In the year 1811, whilst residing in Georgia, I read an account of a man
who lived more than a hundred years ago, who would take any wild horse,
and shut himself up with him in a small yard or stable, and at the end
of a few hours, come out with the horse perfectly gentle. Nothing was
ever known about the means he employed in gentling him, for he died
without ever communicating his secret to any one. I always possessed a
great share of curiosity: therefore, as well to gratify it as to become
useful to myself and others, I made a great many experiments upon young
horses, but without success. I ran great risks in these experiments, but
the danger, far from discouraging me, animated me the more to make new
trials. At the end of the year 1811, I came to Louisiana, where there
were many wild horses. I renewed my experiments. After having met with
many difficulties, I discovered a secret in 1814, on my plantation in
the Attakapas, by which I broke a horse in three hours. The horse always
remained gentle. By the same method, I broke another; but two days
after, I found him almost as wild as ever. This perplexed me very
much--why one horse should remain gentle and the other not. I broke two
more, and undertook a fifth, which I abandoned after several trials.
This took place between seven and nine o’clock in the morning. I then
thought the application of the secret ought to be varied. Accordingly,
after having adopted and rejected a great many ways of applying it, I
fell upon one which proved to be the best. At eleven o’clock, I went in
again to the horse; but when he saw me, he reared and pitched and kicked
in a most terrific manner. I stopped, notwithstanding, stood still a few
minutes, and then began the operation, and saw, with pleasure, that at
half past four he was perfectly gentle, and always remained so; for I
had already discovered this last most important part of the secret--of
having them always remain gentle--and I never have revealed it to any
living person.
To give an idea of this mode of gentling horses, I will relate a few
circumstances of the last mentioned horse. He was going on eight years
old, had always run in the prairie since he had been branded, was a stud
of a most fiery, ferocious disposition, and had never been roped from
the time he had been branded. To get him into the yard where I gentled
him, we were obliged to tie his legs and drag him in, and no one durst
go into the yard where he was let loose. He ran at any one, when
confined in the yard, with as much fury as a lion or tiger would have
done, and he used his teeth and fore feet with as much dexterity as if
he had been trained up to it from a colt. After I led him out, I let the
saddle fall over his heels, girted him tight and cruppered him. Several
boys got upon him, rode him about the yard, tied a dry ox-hide to his
tail, and rode him out in this manner into the prairie, without his
showing the least sign of fear, either at the rattling of the hide, or
at any other object he met with in the prairie. The next day, they rode
him to the town, in the midst of a great concourse of people; for it was
a holiday. He passed among them with as little fear as if he had been
raised in the town. When he came home, he followed any one without
pulling him by the halter. He let any one handle his feet, and take them
up with as much ease as they could those of any plough horse. I declare
that, in thus gentling this animal, I made use of no intoxicating
beverage, or smell, or any other means whatever, that might tend to
stupify him, or diminish his natural vigor or spiritedness in the least:
but, on the contrary, horses thus gentled are fit for immediate use,
with all their vigor, as they do not become poor and broken down by
length of time and bad usage, as it happens with spirited horses gentled
in the common way, with much cost and danger. This is not the only
advantage of the secret. It enables the most timid man to break a horse,
without danger or fear; for it consists in gentling him completely,
before you attempt to get on him.
I have broken an immense number of wild horses, in the Mexican
provinces, of the most fiery and spirited dispositions; and have
certificates from the President, Vice-President, and many of the most
respectable citizens of that Republic, who have been eye-witnesses to
this performance. In the City of Mexico, General Maison, Captain
Hotchkiss and others, strangers, then in Mexico, have seen me perform.
This secret, though simple, requires a clear explanation, and how to be
applied according to the three different kinds of horses: for, though a
man should discover enough of the secret to break some of the common
horses of this country, he still would meet with many, even here, that
he could not break, and would completely fail among the high blooded
Spanish studs. But, by perfectly knowing the secret, he will find them
even easier to be gentled than almost any others.
There are three kinds of wild horses. The first of these appear to fear
nothing, and when confined will run at a man with incredible fierceness.
The second appear only to fear man. The third class appear to be afraid
of every thing they meet with, when separated from the rest of the
horses. Many of the Spanish horses belong to the first class, and
frequently suffer themselves to be killed before they can be broken in
the common way, and yet they are easily gentled by my secret. Now, it is
positively necessary to vary the application of the secret according to
the disposition of the horse to be gentled; all of which will be clearly
and extensively explained in the publication of this work. The work
will, besides, contain some few observations upon horses in general, and
in what part of the Mexican provinces the best race of horses is to be
found, &c., and an easy manner of fattening a horse in a short time.
Likewise, the Mexican mode of preventing horses from breaking their
bridles--and how to prevent a horse’s back from getting sore even on
long journeys: all of which I have proved by experience. How to teach a
horse, so that in a few days he will not suffer a person dressed in a
certain manner to ride him or come near him. To teach one, so that in a
few days he will suffer no one to ride him but his master.
