a great height in the air, and he fell apparently dead in the area. The audience applauded the bull, while the attendants carried off the matador. The bull next attacked a horseman, dismounted him, ripped up the horse's belly, and bore him to the ground, where he was not suffered to die in peace, but was raised on his legs, and urged by whipping and goading, to move round the ring in a state too horrible to be described, but which afforded the spectators the greatest delight. The noble bull had thus succeeded in baffling his tormentors as long as fair means were used, when a cruel device was thought of to subdue him. A large curved instrument called a luna was thrown at him. from behind, in such a way as to divide the hamstrings of the hind legs; such, however, were his strength and spirit, that he did not fall, but actually travelled along at a tolerable pace on his stumps, a most horrible sight! This was not all, for a man armed with a dagger now mounted the bull's back, and rode about for some minutes to the infinite delight of the spectators, who were thrown into ecstasies, and laughed and clapped their hands at every stab given to the miserable animal, not to kill him, but to stimulate him to accelerate his pace; at length, the poor beast, exhausted by loss of blood, fell down and died.

"The greater number of the company, although females, seemed so enchanted with the brutal scene passing under their eyes, that I looked round, in vain, for a single face that looked grave; every individual seeming quite delighted; and it was melancholy to observe a great proportion of chil

dren amongst the spectators, from one of whom, a little girl, only eight years old, I learned that she had already seen three bull-fights; the details of which she gave with great animation and pleasure, dwelling especially on those horrid circumstances I have described. It would shock and digust to no purpose to give a minute account of other instances of wanton cruelty, which, however, appeared to be the principal recommendation of these exhibitions.

Connected with these struggles of man against animals, we have some extraordinary details of the skill and prowess of the guassos:

"When a wild horse is to be taken, the lasso is always placed round the two hind legs, and, as the guasso rides a little on one side the, jerk pulls the entangled horse's feet laterally, so as to throw him on his side, without endangering his knees or his face. Before the horse can recover the shock, the rider dismounts, and snatching his poucho or cloak from his shoulders, wraps it round the prostrate animal's head; he then forces into his mouth one of the powerful bridles of the country, straps a saddle on his back, and, bestriding him, removes the poucho; upon which the astonished horse springs on his legs, and endeavours, by a thousand vain efforts, to disencumber himself of his new master, who sits quite composedly on his back, and, by a discipline which never fails, reduces the horse to such complete obedience, that he is soon trained to lend his speed and strength in the capture of his wild companions.

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During the recent wars in this country, the lasso was used as a weapon

weapon of great power in the hands of the guassos, who make bold and useful troops, and never fail to dismount cavalry, or to throw down the horses of those who come within their reach. There is a well-authenticated story of a party of eight or ten of these men, who had never seen a piece of artillery, till one was fired at them in the streets of Buenos Ayres; they galloped fearlessly up to it, placed their lassos over the cannon, and, by their united strength, fairly overturned it. Another anecdote is related of them, which, though possible enough, does not rest on such good authority. A number of armed boats were sent to effect a landing at a certain point on the coast, guarded solely by these horsemen. The party in the boats, caring little for an enemy unprovided with firearms, rowed confidently along the shore. The guassos, meanwhile, were watching their opportunity, and the moment the boats came sufficiently near, dashed into the water, and, throwing their lassos round the necks of the officers, fairly dragged every one of them

out of their boats.

"Before breakfast to-day, we witnessed the South American method of killing cattle, a topic which, at first sight, must appear no very delicate or inviting one; but I trust it will not prove uninteresting, or disagreeable in description.

"The cattle, as I before mentioned, had been driven into an inclosure, or corral, whence they were now let out, one by one, and killed; but not in the manner practised in England, where, I believe, they are dragged into a house, and despatched by blows on the forehead with a pole-axe.

