1944-1945 Year Book - the Gatineau Valley Historical Society

Ottawa Ski Club Year Book 1944-45 57
The Tale of a Horse
From the beginning of time
the horse has played a prominent
role in the lives of men and
n·ations. We remember the story
of the Trojan Horse and how a
number of Greek warriors were
hidden inside it, who admitted
the Greek army into ~he city of
Troy. But that was a wooden
horse and should~ perhaps be
classed with the clothes horse
and the saw-horse, also valuable
members of the horse family.
However, let us confine our
observations to that particuiar
horse Mr. Webster describes, in
part, as:
horse (hOrs) n.: A large solidhoofed
herbivorous animal
(Equus caballus) domesticated
by man since a pre-historic
period and used as a beast of
burden ...
In the realm of mythology.
Saint George is depicted mounted
on a powerful charger shying
the dragon-the poor old
dragon didn't have a chance.
But take away the horse and the
story· would be pretty hard to
believe. And you take Lady
Godiva-could you imagine her
running around the streets of'
Coventry in her bare pelt? No,
siree, she just had to have a
horse. . The headless horseman
who frightened Ichabod Crane
in the Legend of Sleepy Hollo'w,
too, could never have got on
without a horse.
But to get down to more !'olid
things, the horse has played an
important part in world history
and in the march of civilization:
The ancient kings and generals
by James S. Patrick
always led their armies into battle
on horseback. What ii! the
best known and most colourful
military exploit of British history?-the
Charge of the Light
Brigade ! When we think of the
pioneers of the American West,
we immediately think of th~
covered wagon . . .
However, after this brief resume
on horses in general and
horses of bygone days, Wt! must
get down to the present day and
one horse in particular-and
this is how the story goes :
"A horse, a horse, my kingdom
for a horse!" cried Bill Irving,
Captain of the Night Riders
as he stood, his arms akimbo,
on the knoll of Camp Fortune.
He was ·not thinking of
King Richard III, but only surveying
Johnny Dunlop's "bony
old skate" which had been hired
at so much per day. (If apologies
are due to Johnny's. equus
ooballus for such an epithet
they must come from Bill, for
I'm quoting him.) Apparently
this old nag had completely ex-