46 THE BRIDLE BITS. 



in. The gate had a trap latcli and to it was fastened a 

 trap cord one hundred yards long and reaching to the 

 bivouac, and being sunk in the ground coukl not be dis- 

 covered, but could be drawn by the dog. 



All the Saturday night and early morning before the 

 day named for the capture, our watch horse gave the 

 usual and unmistakable signs of the j^roximity of the wild 

 horses. These signs are peculiar to the tame horse when 

 picketed out in a strange place. He listens, looks and 

 watches in the direction of the existence or approach of 

 other horses. On such occasions he is a better w^atch 

 than the dog ; for, while the dog is a sure and better 

 watch and guard to give notice of local intrusion or dan- 

 ger, the horse hears sounds and sees objects miles away. 

 *' He smelleth the battle afar off." 



He listens, looks in the direction of the sounds, and 

 while he cannot smell or see, owing to contrary winds 

 and distances, he can hear and feel the tread of horses in 

 the ground beneath his feet. His ears point in the direc- 

 tion of the sounds, and on the approach of wild horses 

 he becomes unusually restive and demonstrative, walking 

 and turning round the more as the band approaches. By 

 these and other unmistakable signs we knew that the 

 band was not many miles away, and that the time had 

 come to use such means as were necessary to draw the 

 horses towards the place designed and prepared for their 

 capture. Our assistant in the enterprise was rather 

 sceptical respecting the success of our two weeks' hard 

 work and pains, and we were repeatedly reminded that 

 ^^Binnix will be here on Sunday for his mule." 



It is well known to frontiersmen that wolves can be 

 attracted by putting asafoetida in a rag and tying it to 

 the bit of the bn'dle so that the heat and saliva from tiie 

 horse's mouth will keep it moist and thus cause it to 

 emit an odor that attracts wolves from a great distance. 

 There is another odor equally effective with horses. 



