A Ride With A Mad Horse In A Freight-Car / 1898

The narrator recounts being grievously wounded while serving with his regiment at a fierce battle, crawling to cover and witnessing massive, futile charges across an exposed slope. Amid the carnage a riderless mare bursts from the melee and, responding to a human voice, approaches and comforts him despite his injury. He offers an affectionate, anatomically precise description of the mare’s color, build, and demeanor and explains his lifelong preference for gentle methods of taming spirited horses. The account juxtaposes the brutality and waste of the fighting with close, compassionate observation of animal trust and human tenderness.