THE CIMARRONERA.
We had been apprised that between a great bend of the river Matiyure—forming the southern boundary of our savannas—and an extensive flat overgrown with thorny bushes, there existed what the Llaneros call a cimarronera, or great hiding place for cattle, which, owing to the impenetrable nature of the jungle, had from time immemorial baffled the efforts of every majordomo who had hunted these savannas. Further we had ascertained that the cattle were there as numerous as a colony of ants; but so savage and shy, as to never venture from their wild sanctuary. Thither our efforts were to be directed, not only on account of the good harvest in store, but also for the purpose of breaking up, if possible, that den of runaways which, if left unmolested, might in time become a serious obstacle in the way of reducing those wild herds to at least a partial submission.
The corrals, which I trust the patient reader has not forgotten we were in process of building, being now ready, we commenced preparations for a descent{295} upon the fierce hordes of that neglected section. Messengers were therefore despatched to the people of Caucagua, an adjacent cattle farm, apprising them of our intention, and with the dawn of day more than an hundred hunters were assembled on the spot. Among them were some of the best enlazadores that the country could produce, all of whom, like the valiant Pentapolin—chosen model of the hero of La Mancha—had his right arm bared to the shoulder that the wide sleeve of the Llanero shirt might not interfere with the management of the lazo.
As soon as the sun was high enough to light us through the bushes, a detachment of hunters penetrated the bristling maze of thorny acacias, and succeeded in driving out into the open savannas so large a herd of cattle that it soon swelled to a considerable rodeo. No sooner, however, did they discover the presence of the hunters, than becoming frantic they rushed from side to side like a band of furies, and, heedless of the shouts and goads of the horsemen, broke at length through the ring of even these experienced hunters, scattering again in all directions. In vain did the fearless pursuers throw themselves between the wild mass and the jungle; so rapid and entire was the dispersion that the plain which but now swarmed with the driven, bellowing, maddened creatures, was cleared as if by magic, leaving the disappointed hunters in sole possession. Only here and there a faint cloud of dust in the distance betrayed the course that some of the fugitives had taken. The men, enraged at this unexpected discomfiture, could not be restrained from again entering the tangled{296} labyrinth and dragging thence by sheer force a number of the refractory brutes. After deliberation, it was decided that several of the hunters should scour the plain in search of the runaways, while the larger number rushed again fearlessly into the jungle. These at last succeeded in securing several fierce bulls, each of which was treated secundum artem, depriving them of the chance of doing much mischief in future; for no sooner were they down, than the knife and the saw were busy with their horns, ears, &c. But the business was not accomplished without the usual average of casualties in these contests, and on that occasion one of our best hands was greatly imperilled. A ferocious bull was undergoing the usual precautionary, though severe measures, for his subjugation, when one of the men standing near, accidentally became entangled in the coils of the lazo at a moment when the bull, infuriated, escaped from those who held him. The poor fellow, although thrown violently to the ground and severely stunned, almost miraculously escaped further injury. The daring Sarmiento, one of those who witnessed the transaction, enraged at sight of his helpless companion, sprang from his horse, seized the sheep-skin which covered the saddle, and holding it before himself, fearlessly advanced sword in hand to meet the bull, which, not comprehending the challenge, stood panting and trembling with rage before his bold adversary. The matador perceiving this, approached him more closely and shook the sheep-skin in the animal’s face; then, firm as a rock, he stood and dauntlessly awaited the coming struggle; it was{297} enough; with head lowered to the ground, and lashing himself furiously with his powerful tail, the bull rushed upon his antagonist with a terrific roar, causing every heart to tremble for the safety of the bold matador. Then we heard a heavy fall, a deep groan; we saw only a cloud of dust that concealed the scene; but we knew the Llanero had conquered. Triumphant shouts of approbation filled the air, whilst I knew not whether most to applaud the fearless grace with which the man had stood his ground before this, the most powerful of all infuriate creatures, or the dexterous celerity that had found, and with one fatal blow penetrated, the narrow passage through the vertebrae into the spinal marrow. But the scene in that remote corner of the earth recalled forcibly to my mind the spirited lines in which the author of Childe Harold thus depicts one of like nature in the midst of refined Europe:
“Foiled, bleeding, breathless, furious to the last,
Full in the centre stands the bull at bay
Mid wounds and clinging darts and lances brast,
And foes disabled in the brutal fray:
And now the matadors around him play,
Shake the red cloak, and poise the ready brand:
Once more through all he bursts his thundering way—
Vain rage! the mantle quits the conynge hand,
Wraps his fierce eye—’tis past—he sinks upon the sand!”
