78 THE WILD HORSE, OR MUSTANG. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE WILD HORSE, OR MUSTANG. 



EQUUS — MEXICAN CABAIXO. 



rpHE wild horse, or mustang, roams those * rolling 

 -*- prairies ' west of the Mississippi, which stretch 

 from thence to the foot of the Rocky jMountains, and 

 longitudinally from the frozen Arctic seas to the 

 warm waters of the Mexican Grulf. 



These prairies he inhabits in common with the bison, 

 the elk, or wapite, the antelope, and the common and 

 black-tailed deer, and here he is often seen in herds of 

 more than a thousand head. 



The rapidity with which the wild horses have in- 

 creased in the New World is very surprising, when 

 it is remembered that little more than three hundred 

 years ago no horse existed on the American continent. 

 Western Texas, from its vast plains of luxuriant grass 

 and its warm climate, seems to be the favourite home 

 of the wild horse ; and here he is found in the greatest 

 perfection, proving the truth of the Arab's proverb, that 

 ' the nearer the sun, the nobler the steed.' These 

 mustangs, who graze under the glowing sun of Texas, 



