BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 19 



neck and heels, on the opposite side of the barn floor, 

 and sending the old swingle knife over the big beam on 

 the hay mow. When he picked himself up and got 

 through scratching his head, he said that was nothing 

 but a windfall, but he believed he had cut three times 

 instead of twice. However that may be, I think he has 

 not gone through the sword exercise from that day to 

 this. Thus ended that day's performance in a roar of 

 laughter. ' 



At another time, while calling on him at his farm some 

 years afterwards, I was surprised on viewing his stock of 

 young horses. He showed me eight splendid three year 

 old colts, two twoyear old, besides the working team and 

 a sucking colt and its dam. These he seemed to almost 

 idolize; and it was pleasing, indeed, to see how fond 

 they appeared to be of him, while they all appeared to 

 know their respective names as well as so many boys 

 would. He had Texas, Sampson, Charley, Petona, Snap, 

 Sidney, Donkey, Minx, Flora, Black Hawk, &c., &c., all 

 of which he raised from colts. They would come to him 

 from as far off as they could hear him whistle, and when 

 approaching at the top of their speed, they put one in 

 mind of a caravan crossing the sandy deserts of Arabia. 



He always seemed to be very successful in governing 

 the horse under almost any circumstances; and he has 

 passed through several hair-breadth escapes unhurt, owing 

 to his great presence of mind, and capacity to control 

 the feelings of the horse in moments of danger — once in 

 particular, in attempting to ford the West Canada creek 

 where the bridge had been carried away by a freshet. 

 But after he became acquainted with the more humane 