Those who had galloped off in search of the scattered herd finally returned, bringing a large addition to the stock, and we were driving them to the paradero, when our Leader’s horse, a fiery charger of the{298} Goagiro breed,[35] little accustomed to the broken ground of the pampas, lost his footing and fell with him while endeavoring to clear an extensive terronero. Fortunately his rider received no injury; but loosing hold of the bridle in his fall, the horse was soon careering over the plain, and would inevitably have made good his escape, had not some vaqueros hunting in that direction encountered and captured him after a long race. Accidents of the kind are very common in the Llanos, and often in consequence many persons are killed or otherwise injured. The least evil to which the ousted rider may be subjected, is that of being left alone, perhaps with a dislocated limb, on an extensive plain, where the unfortunate may perish from hunger or exposure before assistance chances to reach him. Our friend B., who once found himself similarly circumstanced, related to us on this occasion the adventure, which he swore by all the saints in the calendar had actually occurred to him. Notwithstanding such exalted referees, a few grains of doubt still disturbed our belief.
“He was once,” he said, “engaged in hunting with a party of vaqueros on the extensive savannas of Merecure, which form the great cajon or pampa between the rivers Cunaviche and Arauca. Having started in the morning with a full complement of men, there was no difficulty in forming the rodeo; but, as in our own case, all their man?uvres proved ineffectual in keeping together so great a number of untamed brutes, which finally broke through the{299} ranks as easily as might a herd of wild hogs through a field of reeds, and vanished in the distance. So great was the cloud of dust they raised, that when it cleared, B., whose horse during the confusion had stumbled in the hole of a prairie-owl, thrown, and then deserted him, found himself solus in the midst of the wide pampa, and so bewildered and confused by the general stampede, that he was totally unable to discover the least clew by which to guide his steps over those trackless wilds. Overcome with the fatigue of his useless search, he threw himself upon the ground, finally quite disheartened by the recollection that he had no lazo by which he would have been enabled at any time to secure sufficient animal food for his subsistence. Two whole days he thus passed hopelessly wandering and in search of food, when, upon the third, kind Providence, compassionating his sufferings, placed in his way a fat calf, which he succeeded in capturing after a short chase. Having slaughtered it, he roasted the whole at once lest it might spoil, then ravenously devoured the welcome repast. This supply lasted several days, when again finding himself minus food, he determined to put in practice a stratagem that he had devised whereby to secure for himself in future an unfailing supply of wholesome nourishment. He had observed the mother of the calf, apparently in search of her offspring, lingering in the neighborhood, moaning and bellowing in a most piteous manner. Availing himself of the first eligible opportunity, he approached her on all fours, entirely covered with the skin of her own calf, and forthwith commenced drawing sustenance{300} from the maternal fount; this he accomplished with so much natural ease and grace, that the tender mother, after a few incredulous sniffs, felt convinced at last of his being a perfect calf, and accepting him for her own, bestowed upon him a good licking. Thus graciously encouraged, and each day more delighted with the unrestrained freedom of his new life, time rolled on and a year elapsed without his ever regretting the loss of home or friends; while so powerful was the effect of this novel mode of existence upon his person, that it had materially altered his whole appearance, and as the calf skin seemed to have actually adhered to his own, so he found himself rapidly assimilating, as well in tastes as habits, to that interesting quadruped.”
About this period the majordomo undertook another hunt on these plains, where he quickly succeeded in collecting a large number of cattle; but although they were all, as usual, extremely difficult to manage, still there was one of the number, a young bull with a fine pair of horns twelve inches long, more refractory and troublesome than any of the others, which fact—as B. was the bull—was owing probably to his educated instincts, they enabling him to devise a variety of expedients for the discomfiture of his pursuers. However he was at length obliged to yield to superior numbers, and the unerring lazo finally brought him struggling to the ground, when in an instant one of his captors, an athletic sambo, had drawn his knife and commenced sharpening it upon the horns of this novel minotaurus, preparatory to performing upon him the usual necessary operations.{301} But what language can do justice to the astonishment of all beholders, when the apparent bull, casting aside his hairy disguise, sprang erect from the ground, exclaiming as he did so: “Stop, amigos! can you have forgotten your old comrade B., who was lost a year ago in this cimarronera?”
