TACHYHIPPODAMIA.

In the year 1811, whilst residing in Georgia, I read an account of a man who lived more than a hundred years ago, who would take any wild horse, and shut himself up with him in a small yard or stable, and at the end of a few hours, come out with the horse perfectly gentle. Nothing was ever known about the means he employed in gentling him, for he died without ever communicating his secret to any one. I always possessed a great share of curiosity: therefore, as well to gratify it as to become useful to myself and others, I made a great many experiments upon young horses, but without success. I ran great risks in these experiments, but the danger, far from discouraging me, animated me the more to make new trials. At the end of the year 1811, I came to Louisiana, where there were many wild horses. I renewed my experiments. After having met with many difficulties, I discovered a secret in 1814, on my plantation in the Attakapas, by which I broke a horse in three hours. The horse always remained gentle. By the same method, I broke another; but two days after, I found him almost as wild as ever. This perplexed me very much—why one horse should remain gentle and the other not. I broke two more, and undertook a fifth, which I abandoned after several trials. This took place between seven and nine o’clock in the morning. I then thought the application of the secret ought to be varied. Accordingly, after having adopted and rejected a great many ways of applying it, I fell upon one which proved to be the best. At eleven o’clock, I went in again to the horse; but when he saw me, he reared and pitched and kicked in a most terrific manner. I stopped, notwithstanding, stood still a few minutes, and then began the operation, and saw, with pleasure, that at half past four he was perfectly gentle, and always remained so; for I had already discovered this last most important part of the secret—of having them always remain gentle—and I never have revealed it to any living person.

To give an idea of this mode of gentling horses, I will relate a few circumstances of the last mentioned horse. He was going on eight years old, had always run in the prairie since he had been branded, was a stud of a most fiery, ferocious disposition, and had never been roped from the time he had been branded. To get him into the yard where I gentled him, we were obliged to tie his legs and drag him in, and no one durst go into the yard where he was let loose. He ran at any one, when confined in the yard, with as much fury as a lion or tiger would have done, and he used his teeth and fore feet with as much dexterity as if he had been trained up to it from a colt. After I led him out, I let the saddle fall over his heels, girted him tight and cruppered him. Several boys got upon him, rode him about the yard, tied a dry ox-hide to his tail, and rode him out in this manner into the prairie, without his showing the least sign of fear, either at the rattling of the hide, or at any other object he met with in the prairie. The next day, they rode him to the town, in the midst of a great concourse of people; for it was a holiday. He passed among them with as little fear as if he had been raised in the town. When he came home, he followed any one without pulling him by the halter. He let any one handle his feet, and take them up with as much ease as they could those of any plough horse. I declare that, in thus gentling this animal, I made use of no intoxicating beverage, or smell, or any other means whatever, that might tend to stupify him, or diminish his natural vigor or spiritedness in the least: but, on the contrary, horses thus gentled are fit for immediate use, with all their vigor, as they do not become poor and broken down by length of time and bad usage, as it happens with spirited horses gentled in the common way, with much cost and danger. This is not the only advantage of the secret. It enables the most timid man to break a horse, without danger or fear; for it consists in gentling him completely, before you attempt to get on him.

I have broken an immense number of wild horses, in the Mexican provinces, of the most fiery and spirited dispositions; and have certificates from the President, Vice-President, and many of the most respectable citizens of that Republic, who have been eye-witnesses to this performance. In the City of Mexico, General Maison, Captain Hotchkiss and others, strangers, then in Mexico, have seen me perform.

This secret, though simple, requires a clear explanation, and how to be applied according to the three different kinds of horses: for, though a man should discover enough of the secret to break some of the common horses of this country, he still would meet with many, even here, that he could not break, and would completely fail among the high blooded Spanish studs. But, by perfectly knowing the secret, he will find them even easier to be gentled than almost any others.

There are three kinds of wild horses. The first of these appear to fear nothing, and when confined will run at a man with incredible fierceness. The second appear only to fear man. The third class appear to be afraid of every thing they meet with, when separated from the rest of the horses. Many of the Spanish horses belong to the first class, and frequently suffer themselves to be killed before they can be broken in the common way, and yet they are easily gentled by my secret. Now, it is positively necessary to vary the application of the secret according to the disposition of the horse to be gentled; all of which will be clearly and extensively explained in the publication of this work. The work will, besides, contain some few observations upon horses in general, and in what part of the Mexican provinces the best race of horses is to be found, &c., and an easy manner of fattening a horse in a short time. Likewise, the Mexican mode of preventing horses from breaking their bridles—and how to prevent a horse’s back from getting sore even on long journeys: all of which I have proved by experience. How to teach a horse, so that in a few days he will not suffer a person dressed in a certain manner to ride him or come near him. To teach one, so that in a few days he will suffer no one to ride him but his master.

At the time I discovered this secret, I was teaching, (and had been for some time,) the public school or college of Attakapas on my plantation, close to the town, and in my own buildings; for the edifice designed for that purpose had been burnt down some time before. I received, besides what each student paid me for board and tuition a compensation for the use of my buildings, as well as the annual pension from the government of the state of Louisiana; and as I taught the Latin and Greek languages, as well as the French, English and Spanish, I had a great number of students, from different parts of the state, and from other states, which rendered my business pretty lucrative. This was one reason why I did not turn my attention at that time to the gain I might expect to reap from this discovery.

In 1815, I met with a man by the name of Thomas Drinnen, who appeared to me rather eccentric in some respects, but an active, intelligent man, and very fond of horses. I told him I had discovered a secret to break them in a few hours. He wanted me to reveal it to him. I told him I would let him know enough of it to astonish the public, if he would go to Attakapas with me; for it was in the time of vacation, and I was on the Mississippi, on my way home. He said he could not, but would come there some time afterwards, if I would give him some of the ingredients to make trials with where he was then going. I accordingly supplied him with certain materials, (the better to disguise the real secret,) one of which was that callous substance growing upon a horse’s fore legs, called the spur; likewise, the sweat taken from under a man’s arm was to be used; the sweat of a horse, mare’s milk, &c. Said Drinnen really believed that these materials were efficacious in gentling a horse. I now declare to the world, that I had heard of some of them, and made use of the others in my experiments, but found them without the least effect.

In 1819, Drinnen came to Attakapas. I never had mentioned to any one that I knew such a secret. On the contrary, I came into Mr. Grigg’s inn, then and still existing at St. Martinsville, distant from my (then) plantation a half a mile, pretending to be astonished at what Drinnen was relating concerning horses, and at the same time incredulous, offering him a gratification of one hundred dollars, to see him break one of the wild horses of this country in so short a time. Mr. Gabriel Fuselier told him that he would do the same, if he should succeed in his essay upon any one of the wild horses upon his plantation, which was about two miles from the town. He accepted the offer, and the following day was decided upon for the trial; at which time he performed, and to the satisfaction of every one. But I had given him no further insight into the secret than this first part of it, more to see what impression it would have upon the public, than for any thing else, as my employment and standing in society were such that I did not like to appear before such a multitude of my acquaintances as a horse-breaker. This was, however, a foolish prejudice; for Fulton by the discovery of the means of making a boat advance with more velocity by the application of steam power, was not, on that account, looked upon as a common boatman.

After these experiments of Drinnen, to whom I had communicated so small a part of the secret, I was fully convinced that a large fortune might be made in almost any country with the secret, such as I knew it; and, as I understood the Spanish language, I agreed with Drinnen to go first to Havana and then to New Spain, and take him with me. Accordingly, I sent him to New Orleans, to fit out a small schooner we had bought in Newtown. But he took the fever and died, and I continued my occupations with success for several years, till I had accumulated a handsome property. Shortly after, I became security for several persons, three of whom left me to pay for them: at the same time, I had been robbed of six thousand three hundred dollars in the city of New Orleans, and had lost one thousand nine hundred dollars upon the steam-boat Teche. As property had fallen to almost nothing, I sacrificed every thing, to pay other people’s debts, and in 1824 went by land through Texas to Tamaulipas, where I received a splendid gratification from the governor of the state, Don Bernardo, Gutierrez de Lara, Don Felipe de la Garza, general of division, and from several other gentlemen who were present at a performance which took place in the town and sea-port of Soto la Marina. From thence I went to Mexico with my family, where I performed before the President, Vice President, the Marquis of Vivanco, Count de Regla Y Jala, General Guerrero, and several of the first characters of Mexico, in 1825, in the month of July. Our Envoy, Mr. Joel R. Poinsett, whom I had the honor of knowing personally at that time, can bear witness of the veracity of the signatures of the above-named gentlemen, as well as of their standing, all of whom gave me certificates which I have now in my possession, and some of which I shall publish in this work.

Here must be inserted the following extracts, the originals of which I have in my possession: as a confirmation of which I will first put down Mr. Poinsett’s:

[TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH.]

OBSERVATIONS UPON HORSES IN GENERAL: AND WHAT LED ME TO THE DISCOVERY OF BREAKING THEM IN A SHORT TIME.

The first experiments I made upon wild horses, in order to break them in a shorter time than that usually employed to that end, consisted in the application of different kinds of smells, such as opium, the oil of cummin, assafoetida, that callous substance called the spur which grows upon the inside of a horse’s fore-legs, the sweat from a man’s arm-pit, mare’s milk, &c., &c. Opium has but little effect upon a horse, even if he smells it a considerable time. But of all these substances, no one tends so much to intoxicate, and even sicken, not only a horse but a man, as that taken from the horse when smelled of for any length of time. Any one who may doubt the veracity of what I here assert, can be easily convinced by experience, if he will. In the next place, the sweat from the arm-pit has a tendency to render a horse sleepy, if smelled for an hour or two. Some horses, thus rendered sleepy, can be handled; but on most horses it has no effect, or very little. Now, as I was determined to publish this secret some day or other, in its true light, I never revealed any other till now, but that accompanied with some one of these substances, with certain directions how to apply them. These directions contained enough of the true secret to tame a horse, so as to astonish the most penetrating. Now and then, a horse would remain gentle that had been thus tamed; but five out of ten would become wild again. Whenever I broke one myself, he always remained gentle. Drinnen sincerely thought that some of these substances were necessary to gentle a horse. I solemnly declare, before God and man, that I do not believe that a horse can be tamed, even for a short time, by the application of any of these substances, without applying to him more or less of the true secret; and furthermore: I declare, that all and every one of them are entirely useless, and of no effect. God is my witness, that if ever this secret was known before, I never learnt it from any man; I discovered it myself, and brought it, as I believe, to its greatest perfection.

