ARAB HORSES IN SOUTH AMERICA. I09 



ries and gentlemen of wealth. They are never har- 

 nessed or driven. 



" One of the uses to which the Arab's grace, agil- 

 ity, and intelligence especially fit him, is the 

 national bull-fig-ht. This, in Lima, is the most 

 perfectly-placed spec imoh '^Qf its kind in the world. 

 No cruelty is permitted there. It is worth the 

 rider's reputation to let his horse be injured, as those 

 ridden are the very choicest from the haciendas. 

 They are trained to the touch of the knee, both 

 hands of the rider being devoted to exciting the 

 wrath of the bull. As the toreador waves his capa, 

 which conceals from the horse, the furious oncoming 

 of the enraged brute, a pressure of the rider's knees 

 against the sides of the perfectly trained Arab, causes 

 him to swerve gracefully aside, and the bull is car- 

 ried on far beyond, by his own momentum. As he 

 returns to the charge the horse again coquettes with 

 danger, until, to the sound of the bugle, he prances 

 out of the arena, to let a second horse and rider take 

 his place. Should a horse be injured in this danger- 

 ous play, instead of exciting the plaudits of the 

 audience — as in Madrid and Mexico, where the most 

 worthless and broken-down are used, and gored to 

 death — the rider would have to encounter the angry 

 curses and contemptuous hisses of the multitude. 



" The matador on foot, whose duty it is to finally 

 kill the bull by a sudden and direct plunge of his 

 long sharp sword through the heart — thus causing 

 him no suffering — shows wonderful courage, agility, 

 and cool self-possession. He must strike with uner- 

 ring aim or his own life will probably pay the forfeit. 



