48 EAMBLES AFTEE SPOET. 



six inches in length ; wherever a silver boss could be 

 putj there was one. They certainly were two pretty 

 fellows. I think a Chile huasOj well mounted, is a 

 better horseman, and his horse better trained ; but 

 of course it is a matter of taste. The horses that 

 the vaqueros bestrode were small, wiry animals, that 

 looked as if they would give out every minute ; 

 but, as events proved, they could run fast enough 

 when required. As for myself, I was on a good horse 

 for running, as in case of necessity, as I told my 

 friends, I wanted to keep clear of the whole business, 

 not understanding the affair at all. 



We all made a move for the hills, where, I forgot to 

 mention, the herdsman had placed a dead bullock as a 

 bait some three or four days before ; so we were confident 

 of getting a bear, and perhaps the bear, as not unusually 

 happens, might get one of us. On our way, at my 

 request, the vaqueros amused themselves, and me too, by 

 lassoing a couple of bulls ; I must say that they surpassed 

 anything I ever saw in Chile, where they are supposed 

 to do it best. I should say they made an effective throw 

 — that is, when a fair chance was offered — quite four times 

 out of six. 



On nearing the ravine we found unmistakable signs of 

 bear, and a halt was ordered. A vaquero was sent on to 

 report as to the carcase of the bullock, and came back in 

 half an hour with the news that it was gone, so we knew 

 that we had master bear now as right and tight as 

 possible. The waggon was hauled to a corner of a field, 

 and four large brownish cur dogs, of a most forbidding 

 appearance, were taken out of it ; they were of no par- 

 ticular breed, and precisely like the dogs one sees under 

 carts at fairs. We all now formed a circle, I in the 



