Lasso

“ During the day, recurring to his misfortune, he told me that when the lasso first fell over his shoulders, he fancied for the moment that he was in the gripe of some wild beast, but immediately he felt himself drawn from his horse, the truth became apparent to him. ”

“ Another lasso, deftly thrown about its hind legs, is fastened to a tree, and the strongest of the party then seizes the bellowing beast by its tail, which he twists until his victim falls over on its side and is dispatched. ”

“ You are in the corral with a bunch of moving beasts. You single out one as your particular victim. This time the beast is not standing still, and you throw your lasso, carefully watching the fall as it whirls through the air. Poor animal! Instead of roping it by the horns, you nearly jerk its tail off! There are very many accomplishments that seem easy in the hands of an expert and which prove most difficult to the uninitiated, but I think the throwing of the lasso can claim more mysteries than most others. ”

“ If out on the prairies without a peg, dig a deep hole in the earth with your knife; tie a large knot in the end of the lasso, force it to the bottom of the hole, and then stamp the earth and turf well in over it. On sandy desert ground the lasso end may be secured to any odd article, such as a bag or blanket, which may be then deeply buried in the sand. An ox may be conveniently secured by passing two or three turns of a rope round the roots of the horns and then making a knot in front. ”

“ A vaquero or herdsman, mounted upon a fleet horse, and provided with a strong rope, with a noose at one end, and called a lasso, rides furiously into the herd of cattle, and selecting the one he wishes swings his lasso around his head, gives a loud yell, at the same time throwing the lasso and planting it over the horns and head of the vanquished bullock. ”

“ The reluctance of the cattle to quit the corral was evident, but when at length forced to do so, they dashed forward 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. ”

“ When a bullock is checked and caught by the lasso, it will sometimes gallop round and round in a circle, and the horse being alarmed at the great strain, if not well broken, will not readily turn like the pivot of a wheel. In consequence, many men have been killed; for if the lasso once makes a twist round a man’s body, it will instantly, from the power of the two opposed animals, almost cut him in twain. ”

“ At length I mechanically drew my clasp-knife from my pocket, and set to work to dig a hole in the rich black soil of the prairie. Into this hole I put the knotted end of my lasso, and then pushing it in the earth and stamping it down with my foot, as I had seen others do since I had been in Texas, I passed the noose over my mustang's neck, and left him to graze, while I myself lay down outside the circle which the lasso would allow him to describe. An odd manner, it may seem, of tying up a horse ”

“ A lasso is a long rope, about as large as a clothes-line, and is generally made of rawhide. One end of it is fastened to the saddle, and the other, by the aid of a strong iron ring, formed into a running noose. This contrivance these herdsmen could use with a skill that was astonishing. Mounted on their fleet horses, they would ride up behind a wild steer, and catch him by the horns, around his neck, or by one of his feet, as suited their fancy. ”

“ The poor man was carried into the roaring rapids, and would soon have been drowned, but a herdsman on the bank, who was looking for cattle, threw his lasso cleverly over the drowning traveller, and dragged him on shore. Some of the "vacqueros," as the herdsmen are called, are wonderfully adroit in throwing the lasso; when riding at full speed, they throw it over the horns of the cattle, or the heads of the horses, and can hold the strongest if sideways on. ”

“ None of the pupils were yet able to use the lasso with certainty, though they spent hours in practising at a row of bullocks' skulls in the corral. In time a foreigner can learn to throw the lasso with all the skill of a born Argentine, but the use of the "bolas" is an art that must be acquired in childhood. ”

“ In the country, the people are reduced to a modified form of the excitement, in the form of colear, that is, to chase a bull in open field and throw it by a twist of the tail. It requires cool and skilful horsemanship, and the lasso is ever kept ready to save miscalculating coleador from the animal's fury. Lassoing is in itself exciting, and much practised by children on smaller animals, which fosters a taste for bloodier realities. ”