A horse is gentled, by my secret, in from two to sixteen hours. The time I have most commonly employed, has been from four to six. After my

first experiments, I reflected upon the nature of horses in general, many of which, when confined, appeared to fear nothing: notwithstanding this, the result of my reflections was, that fear, much more than any thing else, was the cause of their resistance; of the resistance even of the fiercest; for, although these latter would run at a man, as well as at any other thing, when confined, yet, if they were let loose, and turned out into a field, they would leave him and scamper away. Being once convinced that fear was the only cause of the obstinacy seen in horses taken to be gentled by force, it now remained to discover by what means that fear might be taken away. To take away fear, is, to inspire confidence; or, inspiring confidence, is taking away fear. I believe there is no person, who does not experience a more agreeable sensation, when another person combs his hair, than when he combs it himself. To be vulgar, who is there, that has not found a pleasure in having another rub his legs or arms, hands or feet, if he felt a pain in them, much more than if he rubbed them himself. We all know what pleasure it gives a parrot to have one scratch or rub him upon the head. Now, of the five senses, the sense of feeling possesses something more, as to its influence of materiality, than the other four. It has a similar effect upon animals as upon men. Whereas, the sense of hearing, and that of seeing, have, in many respects, a very different influence upon the human species to what they have upon animals. Animals, in general, are almost or quite insensible to that pleasure, which the human species enjoy, in contemplating beautiful or magnificent objects, though they frequently express great fear at others. They experience the same sensation of fear at sudden or disagreeable sounds, whilst they appear almost insensible to soft and melodious ones. The sense of feeling, in horses, seems to be as exquisite as in men; and in some cases, more so. A horse feels a lively pain at the stroke of a whip, or the prick of a pin. He feels a pleasure in being curried, rubbed and handled. It is well known, that an object that frightens a horse, at first sight, will become familiar to him in a short time—even in a few minutes. The same may be said of those sounds which frighten him at first: such as the explosion of a gun or cannon; to all of which he soon becomes familiar, provided they are not accompanied with any thing that operates upon the sense of feeling; but he will never become familiar to the crack of a whip, so as not to be afraid of it, if he has been accustomed to experience its effects, when vigorously applied to his back. To conclude: Take away Fear—Inspire Confidence—Familiarize.

THE SECRET.
“A GENTLE HAND MAY LEAD THE ELEPHANT BY A HAIR.”

Cause your horse to be put into a small yard, stable or room. If in a stable or room, it ought to be a large one, in order to give him more exercise with the halter, before you lead him out. If the horse belongs to that class which appears only to fear man, you must introduce yourself gently into the stable, room or yard where the horse is. He will naturally run from you, and frequently turn his head from you; but you must walk about extremely slow and softly, so that he can see you, and whenever he turns his head towards you, which he never fails to do in a short time, say in a quarter of an hour, or half an hour—I never knew one to be much longer without turning towards me—at the very moment he turns his head, hold out your left hand towards him, and stand perfectly still, keeping your eyes upon the horse, and watching his motions, if he makes any. If the horse does not stir for ten or fifteen minutes, advance as slowly as possible, and without making the least noise, always holding out your left hand, without any other ingredient in it than what nature put in it. The reason of my having made use of certain ingredients before people—such as the sweat from under a man’s arm, &c.—was, to disguise the real secret; and Drinnen, as well as several others, believed that the docility to which the horse arrived, in so short a time, was owing to those ingredients. It will be seen, in this explanation of the secret, that they were of no use, whatever; but, by placing so much confidence in them, those who had succeeded in breaking one horse, failed in another, and that is what I foresaw.

No one can accuse me of bad faith, to whom I discovered this or any part of the secret; for I always intended to publish the whole. In the second place, many revealed what I had told them, after the most solemn promise to the contrary. Caution is the parent of safety: I, therefore, by multiplying the ingredients, caused a confusion amongst those who thought they knew the real secret. Though I revealed enough of the secret for a man to break a horse in a few hours, it was not enough to make the horse remain gentle; that is, generally speaking: for some horses would be perfectly gentle ever after; but the greater number would not. The implicit faith placed in these ingredients, though innocent of themselves, became faith without works; and thus men remained always in doubt concerning this important secret. The secret is a complete lesson of morality; for all is GENTLENESS—PATIENCE—PERSEVERANCE.

But, I return to the explanation of the secret. If the horse makes the least motion when you advance towards him, stop and stand perfectly still till he is quiet. Remain a few minutes in this position, and then advance again in the same slow, almost imperceptible manner. Take notice: If the horse stirs, stop without changing your position. It is very uncommon for a horse to stir more than once, after you begin to advance, yet there are exceptions. He generally keeps his eye steadfast on you, till you get nigh enough to touch him upon the forehead. When you are thus near to him, raise slowly, and by degrees, your hand, and let it come in contact with that part just above the nostrils, as lightly as possible. If the horse flinches, (as many will,) repeat with great rapidity those light taps or strokes upon the forehead, going a little further up towards his ears by degrees, and descending with the same rapidity, till he will let you handle his forehead all over. Now let the strokes be repeated with more force over all his forehead, descending by lighter touches to each side of his head, till you can handle that part with equal facility. Then touch, in the same light manner, making your hands and fingers play around the bottom or lower part of the horse’s ears, coming down, now and then, to his forehead, which may be looked upon as the helm that governs all the rest. Having succeeded in handling his ears, advance towards the neck with the same precautions, and in the same manner; observing always to augment the force of the strokes, whenever the horse will permit it. Perform the same on both sides of the neck, till he lets you take it in your arms without flinching. Proceed in the same progressive manner to the sides, and then to the back of the horse. Every time the horse shows any uneasiness, return immediately to the forehead, as the true standard, patting him with your hands, and from thence rapidly to where you had already arrived; always gaining ground, a considerable distance further on, every time this happens. The head, ears, neck and body being thus gentled, proceed from the back to the root of the tail. This must be managed with dexterity, as a horse is never to be depended upon that is skittish about the tail. Let your hand fall lightly and rapidly on that part next to the body a minute or two, and then you will begin to give it a slight pull upwards every quarter of a minute. At the same time, you continue this handling of him, augmenting the force of the strokes, as well as the raising of the tail, till you can raise it and handle it with the greatest ease, which commonly happens in a quarter of an hour in most horses; in others almost immediately, and in some much longer. It now remains to handle all his legs. From the tail come back again to the head; handle it well, as likewise the ears, neck, breast, &c., speaking now and then to the horse. Begin, by degrees, to descend to the legs, always ascending and descending, gaining ground every time you descend, till you get to his feet. Talk to the horse in Latin, Greek, French, English or Spanish, or in any other language you please, but let him hear the sound of your voice, which at the beginning of the operation is not quite so necessary, but which I have always done in making him lift up his feet:—“Hold up your foot,” “Leve le pied”—“Alza el pie”—“Aron ton poda,” &c., at the same time lift his foot with your hand. He soon becomes familiar with the sounds, and will hold up his foot at command. Then proceed to the hind feet, and go on in the same manner; and, in a short time, the horse will let you lift them, and even take them up in your arms. All this operation is no magnetism, no galvanism. It is merely taking away the fear a horse generally has of a man, and familiarizing him with him, as the horse experiences a certain pleasure from this handling of him. As a striking proof of this assertion, I will relate what I performed in the state of Neuvo Leon, upon a wild boar, taken two days before in the woods, without being wounded. He was shut up in a pen, or kind of cage, and was so furious that he had eaten nothing for thirty hours. When I came to the cage, which was standing in a back yard, he gnashed his teeth, and became enraged, and foamed in a terrible manner. I stood still before him for more than three quarters of an hour. I held a staff in my hand, around the end of which I wrapped a cloth pretty tight, and advanced it, by little and little, towards the head of the boar. He at first tried to catch it in his mouth; but, by continually repeating the trial, I succeeded in touching the bristles of his head. He made some resistance; but, after I had slightly touched his head a dozen times, he stood still. I continued this operation around his head, and then upon his sides, for half an hour, and also upon his belly and back. At the end of an hour, he appeared half asleep, and I passed the staff over him with great facility, till at last, seeing him so easy, I ventured to pass my hand through the grates, and touch him with it; which, so far from irritating him, he seemed to take an uncommon pleasure in being rubbed and scratched. Here, it must be observed, that, instead of giving light strokes or taps with the hand upon this animal, as I do with a horse, I rather scratched and rubbed him; and, in this manner I continued, till I handled him with as much ease as I could a dog, and even took hold of his tusks. I left him for half an hour, and when I came back, he was eating corn, for the first time since he had been caught. He appeared to have been about two years old. In the afternoon, I handled him again, for some time; and, finding him so extremely gentle, I ventured to take him out of the cage into the yard, though with the precaution of tying a rope about his neck, in case of his becoming refractory. Before I took him out, however, I made my servant and two or three Indian boys handle him. This last precaution was useless, as he followed me into the house, and ate corn out of my hand. I caused him to be handled and fed that evening and the next morning, when he was finally turned loose among the pigs. This was in the year 1825. I came away the next day, and heard no more of him, and have never had a second trial upon that kind of animals.

To return, again, to the horse, which we left already familiarized to man. Supposing him, as I said in the beginning, to belong to that class which only fears man, or has little fear of any thing else: the horse is gentle, in doing which you may have employed two or three hours; but he has no knowledge of being led by the halter. Put the halter on him, and handle him in the forehead, and pull him gently round towards the left, forming a circle. Let him follow you several times round in this way, till he will go as fast as you wish him to go. Then change the position, and turn to the right in the same manner, talking to him, telling him to come along, &c. When he is familiar with forming a circle, make him leave it; and, by degrees, he will follow you in a straight direction. In all this operation stop him every now and then, and handle his head and all his body, &c. When he is following you, stop him short, always speaking to him, as likewise when you start him: “Come on”—“follow me”—“come along.” In a short time, he will follow you without your pulling him by the halter. The first impression is so great upon horses, that a horse broken in this manner will always follow well ever after. Now take a whip, crack it at him, and drive him from you, but without whipping him. Then go up to him, and handle him and caress him, taking his head in your arms, putting your arms around his neck, &c. Finally: Take away the fear he had of you at first. The next operation is to saddle him, which is done almost immediately, if he belongs to the second class of horses, which fear very little else than man; and as he will make no resistance at being saddled, he will make none at being ridden, and so your horse is broken.

