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An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (1 of 3)
An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (1 of 3)полная версия

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An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (1 of 3)

Язык: Английский
Год издания: 2017
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Besides this incredible multitude of oxen, Paraguay breeds an infinite number of horses, all sprung from seven mares which the Spaniards brought with them. The whole of that plain country, extending from the river Plata full two hundred leagues in every direction, is covered with droves of wandering horses, of which any person may catch as many as he likes, and make them his own property. Some horsemen, within a few days, bring home more than a thousand horses from the plain. A hunt of this kind is performed in various ways. Some catch every horse they come near with a leathern cord. Others construct a hedge with a wide entrance like the sleeve of a garment, through which they drive a herd of horses, separated from the rest, into the inclosed space, where, after they have been confined for some time, hunger and thirst render them gentle, and they are easily led away wherever the owner chooses, in company with other tame horses. Sometimes a part of the plain is burnt. The horses crowding eagerly to crop the new grass, are surrounded on all sides, and forced away by the hunters. There were some who secured the mares that were taken in this manner, by slightly cutting the nerve of the hinder foot, to prevent their running away. A horse of this kind of either sex, when brought from the country, and before it is accustomed to the saddle and bridle, is sometimes bought for ten or thirteen cruitzers. The colts of the mares are given gratis to the purchasers.

Horses in Paraguay are valued, or the contrary, not according to their colour, or the conformation of their bodies, but chiefly according to their natural method of going, which is of four different kinds. The most esteemed are those which have not the common trot, but move very gently, and when spurred begin to amble, so that the rider might hold a cup full of liquor in his hand, and not spill a drop. They are either born with this kind of pace, or are taught it by art. If the mother be an ambler, though the father may not have been so, the colt will generally prove an ambler also; but more certainly if both parents have been of that kind. The young horses that are most remarkable for beauty of form, and for strength, are selected from the rest, and taught that easy and swift manner of moving. Their fore feet are fastened to their hinder ones in such a manner, that, though still able to walk, they cannot practise their natural method of leaping, which is so unpleasant to the rider. Others tie to the feet of the young horse a round stone, wrapped up in a skin, which strikes his legs when he attempts to trot, and makes him endeavour, through fear of the pain, to walk gently. This method of teaching is practised in all the Guarany towns. An ambling nag goes two leagues in the space of an hour, unless impeded by the roughness of the road; nor can a common horse keep up with him, unless spurred by the rider to a gallop. But the natural pace of those horses which the Spaniards call trotones, the Abipones nichilicheranetà, and the Germans trabganger, is very unpleasant to the rider; for they lift up their feet like pestles, violently shaking the rider's body: yet as they tread firmly, and lift up their feet at every step, they stumble seldomer than the amblers, which, scarce raising their feet from the ground, and uniting the greatest swiftness to gentleness, by striking their hoofs against stones, roots of trees, and hard clods, more frequently fall and throw their rider, especially when there is no beaten path. In long journeys, especially through rugged places, it is best to make use of those horses between the amblers and the trotters, which, as they approach more nearly to the human method of walking, fatigue the rider less, are not so soon fatigued themselves, and are not so apt to stumble.

Much are those historians mistaken, who have persuaded the celebrated Robertson that the American horses have small bodies, and no spirit, and that they are mere dwarfs and spectres in comparison with those of Europe. I boldly affirm that the Paraguayrian horses differ nothing from those of our own country in size, shape, and good qualities. You meet everywhere with horses of lofty, or of middling stature; some well fitted for a vaulter, and others for a man armed cap-a-pié. Pygmies, like Corsican horses, are as rare in Paraguay as comets in the sky. I allow that Paraguay is as yet unacquainted with horses like the natives of the Styrian mountains, which almost resemble elephants in their immense back, huge limbs, and broad hoofs: this country produces slenderer horses, better adapted for riding and racing than for chariots and waggons. But were they fed like those of Europe on oats and barley, and defended in a stable against the inclemencies of the weather, they would very probably grow to the same size. The horses of Paraguay are born out of doors, and remain there, night and day, the whole year round; are fed upon any grass they can find, (which is not always either very good, or very plentiful,) and upon leaves of trees, or dry wood; they often seek in vain for water to quench their thirst, and find it neither good, nor in sufficient quantities. Being constantly in the open air, they are exposed at one time to the scorching sun; at another to continual showers; sometimes to hoar frosts; when a south wind is up, to bitter cold; and at all times and places to the stings of flies, gad-flies, and gnats, infinite swarms of which flit up and down. I attribute it to these causes that the horses of Paraguay never attain to the size of the Styrian, Holsatian, Danish, and Neapolitan horses. During the winter months, the former grow lean from feeding upon poor grass, and their hair becomes darker, but at the return of fine weather, they regain their strength and natural colour. They fatten so much in fertile pastures, abounding in grass and nitre, that you might count money upon their back, as on a table – a common saying in regard to very fat horses amongst the Spaniards. But though the richness of the grass greatly fattens the Paraguayrian horses, it never gives them that strength which European horses derive from food composed of oats, barley, straw, and hay, which enables them to bear a rider, and to draw a cart, every day, and all day.

