The Horse and His Rider: Or, Sketches and Anecdotes of the Noble Quadruped, and of Equestrian NationsSpringfield, Rollo
History
The Horse and His Rider: Or, Sketches and Anecdotes of the Noble Quadruped, and of Equestrian Nations
Springfield, Rollo
Horsemen and horsewomen; Horses; Horses -- Anecdotes
Nothing is done on foot by the Gauchos that can possibly be done on
horseback. Even mounted beggermen are to be seen in the streets of
Buenos Ayres and Mendoza. The butcher, of course, plies his trade on
horseback, in the manner thus described by Basil Hall:—“The cattle had
been driven into an enclosure or corral, whence they were now let out
one by one, and killed; but not in the manner practised in England,
where they are dragged into a house, and despatched by blows on the
forehead with a poleaxe. Here the whole took place in the open air, and
resembled rather the catastrophe of a grand field-sport than a
deliberate slaughter. On a level space of ground before the corral were
ranged, in a line, four or five Gauchos on horseback, with their lassos
all ready in their hands, and opposite them another set of men,
similarly equipped, so as to form a wide lane, extending from the gate
of the corral to the distance of thirty or forty yards. When all was
prepared, the leader of the Gauchos drew out the bars closing the
entrance to the corral, and, riding in, separated one from the drove,
which he goaded till it escaped at the opening. The reluctance of the
cattle to quit the corral was evident, but when at length forced to do
so, they dashed forward with the utmost impetuosity. It is said, that in
this country even the wildest animals have an instinctive horror of the
lasso; those in a domestic state certainly have, and betray fear
whenever they see it. Be this as it may, the moment they pass the gate,
they spring forward at full speed with all the appearance of terror. But
were they to go ten times faster, it would avail them nothing against
the irresistible lasso, which, in the midst of dust and a confusion
seemingly inextricable, is placed by the Gauchos, with the most perfect
correctness, over the parts aimed at. There cannot be conceived a more
spirited or a more picturesque scene than was now presented to us. Let
the furious beast be imagined driven almost to madness by thirst and a
variety of irritations, and in the utmost terror at the multitude of
lassos whirling all around him; he rushes wildly forward, his eyes
flashing fire, his nostrils almost touching the ground, and his breath
driving off the dust in his course. For one short instant he is free,
and full of life and strength, defying, as it were, all the world to
restrain him in his headlong course; the next moment he is covered with
lassos; his horns, his neck, his legs are all encircled by those
inevitable cords, hanging loose, in long festoons, from the hands of the
horsemen, galloping in all directions, but the next instant as tight as
bars of iron, and the noble animal lying prostrate on the ground
motionless and helpless. He is immediately despatched by a man on foot,
who stands ready for this purpose with a long sharp knife in his hand;
and as soon as the body is disentangled from the lassos, it is drawn on
one side, and another beast is driven out of the corral, and caught in
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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