The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1875-11-21

Elc Rides Pitching" po-I ica-Un,
Been in shc Rcd Iauds ami Hunted
fer toid-Racy Dissertation ~ IeSa,
Iariliug-IiOw the old Man Traded
sp1s incd ii0rsc-A small Iioy
ERts Honey.
tCorrcsp ondence of the BGllcunD
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. Nov. II, 1873.
If you have never tried to ride TeXa,
mustang, you are probably not fully
prepared to appreciate Mark Twain's
excellent story of his experience with a
genuine Mexican plug" | have ridden
hundreds OF them. and If there is one in
the State free from the vice of "huckinc."
| have tailed to find him. have used
all sorts of means to break them of hi.
| fault, but without success. Swapping
them up until their hind feet almost
! fail TO touch the ground does no good.
and ! have ridden one constant Y
for month, Nv eraging thirty-liye mncs
I per day with only mesquite grass to
feed upon, and al the last mount he tried
To- buck with az much vim, but not 20 sue
cessiully. az al the first ; they seem a liy-
Ing, bucking yeriiication OF the old adagc.
"What Is bred in the bone must come out
Of the flesh" They do not seem to have
taken warning by the camcls Introduced
into the State by jefferson Davis, when lie
was secretary of war; they buckcd %
successfully In Noah's time that they
have never been able to get their backs
down since. Ii bucking was their only
vice II would not be 50 bad. as one get,
used TO that after awhile. and
comes to consider it as an excellent pre-
ventitiye Of dyspepsia. but many of them
have an uncomfortable habit of maklnpa
side leap Of from six to twenty feet when
ever you try to mount them which IS
tribe embarrassing to Il novice. "With all
thelr faults love them still" and for real
hard work, such ~ travelling long dis
tances, and carrying rider. with nothing
t. subsi.t upon but grass, they are uuri-
vailed. Their energy and courage are sur
prising, their will indomtablr. and they
will come W bucking and ready for bus
iness after Il trip that would have utterly
used up one Of your famous Ken
lucky blue grass thoroughbreds.
These conclusions are reached. after q
long study of mustang nature, strength
oncd by observations taken during n re-
cent trip Of six weeks duration through
the border counties. tempted by reports
OF eold--yaller gold" having been
found in Mason and Llano counties.
Your correspondent joined fortunes with
young Cincinnatian, and having pro-
yided ourselves with an "outlt'-eycrv-
thing Is an outfit here, from a pair of
saddle-bags to n caravan of twenty
wagons--which consisted of an eighteen
dollar mustang, blanket, a lariat,
aud pair of saddlebags for each,
containing some bacon and crackers for
emergencies, we sailed forth like verita-
BILE Argonauts in search Of the golden
fleece. We are rich now-rich i'm expert
ence and health, for singular as it may
seem, the fact remains that | gained
twelve pounds in weight, although
was In the saddle an average OF eight
hours per day for nearly month. AS
for gold, we did not win any except
golden opinions from the rancheros or
farmers with whom we stopped as chance
offered. The farmers of Texas are an
original set, and their manner of
farming may be said to be Unique: for in
stance, during our trip II was common
| occurrence to meet one of lhcm at ten or
| eleven O'Clock in the morning as we plod.
| ded along. and he Invariably asked MS
| whether We had seen a horse with hor-
ness marks on him, and heart or the
mystic figures ~ up branded on his
shoulder. Now that farmer had used that
horse In blowing his corn during the
previous day, and at night turned him
out to sklrmish for his supper, and was
spending the better part Of the next day
in hunting him, in order to resume oper
ations. As for blowing, such a
thing as two-horse plow is
never seen, aud a subsoll pillow would be
as great amyetery to them as Il reaper or