THE FUTURE CITIZEN.
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A HORSE HUNT IN ’86
LOST IN A SNOW STORM WITH A PONY FOR A GUIDE
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Button was a little western horse
which was much like Mr. Paddel-
ford’s ‘ ‘Bird” in build and action,
though he was a little larger and
bay in color with a while strip in
his face. He was a very swift
runner, and could run at top speed
for ‘■everal miles. How well I re
member what a wirey and limber
fellow he was when caught in a
corral to be “broken”! How he
fought, bit, kicked and “struck”!
Then, when he found he was not
to be hurt but kindly treated, what
a friend he grew to be. He soon
learned to “cut out” horses or
cattle from a herd, and often was
used to bring a wild one to the
ranch out of a strange wild herd.
That was hard work but he liked
it.
I think it was in the winter of
’S6 th at some horses strayed down
into the easteren part of the state.
We heard of them south-east of
Akron about 40 miles in “The
Sandhill country”. I was sent to
bring them back, taking Button
and another saddle horse. It was
somewhat of a task at that time to
locate horses in that country,
especially so in the winter; as but
few people rode the range at that
time. I would leave one horse at
some ranch and hunt a day or two
in that locality then change horses
and move to another range and
hunt that over.
One preity cold day I was riding
Button in the sand hills; and as a
fog came up about s o’clock in the
afternoon, I thought I had not
tarry long out hunt a habitation us
it was at least 10 miles to any ranch
of which 1 knew'.
There was a little breeze, but I
thought there would be no trouble
in keeping the direction in which
1 wished to go, though I could not
see more than too yards. Much of
the way was very sandy and hard
traveling for a horse because he
would sink deep. I let him walk in
those places, but wherever there
was good footing he would take a
brisk trot, the gait which usually
permits a horse to make good time
with the least fatigue. We traveled
in this way for about three hours
when we came out of the sand
hills. I thought we were doing
fine as 1 believed we were about
three mile* from the ranch for
which 1 was heading. Snow began
to fall and darkness came on. It
wa* hard to see a truck. I tried to
follow old cattle and buffalo trails
w hich I thought would cross the
dim road leading >0 the ranch.
Snow came faster, the wind blew
harder, and, I thought, from a
different di-ection.
Button “crowded” the rein to
the left, which made the storm a
little less direct in our faces. 1
thought it was because he did not
wish to face it and preferred
following the bank of a small
ravine. I tried, from observing
small objects which I could see and
the direction of the wind, to be
sure to follow one course.
After having travelled in this
way at a good gait for more than
an hour I was sure that we had gone
far enough to have passed the ranch.
Thinking that we had veered too
much to the wind, which one is
likely to do in such a case, I turned
and faced the storm direct for half
an hour, then at right angles to it
about the same length of time, then
in the direction with it for a like
duration, keeping always a close
watch for any sign of a road or
wagon track. After having made
various changes for some time, I
remetnbt ed that Button had at
several times shown a desire to
change the course. Ar length 1
concluded to let him try hi* wav.
and gave him plenty of rein, lie
was polite and did not like to show
a direct contradiction to the way I
had been doing, so he gradually
swung around to about right angle*
to the way we were going, put his
head down, sniffed the ground,
pricked up his ears, took a trot,
and in ao minutes, during which he
sniffed the ground and 1 he wind,
we saw a light; another 100 yards
brought us to a nice, long, new sod
house and stable all built in one.
The light was a lantern hung high
on a pole to guide stragglers such
as we, ’Twas the new home of B.
A. Veatch, five miles from any
other ranch and twenty miles from
where where I thought we were.
Button went right up to the
stable door.
Mr. Veatch gave us the true,
good, hearty frontier welcome. 1
had a late supper of cold biscuit
and hot coffee, “mighty good.”
too, the kind that made the old
days good, and Colorado, thought
not so populous or old as some of
our other states, famed uround the
world.
’Tis in u great part because it
was built by such hardy soul* a*
Mr. Veatch. I have never seen him
since, but I’ll not fo«get him. The
storm turned to a bliezard until the
next day noon We stayed another
night with Mr. Veatch, then, from
what he had chanced to learn Iroin
a passing cattleman, he told me of
four head of my horses twenty
miles to the south east where they
had just happened to stray into au
open pasture not far from where I
had been looking. 1 got my o'her
horse and took them home snothtr
one, which had been with them,
we never heard of.
Boor Button! A year Inter he
died from the bite of a rattlesnake.
There was mourning at the ranch.
How much better our domestic
friends would be if we knew them
well.—O. A R in industrial
School Magazine, Golden Col.
■ Joy/ 1* Thf Tr * A1 Hoo* to Cow* to Tht Aid of The FutiP’o Cifcu«D—A Hint, lie*'
