IV 
INDIAN WEAPONS 
75 
make the riding gear. One of their chief indoor occupations 
is to knock two stones together till they become round, in 
order to make the bolas. With this important weapon the 
Indian catches his game, and also his 
horse, which roams free over the plain. 
In fighting, his first attempt is to throw 
down the horse of his adversary with the 
bolas, and when entangled by the fall to 
kill him with the chuzo. If the balls only 
catch the neck or body of an animal, they 
are often carried away and lost. As the 
making the stones round is the labour of 
two days, the manufacture of the balls is a 
very common employment. Several of the 
men and women had their faces painted red, 
but I never saw the horizontal bands which 
are so common among the Fuegians. Their 
chief pride consists in having everything 
made of silver ; I have seen a cacique with 
his spurs, stirrups, handle of his knife, and 
bridle made of this metal : the head-stall 
and reins being of wire, were not thicker 
than whipcord ; and to see a fiery steed 
wheeling about under the command of so 
light a chain, gave to the horsemanship a 
remarkable character of elegance. 
General Rosas intimated a wish to see 
a circumstance which I was afterwards 
He is a man of an extra¬ 
ordinary character, and has a 
most predominant influence 
in the country, which it 
seems probable he will use 
glad of. 
BRAZILIAN WHIPS, HOBBLES, AND SPURS. 
