Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 219, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1914 — LIVE ON FISH THEY CATCH [ARTICLE]

LIVE ON FISH THEY CATCH

Remarkable Breed of “Banker Ponies” Natives of the Coast of North Carolina. On the coast of North Carolina there are several miles of low, sandy shore where nothing grows except a coarse grass, a few salt water weeds and wild parsley. On these banks lives a strange breed of half-wild horses known as "banker ponies.” These creatures are generally about twice the size cLShetland ponies. Every year owners drive the “bankers” into pens, brand the foals with the proper mark, and catch some of the older animals to sell to the dealers. North Carolinians say that the beasts must be starved into eating grain, hay or grass, for they have always lived on the rank salt marsh grass of the marshes and on fish. They catch the fish for themselves at low tide; with their hoofs they dig deep holes in the sand below high-water mark, and when the tide falls they greedily devour the fish that are stranded in these holes. Often they fight brisky over an especially tempting morsel. In captivity these strange horses are Intelligent, but seldom are even in temper. Once tamed, they make excellent draft animals, for/they have a strength that is disproportionate to their size. Foals that arebred from “bankers’* in captivity make valuable animals —strong and intelligent