CHAPTER XXV. 



OMAHA TO CHEYENNE. 



S winter was approaching and the days 

 were now becoming considerably shorter, 

 it was incumbent upon me to hasten my 

 departure from Omaha, if I would 

 reach ray destination as contemplated at 

 the outset. Having learned from fron- 

 tiersmen that Eastern horses are not 

 available in the Alkali Region of the 

 Plains, I placed my faithful Paul in a 

 boarding stable in Omaha, purchased a mustang of a 

 Pawnee Indian and forthwith continued my journey 

 westward. 



Webster defines a mustang as the ** Wild Horse 

 of the Prairie.^' My experience with him has taught 

 me that he is sufficiently docile under the restraint 

 of a tight rein ; will travel a longer distance over a 

 rough road in a given time than the average horse, 

 and scarcely ever shows fatigue even if the road is 

 all up-hill. Of course, some of them are vicious, 

 and will make things uncomfortable for the rider; 

 but in this particular some civilized horses are not 

 unlike them. I found the Mexican saddle more con- 

 venient than the "McClellan " which I had hitherto 



used, a'jd thought much easier for the animal. 

 (456) 



