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Show MALDONADO. 50 1832-3. . f water served the whole party. ing a large earthenware JUg o l square miles of land, ' h wner of severa . h yet this man was t e o ld roduce corn, and, Wit of which nearly every acre wou p etables. The evening l ll the common veg . . a little tr~ub e, a. ith a little impromptu smgmg, a~- was spent m smokmg, w . ri· tas all sat together 111 . h itar. The slgno compamed by t e gu and did not sup with the men. . one corner of the room, . t bout these countnes, k h been wnt en a h So many wor s avBe. s to d escn'b e ei'ther the lazo or t · e that it is almost super u?u f a very strong, but thin, well-bolas. The former consists. do 0 e end is attached to the . de of raw hi e. n . d plaited rope, rna . t ether the comphcate gear broad surcingle, whiCh fastens do~ the Pampas. the other of the reca d o, or sa ddle u.s e 1f1 1 . or brass' by whi•C h b ll rmg o uon ' . is terminated y a sma The Gaucho, when he is gomg a noose can be formed. 11 coil in his bridle hand, to use the lazo, keeps a sma . oose which is made . h h Ids the runnmg n ' . and m the ot er o . di' ameter of about eight r lly havmg a very large, gene a . d h' head and by the dex- Th' h whuls roun IS ' feet. IS e his wrist keeps the noose open; then, terous movement of . t t fall on any particular spot he throwing it, he causes I o t di's tied up in a small Th l when no use ' chooses. e azo, d The bolas or balls, are . h ft part of the reca o. ' . cml to t e a er . l hich is chiefly used for catchmg of two kinds: the simp est, w d stones covered with leather, . · ts of two roun ' ostnches, consis . 1 't d thong about eight feet long. . t d by a thm P ai e ' . b and um e . . l in having three balls umted y The other kind differs on y, Th Gaucho holds the t common centre. e the thongs o a . l . h nd and whirls the other two ll t f the three m us a ' sma des od nd his head . then, taking aim, sends them roun an rou ' · The balls no like chain shot revolving through the air. . ross sooner strike any objectfi th~nh ~i~!:g ~~:~i~~ ::~~~ight each other, and become rm y I c . f hich they of the balls varies, according to the purpose or w bi made. when of stone, although not so large a~ a tg are · . h f s sometimes o apple, yet they arefsenht with s~c hav~r~:e: the balls made break the leg even o a orse. 1832-3. LAZO AND .BOLAS. 51 of wood, and as large as a turnip, for the sake of catching these animals without injuring them. The balls are sometimes made of iron, and these can be hurled to the greatest distance. The main difficulty in using either lazo or bolas, is to ride so well, as to be able at full speed, and while suddenly turning about, to whirl them so steadily round the head, as to take aim : on foot any person would soon learn the art. One day, as I was amusing myself by galloping and whirling the balls round my head, by accident the free one struck a bush; and its revolving motion being thus destroyed, it immediately fell to the ground, and like magic caught one hind leg of my horse ; the other ball was then jerked out of my hand, and the horse fairly secured. I,uckily he was an old practised animal, and knew what it meant; otherwise he would probably have kicked till he had thrown himself down. The Gauchos roared with laughter; they cried they had seen every sort of animal caught, but had never before seen a man caught by himself. During the two succeeding days, I reached the furthest point which I was anxious to examine. The country wore the same aspect, till at last the fine green turf became more wearisome than a dusty turnpike road. We every where saw great numbers of partridges (Tinamus rufescens). These birds do not go in coveys, nor do they conceal themselves like the English kind. It appears a very silly bird. A man on horseback by riding round and round in a circle, or rather in a spire, so as to approach closer each time, may knock on the head as many as he pleases. The more common method is to catch them with a running noose, or little lazo, made of the stem of an ostrich's feather, fastened to the end of a long stick. A boy on a quiet old horse will frequently thus catch thirty or forty in a day. The flesh of this bird, when cooked, is delicately white. On our return to Maldonado, we followed rather a different line of 'road. Near Pan de Azucar, a landmark well known to all those who have sailed up the Plata, I stayed a day at the house of a most hospitable old Spaniard. Early E 2 |