7 i2 THE MUSTANG. 



Not only do the Tartars ride their Horses, but they drink the milk and eat the flesh, 

 so that a Horse-hunt is often conducted merely as a food-procuring expedition. From 

 the milk the Tartars manufacture a peculiar sub-acid liquid, which they term " koumiss," 

 and is made by permitting it to become sour, and then stirring the curd and milk vio- 

 lently with a large stick until it is forced into a homogeneous mass. From the same 

 substance the Tartars make a fermented liquid. These Horses are very strong and 

 hardy, and the breed is preserved in good condition by the custom which prevails 

 among the Tartars of killing and eating the defective or weak foals, and preserving the 

 strong and healthy for use. Being brought up with the family, the Tartar Horse is 

 very gentle and familiar with its owners. When they are only a few months of age they 

 are ridden by the children, but never backed by a man until they are five or six years 

 old. They are then, however, severely treated, being forced to travel for several con- 

 secutive days, and to endure great privations of hunger and thirst. 



ANOTHER well-known example of the Wild Horse is the MUSTANG of the American 

 prairies. 



This animal is congregated into vast herds, which are always under the guardianship 

 of a single leader, who is able, in some wonderful manner, to convey his orders to all his 

 subjects simultaneously. Although surrounded by various enemies, such as the puma, 

 the wolf, and the jaguar, they care little for these ravenous and powerful carnivora, 

 trusting in their united strength to save them from harm. There is no animal that will 

 dare to face a troop of Wild Horses, which often entice the domesticated animals into 

 their ranks, and carry them exultingly into the free plains. 



The Mustang is always a strong and a useful animal, and is much sought after 

 as a saddle-horse. To capture these wild creatures is a very difficult matter, and 

 is generally managed by the help of the lasso, although the rifle is sometimes 

 called into requisition in difficult cases. This latter plan, technically called " creasing," 

 is never employed but by very accurate marksmen, as the difference of half an inch 

 in the line of fire is sufficient either to miss the animal or to kill it on the spot. 

 In " creasing " a Horse, the hunter aims so as to graze the skull just behind the 

 ear, the sudden blow stunning the Horse for a few seconds, during which time the 

 hunter pounces on the bewildered animal, and secures it before it has fairly 

 recovered its senses. 



The lasso is, however, generally employed for this purpose, and, as it can be thrown 

 with precision to a distance of thirty feet, is a terrible weapon in practised hands. This 

 formidable instrument is very simple in construction, being a carefully plaited rope of 

 green hide, one end being furnished with an iron ring, and the other extremity fastened 

 to the saddle. When not in use, it is hung in coils upon a projection of the saddle, but 

 when the hunter has his game in view, he throws the coils over his left arm, makes a 

 slip-noose by means of the iron ring, and then, grasping the ring and cord firmly in his 

 left hand, so as to prevent the noose from slipping, he grasps the centre of the noose and 

 the main cord in his right hand, and is then ready for action. Swinging the large noose, 

 four or five feet in diameter, around his head, the weight of the iron ring giving a 

 powerful impetus, the hunter is able to hurl the leathern cord to its full length, and 

 with deadly aim. As the noose flies circling through the air it gradually contracts in 

 diameter, so that the hunter is forced to accommodate the size of the loop to the distance 

 of the object aimed at. 



When fully caught, the Mustang is savage and furious at his discomfiture, and would 

 speedily escape from his bondage but for the clever and simple method of subjection 

 which is employed. The lasso being flung round its neck, the Horse nearly strangles 

 itself by its plungings and struggles, and is soon reduced to stand still and gasp for 

 breath. The hunter now dismounts from his Horse, and keeping his hands on the 

 lasso, advances cautiously towards the captured animal, hauling the rope tight when- 

 ever it tries to escape. In a short time he works his way towards the creature's head, 

 and seizing its muzzle in his hand, blows strongly into its nostrils. Overcome by some 

 strange influence, the Horse immediately becomes quiet, and in a few hours can 

 scarcely be distinguished from a regularly trained animal. 



