14 FOUR-FOOTED AMERICANS 



" When the pale-faced settlers came to America they 

 brought the useful animals from their old homes Avith 

 them : pigs, sheep, horses, goats, cows, dogs, cats, 

 etc., — so thougli these have lived here as the people 

 have, long enough to be citizens, they are not native 

 or indigenous Americans any more than we ourselves. 

 That distinction belongs to the Indian, Peccary, Buffalo, 

 Musk Ox, Mountain Goat, Bighorn, Wolf, and Wild- 

 cat, who are the Avild cousins of House People and 

 their farm fourfoots. The horse alone has no living 

 wild cousin here, though there were horses in America 

 ages ago." 



" Then those horses that the Indians rode at the 

 show, who hopped around so, Averen't really wild at 

 all," said Nat, with a look of great disappointment. 

 " They seemed really, truly wild, and hoiv the Indians 

 stuck on and dodged and fired tlieir guns ! " 



" They are wild in the sense that tliey were born on 

 the open prairie and lived in vast herds, but they are 

 the great-grandchildren of tame horses. In the south- 

 west, as Avell as in South America, vast lierds of these 

 horses, descended from those brought in by the Span- 

 ish, roamed at large. From time to time the Indians 

 dashed into the troops and lassoed those that they de- 

 sired and rode them as we saw the Indians do this 

 afternoon, but they are not true four-footed Americans 

 like that little Chipmunk over there, who is stealing a 

 few peanuts that Corney overlooked, or like the sly, 

 fat Woodchucks that we are trying to trap in the 

 orchard." 



" Please, Uncle Ro}', can Dodo and I put halters on 

 Tom and Jerry and see if we can ride them round the 



