Various

“ It is most amusing to watch the businesslike air with which a cutting pony starts in to put a calf, one who is particularly fresh and obstreperous, through a fence or into a pen, or to simply corner him. There is nothing so exasperating as a calf, except, perhaps, a sheep. Was it not John Randolph of Roanoke who maintained that he would walk twenty miles to kick a sheep? ”

“ The cattle may stampede, the steer or cow may run, double, stick like a burr to the herd, but the clever little pony, cool and keen, heads her off, turns her round, cuts her out, and finally drives her triumphantly into the open, where she can be roped, or into a pen. He separates a cow from her calf, cuts out a steer without even disturbing the others, and uses as much judgment as an experienced man. The cow-puncher gives him his head after the steer has once been selected, and only holds his lasso in readiness to rope him when he has been successfully cut out from the bunch. ”

“ Both the cattle and polo ponies are shod, even on the range, and if used hard are generally fed in winter, though grazing all summer. They are ungroomed, and their tails left flowing freely; and their first sensations, after a transfer from their native heath to the luxurious and well-ordered stables of the East, where they are docked, clipped, curried, rubbed down, and blanketed, must be somewhat like those experienced by the tramp who is forcibly bathed and groomed in a model lodging-house, though the polo pony yields to the civilizing influence more readily than does the tramp. ”

“ They buck, they kick, they rear, they lie down and roll, they run into fences or trees—in short, there is nothing that the instinct of self-defence can prompt that a spirited pony will not do, and persist in doing, until he learns the futility of kicking against the pricks. His spurred and booted rider is prepared for any exhibition of temper or ingenuity that he can devise, and wrestles with him gently but firmly, sticking to his seat until the frantic efforts of the rebellious pony have exhausted themselves. ”

“ Time and again he pretends to pluck the little stick out of the ball he is forming, and hide it under a knee or a foot. He tosses the ball high in the air, then from hand to hand, then into the air again, and catches it behind his back. Now his chant is low and soft, his movements slow and measured; then higher and higher he pitches his voice, and faster and faster become his motions, until one can scarcely see his hands as they dart about in a cloud of flying grass. ”

“ What Old Blacky wanted was food. He loved to sit up all night and eat, and keep us awake. He seldom ever lay down at night, but would moon about the camp and blunder against things, fall over the wagon-tongue, and otherwise misbehave. Sometimes when we camped where the grass was not just to his liking, he would put his head into the wagon and help himself to a mouthful of bed-quilt or a bite of pillow. ”

“ But the comforts of life and even the excitement of polo may seem to the cutting pony a poor exchange for the lost delights of rounding up and penning steers, and what is a Rockaway Cup to the glory of winning the prize in a roping contest at a county fair? ”

“ So long as there are cattle ranges the cow pony will be a necessity. One could not "round up" or "cut out" or "rope" or "corral" on a bicycle or from a self-propelling carriage of any kind, and even if this dreadful day should come and the cow pony lose his prestige, the polo pony will still have his place in the world of sport, from which the most modern and improved wheel could never dispossess him. The cow pony or polo pony, like the poet and the athlete, is born, not made. ”

“ The summer is intended for recreation and not for work, and sport is a pastime, not a business.
Those college-men who set to work in August, gathering at the training-table a month before the term opens, are making a business of football. They are devoting their energies to the sport for the sake of winning, and not for the pleasure they get from playing. And this sort of thing is bad for athletics, and bad for that particular branch of athletics which becomes the victim of summer training. ”

“ Practice may now be kept up for three-quarters of an hour each afternoon, the backs, of course, devoting themselves to punting and catching, whereas the line-men work at breaking through, and at tackling, and at falling on the ball. Not more than half of the time devoted to practice should be spent in playing the game itself; but in that time, when the two teams, the first and the scrub, are opposed to one another in regular football array, they should play as hard and as carefully as if they were indulging in a contest with some strong rival. ”

“ Remus lived on alone without the luxury of wafers, for the fishman, when interviewed by the tearful twins, said that Romulus died of over-eating, since wafers are mince pie and plum-pudding to goldfish, who are such gluttons that they can be trusted with but a pin-point of their favorite dish. The tragic end of Romulus was forgotten in the joys of Christmas-time, when the twins showed some little Italian friends their first Christmas tree, for they know nothing of Santa Claus in Rome, but receive gifts from an old woman called Befana. ”

“ The flashes of lightning followed each other rapidly, and by them we could see the horses. Old Browny was sleeping, and Old Blacky eating, but the pony stood with head erect, very much interested in the storm. Jack helped Snoozer into the wagon, and came in himself. We drew both ends of the cover as close as possible, lit the lantern, and made ourselves comfortable, while Jack took down his banjo and tried to play. Jack always tried to play, but never quite succeeded. ”

“ Out of a drove of a hundred ponies there may be only twenty-five or less that are good for anything, who have the instinct of sport, the quick eye, steady foot, the grit and endurance of the true sportsman. ”

“ As is the case in all fields of sport, the pony who plays for the gallery is not nearly so useful in the long-run as the quiet, sensible, steady ones who do not try to show off or play the whole game themselves. Sometimes the high-strung, nervous ponies are the very best, the quickest, and brightest, but they require most careful handling, and are apt to get flighty, to have "wheels in their heads," and to want to run, or they show every sign of equine nervous prostration. The dispositions of the ponies are as varied as those of the superior animal, man. ”

