128 THE horse's rescue. 



her. Fear was the cause of Mike's changing hands. 

 He might get stiff and lame again; he might ship- 

 wreck some one again. And iofnorance was the cause 

 of all. 



There is not much use trying to teach a man when 

 he thinks he has all of the knowledge. Such a man's 

 atttention can be attracted with children's toys quite 

 easv. I have seen children wearin2^ men's clothes. It 

 is no indication of wisdom. A man's grandfather may 

 give him t])iee thousand dollai^s, but that does not add 

 to his knowledge. It does have an eSect sometimes 

 in this wa}^ ; it will cause a man of small intellect to 

 wear a pair of boots three inches longer than his feet, 

 soles about one inch thick, causing him to toe out and 

 interfere, knocking his heels at every step ; his head 

 thrown back of a perpendicular line^ with a segar in 

 his mouth lacking only a few degrees of sticking 

 straight up; hands in both pockets nearly to elbow. 

 He can bend a little every five minutes to look at a 

 fob chain, but he could not bend enougli to see the 

 lever on the toe of a horse's foot. It might strain him 

 across the loin^ being thrown back off his base in a 

 small degree, on the same principle that his horses 

 are. 



I do not want you to think a man's foot is any com- 

 parison to a horse's foot. I speak of this to show the 

 difference. Ignorant people are always making these 

 comparisons. Mankind nearly always take their boots 

 or shoes off nights, and sometimes days if they hurt 

 their feet. I have worn mine a f^ood man v nic^hts, and 

 clothes too, while working on these suffering hoi^ses' 

 feet. The horse is obliged to wear his shoes dav and 



