A CHILEAN RONDEO 123 



other cattle ahead, it put on speed. Then the 

 outside rider raced forward and at the same 

 moment wheeled inward, pinning the steer be- 

 hind the horns and either by the neck or shoulder 

 against the rough, yielding boughs with which 

 the corral w^as lined. Instantly the other horse- 

 man pressed the steer's hind quarters outward, 

 so that it found itself not only checked, but 

 turned in the opposite direction. Again it was 

 urged into a gallop, the calling horsemen fol- 

 lowing and repeating their performance. The 

 steer was thus turned three times. After the 

 third turning the gate which it had passed was 

 opened and it trotted out. 



A dozen times different pairs of riders per- 

 formed the feat with different steers. It was a 

 fine exhibition of daring prowess and of good 

 training in both the horses and the riders. Of 

 course, if it had not been for the lining of the 

 inner fence with limber poles the steer would 

 have been killed or crippled — we saw one of 

 them injured, as it was. The horse, which 

 entered heartily into the spirit of the chase, 

 had to crash straight into the fence, nailing the 

 steer and bringing it to a standstill in the midst 

 of its headlong gallop. Once or twice at the 

 critical moment the rider was not able to charge 

 quickly enough; and when the steer was caught 



