470 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 
them. The hunters seldom venture upon the experiment 
of lassoing them, for the moment an old stallion feels the 
lasso upon his neck he will rush at the man and tear him 
from his seat. I knew an instance in which a Mexican 
was maimed for life. Some of these stallions are very 
famous for their incredible swiftness, beauty and endurance. 
The hunters know their color, their fine parts and haunts 
as well as they know the features of the Pilot Knobs. 
You all remember Kendall’s fine description of the “white 
steed of the prairies,” so remarkable for his pace that no 
hunter had ever yet been able to make him break it! I had 
often heard of.the same animal from them, and what is a 
curious coincidence, all the white mustangs I have ever seen 
are natural pacers. 
There is another animal even more magnificent than these, 
frequenting the plains west of San Antonia. I had a good 
opportunity of seeing this fellow, and was one of a party 
that chased him for several days, in the effort to run him 
down that we might “pen” him, the only method of hunting 
them which is ever successful in securing one of the splendid 
creatures. But we must defer the story for another time. 
The code in these herds is a very imperious one. Rivalry 
is not submitted to from any quarter. As soon as the stud 
colts begin to “feel themselves” they are most unceremoniously 
banished by the old patriarch. They then lead a solitary 
life for several years, until feeling confident in their strength, 
.they dash into the nearest herd, and if they should prove 
able, whip off the leader and take possession of his seraglio. 
In passing those prairies diversified like old English parks 
with a cluster of timber here, and a huge moss-hung live-oak 
there, I have frequently been amused by the disconsolate air 
of one of these expatriated horses, standing “solitary and 
alone” beneath the shade, his head drooping, evidently 
brooding over bitter memories, and ruminating dire revenge. 
The hunters always have a laugh at the sight of such a fellow. 
