The RANCHERO, who has played so conspicuous a part in this war, is the natural offspring of such a state of society. This class of men is composed of individuals, half Spanish half Indian, who resemble the _gauchos_ of the South American Pampas. Gaunt, shrivelled and bronzed by exposure, though hardy and muscular from athletic exercise, they are, indeed, the Arabs of our continent. Living half the time in their saddles, for they are matchless horsemen, they traverse the plains and mountains, with lasso[9] in hand, either searching for, or tending their herds. The slaughter of beasts and preparation and sale of hides is their chief means of livelihood, varied occasionally by the cultivation of a small patch of ground, or by taking part in the civil wars that are always waging. Their costume generally consists of a pair of tough leggings of skin and leathern trousers, over which is a _serape_ or blanket, with a hole in the centre large enough for the head to pass through, whence it falls in graceful folds over the chest and shoulders, leaving room for the play of hands and arms. Add to this a broad _sombrero_, and the _lasso_, hanging ready for use at his saddle bow, and the reader will have a picture of the _ranchero_ as he appears in peace or in the ordinary pursuit of his occupation. Join to this garb a long sabre, a horse as savage and untamed as himself, and a belt plentifully studded with pistols and _machetes_, and the _ranchero_ presents himself ready either to join a troop of banditti, or to serve in a body of cavalry. Cowardly as they generally are in the open field when encountering regular troops, yet, in ambuscade, a sudden fight, or, as _guerillas_, they are both a formidable and cruel foe. Their power of endurance is inexhaustible. Fatigue is almost unknown to them, and a scanty meal, each day, of jerked beef and corn or plantain, is sufficient to sustain them on the longest marches. Such are the _rancheros_, who, by discipline, might be rendered the best light troops in the world. These are the men who form the material of the Mexican cavalry; and they bear the same relation to the armies of that republic that the Cossacks do to the Russians;--ever on the alert,--easily lodged,--capable of supporting fatigue or hunger,--and untiring in pursuit of an enemy, when even the most trifling plunder is to be obtained.[10] * * * * *