, a cock "ostrich" starts up before his horse, and soon after the
hen, the two trotting away over the plain to one side. It so chances
that but the day before his master had given him instructions to catch a
male ostrich for some purpose of natural history--the first he should
come across. And here was one, a splendid bird, in full flowing
plumage. This, with an observation made, that the ostriches seem less
shy than is usual with these wary creatures, and are moving away but
slowly, decides him to take after and have a try at capturing the cock.
Unloosing his _bolas_ from the saddle-bow, where he habitually carries
this weapon, and spurring his horse to a gallop, off after them he goes.

Magnificently mounted, for a gaucho would not be otherwise, he succeeds
in his intent, after a run of a mile or so, getting close enough to the
birds to operate upon them with his _bolas_. Winding these around his
head and launching them, he has the satisfaction of seeing the cock
ostrich go down upon the grass, its legs lapped together tight as if he
had hard spliced them.

Riding on up to the great bird, now hoppled and without any chance to
get away from him, he makes things more sure by drawing out his knife
and cutting the creature's throat. Then releasing the _bolas_, he
returns them to the place from which he had taken them--on the horn of
his _recado_. This done, he stands over the dead _rhea_, thus
reflecting:--

"I wonder what particular part of this beauty--it is a beauty, by the
way, and I don't remember ever having met with a finer bird of the
breed--but if I only knew which one with identical parts the master
wants, it would save me some trouble in the way of packing, and my horse
no little of a load. Just possible the _dueno_ only cares for the
tail-feathers, or the head and beak, or it may be but the legs. Well,
as I can't tell which, there's but one way to make sure about it--that
is, to take the entire carcase along with me. So, go it must."

Saying this, he lays hold of a leg, and drags the ostrich nearer to his
horse, which all the time stands tranquilly by: for a gaucho's steed is
trained to keep its place, without need of any one having care of it.

"_Carramba_!" he exclaims, raising the bird from the ground, "what a
weight the thing is! Heavy as a quarter of beef! Now I think on't, it
might have been better if I'd let the beast alone, and kept on without
getting myself into all this bother. Nay, I