The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-20
HIS POWER OVER HORSES.
UNEXPLAINED FEATS OF a PLAINSs
MAN IN VENEZUELA.

and Capture wild uimals-AscFIbs ~
Some Natives to N1aEic-HiIs Method or stalk.
inE = Herd-Did He Use nesmerIsuS
at is not until you have got beyond the coast
levels to the pampRs country that you catch
the stern realities OF Venezuelan litc.' said
Wesley G. Malcolm, who for many years bought
hides and rubber on commission in South
America. Near the sea levels, whore most for
eigners make their homes. you hnd the soft
luxurious, charming manner of living for which
the people of Venezuela are noted. When you
have travelled two or three days journey In
land from Caracas or Angostura, and have come
to tho pampas country, you are among quite
different people and surroundings. You ind
there. as in tho lower orinoco Valley, tho jag
uar, the boa constructor, and tho crocodile, and
besides these the puma, tho giant rattleHnake,
and the deadly mRtAcaballo. There upon the
plains and savanna the llaneros, the cowboys
Of the pampAs, watch the herds Of half wild
cattle, and round them up iR.the rodeo for brand
ing or shipment. These llanoros are the tight
ing mon of Venezuela, and whoever can start .
revolution with them at his back Is fairly GER
tain to win.
'It was among such scenes and people thatI
met Pablo MetaDarmo, the horse tanner. in
the Apure River country. at n little village
called Paranho. My horse strayed away in tho
night, and when / told OF my loss the head man
in the village sent for Pablo Metanarmo. Ina
few minutes Pablo appeared. n stoutly built,
chocolate.tintsd man, with long black hair, just
q little kinky. BY this; 1 saw that he was Q
zambo, of mixed negro and Indian blood. He
was not an alert or Intelligent looking man
rather the oontrary-and the only popularity
that / observed in his appearance was in his
eyes, which suggested those Of q sleepy wild
beast, When the head man had told him that he
tho animal had been picketed. examined the
tracks, and followed them u short distance,
"'Ho has strayed away Of his own will he
said. He has not been stolen
'.Thon 1 described tho horse to him. and he
"If he is alone l win bring him back to:
: day. If he has Joined the wild horses-
iYsly two three, four, up to { seven fingers siS.
nifying that l might got the horse at any time
sHoou rage da{ Eor to my : E ESSs' had ! ora ofiE aG q ffsl b %a0 =
wild horse Of the pamPSS and knew that he
T TSSsld Out 20 Of hf tSe T SH SSsc sa II an amy Ho sxen later p On sO
old scrub of q horse. and he came back at sum
down leading my horse and driving before him
way home. he had captured film fifteen miles
AIwSayi near the place where he anne upon him.
Eambo catch him without q run-but how this
bad beon brough. about Pablo would not tell.
had done was to circle, around to tho further
side of my horSe whom he came In sight of him,
him, and wait until my horse came up to be
".Your horse. being q pampsro and at large,
would mot approach you or me. or let us cato6
him until We ran him down with relays the
ent; He has but tO:can the animals, and they
This episode made me acquainted with Pablo
considerable part Of the next three years, I
S bis e9 91% Ss' In b sSS e Gaming E Ef Ho li Hssi most most Of Ct
the time at tho DolBRdo ranch. on tho Guana-
R Hhsn f / rode " Sofeh "" q "a Sr soasl 'iHf Is P4Fn pi1Si
duty on tho ranch was to track mp and capture
stray horses and cattle that tho other llRneron
could not ind, and to cut out from the Wild
horse herds valuable DOMESTIC horses that had
formed occasionally for other ranch owners
living sometimes q hundred miles away. When
hunt Wild horses or other Wild creatures on his
own account In catching wild horses he
ground he conduotod Operations on foot. -" His Il
process, as seen by others, was to approach grad
AMY Sn sc 20 s9o nGrse ne II na alw SelSs'e Tss nna sSt IN hia
haltering and leading the animal home. Some
t .l"oS or tf thrs waS Il HoR %sa In ss oRe t dSy. a o Mess W.T. IL tq ,Ss
longest time 1t had eyer taken him to capture
Inc ne W HniSSi horse %sS no M Iohsar no 1I Isd the b", horse tnn"s home nnS
he could saddle and ride him with little trouble.
Any judicious rider could handle the horse after
ut is little wonder that among the ignorant
llaneroS Pablo's art was laid TO the use of magic
tSniEenE ranch ! owners WSsS were equally uSn5, at a loss
shrugged their shoulders and sometimes spoke
OF, GarmIento, tho Eambo. who in his day, they
said, had done creator featS than Pablog., As
for Pablo, he kept his own c~ounsel-probably he
could not have told the secret II ne had tried
and won't on capturing wild horses, iaEuar and
of.oourse way. for his own amusement and
profit, His pets accumulaUing about the ranch
1aT CUB H'V w ft6n its s eyes Just sto open N Is S% %s iovab lsT =
pet as a kitten. but 1t grows like a weed, and Its
trees. or rehearsins the SprlnEihnE act, with yoj
or twice q year Pablo would bundle his pot3
GuSyra, Where Merchant Captains are IaiTWTayy3
ready to buy strange animals on sreculationl
TO- sell to .msnsGerieS In Europe and the United
pablo and I became friends and perhaps
teal his trade, he took me with him on ono Of
his horse-huntinR trips. In this case he was
S:6and Of Wild horses. We found the band. and
approaching them from tho leewArd. under
eGf' tGs Gd " H Rass U %o Ef EoSel! spt o %ith hor 1wG % IaGS'
isSTing them then free; to walk. but not to run. and
Shiie Pablo, s StEsi t oS%Stp' the a. VIA shs f bSnS:
Ing 80 Slowly.that they led, on the grass as they
II was slow business. and I got tired enough
glass. fFcouId aeo that his idea w sns1 to appro mei5
the band In . way, that seemed accidental-as
them. Most hunters Of svery kind know this
trick Iimld animals. 90 long as they think
yeTy, near them before they take to night. With
the two horses feeding along near him, some
Times turning 20 the right, Bomotimca to the
left. without seeming to have tho wild band in
view he Kept closing the distance between
horses would lift their heads and look. Then
Pablo, who seemed to know in time what they
would do. would be seen moving to ono side or
the other, but not advancing. When the wild
toward them.
I'm about six hours he had got within .
quarter Of q milo OF them. a this point the
him to Investigate. For an hour Pablo re-
manned In one place, stirring about a little. ~
Ing down, getting up, turning round, pulling
up grass. all with so slow and oven a motion
that the stallion, watching him suspiciously
from 200 yards away, took no alarm and, after
trying to entice the two hobbled horses TO him,
trotted back TO the band.
You probably know of the shyness of wild
horses. the most difficult animals 10 approach
IN the world. What saw G1lo Metanarmo
do would seem Incredible IL tod anywhere but