I shall now explain the difference to be observed in gentling the third class; that is: those horses which appear to fear every thing. The operation is to be carried on, as above directed, till you come to that part where you are to saddle him. If you should undertake to put the saddle on a horse of this latter description, he would fly from you as quickly as a deer, although you might handle him with the greatest ease. How shall we then proceed? Take away the fear he has of different objects, by making him acquainted with them, and convincing him, as it were, by gentle means, that those objects he so much dreads will not hurt him. Familiarize him with them. In order to succeed in this, every thing must be done by gradation. Firstly: Take a handkerchief and move it gently before him; at the same time, you handle his forehead; make him smell it; toss it up a little in your hand before him, till he is not frightened at it. Then throw it upon his head, and over his ears: then, by degrees, upon his neck, and so continue on; for if you should throw it immediately from his head to his back, or on his sides, he would jump and kick with all his might. Throw it upon his back, and upon his sides; let it fall off on one side, and then on the other. Let it fall before him and behind him, so that it will fall upon his heels. Make him walk with it upon his back. Let it fall whilst he is walking, till he gets completely familiar with it. After this, take some one or two yards of heavy stuff, such as cotton bagging or the like, throw it down at a distance two or three times; then make him smell it. Throw it up before him till he no longer flinches at it; then over his head, always talking to him, from time to time, and handling him every now and then. Then throw it upon his back, whilst you hold it in your hand, till you see that you can throw it upon his back, and let it hang down upon each side, without frightening him. Let him walk round with it: then make him trot with it, till it falls off. Pick it up and throw it upon him as he stands, and let it fall off on both sides of him, under his belly. Let it fall off from behind, over his heels. Repeat this last operation a great many times, and lift up his tail and pull it smartly. Tie something light to it, that will hang down over his hams; but not so low as to touch the ground. Make him follow you, in this manner. Afterwards, tie a large piece of mat or something similar to it, so that it will touch and drag upon the ground. Touch him and handle him in the forehead, making him advance slowly at first, then faster, till you make him run with it, and go around in every direction, till he becomes perfectly familiar with the object tied to his tail. Drive the horse away from you. Then call him back again. Untie the mat from his tail, and tie it to his neck, letting it hang down on one side, and making him run in the same manner as before. Take it off. Take a rattling, dry deer skin or ox-ide, and throw it down at some distance before the horse. Raise it up and throw it down several times, till the horse pays no attention to it when it falls, or when you let it fall and rattle it. Let it fall close before him, and make him smell of it. Then throw it upon his neck. Let him first walk and then run with it, till it falls off. Then continue with it, as you did with the mat, till you tie it to his tail, and let him walk and run with it, without showing the least signs of fear, which he will do in a very few minutes. Next comes the girt. To familiarize him to it, you will take, firstly, a common rope, and throw it over his back, and make him walk with it. Stop him, and double the rope. Let the middle of it hang upon the right side, low enough for you to take it in your hand where it is doubled, and draw it towards you. Slip the two ends of the rope through the doubled part, and haul it gently and by degrees, as if you were girting the horse. Loosen and tighten it many times; at last, fasten it, not very tight. Make him walk and run in this manner. Loosen and tighten it again, till you have him girted up with the rope in this manner. Walk and run him in this way. Stop him. Throw another rope around his body, just before his hind legs, so as to encompass his flanks. At first, let it rub him gently, and by drawing first one end and then the other. This is very important, especially if the horse be naturally of a fearful, timid nature. The effect it has upon him, ever after, is truly astonishing. I speak after more than twenty years’ experience, having done every thing as above directed. Take a heavy Spanish saddle, with wooden stirrups, if you have such a one. Throw it down before him, rattle it well, and make him smell of it. It must be observed, that in all these manoeuvres, you must now and then handle the horse, by taking up his feet, speaking to him, patting him all over on both sides pretty vigorously; going away from him, then running suddenly up to him, &c.

To return to the saddle. Throw it up towards his back; and if he makes no resistance, as it is probable he will not, throw it upon his back and girt it lightly. Handle him in every part. Strike first lightly, then very hard upon the saddle: walk him and run him with it. Stop him, and girt up tight. Pull upon the stirrups, on both sides. Make a noise upon the saddle, by striking it hard with your hand. Handle his tail, by raising it and letting it fall, and striking upon it; then put a small cord under it, in form of a crupper, and tie the ends to the hinder part of the saddle. Walk and run him, &c. Pull the cord that serves as a crupper, till he gets familiar with it. Unsaddle: saddle up again immediately. Put on the crupper: girt up tight. Exercise the horse, by leading him, and making him run. Stop him all at once. Put your hand on his forehead. Say to him, “Come along:” at the same time advance, and pull him gently by the rope. In a short time, you may let the rope fall, and he will stop at the word “Stop,” and will follow you, at the words, “Come along,” without your pulling him by the rope. Now ungirt the saddle, and let it fall down upon the left side. Put it loose upon the horse again, and let it fall several times upon the right side and over his heels. Then take it and throw it over his head, upon his back; saddle him roughly, striking and making a noise upon the saddle. Pull the stirrups strongly, and lead him about. Load him with any baggage that comes in your way, and make him walk and run with it. Mount half way upon him, bearing hard with your left foot upon the stirrup: then upon the other side. If the horse shows no signs of fear at any of these operations, you may get upon him with all safety, and ride him through the most populous city in America, without his being frightened at any of the objects he meets in it. But I generally make it a rule, to accustom the horse to sound, before I take him out: in order to do which, I take something that is similar to a drum, or an empty barrel, and beat upon it till he becomes perfectly indifferent to it. Then I show him a pistol or a gun, and flash it before him. Then I load it very lightly, and fire it off before him, close to his head, making him smell it before I fire. I flash it off two or three times before-hand. I load it again, and by repeating this exercise two or three times, you may fire off the gun while placed upon his neck, without frightening him in the least.

I have already observed, that the first impressions are the strongest and most lasting. It is a great deal easier to learn, than to unlearn. Therefore, it is extremely necessary, that the horse should be exercised in every thing that tends to render him docile and useful, when you thus break him, and you will have very little to fear from him afterwards. After you have thus gentled your horse, so as to be able to ride him, it will be necessary for you to come up to him with one or two other persons: let them touch him, and let him smell at them: otherwise, he would be afraid of other people: but, by coming up to him with other

persons, he will let any one handle him and manage him, as easily as the one who broke him. The greater part of wild horses thus gentled, will go off with facility: others will be a little awkward at first. It is, perhaps, the best way, (though I have generally ridden them out alone,) and especially if they show any awkwardness in going at first, to ride them out in company with another horse. It will do no hurt to any. Horses broken in this way, become almost immediately bridle-wise, and need but very little exercise, to obey the bridle with uncommon facility. The reason is plain: they are no longer afraid, and consequently have no inclination to resist.

Having thus shown how one must proceed, to break the second and third class of horses, I now retrocede to the first class, which appear to fear nothing. When this first kind of horses are let loose, after having been dragged by force into a pen or stable, it is very dangerous for any one to go in where they are; for, if you step back or try to get out of their way, when they run at you, they will be sure to bite, kick or stamp you under their feet. But if you stop, stand perfectly still, hold out your left hand, and look at the horse, he will stand still, likewise, before he arrives at where you are. This may appear very strange; but so it is, and I have experienced it very often. He will never come nigher than about five or six feet to you; and if he is in a yard, he will rarely come nigher than ten or twelve. Such a horse should never be put into too small a place. Here we must make use of a precaution, which is not necessary in the two other kinds of horses: and give me leave to say, that I am fully persuaded, that no horse of this description was ever gentled in a few hours by any one but myself, and by the secret which I had discovered. The precaution I speak of, is: to let no one come into the stable or yard with you, for it would be dangerous. His attention must be fixed upon you, and your hand alone. I once came near being killed, by a horse of this description, before I had discovered this part of the secret. Therefore, it is of the greatest importance, to put the horse where he can see no moving object, at the time you approach him. The case I mentioned was this: I was about to draw nigh the horse, after having entered the stable where he was, and after he had stood still some time, when, on a sudden, a hen flew down from a scaffold exactly over the stable where the horse stood, and where I was to perform the operation. The horse gave a jump at me, and struck his foot so nigh me, that he grazed my shoulder; then turned round almost as quick as lightning, and let fly a pair of heels, which knocked off my hat, but knocked a useful lesson into my head. From that day forward, I have never received the slightest hurt, or even run any risk, in breaking some of the fiercest and most ferocious horses of New Spain. But to come to the point. Hold out your left hand, keeping it high enough to touch him upon the forehead: keep this position for at least one whole hour, lowering your hand now and then, unless the horse should advance, after ten or fifteen minutes, a step or two towards you; in which case, let your hand be ready to meet his forehead, rather higher up than in the other two kinds of horses; and, if he should appear uneasy, repeat the strokes very fast between his eyes, fetching your hand partly over them now and then. Your position, at first, ought to be exactly before him. Then, by degrees, fall off towards the left side. Never flinch, or show any signs of fear, when you are gentling this kind of horses. You must remain a great deal longer about their heads, than in others. They will often flinch, and frequently show signs of resistance, whenever you advance an inch from the place you have already handled; so that it requires some judgment, and more patience, to know how to manage them. But, by going on, after you have once touched them, as you would do with the other two classes, though a great deal slower, you will never fail of making them as gentle as a lamb. I never employed more than ten hours but with one, which belonged to the Governor of San Louis Potosi, Don Jose Ildefonso Leon. This animal kept me between fifteen and sixteen hours, in gentling him; at the end of which time, men, women and children could ride him and handle him with as much ease as they could any old, gentle cart-horse, and ride him bare-backed through the streets of the city, as many did—five or six being mounted upon him at once. For he was a stud of ten years of age, of great strength, of the Arabian race, and very high spirited; and the governor himself, who possessed several thousands of wild horses—and was the best horseman and herdsman in America, always had thought, for the last four years, that it was not in the art of man to break him. He was offered a thousand dollars for him the same day I finished breaking him, by an English gentleman, by the name of Humstead, who was travelling through the country: a great price, in a country where you can get a good horse for thirty or forty dollars. I would always advise a man, that goes to break a horse, to have a watch with him; for the time will always appear long to him, when he undertakes a horse of this description. It is very uncommon to meet with a horse you cannot come up to, so as to touch him in the forehead with your left hand, in less than a half a quarter of an hour. Now, any person who may in the least doubt of his own capacity to perform the operation, according to the rules laid down here, can always have a halter, or what the Spaniards call a jaguima, (which is generally used in riding young horses, before the bridle is put on them,) put upon the wild horse, before he is let loose, with a long rope tied to it, dragging upon the ground. When he goes in to the horse thus haltered, he will take care to take the rope up gently in one hand, whilst he holds out the other; taking care that the rope may keep clear of all his feet, and lie before him, gathering it up as he approaches. Another precaution may likewise be used, by persons naturally afraid of horses, which is: to have a barrier placed between them and the horse, and the end of the rope on the side they stand, which they may take hold of, and proceed as above directed. The barrier, if made use of, must be open enough for the horse to have a full view of the person who is going to break him. It is always a considerable inconvenience; but, it has this advantage: it places the most timid out of the reach of all the harm he might fear from horses of this description, till he can handle their head, which is already a great point; but, as one can handle but a small part of the horse, in this manner, it is necessary to go in to him afterwards, when he is thus a little familiarized to you; for there is no danger, after you once handle his head, if you proceed according to the above directions; that is, always advancing by degrees. Whenever you can handle the horse in every part, you must handle him much more vigorously than at first, though without hurting him. Those horses which appear to fear nothing, but kick at every thing with a kind of spite, and run at men when confined in a close place, are not always the longest in becoming perfectly gentle. Though a man may sometimes be an hour before he can touch them, yet they frequently become reconciled to him, as soon as he can handle their head, and it is not infrequent to see them very easy to be saddled and ridden, and more especially if they have never been handled; because a horse that has once been taken, in order to be broken the common way, and has resisted with success; that is to say, has flung his rider and run away—or one that has been beaten, whipped, or badly used in any way, is a great deal worse than one that has never been touched; for it is more difficult to unlearn than to learn. It is necessary always to bear in mind, what I have said concerning first impressions.

