Day 82: 5 Minute Freewrite - Prompt: stetson

The cowboy had his horse in a flat out run across the rough terrain but he knew that he could not keep it up much longer and the Indians were hot on his trail. Each gully or wash that he crossed caused searing pain as the arrow in his left shoulder and in his right thigh jostled and twisted about tearing flesh and causing blood to gush from the holes. Then the horse stepped in a gopher hole and tumbled head first in a spinning roll sending its rider flying and flailing through the air. Both smacked the ground and skidded to a dazed stop. The horse got up and trotted off with everything the rider owned, including his rifle and canteen, in the direction of the chasing Indians. Unable to find his hat and barely able to walk the cowboy hobbled off up the trail and eventually into the protection of some large boulders.

It wasn't long before he heard them coming up the trail, nothing else to do he thought, this was it and he might as well go out like a man in a blaze of glory. Hand over his six-shooter ready he stepped out from behind the rocks, blood flowing down the front of his shirt from the shoulder wound and down his leg and into his boot from the arrow in his thigh. Standing in front of him was his horse and it was wearing the Stetson he had just purchased in Abilene, an Indian's idea of a joke no doubt. The cowboy just glared at the horse never even looking at the twenty or so painted up and heavily armed Braves just behind it.

Walking over to the horse he hit it with a hard right cross and knocked the horse to the ground! Leaning over the stunned horse the cowboy picked up his hat and put it on his own head snugging it down tight. Then he looked up at the Indian Chief and said; "one thing I can't abide is a yellow-bellied thieving horse that will run away to save his own skin and take all your stuff with him." For a few seconds the Indians just looked at him like he was crazy, but then they broke out into raucous laughter. While the Indians were having a good time the horse began to kick around getting his legs under him to get up, as he did the cowboy just hopped in the saddle and came up with him still facing the Indians. On a whim, the cowboy just tipped his hat to the Chief and turned his horse up the trail are started walking the horse slowly away. After about twenty yards he heard horses hoofs receding in the opposite direction. The cowboy smiled to himself and taking out the makings began to roll a cigarette, ain't no one going to believe that one he thought, best keep it to myself I guess he said out loud as he rode on toward Fort Chisholm.

You know, If it hadn't been for that big mouthed horse no one would have ever known what happened that day.
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**Disclaimer: I often use the freewrite prompt to tell a story instead of doing a pure freewrite, so they sometimes take longer than 5 minutes and usually have some editing. But I try to do my story straight through at one sitting without any unnecessary breaks.
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Graphics by: Giphy.com
Footer by the fabulous: @topkpop
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Prompt: stetson
Set your timer for 5 minutes.
Start writing
Use the hashtag #freewrite
Publish your piece (include a link to this post if you wish)
Copy and paste your URL into the comment section of the prompt post.
Or, if you don't want to publish your freewrite, just copy and paste as a comment under the prompt post.
If you don't know what a freewrite is, here is a link to the introduction post.

Introduction to freewrite

Thank you @mariannewest