Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine | Page 6

huntsman, came, he would soon catch him. I was too angry to listen to
reason, and I ordered him to get off his horse, and let me mount. The
black begged and prayed of me not to ride after the brute; and Mr Neal,
who was some distance off, shouted to me, as loud as he could, for
Heaven's sake, to stop--that I did not know what it was to chase a wild

horse in a Texian prairie, and that I must not fancy myself in the
meadows of Louisiana or Florida. I paid no attention to all this--I was
in too great a rage at the trick the beast had played me, and, jumping on
the negro's horse, I galloped away like mad.
My rebellious steed was grazing quietly with his companions, and he
allowed me to come within a couple of hundred paces of him; but just
as I had prepared the lasso, which was fastened to the negro's
saddle-bow, he gave a start, and galloped off some distance further, I
after him. Again he made a pause, and munched a mouthful of
grass--then off again for another half mile. This time I had great hopes
of catching him, for he let me come within a hundred yards; but, just as
I was creeping up to him, away he went with one of his shrill neighs.
When I galloped fast he went faster, when I rode slowly he slackened
pace. At least ten times did he let me approach him within a couple of
hundred yards, without for that being a bit nearer getting hold of him. It
was certainly high time to desist from such a mad chase, but I never
dreamed of doing so; and indeed the longer it lasted, the more obstinate
I got. I rode on after the beast, who kept letting me come nearer and
nearer, and then darted off again with his loud-laughing neigh. It was
this infernal neigh that made me so savage--there was something so
spiteful and triumphant in it, as though the animal knew he was making
a fool of me, and exulted in so doing. At last, however, I got so sick of
my horse-hunt that I determined to make a last trial, and, if that failed,
to turn back. The runaway had stopped near one of the islands of trees,
and was grazing quite close to its edge. I thought that if I were to creep
round to the other side of the island, and then steal across it, through
the trees, I should be able to throw the lasso over his head, or, at any
rate, to drive him back to the house. This plan I put in execution--rode
round the island, then through it, lasso in hand, and as softly as if I had
been riding over eggs. To my consternation, however, on arriving at the
edge of the trees, and at the exact spot where, only a few minutes
before, I had seen the mustang grazing, no signs of him were to be
perceived. I made the circuit of the island, but in vain--the animal had
disappeared. With a hearty curse, I put spurs to my horse, and started
off to ride back to the plantation.

Neither the plantation, the cattle, nor my companions, were visible, it is
true; but this gave me no uneasiness. I felt sure that I knew the
direction in which I had come, and that the island I had just left was
one which was visible from the house, while all around me were such
numerous tracks of horses, that the possibility of my having lost my
way never occurred to me, and I rode on quite unconcernedly.
After riding for about an hour, however, I began to find the time rather
long. I looked at my watch. It was past one o'clock. We had started at
nine, and, allowing an hour and a half to have been spent in finding the
cattle, I had passed nearly three hours in my wild and unsuccessful hunt.
I began to think that I must have got further from the plantation than I
had as yet supposed.
It was towards the end of March, the day clear and warm, just like a
May-day in the Southern States. The sun was now shining brightly out,
but the early part of the morning had been somewhat foggy; and, as I
had only arrived at the plantation the day before, and had passed the
whole afternoon and evening indoors, I had no opportunity of getting
acquainted with the bearings of the house. This reflection began to
make me rather uneasy, particularly when I remembered the entreaties
of the negro, and the loud exhortations Mr Neal addressed to me as I
rode away. I said to myself, however,