Morning journal and courier., 1882-12-25
Or. the Pampas.

When Rosas that man of blood and iron, ' | was Dictator of the Argentine country-a i position which he held for 8 quarter of @
 century-deserters from the army were inex-
 orably shot when caught, as they generally were But where my boyhood was spent
 there was 8 deserter, man named Santa
 Anna, who for seven years, without ever
 leaving the neighborhood of his home, suc-
 ceeded in eluding his pursuers by means of the
 marvellous sagacity and watchful care exer-
 cised by his horse. When taking his rest on
 the plain-for he seldom slept under a roof
 his faithful horse kept guard. At the first
 sight of mounted men on the horizon he
 would fly to his master, and, seizing his cloak
 between his teeth, rouse him with vigorous
 shake. The hunted man would start up, and
 in moment man and horse would vanish into
 one of the dense reed-beds abounding in the
 place, and where no man could follow. I
 have not space to tell more about this horss
 but at last, in the fullness of time, when the
 figs were ripe-literally, as well as fgurative- ly, for it happened in the autumn of the year the long, tyrannous rule ended, and Santa Anna came out of the reed-beds where he had lived his wild animal life. to mix with his fellows. l knew him then. He was a rather heavy-looking man, with little to say, and his reputation for honesty was not good in the place; but dare say there was something good in his breast. Students of nature are familiar with the modifying effects of new conditions on man and brute Take, for ex- ample, the Gaucho; he must every day trav- erse vast distances, see quickly, judge rapidly, be ready at all times to encounter hunger and fatigue violent changes of temperature, great and sudden perils. These conditions have made him differ widely from the peasant of the Peninsula; he has the endurance and keen sight ofsa wolf, is fertile in expedients, quick in action, values human life not at all, and is in pain or defeat stoc. Unquestionably the horse he rides has also suffered 8 great change.
 He differs as much from the English hunter, for instane, as one animal can well differ from another of the same species. He never pounds the earth and wastes his energies in vain parade. He has not the dauntless cour- age that performs such brilliant feats in the field, and that often as not attempts the i'm. possible. In the chase he. husbands all his strength, carrying his head low, and almost grazing the ground with his hoofs, so that he is not a showy animal Constant use, or the slow cumulative process of natural selection, has served to develop 8 keenness of sense a1- most preternatural. The vulture's eye, with all the advantage derived from the vultures vast elevation above the scene surveyed, is not so far reaching as the sense of smell in the pampa horse A common phenomenon on the pampas is sudden migration of the horses of district to some distant place. This occurs in seasons of drought, when grass or water fails. The horses migrate to some district where, from showers having fallen or other circumstances, there is better supply oi Ioou ano uflnk. sl1gn6 breeze blowing from the most favored region, which may be 40 or 50 miles away, or even much further, is enough to start them off Yet, during the scorching days of midsummer, very little moisture or smell of grass can possibly reach them from such @ distance. Another phe. nomenon, even more striking, is familiar to every frontiersman. For some reason, the Gaucho horse manifests the greatest terror at an Indian invasion. No doubt his fear is, in part at any rate. associate feeling, the coming of the Indians being always 8 time of excitement and commotion, sweeping like great wave over the country; houses are in flames families flying, cattle being driven at fran ic speed to places of greater safety. Be this as it may. long before the marauders reach the settlement (often when they are still a whole days journey from it) the horses take the alarm and come wildly flying in; the con- tagion quickly spreads to the horned cattle, and general stampede ensues. The Gauchos maintain that the horses smell the Indians believe they are right, for when passing distant Indian camp, from which the wind blew, the horses driven before me have sud denly taken fright and run away, leading me chase of many miles. The explanation that ostriches, deer and other fleet animals driven in before the invaders might be the cause of the stampede cannot be accepted, since the horses are familiar with the sight of these animals flying from their Gaucho hunters