Last week's post started with mountain men who we knew little about and drifted off to horses.
Let's talk about horses. Having a horse was essential in the West. Distances were huge, and you needed something to carry gear, etc.

From William Ashley, on horse feed:
I was exceedingly surprised and no less gratified at the sight of a grove of timber, in appearance,
distant some two or three miles on our front. It proved to be a grove of cottonwood of the sweetbark
kind suitable for horse food, situated on an island, offering among other conveniences, a
good situation for defence.

From John Ball, horse was a menu option when times got tough:
So for food we killed an old horse. But hungry as
we were, this did not relish well. But I will show that horse, in good condition is good food, for I
afterwards tested it.

From John Ball, Spaniards in California using horses to capture wild bulls (cattle, not buffalo):
And here our ship lay for many days. On one, I saw a Spaniard noose with his lasso a wild bullock
on the shore, or rather two of them. And thus mounted on their horses, used to the business,
one threw and caught him by his horns, and then wound his lasso around the high pummel of
his strong, well girthed saddle, and the horse stood and held him. But they wishing to throw him
down, so as to butcher him, the other man threw his so accurately that by his first move the ox
stepped into the noose, which caught him by his foot. Then each turned their horses in opposite
directions and starting up they laid him flat on the ground in a twinkling. And then the horses
keeping their stand, one dismounted and cut his throat.

From John Bradbury, on marking horses for ownership:
After our return, I went to the trading house, and found that the
trade for horses went on very briskly. The instant a horse was bought, his tail was cropped, to render
him more easily distinguished from those belonging to the Indians, which are in all respects
as nature formed them.

Also from Bradbury, describing and Indian saddle, apparently not comfortable to him:
The reflections on my situation, combined with the pain occasioned by mosquitoes, kept me from
closing my eyes; in addition to this, I had already painfully experienced the effects of an Indian
saddle, which I shall describe. It consists of six pieces of wood: two of these are strong forked
sticks, one of which is formed to fix on the shoulders of the horse; the other is adapted to the lower
part of the back: they are connected by four flat pieces, each about four inches in breadth: two
of these are so placed as to lie on each side of the backbone of the horse, which rises above them;
the two others are fastened to the extremities of the forked sticks, and the whole is firmly tied by
thongs. Two strong slips of buffalo hide are doubled over each of the upper connecting pieces,
for the purpose of holding the stirrup, which is formed of a stick about two feet long, and cut half
way through in two places, so as to divide it into three equal parts: at these places it is bent, and
when the two ends are strongly tied, it forms an equilateral triangle. The conjunct end of the foremost
forked stick rises to the height of eight or ten inches above the back of the horse, and serves
to fasten on it the coiled end of the long slip of dried skin intended to serve as a bridle: this slip is
also made use of to fasten the horse at night, to allow him sufficient space wherein to graze, and is
mostly fifty or sixty feet long. Under the saddle is laid a square piece of buffalo skin, dressed with
the hair upon it, and doubled four-fold, and on the saddle the rider fixes his blanket.

From George Catlin, on buffalo running horses:
Such is the training of men and horses in this country, that this work of death and slaughter is
simple and easy. The horse is trained to approach the animals on the tight side, enabling its rider
to throw his arrows to the left; it runs and approaches without the use of the halter, which is
hanging loose upon its neck bringing the rider witllin three or four paces of the animal, whem the
arrow is thrown with great ease and certainty to the heart; and instances sometimes occur, where
the arrow passes entirely through the animal’s body.

Snake and Sioux on the Warpath, by Alfred Jacob Miller, showing how Indians would use their horse as a shield.

Reminds me of Medicine Wolf riding into the rondy doing tricks on horseback

Thank you k snow.

Thank you , KS, for that interesting history. I didn't mean for you to go to any inconvenience researching, it's just me that generally likes things that most others aren't so interested in, anyway.

I do feel, what is a good Mtn. man without a good horse ? I would think they were attracted to good horses as much as they were the fur industry. Tools of success. And survival.

Those Indian "saddles" sounded horrible. I feel for the horses who had to endure ill-fitting gear . No wonder they stacked fur hides and blankets below and on top of them.

I do know the Mtn. men had their add-ons to saddles they used , some had a cross of Indian and more conventional cowboy gear .

I go back to the Nez Perce tribe...they were the only ones I've read who did everything for their herd care and training , the best techniques of the time.

No inconvenience at all. Horses are a relatively easy topic to grab some information about, as everyone always talked about them.

Like all their gear, saddles were fairly "primitive", and not as friendly to use as what we have today. The Spanish (and Mexicans) did make some nice saddles.

I am sure the trappers loved god horses, but more often than not, they took any horse they could get. Beggars can't be choosers and all.

