CHARLES L. YOUNGBLOOD. 5 I 



o-rouiid. Notwithstanding his size and ap- 

 pearance, there is no discount on the pony ; 

 he makes up in grit and endurance what he 

 lacks in size, and will carry a rider or a heavy 

 pack farther in a day than an ordinary horse. 

 The Indian's saddle is a mechanical curiosity. 

 It is made with two forked sticks, one behind 

 and one before, held apart by two pieces of 

 board, one on either side, and have straps of 

 buckskin running lengthwise. The boards 

 which hold the forked sticks apart are on the 

 bottom, and rest on the horse's back, while the 

 buckskin straps are on top, and form a soft 

 seat for the rider. Though this saddle is easy 

 on the rider, it is frequently severe on the pony, 

 the boards frequently being left naked, and I 

 have seen ponies so lacerated by them that 

 the back-bone in places was left perfectly 

 bare. But an Indian has no mercy for his 

 horse any more than he has for his squaw, and 

 so long as he can ride along easily he cares 

 not w^hether his pony is suffering, and will 

 even beat him for flinching and ^'giving down" 

 under one of these barbarous saddles. They 



