WETTSTEIN. 71 



informed by that officer that I must be careful 

 how I accepted many such animals from the con- 

 tractor, though a few for the smaller men might 

 answer. Asboth, Fremont's chief of staff, with 

 a scornful rolling up of his cataract of a mus- 

 tache, and a shrug of his broad, thin shoulders, 

 said, " Whyfor you buy such horses ? What your 

 bugler ride, it is not a horse, it is a cat." His 

 remark was not intended as a question, and it 

 ended the conversation. Months after that, he 

 eagerly begged for the nine-lived Klitschka for 

 one of his orderlies; being refused him, she re» 

 mained good to the end. She was an animal that 

 defied every rule by which casual observers test 

 the merit of a horse ; but analytically considered 

 she was nearly perfect. Better legs, a better 

 body, and a better head, it is rare to see, than 

 she had. But she lacked the arched neck and 

 the proud step that she needed all the more 

 because of her small size. By no means showy 

 in figure or in action, it took a second look to 

 see her perfect fitness for her work. Her color 

 was iron-gray, and no iron could be tougher than 



