afford supplies for all the 
savages who border on the province, the Spaniards, 
and vast droves for the other provinces. They are 
also sent into the United States, notwithstanding the 
trade is contraband. They go in such large gangs 
that it is requisite to keep an advanced guard of 
horsemen in order to frighten them away, for should 
they be suffered to come near the horses and mules 
which you drive with you, by their snorting, neighing, 
etc., they would alarm them, and frequently the do- 
mestic animals would join them and go off, not- 
withstanding all the exertions of the dragoons to pre- 
vent them. A gentleman told me he saw seven hun- 
dred beasts carried off at one time, not one of which 
was ever recovered. They also in the night frequently 
carry off the droves of travelers' horses, and even 
come within a few miles of St. Antonio, and take 
off the horses in that vicinity. 
"The method pursued by the Spanish in taking them 
is as follows: They take a few fleet horses and pro- 
ceed into the country where the wild horses are 
numerous. They then build a large strong inclosure, 
with a door which enters a smaller inclosure; from the 
entrance *of the large pen they project wings out into 
the prairie a great distance, and then set up bushes, 
etc., to induce the horses, when pursued, to enter into 
these wings. After these preparations are made they 
keep a lookout for a small drove, for, if they un- 
fortunately should start too large a one, they either 
burst open the pen or fill it up with dead bodies, and 
the others run over them and escape, in which case the 
party are obliged to leave the place, as the stench 
arising from the putrid carcasses would be insupport- 
able; and in addition to this, the pen would not re- 
ceive others. Should they, however, succeed in driv- 
ing a few, say two or three hundred; they select_the 
handsomest and youngest, noose them, take them into 
the small inclosure, and then turn out the remainder. 
after which, by starving, preventing them taking any 
repose, and continually keeping them in motion, they 
make them gentle by degrees, and finally break them 
to submit to the saddle and bridle. For this business 
I presume there is no nation in the world superior to 
the Spaniards of Texas." 
It is well known, of course, that many of the West- 
ern, and especially the Southwestern, Indians, supplied 
themselves with horses largely by raiding into the 
Southwest and driving off the herds possessed by the 
Spaniards. Yet, over much of the Northern country, 
where horses were abundant, the Indians sometimes 
captured them in a fair chase. They were never able, 
however, to secure the best class of horses in this way, 
since the wild animals readily ran away from the In- 
dian horses, each of which was handicapped by carry- 
ing a man. Moreover, at this period of time, and in- 
deed up to about the year i860, the plains Indians 
were, most of them, very inexpert in the use of the 
rope. Instead of throwing the lariat, as white men 
and Mexicans do, and indeed as the Indians them- 
selves do at the present day, they used to stretch the 
noose of a rope on a large hoop made of willow twigs, 
to which the noose was attached at different points by 
strings, which were easily broken. So armed, a num- 
ber of Indians would set out in pursuit of a herd of 
horses, and when a man overtook an animal, he passed 
the willow hoop over its head, and then pulling 
strongly on the rope, it freed it from the hoop, and 
the horse could be choked down. 
Such chases were commonly undertaken in the 
spring of the year, when the horses were thin and 
poor, and the ground wet and muddy. As already 
said, the better class of animals were not captured; 
those taken were chiefly mares heavy in foal, or mares 
that had just dropped their foals, and were unable to 
run fast. However, such additions to the tribal prop- 
erty were not to be despised, since they were breeders 
from which useful colts could be raised. 
Most Indian tribes have a distinct tradition of a 
time when they were without horses-, and it is ex- 
tremely common to hear an Indian tale of old times 
begin: "This happened long ago,, before we had 
horses, when dogs were our only animals, and dragged 
the travois." Some tribes do not seem to understand 
where horses came from, and account for their pres- 
ence in some supernatural way. Examples of this are 
seen in the names sometimes given to the horse, such 
as Shunka wakan, Mysterious dog, or Medicine dog, 
which is one of the Sioux names for a horse; or, in 
the stories told, for example, by the Piegan Blackfeet 
of how the first horse appeared, coming up from be- 
neath the surface of a lake. In this case, however, 
the name given to the horse had no relation to their 
mysterious origin, but they were called Po-no-kdh- 
mi-ta — that is to say, elk dog, because they are large 
animals and shaped somewhat like an elk, and because 
they are used to carry packs, and to haul travois, as 
dogs were. 
Attention has more than once been called to the 
change which the possession of the horse worked in 
the Indians. All the prairie tribes have traditions of 
a time long ago, when there was no war; when the 
tribes were at peace with their neighbors; or, if quar- 
rels took place, and battles were fought, and men 
killed, this was only in angry dispute, and was an in- 
dividual quarrel. "Their wars were proDably not gen- 
eral, nor could they have been very bloody. When, 
however, horses came into the possession of the In- 
dians, all this must have soon become changed. Hith- 
erto, there had really been no incentive to war. From 
time to time expeditions may have gone out to kill 
enemies — for glory, or to take revenge for some in- 
jury—but war had not yet been made desirable by 
the hope of plunder, for none of their neighbors, 
any more than themselves, had property which 
was worth capturing and taking away. IPrimitive 
arms, dogs, clothing, and dried meat were common to 
all the tribes, and were their only possessions; and 
usually each tribe had an abundance of all these. It 
was not worth any man's while to make long journeys 
and to run into danger merely to increase his store of 
such property when his present possessions were more 
than sufficient to meet all his wants. Even if such 
things had seemed desirable plunder, the amount of it 
which could be carried away was limited, since — for a 
war party — the only means of transporting captured 
articles from place to place was on men's backs; nor 
could man, burdened with loads, either run or fight. 
But when horses became known, and the Indians be- 
gan to realize what a change the possession of these 
animals was working in their mode of life, when they 
saw that, by enormously increasing the transporting 
power of each family, horses made far greater pos- 
sessions practicable, that they insured the food supply, 
rendered the moving of the camp easier and more 
rapid, made possible long journeys with a minimum of 
effort, and that they had a value for trading, the Black- 
foot mind received a new idea, the idea that it was 
desirable to accumulate property. The Blackfeet saw 
that since horses could be exchanged for everything 
that was worth having, no one had as many horses 
as he needed. A pretty wife, a handsome war pony, 
a strong bow, a finely ornamented woman's dress — ■ 
any or all of these things a man might obtain if he 
had horses to trade for them. The gambler had 
'hands,' and at the ring game could bet horses; the 
man who was devoted to his last married \vife could 
give her a horse as an evidence of his affection."* 
The Indians ■soon learned, also, that horses might 
be easily driven off, and that those who had taken 
horses from their enemies had a great advantage over 
the rightful owners who might pursue them; and it 
is quite certain that the introduction of the horse 
among Indians led almost at once to the practice of 
a warfare much more general than anything that had 
been known before. 
Had the Indians of the plains not been supplied 
with horses from the herds sprung from the wild 
stock escaped in the South; had they not been expert 
horsemen, their wars with the white race during the 
latter half of the last century would never have been 
fought. Horses gave them the ability to move rapidly 
» Blackfoot Lodge Tales. . ^ 
