CHAPTER XIV. 



THE MEXICAN BIT AND CURB. 



What do you think of the Mexican bit, Count? 



"Ah, madam, it is a fearful piece of machinery. 

 Just as the custom of docking descends to us from 

 barbarous times, so is the Mexican bit a remnant of 

 the Spanish Inquisition. It cuts without mercy or 

 relief, every part of the animal's jaws. To place 

 it in any horse's mouth, whether tender or hard, and 

 then to pull against it with the reins, is to produce 

 a torture rivalling the thumb-screw or the rack. 

 While these may not kill or break any bones, as we 

 alb know, they have too often made many a sufferer 

 forswear his religion, or swear to secrets he never 

 heard of." 



Is this bit frequently used? 



" Not nearly so much now as formerly. Possibly 

 among the ranchers in the far West, or among the 

 Mexicans, whose ponies are hard to break, and 

 whose hearts are quite indifferent to any cruelties 

 inflicted on animals." 



Have you any knowledge or experience of these 

 bits personally? 



" Some years ago I knew a man in Philadelphia, 

 from whose livery-stable I occasionally hired horses. 

 One day I missed from his stall a beautiful young 

 6 8i 



