[170] si su conducta posterior..., i.e., Rosas protected murderers because he himself turned out to be the greatest of murderers later on when he became dictator.
[171] En cuanto a los juegos de equitación. Darwin, speaking of the horsemanship of the gaucho, says: “General Rosas is also a perfect horseman—an accomplishment of no small consequence in a country where an assembled army elected its general by the following trial: a troop of unbroken horses, being driven into a corral, were let out through a gateway, above which was a crossbar; it was agreed that whoever should drop from the bar on one of these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able, without saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it back to the door of the corral, should be their general. The person who succeeded was accordingly elected; and doubtless made a fit general for such an army. This extraordinary feat has also been performed by Rosas.”
[172] Uno le arroja un tiro de bolas, Some one takes a shot at him with the bolas. The bolas used by the gauchos to catch cattle and game are of two kinds; they may consist of two round stones covered with leather and united by a leather thong about seven or eight feet long; or they may consist of three balls united to a common center. The balls differ in size and weight, depending on the kind of game the gauchos wish to catch. They are twirled around the head and hurled at the feet of the fleeing animal. Light bolas of the first kind are called lives. Cf. 82, 12.
[173] vese salir al jinete corriendo, the rider is seen to emerge running.
[174] que han parado en bandidos, who have ended by becoming bandits.
[175] van a perderse en el crimen, are lost in crime.
[176] que conquistara, trans., that once conquered.
[177] Lagos Pontinos, the Pontine Marshes, the low country surrounding Rome.
[178] los Zumalacárregui, los Mina. Tomás de Zumalacárregui (1788-1835) and Javier Mina (1789-1817) were intrepid guerrilla fighters who distinguished themselves in the Peninsular War against Napoleon, and later died in struggles against their own compatriots.
[179] Sierra Leona, British colony on the western coast of Africa, between French Guinea and Liberia.