248 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Industrial growth is slow but 

 certain. Besides possessing 



raw material for manufac- 

 turing, Chile lias unlimited 

 water-power in the Andes 

 for hydro-electric develop- 

 ment. 



THE CHILEAN COWBOY'S 

 GAME OF "TOPIO" 



From Chilian we drove 

 to a neighboring village to 

 watch the country-folk at 

 play. The Chilean cowboy 

 is less picturesque than his 

 fellow on the other side of 

 the Andes, the Argentine 

 gaucho. His trousers are 

 not as baggy and he is not 

 as gaily bedecked with sil- 

 ver trappings. He is known 

 as the huaso, which means 

 ''countryman," while the 

 little country maid is the 

 huasita. He is a splendid 

 horseman, and his steed is 

 high-spirited, with an Arab 

 strain. His favorite sport 

 is shared by his equine 

 friend. We saw the ancient 

 game of topio. 



In front of a farmhouse, 

 under the shade trees, were 

 large, solidly built uprights 

 with cross - bars. These 

 ^ elongated hitching - posts 

 play an important role in 

 topio. 



The horsemen pair by lot 



and "line up" in front of 



the bar. One of the riders 



presses his horse forward 



u against the bar, crossing 



C and imprisoning the head of 



g his opponent's mount. At 



the referee's call the game 



is on, and the rider of the 



imprisoned horse endeavors 



to free him. 



The horses are as highly 

 trained as our polo ponies, 

 and, when matched with 

 skillful riders, a single strug- 

 gle may last an hour. In 

 the preliminaries a dozen 

 such contests are simultane- 

 ous, with short rests be- 



