AMERICAN CATTLE.] CATTLE, AND TITETR VARIETIES. [island cvttle. 



that tiiiu>, tl»e animal itself was not considered 

 of value, its skiti boiii<» all that was souijht 

 after. Tiie result of all tl»ia was, that, towards 

 tiio niidille of the century, wild caLLlo no lonjjer 

 existed iu the Pampas; ntid the unsubdued 

 Indians saw themselves under the necessity ol 

 stealiiii; the domestic animals, or of makiii'^' 

 incursions into the estancias of tho Pauipas. 

 This was the commencement and cause of the 

 bloody war which tho Spaniards had with the 

 Indians. The herds of these revolted or wild 

 cattle, which are also called oreillards in the 

 plains of jNIonte Video, do not pass to the north 

 of the southern establishments of the Guaranis' 

 Missions. The following is the account which 

 I have collected of their origin : — Tho city 

 authorities of Buenos Ayres, iu tho name ot' 

 certain of its inhabitants, as is proved by its 

 archives, made, at the commencement of the 

 century, contracts, on the one part, with the 

 English, for the acquisitiun of Negroes ; and, on 

 the other part, with certain Spaniards, who 

 were thus authorised to procure the hides of 

 the animals on the plains situate to the north 

 of the Kio de la Plata, on payment to the city 

 of a certain tax, of which the sum total was 

 shared between these Spanish inhabitants, who, 

 from this circumstance,were called Actionnaires. 

 The primitive source of this right, or this pro- 

 ceeding, is not known ; but certain it is that all 

 the inhabitants did not participate iu it, and 

 that its produce was the exclusive share of 

 these Actionnaires, who were the descendants 

 of the earliest of the original settlers. Such is 

 the origin of the horned cattle of these coun- 

 tries, where they prodigiously multiplied. 

 About eight hundred thousand ox- hides are 

 annually exported from Buenos Ayres and 

 Monte Video to Europe." Mr. Darwin states, 

 " that, from the latter place, the annual expor- 

 tation is three hundred thousand ; and the home 

 consumption, from waste, very considerable. In 

 order to obtain these hides, some horsemen 

 join together, and arrange themselves in two 

 ranks which form an angle. They then press 

 on the two sides a small number of cattle ; and 

 one of the horsemen, who goes last in the angle, 

 hamstrings the animals with a knife, in the 

 shape of a crescent or half-moon, fastened at 

 the end of a staff. While this goes on, the 

 horsemen continue to ride forwards ; and when 

 they have thus secured, a sullicieut number of 



animals, they retrace their steps; and tho 

 person who hamstrung thoin gives each beast 

 thus maimed a liuishing stroke with a sharp 

 spear, and the horsemen dismount to strip the 

 carcass, sometimes of tho fat and suet, bufc 

 always of tho skin : this they do with such 

 dexterity, that some men, without assi-stance, 

 will strip twenty-six cattle at a day's work. 

 When a single head of cattle is to bo killed for 

 the sake of its flesh, a horseman throws a lasso 

 over its horns or neck, and another does tho 

 same over one of its feet; then straining in 

 opposite directions, they prevent it from 

 struggling free, and so strangle it. Admirable 

 is the dexterity with which, when tho animals 

 pass as they rush forwards, the lasso is thrown, 

 so that, directed backwards under its feet, tho 

 animal, at the pleasure of the horseman, is en- 

 tangled either by one foot or by two together." 

 It is a singular feature in the history of tho 

 New "World, that so many of our domestic 

 animals there imported, should have returned 

 to their primitive independence : the ox, the 

 horse, the hog, the ass, the rabbit, the cat, and 

 the dog, have thus estranged themselves from 

 the control of man. Iudividualshave,at different 

 times, escaped from confinement, or been ne- 

 glected : a vast region lay before them, present- 

 ing abundance of food ; they multiplied, and 

 their ofispring in turn ; and tlius, within a brief 

 period, have the plains of the 'New World been 

 peopled by alien races of animals, which claim 

 Asia or Europe as their starting-point. 



CATTLE IN THE ISLANDS OF THE SOUTH 

 PACIFIC OCEAN 



America is not the only portion of tho 

 globe to which, by the agency of man, in 

 modern times, the ox has been introduced. 

 We allude to Australia, New Zealand, and 

 the groups of islands which sprinkle tho 

 Pacific Ocean. " AVith the appearance of Van- 

 couver," says Otho von Ivotzebue, speaking 

 of the Sandwich Islands, "arose the fortunate 

 star of these islands. Among the innumerable 

 benefits he conferred upon them, they are in- 

 debted to him for the possession of sheep and 

 cattle. Tameamea (the native king) declared 

 these animals under a tabu for ten years, 

 which allowed time for so large an increase, 

 that they now run wild in the forests." Of 

 the benefits resulting from the introduction of 



(Jo 5 



