I was much pleased with both. The man seemed to understand his business
thoroughly; without making extravagant promises, he expressed himself
willing to serve my purpose to the utmost of his power, at any
reasonable risk to himself, and spoke very moderately about the horse,
asking for nothing more than a fair trial of his merits. I liked the
animal better than anything I had seen so far. He was a dark-brown
gelding, about 15.3, with strong, square hind-quarters, and a fair slope
of shoulder--without much knee-action--but springy enough in his slow
paces: his turn of speed was not remarkable, but he could last forever,
and, if the ground were not too heavy, would gallop on easily for miles
with a long, steady stride; like most Maryland-bred horses, he had
wonderfully clean, flat legs: after the hardest day's work, I never saw
a puff on them; he was not sulky or savage, but had a temper and will of
his own; both of these, however, yielded, after a sharp wrangle or two,
to the combined influence of coaxing and a pair of sharp English rowels:
in the latter days of our acquaintance we never had a difference of
opinion. Considering the scarcity of staunch horse-flesh, the price
asked was very moderate, and I closed the bargain on the spot. I was
assured that my new purchase was of the Black Hawk stock, and he was
christened "Falcon" that same day.
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