The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-05-19
MOUNTING A MUSTANG,
Ths Appearance Of a Stranger in Texas
Brave Girl Riders.

Brave Girl Riders.
About the first duty that involves upon
the freshly arrived stranger in Texas, and
particularly in south and west Texas, is the
purchase Of a horse Upon arriving In the
old Mexican town Of La Bahia, on the river,
San Antonio, opposite the American vii
lage of Golind. ! proceeded to buy an ami.
NAL.
Senior Lozano, a wealthy horse and cattle
owner, q resident sometimes Of La Bahia,
sometimes Of Tamaulipas, Mexico, was in.
terviewed at his little adobe house on the
outskirts Of the village. Senior Lozano
sent one OF his COW boys-booted, spurred,
and wearing the broad brimmed sombrero-
to bring out of his herd a horse that he re
presented to be a splendid animal. 1t was
done. At the very first glance It was seen
that the horse-a beautiful gelding, dun,
high mettled, graceful, rolling, fat and
sleek-was wild, and had probably been
ridden but seldom, II ever before.
How much do you ask for the ami.
mal2p
Sixteen dollars IN gold,n answered Lo.
zano.
"a bargain, Senor.~
Can you ride him
"Oh, certainly never fear about that. "
Approach him, Senor," said the Mexi-
can in his own language.
1 did so, but the mustang-such as was
reared up on his hind legs, aud, with open
mouth and eyes that seemed to fash light
ming, made one spring Mt his new muster.
1 lodged and rushed back, the horse in the
mean time running to the length of the
thirty-foot stake rope that held him.
Finally Lozano and his young man sue
ceeded in saddling the mustang, the saddle
being fastened by two strong girths under
the loins. the bit was especially adapted
to wild horses. Lozano presented me with
q pair of ng-shanked Mexican spurs.
They were put on securely and / prepared
to mount Fortunately the scene was the
edge of a vast plain that stretches away
from the river San Antonio to the south
ward. The cow boy 81 81 ca6aHero,' y as he
might be termed, held the reins and Lo-
zano the left stirrup. The animal stood
perfectly still, Us if paralyzed with fear.
My foot touched the stirrup; a second
more and my right leg swung over the sad
die, and l was seated in it. Then ye gods,
b buckng, pitching, rearing, paving
and kicking! The first movement of the
mustang seemed to be a kind of horizontal
dash or slide, followed by q full stop. The
second movement was a kicking up in
which his heels seemed ut an angle Of As
degrees. Then he reared md seemed de-
termined to fall OF his back, or rather on
his rider. hung to the horn of the saddle
like a sailor to the last spar in a cyclone.
Then there was n series of perpendicular
pitching" or : bucking," as it is called
among Texans, in which the mustang seem
ed to jump up Jour feet and come down
perpendicularly, giving his rider o most un-
merciful jolt. The " bucking" continued
a quarter of an hour, and then the animal
broke into q mac dash. l did nothing but
rein his head in the direction Of the open
plain and let him ont. The race against
time occupied n three or four-mile heat,
during which the mustang must have
beaten the Texas race horses that every
spring meeting spread themselves over the
State Fair course at Houston. The horse
stopped, painting and foaming, md looked
up at me in a way that said, / give up"
These mustangs or Spanish horses are
sprung from ancient Andaiusian stock, and
were introduced after the coming of Cortez
and the Spanish conquest. In winter they
are covered with long coarse hair, which
aids them in standing the severe cold of the
northern. The thick coat is shed in April
and May. and the animal then becomes
sleek. The mustangs have two advantages
over American horses. They are SO hardy
that they can live the year round without q
grain OF corn, fodder, hay, or oats. All
they want is plenty of prairie grass, upon
which theyNmust, however, be allowed to
Craze two or three hours u day in addition
to night grazing. Again, your mustang is
acclimated and stands the climate better
than imported stock. One of the best mus
tangs can o be bought on the river San
Antonio for $40.
They are wild, but the people of the
Southern p~rairies are used to them, and
not unfrequently the girls of south Texas,
bravo and adventuresome as their fathers
and brothers, mount and ride these mus.
tangs with perfect grace and unconcern.
When n Of them happens to pitch with
one of these pretty riders, she does not
faint or scream, but grasps the reins tighter
and applies the riding whip until the ami.
mnl is forced into a dash across the prairie.