| Show FIRE HORSES ARE MEMORY Only Seventeen Remain in Service of Salt Lakes Lake's Modern Department WHAT BECOMES OF THEM L' L S Scenes enes That Will Soon Into History I t- t 7 When When man first turned his hand nand and ability to invention a a llew new era ra l In thae tha rn ra many strange and undreamed of things have have come come cometo ton to tass nass ss 1 Tw Twenty nty years ago if it you had bad told lold some volunteer fireman fir m n that the day was close cloe at liana hand when t the horse horse- drawn fire engine would be be- supplant supplanted ed by motor-driven motor apparatus a hearty laugh of incredulity would have been his reply To the mind of the old time fireman fire man the horse was was' j st s' s sess ses ess l to the efficiency of a fire department t tas as a line luie of hose and water Yet within just five years the horse stalls in iri Salt Lakes Lake's central fire station station sta sta- tion have disappeared and In their places is the heavy automobile ap ap- ap Look at the modern fire department of f cities of tod today y Compare i ithem them with ith the apparatus of Jen ten years I ago The rapidity with which fire horses horses horses' are be being ng su supplanted p nt d by the motor app apparatus ratus Is a sure sure indication th that the thrilling s scene ene when a huge fire engil i a Wn 11 qt f coal bl black blk k horses 1 sS speeding in down dow the street et t WUI s 's on pa paS history But But di you i ever v stop to what be becomes onies of of- the faithful Old o li fire h horses raes es' es Where d do do they go How How- Howare are they taken care of 01 Foolish questions question You might as ask wh what t b becomes comes of ofa a p poliCeman policeman police poliCe- m man n or a a. newspaper reporter after ft r they l have lost their usefulness One by D one due le the old fire horses are th the road to 10 thinned out and sent on of discard the the heap heap Average Life Lif The avera average e life Ufe of the fire horse is six years If they last that long it is all that is expected of them If they last longer they are extra extraordinary horses The excitement and strain make the life of a fire horse hard They can cant can't t stand up under it The Salt Lake fire department then composed of volunteers bought the first fire horses in 1884 Only the old oli veterans remember rememberS those horses and andev ev even n they are not quite sure about the names Since then perhaps a hundred or more horses have seen fire duty in Salt Lake The Tho records of ot fire horses begin in 1894 and continue until 1904 In that time twenty-six twenty horses were bought and sold In many cases their records after leaving the department and their fate is unknown Only in ina ina ina a few instances where some o of these old horses are still stin in ht city service or out on pasture pension can you lay your hand on them Nig is one horse whose memory Is dear to every fireman Nig was pensioned off oft about two years ago when the first motor apparatus was installed in the central station Old Nig had been on on- the job so long something like eleven en years that it never occurred to any anyone one that he might be taken away It was almost like taking the fire tire engines away When th they y put a halter on Nig Wig and nd led him away he looked around with witha a puzzled expression on his face is as asif isIf as asif if to say the matter What have I Idone Idone Idone done that you should do this to me Such has been and will continue to tobe tobe tobo be bo the fate of the fire horse But they will wUl be he lucky horses if they meet the same treatment after leaving ac active active ac- ac tive Uve service as Nig was Fire Celebrities Of Ot the other old timers these names will no be familiar Bryan Cl Clyde de Coach D DeWey w y Prince Rex Rock Snapper McKinley CI Cleveland eveland A ri 1 4 JP 2 A ii y A 4 D' D 9 i f 4 rv I I i 4 q 4 4 4 7 Ezra Teddy Jim Charley Chub Harry Hrry p pan Dan n Monte Belmont Dick J John hn Fr Frank Pat Dan and Chief Th Th These s are some some of the names in th the book book of f h horse records In the central station After these thes names names are such entries order order ordered or as as sold given away der dered d' d killed d given n to street department department department depart depart- ment given to waterworks waterworks- etc B But t In inmany many instances s there is no entry The horse merely passed out of r- r the department to o an unknown fate Dont Don't yo you yoi remember some tome few years ag ago when the pang Dang angl Dang Dang of the fire engines engines' could be le heard and you would run to the win win- dow to se see them go by First came the tho chiefs chief's buggy with a large coa coal black charger bending every muscle and exerting every nerve then came the h engine the hos lios wagon and the th hook and ladder The straining every muscle their nostrils blood red and their e ears rs quivering ring ringi with wIL i l- l excitement H t cam came UJ next ext AI with wIL excitement H t came next ext cam UJ AI Its It's a beautiful thrilling sight isn't It ft One that makes the blood fairly rush to your head They are such wonderful horses So well groomed and they seem so much stronger and more intelligent than the ay raga horse I True True enough U they ey are stronger than other horses far more more gent g-ep- and and they pley like Uke t to go to fires fire t too o. o IU like the t e excitement et pf f It it Bilt Bilta 13 a a horse Just l like ke any other animal ani- ani mal or human They are a a. bundle of n nerves ryes and anti the day comes when whim they gp go go to pieces That is is' their first st step stepto p to the heap of discard rd I So It Is with all fir fire horses Their inevitable fate is 18 the heap p of discard When their days of service are over ether horses es are are put in their sta stalls ls Sometimes they are turned out to top top p pasture ture sture and left pensioned to end I their jJ days waiting g for the fire gong gong- I that will never sound again for them I S Sometimes they are bought by farmers farm farI 1 era ers em or given to the other city depart depart- i ments meets But more often they are are just lost sight of v Today there are seven pieces of motor drawn apparatus In the Salt Lake fire department There are eight horse drawn pieces of apparatus and seventeen horses It is now but buta a q question estion of time until these remaining remaining remain remain- ing horses will b b be supplanted by by- motors motors motors mo mo- tors and then they too will start on on the narrow path to the u inevitable end of the faithful servant the servant the hea heap of ot discard I |
