234 MULE-HUNTING EXPEDITION. 
I have seen the most wild and vicious horses ren- 
dered gentle and docile in a minute, by simply 
laying the lasso on the neck behind the ears. 
The breaking-in is a very simple affair: while 
the animal is down the eyes are bandaged, and a 
powerful Spanish bit placed in the mouth. This 
accomplished, he is allowed to get up, and the 
saddle is firmly ‘ synched.’ The saddles commonly 
used in California differs very little from those used 
in Mexico. The stirrups are cut out from a block 
of wood, allowing only the point of the toe to 
be inserted; they are set far back, and oblige the 
rider to stand rather than sit in the saddle. One 
girth only is used, styled a ‘synch,’ made of 
horsehair, and extremly wide; no buckles or 
stitching is used, but all is fastened with strips 
of raw hide. Everything beg complete, the 
rider fixes himself firmly in the saddle, and lean- 
ing forward jerks off the blind; it is now an 
open question who is to have the best of it. If 
the man succeeds in sitting on the mustang until 
he can spur him into a gallop, his wildness is 
soon taken out of him, and one or two more 
lessons complete the breaking. 
Joe by this time had made his appearance with 
the mustangs. Mounting, away we went at a 
raking gallop! 
