Their Horses, Which
Were Turned Loose To Graze During The Day, Under Heedful Eyes,
Were Brought In At Night, And Shut Up In Strong Pens, Built Of
Large Logs Of Cotton-Wood.
The snows, during a portion of the
winter, were so deep that the poor animals could find but little
sustenance.
Here and there a tuft of grass would peer above the
snow; but they were in general driven to browse the twigs and
tender branches of the trees. When they were turned out in the
morning, the first moments of freedom from the confinement of the
pen were spent in frisking and gambolling. This done, they went
soberly and sadly to work, to glean their scanty subsistence for
the day. In the meantime the men stripped the bark of the
cotton-wood tree for the evening fodder. As the poor horses would
return toward night, with sluggish and dispirited air, the moment
they saw their owners approaching them with blankets filled with
cotton-wood bark, their whole demeanor underwent a change. A
universal neighing and capering took place; they would rush
forward, smell to the blankets, paw the earth, snort, whinny and
prance round with head and tail erect, until the blankets were
opened, and the welcome provender spread before them. These
evidences of intelligence and gladness were frequently recounted
by the trappers as proving the sagacity of the animal.
These veteran rovers of the mountains look upon their horses as
in some respects gifted with almost human intellect.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 429 of 442
Words from 115007 to 115257
of 118673
