, ^catching them hy means of Wild Horses. 243 
set off on the 19th of March for the village Rastro de aba.vo; 
thence we were conducted to a stream, which, in the time of 
drought, forms a basin of muddy water, surrounded by fine trees. 
To catch the gymnoti with nets is very difficult, on account of the 
extreme agility of the fish, which bury themselves in the mud 
like serpents. We would not employ the harbasco^ that is to 
say, the roots of the Piscidea erithryna and Jacquinia armillaris, 
which, when thrown into the pool, intoxicate or benumb these 
animals. These means would have enfeebled the gymnoti ; the 
Indians therefore told us, that they would fish with horses.” 
We found it difficult to form an idea of this extraordinary man- 
ner of fishing; but we soon saw our guides return from the sa- 
vannah, 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 
nn organization furnishes a very striking spectacle. The In- 
dians, 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 running away, and reaching the bank of the pooL 
The eels, stunned by the noise, defend , themselves by the re- 
peated discharge of their electric batteries. During a long time 
they seem to prove victorious. Several horses sink beneath the 
violence of the invisible strokes, which they receive from all 
sides in organs the most essential to life ; and stunned by the 
force and frequency of the shocks, disappear under the water. 
Others, panting, with mane erect, and haggard eyes, express- 
ing anguish, raise themselves, and endeavour to flee from the 
storm by which they are overtaken. They are driven back bv 
the Indians into the middle of the water ; but a small number 
succeed in eluding the active vigilance of the fishermen. These 
regain the shore, stumbling at every step, and stretch them- 
selves on the sand, exhausted with fatigue, and their limbs be- 
numbed by the electric shocks of the gymnoti. 
