84 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 



pleasure in circumventing the game. This 

 ox is first tied up to a tree by the horns, 

 and he is then beaten at intervals on the 

 horns, near the roots, until they are sensibly 

 loosened and sensitive at the sockets. Should 

 he be restive, he is kept without food or wa- 

 ter, and when the roots of the horns have 

 gained a proper sensitiveness, the ends of a 

 strong thin cord, made from the fibres of the 

 aloe, are made fast, one to each horn like the 

 reins of a bridle. He is then made to move 

 round the tree, by being given a little more 

 length of tether, and guided in his turnings 

 by this cord, which serves exactly as if he 

 were bitted. He very soon learns his lesson ; 

 his horns get well, but he still retains the 

 feeling of guidance by these reins ; and, 

 lastly, to complete his education, he only 

 wants to be shewn the reason for hammering 

 all this knowledge into his brain. He is 

 taken to the woods and savannahs, and in a 

 very few days he learns his work, though 

 he may not be so steady or cunning as an 

 older hand, or rather horn. The Indian, his 

 teacher, places himself close to the shoulder 

 of the ox, and walking alongside, holds the 

 reins in one hand, and his bow with a long 

 arrow in the other, having, perhaps, one or 



