The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1872-01-18
Mark Twain as an Equestrian.

In recent lecture on Nevada, deliv-
cred in Chicago, Mark Twain told of a
horse trade" that he made there. He
spent considerable time at Carson City.
Everybody rode horseback in that
town. l never saw such magnificent
horsemanship as that displayed in Car
son streets every day, and 1 did envy
them, though / was not much of a
horseman. But had soon learned to
tell horse from a COW, and was burn
ing with impatience to learn more. /
was determined to have a horse and ride
myself. While this thought was rank
ling in my mind, the auctioneer came
securing through the place on black
beast, that was bumped and --- like
dromedary, and fearfully homely. He
was going at twenty, twenty
dollars for horse, saddle and bridlc."
A man standing near me--whom I
didn't know, but who turned out to be
the auctioneer's brother-noticed the
wistful look in my eye, and observed
that that was a remarkable horse to be
going at such price, let alone the sad
die and bride 1 said had half a no.
tion to bid. d" Now" he says, / know
that horse. know him well. You are
a stranger, take it. You might think
he is an American horse, but he is not
anything of the kind. He is a Mexican
plug-that's what he is-a genuine Mex
lean plug" but there was something else
about that mans way of saying it, that
made me just determine that 1 would
own a genuine Mexican plug-if it took
every cent had. And said, Has he
any other advantages 7" He hooked his
finger in the pocket of his army shirt,
and led me to one side and uttered,
" Sh don't say word He can out
buck any horse in America he can out
buck any horse in the world" Just then
the auctioneer came along. Twenty
four, twenty-four dollars for the horse,
saddle and bride" | said, twenty
seven !" "Sold w
l took the genuine Mexican plug, paid
for him, put him in livery stable, let
him get something to eat and get rest
cd, and then in the afternoon l brought
him out in the plaza, and some of the
citizens held him by the head, and others
held him down to the earth by the tail,
and l got ON him. And as soon as those
people let go he put all his feet in a
bunch together, let his back sag down,
and then he arched it up suddenly, and
shot me one hundred and eighty yards (;
and / came down again, straight down,
and lighted in the saddle, and went up
again. And when l came down the
next time 1 Lit on his neck, and seized
him, and slid back into the saddle, and
held on. Then be raised himself straight
up in the air on his hind feet and Just
stepped round like a member of Con-
gress, and then he came down and went
up the other way and just walked around
ON his hands just as schoolboy would
Then he came down on all fours again
with the same old process of shooting
me up in the air, and the third time 1
went up heard man say, Oh, don't
he buck !" So that was 4" bucking." l
was very glad to know it. Not that 1
was enjoying it, but then had been
taking a general sort of interest in it
and had naturally desired to know what
the name of it was. And while 1 was
up somebody hit the horse a whack with
a strap, and when got down again the
genuine bucker was gone.
At this point of the interesting scene,
kind-hearted stranger came to the
rider, told him that he had been taken
in, explained the mysterious terms, and
gave him the comforting information
that anybody in town could have told
him all about the horse if he had in
quired.