“ The bicycle is said to be driving horseflesh out of the market, that good horses, even thoroughbreds, are being canned by the thousand, and sent to all parts of the world. This may be a necessary and practical use to which to put that noble animal, the friend and companion of man from all ages; but one cannot help being thankful that the pony has so far escaped this fate, and that the demand for these singularly intelligent, plucky little beasts is growing rather than diminishing. ”

“ The mocking-bird can easily be taught a tune, as can the cat-bird, which, despite his cat-call—generally a cry of warning or distress—is one of the sweetest singers among our common birds.
Finches are very bright and animated, and make very desirable pets. They may be taught many amusing tricks. They will learn to fire small cannons and imitate death. They may be taught to draw up their food and water in a little bucket by means of a fine chain.
Of the finches, the bullfinch is probably the best cage bird. It can be taught to whistle a tune. ”

“ A pony, however, when he chooses, can be equally aggravating. As in polo he is sometimes too knowing, so in cutting cattle the very best ones use their superior knowledge to be most exasperating.
They learn to gauge the distance and length of the rope with such certainty that they know just when to stop for the throw; and when they feel lazy and disinclined for the hard work of holding a steer, they fool their master by coming to a stand a yard or two from the cow, and the rope falls that much short. ”

“ A start in a swimming race is very much like the action of a standing broad jump; it is a spring from a mark. The proper attitude to assume at the starting-line is to have the legs bent, the arms held back, the body leaning forward just as far as equilibrium will allow. ”

“ You know that when the sails fill, as an ordinary boat, she lies over, and it is her keel or centreboard that keeps her from drifting to leeward. In an ice-yacht the sharp runners keep her up, but there must be some sideways yielding to the force of the wind, and so an ice-boat rears—that is, one runner lifts free of the ice, and thereby takes off the strain. Otherwise you must either luff or be capsized. But with beach-sailing this rearing would probably throw too much weight on the leeward wheel, causing it to sink into the sand, and perhaps stop her way altogether. ”

“ A good cow pony is good from the start. He learns, of course, much by experience, but he is not only first-class "material," as they say of football candidates, but a star player from the very first. Running wild with the mares, their mothers, on the big ranges of Texas, Mexico, Montana, and Indian Territory, they grow marvellously fleet of foot, and as hardy as mountain-goats.
When about three years old the ponies—all these horses under fifteen hands high—are taken out of the drove, and broken either for cattle or polo. ”

“ But even the stories which are strictly and literally true sound almost incredible to the uninitiated, for the cutting pony shows not only the sagacity and resources of the Scotch collie, but the quickness and agility of the cat, in separating or cutting out the particular cow or steer from the herd which his master indicates, sometimes by riding the pony at her, or by following for a few yards. ”

“ The sand is fairly hard when wet, but it can't be so unyielding as ice. I was just about to give it up, when I happened to recollect a wrinkle that the Dutchmen use in their ice-yachts on the Zuyder Zee. In their boats the mast is pivoted in the chocks, and consequently the sail and all lie over under the strain. When a squall strikes a fleet of Dutch ice-yachts it looks exactly as though you had winged a whole covey of partridges. It must be safer than our American plan, but of course you lose in speed. ”

“ In buying ponies, either for polo or cattle, it is well to know the owner's reputation, and how he breaks and handles them, for a good cow-puncher is sure to have good ponies, fast and bridle-wise—"mighty handy," in the vernacular, and trained to stop quickly and hold hard. In roping, a good pony is as strong as any steer, and ought to be able to hold no matter how hard the steer may jerk or pull when the rope is thrown. There are no particular breeds in this country ”

“ With a wild yell, in which every spectator joins, the player then produces the little stick—from the ball of grass, from under a knee or a foot, or from one of his closed palms, as the case may be. If he has been cunning enough to deceive the sharp eye of his opponent, the stakes are his; but if the guesser correctly locates the stick, the umpire throws to him the string of wampum, or whatever the stake may be. The sticks are then thrown across to the opposite players, and the game goes on. ”

“ The polo pony is becoming such an important and conspicuous feature in modern life that a short article upon his nature, training, and habits may be interesting to those who either hope to make his acquaintance on his native range, or to import him for use in riding or driving, or in playing that most exciting of all games. ”

“ The diver stands upright on a spring-board or on the edge of a float, with the arms held stiff to the sides, the chest well filled with air so as to give buoyancy to the body, and the eyes resting on about that spot in the water where he expects to plunge below the surface. ”

“ As the warrior in olden times donned his armor—his helmet, breastplate, greaves, and shield—before going to war, and as his modern prototype, the football-player, prepares for battle with shoulder and thigh pads, head and ear bandages, elastic knee and ankle-bands, nose and teeth guards, so the polo pony is made ready for his part in the great contest, being booted to the knees in heavy leather leggings, which protect him from the blows of the mallet. ”

“ In a few words George told his business, and begged the doctor to start at once for Mount Vernon. No message had been received, and at that very time the negro messenger, who had mistaken the road, was at least five miles off, going in the opposite direction.
"How am I to get to Mount Vernon?" asked the doctor. "As you know, I keep only two horses. One I lent to a neighbor yesterday, and to-night, when I got home from my round, my other horse was dead lame."
"Ride this horse back!" cried George. "I can walk easily enough; but there must be a doctor at Mount Vernon to-night. ”

“ The object of this article, however, has been not the glorification, justification, or explanation of the game of polo, but to give a brief history of the noble little pony who plays it, and so long as he thoroughly enjoys the excitement of the sport one cannot feel that he is to be pitied, and one may wish him a long and prosperous career, and a future even greater than his past. ”