Let me make you acquainted with our outfit.
I rode, as you have gathered, an Arizona pony named Bullet.He was a handsome fellow with a chestnut brown coat, long mane and tail, and a beautiful pair of brown eyes.Wes always called him "Baby." He was in fact the youngster of the party, with all the engaging qualities of youth.I never saw a horse more willing.He wanted to do what you wanted him to; it pleased him, and gave him a warm consciousness of virtue which the least observant could not fail to remark.When leading he walked industriously ahead, setting the pace; when driving,--that is, closing up the rear,--he attended strictly to business.Not for the most luscious bunch of grass that ever grew would he pause even for an instant.Yet in his off hours, when I rode irresponsibly somewhere in the middle, he was a great hand to forage.Few choice morsels escaped him.He confided absolutely in his rider in the matter of bad country, and would tackle anything I would put him at.It seemed that he trusted me not to put him at anything that would hurt him.This was an invaluable trait when an example had to be set to the reluctance of the other horses.He was a great swimmer.
Probably the most winning quality of his nature was his extreme friendliness.He was always wandering into camp to be petted, nibbling me over with his lips, begging to have his forehead rubbed, thrusting his nose under an elbow, and otherwise telling how much he thought of us.Whoever broke him did a good job.I never rode a better-reined horse.A mere indication of the bridle-hand turned him to right or left, and a mere raising of the hand without the slightest pressure on the bit stopped him short.And how well he understood cow-work! Turn him loose after the bunch, and he would do the rest.All I had to do was to stick to him.That in itself was no mean task, for he turned like a flash, and was quick as a cat on his feet.At night I always let him go foot free.
He would be there in the morning, and I could always walk directly up to him with the bridle in plain sight in my hand.Even at a feedless camp we once made where we had shot a couple of deer, he did not attempt to wander off in search of pasture, as would most horses.He nosed around unsuccessfully until pitch dark, then came into camp, and with great philosophy stood tail to the fire until morning.Icould always jump off anywhere for a shot, without even the necessity of "tying him to the ground," by throwing the reins over his head.He would wait for me, although he was never overfond of firearms.
Nevertheless Bullet had his own sense of dignity.
He was literally as gentle as a kitten, but he drew a line.I shall never forget how once, being possessed of a desire to find out whether we could swim our outfit across a certain stretch of the Merced River, Iclimbed him bareback.He bucked me off so quickly that I never even got settled on his back.Then he gazed at me with sorrow, while, laughing irrepressibly at this unusual assertion of independent ideas, I picked myself out of a wild-rose bush.He did not attempt to run away from me, but stood to be saddled, and plunged boldly into the swift water where I told him to.Merely he thought it disrespectful in me to ride him without his proper harness.He was the pet of the camp.
As near as I could make out, he had but one fault.
He was altogether too sensitive about his hind quarters, and would jump like a rabbit if anything touched him there.
Wes rode a horse we called Old Slob.Wes, be it premised, was an interesting companion.He had done everything,--seal-hunting, abalone-gathering, boar-hunting, all kinds of shooting, cow-punching in the rough Coast Ranges, and all other queer and outlandish and picturesque vocations by which a man can make a living.He weighed two hundred and twelve pounds and was the best game shot with a rifle I ever saw.
As you may imagine, Old Slob was a stocky individual.He was built from the ground up.His disposition was quiet, slow, honest.Above all, he gave the impression of vast, very vast experience.
Never did he hurry his mental processes, although he was quick enough in his movements if need arose.
He quite declined to worry about anything.Consequently, in spite of the fact that he carried by far the heaviest man in the company, he stayed always fat and in good condition.There was something almost pathetic in Old Slob's willingness to go on working, even when more work seemed like an imposition.
You could not fail to fall in love with his mild inquiring gentle eyes, and his utter trust in the goodness of human nature.His only fault was an excess of caution.Old Slob was very very experienced.He knew all about trails, and he declined to be hurried over what he considered a bad place.Wes used sometimes to disagree with him as to what constituted a bad place."Some day you're going to take a tumble, you old fool," Wes used to address him, "if you go on fiddling down steep rocks with your little old monkey work.Why don't you step out?"Only Old Slob never did take a tumble.He was willing to do anything for you, even to the assuming of a pack.This is considered by a saddle-animal distinctly as a come-down.
The Tenderfoot, by the irony of fate, drew a tenderfoot horse.Tunemah was a big fool gray that was constitutionally rattle-brained.He meant well enough, but he didn't know anything.When he came to a bad place in the trail, he took one good look--and rushed it.Constantly we expected him to come to grief.It wore on the Tenderfoot's nerves.
