A story about wild horses

Page 6

Wouldn't it be nice to travel across our prairie provinces in search of stories from days gone by: Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with an elderly man at Lloydminster and this is the story he told me.

Long before cars were ever introduced to the world market by Henry Ford, horses were the best means of travel. They were important to the owner and in those times a person caught for horse rustling could be strung up from the nearest tree.

It seems there was a wild stallion roaming the foothills of southeastern Alberta. The stallion was seen many times breaking up a corral to lead horses away from their owners. Seen but never caught.

The stallion's herd began to grow and because the ranchers in the vicinity were losing so many horses they decided once and for all to rid themselves of this menace.

Many times in the past, lone riders tried in vain to bring an end to the stallion and his mischievous ways that were costing the ranchers, but to no avail..

Thus, the ranchers got together and decided the best way to handle their problem was to work together.

It was decided at the meeting that what they would do was set up relay stations with fresh horses along the stallion's route, in order to run it to the ground.

And so it began. Stallion against man.

Mile after mile the cowboys rode their horses behind the stallion and his herd. Whenever their horses were tired, just at the right time, they would come upon one of

the relay stations, saddle fresh mounts and continue their chase.

Horses that the stallion had freed for the making of his herd began to tire and

one after the other began to drop back, eventually to be caught by the ranchers.

While resting at various relay stations, cowboys talked about the chase and especially about the stallion and one other horse.

"There's not many left in the herd now, but, you know, there's one horse along with the stallion that don't want to give up," commented one cowboy to the relay station attendant.

The horse he was talking about was seen all the time when cowboys spotted the herd ahead of them, right on the tail of the stallion.

"It just stays there. If the stallion picks up his pace, so does the other horse, right on his heels," said another cowboy, while drinking a tin cup of coffee.

Hour after hour the cowboys continue their chase, and hour after hour more horses dropped back from the herd, only to be lassoed by the riders.

Eventually, only the stallion and the horse right behind his hoofs were left.

The cowboys kept their pace and soon were in shooting distance of the stallion.

By this time the stallion and the other horse were outrun. With no more fight left in him, the stallion turned and stomped a leg on the ground. One of the cowboys took aim and with an echo rolling over the hills, ended the life of this brave horse.

When they rode up to the stallion laying on the ground, the other horse was standing over it, sniffing at its scent.

To the cowboy's astonishment, upon riding up and getting a better look at this horse, they found it to be blind! That was the reason for the mare staying so close to the stallion while they had made their bid for freedom.

Near where the stallion was brought down was a lake.

And so the lake was named after the mare and in memory of the stallion: "Blind Horse Lake."

A romantic story, and true.