At the time I discovered this secret, I was teaching, (and had been for
some time,) the public school or college of Attakapas on my plantation,
close to the town, and in my own buildings; for the edifice designed for
that purpose had been burnt down some time before. I received, besides
what each student paid me for board and tuition a compensation for the
use of my buildings, as well as the annual pension from the government
of the state of Louisiana; and as I taught the Latin and Greek
languages, as well as the French, English and Spanish, I had a great
number of students, from different parts of the state, and from other
states, which rendered my business pretty lucrative. This was one reason
why I did not turn my attention at that time to the gain I might expect
to reap from this discovery.
In 1815, I met with a man by the name of Thomas Drinnen, who appeared to
me rather eccentric in some respects, but an active, intelligent man,
and very fond of horses. I told him I had discovered a secret to break
them in a few hours. He wanted me to reveal it to him. I told him I
would let him know enough of it to astonish the public, if he would go
to Attakapas with me; for it was in the time of vacation, and I was on
the Mississippi, on my way home. He said he could not, but would come
there some time afterwards, if I would give him some of the ingredients
to make trials with where he was then going. I accordingly supplied him
with certain materials, (the better to disguise the real secret,) one of
which was that callous substance growing upon a horse’s fore legs,
called the spur; likewise, the sweat taken from under a man’s arm was to
be used; the sweat of a horse, mare’s milk, &c. Said Drinnen really
believed that these materials were efficacious in gentling a horse. I
now declare to the world, that I had heard of some of them, and made use
of the others in my experiments, but found them without the least
effect.
In 1819, Drinnen came to Attakapas. I never had mentioned to any one
that I knew such a secret. On the contrary, I came into Mr. Grigg’s inn,
then and still existing at St. Martinsville, distant from my (then)
plantation a half a mile, pretending to be astonished at what Drinnen
was relating concerning horses, and at the same time incredulous,
offering him a gratification of one hundred dollars, to see him break
one of the wild horses of this country in so short a time. Mr. Gabriel
Fuselier told him that he would do the same, if he should succeed in his
essay upon any one of the wild horses upon his plantation, which was
about two miles from the town. He accepted the offer, and the following
day was decided upon for the trial; at which time he performed, and to
the satisfaction of every one. But I had given him no further insight
into the secret than this first part of it, more to see what impression
it would have upon the public, than for any thing else, as my employment
and standing in society were such that I did not like to appear before
such a multitude of my acquaintances as a horse-breaker. This was,
however, a foolish prejudice; for Fulton by the discovery of the means
of making a boat advance with more velocity by the application of steam
power, was not, on that account, looked upon as a common boatman.
After these experiments of Drinnen, to whom I had communicated so small
a part of the secret, I was fully convinced that a large fortune might
be made in almost any country with the secret, such as I knew it; and,
as I understood the Spanish language, I agreed with Drinnen to go first
to Havana and then to New Spain, and take him with me. Accordingly, I
sent him to New Orleans, to fit out a small schooner we had bought in
Newtown. But he took the fever and died, and I continued my occupations
with success for several years, till I had accumulated a handsome
property. Shortly after, I became security for several persons, three
of whom left me to pay for them: at the same time, I had been robbed of
six thousand three hundred dollars in the city of New Orleans, and had
lost one thousand nine hundred dollars upon the steam-boat Teche. As
property had fallen to almost nothing, I sacrificed every thing, to pay
other people’s debts, and in 1824 went by land through Texas to
Tamaulipas, where I received a splendid gratification from the governor
of the state, Don Bernardo, Gutierrez de Lara, Don Felipe de la Garza,
general of division, and from several other gentlemen who were present
at a performance which took place in the town and sea-port of Soto la
Marina. From thence I went to Mexico with my family, where I performed
before the President, Vice President, the Marquis of Vivanco, Count de
Regla Y Jala, General Guerrero, and several of the first characters of
Mexico, in 1825, in the month of July. Our Envoy, Mr. Joel R. Poinsett,
whom I had the honor of knowing personally at that time, can bear
witness of the veracity of the signatures of the above-named gentlemen,
as well as of their standing, all of whom gave me certificates which I
have now in my possession, and some of which I shall publish in this
work.
Here must be inserted the following extracts, the originals of which I
have in my possession: as a confirmation of which I will first put down
Mr. Poinsett’s:
LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, }
_Mexico, November 15th, 1835_. }
The undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
of the United States of America in Mexico, hereby certifies: that
every faith and credit are to be placed in the documents and
certificates which have been given in this country to Willis J.
Powell, while a resident in these countries. They are signed by
gentlemen of the highest respectability; and there is no reason to
doubt that he possesses, in an uncommon degree, the art of taming,
in an incredible short time, the wildest and most unruly horses.