174 RAMBLES AFTER SPORT. 



joined together just above the grip of the hand. They 

 terminate in a long lash fchicote) about four feet long, at 

 the tip of which there is a ball of lead sewn up in leather. 

 When not required for use, this chicote is curled round 

 the near side of the rider, and hangs down on the off 

 flank of the horse. Of course, as may be readily 

 imagined, it is a formidable weapon in skilful hands ; a 

 man not on the look-out is frequently knocked clean off 

 his saddle by a blow on the head with the ball at the 

 end. The saddle is a queer affair. In the first place 

 about six or seven sheepskins are placed on the horse's 

 back, one on top of another; a leather strap is passed 

 round these, and firmly secured ; a skeleton saddle, or 

 rather piece of wood with a cantle at each end, is then 

 placed on, and on the top of this any number of sheep- 

 skins, finished off, if the owner is rich, by a foxskin, 

 or some other valuable fur. Sometimes as many as 

 seventeen or eighteen skins may go to make up a montura. 

 The four corners are kept down by broad leather straps, 

 ornamented with silver buckles, to enable the rider to 

 wedge himself in. The stirrups are made of two huge 

 pieces of hard wood, with a hole half-way through, and 

 frequently weigh 51b. or 61b. a piece. I once had the 

 curiosity to weigh a montura of a well-to-do huaso ; it 

 weighed 601b. more or less, and yet this was by no means 

 an uncommonly large one. When the rider is in his 

 saddle, all his legs are concealed by the sheepskins, and 

 viewed from behind, clad in a poncho and an enormous 

 straw hat, he presents one of the most laughable objects 

 in existence. Of course, nearly all their feats of horse- 

 manship are due to their using such powerful bits, 

 the comparative smallness of the horses, and the almost 

 impossibility of getting thrown from such a saddle. 



