LA Z 01 NO. 



207 



dred head, which had been kept up two days without 

 food, were let loose into a field two or three miles in 

 circumference. Eight men were mounted, with iron 

 spurs an inch long on their naked heels, and each with 

 a lazo in hand, which consisted of an entire cow's hide 

 cut into a single cord about twenty yards long ; one 

 end was fastened to the horse's tail, which was first 

 wrapped in leaves to prevent its being lacerated, and 

 the rest was wound into a coil, and held by the rider in 

 his right hand, resting on the pommel of the saddle. 

 The cattle had all dispersed ; we placed ourselves on an 

 elevation commanding a partial view of the field, and 

 the riders scattered in search of them. In a little while 

 thirty or forty rushed past, followed by the riders at 

 full speed, and very soon were out of sight. We must 

 either lose the sport or follow ; and in one of the doub- 

 lings, taking particularly good care to avoid the throng 

 of furious cattle and headlong riders, I drew up to the 

 side of two men who were chasing a single ox, and fol- 

 lowed over hill, through bush, brush, and underwood ; 

 one rider threw his lazo beautifully over the horns of 

 the ox, and then turned his horse, while the ox bound- 

 ed to the length of the lazo, and, without shaking horse 

 or rider, pitched headlong to the ground. 



At this moment a herd swept by, with the whole com- 

 pany in full pursuit. A large yellow ox separated from 

 the rest, and all followed him. For a mile he kept 

 ahead, doubled, and dodged, but the horsemen crowded 

 him down toward the lake ; and, after an ineffectual at- 

 tempt to bolt, he rushed into the water. Two horsemen 

 followed and drove him out, and gave him a start, but 

 in a few moments the lazo whizzed over his head, and, 

 while horse and rider stood like marble, the ox again 

 came with a plunge to the ground. The riders scat- 



