Besides this incredible multitude of oxen, Paraguay breeds an infinite number of horses, all sprung from seven mares which the Spaniards brought with them. The whole of that plain country, extending from the river Plata full two hundred leagues in every direction, is covered with droves of wandering horses, of which any person may catch as many as he likes, and make them his own property. Some horsemen, within a few days, bring home more than a thousand horses from the plain. A hunt of this kind is performed in various ways. Some catch every horse they come near with a leathern cord. Others construct a hedge with a wide entrance like the sleeve of a garment, through which they drive a herd of horses, separated from the rest, into the inclosed space, where, after they have been confined for some time, hunger and thirst render them gentle, and they are easily led away wherever the owner chooses, in company with other tame horses. Sometimes a part of the plain is burnt. The horses crowding eagerly to crop the new grass, are surrounded on all sides, and forced away by the hunters. There were some who secured the mares that were taken in this manner, by slightly cutting the nerve of the hinder foot, to prevent their running away. A horse of this kind of either sex, when brought from the country, and before it is accustomed to the saddle and bridle, is sometimes bought for ten or thirteen cruitzers. The colts of the mares are given gratis to the purchasers. Horses in Paraguay are valued, or the contrary, not according to their colour, or the conformation of their bodies, but chiefly according to their natural method of going, which is of four different kinds. The most esteemed are those which have not the common trot, but move very gently, and when spurred begin to amble, so that the rider might hold a cup full of liquor in his hand, and not spill a drop. They are either born with this kind of pace, or are taught it by art. If the mother be an ambler, though the father may not have been so, the colt will generally prove an ambler also; but more certainly if both parents have been of that kind. The young horses that are most remarkable for beauty of form, and for strength, are selected from the rest, and taught that easy and swift manner of moving. Their fore feet are fastened to their hinder ones in such a manner, that, though still able to walk, they cannot practise their natural method of leaping, which is so unpleasant to the rider. Others tie to the feet of the young horse a round stone, wrapped up in a skin, which strikes his legs when he attempts to trot, and makes him endeavour, through fear of the pain, to walk gently. This method of teaching is practised in all the Guarany towns. An ambling nag goes two leagues in the space of an hour, unless impeded by the roughness of the road; nor can a common horse keep up with him, unless spurred by the rider to a gallop. But the natural pace of those horses