160 



HORSEMANSHIP — RACING — GAMBLING. 



party. In armour, and upon their best horses, they sally forth 

 to meet the intruders. Having met, they ask why their land 

 has been invaded, and desire the strangers to return to the 

 place whence they came. The non-compliance of the intruders 

 is a signal for action ; they close — fight — and one party, being 

 vanquished, loses all its property. The manner of fighting has 

 already been mentioned. 



The horsemanship of the Patagonians is not equal to that of 

 the northern Indians : yet it is not indiiferent. From their 

 weight, and the openness of their country, they do not habi- 

 tually ride so hard, or practise so many manoeuvres as the 

 Araucanian,* who can hang at the side of his horse while at 

 speed, directing him by voice and rein ; or even while going 

 through a wood can cling quite beneath his belly for a short 

 time, still urging on and directing him ; but such feats, per- 

 formed by naked men, who are almost centaurs, surpass the 

 powers, or rather the dexterity, of the bulky, well-fed, and 

 heavily-clothed Patagonian. 



The Patagonians are very fond of racing. At almost every 

 leisure hour either horses or play engage their attention, for 

 they are also great gamblers. Race-courses are regularly 

 marked out, but they are very short, not a quarter of a mile in 

 length. These short bursts at the utmost speed seem absurd, 

 till one considers that in hunting wild animals, attacking or 

 escaping from the sudden attack of an adversary, such short 

 starts are of the utmost importance. They bet upon the horses, 

 * and sometimes stake even their wives and their children. 

 Payment is faithfully made, even to the uttermost. The 

 cards with which they play are pieces of skin, with figures 



* The Araucanian hangs at one side of his horse to shelter himself 

 from the lances, balls, or shot of his adversaries, or to avoid trees. At 

 a distance, a troop of these Indians advancing- irregularly, might seem 

 to an inexperienced eye merely loose horses, of which so many are seen 

 in the Pampas ; but to another Indian, or to a trained gaucho, the 

 attempt to conceal themselves would avail them nothing, because the 

 horses' action, and manner of going, would, at a glance, show him that 

 they were guided by riders. 