All the different colours, by which horses are distinguished in Europe, are to be found in those of Paraguay. They are oftener, however, white, and chesnut-coloured, than black or bay; a circumstance which gave me much surprize, as men born in the same climate, whether of European or American parents, are almost always distinguished by very black, coarse hair. White and chesnut-coloured horses are indeed very pleasing to the eyes, and possess great gentleness and docility; but experience has taught me that they are much sooner fatigued, and seldom possess that strength which we see in horses of a black or reddish colour, especially those in which the red resembles the colour of toasted bread: the patience with which these horses endure labour, and travelling, is expressed in an old Spanish proverb, importing that they will die before they are fatigued: Alazan tostado antes muerto, que cansado. We have, however, frequently found white horses sprinkled with black, with black manes and tails, to possess a great deal of strength. The same may be said with regard to the darker bays, which have manes and tails of a blackish colour. Pybald horses in Paraguay are thought crafty and dangerous; nor are they slandered in this respect, as I have frequently found to my cost, although I may truly say that I never bestrode a Paraguayrian horse, of whatever colour it might be, with that confidence and security which I feel in mounting an European one; for many of them are apt to wince, and be stubborn, to stumble and throw their rider, and almost all are startlish and fearful, being terrified at any sudden noise, or the sight of any strange object; whereupon, if the bridle be neglected they will stand with their head lifted up to the breast of their rider, or rear, and throw him off, or fling him to a distance, if he be not very firmly seated.

In such a vast multitude of horses, there is necessarily great variety. You will see some handsomer, stronger, and swifter than others, as in Europe. Those which have a broad breast, a small head, large and black eyes, short and pricking ears, wide nostrils, a bushy mane, a large and long tail, hairy feet, a small belly, a wide round back, straight slender legs and hard hoofs, not indented, like a comb; those which, with playful alacrity, provoke the rest to fight in the plain, leap ditches without the least hesitation, cross marshes quickly, and, as soon as they are released from the saddle and bridle, joyfully roll themselves on the ground, are esteemed superior to all others in Paraguay. Those born in rough, stony situations are preferred to the natives of a soft, clayey soil; for this reason, that if you remove a horse accustomed to such places, to soft, marshy plains, you will find him slacken his pace, and walk slowly and timidly for a long time. This fear is occasioned by the earth's yielding to their hoofs. But a horse bred on a soft soil, when brought to stony places, and gravelly roads, will often stumble and get lame – his hoofs being bruised, and even made bloody by the roughness of the stones. Horseshoes are never used in Paraguay, though that country abounds in rocks and stones. A horseshoe would cost more than any horse, on account of the dearness of iron, and moreover because blacksmiths are not even known here by name. The experience of many years has taught me that horses, wherever they are born, in a few months grow accustomed to any soil. Mares kept for the purpose of breeding have their manes and tails shorn by the Spaniards, that they may fatten sooner, for I know of no other reason. But horses kept for riding are adorned with a long bushy tail, which increases their beauty and value. Even the meanest negro slave would think it an indignity and a punishment were he ordered to ride on a horse that was deprived of its tail. The Indians think we are jesting when they hear us say that in Europe there exist men who cut off the tails of their horses, and reckon it an improvement; for they think that a handsome tail is not only a great ornament to a horse, but likewise his instrument of defence, with which he drives away the swarms of flies and gnats. A Spanish priest, of an advanced age, who had long been in a bad state of health, had in his possession a horse of an extremely gentle disposition, as well as of a quick and easy pace. This horse the old man made use of, in preference to innumerable others that he possessed, in all his necessary journeys. A certain Spaniard had long wished for the horse, and vainly offered to give for it whatever price the owner chose. Impatient of repulse, he dared to threaten that, unless the old man would sell the horse of his own accord, he should steal it from him. The owner, fearing that he would have very little difficulty in accomplishing his threat, said to his servant, "Go, and cut off the tail of that horse of mine: it is better to lose a part of him than the whole. When deprived of his tail he will be laughed at by all who see him, but he will at least be secured from thieves. I would rather be derided myself for using a horse without a tail, than have all my bones and limbs jolted to pieces, like pepper in a mortar, by any other trotting beast." To mutilate the tail of another person's horse, is a bitter and not uncommon kind of revenge amongst the lower orders of Spaniards; it is also thought an insufferable insult for one man to call another un rabon, a horse without a tail.

