t, their more
enlightened rivals did not fully understand this science, and, owing
to a want of proper nourishment, their strength would fail gradually
until finally they broke down.

The only real inconvenience under which the ponies seemed to labor,
arose from tender feet, for, the rocky trails in the mountains rapidly
wore away, and broke off their hoofs. This continued, so that at last,
reaching the matrix of these horny growths, their feet became very
sensitive. Many of the Mexicans had taken the precaution to guard
against this, before leaving the towns and military posts which lay on
their route. They had obtained horse-shoes, with which they shod
the ponies. We remember seeing a large party of them thus engaged as
blacksmiths. It was at night; while some held burning torches, others
were busy with hammers, stones and hatchets in applying all sorts and
sizes of horse and mule shoes, with which they were content, provided
they approached the diameters of the hoofs to which they were to be
nailed. Strange to say, this rough work answered the purpose, and but
few, if any, of the animals so shod, went lame. After the command had
got under full headway, if any of these ponies became so tender in
their feet as to be able to travel only with great difficulty,
their riders resorted to other expedients for relieving them. When
practicable, they obtained the fresh hides of the beef cattle as they
were killed, and, binding the material around the injured feet, and
making it fast about the fetlocks, they allowed it to dry on. In the
morning, thus protected, the horse could journey on. It is customary
regularly to shoe these ponies only on the fore feet, as the weight
of the animal's head and neck, together with that of the rider, comes
harder on these hoofs and causes them, when traveling over sharp
rocks, to wear away quickly. It seldom happens that the hind feet
become tender. The Indians cannot understand the policy of this,
and one of them philosophizing on the subject, while visiting the
blacksmith's shop attached to a military post, made the remark in
Spanish, after apparently having been for some little time engaged in
a deep study, "that it was not right." Said he, "The horse, with
his eyes, can see where to put his fore feet when traveling over bad
places, but he cannot do this with those behind; therefore, you
white men ought to put the moccasins there." The Mexicans had so much
confidence in the powers of enduran