“ They rode quietly in among the cattle, which we kept rounded up on every side. Fixing their attention upon a fat bullock, they placed their horses close up to it, one on either side, and so ran it out with a sudden rush in the direction of the tame animals. Sometimes it refused to be so dealt with, and persistently broke back at all costs. Then the lasso was brought into play, and after it had been lassoed and bullied about it generally thought better of it and did what was required. For this particular work the rider must possess not only skill, but he must be well mounted. ”

“ They stop—they start—they snuff the air,
Gallop a moment here and there,
Approach, retire, wheel round and round,
Then plunging back with sudden bound,
They snort—they foam—neigh—swerve aside,
And backward to the forest fly."
The capture and breaking in of wild horses in America are described by Miers as follows—
"The lasso is used by the natives of South America. It is a very strong braided thong, half an inch thick, and forty feet long, made of many strips of rawhide, braided like a whip-thong, and made soft and pliable by rubbing with grease. ”

“ Lassen, Christian, eminent Orientalist, born at Bergen; studied Pâli with Burnouf in Paris; became professor of Indian Languages and Literature in Bonn; contributed largely to our knowledge of cuneiform inscriptions, and wrote, among other works, an epoch-making work entitled “Indische Alterthumskunde.”
Lasso, a well-plaited strip of hide, with a noose, to catch wild horses or cattle with.
Latakia (10) , a seaport on the coast of Syria; exports a tobacco of a fine quality, to which it gives name. ”

“ We asked them to teach us how to use the lasso whenever there was a halt, and they were surprised to find how well we soon learnt to use it, though of course we could not equal them.
“Whenever we encamped, they and a good many others used to go out foraging in all directions, and as there was game of all sorts we never came back without a supply.
“Their mode of catching partridges is very curious. Each man supplies himself with a long thin stick, at the end of which a loop is attached ”

“ Having determined on his object the laso is thrown with unerring precision. A bullock is caught by the horns, and a horse or a sheep by the neck; and as this is often done at full speed, the peasant will wind the end of the laso which he holds round his body, and suddenly stopping his horse, the entangled animal receives such a check that it is frequently upset. One end of the laso is often made fast to the sursingle, or girth of the saddle, particularly when a bull or large bullock is to be caught. ”

“ The pea-shell boats had travelled so far that they only looked like little specks on the ocean. ‘I shall seize Hercules on the coast of Asia,’ said Lasse, ‘and then row home again to Europe.’
He shook the rope that held the boat, and, strange to say, the rope became loose. Ditsch, ratsch, a man is a man, and so Little Lasse manned the boat.
Now he would row—and he could row, for he had rowed so often on the step sat home, when the steps pretended to be a boat and father’s big stick an oar. But when Little Lasse wanted to row there were no oars to be found in the boat. ”

“ She rode slowly down the steep siding from the main road to a track in the bed of the Long Gully, the old grey horse picking his way zig-zag fashion. She was about seventeen, slight in figure, and had a pretty freckled face with a pathetically drooping mouth, and big sad brown eyes. She wore a faded print dress, with an old black riding skirt drawn over it, and her head was hidden in one of those ugly, old-fashioned white hoods, which, seen from the rear, always suggest an old woman. She carried several parcels of groceries strapped to the front of the dilapidated side-saddle. ”

“ There was two beds in my room at the pub, where I had to go away without shouting for the boss, and, as it happened, there was a strange chap sleeping in the other bed that night, and, just as I raised the window and was going to lower my bag out, he woke up.
'Now, look here,' I said, shaking my fist at him, like that, 'if you say a word, I'll stoush yer!'
"Well," he said, "well, you needn't be in such a sweat to jump down a man's throat. I've got my swag under the bed, and I was just going to ask you for the loan of the rope when you're done with it." ”

“ They have saddled up one of the farm horses and made the boy mount. The father digs. They ride off along the ridge with the boy between them. The father never lifts his eyes; the hole widens round the stump; he digs away till the brave little wife comes and takes him gently by the arm. He half rouses himself and follows her to the house like an obedient dog.
Trial and disgrace follow, and then other misfortunes, pleuro among the cattle, drought, and poverty.
Thud, thud, thud again! But it is not the sound of the fossicker’s pick—it is the fall of sods on his wife’s coffin. ”

