The San Francisco call. [volume], February 28, 1909, Page 5, Image 5

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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.Tfce San Francisco Sunday Call
Charles (Pete) Barnum
rHS education of a wild horse be
gins the moment he Is captured,
for he must be confined, tem
porarily at least, and in being
"sLcld he receives his first lesson — re
straint. It does not matter by what
.'Tnanncr he has been deprived' of his
'reeicni ; he may have been chased along
( corns of his favorite runways, suddenly
fend unexpectedly to find himself hedged
.round by a corral, or he may have been
.trapped while drinking at some fenced
l^rater hole. Naturally, he at once at
t.tempts to gret out. Each one lof the
fband has different Ideas as to how he
txnay escape, and runs wildly and ex
citedly about Immediately trying to put
•these Ideas into practice, their method
according to the type of the
corral which encompasses them.
A stockade corral Is constructed of
'•posts set on end as near together as
(poseible. These are generally rough,
fknotty ana tapering., and the corral is
etxeng in the same proportion with the
ieize end height of the posts. The horses
i can plainly pee the top. and there are
{large crevices everywhere, so the most
usual thing they do Is to throw their
weight ngralnst It In an endeavor to" get
ihrough. Often they escape In this way,
especially If they hurl themselves
egralnst the top of the stockades, for
•should they happen to strike a few de
fective,ones enough posts, may break to
the horses to wriggle through or
.pver.
.1 During last summer I' caught a big
:crop eared. bay stud two different times
at the Cabin trap. He was 10 or 12
years old and exceptionally wild. "When
ever I came near the corral' which Itri
prlsoned him he would race around,
looking e\*erywhere for a chance to es
ccpe. I have three corrals at the Cabin
trap, one of 'woven wire and two of
•tockade. For two cays he remained
Tvith his band, but, when we drove him
from the wire lriclosure Into the stock
ed* so that we could catch him and tie
, cp one foot he looked at us with fear
and mistrust, then, with a terrific bound,
tried to clear the pickets. This he failed
to do, but so great was the impetus that
he Emashcl the tops of three posts and.
Trent over to freedom. A couple of
weeks later I caught this horae again,
and as soon as I corraled him he es
caped In exactly the same manner.
Many horses dash here and there,
looking not at thjj top. but at" the
spaces between the posts, thinking: that
through these cracks they may escape.:
Any little gap tempts a trial. They
trill stand back and run headlong at
it. If they fail, the shock will knock
them down; each successive charge will
be less vlolGnt until discouragement
conquers them. In the heavy woven
wire corrals I once used the fatalities ;
were frightful. The horses do not
realize the resistance: there is in. the
wire, *.n.d £ash against it heedlessly—:
often with disastrous results. - They.
"BUSTING" THE WILD HORSE IN NEVADA
act as If they do not see the fence
and run against it as though nothing
were there, the head seeming to be
held naturally at Just such an angle
that the Impact dislocates or breaks
the neck. Outside of trap No. 4 In
Fencemaker wash a grewsome heap of
bones is shocking testimony of many
such tragedies.
Some years ago we erected a woven
wire corral In a; gap that leads from
Antelope valley to: Fencemaker wash.
This pass was much favored by* mus
tangs In crossing " the mountains. A
bunch of wild horses ranged in, that
vicinity, among them a magnificent 4
year old roan, which, although branded/
was very wild. We were desirous of
getting him to break him to saddle/
and after many trials we finally suc
ceeded in running this band into the ,
corral. .Three, of us arrived at the
Rate Just 'as they passed through ; It.
Oreen eyed with • excitement, - they -
dasheti in desperation at the wire, and
In less time than it has taken you to
read this, four of them, including the
big roan, lay* dead; almost at our feet.
