134 WHIP AND SPUR. 



riders to the very end, and coming in with a 

 whinny of content to the familiar stables and 

 back-yards of the little town. 



Most other officers whose service had been as 

 constant as mine had had extra horses to ride 

 for relief; but I had never yet found march too 

 long for Max's wiry sinews, and trusted to him 

 alone. He had now been ridden almost abso- 

 lutely without intermission, and much of the 

 time at a gallop or a rapid trot, for fifty-four 

 hours. I had had for my own support the 

 excitement and then the anxious despair of re- 

 sponsible service, and Ike had filled his haver- 

 sack with hard-bread from John Ellard's aban- 

 doned wagon; an occasional nibble at this, and 

 unlimited pipes of tobacco, had fortified me in 

 my endurance of the work; but Max had had 

 in the whole time not the half of what he would 

 have made light of for a single meal. I have 

 known and have written about brilliant feats 

 of other horses, but as I look over the whole 

 range of all the best animals I have seen, I 

 bow with respect to the wonderful courage, en- 



