110 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 



lost in the midst of the herd. These performances 

 were repeated several times without a single rider 

 suffering himself to be thrown. 



" But what was our amazement when we saw a boy 

 of ten years come forward to undertake the same 

 exploit! They selected for him a young white 

 stallion of great size, whose fiery bounds and desperate 

 efforts to break his bonds, indicated a most violent 

 temper. 



" I will not attempt to depict our intense emotions 

 during this new conflict. This child, who, like the 

 other riders, had only the horse's mane to cling to, 

 afforded an example of the power of reasoning over 

 instinct and brute force. For some minutes he main- 

 tained his difficult position with heroic intrepidity. 

 At last, to our great relief, a horseman rode up to 

 him, caught him up in his outstretched arm, and 

 threw him on the croup behind him." 



We will now lay before our readers the economy 

 of a Russian taboon, as described by Kohl, the German 

 traveller. A small number of stallions and mares, 

 placed under the care of a herdsman, are sent into 

 the Steppe as the nucleus of the herd. The foals are 

 kept, and the herd is allowed to go on increasing, until 

 the number of horses is thought to be about as large 

 as the estate can conveniently maintain. A taboon 



