EPISODES 219 



the western country, even from St. Louis on the Mis- 

 souri, although the travellers not unfrequently, on their 

 return, sold their horses at Baltimore, Philadelphia, or 

 Pittsburg, at which latter place they took boat. My wife 

 rode on a single horse from Henderson to Philadelphia, 

 travelling at the same rate. The country was then com- 

 paratively new; few coaches travelled, and in fact the 

 roads were scarcely fit for carriages. About twenty days 

 were considered necessary for performing a journey on 

 horseback from Louisville to Philadelphia, whereas now 

 the same distance may be travelled in six or seven days,i 

 or even sometimes less, this depending on the height of 

 the water in the Ohio. 



It may not be uninteresting to you to know the treat- 

 ment which the horse received on those journeys. I rose 

 every morning before day, cleaned my horse, pressed his 

 back with my hand, to see if it had been galled, and 

 placed on it a small blanket folded double, in such a man- 

 ner that when the saddle was put on, half of the cloth was 

 turned over it. The surcingle, beneath which the saddle- 

 bags were placed, confined the blanket to the seat, and 

 to the pad behind was fastened the great coat or cloak, 

 tightly rolled up. The bridle had a snaffle bit ; a breast- 

 plate was buckled in front to each skirt, to render the seat 

 secure during an ascent; but my horse required no crup- 

 per, his shoulders being high and well-formed. On start- 

 ing he trotted off at the rate of four miles an hour, which 

 he continued. I usually travelled from fifteen to twenty 

 miles before breakfast, and after the first hour allowed 

 my horse to drink as much as he would. When I halted 

 for breakfast, I generally stopped two hours, cleaned the 

 horse, and gave him as much corn-blades as he could eat. 

 I then rode on until within half an hour of sunset, when 

 I watered him well, poured a bucket of cold water over 

 his back, had his skin well rubbed, his feet examined and 

 1 This was written in 1S35. 



