To say that the animal leaped and kicked in its frantic efforts to throw this intolerable burden would be a tame manner of expressing what took place.

Words cannot adequately describe the scene.

It reared, plunged, shrieked, vaulted into the air, stood straight up on its hind legs, and then almost as straight upon its fore ones; but its rider held on like a burr.

Then the mustang raced wildly forwards a few paces, then as wildly back, and then stood still and trembled violently.

But this was only a brief lull in the storm, so Dick saw that the time was now come to assert the superiority of his race.
"Stay back, Crusoe, and watch my rifle, pup," he cried, and raising his heavy switch he brought it down with a sharp cut across the horse's flank, at the same time loosening the rein which hitherto he had held tight.
The wild horse uttered a passionate cry, and sprang forward like the bolt from a cross-bow.
And now commenced a race which, if not so prolonged, was at least as furious as that of the far-famed Mazeppa.