The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-10-09

mixture of the accent of Bow Bells with
the drawl of the Far West At home he
had been so he said, professional runner:
| but it never seemed to strike him or his
| companions as lncongruous that a trick of
! fortune should have turned him into a
| prairie Francatelli.
1t was an animated, picturesque scene
that met our eyes. A hundred head of half
Wild horses were being driven into the
| swift-running but shallow river, the lead
ers stringing out in all directions, the tail
of the herd rushing with headlong speed
down the steep, sandy incline of narrow
gorge urged and directed by the flying
horsemen, who had to overcome their
natural fear of being begged down in the
| treacherous, shifting quicksandS of the
river-bed. Now they are all safely across.
Their coats still wet, are glistening in the
sun; their spare forms, wiry legs, and
small, well-shaped feet give promise of
activity and endurance; the long, flowing
names and tails, shaggy forelocks and
| bright eyes impart to them a wild, free air,
| but the straight shoulders and low withers
| foreshadow an awkward, wearying gait
the narrow chests and small quarters re-
| veal want of power and the receding
foreheads and narrow nostrils denote an
| uncertain temper. But we must not be too
critical They are young and fresh and
full of fun and frolic In few months
| time i'll usage and hard work will have
reduced them to lean, broken-hearted crea-
lures without kick left in them.
How strangely marked they are! Pie
| balds, skowbalds and duns with striped
| backs predominant. H9re is one with a
| pure white head, neck and shoulders, the
rest of him coal-black; there is blue roam
| with large white patch on his side, and
yet another, a rich, dark chestnut, has a
| splendid mane and tail of much lighter
| color. Qnite a number of them are wall
| eyed, or 'glaSs-eyed,n as they are called
out West In height they average from
| fourteen to fifteen hands. Originally
sprung from the Spanish jennet, brought
| over to the continent of America by the
conquerors of Mexico, some of whose steeds
escaped, their descendants have ever sincs
wandered across the plains in large droves.
In their wild state they are called
| mustangs" but when raised on a ranch,
and after having been handled to certain
extent they are called "bronchos."
Neighing, snorting, squealing, paving
the ground impatiently, kicking and biting
| at one another with two h0rse-ruStlerS
| galloping around them, our bunch of
| bronchos is being held on soft, sandy
| piece of ground suitable for our purpose.
Hank and Dock had gathered up their
| lassos ready for a throw. A chestnut is
caught and is being dragged out. No sooner
does the moose tighten around his throat
| than Dock runs up and, whipping the loop
| of his lasso on the ground, soon entangles
the hind legs OF the struggling beast, and
| throws him down with a sudden side-jerk.
| Obeyipg a signal, l pin his neck to the
| ground, and throw his head up to prevent
his struggling, whilst Hank forces into his
mouth cruel Mexican spade-bit, with long,
sharp-edged port, slips the bride over his
ears, and blindfolds him. All this time his
| hind legs have been held by the rope; these
are now released he at once jumps up,
and stands with trembling limbs and
outstretched neck, ready to bite, strike, or
kick anybody who comes within his reach,
| but rooted to the spot SO long as he remains
blindfolded. In some cases their legs
| fairly give way under the influence of
| fear; they then roll over and lie grooming
on the ground With quiet, cat-like move
ments Hank crawls up with his saddle aud
| filings it across the quivering animal, who
at once bucks it off violently; this is re-
peated several times, until, taking advan-
Jags of few seconds hesitation, the front
cincha (girth) is fished across from the off
side with a stick and Immediately tight
ened up. The tightening of the back
| cincha, which comes near the tender flesh
of the stAe, is resented with squealing and
vigorous bucking, but no efforts will dis
place the heavy double-girth saddle, and
| Hank now coils up his lasso (the loop of
which has remained on the horses neck)
preparatory to mounting. Taking up the
reins and passing his left forefinger
through the ring of the bit, then placing
| his foot in the stirrup and grasping the
| norm OIL Il0 SdQulS WIFI his TlR0b. ne swings
| lightly on his victims back. Whisk off the
| blindfold and turn him loose The broncho
at once throws down his head, humps up
his back, and, actually bawling with rage
and fear, pitches high into the air and
comes down on stiffened legs, hard enough,
| as Curly puts it, Ito make the sparks fly
and your teeth rattle;" again and again
he pitches twisting first to one side, then
to the other, frantic in his efforts to rid
| himself of the demon on his back Each
| jump is answered by an oath, a vicious dig
of the spurs and singing cut from the
rawhide thong ''Stay with himln yell
the excited boys. Yes, stay with him if
you can, for every thing depends upon this
! first trial of strength between man and
| brute.
If he succeed in downing you" he will
have gained confidence in his own powers,
and may ever afterwards be ready to try
| conclusions with you; but when all his ex-
ertions are unavailing, when he discovers
| that the more he struggles the more punish
ment he receives and that he only succeeds
in exhausting himself then he will be
| cowed at his own impotence, and will have
| learned lesson which he will never forget,
| for horses have good memories. After
| three or four such lessons Hle chances are
| that he will be cured of pitching, will offer
| a sullen spiritlesS submission, and, ridden
with light hand and an easy seat, will
| soon become bridle-wise and quito handy.
| OCCdSlOHdliJ IOISe Ia SiIIUl duu
| "mean;" when such one finds that his
rider is not to be shaken off, he rears
straight over with him, or throws himself
| down sideways: in this case one has to be
very quick, or broken bones may result If
YOU clear him as he falls, jump to his head
to prevent his getting up, double your rope,
and thrash him all you know, until he
groans for mercy; he will then realize
that recumbent position is not always
one of repose, and will probably not
try that little maneuver again. Cruel
work, this, but prompt and efficacious. 1t
must be borne in mind that the task was
set before us of breaking over a hundred
head of horses in less than a mouth, in
time for the spring roundup, and it would
| be impossible to effect this by gradual and
| gentle means. Moreover, we had to deal
with animals in a semi-wid state, no longer
| colts, who looked upon man with fear and
| loathing, never having experienced any
| thing but i'll treatment at his hands.
At the end of the first weeks broncho-
| riding we were all more or less 'sti fened
| up,' as the result of our exertions, and
easy alp was called for day or two.
| Towards the end of May, outfits from all
directions converge towards this prc-ar-
ranged rendezvous for the general round
! up. Some. like ourselves, having lost
many horses, have been engaged in bron-
cho-ridng, camping for that purpose on
the rich pastures and sweet-water creeks
| of the broad river-bottom. With those in
our immediate neighborhood we inter-
| Oh a God Visits nd yUatnha6 aonh Otbar'l