_Horses._――The number of horses among the various tribes on the Columbia, and its tributary streams, differs with the circumstances of the country. Among the Flat-heads, Cootonais, and Spokans, whose lands are rather thickly wooded, there are not more than sufficient for their actual use, and every colt, on arriving at the proper age, is broken in for the saddle. But in the countries inhabited by the Wallah Wallahs, Nez Percés, and Shoshonés, which chiefly consist of open plains, well watered and thinly wooded, they are far more numerous, and thousands are allowed to go wild. Their general height is about fifteen hands, which they seldom exceed; and ponies are very scarce. Those reared in the plains are excellent hunters, and the swiftest racers; but are not capable of enduring the same hardships as those bred in the vicinity of the high and woody districts. Seven hundred or a thousand wild horses are sometimes seen in a band; and it is said that in parts of the country belonging to the Snake Indians, bands varying from three to four thousand are frequently seen; and further to the southward, they are far more numerous. Illustration: Wild Horses. The Indian horses are never shod; and owing to this circumstance, their hoofs, particularly of such as are in constant work, are nearly worn away before they are ten or eleven years old, after which they are unfit for any labor except carrying children. They are easily managed, and are seldom vicious. An Indian horse is never taught to trot. The natives dislike this pace, and prefer to it the canter or light gallop. They are hard taskmasters; and the hair-rope bridles, with the padded deer-skin saddles which they use, lacerate the mouths and backs of the unfortunate animals in such a manner as to render them objects of commiseration. In summer they have no shelter from the heat, in winter no retreat from the cold; and their only provender throughout the year is the wild loose grass of the prairies, which, in the latter season, is generally covered with snow, and in the former is brown and arid, from the intense heat of the sun.