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CHARLES DARWIN 



ashamed of himself. On these occasions the house-dogs are 

 very tyrannical, and the least of them will attack and pursue 

 the stranger. The minute, however, the latter has reached 

 the flock, he turns round and begins to bark, and then all 

 the house-dogs take very quickly to their heels. In a similar 

 manner a whole pack of the hungry wild dogs will scarcely 

 ever (and I was told by some never) venture to attack a 

 flock guarded by even one of these faithful shepherds. The 

 whole account appears to me a curious instance of the plia- 

 bility of the affections in the dog ; and yet, whether wild or 

 however educated, he has a feeling of respect or fear for 

 those that are fulfilling their instinct of association. For 

 we can understand on no principle the wild dogs being 

 driven away by the single one with its flock, except that they 

 consider, from some confused notion, that the one thus asso- 

 ciated gains power, as if in company with its own kind. 

 F. Cuvier has observed, that all animals that readily enter 

 into domestication, consider man as a member of their own 

 society, and thus fulfil their instinct of association. In 

 the above case the shepherd-dog ranks the sheep as its fel- 

 low-brethren, and thus gains confidence; and the wild dogs, 

 though knowing that the individual sheep are not dogs, but 

 are good to eat, yet partly consent to this view when seeing 

 them in a flock with a shepherd-dog at their head. 



One evening a "domidor" (a subduer of horses) came 

 for the purpose of breaking-in some colts. I will describe 

 the preparatory steps, for I believe they have not been men- 

 tioned by other travellers. A troop of wild young horses 

 is driven into the corral, or large enclosure of stakes, and 

 the door is shut. We will suppose that one man alone has 

 to catch and mount a horse, which as yet had never felt 

 bridle or saddle. I conceive, except by a Gaucho, such a feat 

 would be utterly impracticable. The Gaucho picks out a 

 full-grown colt; and as the beast rushes round the circus, 

 he throws his lazo so as to catch both the front legs. In- 

 stantly the horse rolls over with a heavy shock, and whilst 

 struggling on the ground, the Gaucho, holding the lazo 

 tight, makes a circle, so as to catch one of the hind legs, 

 just beneath the fetlock, and draws it close to the two front 

 legs: he then hitches the lazo, so that the three are bound 



