Horse-taming ... as practised by the Red Indians of North America / [Alexander John Ellis].

  • Alexander John Ellis
Date:
1842
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Horse-taming ... as practised by the Red Indians of North America / [Alexander John Ellis]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The object of the following pages is two-fold; first, to extract the account of the North American Indian method of Horse-taming, as given by Mr. Catlin, in his new work, entitled, “ Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians, by Geo. Catlin ; written during eight years travel amongst the wildest tribes of Indians in North America, in 1832, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, and 39. In 2 vols., with 400 illustrations, carefully engraved from his original drawings. London : Published by the Author, at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly. 1841. Large 8vo.,’' and to detail certain experiments which have been tried by the direction and in the presence of the Com¬ municator ; and, second, to urge gentlemen, farmers, stable-keepers, horse-trainers, horse-breakers, and all others who may be interested in the taming of horses, to try for themselves experiments similar to those here detailed, experiments which are exceedingly easy of trial, and will be found exceedingly important in result. The first extract from Mr. Catlin’s work relates to buffaloes, but as the method employed for horses is in its essential parts precisely the same as that for buffaloes, the latter has been prefixed by way of in ¬ troduction. The following passage occurs in Vol. 1, pp. 255, 6 :— ** In pursuing a large herd of buffaloes at the season when their calves are but a few weeks old, I have often been exceedingly amused with the curious manoeuvres of these shy little things. Amidst the thun¬ dering confusion of a throng of several hundreds or several thousands of these animals, there will be many of the calves that lose sight of their dams, and being left behind by the throng and the swift-passing hunters, they endeavour to secrete themselves ; when they are ex¬ ceedingly put to it, on a level prairie, where nought can be seen but the short grass, eight inches in height, save an occasional bunch of wild sage, a few inches higher, to which the poor affrighted things will run, and, dropping on their knees, will push their noses under it, and into the grass, where they will stand for fiours with their eyes shut, ima-