XX 
THE HORSE. 
HISTORY. 
tiplied in Paraguay and other parts of the interior. These emancipated horses are at times in little herds, a stallion attaching 
himself to a certain number of mares; but these smaller herds likewise congregate into herds so vast in numbers as to strike the 
beholder with amazement. Many thousands may often be seen together, acting upon a principle of apparent subordination and 
union. 
Certain of the troop assume the guidance of the rest, place themselves in the van when the herd migrates to new ground, and, 
when danger is threatened, give the signal to advance or fly. They gallop boldly up to the traveller and objects that are new to 
them, unlike to the wilder race of Tartary, who station sentinels around the troop, and fly from the sight of danger and the foot¬ 
steps of man. When they see the domesticated horses, they gallop up to them, caress them with affectionate neighings, and use 
every means to induce them to escape with them to the wilderness. The latter are not slow to accept the invitation, and, when 
once restored to liberty, never willingly submit to bondage again. When the wild troops draw near, all the vigilance of the tra¬ 
vellers is required to prevent the desertion of their horses, who struggle to disencumber themselves of their trappings and get free. 
The Wild Horses advance in columns, never in line, sometimes retreating and returning several times, before they can be driven 
away, and sometimes charging the equipage, and throwing every thing into confusion, in order to effect the rescue. This generous 
sympathy for their subjugated fellows does not exist in the wild races of Tartary, and, in the case of the Spanish horses, may be 
safely pronounced to be the result of some feeling connected with their former state of domestication. An amusing traveller, 
speaking of some captured horses driven cruelly along at speed, goaded and wearied, through the more settled parts of the 
country, thus describes the effect upon their fellows. “ As they are thus galloping along, urged by the spur, it is interesting to see 
the group of wild horses one passes. The mares, which are never ridden in South America, seem not to understand what makes 
the poor horse hang his head so low and look so weary. The little innocent colts come running to meet him, and then start away 
frightened; while the old horses, whose white marks on the flanks and backs betray their acquaintance with the spur and saddle, 
walk slowly away for some distance, then breaking into a trot as they seek for safety, snort and look behind them, first with one 
eye and then with the other, turning their nose from right to left, and carrying their long tail high in the air.” * 
These Wild Horses are easily restored to domestication. Either some of the docility of temper remains which the race had 
acquired in the domestic state, or the genial clime and abundant herbage render them of gentler temperament than the pristine 
horses of the Asiatic deserts. The means, however, taken to subdue them are of unequalled barbarity, and altogether different 
from the careful culture with which, in other countries, the youthful colt is reconciled to obedience, and gradually trained to ad¬ 
minister to the wants and pleasures of his protector. 
When it is intended to capture a Wild Horse or Baguale, as it is called, the Guachos, or inhabitants of the plain, set out in 
search of the herd on horses trained to the chase. Either by means of the bolas and lasso, or of the lasso alone, the animal is 
entangled, thrown to the ground, and either at once mounted and furiously ridden, or tied to a post for several days without food 
or water, castrated and mounted. The bolas referred to consists of three stones rolled in leather, and tied to a common centre 
with strong leather cords, more than a yard in length. One being taken hold of, the others are swung around the head, and, when 
the necessary impetus is acquired, thrown with matchless dexterity round the limbs of the animal to be entangled. The lasso 
has been often described. It consists of a rope, about the thickness of the finger, made of twisted thongs of untanned hide, 
fifteen or twenty yards in length. It has a ring at one end forming a running noose. The other end is attached to a strong belt 
of hide, bound tightly round the horse. The coil is held by the left hand of the horseman; the noose end trails on the ground, 
except when in use, and then it is swung round the head, when it expands in a circular form, and is discharged from the hand 
with unerring aim, falling upon the part at which it is aimed, the neck, or one or more of the legs, or round the body, as may be 
wished, the horseman himself at speed all the while. The entangled animal is hurled to the ground with tremendous violence, 
and, before he can recover himself, is seized, and sometimes a saddle is strapped upon his back, and a bit forced into his mouth, 
before he is suffered to rise from the ground. Such is the effect of the formidable missile, which, in all these countries, is used to 
capture the horse and other animals, and which incessant practice from childhood teaches the Guacho to use with matchless dex¬ 
terity. The very children, we are told, begin the practice of the lasso almost as soon as they can run about, entangling all animals 
that are so unfortunate as to come within their reach—dogs, pigs, poultry, and the everywhere-persecuted cat; so that, by the time 
they are able to sit on horseback, they are dexterous in its use. Not only the wild but tame horses are seized by this formidable 
engine, and the latter, who have experienced its effects, regard it with terror. The Guacho, it has been said, secures by it the wild 
horse which he wishes to subdue. Nay, sometimes when pursuing a journey, he supplies himself in this manner with fresh horses, 
and pursues his course on an animal which had never before bent its neck to servitude. Approaching the wild animal, the lasso is 
* Head’s Journey across the Pampas. 
