32 



THE CHILIAN LADY'S PROMESA. 



for several yards. This, which takes so long to 

 describe, is the work of a few seconds ; during 

 which, the other horseman gallops past ; and be- 

 fore the bull has time to recover from the shock, 

 places the noose over his horns, and continues 

 advancing till this lasso also is at full stretch. 

 The bull, stupified by the fall, sometimes lies 

 motionless on the ground ; but the men soon 

 rouse him up, by tugging him to and fro. When 

 on his legs, with a horseman on each side, he is 

 like a ship moored with two cables ; and however 

 unwilling he may be to accompany the guassos, 

 or however great his struggles, he is irresistibly 

 dragged along by them in whatever direction they 

 please. 



If the intention be to kill the animal for the sake 

 of the hide and tallow alone, as is often the case, 

 one of the guassos dismounts, and running in, cuts 

 the bull's hamstrings with a long knife, which he 

 always wears in his girdle ; and, instantly after- 

 wards, despatches him by a dexterous cut across 

 the back of the neck. The most surprising thing 

 is the manner in which the horse, after being left 

 by his rider, manages to preserve the lasso always 

 tight ; this would be less difficult if the bull were 

 to remain steady, but it sometimes happens, that 

 he makes violent struggles to disentangle himself 

 from the lassos, rushing backwards and forwards 

 in a furious manner. The horse however, with 

 wonderful sagacity, alters his place, and prances 

 about, as if conscious of what he is doing, so as to 

 resist every movement of the bull, and never to 

 allow the lasso to be relaxed for a moment. 



When a wild horse is to be taken, the lasso is 

 always placed round the two hind-legs, and, as the 

 guasso rides a little on one side, the jerk pulls the 

 entangled feet laterally, so as to throw him on his 

 side without endangering his knees or his face. 

 Before the horse can recover the shock, the rider 

 dismounts, and snatching his poncho or cloak from 

 his shoulders, wraps it round the prostrate animal's 

 head ; he then forces into his mouth one of the 

 powerful bits of the country, straps a saddle on 

 his back, and, bestriding him, removes the poncho; 

 upon which the astonished horse springs on his 

 legs, and endeavours, by a thousand vain efforts, 

 to disencumber himself of his new master, who sits 

 quite composedly on his back ; and, by a discipline 

 which never fails, reduces the horse to such complete 

 obedience, that he is soon trained to lend his speed 

 and strength in the capture of his wild companions. 



During the recent wars in this country, the lasso 

 was used as a weapon of great power in the hands 

 of these people, who made bold and useful troops, 

 and never failed to dismount cavalry, or to throw 

 down the horses of those who came within their 

 reach. There is a well-authenticated story of a 

 party of eight or ten of them, who had never seen 

 a piece of artillery, till one was fired at them in the 

 streets of Buenos Ayres. Notwithstanding the 

 effect of the fire, they galloped fearlessly up to it, 

 placed their lassos over the cannon, and, by their 

 united strength, fairly overturned it. 



Another anecdote is related of them, which, 

 though possible enough, does not rest on such 

 good authority. A number of armed boats were 

 sent to effect a landing at a certain point on the 

 coast, guarded solely by these horsemen. The 

 party in the boats, caring little for an enemy un- 

 provided with fire-arms, rowed confidently along 



the shore. The guassos, meanwhile, were watching 

 their opportunity, and the moment the boats came 

 sufficiently near, dashed into the water, and 

 throwing their lassos round the necks of the 

 officers, fairly dragged every one of them out of 

 their boats. 



In the evening we were engaged in amusements 

 of a vei'y different description. Our party repaired 

 to the house of a neighbour, an old lady, whose 

 greatest delight was to see her friends happy about 

 her. We were soon joined by several other fami- 

 lies, and there being a piano-forte in the room, the 

 inevitable consequence was a dance. If it be dif- 

 ficult to describe the lasso, it is quite impossible to 

 describe the Spanish country-dance, which bears 

 no resemblance to that known in England. It 

 consists of a great variety of complicated figures, 

 affording infinite opportunities for the display of 

 grace, and for showing elegance of figure to the 

 greatest advantage. It is danced to waltz tunes, 

 played in rather slow time ; and instead of one or 

 two couples dancing at once, the whole of the set 

 from end to end is constantly in motion. No 

 dance can be more beautiful to look at, or more 

 bewitching to be engaged in ; yet there is no 

 denying that, admirable though it be for those 

 warm regions, it is of a character unsuited to the 

 climate and habits of England. Dancing and 

 walking, for the last is equally looked upon as an 

 accomplishment, are taught with great care, and I 

 do not remember to have seen any lady who did 

 not do both well. Differences in the figure and 

 in the taste of the individual, will of course make 

 distinctions quite as remarkable as are observable 

 in other countries ; but still the universality of 

 good dancing, and more particularly of graceful, 

 or it may be called elegant walking, is a very 

 remarkable feature, and well deserving of notice. 



As the Chilian ladies have more or less a taste 

 for music, and all play on the piano-forte, there 

 seldom arises, on such occasions as this, a difficulty 

 in finding a player. But I was surprised, and 

 somewhat disappointed, to see a young lady, one 

 of the gayest and best dancers in Chili, place her- 

 self at the instrument. The gentlemen loudly ap- 

 pealed against this proceeding ; but she maintained 

 her place resolutely, declaring she would not dance 

 a single step. Seeing there was some mystery in 

 this, I took an opportunity of begging to know 

 what could have induced a person of so much good 

 sense and cheerfulness, and at the same time so 

 fond of dancing, to make so very preposterous a 

 resolution. She laughed on hearing the subject 

 treated with such earnestness, and confessed that 

 nothing was farther from her own wishes or habits 

 than her present forbearance, but that she was 

 bound by what she called a Promesa, or engage- 

 ment, not to dance for a whole year. I begged an 

 explanation of this singular obligation, when she 

 told me, that, during the recent confinement of her 

 sister, our host's wife, at a moment when her life 

 was despaired of, her mother had made a vow, 

 that, if she recovered, not one of the unmarried 

 girls should dance for twelve months. Her younger 

 sister was, however, dancing ; and I found sb« 

 had managed to evade the interdict by an ingenious 

 piece of casuistry ; arguing, that as the promise 

 had been made by her mother in town, it could 

 never be intended to apply to the country. The 

 good-natured mother, who probably repented of 



