ed, the rider proceeded to
mount, which was by no means an easy matter, considering what was
already upon the horse's back. The horse was placed as near as possible
to a stump, from which, with a "pretty wide stride and fling of the
leg," the rider would spring into his seat. It was so difficult to mount
and dismount, that experienced travelers would seldom get off until the
party halted for noon, and not again until it was time to camp.

Women often made the journey on horseback, and bore the fatigue of it
about as well as men. Instead of a riding-habit, they wore over their
ordinary dress a long skirt of dark-colored material, and tied their
bonnets on with a large handkerchief over the top, which served to
protect the face and ears from the weather.

The packing of the saddle made the seat more comfortable, and even
safer, for both men and women. The rider, in fact, was seldom thrown
unless the whole load came off at once. Thus mounted, a party of
experienced horsemen and horsewomen would average their thirty miles a
day for a month at a time, providing no accident befel them. They were,
nevertheless, liable to many accidents and vexatious delays. A horse
falling lame would delay the party. Occasionally there would be a
stampede of all the horses, and days lost in finding them.

The greatest difficulty of all was the overflowing waters. No reader can
have forgotten the floods in the western country in the spring of 1884,
when every brook was a torrent and every river a deluge. Imagine a party
of travelers making their westward way on horseback at such a time,
before there was even a raft ferry on any river west of the Alleghanies,
and when all the valleys would be covered with water. It was by no means
unusual for a party to be detained a month waiting for the waters of a
large river to subside, and it was a thing at some seasons of daily
occurrence for all of them to be soused up to their necks in water.

Many of the important fords, too, could only be crossed by people who
knew their secret. I received once myself directions for crossing a ford
in South Carolina something like this: I was told to go straight in four
lengths of the horse; then "turn square to the right" and go two
lengths; and finally "strike for the shore, slanting a little down the
stream." Luckily, I had some one with me more expert in fords than I
was, and through his friendly guidance managed to flounder through.

Between New York and Balti