Chap, xxi.] THE LASSO IN THE STREETS. 473 



The hill-sides around the town are scored by the straggling 

 tracks of Pack Mules following the crests of the ridges. The 

 earth being so little held together by vegetation is readily cut 

 into by the rain. An excessively heavy rain-storm occurred 

 just before we left Valparaiso. The water poured off the hill- 

 sides, flooding the streets of the town, and carried so much 

 earth with it that it buried the lines of the tramway in some 

 places with two feet of soil, and the lines had to be dug out. 



One sees the lasso in full use even on the quay of Valparaiso. 

 It is used by the herdsmen who have to assist in shipping the 

 cattle which they drive down from the country. I saw two 

 refractory animals thus thrown down with the lasso on the 

 pavement, and subdued, amongst a crowd of passers-by. It 

 might have been awkward for the crowd if the men had missed 

 their aim ; but the matter seemed perfectly safe in their 

 hands. 



Amongst the herdsmen was a youth of about 16 years. He 

 made a clumsy shot with his lasso, which interfered with that 

 of one of the other men. The man rode his horse full tilt at 

 that of the boy several times, driving in his spurs and making 

 his horse charge with all its force. The boy returned the 

 charge, guiding his horse so that the two met always chest to 

 chest, and eventually the man finding that he could not upset 

 him gave up the attempt. I was told that this charging of 

 horses, which corresponds exactly to charging at football, is 

 commonly practised in Chile. It was curious to see it going 

 on in the populous street of a large city. 



I went to Santiago, the capital of Chile, and also made an 

 excursion to the summit of the Uspallata Pass, which is tra- 

 versed by one of the roads leading over the Andes to Mendoza 

 in the Argentine Republic. I started from the town of Sta. 

 Rosa de los Andes. The Pass has been described by Mr. 

 Darwin.* 



Soon after leaving Sta. Rosa the hill-sides are seen to be 

 covered with the tall Candelabra-like Cactus {Cereus quisco). 

 It has a most strange appearance. Other forms of Cacti, each 

 adapted to the climate of a particular altitude, succeed one 

 another as the slope of the Andes is climbed ; those that lie 

 highest being dwarf forms scarcely rising above the ground. 



On the Cereus quisco grows a Mistletoe {Lonmtki/s aphyllus). 

 This Mistletoe is most remarkable, because, like the plant on 

 which it is parasitic, it is entirely devoid of leaves. It is 

 extremely abundant, growing on nearly all the Cereus trees, and 

 is very conspicuous, because its short stems are of a bright pmk 

 colour. I could not understand what it was at first, as it 

 * ■' lournal of Researches," p. 330. 