Here the whole took place in the open air, and resembled rather the catastrophe of a grand field sport, than a mere deliberate slaughter. On a level space of ground before the corral were ranged in a line four or five guassos on horseback, with their lassos all ready in their hands; and opposite to them another line of men on foot, furnished also with lassos, so as to form a wide line, extending from the gate of the corral to the distance of thirty or forty yards. When all was prepared, the leader of the guassos drew out the bars closing the entrance to the corral; and, riding in, separated one from the drove, which he goaded till it escaped at the opening. The reluctance of the cattle to quit the corral was evident, but when at length forced to do so, they dashed forwards with the utmost impetuosity. It is said that, in this country, even the wildest animals have an instinctive horror of the lasso; those in a domestic state certainly have, and betray fear whenever they see it. Be this as it may, the moment they pass the gate, they spring forward at full speed, with all the appearance of terror. But were they to go ten times faster, it would avail them nothing against the irresistible lasso, which, in the midst of dust, and a confusion seemingly inextricable, were placed by the guassos with the most perfect correctness over the parts aimed at. There cannot be conceived a more spirited, or a more picturesque scene than was now presented to us; or one which, in the hands of a bold sketcher, would have furnished a finer subject. Let the furious beast be imagined driven almost to madness by thirst, and a variety of irritations,

progress. Away went the cow, scouring over the country, follow

es wildly forward, his eyes flashing fire, his nostrils almost touching the ground, and his breath driving off the dust in his course: -for one short instant he is free, and full of life and strength, defying, as it were, all the world to restrain him in his headlong course; the next moment he is covered with lassos, his horns, his neck, his legs, are all encircled by these inevitable cords, hanging loose, in long festoons from the hands of the horsemen galloping in all directions, but the next instant as tight as bars of iron; and the noble animal lies prostrate on the ground, motionless and helpless. He is immediately despatched by a man on foot, who stands ready for this purpose with a sharp knife in his hand; and as soon as the body is disentangled from the lassos, it is drawn on one side, and another is driven out of the corral, and caught in the same man

ner.

"On begging to know why so many lassos were thrown at once on these occasions, we learned that the first rush of the beast, when driven out of the corral, is generally so impetuous, that few single ones are strong enough to bear the jerk without breaking. As an experiment, a cow, in a very furious state, was let out, and directions given for only two men to attempt to stop her. The first lasso fell over her head, and drew it round, so that the horns almost touched her back, but the cord snapped without stopping her; the second was intentionally placed round the fore part of the body, but it also broke without materially checking her

ing erect in their stirrups, with their lassos flying round their heads, and their pouchos streaming out behind them; an animating and characteristic sight. The cow gallopped, and the horses gallopped, and such is the speed which cattle acquire when accustomed to run wild, that at first the horses had but little advantage. The ground being covered with shrubs and young trees, and full of hollow places, and sunk roads, the chace was diversified by many leaps, in which, although the poor cow did well at first, the horses, ere long, gained upon her, and the nearest guasso perceiving that he was just within reach, let fly his lasso. The cow was at such a distance that it required the whole length of the lasso to reach her, and the noose had become so contracted by the knot slipping up, that it was barely large enough to admit the horns; had the cow been one foot more in advance, the circle would have become too small. When the rider saw the noose fixed, he stopped and turned his horse, upon which the poor cow, her head nearly rung off, was cast to the ground with great violence. The second horseman dashed along, and on passing the cow, instead of throwing his lasso, merely stooped on one side, and laid the noose, which he had contracted to a small circle, over her horns. This done, the guassos turned their horses' heads, and trotted back with their unwilling prize, not having been more than four or five minutes absent from the ground.

"There is another method of arresting the animal's progress

without

without using the lasso, which is said to require even more skill and presence of mind than that formidable instrument itself. A horseman is stationed a little way from the entrance of the corral, armed with an instrument called a luna, which consists of a steel blade about a foot long, and curved, as its name implies, in the form of a crescent, sharpened on the concave edge, and having a pole ten or twelve feet long screwed into the middle of the blunt or convex side; so that, when held horizontally, the horns of the crescent point forward. The rider carries this luna in his right hand, couched like a lance, the blade being then about two feet from the ground, in advance of the horse, while the staff is kept steady by passing it under the arm. Having allowed the animal to rush past, he puts spurs to the horse, gallops after, and on coming close up, places his weapon in such a situation, that when the animal's right hind leg is thrown backwards, it shall enter the fork or crescent of the luna, and by striking against the edge, which is made as sharp as a razor, divide the tendon. The weapon is then quickly transferred to the left leg, where in like manner, the least touch properly applied, divides the other tendon. We saw this cruel feat performed by the principal guasso, on our host's estate, who was described as being the best rider and the most expert man in that part of the country. The ground was very dry and dusty, so that, by the time he overtook the bullock he was in chase of, there was such a cloud raised by the animal's feet, that we could scarcely see what was doing. The guasso contrived however to cut both

