In half-an-hour after, with the vaquero for my guide, I rode quietly out
of the rancheria. A dozen rangers followed close behind; and, having
crossed the river at a ford nearly opposite the village, we struck off
into the _chapparal_ on the opposite side.
The men whom I had chosen to accompany me were most of them old hunters,
fellows who could "trail" and "crease" with accurate aim. I had
confidence in their skill, and, aided by them, I had great hopes we
should find the game we were in search of.
My hopes, however, would not have been so sanguine but for another
circumstance. It was this: Our guide had informed me, that when he saw
the white steed, the latter was in company with a large drove of mares--
a _manada_--doubtless his harem. He would not be likely to separate
from them, and even if these had since left the ground, they could be
the more easily "trailed" in consequence of their numbers. Indeed, but
for this prospect, our wild-horse hunt would have partaken largely of
the character of a "wild-goose chase." The steed, by all accounts of
him, might have been seen upon one arroyo to-day, and by the banks of
some other stream, a hundred miles off, on the morrow. The presence of
his manada offered some guarantee, that he might still be near the
ground where the vaquero had marked him. Once found, I trusted to the
swiftness of my horse, and my own skill in the use of the lazo.
As we rode along, I revealed to my following the purpose of the
expedition. All of them knew the white steed by fame; one or two
averred they had seen him in their prairie wanderings. The whole party
were delighted at the idea of such a "scout," and exhibited as much
excitement as if I was leading them to a skirmish with guerilleros.
The country through which we passed was at first a dense chapparal,
consisting of the various thorny shrubs and plants for which this part
of Mexico is so celebrated. The greater proportion belonged to the
family of _leguminosae_--_robinias, gleditschias_, and the Texan acacias
of more than one species, there known as _mezquite_. Aloes, too, formed
part of the under-growth, to the no small annoyance of the traveller--
the wild species known as the _lechuguilla_, or pita-plant, whose core
is cooked for food, whose fibrous leaves serve for the manufacture of
thread, cordage, or cloth--while its sap yields by distillation the
fiery _mezcal_. Here and there, a tree yucca grew by the way, its
fascicles of rigid leaves reminding one of the plumed heads of Indian
warriors. Some I saw with edible fruits growing in clusters, like
bunches of bananas. Several species are there of these fruit-bearing
yuccas in the region of the Rio Grande, as yet unknown to the scientific
botanist. I observed also the _palmilla_, or soap-plant, another yucca
whose roots yield an excellent substitute for soap; and various forms of
cactus--never out of sight on Mexican soil--grew thickly around, a
characteristic feature of the landscape. Plants of humbler stature
covered the surface, among which the syngenesists predominated; while
the fetid _artemisia_, and the still more disagreeably odorous creosote
plant (_Larrea Mexicana_) grew upon spots that were sandy and arid.
Pleasanter objects to the eye were the scarlet panicles of the
_Fouquiera splendens_, then undescribed by botanists, and yet to become
a favourite of the arboretums.
I was in no mood for botanising at the time, but I well remember how I
admired this elegant species--its tall culm-like stems, surmounted by
panicles of brilliant flowers, rising high above the level of the
surrounding thicket, like banners above a host. Not that I possess the
refined taste of a lover of flowers, and much less then; but cold must
be the heart that could look upon the floral beauty of Mexico, without
remembering some portion of its charms. Even the rudest of my followers
could not otherwise than admire; and once or twice, as we journeyed
along, I could hear them give utterance to that fine epithet of the
heart's desire, "Beautiful!"
As we advanced, the aspect changed. The surface became freer of jungle;
a succession of glade and thicket; in short, a "mezquite prairie."
Still advancing, the "openings" became larger, while the timbered
surface diminished in extent, and now and then the glades joined each
other without interruption.
We had ridden nearly ten miles without drawing bridle, when our guide
struck upon the trail of the manada. Several of the old hunters,
without dismounting, pronounced the tracks to be those of wild _mares_,
which they easily distinguished from _horse_ tracks. Their judgment
proved correct; for following the trail but a short distance farther, we
came full in sight of the drove, which the vaquero confidently
pronounced was the manada we were in search of!
So far our success equalled our expectations; but to get sight of a
_caballada_ of wild-horses, and to capture its swiftest steed, are two
things of very unequal difficulty. This fact my anxiously beating heart
and quickly throbbing pulse revealed to me at the moment. It would be
difficult to describe the mingled feelings of anxious doubt and joyous
hope that passed through my mind, as from afar off I gazed upon that shy
herd, still unconscious of our approach.
The prairie upon which the mares were browsing was more then a mile in
width, and, like those we had been passing through, it was surrounded by
the low chapparal forest--although there were avenues that communicated
with other openings of a similar kind. Near its centre was the manada.
Some of the mares were quietly browsing upon the grass, while others
were frisking and playing about, now rearing up as if in combat, now
rushing in wild gallop, their tossed manes and full tails flung loosely
upon the wind. Even in the distance we could trace the full rounded
development of their bodies; and their smooth coats glistening under the
sun denoted their fair condition. They were of all colours known to the
horse, for in this the race of the Spanish horse is somewhat peculiar.
There were bays, and blacks, and whites--the last being most numerous.
There were greys, both iron and roan, and duns with white manes and
tails, and some of a mole colour, and not a few of the kind known in
Mexico as _pintados_ (piebalds)--for spotted horses are not uncommon
among the mustangs--all of course with full manes and tails, since the
mutilating shears of the jockey had never curtailed their flowing
glories.
But where was the lord of this splendid harem?--where the steed?
This was the thought that was uppermost in the mind of all--the question
upon every tongue.
Our eyes wandered over the herd, now here, now there. White horses
there were, numbers of them, but it needed but a glance to tell that the
"steed of the prairies" was not there.
We eyed each other with looks of disappointment. Even my companions
felt that; but a far more bitter feeling was growing upon me as I gazed
upon the leaderless troop. Could I have captured and carried back the
whole drove, the present would not have purchased one smile from
Isolina. The steed was not among them!
He might still be in the neighbourhood; or had he forsaken the manada
altogether, and gone far away over the wide prairie in search of new
conquests?
The vaquero believed he was not far off. I had faith in this man's
opinion, who, having passed his life in the observation of wild and
half-wild horses, had a perfect knowledge of their habits. There was
hope then. The steed might be near; perhaps lying down in the shade of
the thicket; perhaps with a portion of the manada or some favourite in
one of the adjacent glades. If so, our guide assured us we should soon
have him in view. He would soon bring the steed upon the ground.
How?
Simply by startling the mares, whose neigh of alarm would be heard from
afar.
The plan seemed feasible enough; but it was advisable that we should
surround the manada before attempting to disturb them, else they might
gallop off in the opposite direction, before any of us could get near.