Brief description:
He was black as night, except for his near foreleg with its “stocking" of gleaming _ white, so short it might almost be called a sock. He stood a trifle over fifteen hands high, and his conformation was good though a trifle short-coupled. But the feature of the horse that caught and held an observer's eye was his crest. . Crest was the word for that neck proudly arched and head held high. His eyes were alight with spirit and intelligence. His ears, pricked up alertly, were small and set rather close together. Had his mane been roached, his crest would have been the very image of the horses’ heads the ancient Greeks sculptured, or of the black night of a chess set. Somehow you could not picture him as ever crestfallen.
The horse, led by a lanky loose-jointed man through the single street of a frontier town to be watered in the stream beyond, stepped springily and tossed his head. Men turned to look at him. It was curious that he should attract any attention. In the Texas Panhandle in 1870 only extraordinary horses drew more than a passing glance. Thousands of wild horses still roamed the plains. Blooded stock whirled the Concord coaches over the stage routes, and fine animals were to be found in many emigrant trains. A fiery palomino stallion, newly roped in a wild-horse hunt, or a sleek Kentucky thoroughbred might win admiring scrutiny, but certainly not a small black gelding. Perhaps it was the horse’s bearing and his air of lively interest in his surroundings and the people along the street which caused them in turn to notice him.
And it was evident that the lanky man leading the black meant him to be noticed; his air of unconcern was a shade too elaborate. After he had walked the length of the street he appeared to recollect some pressing errand at the store at the other end. Swinging himself onto the horse’s back, he trotted back to the store, slid off and entered, while his mount stood patiently. The lanky man then emerged and rode back toward the stream. In the course of this performance he had succeeded in demonstrating that the black horse possessed not only a stead vwalk, an even trot, and a swinging canter, but a fast running-walk and a smooth single-foot which made his rider seem to be comfortably seated on an air cushion. Here was a horse with five gaits.
A watching cowboy grinned at the show staged by the lanky man. “Yankee hoss-trader,” he drawled, and turned away. But that impromptu horse-show had not been put on in vain. When man and horse had passed, two spectators followed—a grizzled, gray-bearded Major of cavalry and a stout, swarthy man, part Mexican, part Indian, to judge by his features. Twice the latter's beady black eyes had gleamed while he watched the horse: Once in admiration of the smooth single-footed gait, and again—and brighter— at the sight of the horse’s one white leg.
The Major, quicker on his feet, reached the quarryfirst. Content to bide his time and put in the last bid, the prosperous-looking half-breed waited and covertly observed from a distance. The Army man strode to where the black horse was being watered and ran appraising eyes expertly over the animal. In the traditional manner he opened the bargaining...
The horse, led by a lanky loose-jointed man through the single street of a frontier town to be watered in the stream beyond, stepped springily and tossed his head. Men turned to look at him. It was curious that he should attract any attention. In the Texas Panhandle in 1870 only extraordinary horses drew more than a passing glance. Thousands of wild horses still roamed the plains. Blooded stock whirled the Concord coaches over the stage routes, and fine animals were to be found in many emigrant trains. A fiery palomino stallion, newly roped in a wild-horse hunt, or a sleek Kentucky thoroughbred might win admiring scrutiny, but certainly not a small black gelding. Perhaps it was the horse’s bearing and his air of lively interest in his surroundings and the people along the street which caused them in turn to notice him.
And it was evident that the lanky man leading the black meant him to be noticed; his air of unconcern was a shade too elaborate. After he had walked the length of the street he appeared to recollect some pressing errand at the store at the other end. Swinging himself onto the horse’s back, he trotted back to the store, slid off and entered, while his mount stood patiently. The lanky man then emerged and rode back toward the stream. In the course of this performance he had succeeded in demonstrating that the black horse possessed not only a stead vwalk, an even trot, and a swinging canter, but a fast running-walk and a smooth single-foot which made his rider seem to be comfortably seated on an air cushion. Here was a horse with five gaits.
A watching cowboy grinned at the show staged by the lanky man. “Yankee hoss-trader,” he drawled, and turned away. But that impromptu horse-show had not been put on in vain. When man and horse had passed, two spectators followed—a grizzled, gray-bearded Major of cavalry and a stout, swarthy man, part Mexican, part Indian, to judge by his features. Twice the latter's beady black eyes had gleamed while he watched the horse: Once in admiration of the smooth single-footed gait, and again—and brighter— at the sight of the horse’s one white leg.
The Major, quicker on his feet, reached the quarryfirst. Content to bide his time and put in the last bid, the prosperous-looking half-breed waited and covertly observed from a distance. The Army man strode to where the black horse was being watered and ran appraising eyes expertly over the animal. In the traditional manner he opened the bargaining...
Publication
Dodd, Mead & Co. (1946), Edition: 1st