To conclude: To which soever of the three classes horses belong, deal with them as with the third class; that is, those that fear every thing, with this difference: the first class, or those that appear to fear nothing, must not be approached so suddenly as the others. Take notice: Whenever a horse that you begin to handle, hangs down his head, or appears sleepy and careless, (and this will happen in some in less than an hour,) your business is half over. I have broken an extremely wild horse, so as to saddle him, bridle him, and make him follow me without pulling him by the halter, and so that men, women and children have ridden him, without the least danger, in the streets of one of the most populous towns of the United Mexican states: and this I have done in less than two hours from the time I went into the place where the horse was. I always carried a watch with me, when I broke a horse. I have now and then gentled one, so as to ride him with perfect safety, in less than one hour. However, these are rare cases. I never had but two that kept me ten hours, and one nearly fifteen hours and a half. I began him at two o’clock, and worked upon him till seven; and the next day I began at five, and finished him a little after one o’clock. This was the Governor of San Louis Potosi’s, and one of the highest spirited horses I ever saw. I have generally employed from four to six hours, and some times eight, in rendering a horse completely gentle and useful, and on which a man or woman might undertake a journey of a thousand miles, the very next day after being broken, without any kind of fear of his becoming refractory on the road.

To come now to the most important part of the secret. I observed, in the beginning of my discourse upon the experiments I had made, that I was surprised to find one of the horses I had gentled the day before, almost as wild as ever, and one of the others had remained perfectly gentle. I saw there was something lacking. I therefore broke another; and, after having finished, I tied him in a stable. I went to him at night, and made a little negro boy handle him a quarter of an hour: gave him half a spoonful of fine salt, and not more than about half as much as he would eat. Early in the morning, I went to him again, handled him in the forehead and all over, and took up his feet, &c., &c., for a quarter of an hour: took him to water; fetched him back; gave him another spoonful of fine salt, and plenty to eat afterwards. I rode him a couple of miles, and then let him loose. The next day, I caught him in the yard, amongst the other horses, without throwing the rope, and he remained gentle ever after. The first day you break a horse, it is always good to ride him two or three miles; if further, it will do him no hurt. The first time you ride him out, it will be well enough to accompany him with another horse, though this is not absolutely necessary; for many horses, especially high spirited ones, will often go as well as if they had been gentled for a long time; some others appear a little awkward at first, but in half an hour they will go well alone. At any rate, they will not be afraid of any object they meet.

I have here given the whole secret of taming, in a few hours, the most refractory wild horse.

Whilst residing in the city of Mexico, I wrote a grammar, in Greek, Latin, French and English, which I intend to publish, in order to simplify, in some measure, the study of the former. In it I begin by making the student acquainted with the most common names—such as fall under his immediate view. The names of birds, fish, plants, trees, the human body and its parts, &c., &c. In the declination of all these, will be found general rules; but all, or almost all of these rules, are subject to some one or more exceptions—as is the case with all general rules. Thence, perhaps, came our proverb: There is no rule without exception. Now, as gentling a horse, and writing a grammar, are two very different occupations, yet they have some things which are common to both: one of which is, this same exception to the general rule. I have given a detail of the method I use in breaking the three different kinds of horses: that is, horses in general; these general rules, however, are liable to some few exceptions. I have had horses that did not appear to belong to any one of the three kinds mentioned. I look upon them as exceptions. Among these, are horses that toss up their heads the very minute you touch them, and will not let you put your hand upon them. The first of these I met with gave me so much trouble, that I thought it would be impossible to break him. I tried to touch him upon the forehead, as the true standard, but could not. I therefore declared him to be an anomaly, and determined to decline him in some other way. I therefore endeavored to touch him upon the neck, which I succeeded in doing in less than five minutes. I proceeded on in handling him, as I did other horses. After having lifted up his feet, and handled him every where except about his head, I succeeded in gentling that part. He always remained gentle, and not in the least skittish about that part. To succeed in handling his head, I was obliged to begin at that part of the neck nighest to the ears, and continue on to them, and then to the upper part of his forehead, between his eyes; and so descend to his nose, in the same progressive manner as I ascend in other horses. I had tried every possible means to begin at that part, but found it utterly out of my power.

Another exception to the general rule, are those horses which, after having been begun, and already handled in the forehead, show an inclination to bite, as you proceed on, and would actually do so, without your taking some precaution. Now, as my general rule of gentling horses is all mildness, gentleness, &c., except from this rule horses of this latter description; and, whenever they show an inclination to bite, correct them by giving them a pretty smart slap with your hand, and they will never repeat it more than two or three times. I never knew this to happen with horses of the first description, which one would be naturally inclined to suppose more apt to do so than any others. As to the rest, proceed as in others. If you wish your horse to go in a cart, coach or plow, after having gentled him in this manner, harness him, put on lines, and at first make him go round before you several times: you will tie some light thing behind, for him to drag, and go on progressively, and in a very short time you may harness him to a cart, or plough, and he will go off without difficulty; especially if you do this immediately after having gentled him, for then is the best time to take away all caprices. It is well to give him a few days exercise.

Observation. If the horse you are going to break has received a blow upon his forehead, his ears, or about any part of his head, so that it is sore or painful when touched, it is useless to undertake to break him before he gets well: for the very touch which would give him pleasure being well, gives him pain in this situation, and the more you try to handle him the more you will irritate him. Let him get well, before you undertake to gentle him.

REFRACTORY HORSES GENTLED FOR A
LONG TIME IN THE COMMON WAY.

I begin first with those which are afraid of a gun, or the like. Cause a pen to be made, just big enough to put the horses in, and in such a manner as to be able to go round it in every direction, as well behind as before; and let the bars be far enough apart for you to handle him every where. Let him remain in his pen or cage from two o’clock in the afternoon till the next morning, without eating or drinking. The pen ought to be made so high, that the horse cannot reach his head over it, and with four strong posts in the ground, so that if he should fall back upon the bars, that traverse it behind, his weight will not be sufficient to break or derange them. Go to him in the morning. Handle him smartly a few minutes; then stand at a distance before him, with your gun in your hand, without moving it, but so that he can see it. If he is frightened at it, keep your position for some time, till he remains quiet, then flash it off. Repeat this, till he is in some measure reconciled to it. Draw nigher. Repeat the same: flash it off before him, very nigh. Handle him in the forehead, and hold the gun in one of your hands. Go on thus progressively, till you can load and fire it off over his head, with as heavy a charge as you wish to put in it, which you will be able to do in about two or three hours. When you have gone thus far, run suddenly up to him, with your gun in your hand. Handle him in the forehead, holding it still in your hand. Exercise him well in this way, till he does not flinch or show any signs of fear, when you thus approach him. Now, you suppose the work to be completed? If you do, you are very much mistaken; for you must recollect, that he has much to unlearn. Take away Fear—Inspire Confidence—Familiarize—are three great lessons to be taught, in the art of gentling a wild horse; and, to bring a rebellious horse to obedience, you must add, Unlearn. Repeat the same, unlearn, &c., till he is completely gentle.

Now give your horse a plenty to eat and drink. I suppose it to be about ten o’clock. Let him rest, if he will. Repeat your lessons at four o’clock in the afternoon, more or less rapidly, according as he is inclined to obey them. Feed him at night; let him remain in the pen all night. Next day, go over the same exercise; at the end of which, if you think him sufficiently docile, take him out of the pen, and go through the same exercise that you did whilst he was in the pen. If he shows no signs of fear at the explosion of the gun, when fired off from his back or neck, you are sure of him. But you must exercise him a little, for two or three days more; at the end of which, you may always rely on him afterwards. Should he be somewhat refractory, when you take him out of the pen, which would be a rare case, though some horses may be, put him again into it, and repeat, and you will never fail to succeed. In the same progressive manner, you can correct the defects of a skittish horse, in a great measure; but some are of so fearful a nature that, if they have been gentled in the common way, it requires a great deal of patience to manage them.

