Letters To The Editor

Editor,

You had an article about horses for the Boer War. One of the horses shipped by train to Miles City from Washington was supposed to be with that band of horses, but he jumped the corral and ended up in the Cossitt Family.

Here’s a true story of him - thought you might print it.

Thanks, Helen Cossitt, “Stacey Sue”

Satan Lives Again

In the hills of Montana old Satan ran wild

Am here to tell about it, when I was a child

He came out here like a chalk-eyed ghost

Ridin’ the train from the far west coast

Boxcars of horses unloaded in Miles City

Driven to the Fork’d Lightnin’ Ranch without any pity

They were corralled and sorted for the army corps

Waitin’ to be shipped to England to fight in the Boer War

Well old Satan sniffed n’ snorted, then went over the top

Corral with eight poles, no way would it stop

He ran the open range with a fork’d lightnin’ brand

‘Twas six years before they got him to stand

Making him a gelding and gettin’ him tamed down

A bronc buster named Clarky, went aroun’ and aroun’

He said old Satan was spirited real high

He’d take you right straight up to the sky

Dad took a liking to Satan with his half bald face

And his four stockin’ feet, standin’ in place

For summer wages, he took the horse with fork’d lightnin’ jaw

Lookin’ in his chalk eye, Dad liked what he saw

Dad rode old Satan with a lot of respect

Sittin’ hard in the saddle, so he didn’t disconnect

Many a cowboy Satan would upset

And he never took to a woman a ridin’ him even yet

Satan got old, us kids rode him lots of years

We watched him go down with eyes full of tears

He died out there on the Montana land

His bones rotted away in the dirt n’ sand

The sky lightened up and the lightning forked

There was old Satan a comin’ uncorked

Then as fast as it came, it went away

There was old Satan takin’ me to school one day