Page:Guatimala or the United Provinces of Central America in 1827-8.pdf/294

Rh wheels round his horse, who with the other end fastened to his tail opposes his force to that of the bull. The animal finding himself a prisoner, generally submits to be dragged at full speed after the man, who turns towards the pen; but if he be very powerful or restive, the rider instantly gallops round a circle, by which the loose cord is quickly wound about the legs of the animal, and he is suddenly thrown to the ground. This employment often proves a dangerous one. Sometimes the bull turns and attacks his pursuer, when the greatest agility is requisite to avoid the contact; at other times the rider is thrown by the violence of the shock which ensues when the animal succeeds in bringing the horse upon his haunches; to say nothing of the numerous falls to which both are subject, by galloping over unlevel and often rocky ground. Notwithstanding these dangers, this species of chase is the favourite amusement both of horse and man; the former is enlivened by the shouts of the spectators, and the latter is urged forward, by a kind of rural ambition. A spectator scarcely knows which to admire most,—the dexterity of the one, or the docility of the other.

To collect the required number was the work of three days, during which the poor creatures were imprisoned without any thing to eat or drink, and almost suffocated by the clouds of dust