A SKITTISH HORSE.

The best method of correcting a horse of this description, when one is on the road, is, to stop him suddenly, whenever he appears to be frightened at any thing he sees before him or at his side. Let him stand perfectly still: get down, if he does not become quiet in three or four minutes, and handle him in the forehead. Lead him by the bridle to the object that frightened him: then lead him back to where he was, and get on him. Ride him up to it, &c. You can likewise give him the same exercise as you do to a wild horse of the third kind, and you will not fail to succeed in correcting him by repeating it several times. I never knew a horse to become skittish that I had gentled by my secret, though I am not certain that such a thing might not happen; for, as I said before, there is no rule without an exception.

A HORSE THAT WILL NOT SUFFER HIS EARS TO BE TOUCHED.

Begin at his forehead, just above the nose, and handle it in the same manner as you would do with a wild horse, according to the rules laid down in that part of the secret. Gentleness, Patience, Perseverance, Faith; all these are necessary, in order to succeed with some horses. It has taken me from five to six hours, to be able to handle the ears of some horses; but, at the end of that time, they let me handle them with as much ease as I could those of a house-dog. They will always let you handle them afterwards.

Shortly after my arrival in Mexico, a gentleman who had read an article which the President had caused to be published in the government paper, concerning what I had done with a wild horse that

I had gentled in his presence, a few days before, sent for me, telling me he had a horse of great value, that he had given only five hundred dollars for, on account of a defect, or vice, that the horse had contracted two years before, and which had augmented to such a degree, that he would have killed any one that would have attempted to put a bridle on him, or touch him about the ears. He asked me if I thought I could cure him of this evil habit. I told him I would try; and, accordingly, I sent every person away, and went in to the horse. I had taken the precaution of having a halter (jaguima) put upon him before-hand, and a long rope, dragging upon the ground, tied to it. In order to put this halter upon him, they had to throw a rope upon his legs, and tie them, and another around his nose; and this was a ceremony they had to perform every time they put the bridle on him. When I had got in where the horse was, I took up the rope and advanced, holding out my left hand, as when I break a wild horse, and came up to him. I used a great deal of precaution, when I touched him in the forehead for the first time, as I do with a horse belonging to the first class, that is, those that seem to fear nothing; and, continuing on in this manner, gradually ascending, making my fingers play upon his forehead with great rapidity—gaining ground so slow, that I remained two hours before I came to the roots of his ears, which I began to touch very lightly at the end of another half hour; and, by continuing the operation an hour longer, I was able to handle them with ease and safety. A few minutes after, I bridled him, led him about, and made him follow me, without pulling him by the bridle. I took it off, and put it on again. I repeated this exercise several times. Then I called in my servant, and made him bridle and unbridle him. Then sent him to tell the owner of the horse to come and see him.

Give me leave here to observe, that when I performed upon a horse, I never let any one be present, (for fear they might discover the real secret,) except such a gentleman as I knew would give me a handsome gratification: for a man is always more or less willing to pay to satisfy his curiosity as well as his interest.

The owner of the horse came in where he was standing without rope or bridle. I called a little Indian boy, who had never bridled a horse in his life, and gave him the bridle; and, as the horse’s head was too high for him to reach up to it, I told him to get into a chair, and put the bridle on. His master cried out, “For God’s sake, don’t let him go nigh him! I cannot yet have confidence enough in that animal, to let the little boy go nigh him: I know he would kill him, though Beelzebub himself had been to work at him since the time you first went into the stable!” I then went and put on the bridle myself, and took it off; then he agreed to let the little Indian do the same, which he did, as may be supposed, in a very awkward, fumbling manner, standing all the while in a chair, to the great surprise of his master, who then came in and bridled him himself, and made me a present of eight doubloons, (a hundred and twenty-four dollars.)

TO BREAK A HORSE OF KICKING.

Handle the kicking horse in the forehead, and from thence every where, except his legs and feet. Then tie up one of his fore legs, (no matter which); handle him gently all over, and descend, by degrees to his feet, always speaking to him: he will let you handle them in a few minutes. Untie his fore leg, and go through the same ceremony. After repeating this operation two or three times, he will let any one handle his feet with the greatest ease imaginable.

HOW TO MANAGE A HORSE THAT KICKS UP, SO AS TO BREAK HIM OF THAT VICIOUS HABIT.

A horse that is apt to kick up, ought to be dealt with in the following manner: Put upon him a pack-saddle, if you have one; if not, something as nigh to it as possible. Take two bags, and put one hundred and twenty-five pounds of sand in each, if your horse is a common sized one. Girt them on, or bind them very tight, in such a manner that no effort of the horse can throw them off. Have another horse prepared at hand, and some one mounted on him to take hold of the rope of the vicious horse, the moment he is loaded with the sand. Let him start off, with another horseman behind with a good whip in his hand; and the more he kicks up, let him whip him the more; or, in other words, let him whip him every time he kicks up. Let him trot off thus, about ten or fifteen miles; at the end of which, take off his load, and let some one get immediately upon him, and trot back with the same speed. After having exercised him thus, for two or three times, it is not common that a horse will ever kick up again.

It is to be observed, that if the horse should kick up with the load of sand at the end of ten miles or more, make him go at least three miles after he has ceased kicking up; but it is very uncommon for a horse to kick up, after the first three or four miles. If he should appear a little tired, you can regulate the distance, more or less, and vice versa. I believe this to be the most infallible remedy known, without exposing one’s self. There are other remedies, which none but a good horseman can put in practice; but I write for every class of men that ride on horseback, whether doctors, lawyers or priests, farmers or merchants. If this advice should save a few necks from getting broken, I shall feel gratified.

TO HANDLE A HORSE’S FEET THAT IS APT TO KICK.

Put him in a pen, and go on progressively, till you can handle all his feet as you would a dog’s. It must be recollected, that when I speak of putting a horse in a pen, I suppose them to be of the most refractory kind imaginable; otherwise, I can handle a bad horse’s feet, in a very few minutes, by beginning at his forehead, and so on.

TO TEACH A HORSE, SO THAT HE WILL NOT LET A PERSON DRESSED IN A CERTAIN MANNER COME NIGH HIM.

If you would not wish to have a person, for example, wearing a white hat, come nigh your horse, put on a white hat, go into the stable where your horse is, and take a whip in your hand: go up to him, and give him a few good lashes with it. Retire and change your hat for one of another color: leave your whip, come in again without it; stroke your horse, pat him, talk to him and feed him. Go out again, and put on your white hat: come in and whip him soundly. Then retire, put on another hat, and come in and handle him gently. Repeat the same for a few days, and your horse would as lief see the devil as a man with a white hat, and will not let such a one come near him; and thus it will happen with any other clothing.

I will relate a little anecdote, which took place in Mexico, a few years before I left there. One of my friends had a horse extremely gentle, and of such an easy, agreeable gait, that he took the greatest care of him, and held him at a great price. A well-fed, big and lusty friar was a friend to our neighbor: one who liked the good things of this world, as well as he liked to ride out to the small towns, bordering upon the city of Mexico, and take a dinner with the bonny lasses and countrymen, inhabiting those villages. He used to ask my friend to loan him his horse, to take these excursions just around the capital; and, as his requests were granted with so good a grace, he in a short time went so far as to ask the loan of this favorite animal, to go to Cuernavaca, a distance of eighteen leagues, or fifty miles. As this happened pretty often, our friend complained to me one day, at the indiscretion of the friar. I asked him if he could procure me a friar’s dress, for a few days, and leave his horse with me, for the same time. He did so. I dressed myself in the friar’s dress, and went in where the horse was. I took a good whip in my hand, and made him do penance for no other sin but that of too much gentleness. In going out I took off the friar’s dress, and went in again in my own dress, and handled him gently. I repeated the operation a few days, at the end of which, I took the horse back to his master, and told him he might lend him to the friar whenever he pleased. A day or two after, he came to my store. Your remedy, said he, has had a marvellous effect. Our monk has just left my house, perfectly persuaded that my horse is possessed with the devil. For, when the holy personage came up to take him by the bridle to get on him, he was so frightened, and wheeled round so quick, and flew away from him with so much terror, that one would have said he took him for the destroying angel. The friar crossed himself many times, hurried away with all haste to his convent, to sprinkle himself abundantly with holy water, and never asked my friend for his horse again.

TO TEACH YOUR HORSE, SO THAT HE WILL LET NO ONE BUT YOURSELF COME NEAR HIM.

Whilst your horse is eating, let another person come in to him with a stick sharpened at the end. Let him prick his nose with it, to irritate him; but slightly, drawing back at the same time. Let him repeat the same an instant afterwards, and every time the horse begins to eat again. Come to him yourself, and caress him and talk to him. Go out again, and cause another person to come in with the sharpened stick; but not the same one that came in at first. Let him fret him in the same manner as the other did. Call him out and go in yourself; handle the horse gently, and talk to him. Call in a third, and a fourth, and perform the same; always retiring suddenly from the horse, as if they were afraid of him, every time he leers at them, or endeavors to bite them. These lessons, repeated a few days, will inspire your horse with so much mistrust against every person but yourself, and a certain confidence in his own strength, that he will not suffer any one but yourself to come near him.

TO PREVENT A HORSE FROM PULLING UPON HIS BRIDLE-REINS, IN ORDER TO BREAK THEM.

Put a halter, (of that kind which Spaniards call a jaquima, used to ride young horses: it goes over their ears, comes down and crosses their nose, and has a throat-latch to it,) upon your horse, so strong that it cannot be easily broken, and tie it to a tree so small that it will bend a little, if the horse pulls with all his strength. Scare him. Run up before him. Give him even a light stroke or two with the whip: speaking to him to be quiet, whenever he pulls upon the rope. In a short time, he will see that it is impossible for him to break it; and, by exercising him twice a day for half an hour, each day in about a week, he will no longer pull upon the halter, when you scare him, and consequently will stand still afterwards, when hitched by the bridle.

THE MEXICAN MODE OF PREVENTING A HORSE FROM BREAKING HIS BRIDLE.

The Mexicans, when they ride out, always carry a beautiful hair rope, hanging from their horse’s neck. Whenever they stop, they hitch or tie their horses by this rope; and this simple method keeps them from breaking their bridle-reins. I would advise every one to do the same; especially if he stops long, is on a journey, or rides a stud. Merchants and saddlers may, perhaps, not like this advice, but I write for all. They likewise sell ropes.

