It had been a long day for the masked Lone Ranger John Reid and his kemo sabe (Potawatomi language for – ‘trusty scout’.) Tonto. Having tracked Bartholomew “Butch” Cavendish through Bryant’s Gap and across miles of hot dusty Texas terrain, both men found themselves close to Del Rio, so they headed for the saloon and sat down to drink beer.
A short time later, a tall, mean looking cowboy walked in and called out loudly “Who owns the big white horse outside?” The Lone Ranger stiffened, then stood up, hitching his gun belt as he turned to face the stranger. “I do… why?” he said, in a low Texas voice.
The cowboy looked at the Lone Ranger, “I reckon you should know Mister, that your horse is all but dead outside!” he said. The Lone Ranger and Tonto crossed the 20 ft salon floor area in just three long strides. Rifles cocked, they gazed over the saloon’s pine louvered swinging doors and sure enough all the signs indicated that his horse, ‘Silver’, was about to die from heat exhaustion.
The Lone Ranger rushed to get Silver a bucket of water from the street pump, and soon the animal began to slowly recover.
Now turning to Tonto, the Lone Ranger said “Tonto, I want you to run around Silver in continuous circles and see if you can create a breeze, to further cool the animal down”. Tonto replied “Sure, kemo sabe” and took off running circles around Silver, waving his deer skin poncho in the air, as he moved.
Unable to further assist, the masked Lone Ranger returned into the saloon to finish his beer. A few minutes later, another ‘wrangler’ struts into the bar and loudly asks, “Who owns that big white Palomino horse outside?”
Again the Lone Ranger stiffened, standing slowly and hitching his gun belt as he moved, he turned to face the stranger, “I do Mister, so what’s your problem”?
“No offence Mister” said the stranger, “but I believe you left your injun runnin!”
Petrol. Was cheap then.