THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 75 



towards the corral (the enclosure for cattle), I have 

 frequently seen a child pursue him, overtake him, 

 and then bring him back, flogging him the whole 

 way ; in vain the creature tries to dodge and escape 

 from him, for the child turns with him, and always 

 keeps close to him ; and it is a curious fact, which I 

 have often observed, that a mounted horse is always 

 able to overtake a loose one. 



" His amusements and his occupations soon be* 

 come more manly. Careless of the biscacheros (the 

 holes of an animal called the biscacho, which under- 

 mine the plains, and which are very dangerous) he 

 gallops after the ostrich, the gama, the puma, and the 

 jaguar ; he catches them with his balls ; and with his 

 lasso he daily assists in catching the wild cattle and 

 dragging them to the hut, either for slaughter or to 

 be milked. He breaks in the young horses, and in 

 these occupations is often away from his hut many 

 days, changing his horse as soon as the animal is 

 tired, and sleeping on the ground. As his constant 

 food is beef and water, his constitution is so strong 

 that he is able to endure great fatigue ; and the dis- 

 tances he will ride, and the number of hours he will 

 remain on horseback, would hardly be credited. The 

 unrestrained freedom of such a life he fully appre- 

 ciates ; and, unacquainted with subjection of any 