HOW TO MANAGE A HORSE THAT GETS THE STUDS, OR ONE THAT STOPS AND WILL NOT ADVANCE A STEP WHEN YOU PUT HIM TO A PLOUGH, &c.

When your horse is harnessed, and put before the plough, and you find it impossible to drive him forward, either by gentle or rough means, drive down a strong stake or post, at the very place where he stops. Let it be so strong that he cannot break it by pulling. Then put a rope upon him equally strong; tie him rather short. Take out your watch, if you have one; if not, look at the sun. Let him remain in this position for twelve hours, without eating or drinking. If the days are short, I would advise you to tie him a little before sun-set, and let him remain all night. Go to him, untie him, and then speak to him to go on. He will undoubtedly advance. Make him plough two or three rounds; then unharness him, and give him something to eat, after having watered him, and put him again in the plough, should he stop again, do with him as at first, and let him stand nine or ten hours. It is rare that you have to repeat the operation: almost all horses go after the first time they have been thus managed.

HOW TO TEACH A HORSE TO LIE DOWN AT THE WORD OF COMMAND.

Tie up the horse’s right foot with a handkerchief, or a buckled strap, or something that is not so hard, as a common rope. Hold him close by the bridle-reins. Then take a small stick in your right hand, and strike gently upon the horse’s left leg, pulling downwards at the same time upon the bridle-reins, which you hold in your left hand, speaking to the horse, and telling him to lie down. Every time you strike his left leg, bear a little against him, and pull upon the bridle, saying to him, “Lie down, sir!” The horse, after several repetitions of the strokes, tries to lift up his left leg; but, as the other is tied up, this motion naturally throws him upon his knees. Now push him gently, till he lies upon his side. After he has remained several minutes in this position, untie his left leg, and say, “Stand up!” After he gets up, pat him in the forehead and all over, and lead him about a little. By repeating these lessons a few times, the horse will lie down at the word of command, by your pulling a little upon the bridle-reins, and leaning against him. When I practice this upon a wild horse that I have just been breaking, it is surprising to see how quick he will learn to lie down. He will do it in less than one half the time which one that has been broken in the common way will be, in doing the same, and very often in one fourth.

HOW TO TEACH A HORSE TO COUNT ANY NUMBER.

Take the horse’s left foot in your right hand; lift it up, and strike it upon the ground, counting one, at the same time. Strike again, and count two, and again, and count three, &c. to ten: when you pronounce this last number, raise your voice, so that it will be a little more audible than it was in the other numbers, and let the horse’s foot fall at the same time. Now count fifteen, or any other number, in the same manner; always telling the horse to count ten, fifteen, &c., and pronouncing the number you tell in a more audible manner, letting his foot fall at the same time. In a few lessons, he will learn to count at the word of command, and will stop at any number, whenever you raise your voice a little. In the same manner, you may make him tell what o’clock it is, &c.

EASY MODE OF FATTENING A HORSE IN A SHORT TIME.

The first day you take a lean horse, and wish to put him in a situation, as quick as possible, to be able to perform a journey or any other fatigue: give him, in the morning, twelve ears of corn, soaked twenty four hours in clean water. Scatter half a spoonful of fine salt over it; then let him eat hay or fodder for one hour. At noon, give him eight ears more, and a little fodder. Let him stand till five o’clock, if the weather is warm, and then bathe him: feed him as in the morning, and give him hay, grass or fodder, not quite so much as he would eat. The second day, bleed him by one or two slight incisions in the mouth, and give him sixteen ears of corn in the morning, and what grass or fodder he will eat in half an hour, and no more than four ears of corn at noon. Feed him in the evening as in the morning, after having bathed him as before, and augment the quantity of fodder. If the weather is cool, curry him and rub him well, instead of bathing. Third day, give him as much corn as he will eat, and fodder at discretion all night. Feed him as above, at seven or eight o’clock in the morning, and give him no hay or fodder, and nothing at noon: continue in this manner, observing to scatter a little salt upon his corn every third day. It will be necessary, after the third or fourth day, to ride him a mile or two twice a day. A horse managed in this manner, will be fatter at the end of ten or twelve days, than one fed in the common way will be in a month. A horse upon a journey, from September till April, requires no feeding, from the time you start in the morning till you stop at night. He will stand the journey better, and lose less flesh. I have travelled thousands of miles in the Mexican states, and have always found it to be the case, with the exception of those hot countries bordering on the Pacific Ocean, where I fed a little at noon—started a little early, and rode late, on account of the heat, which is equally great at all seasons of the year. A horse fed as I have directed for fifteen days, may then eat his corn without being soaked; and, though these directions are more particularly intended for this country, and for horses taken from the prairies, still, the directions will hold good in all countries and all climates: allowing something, however, for the different length of days in different seasons and climates. When on a journey, let a horse drink as often as he wishes.

A REMEDY FOR A HORSE THAT WILL NOT FATTEN, THOUGH WELL FED.

There are some horses that will not fatten, though you feed them with the greatest care; and, at the same time, they are perfectly healthy in other respects. Give to such a horse a pint of pretty strong decoction of the root of poke-weed. It generally causes him to sweat copiously, and it often happens, that one dose is sufficient to effect a radical cure; but, it may be necessary to repeat the dose two or three times: after which, treat him as you would a horse taken out of the prairie to be fattened according to the method laid down in this work.

TO PREVENT A HORSE’S BACK FROM GETTING SORE, EVEN ON A LONG JOURNEY.

The best method I ever found, to keep a horse’s back from getting sore, on a long journey, is: in the first place, to procure a saddle, with a saddle-tree sufficiently open as not to come in contact with the spine. If it be a Spanish saddle, or one of the common saddles used in herding cattle in this country, add to it a couple of cushions filled with wool well picked and clean, considerably thicker at the upper part, where they come nighest to the spine, and thinner as they descend upon the ribs of the horse. Fine wool is far preferable to hair, or any other substance I ever made use of. Put under the saddle a small saddle-blanket, which should likewise be of wool. When you stop, even for a few minutes, unloose or slacken the girt, and

if you stop half an hour, take off your saddle: especially if the weather be warm. When you stop at night, curry your horse well, and bathe his back in cold water, if the weather be warm. Give him as much corn and fodder as he will eat, but always give him the fodder an hour, or at least half an hour before you give him the corn. Arise early in the morning, and go yourself, or send a servant of confidence, to see that your horse eats as much as he will before you start on your journey; for good feeding is likewise a pretty good remedy to prevent a horse’s back from getting sore, because a horse in good order is less liable to be hurt than a lean one. Should your horse get foundered on the road, ride him or make him walk for at least two hours: after which bleed him copiously in the mouth, and continue your journey the next day, without fear of his failing; for though he should still limp a little, he will be well by night. I had forgot to observe, that before you bleed him, you must rub all his legs well, and bathe them in cold water. In rubbing them, it must always be done by beginning at the upper part and rubbing downwards.

HOW TO TREAT A HORSE UPON A JOURNEY.

From September to March, never feed your horse at noon. It is good to start early in the morning. When you stop to eat breakfast, unloose your girt, and, if the weather be warm, take off the saddle. If you stop for dinner, do the same. Let your horse drink as often as he pleases; but give him nothing to eat, till you stop at night, or, rather, a little before sun-set. When you stop, it is good, if your horse is warm, to let him walk about a few minutes, before you take off the saddle. When he gets perfectly dry, have him curried; and, in very warm weather, bathe him. Give him fodder for an hour before you give him his corn, if you feed with corn; but if with oats or barley, you may give either to him at the same time that you give him his hay. When you start in the morning, go on rather moderately till ten or eleven o’clock. Then you may go a little faster, and increase your pace in the afternoon. When you stop at night, give your horse as much corn and fodder as he will eat. Let hay or fodder remain in the rack all night, but not the corn. Give him twenty or thirty ears, if he will eat so many, before you start. From April to the first of September, feed a little at noon. Clean the mud out of your horse’s hoofs, every now and then; that is, every morning, or second morning; and, if you perceive that your horse often gets balls of hard, dry earth in them, rub soft soap upon the inside of them, and that will prevent the mud from sticking.

A HORSE THAT IS APT TO STUMBLE THROUGH CARELESSNESS.

Feed well: that, in the first place, will give him strength to stand upon his feet firmly, and be able to support his rider; and, should he still stumble, ride him with a Spanish bridle, and hold the reins rather short, and check him whenever he stumbles. This is, perhaps, the most efficacious remedy known. Some horses are so constructed that they are natural stumblers. It is very difficult to cure such a one of this defect, though by using him some time to the Spanish bit, he will stumble less.

HOW TO BREAK A MULE BY THE SECRET: AND THE DIFFERENCE THERE IS TO BE OBSERVED BETWEEN A MULE AND A HORSE.

A mule seems to belong to all three classes of horses, as to vices: it will run at a man, bite, and strike at him, like a horse of the first class; it will again fly from him, like one of the second class; and kick, and appear to be afraid of every thing, like a horse of the third class: and yet I have broken two or three in a day; and one day, I broke four in ten hours and a half, so that a man might handle their feet, and take them up with the greatest ease; saddle and bridle them, and put two or three boys upon them, and ride them through the streets of a populous town. This I did, in the city of Jalapa, seventy-five miles above the city of Vera Cruz, on the road to Mexico. But this may be looked upon as a rare case; for it generally takes from six to eight hours to break a mule, so as to ride him with safety. Now, a man may know how to break a horse, according to the rules I have here laid down, and completely fail in his first attempts upon a mule. In the first place, it is absolutely necessary to have a halter upon the mule, of that kind called a jaguima, in the Spanish language. Now, when I draw nigh them, as is indicated in the manner which I follow in coming up to a wild horse, for the first time, I always take up the rope, which is tied to the head-stall of the halter, and then approach with much precaution, but without any signs of fear, &c., &c. Now, as I write for the timid, as well as for the courageous and intrepid, and as I look upon a mule as a most treacherous animal, I will here state, that all these precautions may be rendered unnecessary, by making a pen just big enough to put the mule in, and so high that it cannot jump over it; and let the bars be far enough apart to pass your hand between them and handle the mule. The pen must be made in such a manner that you can go around it on each side, as well behind as before, and be able to get upon it so as to saddle the mule, when you find it sufficiently gentle to proceed thus far. Then continue the operation as with a horse, but with this difference: you ought always to load the mule with bags of sand, or the like, and exercise it before you ride it. A weight of about two hundred pounds is not too much for the first time. As for any thing further, do as you would with a horse, &c.

