was in an instant brought to the ground. He bit, and
struggled, and snarled, or rather growled in vain; tighter and tighter
grew each noose till he was hauled over on his back. Some of the men on
foot, who had been hidden in the neighbourhood, rushed forward, and
threw their lassoes over his legs. He was now utterly helpless. Then
the men came with their long poles, with which they formed a sort of
litter, and off they carried poor Bruin in triumph. It was certainly
much pleasanter examining him now he was made fast than when he was at
liberty. We were told that his strength is so great that he can,
without difficulty, overcome the huge bison whom he meets with in the
plains. The doctor called him the _Ursus ferox_. His claws were long
and strong, his canine teeth of great size, and his eyes deeply sunk in
his head. We followed the huge prisoner in triumph till we came to a
road, when he was put on a cart and rumbled off to the farm. Thence he
was forwarded to Mazatlan, and very likely shipped off to some distant
part of the world.

On our way back to the rancho, we encountered a herd of wild cattle, one
of which the young rancheroes wished to capture. Off they set in
pursuit of a fine bull they had singled out from the herd. One of them
rode up on the right side of the animal about twenty feet off, the other
kept a little behind at about the same distance on the left side. Away
flew the noose of the right-hand man over the head of the beast; at the
same moment the ranchero behind cast his by a peculiar knack over the
left hind-foot, as the animal lifted it in running. The sudden jerk
brought him to the ground, and the other ends of the lassoes being
fastened to the saddles, the horses stood perfectly still, dragging away
with all their might in opposite directions. Their masters quietly
dismounted, and leaving their horses thus keeping the bull secure, they
leisurely approached him. They then secured his feet in such a way that
he could only just walk, and bent his head down to his legs, so that he
could not butt, and making him get up, led him away a prisoner. Several
were treated in the same way. We wonderfully enjoyed our day's
excursion.

The next morning by daybreak we set off to continue our journey. It was
very pleasant travelling. Sometimes Jerry and I rode together,
sometimes with the doctor or Mr Renshaw, and at others with our two
English friends, from whom we gained a good deal of info