hamstrings, but his horse becoming confused, fell over the bullock and we were in considerable alarm lest the man should be cut in two by his own weapon, or be transfixed by the beast's horns: but he never lost his self-possession, and having first flung the instrument high into the air, raised both himself and horse from the ground, and rode out of the cloud unhurt, and without having ever lost his seat.

"On the 26th of May we sailed from Valparaiso, and proceeded along the coast of Lima. During the greater part of this voyage the land was in sight, and we had many opportunities of seeing not only the Andes, but other interesting features of the country. The sky was sometimes covered by a low dark unbroken cloud, overshadowing the sea, and resting on the top of the high cliffs which guard the coast; so that the Andes, and, indeed, the whole country, except the immediate shore, were then screened from our view. But at some places this lofty range of cliffs was intersected by deep gullies, called quebradas, connected with extensive vallies stretching far into the interior. At these openings we were admitted to a view of regions, which being beyond the limits of the cloud, and therefore exposed to the full blaze of the sun, formed a brilliant contrast to the darkness and gloom in which we were involved. As we sailed past, and looked through these mysterious breaks, it seemed as if the eye penetrated into another world; and had the darkness around us been more complete, the light beyond would have been equally resplendent with that of the full moon, to which

every one was disposed to compare this most curious and surprising appearance.

"As the sun's rays were not in this case, reflected from a bright snowy surface, but from a darkcoloured sand, we are furnished, by analogy, with an answer to the difficulties sometimes started, with respect to the probable dark nature of the soil composing the moon's surface."

15.-Journal of a Residence in Ashantee. By Joseph Dupuis, Esq. late His Britannic Majesty's Envoy, &c. &c. &c. With an Account of the Origin and Causes of the present War. About a century ago Ashantee was governed by Sai Tooto, called by his subjects The Great.'

"The legends descriptive of the history of Ashantee, earlier than the reign of Sai Tooto, are somewhat obscure.

"The wisdom as well as valour of Sai Tooto are themes on which the natives dwell with a national satisfaction; in short, he was, as they say, the great and the good; for, in his reign, justice was ever on the alert, and the claims of his subjects were listened to without distinction of rank or title.

"The conquests effected by this prince were more comprehensive than has been stated. He ravaged Assin with fire and sword, for some indignity offered by its monarch towards his person; he entirely subdued Quahou, and induced the government of Akin to a limited obedience. He subdued, besides Dinkira and Tofal, a great extent of country beyond the Tando river. He invaded Gaman

with a powerful army, with which he vanquished those tribes, and reduced their monarch to the condition of a tributary. The Desert (of Ghofan) only was an impediment to the progress of his arms north; and, in short, he created an empire, including tributaries and allies, which were strictly of a feudal complexion, by the union of all those kingdoms and principalities between the 6th and 9th degrees of latitude, and between the 4th degree of longitude west from the meridian of London and the river Volta. The auxiliary kingdom of Banna was the right arm of Ashantee in those days, and still is."

"The quarters were continually surrounded by spectators, chiefly women and children, whose anxiety to gain a glimpse of our persons was occasionally checked by an impulse of terror when we approached them. The smiling countenances which graced these beauties, convinced me that their destiny was a happier one than the generality of their sex enjoy in Fantee. Their lascivious glances, accompanied by signs, which could not be misconstrued, convinced me also that these ladies, however superior to the Fantees, participated with them in a certain failing. I was, besides, assured that many of the wives and daughters of men in power, were employed in the way of traffic, to practise the seductive charms of beauty, to inveigle the impassioned and unwary of the other sex, in order to create a palaver, which commonly terminated in fines or slavery. When the slave trade was legalized on the coast, it was a usual mode of entrapping youth, and those who were inca

pable