Haw-Ho-Noo; Or, Records of a TouristLanman, Charles
History
Haw-Ho-Noo; Or, Records of a Tourist
Lanman, Charles
Fishing -- North America; United States -- Description and travel
But by far the most interesting circumstance connected with the wild
horses of Assateague had reference to the annual festival of penning the
animals, for the purpose, not only of bringing them under subjection,
but of selling them to any who might desire to purchase. The day in
question was the 10th of June, on which occasion there was always an
immense concourse of people assembled on the island from all parts of
the surrounding country; not only men, but women and children; planters
who came to make money, strangers who wished to purchase a beautiful
animal for a present, together with the grooms or horse-tamers, who were
noted at the time for their wonderful feats of horsemanship. But a large
proportion of the multitude came together for the purpose of having a
regular frolic; and feasting and dancing were carried on to a great
extent, and that too upon the open sandy shore of the ocean, the people
being exposed during the day to the scorching sunshine, and the scene
being enlivened at night by immense bonfires, made of wrecked vessels or
drift wood, and the light of the moon and stars. The staple business of
these anniversaries, however, was to tame and brand the horses; but to
give an account of all the particulars attending these exciting scenes
would require more time than I can spare at the present moment. Suffice
it to say that the horses were usually cornered in a pen, perhaps a
hundred at a time, when, in the presence of the immense concourse of
people, the tamers would rush into the midst of the herd, and not only
noose and halter the wild and untamed creatures, but, mounting them, at
times even without a bridle, would rush from the pen and perform a
thousand fantastic and daring feats upon the sand. Few, if any, of these
horsemen were ever killed or wounded while performing these exploits,
though it is said that they frequently came in such close contact with
the horses as to be compelled to wrestle with them, as man with man.
But, what was still more remarkable, these men were never known to fail
in completely subduing the horses they attempted to tame; and it was
often the case that an animal which was as wild as a hawk in the morning
could be safely ridden by a child at the sunset hour. But enough, until
some future day, on this interesting theme.
SALMON FISHING.
I like the society of fish, and as they cannot with any convenience to
themselves visit me on dry land, it becomes me in point of courtesy to
pay my respects to them in their own element.
William Scrope.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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