EPISODES 219 



the western country, even from St. Louis on the Mis- 

 souri, although the travellers not unfrequently, on their 

 return, sold their horses at Baltimore, Philadelphia, or 

 Pittsburg, at which latter place they took boat. My wife 

 rode on a single horse from Henderson to Philadelphia, 

 travelling at the same rate. The country was then com- 

 paratively new; few coaches travelled, and in fact the 

 roads were scarcely fit for carriages. About twenty days 

 were considered necessary for performing a journey on 

 horseback from Louisville to Philadelphia, whereas now 

 the same distance may be travelled in six or seven days, 1 

 or even sometimes less, this depending on the height of 

 the water in the Ohio. 



It may not be uninteresting to you to know the treat- 

 ment which the horse received on those journeys. I rose 

 every morning before day, cleaned my horse, pressed his 

 back with my hand, to see if it had been galled, and 

 placed on it a small blanket folded double, in such a man- 

 ner that when the saddle was put on, half of the cloth was 

 turned over it. The surcingle, beneath which the saddle- 

 bags were placed, confined the blanket to the seat, and 

 to the pad behind was fastened the great coat or cloak, 

 tightly rolled up. The bridle had a snaffle bit ; a breast- 

 plate was buckled in front to each skirt, to render the seat 

 secure during an ascent ; but my horse required no crup- 

 per, his shoulders being high and well-formed. On start- 

 ing he trotted off at the rate of four miles an hour, which 

 he continued. I usually travelled from fifteen to twenty 

 miles before breakfast, and after the first hour allowed 

 my horse to drink as much as he would. When I halted 

 for breakfast, I generally stopped two hours, cleaned the 

 horse, and gave him as much corn-blades as he could eat. 

 I then rode on until within half an hour of sunset, when 

 I watered him well, poured a bucket of cold water over 

 his back, had his skin well rubbed, his feet examined and 



1 This was written in 1833. 