The same pen you make for one mule, may serve for others which are of about the same size; and thus you may break, in a very few days, a great many mules, so as to go immediately to work with them, without laming them by blows and rough usage, which is often the cause of their being refractory the rest of their lives. I have broken a sufficient number of them to bear witness of the truth of this assertion. All those persons who may have learnt any part of my secret of breaking horses in a few hours, have remained perfectly silent with regard to mules, though they have undoubtedly tried their skill upon them, but in vain.

HOW THALES, ONE OF THE SEVEN WISE MEN OF GREECE, CORRECTED A MULE OF THE HABIT OF LYING DOWN EVERY TIME IT PASSED A CERTAIN RIVER.

Thales, one of the seven wise men of Greece, had a mule which used to carry loads of salt from one place to another, in consequence of which, it had to cross a very wide, but rather shallow river. It so happened one day, that whilst it was crossing the river, being heavily loaded, it stumbled and fell down, and remained some time in the middle of the water, which soon melted and washed away the salt that was in the bags. The animal, finding itself thus alleviated and discharged of its load, was able to jump up and pursue its journey without fatigue: from thence it concluded that the said fall and immersion in the river had been favorable and beneficial to it; therefore, when it had to cross the river a second time with a load of salt, it stopped in the midst of the river, and plunged in such a manner that its load soon melted away; and this happened every time it passed the stream; nor was it possible to break it of this trick, either by words or blows, though vigorously and well-applied. At last, the wise Thales bethought himself of this stratagem: He loaded the beast with a very bulky load of sponge; the mule, according to custom, plunged into the water, and remained some time; but, when it got up, it could hardly stagger under the weight of its load, and, instead of relief, found itself oppressed to such a degree, that it ever after crossed the river with the greatest care, so as not to fall in the water and increase the weight of its load.

HOW TO MAKE A DULL HORSE APPEAR METTLESOME AND FULL OF FIRE FOR A SHORT TIME.

Take of red pepper, of the strongest kind, a small handful. Pound it fine, and add half a spoonful of vinegar to it. Put the whole into a small bag, made of linen, and tie it to that part of the crupper which goes immediately under the horse’s tail. Buckle the crupper rather short, so that it will press upon the little bag, as the horse trots off. The juice will flow out of the bag, and come in contact with a certain part, which will immediately have the most wonderful effect upon the horse imaginable. He will champ his bit, if you hold him in, and appear to be all fire and mettle. When you ride off, he will hold up his head, stick his ears forward, lift his feet with agility, and caper about like a young colt. In a word, he will act the part of a fiery, mettlesome horse, full of vigor and spiritedness.

THAT PART, OR THOSE PARTS OF THE MEXICAN STATES IN WHICH THE BEST RACE OF HORSES IS TO BE FOUND, AND SOME OF THEIR QUALITIES.

The horses that are brought to Louisiana, under the name of Spanish horses, generally come from Caahuila, Tamaulipas, and Neuvo Leon. They are of a pretty good size, and commonly of a vicious disposition. They are very much affected by the change of climate. They are likewise used to a better kind of grass than that growing in Louisiana. They are much larger than the creole horses, and when acclimated live longer. When mixed with the creole horses, they form a good race, far better than the creole horses. Planters generally suffer great loss in purchasing northern horses, which are so much affected by the climate that hundreds of them die every year. A better and more serviceable race of horses may be raised, by procuring northern mares, and putting them with creole studs. They will not only stand the climate as well as the creole horses, but will render more service than the northern horses, and do not require half so much care. But a race of horses, far superior to either of the above-mentioned, can be raised, by procuring some of those beautiful Andalusian studs, and putting them with northern mares. This would be really improving the race of horses in this country. I would likewise advise the planters to procure both mares and horses, and raise at least some elegant riding horses from this Andalusian race. I have more than once mounted upon a fiery Arabian steed, that hardly seemed to touch the ground, as he bounded over the plains—I have likewise ridden upon some of the finest horses raised in New Spain—and, for my life, I have found it difficult to distinguish the difference between the former and the latter. They are of the same size—their shape is the same—their long, floating mane the same—their beautiful, small and well turned hoof the same, and so hard that they travel over vastly high and rocky mountains, without being shod. Add to this, their hardiness to undergo fatigue. I have ridden one of these horses for twenty days together, going from fifty to fifty-five miles a day, and frequently changing from a cold to a hot climate, and vice versa; for in New Spain, climates are hot or cold, according as they are higher or lower; and this I have done, without my horse ever appearing in the least jaded, or the leaner for it. The rider himself feels much more at his ease, than he does when riding a heavy, clumsy horse, that moves along like a camel, and is remarkable only on account of his unwieldliness, and is, as a Kentuckian would say, “waste timber!” Besides, the Andalusian or Arabian breed are the most elegant easy-going horses in the world. They have no resemblance to those Spanish horses which are brought to this country.

Now, as I have mentioned some of their qualities, I will inform the amateur where he can best procure them. In going by land to the Mexican states, the first horses of this kind to be met with, are raised upon the Hacienda del Xaral, (pronounced Haral, and often written with a J, Jaral,) two hundred and sixty miles this side of the city of San Louis Potosi, in the state of the same name. Still further on, in the states of Guanajuato and Quenetaro, the same race of horses is to be found, and likewise in other places: but, those I here mention, would be by far the most convenient places to procure them, as they are not so far distant as others from Tampico, should one wish to bring them by sea to New Orleans, nor so far from this state, should one prefer bringing them by land. All of these fine horses, I here mention, are raised upon the table-lands, where excessive heat is never felt: and yet, if you take them down to the hot countries upon the coast, they will, even there, do double the service of one of the hot-country horses, in their own climate. I speak from experience, for I have tried both. They likewise possess another good quality, which is that of being the most sure-footed animals in the world, of the horse kind; not even excepting a mule.

CAUTION TO BE OBSERVED, IN CUTTING OR PARING THE HOOFS OF YOUR HORSES IN THIS COUNTRY, WHERE HORSES GENERALLY GO UNSHOD.

When you cut or pare the hoofs of your horses, be careful to cut them so as not to let that soft part, which is in the middle of the foot, commonly called the frog, rise above the outside of the hoof; for if you do, it will undoubtedly make the horse limp. When it is too big, it must be cut off. Nobody will do it so efficaciously as a blacksmith, and it is better to pay such a one some trifle than to lame your horse.

CAUTION TO THOSE WHO RAISE HORSES OR MULES.

He that would raise a good stock of horses or mules, must have good pasture-ground, and take special care that the colts do not want for food in the winter time, and more particularly the first two years. More depends upon the first two years, than any thing that can be done afterwards; for a colt that is badly fed, and allowed to suffer hunger and cold while he is young, will rarely or never make a large horse; whereas, if he has been well fed for two years, he is more able to support hardship afterwards, though I by no means advise any one to neglect him at any time.

TO ACCUSTOM A HORSE TO STAY IN A PLACE.

If you buy a horse in one part of the country, and take him to another, and the horse returns of his own accord to his former abode, cause another person, (if the person be his old master, so much the better,) to take your horse and tie him up, and whip him severely, and let him stand all night without eating any thing whatever. In the morning, let the same person come again to the horse, and give him another good discipline: immediately afterwards, go to your horse, mount him, and ride him back to the place where you wish him to stay, and give him some salt, and plenty to eat. Keep him inclosed for two days, well fed, handled and caressed. Then cause him to be taken to his first place of residence. Let any person catch him, tie him up, and whip him, as at first, leaving him tied all night, without eating. Go to him, get upon him, and ride him home; caress and feed him well, and give him a little salt. Let him loose, at the end of two days, upon trial; if he does not return at the end of four days, have him caught, caressed and fed, and salt given to him, and then let loose. But should he return a third time, which would be a rare case, repeat the discipline. I seldom or never knew this remedy to fail.

TO MAKE A GENTLE HORSE, NOT USED TO A CARRIAGE, GO IN IT.

Harness your horse: handle him in the forehead a few minutes. Let some one lead him, whilst you hold the reins and go behind him with a whip in your hand. Make him advance, by speaking to him; then speak to him to stop, at the same time you pull upon the reins. Exercise him a few minutes in this way, then handle him again in the forehead. Make him advance: let the person who led him now go before, at a little distance, then further off, till at last the horse will suffer himself to be driven, without any one being before him. Now let him drag a small piece of wood, with some one going before as at first, till he suffers himself to be driven without. Exercise him a few minutes, in this way, then with something larger, that will make considerable noise. I have always made use of a barrel, fixed so that it would roll round, and in which I put a quantity of round stones; but, as stones are difficult to be procured in this part of the country, their place can be supplied by something else. Give the horse a good exercise, in the same gentle, progressive manner as above, till he will suffer himself to be driven with this last load in every direction, without the necessity of any one going before him. Then put him to an empty cart, and continue on, in the same progressive manner. Never pull upon the reins, to stop your horse, without speaking to him. I have never yet failed of success in putting a horse to a coach or gig; but, it is certain, that there are some horses so fiery and vicious, that few persons would have patience enough to succeed. I here speak of those horses that have contracted vicious habits, after having been broken for a long time. Never fail to give your horse a very small quantity of salt, after having exercised him to go in a cart or gig. Do not give him more than a thimble-full at a time. He will generally go well the first day; but he ought to have a few hours exercise each day, for a few days.

A HORSE THAT STOPS, AND REFUSES TO GO, WHEN IN A CARRIAGE.

If a horse stops, and refuses to go, or runs back, go up before him, handle him in the forehead and coax him. If he is not an old offender, he will go off in about fifteen minutes. If he has been spoiled for a long time, it requires more patience to correct him.

A MODE OF BREAKING WILD HORSES, VERY DIFFERENT FROM THAT DISCOVERED BY ME.