Horses were sure an important item in the mountains. I recall countless numbers of stories where mountain men are attempting to buy horses from the Indians after their own have fared poorly or come up lame. You really needed that transportation and the Indians most often were not anxious to part with any of their herd so prices were steep.

Good stuff K

Hey K, how many beaver pelts could a horse carry if its sole purpose was to pack stuff?

Here's General Thomas James receiving the gift of a fine war horse from a Towash Indian.

"Here is my war horse Checoba. I give him to you: no horse among the Camanches will catch him. He will
carry you away from every enemy and out of any danger.” With this he led up a splendid black
horse, worthy and fit to have borne a Richard Coeur De Leon, or a Saladin, into their greatest battles.
No Arab could ever boast a finer animal than this; the finest limbed, the best proportioned,
the swiftest and the most beautiful I ever saw. I brought him home, but before leaving the wilderness,
his speed was greatly impaired by the bite of a rattlesnake.

I'll do some digging, but I want to say they carried three or four packs at a time. A pack was about 90 pounds.

Interesting account, thank you ! I would have loved to see a photo of that one. The Arabians have had and still do have the finest horses on earth. It is said by many that most if not all breeds of contemporary horses have Arabian of some sort in their beginnings.
All horses brought to America came from Arabian descent . There are various types of Arabians, the Spanish Arab being one of the best. No doubt that fine black horse had the Arab lineage too. Arabs are still dominant in the most grueling endurance races offered on earth.

Beav's comment made me think of the logo I did for Wisconsin rondy a couple of years ago. A Mtn man with his beaver hoops layered on either side with other fur piled in center on his riding horse. I love doing art like this.

Thank you K Snow, for allowing us to share with your very neat history info.

Value of the horse was reflected in the punishment for stealing one.. Hanging offense.. Even a bad horse was a necessary thing out yonder in those times lol.. and I'd guess bad ones made the stew pot first in tough times..

Stealing horses was one of the higher sports for the plains Indians. They heaped a lot of honor on those that were successful at it.

The trappers had a heck of a time keeping their horses when Indians were around. Of course the trappers weren't above stealing them back when they could.

Sharon, I've been enjoying your artwork for quite a few years, and it never ceases to amaze me. Thank you for your contributions to this forum, and the many publications that you have contributed to.

great read guys, thanks,

For sure. I like to think of horses at that time as a "fluid" commodity.

Most Trappers thought fairly highly of Snake and Crow Indian honesty, until it came to horses.

Hanging for horse stealing was a mid to late 19th century evolution. Before then it was catch as catch can.

Thank you for your kind thoughts, Big Sam.

I am just happy to share a little with the considerable time and effort in research that K Snow does with his Mtn Man info. Many here really enjoy and appreciate his educated sharing. Kind of like our Jack's Fhoto Fhriday's threads.

It's really too bad that there were not the convenient cameras back then as today. I can only imagine the photos that would be fascinating to see of that era of life.

K, I've been reading a book on the beaver trapping/trading taking place out of Taos. It seems that part of the trade goods coming back to St Louis (via the Santa Fe trail) were mules (in abundance) I also notice that mules were being used in the mountains as pack animals. Maybe Sharon can answer this: Would a mule be superior to a horse for packing goods? Was there an advantage to having mules over horses in the mountains? Were the mules being found in the mountains coming up from Santa Fe and Taos?

I seem to recall one of Joe Meek's stories about being on a mule that refused to budge as Indians approached and Joe was hollering at his escaping comrades "that thar warn't many of 'em let's stay and fight!" One of the Indians was reaching for the mule's halter when it all the sudden it flared its nostrils and took off at a gallup with Joe passing up all his comrades and yelling back over his shoulder that there was at least a 1000 dang injuns and they'd better run for it if they valued their scalps.

So in short, some verification of mules not just being pack animals but saddled for riding too.

BP, I am not a horse person at all. I've ridden one a few times in my life is all.

I have read and heard horse and mule people talk about the pro's and con's of each. I'll defer to those with more hands on knowledge.

As for where they came from, as far as I can tell they either came out of California, or the US Army.

I do know several modern "mountain men" that use mules for both riding and packing.

Mules are and were back then used for riding and packing.

As to the Indians using them, I have no idea if they did. If so, they became educated quick on how to reason with them...not to strong-arm them. Plus the fact that any dog of the tribe that got within biting or striking distance of a mule would be dispatched immediately. I would guess they wouldnt know how to get more mules in breeding.

I dont think Indians would have liked mules very much...except the Nez Perce.

To Beav's thought, yes, mules do pack stronger loads . And in general more sure-footed and eat less. If a mule is reasoned with well and knows it is cared about and respected, they will do anything for you. I've experienced that. Mules are great.

And, same with horses, really. All this said, I like to ride horses the most. It's the flair, energy and extra bling they express that I prefer.

I would say that any trapper who was able to have a horse and packing with a mule or mules was very fortunate.