Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-11-17

and ut the same time shield me from I'M
pending ruin
To obtain possession of the wild herd
cost me no triflng expenditure of time and
patience, and often did envy the deXteri
ty in . gcntling' horses which had seen
Mr.. Rarev exhibit years before. in London.
The mustangs were weary and subdued by
want. but could not, for the most part, bear
that should touch them. while | was
obliged to put 4 stop tOCasslo S wcll-meant
efforts, which threatened to scare off the
entire herd. 1t was no easy matter to in
dute wild steedS, that had never seen
corn, OF been approached by a man, to eat
unaccustomed food rendered them by u
human hand, and the great gold brown
grains ratified vainly in the sieve, until at
last one more venturouS animal than the
rest. sunk his velvet muzZle amid the
protfercd corn, and his whinnyIng neigh of
delight brought fifty others to compete for
4 share.
The stable, the cow house. the corral,
the shecpfold, were soon crammed with
horses, allured into them by the offer of
food. and still there were crowds of equine
visitors lingering without; while how to
dispose of them | could not well conject
urc. | could not refuse them nOurishment
in their great need. but well | knew that
if fed them while free they would ramble
off into the plains and that | should see
them no more.
At length. calling to mind the stories |
hal heard from old frontiersmen, | helped
Cassie to constructa I rope corral ola clrcu-
lar shape. consisting of three tough cords,
row above row secured 10 stakes, such as
is employed to keep bullocks from stray NJ,
u, tha
maj ioritv of the animals Some, on the
outskirts of the herd took fright and trot;ed
off; but when noon came we counted no
fewer than five hundred and seventy-nine
horses, mares, and foal>, all >nugly can
toned on the premises.
No keeper of 4 house of entertainment
ever tolcd more unrcmit,ingly than did
during the next few days, to provide for
the four-footed guests with whose welfare
nv own WAS bound up. 1t was no tritling
task TO bring food and water to such an
equine crowd. while, rs the horses began
to regain their strength. it WAS necessary to
contend with the vicious propensities OF
some and the shvne>S of all. That my
brains were not kicked out by some fling
inc plouching brute, rs | made my way
through the swaying. stamping mass of
creatures, | have since thought, more
owing to good fortune than TO my own
deserts; but | did succeed in getting on
tolerlblv GOOD terms with even the tierccst
of the wild stccds while Cassie. less used
to horses. contcnted himself with pounding
up the great ears of maze III the huge
stone mortar. and handling his hardwood
peStlc with a vigor that would have aston
ishcd IN assistant chemist.
By iucessant care | contrived to keep
/ four-tifths of my animated property alive
until the sprinTing up of the short, after
/ growth of heritage on the prairie provided
them with their accustomed diet. while,
bv this. nearly all the horses would submit
to be handled. and many to be backed.
Two passing hunters were easily pcrsuad-
ed to hire me out their services rs rough
riders. and in three months was able to
dispose. ut the nearest township OF two
hundred. and eleven mustangs, broken tC
rein and saddle. anG the market price of
which amounted TO three thousand seven
hundred pounds. had plenty of the
once wild steeds left. having resolved Il
change my former business rs cattle
farmer into that Of 4 breeder of horses, and
my choice was justified by the rapidity
with which | continued to make money.
Big Smoke Bluff was soon.in popular plr-
lance, designated As Markham's Bluff, and
fresh outbuildinCS. and a better house. ro>t
rs If by magic om the prairie. while
good news reached me from England
whittier | had transmitted the tidings o
nv singularlv-gained success. Mr.. and
Mrs. Vernon were among the first to con
.ratulate me on my prosperity, and were
not slow to hint tn;lt they saw no further
obstacle 10 their daughter union with my
self.
went over to England. and was ther,
married to Edith. who, dear girl. insisted
on sharing my rough home in the far West
although | waS somewhat afraid that on
so delicatelv reared would shrink from tn,
inevitable lard>hips of the bordcrland. bu
| was wrong, for she never once murmure,
during the first Year or two OF our some
what wild housekeeping. 1t WAS in vain
however. that invited my father. after
time. to Join us in America and share |!
the genial abundance of = life that hao
been blessed with no tritling amour
of material prosperity.
Mr. Markham habits las he quantity oh
served. anchored him too firmly to the ol,
country to permit him to transplant him
self to the new. and AL that l could d
WAS to increase his modest income to n
extent tll:tl SllouItt insure - AN
comfortable evening to his lite.
At the Bluff. times are changed Sine
the day when was first awakened by tn
, clarion call of .hc wild horses. \ hand
some stone villa, surrounded by garden
gay with flowers. has replaced the log
cabin. The farm buildings, ever whicl
Cassie, with IN air oi unutterable impur
tancc, presGes :,s foreman of the man
blacks in my employ. are extensive. an
the estate has been swollen To much NOR
than its former acreage. while the distiic
is less thinlv settled. and the danger 9
Indian for:sy has passed away Children
light tread and innocent laughter max
music through the rooms, and in the gal
: den, among her roses, see E!iths brigl
face look smiling up to me. looking, to IN
eyes. not Il day older than when | HI
5 lust hailed her rs mistress of what. in pr
vate, we generally describe rs Wlld-llors
Farm.
= PERUVIAN GIANTS. i have seen
e stated that the Pcruvians preserved L
# record Of having come originally frol
S China. They had Il tradition. howeve
: concerning certain forei grers who can
d by sea to their country, which may
e worth repeating; Garcilas>o de Ia Veg
: gives this tradition as he himself heard
in Peru. They affirm, he says, in 4
. Peru, that certain giants came by sea
y the cape now called st. Ielens, in lare
:, barks made of rllshcs. These giants we
y so enormously tall that ordinary me
= reached no higher than their knees; the
- long. dsheveled hair covered their shou
i ders; their eyes were as biz rs saucer
,f and the other parts of their bodies were
= corrcspondingiy colossal proportions The