108 
TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON. [February ^ 
trousers and a cap with, a tassel, displaying the fine 
symmetry of their bodies. We were much amused by 
seeing them bring in the cattle, driving them into the 
corral, or using the lasso when one was to be slaughtered. 
Eor this purpose they generally get two lassos on the 
head or legs of the animal, the end of each of which is 
held by a horseman. The “matador’’ then goes up and 
hamstrings the poor animal with a cutlass. This quite 
disables him : in vain he tries to rise on his legs and run 
at his merciless assailants, till the cutlass is thrust into 
his neck and deep down into his chest. He is hardly 
dead when he is skinned and cut up, and the dogs and 
vultures rush to feast upon the pool of blood and entrails 
which mark the spot. The sight was a sickening one, 
and I did not care to witness it more than once. 
There were few birds or insects worth catching, and 
it was not the time of year for the spoonbills and ibises, 
which have a building-place near, and arrive in immense 
numbers in the month of June. 
After spending about a week at Jungcal we embarked 
to return to Para. A cattle- canoe was to accompany us, 
and we were to take some of the animals on board our 
schooner. We started early in the morning, and in about 
an hour arrived at a corral on the river-side, where the 
cattle were. The boat was anchored about twenty yards 
from the shore, and a block and fall rigged to haul them 
up on deck. In the corral were twenty or thirty wild 
cattle, who had been kicking and plunging about till they 
had filled the place with mud knee-deep. Several men 
with lassos were trying to secure them, by throwing the 
loops over their horns. The cattle used all their endea- 
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