We soon came to a small herd of
cattle; the _capatas_ dashed after them, and, unloosening the coils of
his lasso, flung the noose dexterously over the horns of a fat heifer he
had singled out, then started homewards at a tremendous pace. The cow,
urged forward by the men, who rode close behind, and pricked it with
their knives, rushed on, bellowing with rage and pain, trying to overtake
the _capatas_, who kept just out of reach of its horns; and in this way
we quickly reached the house. One of the men now flung his lasso and
caught the beast's hind leg; pulled in two opposite directions, it
quickly came to a standstill; the other men, now dismounting, first
ham-strung, then ran a long knife into its throat. Without removing the
hide, the carcass was immediately cut up, and the choice pieces flung on
to a great fire of wood, which one of the men had been making. In an
hour's time we all sat down to a feast of _carne con cuero_, or meat
roasted in the hide, juicy, tender, and exquisitely flavoured. I must
tell the English reader who is accustomed to eat meat and game which has
been kept till it is tender, that before the tender stage is reached it
has been permitted to get tough. Meat, game included, is never so tender
or deliciously flavoured as when cooked and eaten immediately after it is
killed. Compared with meat at any subsequent stage, it is like a new-laid
egg or a salmon with the cream on, compared with an egg or a salmon after
a week's keeping.
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