LASSOING AN ALLIGATOR. 167 



bank, but his horse was completely over- 

 powered and brought down on his knees. 

 He had no remedy left him but to follow the 

 beast and try to get rid of his lasso, but it 

 was too fast to the saddle, and he was drag- 

 ged right through the pool and out at the 

 other side. He tried to cut the lasso with 

 his machete, but it was so blunt he could 

 not cut through the hide-thongs, so, nolens 

 volens, down stream they all went together, 

 through pools and shallows, till he remem- 

 bered he had a knife in the pocket of his 

 sheep-skin, and after some trouble in getting 

 at it, managed to sever his tow-rope. 



" Never, Caballero," said he, " did a man 

 take such a journey, — sometimes in the shal- 

 lows, — but the bottom all large stones and 

 rocks ; then splash into deep water ; then 

 deep mud ; then stones over again ; and, 

 worse than all, I knew if I had gone a very 

 little further, there was a fall of water as 

 high as this rancho, and I to have gone down 

 it without having even confessed myself! 

 No, seiior, there never was, nor ever will be 

 again,such ^ paseo (promenade)."" However, 

 my dark friend did at last circumvent his 

 enemy, and I will continue his tale in his 

 own words. 



