348 



into the pool, intoxicate or benumb these ani- 

 mals. These means would have enfeebled the 

 gymnoti; the Indians therefore told us, that 

 they would " fish with horses," embarbascar con 

 cavallos *; We found it difficult to form an idea 

 of this extraordinary manner of fishing ; but we 

 soon saw our guides return from the savannah, 

 which they had been scouring for wild horses 

 and mules. They brought about thirty with 

 them, which they forced to enter the pool. 



The extraordinary noise caused by the horses' 

 hoofs makes the fish issue from the mud, and 

 excites them to combat. These yellowish and 

 livid eels, resembling large aquatic serpents, 

 swim on the surface of the water, and crowd 

 under the bellies of the horses and mules. A 

 contest between animals of so different an orga- 

 nization furnishes a very striking spectacle. 

 The Indians, provided with harpoons and long 

 slender reeds, surround the pool closely ; and 

 some climb upon the trees, the branches of 

 which extend horizontally over the surface of the 

 water. By their wild cries, and the length of 

 their reeds, they prevent the horses from run- 

 ning away, and reaching the bank of the pool. 

 The eels, stunned by the noise, defend them- 

 selves by the repeated discharge of their electric 



"* Properly to set to sleep, or intoxicate the fish by means 

 of horses. 