To keep horses in good condition, or make them so, it is of much importance that they be kept extremely clean; for if their skin is covered with dust, their mane uncombed, their tail full of scurf, and their hair matted together, the perspiration is obstructed by the pores being stopped up, and consequently they, by degrees, grow lean and scraggy, or get the mange. On this account, the Spaniards and Abipones, who are most careful of their property, though less solicitous than Europeans about combing, washing, and rubbing down their horses, and unprovided with instruments for those purposes, take great care to prevent their growing dirty, though they have no other stable than the open plain, day and night, during every part of the year. If thistles, thorns, and other prickly plants of that kind stick to their tails, they carefully extricate them by anointing their hair with tallow. After performing a journey, when the harness is taken off, they wash and wipe the back of the horse, which is bathed in perspiration, and lest the coldness of the air should cause it to swell, keep it covered, for some time, with a horsecloth. Moreover the health and liveliness of horses are best preserved by taking care that their pastures be not situated very far either from clear lakes or limpid rivers, where the horses may drink and bathe at their pleasure; for in the winter months the cold air makes them lean and mangy, and the frequent droughts produce the same effect in the summer season, unless they have an opportunity of laving and swimming.

In the plains of Paraguay, which abound in cattle, not only are numerous snakes concealed in the grass, but even many herbs, more noxious than the most deadly snake, present themselves to their hungry jaws. The commonest of these is that which the natives call nio. It has a tall stalk with a yellow blossom, but contains a deadly poison. Horses after feeding upon it are seized with a feverish trembling, which terminates in death. Horses born in places which produce this poisonous herb, devour it with impunity, but are always contemned as feeble and incapable of enduring the fatigues of a journey. The Spaniards use the following method to prevent their horses from tasting this deadly food. When marching against the enemy, they daily send forward some of their companions to explore the whole country round about where the horses are to feed. Whenever they find any of those poisonous herbs they pluck a few, tie them into a bundle, and set fire to them, so that the smoke arising from thence is conveyed by a contrary wind to the troop, and the smell of it inspires them with a horror of the pestilent herb. For though they eagerly crop the rest of the grass, they leave that untouched. But alas! there are many other instruments of death, tigers, serpents and worms, by which an incredible number of horses are yearly destroyed. The worms which gnaw the horses are occasioned by the saddles made use of in Paraguay. Those that are made of dressed leather are stuffed with two bundles of rushes, which lie upon the ribs of the horse in such a manner, that the saddles do not touch the spine of the back. They are quite unprovided with cushions, in the place of which, the back of the horse is covered with four ells of woollen cloth, folded up together, and on this, by way of harness, they place the horsecloth of softish leather, variously embossed and adorned with figures. All this is placed beneath the saddle, that it may not hurt the horse's back, on which, that the rider may sit the easier, is placed a sheep's skin, or an ornamented horsecloth of sheep's wool, died of various colours. The saddles are fastened on the horse's back, not with a hempen girth, but with a thong of cow's leather, so that there is no need of buckles. The wooden stirrups, curiously carved, and plated with silver, in use amongst the better sort of people, are called by the Spaniards baules, baskets; for they really are little baskets, entirely inclosing the rider's feet, and covering, and defending them against the injuries of the weather and the road. But if the horse fall suddenly, and throw his rider, stirrups of this kind are very dangerous, as it is more difficult to extricate the foot quickly from them than from those of Europe. The stirrups which the Spanish peasants, who never wear shoes, make use of, are likewise made of wood, but the opening is so small that nothing but the great toe can be inserted into it. The savages, according to the custom of their ancestors, do not use stirrups, and most of them are unfurnished with saddles even. The Paraguayrian bridles, also, differ from those of our country in size and shape. The Indians make use of a bridle composed of transverse spikes of cow's horn, like a hurdle, which fills the whole mouth of the horse. The spurs of the Spaniards are very large, and furnished with pegs, with which they rather bruise, than prick, the sides of the horse. They abhor the small sharp European spurs, with which they think that horses are easily wounded and infuriated. This is the whole furniture used for horses, in Paraguay. I will now give you some account of their diseases, and the remedies for them.

