204 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Jan. 15, 1830. 



LIBKAKV OF ISEFl L KNOWLEDGE. 



Continued from pagt 19G. 



CHAPTEn II. 



THE nir TERENT FOREIGN URKEDP. 



THE WILD HOUSE. 



Troo|is of wild horses arc Ibiiiiil in llie i)lain8 

 ».>r Groat Tanary, niu! also in srvoral parts ol' 

 South -Vnicricii. In neither, however, ran wc re- | 

 rognisc an ori;;inal race. The horses of the Ukra- ] 

 ine, and tliose of Sontli Aniericii, arc tqiially tiie I 

 (ifsfccnilants of lliosc who had escapcil from the 

 Hiavery of man. Tlic Tartar horses arc fleet and , 

 Kirong, hut comparatively of an ordinary Iireed. \ 

 'I'hose ofSonth America retain, ahmist unimpaired, ' 

 the size and form of their Europu;in ancestors. 



In no p:irt of America, or of the more newly j 

 discovered islands id" the Pacific, was the horse i 

 known, until he was introduced l)y Europeans; 

 and the origin of the horses of Tartary has heeii I 

 clearly traced to those who were employed in the 

 siege of Azoph, in 1657, hut which were turned i 

 loose for want of forage. | 



All travellers who have crossed the plains ex- 

 tending from the shores of La Plata to Patagonia, 

 iiave spoken of numerous droves of wild horses. 

 Some affirm that they have seen ten thousand in 

 one troop. They appear to ho under the command 

 of a leader, the strongest and boldest of the herd, 

 and whom they implicitly obey. A secret instinct 

 teaches tlicm that their safety consists in their 

 union, and in a principle of subordination. The 

 lion, tlic tiger, uud the leopard,* an; their princi- 

 pal enemies. At some signal, intelligible to them 

 all, they either close into a dense mass, and tram- 

 ple their enemy to death ; or, jdacing the mares 

 .ind foals in the centre, they form tliom.sclves into 

 a circle, and welcome hiin .with their heels. In 

 the attack, their leader is the first to face the dan- 

 ger, and, when prudence demands a retreat, they 

 follow his raiw'i flight. 



In the rinnly inhabited parts of South America 

 it is dangerous to fall in with any of these troops. 

 Tlie wild horses approach as near as they dare ; 

 they call to the loaded horse with ihi; greatest ea- 

 gerness, and, if the ridci" he not on the alert, and 

 have not considerable strength of arm, and sharj)- 

 ness of spur, his beast will divest himself of his 

 burilen, take lo his heels, and be gone forever. 



Captain Head gives the (ullowing account of a 

 meeting with a troop of wild horses, where the 

 country is more thickly inhabited. Some poor 

 captured animals are supposed lo be forced along 

 by their riders at their very utmost speed : — " .Xs 

 they aru thus galloping along, urged by the spur, 

 it is interesting to see the groups of wild horses 

 one passes. The mares, which are never ridden 

 in South America, seem not to inidcrstaml what 

 makes the poor horse carry his head so low, and 

 look so weary.f The little innocent r»>lts come 

 running to meet him, and then start awny fright- 

 ened ; while the old horses, whose white marks on 

 the flanks and backs betray their acquaintance 

 with the spur and saildh-, walk slowly away for 

 (onu distance, then breaking into ntrot as ihey seek 



'Tlicw umiii:d'3 nrc of a dinc-icnt race from IhMP which 

 fp unilcr the vnnin namca in llic Old World, und arc very 

 inrrriorin slrcnsili. 



t An i;ni;li-linijii once altompted to rldo a marc, Imt 

 ho wji IiouIimI anil |iu-ll.il by llie niilivc<,An(l thought hlm- 

 •clf forlinnln lo c>ci|)c v.'ithout Hcrinui Injury. 



Sir Juhii Curr, in Iih Noitlicra Siiiiimor, |>. '14, ntiito^ 

 thai it ii uiily a nliort lima nincc ni:irc<i began to bo ridden 

 n Ku'<M.i. 



their safety, snort and look behinillhcm, first with wliol" of the liorBe'g nianc, while another cm i 

 one eye and then with the other, lurning their hair from the eml of his lail. This, they lold i ■ 

 nose from right to icft, ami carrying their long tail was a mark that the hors<> I/ad been once mount 

 high in the air."* They then put a piece of liidc into his mouth 



The same pleasing writer describes the system serve for a bit, ami a strong hide halter on p- 

 of borse-managemcnl among the rude inlmhitnnts head. The Gaurlio who was to mount, arm 

 of the plains of South America. They have no his fpurs, which were niiiisunlly long ami sii 

 stables, no fenced pastures. One horse i.4 usually | and while t«%'o nn.'n held the horse by bis e;,i 

 kept tied at the door of the hut, foil scantily at put on i' ■; sadille, which he cirlhcd exlr- 

 lught on inai/c ; or at other times several may ligbt. He then caught hold of the horse's 

 be enclosed in the corruj, which is a circular space ' and in an in.'-tanl vaidled into the saddle; u| 

 surrounded by rough posts, driven firmly into the which the man who held the horse by the I 

 groimd. The mares are never ridden, or attempt- i threw the end to the rider, and from that mom 

 ed to be tamed, but wander with their foals where- ' no one scented to take any further notice of 1 

 ever they please. I " The hor.^c i:;s!HMtly l>egan lo jump in a m 



When the Cai(f/io, the native inhabitant of t^ ! uer which made it very ditlicult for ;.■-.: •.''.^^^• 

 plains, wants horses for himself, or for the supply keep his seal, and quite diflferent from the kic 

