Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/391

Rh country, and proceeded to act accordingly. The expression of his eye and the droop of his quarters were not to be misunderstood; and just as the man put out his hand with the bridle, the horse gave a snort and a rush, knocking down his would-be captor, and then galloped round and round the yard with his tail in the air.

"Again the man got the horse in a corner, and just as he was about getting the bridle into place the brute put his head over the fence, where it could not possibly be reached, and at the same time spitefully threw his heels in the air in a way that made the new chum look out for his safety. Three or four other attempts were made, to the great delight of the old hands, who always sit on the fence and watch the performance until they grow weary of laughing; then they come to the relief of the novice, and saddle and bridle the horse for him at once.

"After the horse had been saddled the new chum tried to mount him. He got safely into the saddle, but hardly was he seated before the beast began to 'buck,' as we call it in America, or 'buck-jump,' as it is designated here. The horse brought his head and all his feet together, arched his back till it resembled a section of the dome of a church, and then jumped up, down, sidewise, forward, backward, and in every other direction in very rapid succession. The man was a good rider, and managed to stick until the horse lay down and tried to roll over him, when he slid out of the saddle and gave up.

"Then one of the old hands tried the horse, which repeated the performance, but not so successfully, as the rider suddenly pulled the