Army Steeple-Chases, 163 



had been shot, and my equipments lost. I had 

 captured an old farm-horse without a saddle, and 

 had extemporized a rope bridle. The course lay 

 athwart some open fields, with a number of fences 

 still standing. My desire to do this work stood 

 in inverse ratio to my steed's ability to second me. 

 And no sooner had I ridden up and touched my 

 cap for orders, than the general had gauged the 

 poverty of my beast and rig, and speedily selected 

 a better mounted messenger. 



During the war, among the volunteer troops, 

 we used in some of the divisions to organize 

 steeple-chases during a long term of inactive op- 

 erations, and good ones we frequently had ; the 

 old style steeple-chase over an unknown course 

 being the fashion, and the steeple generally a 

 prominent tree, at a distance of a couple of miles. 

 Often the course was round a less distant tree 

 and back again. Not a few good riders and 

 horses were forthcoming to enter for such an 

 event, and I have rarely seen better riding than 

 there. An unknown course over Virginia fences, 

 and through patches of Virginia second growth, 

 especially after heavy rains, when mere gutters 

 became rivers for a number of hours, and the 

 ground was much like hasty-pudding, could be 

 a test to try the best of horses and horsemen. 



These are but isolated examples, instanced only 

 as showing that every species of hard saddle work 



