get to windward of them, and then to
approach as near them as possible. If he is an experienced hand, the
horses seldom or never escape him, and as soon as he finds himself within
twenty or thirty feet of them, he throws the noose with unerring aim over
the neck of the one he has selected for his prey. This done, he turns his
own horse sharp round, gives him the spur, and gallops away, dragging his
unfortunate captive after him, breathless, and with his windpipe so
compressed by the noose, that he is unable to make the smallest resistance,
and after a few yards, falls headlong to the ground, and lies motionless
and almost lifeless, sometimes indeed badly hurt and disabled. From this
day forward, the horse which has been thus caught never forgets the lasso;
the mere sight of it makes him tremble in every limb; and, however wild he
may be, it is sufficient to show it to him, or lay it on his neck, to
render him as tame and docile as a lamb.

The horse taken, next comes the breaking in, which is effected in a no
less brutal manner than his capture. The eyes of the unfortunate animal
are covered with a bandage, and a tremendous bit, a pound weight or more,
clapped into his mouth; the horsebreaker puts on a pair of spurs six
inches long, and with rowels like penknives, and jumping on his back,
urges him to his very utmost speed. If the horse tries to rear, or turns
restive, one pull, and not a very hard one either, at the instrument of
torture they call a bit, is sufficient to tear his mouth to shreds, and
cause the blood to flow in streams. I have myself seen horses' teeth
broken with these barbarous bits. The poor beast whinnies and groans with
pain and terror; but there is no help for him, the spurs are at his flanks,
and on he goes full gallop, till he is ready to sink from fatigue and
exhaustion. He then has a quarter of an hour's rest allowed him; but
scarcely does he begin to recover breath, which has been ridden and
spurred out of his body, when he is again mounted, and has to go through
the same violent process as before. If he breaks down during this rude
trial, he is either knocked on the head or driven away as useless; but if
he holds out, he is marked with a hot iron, and left to graze on the
prairie. Henceforward, there is no particular difficulty in catching him
when wanted; the wildness of the horse is completely punished out of him,
but for it is substituted the most confirmed vice and malice that it is
possi