Old Bill, the logging horse

The Never Before Told Story of “Old Bill” the Logging Horse

Note: This story was told to your editor one day in June 2009,  by Dale Brooks, one of the few left who came down from Calpine with the Blagens and Linebaughs in 1938.

The story:

In Calpine, and later in White Pines in the very beginning, Doc Linebaugh used horses as part of his logging operation. By the time Dale was about 11 years old, only one of those horses was still alive, Old Bill. Bill’s teeth, like the teeth of all horses, kept growing throughout the lifetime of the horse. Bill’s teeth were getting bad and it was getting difficult for him to eat, so the decision was made that his teeth would be floated (filed or rasped). Dale was sent by his stepfather, Jerry, to get Old Bill and bring him down to where his teeth were to be floated. After the job was done, Dale was told to take Bill back, and that there was a green spot of vegetation that Bill would probably want to sample. Sure enough, when they reached the green, Bill took one bite and died. I guess that we can assume that he died happy.

If you like this kind of story, look at “How the Wedding got the Axe” also here on our web site. A great story about Dale’s folks, Jerry and Bess.