 of the traveller, ho either goes with bis /ajjo to i idungc ofan English horse ; however, the (Jnnc 

 the corral, and selects those, pn.ssibly, who on the spurs soon set him going, and ofl" iic gallopeil, 

 preceding day bad for the first time been backed, ing everything in his power lo throw bis ride 

 or ho scampers across the plain, and presently re- ! " Another horse was immediately brought f 

 turns with an unwilling, struggling, or subdued the corral, and so quick was the operation, 

 captive. When the services of the animals have | twelve Gauchos were mounted in a space wbi 

 been exacted, ho cither takes them to the corro/, 1 think hardly exceeded an hour. It ^vtis won « 

 and feeds them with a small quantity of maize, if fill to see the diflereot manner iii which ilifii 

 he thinks he shall ])rcsently need them again, or horses behaved. Some would actually scr 

 he once more turns them loose on the plains. , while the Gauchos were girding the saddle i 



Travellers give some amusing accounts of the their backs ; some would instantly lie down 

 manner in which all this is effected. Micrsf thus roll upon it; while some would stand withoni 

 describes tlic ?«sso, siiiq)lc in its construction, but ing held — their legs slifl", and in unnatural | 

 :dl-i)owerfiil in the hands of the Gaiicho. lions, their necks half bent towards their tail«, 



" The hnsso is a missile weapon used by every looking vicious and obstinate ; ami I could 

 native of the IJnilcd Provinces and Chile It is a | help thinking that I would not have mounted 

 very strong iilaited thong of equal thickness, lialf' of those for any reward that could be ofi 

 an inch in diameter, and forty feet long ; made of! me, for they were invariably the most diflicu 

 many strips ofgrcen hide, plaited like a whipthong, subdue. 



and rendered siipiile by grease It has, at one end,! " It was now curious to look around am 

 an iron ring above an inch am! a half in diameter, i the Gauchos on the horizon in different din ri 

 through wliich the thong is passed, and this forms trying to bring their horses back to the ■ 

 a running noose The Gaucho, or native Peon, is which is tho most dillicult part of their work 

 generally mounted on horseback when he uses) the poor creatures had been so scared there 

 the lasso. One end of the thong is affixed to bis [ they were unwilling to return to the place. I> 

 saddle girth ; the remainder he coils carefully in amusing to see the antics of the liorscs— 

 his left hand, leaving about twelve feet belonging were jumping and dancing in difierent 

 to the noose end, in a coil, and a half of which while the right arm of the Gauchos was 

 he holds in his light hand. Ho then swings this flogging them. At lasi they brought the b 

 long noose horizontally round his head, the weight [back, a])parenily subdued, and broken in. 

 of the iron ring at the end of the noose assisting .saddles and bridles were taken off, and the y 

 in giving to it, by a continued circular motion, a dini-ses trotted ofl' towards the corral, ucighi 

 RUflicient force to project it the whole length of the |0iie another.''^ 

 line." ) When the Gaucho wishes to take a wild 1 



When the Gauchos wish to have a grand break- lie mourns cue that has been iiscil lo the spor 

 ini'-in, they drive a whole herd of wild horses | gallops over the plain. .As soon os become 

 into the corral. — "The corral was quite full of|ficienlly near his prey, " the lasso is thrown i 

 horses, most of which were young ones about two i the two hind legs, and as the Gaucho rides a 

 or three years old. 'Vhc c«pil»r (chief Gaucho,) on one side, the jerk i«ulls the entangled h 

 moiinlcil on a strong stciiily horse, rode into the jfed lalerally, so as to tJirow him on bis side, 

 corral, and throw bis la.sso over the nock of a | out endangering his knees or his fiice. 1 

 young horse, an<l dragged him to the gale. For | tbe horse can recover the shock, the ridci 

 i some time lie was very unwilling to leave his i>iouni.«, and snatching his poncho or cloak 

 I comrades : but the moment he was forced out of^ bis shoulders, wraps it roundthe |)roslr«tc:ii 



I the corral, his first idea was to gallop away ; bow- 1 ■ 



lever, a timely jerk of tho lasso checked him in tlic I ' The manufacture of the Ciucho's booU i« » .;; 



The boots of the riauchos are fo 



, 1 • <• 1 ""'' P"' "' •'''■ 'fR 'kin of a coll taken ro 



I on foot and threw a lasso over his hue leg.s, jibI ,)ic molhcr. wbirh is s.iid lo be sacrificed for t' 

 above the fetlock, and twitching it, they iiiilied Ijs posc.jiKl at the lime of bearing, when tbr ' 



le-s from under him so siiildeiily, that I reuKv '"^P"" '" K™"- '^' ">''' "'"P*^- ''»■ »'''" -' 



..'" , . ., !• II ■ . , 1 _ I i.;ii„.i I,:,,, I ,," and is vcrv while and biaiitifiil in lextiirc r 



ihoMght the bill he got had killed I im. In an .n- .j-iie hamloims ibc cMoflbe boot ; .be ho 

 slant a (5»uchn was scaled on Ins beuil, and wifli iig^if ,„ ,i,e hc.l. and the l.g alwve Ihe f. i 

 his long knife, and in n few seconds, ctil olf tHu the foot; the whole making afloat and < ' 

 \ I with an dpnituro sulVicicnl for lb« grc.i^ 



through." .\ndrcw'9 Journey in Soiilh A' 



p«(^ 2B. 



t Mend':* Journey acroMthc Pampas, y. "'■■ 



most eflirctual way. The peons now ran after him | *'"""'"''■■ 



• Ho.vl'i> Journey acroM the Pampas, p. 25f. 

 1 Mior«' Travels in Chile, vol. i. p. 8». 



