712 THE MUSTANG, 
Not only do the Tartars ride their Horses, but they drink the milk and eat the flesh, 
so that a Horse-hunt is often conducted merely as a food-procuring expedition. From the 
milk the Tartars manufacture a peculiar sub-acid liquid, which they term “ koumiss,” and 
is made by permitting it to become sour, and then stirring the curd and milk violently 
with a large stick until it is forced into a homogeneous mass. From the same substance 
the Tartars make a fermented liquid. These Horses are very strong and hardy, and the 
breed is preserved in good condition by the custom which prevails among the Tartars of 
killing and eating the defective or weak foals, and preserving the strong and healthy for 
use. Being brought up with the family, the Tartar Horse is very gentle and familiar with 
its owners. When they are only a few months of age they are ridden by the children, 
but never backed by a man until they are five or six years old. They are then, however, 
severely treated, being forced to travel for several consecutive days, and to endure great 
privations of hunger and thirst. 
ANOTHER well-known example of the Wild Horse is the Mustane of the American 
prairies. 
This animal is congregated into vast herds, which are always under the guardianship 
of a single leader, who is able, in some wonderful manner, to convey his orders to all his 
subjects simultaneously. Although surrounded by various enemies, such as the puma, 
the wolf, and the jaguar, they care little for these ravenous and powerful carnivora, 
trusting in their united strength to save them from harm. There is no animal that will 
dare to face a troop of Wild Horses, which often entice the domesticated animals into their 
ranks, and carry them exultingly into the free plains. 
The Mustang is always a strong and a useful animal, and is much sought after as a 
saddle-horse. To capture these wild creatures is a very difficult matter, and is generally 
managed by the help of the lasso, although the rifle is sometimes called into requisition 
in difficult cases. This latter plan, technically called “creasing,” is never employed but 
by very accurate marksmen, as the difference of half an inch in the line of fire is 
sufficient either to miss the animal or to kill it on the spot. In “creasing” a Horse, the 
hunter aims so as to graze the skull just behind the ear, the sudden blow stunning the 
Horse for a few seconds, during which time the hunter pounces on the bewildered animal, 
and secures it before it has fairly recovered its senses. 
The lasso is, however, generally employed for this purpose, and as it can be thrown 
with precision to a distance of thirty feet, is a terrible weapon in practised hands. This 
formidable instrument is very simple in construction, being a carefully plaited rope of 
green hide, one end being furnished with an iron ring, and the other extremity fastened 
to the saddle. When not in use, it is hung in coils upon a projection of the saddle, but 
when the hunter has his game in view, he throws the coils over his left arm, makes a 
slip-noose by means of the iron ring, and then grasping the ring and cord firmly in his 
left hand, so as to prevent the noose from slipping, he grasps the centre of the noose and 
the main cord in his right hand, and is then ready for action. Swinging the large noose, 
four or five feet in diameter, around his head, the weight of the iron ring giving a powerful 
impetus, the hunter is able to hurl the leathern cord to its full length, and with deadly 
aim. As the noose flies circling through the air it gradually contracts in diameter, so 
that the hunter is forced to accommodate the size of the loop to the distance of the 
object aimed at. 
When fully caught, the Mustang is savage and furious at his discomfiture, and would 
speedily escape from his bondage but for the clever and simple method of subjection 
which is employed. The lasso being flung round its neck, the Horse nearly strangles itself 
by its plungings and struggles, and is soon reduced to stand still and gasp for breath. The 
hunter now dismounts from his Horse, and keeping his hands on the lasso, advances 
cautiously towards the captured animal, hauling the rope tight whenever it tries to escape. 
In ashort time he works his way towards the creature’s head, and seizing its muzzle in his 
hand, blows strongly into its nostrils. Overcome by some strange influence, the Horse 
immediately becomes quiet, and in a few hours can scarcely be distinguished from a 
regularly trained animal. 
