THE FIGHT , 115 



back, and in nine cases out of ten down goes the pony ; 

 but not always. Some obstinate ones will sink on the 

 other knee, and with the nose on the ground still have 

 four points to stand on. But by-and-by down he must ; 

 the snubbing-rope is made fast, the saddle is fitted on tant 

 Men que mal, the cincha worked under, and the whole 

 made fast. Sometimes it is difficult to get a bit in the 

 pony's mouth, and they put on a hackamore, which is a 

 halter-like rope arrangement, a sort of Earey hitch, with 

 an extra twist around his jaw, instead. Then the second 

 rope is loosed and the pony is let up, still held by the 

 snubbing- post rope. This is gradually loosened so as to 

 let the pony have a little fun all to himself, which he is 

 sure to do, pitching round in a pretty lively fashion for 

 twenty minutes or half an hour to rid himself of the sad- 

 dle, despite the choking of the rope. This takes the feather 

 edge off him, and he will end up his play covered with 

 foam and quite a bit tired. Some extra vigorous busters 

 ride the pony right off, but the more judicious prefer 

 to let him tire himself out first. When this is done the 

 pony is gradually worked out on the prairie between 

 two ropes, and may perhaps have to be thrown again 

 to cinch him up and get ready for the ride. To keep 

 him down while the rider gets ready, the other man 

 sits on his head, and the rider puts aside his six-shooter 

 and hat and coat and everything superfluous, but keeps 

 his spurs and quirt. Then he seizes the saddle and 

 gets his left foot in the stirrup, the pony is gradually 

 unwound, and the instant he reaches his feet the buster 

 is in the saddle. It is incredible how active these men 

 can be. 



ISTow the real fun begins, and the rider and pony go at 

 it in earnest. The other man sometimes goes along on 

 another horse, with a rope to catch the pony if things 



