bite--but not a sup--to Crusoe. Thus lovingly they
ate together; and when Dick lay that night under the
willow branches, looking up through them at the stars,
with his feet to the fire and Crusoe close along his side,
he thought it the best and sweetest supper he ever ate,
and the happiest evening he ever spent--so wonderfully
do circumstances modify our notions of felicity.
Two weeks after this "Richard was himself again."
The muscles were springy, and the blood coursed fast
and free, as was its wont. Only a slight, and, perhaps,
salutary feeling of weakness remained, to remind him
that young muscles might again become more helpless
than those of an aged man or a child.
Dick had left his encampment a week ago, and was
now advancing by rapid stages towards the Rocky
Mountains, closely following the trail of his lost comrades,
which he had no difficulty in finding and keeping
now that Crusoe was with him. The skin of the buffalo
that he had killed was now strapped to his shoulders,
and the skin of another animal that he had shot a few
days after was cut up into a long line and slung in a
coil round his neck. Crusoe was also laden. He had a
little bundle of meat slung on each side of him.
For some time past numerous herds of mustangs, or
wild horses, had crossed their path, and Dick was now
on the look-out for a chance to
crease
one of those magnificent
creatures.
On one occasion a band of mustangs galloped close
up to him before they were aware of his presence, and
stopped short with a wild snort of surprise on beholding
him; then, wheeling round, they dashed away at full
gallop, their long tails and manes flying wildly in the
air, and their hoofs thundering on the plain. Dick
did not attempt to crease one upon this occasion, fearing
that his recent illness might have rendered his hand too
unsteady for so extremely delicate an operation.
In order to crease a wild horse the hunter requires
to be a perfect shot, and it is not every man of the west
who carries a rifle that can do it successfully. Creasing
consists in sending a bullet through the gristle of the
mustang's neck, just above the bone, so as to stun the
animal. If the ball enters a hair's-breadth too low,
the horse falls dead instantly. If it hits the exact
spot, the horse falls as instantaneously, and dead to all
appearance; but, in reality, he is only stunned, and if
left for a few minutes will rise and gallop away nearly
as well as ever. When hunters crease a horse successfully
they put a rope, or halter, round his under jaw
and hobbles round his feet, so that when he rises he
is secured, and, after considerable trouble, reduced to
obedience.
The mustangs which roam in wild freedom on the
prairies of the far west are descended from the noble
Spanish steeds that were brought over by the wealthy
cavaliers who accompanied Fernando Cortez, the conqueror
of Mexico, in his expedition to the New World in
1518. These bold, and, we may add, lawless cavaliers
were mounted on the finest horses that could be procured
from Barbary and the deserts of the Old World. The
poor Indians of the New World were struck with amazement
and terror at these awful beings, for, never having
seen horses before, they believed that horse and rider
were one animal. During the wars that followed many
of the Spaniards were killed, and their steeds bounded
into the wilds of the new country, to enjoy a life of
unrestrained freedom. These were the forefathers of
the present race of magnificent creatures which are
found in immense droves all over the western wilderness,
from the Gulf of Mexico to the confines of the
snowy regions of the far north.
At first the Indians beheld these horses with awe and
terror, but gradually they became accustomed to them,
and finally succeeded in capturing great numbers and
reducing them to a state of servitude. Not, however,
to the service of the cultivated field, but to the service
of the chase and war. The savages soon acquired the
method of capturing wild horses by means of the lasso--as
the noose at that end of a long line of raw hide is
termed--which they adroitly threw over the heads of
the animals and secured them, having previously run
them down. At the present day many of the savage
tribes of the west almost live upon horseback, and
without these useful creatures they could scarcely subsist,
as they are almost indispensable in the chase of
the buffalo.
Mustangs are regularly taken by the Indians to the
settlements of the white men for trade, but very poor
specimens are these of the breed of wild horses. This
arises from two causes. First, the Indian cannot overtake
the finest of a drove of wild mustangs, because his own
steed is inferior to the best among the wild ones, besides
being weighted with a rider, so that only the weak and
inferior animals are captured. And, secondly, when the
Indian does succeed in lassoing a first-rate horse he
keeps it for his own use. Thus, those who have not
visited the far-off prairies and seen the mustang in all
the glory of untrammelled freedom, can form no adequate
idea of its beauty, fleetness, and strength.
The horse, however, was not the only creature imported
by Cortez. There were priests in his army who
rode upon asses, and although we cannot imagine that
the "fathers" charged with the cavaliers and were unhorsed,
or, rather, un-assed in battle, yet, somehow, the
asses got rid of their riders and joined the Spanish
chargers in their joyous bound into a new life of freedom.
Hence wild asses also are found in the western
prairies. But think not, reader, of those poor miserable
wretches we see at home, which seem little better than
rough door-mats sewed up and stuffed, with head, tail,
and legs attached, and just enough of life infused to
make them move! No, the wild ass of the prairie is a
large powerful, swift creature. He has the same long
ears, it is true, and the same hideous, exasperating bray,
and the same tendency to flourish his heels; but for all
that he is a very fine animal, and often wages
successful
warfare with the wild horse.
But to return. The next drove of mustangs that
Dick and Crusoe saw were feeding quietly and unsuspectingly
in a rich green hollow in the plain. Dick's
heart leaped up as his eyes suddenly fell on them, for
he had almost discovered himself before he was aware
of their presence.