The only corrals in which these horses
do not kill themselves trying to escape
are those constructed of canvas;, these'
appear to them like - a solid wall, un-\
scalable and Impenetrable. •
After the v horses have learned that
they 'can not • escape, our wbrjj once
morV begins, for the shipping- station
may be many miles^away— often 50 or
100, or It may be half that distance to
the nearest^-anch. To try to take them'
away/ without .some sort 'of ; handling,,
CHARLES (PETD BARNUM; "THE "WILD HORSE KING, tV DESCRIBES
THE J SECOND STi.EP; IN DOMESTICATING THE BRONCO NATIVE
would mean loss of all. If there were
only ; one horse- to be taken ; away i. he .
could ; be- halter 1 . broken..and .led, but •
the 'usual ratio is about 15 horses ,'to
one man^therefore.methods whichfar*
quick '\u25a0 and certain must be employed."
All theories regarding patience and
kindness are thrown ~to the winds.
Innumerable experiments . have : been,
made, ali with tlie idea/of -controlling
th^se horses : so- they.' can'; not -run* away, "
while " allowing- them tojtravel Jnatu- :
rally; \u25a0 extreme } cruelty, has ; ln* somo in
stances been ' resorted . to— even : in ' re^\
': ' \•' ' - V~ '\u25a0 \u25a0'.' \u25a0 \u25a0'\u25a0' - . .
cent v years v. men have sewn ; : up the
nostrils \ with ..wire, -so 1 the horse could
not, obtain Vsufncfent , breath; to- allow
them ' to , r un. ; /Also a , short rope,:truth
fully called a "choker," has been^tlght-'
ly drawn across, the' throat and fore
head and tied .between : theeye:and ear.
This •;\u25a0: is '"•. tightened " until - .the • horse
wheezes/. when" it ; is ; fastened 'and' the
animal*.-'-, turned /-* loose! ' he
can >, not * - run, •\u25a0'\u25a0; f or ; : he 7 ; can' - scarcely,
breathe. A x> Many/ horses i were ; choked ito
death iby^..thlajmethod,'i:4others^7 were I
choked.enough* to; torture; them.l yet ;not
enough to prevent ,thclr v escaping-^tem^
porarily;:lt doe 3 not need much Imagi
;natlon itOj picture Ithe terrible
a horse " must ' endure If ' he - escapes : with \
one '}] of } these '\u25a0: chokers : tied ' around .' his ,\u25a0
\u25a0 throat. i- Another,} of i the methods ' often :
tried was 5 toj tie '< one ; front i foot >, to ; the \u25a0
tall,> Just /at > such- a/J length/ as '.would ;
allow the/ horses i/to/step, 1 ; but ?not •to "
reach,; out; and ; run. -/ This /is: not used "
: much; now, for/ it f is hard to "get: the
rope J tied* Just i fight— If j too ) short ; they-
2 not "if ;too {long 'they run
; fast -K enough/ to /escape;^ even ;if the
.length Sbo aright Jthey£wlll*rcontinually ?
: half i hitch the hind leg, and throw ; them-*:
: selves ?,untlistheyj become
andrefuse to.travel:'at|all . ; \u25a0\u25a0-\u25a0-'
Still another, way- Is to pass a rope
around the body of the horse. Just back
of the withers, fastening It between
his front legs; then a short rope is
tied from this to . one front foot, the
idea, being to prevent the horse from
reaching, out as he must when run
ning. But the weakness of the system
lies in the fact that If It is tied Just
a. little long the horse, can run away;
if too; short the continual Jerking rubs
off the hair and skin, making. a very
ugly sore. ,
Study- and practice evolved a plan'
that is humane, practicable and suc
cessful. -During ; the ;;iast" two years,
although 'we ' have handled 'thousands
of .not one has escaped by run
ning away after receiving his lesson —
It; is severe, but sure. There. Is no
horse so .wildj&ut that he' can be made
to submit, and the moment he docs he
Is given his liberty^ Three good men
|n ; two hours': tlme~can make 25 wild
horses— T no matter, what .the -age. size
or disposition — so submissive that they
can ' be ~ driven anywhere. Just . like : a
herder, drives his sheep. This is ac
complished ;by_hard work and a short
pleceof rope. ,
, • The ? horses are In the corral — 20 of
them*— acting as would 20 antelope if
; they i-f ound themselves '> suddenly sur
irounded by a fence theycould not Jump
or /crawl j through. The : inclosures are
invariably Round 'and round
the mustangs go, : climbing upon each
;other. In .their terror; little 4 colts "Tire
. knocked \ down and \u25a0:, trampled ';• under
foot. . A distracted, old? mare or "stud
makes aiheadlongCdash.at'theslde of
the /corral-^fthe \u25a0 shock prostrates' him
and over/T and over he goes,' * to . be
rolled and trampled by. the others. For
possibly j;is* minute*, they will "act in a
manner' bordering on; frenzy .'Outside
stands • ah "tlndlan. .'Allison and myself^
Allison,^ a marvel In , strength and , agil
ity.>_arranges the ; coils "of his rawhide
lariat, fairly itching to begin the work.