“ When the lassie had walked a long, long way farther on, and was not far from the hedge, she heard again that awful clatter on the road behind her, and she got scared and frightened, for she knew well enough it was the old hag and her daughter, who had changed their minds.
"Come hither to me, lassie," said the Hedge, "and I'll help you. Creep under my twigs, so that they can't see you; else they'll take the casket from you, and tear you to death." ”

“ Lassie lifted up her head. "How do you mean?"
"There are two Lassies to me, dear,—the pretty, sweet-looking girl, and the Lassie who loves me. Most people confuse the two, and think them one and the same; I don't. No matter what happened to you, the Lassie whom I love could never alter—she is unchangeable. She is not subject to change; she doesn't belong to this world; she cannot die. And just as I feel about you, I feel about everybody. What I can see and touch in those I love is what I love least in them."
"Oh, Alva!" it was like a little moan—the girl's voice. ”

“ The lassie taking tent unto the door she went,
⁠And she open'd and lat him in.
And are ye come at last! and do I hold you fast!
⁠And is my Johnny true?
I have nae time to tell, but sae lang's I like mysel',
⁠Sae lang sall I like you.
Flee up, flee up, my bonnie grey cock,
⁠And craw when it is day,
And your neck shall be like the bonnie beaten gold,
⁠And your wings of the silver grey.
The cock proved false, and untrue he was,
⁠For he crew an hour owre soon:
The lassie thought it day when she sent her love away,
⁠And it was but a blink of the moon. ”

“ Lawson sat feeling like a chagrined schoolboy. It was one of the small accomplishments of which he was proud, to lift a woman from carriage or saddle. He had strong muscles well trained, and he had a fashion of putting his hands at the woman's waist and giving her a lift, quick, light, and sure, and setting her on her feet with a look of pleased astonishment in her eyes; now he sat holding the reins like any good boy and watching the flutter of a blue skirt around the clusters of zinnias and marigolds by the cabin corner. ”

“ We horses, with the aid of the men and guns, held the Weldon railroad, and Lee and his mules stopped holding Richmond.”
“Doesn’t he tell a story beautifully?” remarked Bubbles, in a distinctly audible aside to Lassie.
8“I’ve never known a better raconteur,” answered Lassie, in a stage whisper of equal volume.
“Lay you a peck of oats to a quart that the girls get that secret out of him,” whispered the Majors saddle-horse, who, as a Kentuckian of thoroughbred stock, had sporting and race-track proclivities.
“Not with me!” denied the second cob. “Besides, no gentleman ever bets on a certainty. ”

“ At last the king and queen took into their palace a stranger lassie to rear up, that they might have her always with them, to love her if she did well, and scold her if she did wrong, like their own child.
So one day the little lassie whom they had taken as their own, ran down into the palace yard, and was playing with a gold apple. Just then an old beggar wife came by, who had a little girl with her, and it wasn’t long before the little lassie and the beggar’s bairn were great friends, and began to play together, and to toss the gold apple about between them. ”

“ For the lassie made me marvel with the aptness of her speech, and ashamed with her plain saying of things that I had hardly named within myself.
'Ah,' she said gently and wisely, 'the thoughts of a lass when a lad comes courting her, are more than she tells with her mouth. For many a kiss is honey-sweet on the lips, but bitter as gall in the heart. ”

“ For many years I had cared little for the face of a woman. As I lay in my hammock upstairs, however, I heard the old woman as she chafed the warmth back into her, crooning a chorus of, "Eh, the puir lassie! Eh, the bonnie lassie" from which I gathered that this piece of jetsam was both young and comely.
The morning after the gale was peaceful and sunny. As I walked along the long sweep of sand I could hear the panting of the sea. It was heaving and swirling about the reef, but along the shore it rippled in gently enough. ”