CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



over his fore-legs, just above the fetlock, and 

 twitching it, they pulled his legs from under him 

 so suddenly, that I really thought the fall he had 

 got had killed him. In an instant, a guacho was 

 seated on his head, and with his long knife cut off 

 the whole of the mane, while another cut the hair 

 from the end of his tail. This, they told me, was 

 a mark that the horse had once been mounted. 

 They then put a piece of hide in his mouth, to 

 serve for a bit, and a strong hide-halter on his 

 head. The guacho who was to mount arranged 

 his spurs, which were unusually long and sharp ; 

 and while two men held the horse by the ears, he 

 put on the saddle, which he girthed extremely 

 tight. He then caught hold of the animal's ear, 

 and in an instant vaulted into the saddle, upon 

 which the men who held the halter threw the end 

 to the rider, and from that moment no one seemed 

 to take any further notice of him. The horse 

 instantly began to jump in a manner which made 

 it very difficult for the rider to keep his seat, and 

 quite different from the kick or plunge of our 

 English steed : however, the guacho's spurs soon 

 set him agoing, and off he galloped, doing every- 

 thing in his power to throw his rider. 



' Another horse was immediately brought from 

 the corral, and so quick was the operation, that 

 twelve guachos were mounted in a space which I 

 think hardly exceeded an hour. It was wonderful 

 to see the different manner in which different 

 horses behaved. Some would actually scream 

 while the guachos were girthing the saddle upon 

 their backs ; some would instantly lie down and 

 roll upon it ; while some would stand without 

 being held, their legs stiff, and in unnatural posi- 

 tions, their necks half bent towards their tails, 

 and looking vicious and obstinate ; and I could 

 not help thinking that I would not have mounted 

 one of those for any reward that could be offered 

 me, for they were invariably the most difficult to 

 subdue. 



' It was now curious to look around and see the 

 guachos on the horizon in different directions, 

 trying to bring their horses back to the corral, 

 which is the most difficult part of their work ; for 

 the poor creatures had been so scared there, that 

 they were unwilling to return to the place. It was 

 amusing to see the antics of the horses ; they were 

 jumping and dancing in various ways, while the 

 right arm of the guachos was seen flogging them. 

 At last they brought the horses back, apparently 

 subdued and broken in. The saddles and bridles 

 were taken off, and the animals trotted towards the 

 corral, neighing to one another.' 



To hunt down the horse in the open plain re- 

 quires still greater address, and greater strength 

 of arm. According to Captain Hall, the guacho 

 first mounts a steed which has been accustomed 

 to the sport, and gallops him over the plain in the 

 direction of the wild herd, and circling round, 

 endeavours to get close to such a one as he thinks 

 will answer his purpose. As soon as he has 

 approached sufficiently near, the lasso is thrown 

 round the two hind-legs, and as the guacho rides 

 a little on one side, the jerk pulls the entangled 

 horse's feet laterally, so as to throw him on his 

 side, without endangering his knees or his face. 

 Before the horse can recover the shock, the hunter 

 dismounts, and snatching his poncho, or cloak, 

 from his shoulders, wraps it round the prostrate 

 animal's head. He then forces into his mouth one 



610 



of the powerful bridles of the country, straps a saddle 

 on his back, and bestriding him, removes the 

 poncho, upon which the astonished horse springs 

 on his legs, and endeavours, by a thousand vain 

 efforts, to disencumber himself of his new master, 

 who sits composedly on his back, and by a dis- 

 cipline which never fails, reduces the animal to 

 such complete obedience, that he is soon trained 

 to lend his whole speed and strength to the cap- 

 ture of his companions. 



The subduing of wild specimens in America, 

 the Ukraine, Tartary, and other regions, must be 

 regarded as merely supplementary to that domes- 

 tication which the horse has undergone from the 

 remotest antiquity. A wild adult may be subju- 

 gated, but can never be thoroughly trained ; even 

 the foal of a wild mother, though taught with the 

 greatest care from the day of its birth, is found to 

 be inferior to domestic progeny in point of steadi- 

 ness and intelligence. Parents, it would seem, 

 transmit to their offspring mental susceptibility as 

 well as corporeal symmetry ; and thus, to form a 

 just estimate of equine qualities, we must look to 

 the domesticated breeds of civilised nations. At 

 what period the horse was first subjected to the 

 purposes of man, we have no authentic record. 

 Trimmed and decorated chargers appear on 

 Egyptian monuments more than four thousand 

 years old ; and on sculptures equally, if not more 

 ancient, along the banks of the Euphrates. One 

 of the oldest books of Scripture contains the most 

 powerful description of the war-horse; Joseph 

 gave the Egyptians bread in exchange for horses ; 

 and the people of Israel are said to have gone out 

 under Joshua against hosts armed with ' horses 

 and chariots very many.' Thus we find that in 

 the plains of the Euphrates, Nile, and Jordan, the 

 horse was early the associate of man, bearing him 

 with rapidity from place to place, and aiding in 

 the carnage and tumult of battle. He does not 

 appear, however, to have been employed in the 

 useful arts of agriculture and commerce ; these 

 supposed drudgeries being imposed on the more 

 patient ox, ass, and camel. Even in refined 

 Greece and Rome, he was merely yoked to the 

 war-chariot, placed under the saddle of the soldier, 

 or trained for the race-course. 



As civilisation spread westward over Europe, 

 the demands upon the strength and endurance of 

 the horse were multiplied, and in time he was 

 called upon to lend his shoulder indiscriminately 

 to the carriage and wagon, to the mill, plough, 

 and other implements of husbandry. It is in this 

 servant-of-all-work capacity that we must now 

 regard him ; and certainly a more docile, steady, 

 and willing assistant it would be impossible to 

 find. But it is evident that the ponderous shoulder 

 and firm step necessary for the wagon would not 

 be exactly the thing for the mail-coach ; nor would 

 the slow and steady draught, so valuable in the 

 plough, be any recommendation to the hunter or 

 roadster. For these varied purposes, men have 

 selected different stocks, which either exist natu- 

 rally, or have been produced by a long-continued 

 and careful system of breeding. In a state of 

 nature, the horse assumes various qualities in 

 point of symmetry, size, strength, and fleetness, 

 according to the conditions of soil, food, and 

 climate which he enjoys. It is thus that we have 

 the Arabian, Tartar, Ukraine, Shetland, and other 

 stocks, each differing so widely from the others 



