200 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 



possibly be done on horseback. Even mounted beg- 

 garmen are to be seen in the streets of Buenos Ayres 

 and Mendoza. The butcher, of course, plies his trade 

 on horseback, in the manner thus described by Basil 

 Hall : " The cattle had been driven into an enclo- 

 sure or corral, whence they were now let out one by 

 one, and killed ; but not in the manner practised in 

 England, where they are dragged into a house, and 

 despatched by blows on the forehead with a pole-axe. 

 Here the whole took place in the open air, and re- 

 sembled rather the catastrophe of a grand field-sport 

 than a deliberate slaughter. On a level space of 

 ground before the corral were ranged, in a line, four 

 or five Guachos on horseback, with their lassos all 

 ready in their hands, and opposite them another set of 

 men, similarly equipped, so as to form a wide lane, 

 extending from the gate of the corral to the distance 

 of thirty or forty yards. When all was prepared, 

 the leader of the Guachos drew out the bars closing 

 the entrance to the corral, and, riding in, separated 

 one from the drove, which he goaded till it escaped 

 at the opening. The reluctance of the cattle to quit 

 the corral was evident, but" when at length forced to 

 do so, they dashed forward with the utmost impetu- 

 osity. It is said, that in this country even the wildest 

 animals have an instinctive horror of the lasso ; those 

 in a domestic state certainly have, and betray fear 

 whenever they see it. Be this as it may, the moment 