I have seen a wild horse taken and shut up in a stable. The man who was to gentle or tame him, took a whip, such as a coachman uses, and went in to him; and, as the horse was frightened, and ran away from him, he fell to whipping him most unmercifully. At the end of half an hour, the horse, seeing it impossible to escape the whip by running away, advanced towards the man who had been his persecutor. The man threw down his whip, and began to handle him; but the horse, at the end of a few minutes, began to be refractory, when he took it up again, and repeated the lesson with so much severity, that the horse soon came back to him. This he continued for some time; when, at the end of about two hours, he saddled the horse and drove him about with his whip, making him come up to him every now and then, till at last he mounted him and rode off very well. I observed, that the horse frequently trembled, when he went to get on him, notwithstanding he rode him off pretty well; he appeared to be afraid of many objects he met with, and was far, very far from being that gentle, docile animal, tamed by the simple, natural means made use of in my method of breaking horses. Besides this, those horses do not remain gentle. I speak from experience.

ANOTHER MODE OF BREAKING A HORSE FOR A FEW HOURS.

Stop up the horse’s ears, so that he cannot hear at all, and you can very soon handle him as if he were a gentle horse; but, when you unstop his ears, he will become as wild as ever. If you perform this two or three times upon the same horse, it will have no effect upon him at last.

ADVICE TO FARMERS, CONCERNING THE GENTLING OF YOUNG COWS.

Though I did not intend to say any thing about horned cattle, it may not, perhaps, be amiss to relate what I have experienced and been eye-witness to, in the state of Louisiana, concerning the gentling of young cows, since I discovered the secret of breaking horses in a few hours. Whenever I have had a heifer or young cow to gentle, (it must be observed, that they are much wilder here than in the northern states,) I have made it a practice to have them tied by the horns to a post, and have made a servant begin to handle them well all over, speaking to them uninterruptedly; and this he did for two or three mornings, before milking them, always finishing by giving them a little salt. At the end of three or four days, they never failed of becoming gentle, and could be milked without being tied. Though I have seen by experience, that horned cattle, especially bulls, are much less sensible to the touch than horses, a part of which may possibly be owing to the thickness of their skin, yet even with them I have done much. Let any one who will, do more.

THE ASTONISHING MANNER IN WHICH I TAMED OR GENTLED A WILD DEER.

The second day after my arrival in the town of Tantoyuca, I presented myself to the first Alcade, or chief magistrate of the town. I showed him the documents I had brought with me from the President and other authorities, and expressed a desire of putting in practice, in that town the ability I possessed of taming, in a few hours, wild horses. The Alcade seemed to be of a morose, surly temper, and answered me, saying, he did not believe in witches, nor miracles, and though he said he respected the President’s document, yet he believed he had been imposed upon, &c. He appeared not even disposed to give me a trial. He had a brother-in-law, a Spaniard, a genteel, wealthy gentleman: this man was very much disposed to favor my undertaking. He possessed numerous herds of wild horses. He gave me one of his houses to live in, whilst I staid in the town, for I had my wife and family with me. About six o’clock, (this was in February, 1826,) whilst we were all sitting at the door, taking the air, a wild deer came bouncing by us. It had been chased out of the woods by a leopard or a tiger. The large spotted tiger and leopard are both natives of this country, and are often seen within half a mile of the towns in the Guanteca. The deer ran down opposite the Alcade’s house: there, a man threw a rope upon it, and caught it. I immediately went to the man, bought the deer, and told him to tie it and bring it up to my house. He accordingly did so. I untied it, and shut it up in a room, where it remained all night. The next morning, before sun-rise, I went to it, and began the operation of gentling; and, at nine o’clock, I made it follow me to the Alcade’s, accompanied by his brother-in-law. The Alcade was so delighted at seeing the deer follow me into his house, that he gave me every facility to perform in that town, which I did, and brought away a fine purse of doubloons, which he and his friends gave me, as a gratification for having broken a wild horse in their presence.

This deer having been shut up all night, as I have observed, I got up early in the morning, and went to the room in which it was confined. As I opened the door, it appeared almost frightened to death. I shut the door, however, and remained perfectly still for some time. The deer had retired to the further corner of the room, which was very small: it had turned round, and was looking at me. I kept my position, with my left hand stretched out, for half an hour before I began to move, as slow as possible, towards the deer, which kept its eyes fixed steadfast upon me, and never stirred, till I got nigh enough to touch it. I moved my hand for some time, before I dared to let it fall upon its head: at last, I ventured to let the end of my fingers fall, as lightly as possible, upon its head; it trembled and flinched a little; I repeated, with the greatest rapidity, those very light touches, and in less than five minutes, as I suppose, (for it was impossible for me to look at my watch without frightening the deer,) I began to rub it upon the head; and, in less than half an hour, I took its head under my arm, and handled it all over in two hours from the time I went in to it. I made my servant and several others go to it, and stroke and rub it. It was a full-grown deer, and not less than two or three years old. The mode of taming it consisted in stroking it gently, and taking its head in my arms, &c. I relate this circumstance more to prove the astonishing effect the tact has upon some animals, and to point out the different ways of applying it, than from any benefit resulting from taming this latter kind of animals.

A REMEDY FOR AN OX THAT LIES DOWN, AND WONT GET UP.

I have seen some oxen lie down, when put before the plough, and show so much obstinacy, that they suffered themselves to be whipped most unmercifully, and even burnt, without showing signs of obedience. If an ox lies down and will not get up, either by gentle or rough means, tie him in such a manner that it will be impossible for him to get up. Let him remain in this situation, without eating or drinking, for ten hours: then untie him, and he will not fail to go off. Let him go two or three rounds, and then feed him well. It is not common for him to return to his former offence, unless he has been an old offender; in which case, let him remain tied two or three hours longer, and he will not fail of leaving off his old tricks.

A CURIOUS METHOD OF TEACHING TURKIES TO DANCE AT THE SOUND OF THE TRIANGLE OR ANY OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

It is a well known fact, that in the East Indies, camels are often taught to dance at the sound of music. I knew that this was done by putting them upon hot floors, &c. They are afterwards exhibited at public spectacles. I never had learned the precise course pursued; yet notwithstanding, I undertook to teach a dog to dance. I heated large pieces of tin plate, put the dog upon them, and at the same time struck upon a triangle, that being the easiest instrument I knew of. I tried this several times, without any other success than having most miserably burnt two or three dogs’ feet in the experiments. At last, in one of my chemical operations, (for I was then teaching chemistry to a few young gentleman,) I made use of the sand-bath. It immediately occurred to me, that in teaching an animal to dance by means of heat, the heat ought to be tempered by something similar to the sand-bath. I therefore determined to make a new trial; and, having no dog at hand, I made choice of four good-looking turkies, two males and two females. I made two cages; the bottom of one was made of tin plates, upon which I strewed a certain portion of fine sand. Then I put fire under the cage. The turkies were in the other cage, which had a door of communication with the one having a tin bottom. When I thought the bottom of the cage sufficiently hot, I drove the turkies from the one to the other, shut the door, and began to strike rapidly and loudly upon the triangle, which I held in my hand. The sensation of heat which the turkies experienced, caused them to skip about as if they had been possessed with some evil spirit. After letting them continue their exercise for a quarter of an hour or so, I opened the door and drove them back into the first cage, and at the same time stopped playing. Then I fed them well, and lastly turned them loose in the yard. The next day, I made them go through the same ceremony, before I gave them any thing to eat, and so on, for a quarter of an hour or more every day, for ten days; at the end of which, I struck upon the triangle before I turned them into the hot cage. Only one of them, more docile than the other three, began to jump about a little. The others, it is true, looked up, and seemed, as it were, astonished. I was then fully convinced that they would all shortly learn to dance, if I continued the same method of giving them lessons. I accordingly continued on, in the same manner, for twenty days more; at the end of which, I let them loose one day in a room, and began to strike violently upon the triangle. All four of the turkies began to skip and run about, keeping pretty close to one another, and changing every minute their position. It was the most ludicrous, and, at the same time, entertaining sight imaginable. The impression which the sound of the triangle had made upon them, on account of their having felt the heat at the bottom of the cage, every time they had heard that music, became a lasting one; and they would begin to dance, ever after, though in the yard amidst the other turkies, whenever they heard the sound of that instrument. They generally separated themselves from the others, and run together. They may be taught with any other instrument, as well as with the triangle. It will take much longer to teach a dog, than a turkey. The reason is, as I suppose, that the dog is not so easily deceived. The only difficulty attending this mode of teaching turkies to dance is, to keep your tin plates neither too hot nor too cold; for, if too hot, they will get their feet burnt; and, if too cold, they won’t dance. I sold the four above-mentioned turkies, for four doubloons, to a man who went about exhibiting various curiosities.

REMEDY FOR THE GRIPES, OR COLIC.

Give to the horse a pint of port or claret wine, with a small nutmeg grated fine, and half a spoonful of powdered ginger, all well mixed, and given rather hotter than lukewarm. The best method is to get ready some boiling hot water, then put the nutmeg and ginger, together with a little loaf sugar, into a vessel, and pour the hot water upon them, and cover it for three minutes; then add the wine, and give this dose to the horse pretty warm. It generally gives relief in a short time. My intention is not to say any thing upon farriery, except two or three of the most common diseases to which horses are subject. Much has already been written by able professors.

CONCERNING THE BOTS.

In twenty-seven years time, I never had a horse die of the bots. I believe that almost every body is convinced that the bots come from the eggs or knits, which are deposited upon the horse’s hair, by that troublesome fly, resembling a bee in color. This has always been my opinion. Now, as it is generally known, that a horse that has the bots, does not appear to suffer, till he is too far gone to be cured, to prevent the fatal effects of this disease, I have made it a practice to give my horses, in the month of September, the following remedy: Of olive oil, honey and lemon-juice, each, two ounces and a half: mix and give these to the horse; the next day purge well. Whether a horse be inclined or not to have the bots, this remedy will do him no hurt.

THE BLIND STAGGERS.

It is believed, that the disease called STAGGERS, is generally occasioned by a diseased state of the stomach. Copious and timely bleeding is the sheet-anchor on which we must depend. I shall, however, give the following recipe, which has often proved serviceable: Take of oil of peppermint, one scruple; tincture of valerian, one ounce; assafoetida, five drachms: mix for a dose.