Then there were all sorts of contests in riding, shooting, roping, and horse-racing, for which prizes were offered. With the prospect of so much riding before them, it was natural for the girls to display a greater interest in the feats of horsemanship which they witnessed, than in anything else. And they never would have believed such riding possible had they not seen it with their own eyes. The cavalrymen gave an exhibition of what is known as the monkey-drill, or trick riding, which, as one of the boys afterwards said, was better than a circus. They ran beside their horses, and, with a leap, mounted without touching the stirrups; dismounted, still holding to the rein with one hand, and the saddle with the other, vaulted clear over the horses to the other side, ran a short distance, and leaped to the saddle again. Clinging to the sides of their mounts, they even crawled beneath their necks while at a gallop, without ever touching the ground, and scrambled up the other side and into the saddle again. One thrilling feature was when the men stood upon their horses’ backs; next upon two horses, with a foot upon each; then a third horse was placed between the two; and finally when another was added, and the rider galloped them around the arena four abreast, the spectators went wild with excitement, and thundered their applause. At the end, after a wild steer was led forth, saddled, and ridden for the amusement of everybody, Marjorie had an opportunity to gratify her desire to see real bronco-busting, or the riding of horses which had never been broken. This was not done by the gradual method followed in breaking highly-bred animals; the broncos were simply roped, saddled and mounted. Of course, to make the contest more exciting, the most vicious horses procurable had been obtained; and many would not submit to being saddled until they were thrown and blindfolded. Then the animal, when he felt a man upon his back for the first time, used every ruse in his repertoire to throw him. The buck-jumpers, with their heads between their fore-legs, their backs arched, sprung straight into the air and came down again with their legs as rigid as iron bars, striking the ground with such force that many of the riders--men who had practically lived in the saddle--were sometimes shot like rockets into the air, to land sprawling upon the ground. Even wilder than these were the “weavers,” or horses which bucked with a peculiar writhing motion, the forelegs at an angle to one side and the hind-legs to the other side, and alternating them so quickly that unless the rider were properly relaxed above the hips, he was in danger of having his back-bone snapped by such quick, snake-like contortions. Only those of the spectators who had ridden could fully appreciate how difficult it was for the rider to keep his seat.