THE LASSO. 59 



sake of the thing than he would dream of 

 taking a ride for the mere pleasure of riding 

 without any ulterior object. 



There are many sorts of hunting practised 

 by the Indians in this country. One mode, 

 in which they are not very expert compared 

 with the Gauchos and Guassos of South Ame- 

 rica, consists in simply riding down cattle or 

 horses, and lassoing them on the gallop. The 

 Central Americans are very inferior to the 

 Chilians, or any of the dwellers in open coun- 

 tries, in the use of the lasso ; this inferiority 

 is chiefly owing to the immense extent of 

 forest, with very little clear land except on 

 the mountains, and some savannahs near their 

 foot. The gigantic trees of the forest inva- 

 riably overshadow a high, thick, and, in some 

 parts of the year, an impenetrable underwood. 

 In this underwood it is impossible to whirl a 

 lasso over the head, much less throw it ; and 

 it is only on the open spots or savannahs that 

 it can be used. 



The best time for hunting cimarron or 

 wild cattle and horses is just after the under- 

 wood and long sacate grass have been fired 

 and burnt, and the following first rains have 

 softened the ground suflSciently to allow the 

 "rastro" or trail to be followed on the gal- 



