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blames him for the delay, and for a time gives him 

 only half-feed to " teach him not to fool along." 

 Generally the return horse must also be a good 

 snow horse, able to flounder and willing to make 

 his way through deep drifts. He may be thirsty 

 on a warm day, but he must go all the way home 

 before having a drink. Often, in winter, he is 

 turned loose at night on some bleak height to 

 go back over a lonely trail, a task which he does 

 not like. Horses, like most animals and like man, 

 are not at ease when alone. A fallen tree across 

 the trail or deepened snow sometimes makes 

 the horse's return journey a hard one. On rare 

 occasions, cinch or bridle gets caught on a snag 

 or around his legs, and cripples him or entan- 

 gles him so that he falls a victim to the unpity- 

 ing mountain lion or some other carnivorous 

 animal. 



I have never met a return horse without stop- 

 ping to watch it as far as it could be seen. They 

 always go along with such unconscious confi- 

 dence and quiet alertness that they are a delight 

 to behold. Many good days I have had in their 

 company, and on more than one occasion their 



ii8 



