20 



DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE 



ments are those which prepare him for the occupa- 

 tions of his future life : with a lasso made of twine 

 he tries to catch little birds, or the dogs, as they 

 walk in and out of the hut. By the time he is four 

 years old he is on horseback, and immediately 

 becomes useful by assisting to drive the cattle into 

 the corral. The manner in which these children 

 ride is quite extraordinary: if a horse tries to 

 escape from the flock which are driven towards the 

 corral, I have frequently seen a child pursue him, 

 overtake him, and then bring him back, flogging 

 him the whole way; in vain the creature tries to 

 dodge and escape from him, for the child turns 

 with him , and always keeps close to him ; and it is 

 a curious fact, which I have often observed, that a 

 mounted horse is always able to overtake a loose 

 one. 



His amusements and his occupations soon become 

 more manly — careless of the biscacheros (the holes 

 of an animal called the biscacho) which undermine 

 the plains, and which are very dangerous, he gal- 

 lops after the ostrich, the gama, the lion, and the 

 tiger ; he catches them with his balls : and with his 

 lasso he daily assists in catching the wild cattle, and 



I 



