166 



CHARLES DARWIN 



to me to spur him. When I remonstrated that it was a pity, 

 for the horse was quite exhausted, he cried out, " Why not ? 

 — never mind — spur him — it is my horse." I had then some 

 difficulty in making him comprehend that it was for the 

 horse's sake, and not on his account, that I did not choose 

 to use my spurs. He exclaimed, with a look of great sur- 

 prise, " Ah, Don Carlos, que cosa ! " It was clear that such 

 an idea had never before entered his head. 



The Gauchos are well known to be perfect riders. The 

 idea of being thrown, let the horse do what it likes, never 

 enters their head. Their criterion of a good rider is, a man 

 who can manage an untamed colt, or who, if his horse falls, 

 alights on his own feet, or can perform other such exploits. 

 I have heard of a man betting that he would throw his horse 

 down twenty times, and that nineteen times he would not 

 fall himself. I recollect seeing a Gaucho riding a very 

 stubborn horse, which three times successively reared so 

 high as to fall backwards with great violence. The man 

 judged with uncommon coolness the proper moment for 

 slipping off, not an instant before or after the right time; 

 and as soon as the horse got up, the man jumped on his back, 

 and at last they started at a gallop. The Gaucho never ap- 

 pears to exert any muscular force. I was one day watching 

 a good rider, as we were galloping along at a rapid pace, 

 and thought to myself, "Surely if the horse starts, you 

 appear so careless on your seat, you must fall." At this mo- 

 ment, a male ostrich sprang from its nest right beneath the 

 horse's nose : the young colt bounded on one side like a stag ; 

 but as for the man, all that could be said was, that he started 

 and took fright with his horse. 



In Chile and Peru more pains are taken with the mouth 

 of the horse than in La Plata, and this is evidently a conse- 

 quence of the more intricate nature of the country. In 

 Chile a horse is not considered perfectly broken, till he can 

 be brought up standing, in the midst of his full speed, on 

 any particular spot, — for instance, on a cloak thrown ^ on 

 the ground: or, again, he will charge a wall, and rearing, 

 scrape the surface with his hoofs. I have seen an animal 

 bounding with spirit, yet merely reined by a fore-finger and 

 thumb, taken at full gallop across a courtyard, and then 



