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Show XIXE SADDLES TO THE HORSE When Thompson's colt swam the river to get a drink of water, that was thought to be about the silliest thing ever. Yet that performance was excelled many times during the late war. And it was a man, not a yearling colt, that broke the record. Astonishing things were done during the war, many of which, doubtless, have not yet come to light. The Government's leather (head) expert ordered 9 4 5.000 high grade army saddles for just 104,000 cavalry caval-ry horses. This is about nine saddles sad-dles per horse. Just why that expert ex-pert figures he would need such a back-load of saddles for thoses horses hor-ses has never been ascertained, but i his mental performance clearly puts ; him in the same boat with Thompson's Thomp-son's colt. See if you can solve the riddle, no one else seems to be able I Again, another leather expert or-; dered enough harness at one time to ! require in their construction 300.-000 300.-000 more hides than the Govern- ment. could produce in a year's time, i Still another expert (?) ordered j six halters, fire nose bags and four, covers a piece for those horses, and another one purchased four curry combs for each of them. i But another "dollar a year" man pulled the biggest "boner" of them all. He purchased two branding; irons a piece for those horses not j ordinary steel branding irons either, j but made of copper and fearfully ex-J pensive. j To cap the climax, another expert i ordered that the horses be branded on the hoofs, regardless of the fact j that the marks would grow out in ! a few weeks. Verily, Thompson's fool colt had , plenty of company. j |