"Down, pup!" he whispered, as he sank and disappeared
among the grass, which was just long enough
to cover him when lying quite flat.
Crusoe crouched immediately, and his master made
his observations of the drove, and the dispositions of
the ground that might favour his approach, for they
were not within rifle range. Having done so he crept
slowly back until the undulation of the prairie hid him
from view; then he sprang to his feet, and ran a considerable
distance along the bottom until he gained the
extreme end of a belt of low bushes, which would effectually
conceal him while he approached to within a
hundred yards or less of the troop.
Here he made his arrangements. Throwing down
his buffalo robe, he took the coil of line and cut off a
piece of about three yards in length. On this he made
a running noose. The longer line he also prepared
with a running noose. These he threw in a coil over
his arm.
He also made a pair of hobbles, and placed them in
the breast of his coat, and then, taking up his rifle,
advanced cautiously through the bushes--Crusoe following
close behind him. In a few minutes he was gazing
in admiration at the mustangs, which were now within
easy shot, and utterly ignorant of the presence of man,
for Dick had taken care to approach in such a way
that the wind did not carry the scent of him in their
direction.
And well might he admire them. The wild horse of
these regions is not very large, but it is exceedingly
powerful, with prominent eye, sharp nose, distended
nostril, small feet, and a delicate leg. Their beautiful
manes hung at great length down their arched necks,
and their thick tails swept the ground. One magnificent
fellow in particular attracted Dick's attention.
He was of a rich dark-brown colour, with black mane
and tail, and seemed to be the leader of the drove.
Although not the nearest to him, he resolved to crease
this horse. It is said that creasing generally destroys
or damages the spirit of the horse, so Dick determined
to try whether his powers of close shooting would not serve him on
this
occasion. Going down on one knee he aimed at the creature's neck, just
a
hair's-breadth
above the spot where he had been told that hunters
usually hit them, and fired. The effect upon the group
was absolutely tremendous. With wild cries and snorting
terror they tossed their proud heads in the air,
uncertain for one moment in which direction to fly;
then there was a rush as if a hurricane swept over the
place, and they were gone.
But the brown horse was down. Dick did not wait
until the others had fled. He dropped his rifle, and
with the speed of a deer sprang towards the fallen
horse, and affixed the hobbles to his legs. His aim had
been true. Although scarcely half a minute elapsed
between the shot and the fixing of the hobbles, the
animal recovered, and with a frantic exertion rose on
his haunches, just as Dick had fastened the noose of
the short line in his under jaw. But this was not
enough. If the horse had gained his feet before the
longer line was placed round his neck, he would have
escaped. As the mustang made the second violent
plunge that placed it on its legs, Dick flung the noose
hastily; it caught on one ear, and would have fallen
off, had not the horse suddenly shaken its head, and
unwittingly sealed its own fate by bringing the noose
round its neck.
And now the struggle began. Dick knew well
enough, from hearsay, the method of "breaking down"
a wild horse. He knew that the Indians choke them
with the noose round the neck until they fall down
exhausted and covered with foam, when they creep up,
fix the hobbles, and the line in the lower jaw, and then
loosen the lasso to let the horse breathe, and resume its
plungings till it is almost subdued, when they gradually
draw near and breathe into its nostrils. But the violence
and strength of this animal rendered this an
apparently hopeless task. We have already seen that
the hobbles and noose in the lower jaw had been fixed,
so that Dick had nothing now to do but to choke his
captive, and tire him out, while Crusoe remained a quiet
though excited spectator of the scene.
But there seemed to be no possibility of choking this
horse. Either the muscles of his neck were too strong,
or there was something wrong with the noose which
prevented it from acting, for the furious creature dashed
and bounded backwards and sideways in its terror for
nearly an hour, dragging Dick after it, till he was
almost exhausted; and yet, at the end of that time,
although flecked with foam and panting with terror,
it seemed as strong as ever. Dick held both lines, for
the short one attached to its lower jaw gave him great
power over it. At last he thought of seeking assistance
from his dog.
"Crusoe," he cried, "lay hold, pup!"
The dog seized the long line in his teeth and pulled
with all his might. At the same moment Dick let go
the short line and threw all his weight upon the long
one. The noose tightened suddenly under this strain,
and the mustang, with a gasp, fell choking to the
ground.
Dick had often heard of the manner in which the
Mexicans "break" their horses, so he determined to
abandon the method which had already almost worn
him out, and adopt the other, as far as the means in
his power rendered it possible. Instead, therefore, of
loosening the lasso and re-commencing the struggle, he
tore a branch from a neighbouring bush, cut the hobbles,
strode with his legs across the fallen steed, seized the
end of the short line or bridle, and then, ordering Crusoe
to quit his hold, he loosened the noose which compressed
the horse's neck and had already well-nigh terminated
its existence.
One or two deep sobs restored it, and in a moment
it leaped to its feet with Dick firmly on its back. To
say that the animal leaped and kicked in its frantic
efforts to throw this intolerable burden would be a tame
manner of expressing what took place. Words cannot
adequately describe the scene. It reared, plunged,
shrieked, vaulted into the air, stood straight up
on its hind legs, and then almost as straight upon its fore