Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-07-11
hundreds of horses run away in terror. fol-

hundreds of horses run away in terror, fol-
| lowed by the crowds of mounted men. In
places the ground is rough and full of
wolf, fox and badger holes. Many were
| the poor fellows that got 4 fall, while 9TH
| ers, in heading the band off from the tim
| her, found themselves landed high and dry
in the scraggy oaks. The writer was
| mounted on a sure-footed, tractable half
| bred Arab, and escaped all accidents.
MAGIC CITY.
Arriving at the corral we found an army
| of people camped around it. There was an
| improvised city of bamboo houses, covered
with mats. There were eating houses,
| lodging houses theaters. shops for the sale
| of every conceivable article troupes of aero
| bats, iugglers f0rtune-tellers, dancing and
| singing girls, and crowds of country people
| in the gayest dresses. On the corral en-
| bankments were seats for the officials I'M
| der the wide-spreading branches OF gigantic
| oaks that had been planted there hundreds
Of years before.
After refreshments which consisted of
| wine made from rice, fish, eggs, chicken
and vegetables, the catching, Classifying
and branding commenced. The horses are
all caught with q iasso, which is not
thrown, as with US, but is attached TO the
end OF long bamboo pole. Il is HANDLED
very skilllliliy. Many were the tumbies
which the horse. catchers got in their strug-
giles with the thoroughly frightened ami
mails. These were greeted with shouts of
laughter from the crowds on the embank-
menf. All the mares are branded and
| turned back into the pasture. The best
| horses are selected for the cavalry, and the
others are sold at auction. on long time to
the farmers, who come from all parts of the
| country to buy
| The forenoons were devoted to driving
| in, catching and branding, and the after
| moons to horse-racing.
SCENES OF. HORSE RACING.
These latter are kept up till night and
are full of excitement The tracks are
| straight ones. and the distances are from
| four hundred yards to a mile and half
Most races are catch-Weights, but if not
! they are scale-weights, regardless Of age.
A fourteen hand horse will carry about 100
| pounds. Each corral division will back
| its favorite, and the betting is sometimes
| very spirited. The riding at that time was
not of high order, being more like that
among our wild Indian tribes, as seen some
years since by the writer
In the evening the theaters, the other
| shows, and the eating houses were merry
| places. 1t was long into the small hours
: before there was any sleep. And so the
days of these annual horse gatherings
went on for month or more
The crowds at one division being succeeded
by others at the other divisions, everybody
was happy, free from care, and good
| natured, as these simple people always
| seem to be. The great embankments were
carefully examined by us, and it is simply
marvellous, the amount of labor that their
construction cost. 1t is not possible
that there is another horse pasture
in the world of such extent, involving such
an outlay of time and money, and which
contained SO many horses as this one did
at one time.
CALIFORNIA BLOOD INTRODUCED.
Some years after the time of which |
write, second visit was made to this place,
and then Ralston, the great son of Norfolk,
aud Hennie Farrow, Bradley, and
Cheatham, with other horses from CalifOr-
MIA, were to be seen. No doubt by this
time the blood of those flyers has made a
vast improvement il the stock as it was
seen then.
In the long years that have inter
vened 1t has been impossible to forget
those gigantic embellishments and coTTals.
the result OF so many years of patient
labor, the thousands Of fleeing half-wild
Tartar horses, the long line of pursuing
hOTsemen, the thousands of simple country
people, with their great bamboo city and
their quiet, simple sports.