Cross Country

Eustace had already done a lot of farming and hauling with his horse, Bonnie, before he thought about taking a horse on a long distance travel. He started to take her out to the mountains for a few days every so often to get the hang of it, but Bonnie was not built well enough for these kinds of trips. Then, Eustace bought a horse named Hasty. “Where Eustace had had to teach Bonnie how to behave, Hasty now taught Eustace how to behave. Eustace paid close attention and learned quickly, until he and Hasty were equals, able to spend their days teaching each other how to be a pair.” (Gilbert 154) This is important because Eustace saw nature as a much more important factor than most people do. When he knew that he and Hasty were equals, they started taking longer travels together. Riding his horse across the country was a huge adventure to Eustace. A very important moment was when he rode through a poor neighborhood and people at a party all invited him to their festivities. They were nice to him and fed him until he couldn’t move. These people treated him like family. This was a revelation; he saw this as a way to break down walls and enter the consciousness of every kind of American. The horse was his icebreaker. “Nothing had prepared him for the intimacy with the nation that a horse could give him. It was the answer.” (Gilbert 155) He decided to bring his brother along with him. A woman named Susan also went, and her and Judson thought that the trip would be nothing but nonstop fun. But, Eustace knew that this was a challenge of survival.