It frequently happens that the friction of a rough horsecloth, or the hardness or compression of the saddle galls the back of the horse; and if, after long fatigue, his horsecloth be taken off, whilst he is still smoking with sweat, it is swelled by the sudden admission of the cold air, or of rain, till the tumour by degrees grows into a wound. The ulcerated and bloody flesh is quickly infested by swarms of flies, the eggs and filth of which ingender white worms. Delay is dangerous; for the worms increase rapidly every hour, and creep to the interior parts of the animal. If you wish to save your horse, you must immediately dig the worms out of his flesh with a small stick, and stop up the cavities where those insects lay with chewed tobacco leaves, the bitterness of which kills the worms, drives away the flies which breed them, and prevents the progress of corruption. The scar must be anointed with tallow every day, that fresh hair may grow there. The Indians smear their horses' backs either with the root guaycuru, well masticated with their teeth, or with melted tiger's fat, or with the shell of the armadillo burnt to ashes; but these remedies seldom effect a complete cure. From a book of Father Martin Szentivan, a Hungarian, on the treatment of animals, I learnt a remedy much superior to any of those American ones, and which has been successfully adopted by many Paraguayrians. Salt, well ground, and mixed with vinegar and yolk of egg, is applied to the horse's back once a day, as it cleans away the blood, keeps off worms, and in a few days removes the swelling, and renews the skin and hair. The same author advises the application of a white onion, pretty well roasted. We ourselves have seen many horses preserved by both remedies. Certain large birds, of various colours, carnivorous, and of the vulture kind, may aptly be called horses' physicians; for they perch upon their ulcerated backs, and are deterred by no kicking from taking away the blood and the worms; though with their sharp beaks they very often enlarge the wound. Bats, also, greatly exceeding those of Europe in number and size, not only molest, but even injure the horses. Vast numbers of them fly up and down the plain. They sit upon the horse, and whilst they wound his back with their bills, create a gentle breeze by the continual motion of their wings, lulled by which the horse makes no resistance, and suffers his blood to be sucked by the bat. The wound that remains, unless it be sprinkled with hot ashes, soon swells, and by degrees becomes ulcerated, which clearly proves that bats are in some measure venomous. Showers continuing day and night, for many weeks, necessarily deluge the whole plain country with water, and the horses can find no dry land whereon to place their feet. Hence, from feeding so long, immersed in water, their hoofs are softened to such a degree, that being unable to stand on their feet, and to seek pasture, they perish, though perfectly healthy in other respects. Sometimes horses labour under strangury, or dysury. A Spaniard saddles a horse afflicted with such a disease, instead of physicking him, and spurs him to a full gallop, till he is covered with sweat. Nor is there any occasion to repeat the operation. A horse, which was in a dying condition a little before, soon recovered, for he inundated the plain. Sometimes horses are seized with convulsion of the nerves, or with rheumatism, so that they cannot stand on their legs; on such occasions the Spanish soldiers tie their feet with a rope, and lay them on the ground, then throw plenty of urine on their legs, and kick them several times with their heels; when untied they mount and compel them, however unwilling, to run. This violent, but speedy method of healing, I found, to my surprize, attended by the desired effect. As Paraguay swarms with horses, in as great number as insects, she cares very little about curing them when they are sick. In Europe, where horses are scarcer and more valuable, we cannot wonder at their having many physicians and many medicines. What if I should say that, in Paraguay, both are unnecessary? For there it is plain that horses are afflicted with less frequent and less heavy complaints; because they generally enjoy their full liberty, wander up and down the plains at will, breathe the pure air of Heaven, feed on the fresh grass, drink and bathe at pleasure in running streams, are never employed in bearing burdens and drawing carts, and are consequently more healthy and spirited than European horses, which, during the greatest part of their lives, are chained, like thieves, in dark stables, which resemble dungeons, are obliged to fill rather than refresh their stomachs, with hay dryer than a stone and straw harder than a board, taste oats seldomer and more sparingly than country people do cakes, and endure frequent and long hunger and thirst, sometimes through the dishonesty or laziness of servants, sometimes through the avarice of their masters, who are more anxious about employing than about feeding their beasts; not to mention the continual annoyance they undergo from the putting on and taking off of their iron shoes; and even the pain frequently inflicted on them in this operation from the awkwardness of blacksmiths. All these circumstances considered, instead of wondering that the horses of our country are subject to so many diseases, I rather feel surprized that one remains alive.

