imals they meet. The animals,
terrified by the cries and whirling spears, dash madly forward,--some
endeavouring to break away from the circle, when they are speedily
turned back by the sharp goads of the horsemen. Not only the cattle,
but wild boars, deer, and other quadrupeds, starting up from the ground
where they have been resting, dash on amid the confused herd. And now
perhaps several thousand head of cattle are collected within the circle
formed by a hundred or more horsemen. If a fierce bull, turning round,
ventures to encounter them, they shake their rattling spears in his
ears, and quickly again turn him.

When a bull is overtaken, the Llanero thrusts the point of his spear
into the animal's shoulder, and, leaning forward with the whole weight
of his body upon the shaft, overthrows the savage creature, who rolls
headlong on the plain, where he is quickly secured. Sometimes a fiercer
bull than ordinary charges the horsemen, who fly on either side; but
wheeling round speedily, with their lassos whirling round their heads,
the noose is thrown over the animal's horns, and the well-trained steeds
assisting their riders, he is speedily brought to the ground. A hole
being then pierced in the thick cartilage of the nostrils, a thong is
passed through it, the other end being fastened to the horse's tail. A
jerk quickly brings the bull to his feet, and he is led off a captive.

A still bolder manoeuvre is accomplished by the expert horseman.
Galloping after the bull, the rider seizes the animal's tail, giving it
a turn round his own wrist, and then again urges forward his horse till
both are at full speed, when, suddenly turning in an oblique direction,
by a powerful jerk--from the impetuosity imparted by their rapid speed--
the bull is brought to the ground. Here, too, the horse, knowing what
is about to be done, starts forward at the proper moment, and assists in
accomplishing the work. Sometimes the daring Llanero will throw himself
from his seat, still holding on to the tail of the bull, and seldom
fails ultimately to overthrow it.

The whole scene is one of the wildest confusion. Clouds of dust rise
from the dry plain, trampled on by the hoofs of numberless animals. The
bulls, driven to fury, tear up the earth, and with deep, savage
bellowings rush at their fellows as well as at their foes, unable to
distinguish one from the other--often piercing the former with their
sharp horns. The uproar is increa