young men of the Colony was to hunt them, not infrequently with the assistance of dogs. Saddle horses were trained especially for the purpose of threading the heavy timber of the forests at a high rate of speed. In consequence of the extraordinary fleetness of these wild animals, it was often impossible to catch them, a fine horse being frequently ruined irretrievably, by its rider through the exertions which it was spurred on to make. The only result of the chase, in many instances, was the seizure of an old animal, which was found to be too sullen to tame. Owing to the large number of foals born in the woods and remaining unmarked, the hunting of wild horses was not unprofitable, as to the captors belonged those upon which no brand had been placed.
So widely dispersed were the horses belonging to the same owner that it was often impossible after his death to run them together with a view to their appraisement with his other properties.[1] This occurred in the case of the
- ↑ Letters of William Fitzhugh, April 15, 1687.
