56 BUFFALO LAND. 



To say there that a man was still able to comb his 

 own scalp-lock denoted an extraordinary state of 

 physical perfection. Expressions of praise for hu- 

 mans are often applied to horses, and so, perhaps, 

 the one in question. " I have heard," quoth our 

 alderman, in support of this assertion, "Fitz say of 

 a belle, at a charity ball, what a ' bootiful cweature ; ' 

 and I have heard him, the day after, in his stable, 

 say the same thing of his horse." 



That horse-auction was a sight worth seeing. The 

 crowd collected most thickly on the corner of Kansas 

 Avenue and Sixth Street, and before it the cob came 

 to a stand. And it was a stand as stiff and pain- 

 ful as that of a retired veteran put on dress parade. 

 The limbs would have had full duty to perform in 

 supporting the carcass alone, which had evidently 

 been in light marching order for years past. The 

 additional weight of the auctioneer must certainly 

 have proved -altogether too much, had not the 

 horse heard, for the first time, of the wonderful 

 qualities 'with which he was still endowed. 



Seeing a whole corner, with gaping mouths, swallow- 

 ing the statement that he was only six years old, 

 reduced by hard work, and could, after three months 

 grass, pull a ton of coal, he would have been a thank- 

 less horse indeed, which could not strain a point, or 

 all his points, for such a rider. 



And so, when the spurs suddenly rattled against 

 his ribs, the old skin full of bones gave a snort of 

 pain, which the auctioneer called "Sperit, gentlemen ! " 

 and away up the broad avenue he rolled, at a speed 

 which threatened to break the rider's neck, and his 



