{"id":5293,"date":"2014-04-05T23:44:45","date_gmt":"2014-04-06T03:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=5293"},"modified":"2026-07-22T13:49:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:49:53","slug":"the-piute-pony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=5293","title":{"rendered":"The Paiute Pony (by Cinderella)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0<\/span>A short story of how Cochise and a new friend came to Joe. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span>\u00a0K+ (1,190 words)
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Paiute Pony<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prologue<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright strolled to the barn, apple in hand.<\/strong> It was a special occasion, well, it was to him anyway. He leisurely walked over to Cochise, his seven-year-old pinto. \u2018Cooch\u2019 nickered to his owner and friend. \u201cHiya, Coochie. Today is a special day, you know that?\u201d Joe held the animal\u2019s large head up so that their eyes met. Cooch tossed his head and neighed. \u201cThat\u2019s right. Today, five years ago, you came into my life. Pa bought you from the chief and you were all mine. Still are, huh, Coochie?\u201d he stole into the stall to give his buddy a good brushing. The horses\u2019 brown eyes were always on him, ever watching, ever playful. He batted the curry comb from the young man\u2019s hand just as Joe had started to comb through the stallion\u2019s mane.\u00a0You wild thing, you beautiful wild thing…<\/em>\u00a0His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a horse trotting into the front yard. \u201cSoaring Eagle, I thought you\u2019d never show up!\u201d Joe held his friend\u2019s horses\u2019 bridle. Thunder nickered to his father. The Indian laughed heartily, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t miss this day for the world! It is Thunder\u2019s birthday, after all.\u201d Giving the horse a once-over, Joe noticed red horseshoes making a path along the horse\u2019s shoulder, \u201cYou still paint him? I feel sorry for the guy\u2026it\u2019s almost like girls puttin\u2019 on make-up!\u201d Soaring Eagle feigned anger. \u201cIt is Paiute custom, Joe. Maybe Cochise could use some paint around the edges\u2026he\u2019s beginning to look a little dingy,\u201d the boys laughed again and spent the night remembering that fateful day\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**************<\/p>\n

Soaring Eagle slowly walked up to the corral. He whistled softly as he climbed the rough wooden fence. A handsome two-year-old black and white pinto stallion pranced up to the boy. \u201cHey, Feather. Did you miss me, hmm?\u201d Soaring Eagle gently patted the horses\u2019 thick neck. A tall shadow passed over them; even in the fading light Soaring Eagle could tell it was the shadow of his father, Chief Winnemucca. \u201cSon,\u201d he said sternly. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Father. I couldn\u2019t keep away,\u201d he receded from the imposing figure of the older man. \u201cOh, Soaring Eagle. You know this horse has been sold. It\u2019s bad enough that you gave him a name, let alone slipping away from your chores to pet him. I told you not to go near the pinto again. Ben Cartwright and his son will be here in the morning to pick him up. Say your goodbyes now. There will be no tears in front of the white men,\u201d Winnemucca glared at his youngest child. \u201cI understand, Father. I\u2019ll be inside in a moment,\u201d Soaring Eagle turned away to hide his salty tears. The Chief strode away silently. Soaring Eagle put his mouth to the pony\u2019s ear. \u201cFeather, I\u2019ll miss you. You\u2019ve been a good pony, and you\u2019ll make this boy very happy, I\u2019m sure of it. Goodbye, my beautiful Feather,\u201d his voice caught in his throat as he turned and ran back to his wick-e-up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***************<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHere he is,\u201d Winnemucca handed the lead rope over to Ben. Joe, his thirteen year old son, strode up to his new horse and rubbed the velvety nose that was sniffing his pockets for the treat. Joe chuckled as he pulled out the shiny red apple he been hiding in his shirt. \u201cWhat have you decided to call him, Joseph?\u201d the chief eyed his son standing behind him. \u201cCochise, sir, after that Indian in Arizona.\u201d Soaring Eagle couldn\u2019t hold back any longer. He jumped on the pinto\u2019s sleek back and urged him into a gallop. \u201cSoaring Eagle! Come back here! Ben, I\u2019m sorry for what he has done,\u201d the Indian\u2019s bronze face suddenly turned bright red. \u201cChief, may I go after him? Please?\u201d Joe pleaded with his green eyes. Winnemucca nodded his approval and the boy swung into the saddle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***************<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Soaring Eagle sat crying in a forest glade.\u00a0Why did I do that? I\u2019m in trouble; big trouble.\u00a0<\/em>The small stream in the glade laughed as it tumbled over rocks and crevices. He heard his name being called ever so faintly. Joe finally rode up to him. His heart ached at the sight of his friend in such a distraught state. He knelt beside the child and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Soaring Eagle shied away and faced Joe. \u201cHe is my horse. I raised him, I gentled him, and I was the first to ride him. You had nothing to do with him. Your fancy was to have him for your own. You can\u2019t take him from me. And his name is Feather, not Cochise.\u201d\u00a0For a ten year old, he\u2019s sure got spunk<\/em>, Joe inwardly smiled. \u201cI never meant to hurt you, Soaring Eagle. But a deal has been made. A\u00a0promise<\/em>\u00a0has been made. I\u2019ve never know you to break your promises,\u201d the older boy said gently. Soaring Eagle\u2019s head shot up, \u201cI didn\u2019t break a promise, Joe!\u201d Again he smiled inwardly, \u201cNo, I suppose you didn\u2019t, not with me here. We\u2019ll say you were just out exercising him. Hey, how about this. The first foal that Cochise, er, Feather, sires will be yours.\u201d The Indian boy\u2019s bright brown eyes sparkled at the thought. \u201cReally? You mean to keep?\u201d he stammered. This time Joe smiled outwardly. \u201cO\u2019 course I do! Now, let\u2019s get back to the tribe before your father has a stroke!\u201d White boy and Indian boy walked back to the horses arm in arm. Soaring Eagle looked from Joe to Feather, Feather to Joe. \u201cJoe, would you like to ride your horse?\u201d he asked tentatively. Joe bit his lip, a habit he had while he was thinking. \u201cHow about you ride him one last time?\u201d They hopped onto the ponies and galloped back to their fathers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Epilogue<\/strong><\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you gonna name him?\u201d Joe wiped his hands on a towel and stood back from the newborn black and white pinto colt. \u201cThunder. He looks fast, doesn\u2019t he?\u201d Soaring Eagle sat down into the soft straw and gazed in awe of his new pony. The sturdy dark brown mare nuzzled her baby as he took his first wobbly steps. Ben, Chief Winnemucca, and the other two Cartwright boys lazily ambled into the warm barn. \u201cWe thought we would see how things were coming along. Is it a boy or girl?\u201d Hoss shuffled passed the men to get a good look at the new life. \u201cBoy. His name is Thunder, Hoss. He will be as swift and strong as Feather, I mean Cochise ever was!\u201d Soaring Eagle edged out of the stall so not to disturb Coffee and Thunder. \u201cWe\u2019ll start breaking him in a few months,\u201d Joe put his hands on the Indian boy\u2019s bare bronze shoulders. \u201cThank you!\u201d Soaring Eagle flew into his friend\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Disclaimer:\u00a0All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0A short story of how Cochise and a new friend came to Joe. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Rated:\u00a0K+ (1,190 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":5289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[23,1007],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-joe-cartwright","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1007-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Quality-of-Mercy-8.jpg?fit=747%2C569&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}