THE horse's RESCrE. 805 



looking over the sale stables. There were lots of 

 horses changing hands in this place, some very good 

 horses. The most of them were in some degree stiff. 

 They poured in from nearly all the states and from 

 Canada, but I saw that very few sound ones had shoes 

 on. I saw a very fine looking pair. They were some 

 along in years. I saw their feet were badly con- 

 tracted. I took up their feet to look at them. Their 

 frogs were all gone ; their feet had some trash in them 

 that looked like verdigris. Horses in this country, if 

 they iron their feet, get stiff very quick for this reason : 

 they do not have much rain ; the feet contract very 

 fast. I selected me a farm on the winding trail called 

 the old Santa Fe route. This was a great thorough- 

 fare. Horses and mules were constantly passing in 

 droves. 



I had a good chance to look them over as they 

 passed, all more or less stiff or ofi their base. I built 

 what is called a house. While I was at that there 

 were almost daily horses driven up around my shanty. 

 Some days several teams, all stiff ; some so sore they 

 would be covered with sweat; some lame. They 

 were all horses brought in from other states. They 

 all wanted to sell me a team. I was not ready to buy 

 yet. It was rather laughable to hear them brag of 

 their poor cripples, and warrant them sound ; and some 

 old horses had got to be quite young again. I did not 

 stay long on the plains. I found- it wanted a tougher 

 man than I was then to care for a herd of cattle; and 

 that was not all. There was more wind than I wanted 

 to sail in at the time. I sailed east this time. Brother 

 Oliver was moving to Auburn city to try and see 



