360 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 33 



one end of each of three thongs ; the other ends were securely tied 

 together. In the 2-balIed one only one thong was used; a ball was 

 attached to each end of it. When throwing the boleodora one ball is 

 held in the hand ; this ball is somewhat smaller than the others and is 

 slightly oval-shaped. Balls were approximately i^ inches in diameter 

 (pi. 76, 2). Thongs were 4-ply braids of leg sinews of rhea or sinew 

 strands of guanaco, approximately 32 inches in length. More often 

 today they are two 4-inch-wide strands of horse hide twisted about 

 each other. 



The 3-balled lariat was used in hunting large quadrupeds, such as 

 the guanaco, and in capturing wild horses ; the 2-balled ones, in hunt- 

 ing large bipeds, such as the rhea. Today, the 2-balled boleodora is 

 seldom used ; the 3-balled one is hurled to twist around the front legs 

 of a horse to prevent it from straying away while the rider is engaged 

 in work or conversation. Boys today use the boleodora to catch rabbits. 

 Accompanied by dogs they chase rabbits for hours and catch an 

 occasional one. 



The bola perdido was a lariat with a ball at one end and a substantial 

 solid knot at the other end. The ball, usually 2 pounds in weight, was 

 studded and ended in a sharp point which protruded from its covering 

 of rhea skin. Studs, too, often protruded ; sometimes a ball had as 

 many as eight studs. When the bola perdido was being used, the 

 knot end was clutched tight with the hand, the lariat and ball swung 

 in circles above the person, aimed at the head of the animal, and 

 finally released. If the animal was only stunned, it was immediately 

 killed with a spear. A spear was a stout colihiie stalk tipped with a 

 flint arrow. Pumas, pudus, and wild boars were hunted with the 

 bola perdido ; pumas were also trapped. 



One type of trap used in hunting pumas was a circular enclosure of 

 logs, built high enough so that a puma could not jump over it. From 

 the entrance to the enclosure was a covered gangway the size of a 

 puma, at which a trap door hung suspended in an upright position. 

 A live lamb or sheep was placed in the enclosure, and when the puma 

 entered to take the bait, the pressure of its feet released the door, 

 which dropped and closed the entrance. Once the puma was trapped, 

 the hunter reached over the enclosure with a long pole at the end of 

 which was a noose made with a lasso, caught the puma's head in the 

 noose, and strangled it. Kolupan had trapped and killed puma in this 

 manner, using a lasso approximately three- fourths inch in diameter 

 made of five braided strands of horsehide. Today, he uses the lasso in 

 lassoing horses and cattle. If a hunter came upon a puma in a tree, 

 he stabbed it with a spear. The wounded puma then moved slowly 



