FARMERS' REGISTER— THE WILD HORSE. 



543 



fell he got had killed him. In an instant a Gaucho 

 was seated on his head, and with his long kniiij, 

 and in a few seconds, cut oH' the whole of the 

 horse's mane, Avhile another cut the hair from the 

 end ot' his tail. This they told me was a mark 

 that the horse had been once mounted. They 

 then put a ]>iece of hide into his mouth to serve 

 for a bit, and a strong hide halter on his head. 

 The Gaucho who was to mount, arranged his 

 spurs, which were unusually long and sharp,* 

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

 put on the saddle, which he girthed extremely 

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

 and in an instant vaulted iiUo the saddle; upon 

 which, the man who held the horse by 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 man- 

 ner wliich made it very difficult for the rider to keep 

 his seat, and quite different from the kick or plunge 

 of" an English horse: however, the Gaucho's spurs 

 soon set him going, and off he gallopped, doing 

 every thing in his power to throv\^ his rider. 



"Another horse was immediately brought from 

 the corral, and so quick was the operation, 

 that twelve Gauchos were mounted in a space 

 which I think hardly exceeded an hour. It was 

 wonderful to see the ditierent manner in which 

 difTerent horses behaved. Some would actually 

 scream while the Gauchos were girding the sad- 

 dle upon their backs; some would instantly lie 

 down and roll upon it; while some would stand 

 without being held — their legs stifl', and in unnatu- 

 ral positions, their necks half bent towards their 

 tails, and looking vicious and obstinate; and I 

 could not help thinking that I v/ould 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 sec the 

 Gauchos on the horizon in diHerent directions, try- 

 ing to bring their horses back to the corral, which 

 is ^he most difficult part of their Avork; 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 dancmg in different ways, while the right arm 

 of the Gauchos was seen flogging them. At last 

 they brought the horses back, apparently subdued, 

 and broken in. The saddles and bridles were ta- 

 ken off, and the }"oung horses trotted off towards 

 the corral, ncighmg to one another."! 



When the Gaucho wishes to take a wild horse, 

 he mounts one that has been used to the sport, 

 and gallops over the plain. As soon as he comes 

 sufficiently near his prey, "the lasso is thrown 

 round the two hind legs, and as the Gaucho rides 



*The manufacture of the Gaucho's boots is some- 

 what singular. "The boots of the Gauchos are form- 

 ed of the ham and part of tlie leo;-skin of a colt taken 

 reeking from the mother, which is said to be sacrificed 

 for the sole purpose, just at the time of bearing when 

 the hair has not begun to grow. At this stage, the 

 skin strips off easily, and is very white and beautiful 

 in texture and appearance. The ham forms the calf 

 of the boot; tlie hoclc easily adapts itself to the heel, 

 and the log above the fetlock constitutes the foot: the 

 whole making a neat and elegant half-boot, with an 

 aperture sufficient for the greattoe toprqject through." 

 — Andrews's Journey in South America, vol. i. p. 26. 



fHead's Journey across the Pampas, p. 258. 



a little on one side, the jerk pulls the entangled 

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

 side, Avithout cndangeruig his knees or his face. 

 Before the horse can recover the shock, the rider 

 dismounts, and snatching his poncho or cloak from 

 his shoulders, wraps il round the prostrate animal's 

 head. He then forces into his mouth one of the 

 powerful bridles of the country, straps a saddle on 

 his back, and bestriding him, removes the poncho; 

 upon which tlie astonished horse springs on his 

 legs, and endcavers by a thousand vain efforts to 

 disencumber Jiimself of his new master, Avho sits 

 quite composedly on his back, and, by a discipline 

 which never fails, reduces the horse to such com- 

 plete obedience, that he is soon trained to lend his 

 Avhole speed and strength to the capture of his 

 companions."* 



These animals posse-ss much of the form of the 

 Spanish horse, from whicli they sj rung; they are 

 tamed, as has been seen, Avith far less difilculty 

 than could be thought possible; and, although 

 theirs is the obedience of fear, and enforced at first 

 by the whip and spur, there are no horses Avho so 

 soon and so perfectly exert their sagacity and their 

 poAver in the service of man. They are possessed 

 of no cxtraordineuy speed, but they are capable of 

 enduring immense fiitigue. They are Irequentlj'- 

 ridden sixty or seventy miles AvitJaout draAvmg bit, 

 and have been urged on by the cruel spur of the 

 Gaucho, more than a hundred miles, and at the 

 rate of twelve miles in the hour. 



Like the Arab horses, they knoAv no interme- 

 diate pace between theAvalk and the gallop. Al- 

 though at the end of a day so hard, their sides 

 are horribly mangled, and they completely ex- 

 hausted, there is this consolation for them — they 

 are immediately turned loose on the plains, and it 

 Avill be their own fault if they are speedily caught 

 again. The mare is occasionally killed for food, 

 and especially on occasions of unuf3ual fisstivity. 

 General San JMartin, during the Avar for indepen- 

 dence, gaA'e a feast to the Indian allies attached 

 to his army; and mares' flesh, and the blood mixed 

 AA-ith gin, formed the Avhole of the entertainment. 



On such dry and sultry plains the supply of Ava- 

 ter is often scanty, and then a species of madness 

 seizes on the horses, and their generous and docile 

 qualities are no longer recognized. They rush 

 violently into every pond and lake, saA^agely mang- 

 ling and trampling upon one another; and the car- 

 cases of many thousands of them, destroyed by 

 their fellows, haA'e occasionally been seen in and 

 around a considerable pool. This is one of the 

 means by which the too rapid increase of this 

 quadruped is, by the ordinance of Nature, there 

 prevented. 



The Avild horses of Tartar}', although easily 

 domesticated, materially diflijr in character ii-om 

 those on the plains of South America. They will 

 not suffer a stranger to join them. If a domesti- 

 cated horse comes in their Avay, unprotected by his 

 master, they -attack him with their teeth and their 



*Basil Hall's Journey to Peru and Mexico, vol. i. 

 p. 151. The Jesuit Dobrizhoffer, in his History of the 

 Abipones, a nation of Paraguay, and speaking of tlie 

 tamed horse, (vol. ii. p. 113,) says, that "stirrups are 

 not in general use. The men leap on their horse on 

 the right side. In the right hand they grasp the bridle, 

 and in the left a very long spear, leaning on A\bich, 

 they jump Avith the impulse of both feet, and then fall 

 right upon the horse's back." 



