EPISODES 221 



an utter stranger to him, and as I approached and praised 

 his horse, he not very courteously observed that he wished 

 I had as good a one. Finding that he was going to Bed- 

 ford to spend the night, I asked him at what hour he 

 would get there. "Just soon enough to have some trout 

 ready for our supper, provided you will join when you 

 get there." I almost imagined that Barro understood our 

 conversation; he pricked up his ears, and lengthened his 

 pace, on which Mr. Nolte caracoled his horse, and then 

 put him to a quick trot; but all in vain, for I reached the 

 hotel nearly a quarter of an hour before him, ordered the 

 trout, saw to the putting away of my good horse, and 

 stood at the door ready to welcome my companion. From 

 that day Vincent Nolte has been a friend to me. It was 

 from him I received letters of introduction to the Rath- 

 bones of Liverpool, for which I shall ever be grateful to 

 him. We rode together as far as Shippingport, where 

 my worthy friend Nicholas Berthoud, Esq., resided, and 

 on parting with me he repeated what he had many times 

 said before, that he never had seen so serviceable a creat- 

 ure as Barro. 



If I recollect rightly, I gave a short verbal account of 

 this journey, and of the good qualities of my horse, to my 

 learned friend J. Skinner, Esq., of Baltimore, who, I be- 

 lieve, has noticed them in his excellent Sporting Maga- 

 zine. We agreed that the importation of horses of this 

 kind from the Western prairies might improve our breeds 

 generally; and judging from those which I have seen, I 

 am inclined to think that some of them may prove fit for 

 the course. A few days after reaching Henderson, I 

 parted with Barro, not without regret, for a hundred and 

 twenty dollars. 



