tantaneously, and dead to all appearance; but, in reality, he is
only stunned, and if left for a few minutes will rise and gallop away
nearly as well as ever. When hunters crease a horse successfully they
put a rope, or halter, round his under jaw and hobbles round his feet,
so that when he rises he is secured, and, after considerable trouble,
reduced to obedience.

The mustangs which roam in wild freedom on the prairies of the far
west are descended from the noble Spanish steeds that were brought
over by the wealthy cavaliers who accompanied Fernando Cortez, the
conqueror of Mexico, in his expedition to the New World in 1518. These
bold, and, we may add, lawless cavaliers were mounted on the finest
horses that could be procured from Barbary and the deserts of the Old
World. The poor Indians of the New World were struck with amazement
and terror at these awful beings, for, never having seen horses
before, they believed that horse and rider were one animal. During the
wars that followed many of the Spaniards were killed, and their
steeds bounded into the wilds of the new country, to enjoy a life of
unrestrained freedom. These were the forefathers of the present race
of magnificent creatures which are found in immense droves all over
the western wilderness, from the Gulf of Mexico to the confines of the
snowy regions of the far north.

At first the Indians beheld these horses with awe and terror, but
gradually they became accustomed to them, and finally succeeded in
capturing great numbers and reducing them to a state of servitude.
Not, however, to the service of the cultivated field, but to the
service of the chase and war. The savages soon acquired the method of
capturing wild horses by means of the lasso--as the noose at that end
of a long line of raw hide is termed--which they adroitly threw over
the heads of the animals and secured them, having previously run them
down. At the present day many of the savage tribes of the west almost
live upon horseback, and without these useful creatures they could
scarcely subsist, as they are almost indispensable in the chase of the
buffalo.

Mustangs are regularly taken by the Indians to the settlements of the
white men for trade, but very poor specimens are these of the breed
of wild horses. This arises from two causes. First, the Indian cannot
overtake the finest of a drove of wild mustangs, because his own steed
is inferior to the best among the wild ones, besides being weig