Mules in company with horses fill the plains of Paraguay, nor shall they be separated in my relation. You will see many of them equal in height to horses, but, on the other hand, the major part are less than those which Italy or Spain produces. You may judge of the multitude of them from this circumstance, that Paraguay yearly sends about eighty thousand to Peru, in return for which she receives all the silver to be seen in her churches and houses, with no inconsiderable advantage. For unbroken mules, two years of age, valued, generally speaking, at three Spanish crowns in Paraguay, fetch ten and often fourteen in Peru. Who can reckon the number of mules, employed either in bearing burdens or in carrying a rider, in the cities and estates of Paraguay? Many thousands of them are constantly occupied in conveying the herb of Paraguay from the woods to the cities, and numbers are yearly sacrificed both to the roughness of the road and the cruelty of their drivers. I have known estates which contained four thousand mules, and many more thousand mares kept for breeding mules.

The young mules, at two years old, are taught to carry burdens or to bear a rider; but being extremely wild, occasion their instructors continual trouble and danger. However docile and obedient they may have appeared in times past, you never can entirely trust to them. For as the Spanish proverb goes, a mule will serve his master seventy years, that he may kick him to death at last. Broken legs, bodies dragged along the ground, cut hands, heads dashed against trees or stones, and other accidents of the same nature, mournfully confirm the truth of this adage. For mules, though stronger than any horse, though accustomed to traverse woods, rocky places, and trackless plains, with both a firmer and gentler pace, and though less liable to hurt their feet, are much more to be dreaded by their riders, on account of their being constantly suspicious of danger. All of a sudden they halt on the road astonished, smell the grass, prick up their ears to listen, and with eyes wandering in every direction descry the most distant objects. The uncommon colour of a plant, a strange smell, the piping of birds, the rustling of trees, or an unusual agitation of the leaves occasioned by the wind, fills them with suspicions of the approach of a tiger, especially at dusk, or at dark night. Presently, seized with sudden terror, they run away with their rider, and unless he be possessed of great presence of mind, either throw him on the ground or drag him along with his feet sticking in the stirrup. The kicking of mules is very dangerous, on account of its being so quickly and frequently repeated. These animals, therefore, are never more to be dreaded than when they are themselves afraid, for at such times they become unmanageable, and seem as if they had lost their senses. As the trade in mules is lucrative in Paraguay, it is also dangerous to the merchants, on account of the exceeding timidity of these animals. Ten thousand mules, entirely free and without bridles, are often driven, by a few Spanish guards, in one drove. At the slightest alarm they all take to flight, hurry over the plain, and hide themselves in interminable deserts, whilst no industry in the horsemen, nor swiftness in the horses, is sufficient to bring them back again. Many have been ruined by mules running away and being lost in this manner.

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