THE SOUTH AMERICAN LASSO. 



33 



her absurd vow, allowed that a good case of con- 

 science had been made out ; and the pretty Rosa- 

 lita danced away with a spirit which was taken up 

 by the whole room, and a more animated ball was 

 never seen. 



CHAPTER IX. 



South American Method of killing Cattle Use of the 



Lasso and the Luna. — Anecdote of some Boys. — Method 

 of preparing Jerked Beef. 



30th of March. — Before breakfast to-day, we 

 witnessed the South American method of killing 

 cattle, a topic which, though at first sight no very 

 delicate or inviting one, will not, I trust, prove 

 uninteresting or disagreeable in description. 



The cattle, as I mentioned before, had been 

 driven into an enclosure, or corral, whence they 

 were now let out, one by one, and killed ; but 

 not in the manner practised in England ; where 

 I believe, they are dragged into a house, and de- 

 spatched by blows on the forehead with a pole- 

 axe. Here the whole took place in the open air, 

 and resembled rather the catastrophe of a grand 

 field sport, than a deliberate slaughter. On a 

 level space of ground before the corral were 

 ranged in a line four or five guassos on horse- 

 back, with their lassos all ready in their hands ; 

 and opposite to them another set of men on foot, 

 similarly equipped, so as to form a wide lane, 

 extending from the gate of the corral to the 

 distance of thirty or forty yards. When all was 

 prepared, the leader of the guassos drew out the 

 bars closing the entrance to the corral ; and, 

 riding in, separated one of the cattle from the 

 drove, which he goaded till it escaped in the 

 opening. The reluctance of the cattle to quit 

 the corral was evident, but when at length forced 

 to do so, they dashed forward with the utmost 

 impetuosity. It is said that in this country, even 

 the wildest animals have an instinctive horror of 

 the lasso ; those in a domestic state certainly 

 have, and betray fear whenever they see it. Be 

 this as it may, the moment they pass the gate, 

 they spring forward at full speed with all the 

 appearance of terror. But were they to go ten 

 times faster it would avail them nothing against 

 the irresistible lassos, which, in the midst of 

 dust and a confusion seemingly inextricable, were 

 placed by the horsemen with the most perfect 

 correctness over the parts aimed at. There 

 cannot be conceived a more spirited" or a more 

 picturesque scene, than was now presented to us ; 

 or one which in the hands of a bold sketcher, 

 would have furnished a finer subject for the 

 pencil. Let the furious beast be imagined driven 

 almost to madness by thirst and a variety of 

 irritations, and in the utmost terror at the mul- 

 titude of lassos whirling all around him ; he rushes 

 wildly forward, his eyes flashing fire, his nostrils 

 almost touching the ground, and his breath driving 

 off the dust in his course : — for one short in- 

 stant he is free, and full of life and strength, 

 defying, as it were, all the world to restrain him 

 in his headlong course ; the next moment he is 

 covered with lassos, his horns, his neck, his legs, 

 are all encircled by these inevitable cords, hang- 

 ing loose, in long festoons, from the hands of the 



horsemen galloping in all directions, but the next 

 instant as tight as bars of iron ; and the noble 

 animal lying prostrate on the ground motionless 

 and helpless. He is immediately despatched by 

 a man on foot, who stands ready for this purpose 

 with a long sharp knife in his hand ; and as soon 

 as the body is disentangled from the lassos, it is 

 drawn on one side, and another beast is driven out 

 of the corral, and caught in the same manner. 



On begging to know why so many lassos were 

 thrown at once on these occasions, we learned 

 that the first rush of these cattle, when driven out 

 of the corral, is generally so impetuous, that few 

 single cords are strong enough to bear the jerk 

 without breaking. As an experiment, a cow in a 

 very furious state was let out, and directions given 

 for only two men to attempt to stop her. The 

 first lasso fell over her head, which it drew 

 round, so that the horns almost touched her back, 

 but the thongs snapped without stopping her ; the 

 second was intentionally placed round the fore 

 part of the body, and it also broke without ma- 

 terially checking her progress. Away went the 

 cow, scouring over the country, followed by two 

 fresh horsemen standing erect in their stirrups, 

 with their lassos flying round their heads, and their 

 ponchos streaming out behind them, a highly ani- 

 mating and characteristic sight. The cow galloped, 

 and the horses galloped, and such is the speed 

 of cattle accustomed to run wild, that at first 

 the horses had little advantage. The ground 

 being covered with shrubs and young trees, and 

 full of hollow places, and sunk roads, the chase 

 was diversified by many leaps, in which, although 

 the poor cow did well at first, the horses, ere 

 long, gained upon her, and the nearest guasso 

 perceiving that he was just within reach, let fly 

 his lasso. The cow was at such a distance that 

 it required the whole length of the rope to reach 

 her, and the noose had become so contracted by 

 the knot slipping up towards the end, that it was 

 barely large enough to admit the horns ; had the 

 cow been one foot more in advance, the circle 

 would have become too small ; but this nicety is 

 considered the perfection of the art. When the 

 rider saw the noose fixed, he stopped and turned 

 his horse, upon which the poor cow, her head 

 nearly wrung off, was cast to the ground with 

 great violence. The second hoi'seman dashed 

 along, and on passing the cow, instead of throw- 

 ing his lasso, merely stooped on one side, and laid 

 the noose, which he had contracted to a small 

 circle, over her horns. This done, the gaussos 

 turned their horses' heads and trotted back with 

 their unwilling prize, not having been more than 

 four or five minutes absent from the ground. 



There is another method of arresting the ani- 

 mal's progress, without using the lasso, which is 

 said to require even more skill and presence of 

 mind than that formidable instrument itself. A 

 horseman is stationed a little way from the en- 

 trance of the corral, armed with a weapon called 

 a Luna, which consists of a steel blade about a 

 foot long, and curved, as its name implies, in the 

 form of a crescent, sharpened on the concave edge, 

 and having a pole ten or twelve feet long screwed 

 into the middle of the blunt or convex side ; so 

 that when held horizontally, the horns of the 

 crescent point forward. The rider carries this luna 

 in his right hand, couched like a lance, the blade 