At an opportune imoment ire enter the
corral and stand close together in th.»
center, for our proxlmitv 1 .ha 3 a r ;u:n
set the mass of horses fairly boiling
with excitement. The alkali dust r:3?3
In clouds. We beat the earth with oar
ropes to keep the half crazy horsei
from running over us. A faint breexa
rises and wafts the dust away, and w<j
see that the horsaa are quieting.
As he has been standing waiting: for
the horses to become quieted, Ali'sjh
has made a large loop la his lariat, Urn
deftly gives his forearm a twite-:).'
\u25a0which causes a writhing, snake li.v*
movement to pass along the rope.
Again he makes the samo motion »rvi
the two kinks that were In th? too?
have disappeared. Rearranging the
little colls that represent all of ]hi 3
rlata except the loop, he now pre
pares to perform a feat which few Fir
man eyes have witnessed, yet whk-ii
Is to him an everyday occurrence — hi-*
day's work — often his pastime. Ho will
match his strength against that of a
matured wild horse, the latter possess
ing all the vigor and energy hits free,
unrestrained life in the cpen has de
veloped. Intensified by hfs fear .-n<i
desire to escape. THth the reckless
ness and fearlessness characteristic of
his kind, with the coolness born c!
assurance, Allison, ties the end of hi-*"
60 foot lariat around his body, just
above the hips. Hard and fast is th*
knot, as he will depend upon it. to
hold when the shock comes, for he is
about to put his loop on a wild horse
and allow him to run headlong at ter
rific speed to the very end of his rope,
when by exercising that wonderful,
superhuman strength he possesses, ha
will throw the horse to the ground
and hold him there.
His keen black eyes have been
watching for an opportunity; he se
lects a big pinto stcd, and waits until
the horse Is about to pass him. Now
Allison steps forward. The horse,
thinking his antagonist Is coming at
him. leaps to get away; like a flash,
with the precision of a master. Allison
has placed the loop Just where the
stallion can not fail to Jump into it.
His aim is, true. There la a snarl as
the honda slides home. The big pinto
feels the strain and sting of a rope for
the first time In the 10 years of his ex
istence. Terrorized he bounds away.
Allison has hurled his body backward,
so that his shoulders seem almost t«
touch the ground at the Instant the
stallion has reached the end of the
lariat. The horse's feet are Jerked from
beneath him— he falls prostrate. In
stantly he tries to get up. but Allison
has taken slack, and once more gives
a Jerk ivhich straightens out the legs
of the stallion. There In the dust of
the corral he lies— a thousand pounds -
of fiery horseflesh conquered by a-raw
hlde ropo and the cleverness of man.
As the stallion hits the ground I run
for his head. Before he has stopped
struggling I am astride his neck, and
after. a tussle have Jerked kU head up
ward and to one side. Now another
battle takes place; the throwing of him
aroused his fighting spirit/ but the
weight on his neck calls < forth all of
his animal fury. In a final effort to,
release- himself, the stallion strikes
viciously and kicks wickedrr with the
free- hind- feet, straining himself at
times so that " those hard, horny hoofs
reach forward almost to his J ears.
Realizing the Inefflcacy of his struggles
he tries to reach and accomplish with?
his teeth what he has been unable to
do: by. sheer strength and the wild
lashings of his legs. Now he contracts
those. mighty. muscles of his neck, lift-
Ing his : head free from ;,tha ground — '\u25a0;
even wItJT ray weight upon It — pausing.
Contlnuea <m Nast Pag* -