Gay life at Monterey--Mexican horsemen--A bold dragoon--Use of thelasso--Vaqueros--Noosing a bear--Fight between a bull and a bear--Departure fromMonterey--Indian horse stealers--Outrages committed by the travellers--Indignation ofCaptain Bonneville THE WANDERING BAND of trappers was well received at Monterey, the inhabitantswere desirous of retaining them among them, and offered extravagant wages to suchas were acquainted with any mechanic art. When they went into the country, too, theywere kindly treated by the priests at the missions; who are always hospitable tostrangers, whatever may be their rank or religion. They had no lack of provisions; beingpermitted to kill as many as they pleased of the vast herds of cattle that graze thecountry, on condition, merely, of rendering the hides to the owners. They attended bull-fights andhorseraces; forgot all the purposes of their expedition; squandered away,freely, the property that did not belong to them; and, in a word, revelled in a perfectfool's paradise.
What especially delighted them was the equestrian skill of the Californians. The vastnumber and the cheapness of the horses in this country makes every one a cavalier.
The Mexicans and halfbreeds of California spend the greater part of their time in thesaddle. They are fearless riders; and their daring feats upon unbroken colts and wildhorses, astonished our trappers; though accustomed to the bold riders of the prairies.
A Mexican horseman has much resemblance, in many points, to the equestrians of OldSpain; and especially to the vain-glorious caballero of Andalusia. A Mexican dragoon,for instance, is represented as arrayed in a round blue jacket, with red cuffs and collar;blue velvet breeches, unbuttoned at the knees to show his white stockings; bottinas ofdeer skin; a round-crowned Andalusian hat, and his hair cued. On the pommel of hissaddle, he carries balanced a long musket, with fox skin round the lock. He is cased ina cuirass of double-fold deer skin, and carries a bull's hide shield; he is forked in aMoorish saddle, high before and behind; his feet are thrust into wooden box stirrups, ofMoorish fashion, and a tremendous pair of iron spurs, fastened by chains, jingle at hisheels. Thus equipped, and suitably mounted, he considers himself the glory ofCalifornia, and the terror of the universe.
The Californian horsemen seldom ride out without the laso [sic]; that is to say, a longcoil of cord, with a slip noose; with which they are expert, almost to a miracle. The laso,now almost entirely confined to Spanish America, is said to be of great antiquity; and tohave come, originally, from the East. It was used, we are told, by a pastoral people ofPersian descent; of whom eight thousand accompanied the army of Xerxes. By theSpanish Americans, it is used for a variety of purposes; and among others, for haulingwood. Without dismounting, they cast the noose around a log, and thus drag it to theirhouses. The vaqueros, or Indian cattle drivers, have also learned the use of the lasofrom the Spaniards; and employ it to catch the half-wild cattle by throwing it round theirhorns.
The laso is also of great use in furnishing the public with a favorite, though barbaroussport; the combat between a bear and a wild bull. For this purpose, three or fourhorsemen sally forth to some wood, frequented by bears, and, depositing the carcass ofa bullock, hide themselves in the vicinity. The bears are soon attracted by the bait. Assoon as one, fit for their purpose, makes his appearance, they run out, and with thelaso, dexterously noose him by either leg. After dragging him at full speed until he isfatigued, they secure him more effectually; and tying him on the carcass of the bullock,draw him in triumph to the scene of action. By this time, he is exasperated to suchfrenzy, that they are sometimes obliged to throw cold water on him, to moderate hisfury; and dangerous would it be, for horse and rider, were he, while in this paroxysm, tobreak his bonds.
