Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/485

Rh one occasion, traversing a slope so exceedingly precipitous, that three lassos passed through the carriage, and over the roof, with all the strain upon them, on the upper side, that men and horses could apply, were hardly able to keep the carriage upon its wheels, or to prevent it from descending into the valley below. This is the real advantage of the lasso. As an ordinary mode of drawing, it can only be used in a country like the Pampas, where you traverse a plain of some hundreds of miles in extent; but it may always be applied on an emergency, where the saddle is provided with a ring, or a pommel suited to the purpose, and it is then of the most essential service. Wherever we came to a pass too steep for our jaded mules to face, we attached lassos to different parts of the carriage, and, as no horse refuses to draw in this manner, by the united exertions of the party, the obstacle was soon overcome. We were nearly exhausted, however, with such continued efforts, and still more by the want of water, when Hilario, who had been detached to take a view of the country from the highest ridge in sight, brought us the joyful intelligence that he had discovered the Hacienda, from which we were not more than two leagues distant. Notwithstanding this favourable report, we did not reach it till long after dusk, having been twelve long hours upon the road, without seeing a house or a human being. Our difficulties were much increased by the impossibility of catching any of our fresh mules to supply