So perilous an adventure having convinced him of the risks attending a savage life, his companions had no difficulty in persuading him to return home with them, and thereafter found him of immense assistance in their expeditions, as, being perfectly familiar with the haunts and habits of the cattle in that cover, he could lead the vaqueros, when required, with the sagacity of a pointer.
This story, which B. related with the most admirable ingenuousness of manner, recalled to his recollection a wonderful discovery upon which he had chanced, while journeying on a pressing errand to Arauca.
He had been riding hard all day across the plains, until at length, overtaken by night, he was constrained to encamp on the spot. Grass and water for his horse—a fine trotter—being abundant and at hand, he took no precaution to prevent his straying, other than that of fastening the animal’s feet on the right side with a manea, a strap with looped nooses at both ends. In spite of this the horse wandered from him during the night, a mishap which compelled poor B. to finish the remainder of the journey on foot, besides being obliged to carry the ponderous saddle upon his head.
Having accomplished his errand at Arauca, and after an absence of several weeks, he was returning{302} home by another route, riding a hired animal, when to his great joy, on the way he found his steed in fine condition, and his feet still secured by the strap. The horse he was riding being already tired, he removed the saddle to the back of his own steed, and immediately mounted him. But to his overpowering astonishment, he discovered, on resuming the journey, that the gait of his horse had undergone an extraordinary change, trotting as formerly on the side that had remained free from the strap, but ambling on the one which had been so long confined by it. His wife possessing an ambler, he sold it immediately he reached home, it being thereafter a useless expense, as, whenever in the future he and his better half wished to ride at the same time, all that he had to do was to place her on the ambling side, and then seating himself on the other they trotted and ambled away to their hearts’ content.
The nights were thus pleasantly spent, after the fatigues of the day, most of our men having always some incident or story to relate in connection with their own experience. One evening, Gaspar, the lame negro who followed our camp in the humble capacity of washerman, recounted to a circle of admiring listeners a thrilling adventure which took place on this very spot, and in which he took a very conspicuous part. He had been a slave to the wealthy Manuel Blanco, who owned at that time nearly all these savannas, and possessed in consequence untold wealth in cattle and horses. In that capacity Gaspar was often compelled to attend the great hunts undertaken by his master against any tigre cebado that might have committed depredations in the land.{303}
THE JAGUAR HUNT.
“It was during the month of August,” said Gaspar, “when the savannas are at the height of inundation, that the circumstances I am about to relate occurred at this farm of Matiyure. At such times the tigers, finding the low lands rather too damp for their delicate feet, seek refuge among the matas, or in the immediate vicinity of the farm-house, coming out at night to procure a good supper for themselves and cubs from amongst the herds congregated on the bancos, and not unfrequently it happens they carry their depredations to the very gates of the majada.
“We had heard for several nights in succession what, in the opinion of our people, was only the bellowing of padrotes assembling their herds, but which the more sagacious hounds recognized at once as the roar of their old acquaintance, the tiger, invariably answering each time with a prolonged and dismal howl. It was easy to perceive, from the prints left in the mud, that there were several of these animals, perhaps a mother and her cubs. One fine morning the boys who tended the calves apprised the majordomo that some wild beast had broken into the chiquero,[36] and carried off the old sow, about giving birth to a litter; next day the boar was missing, and so on until the chiquero was entirely relieved of all the inmates. Fearing for our own lives and the safety of{304} our steeds, the majordomo made arrangements for a grand hunt, for the purpose of exterminating, if possible, the whole of these marauders. Our master, who was at that time in the village, was notified of the plan, as were also all those who might wish to improve this opportunity for the display of personal prowess.
“The following day we had the satisfaction of seeing our master arrive at the farm, accompanied by the Padre and a long retinue of assistants, all of them zambos of undoubted courage and most accomplished matadors. The Padre, a fat little gentleman not yet past the prime of life, came more as a curioso[37] than, as many supposed, to exorcise the demons of the jungle. Although he had the reputation of being a very holy father, he did not disdain at times to lay aside the cassock and join his parishioners in the manly sport of the Llanos.
“We mustered about forty in all, which, together with a dozen or more tiger-dogs, were considered quite sufficient for our p............