Note 11 — Chapter IV · IN MID-ORINOQUIA

During the War of Independence the wild horses and cattle were in some parts “so numerous as literally to render it necessary for a party of cavalry to precede an army on the march, for the purpose of clearing the way for the infantry and guns.”11 And only a few decades ago, we were assured, the number of cattle was so great that they were slaughtered for their hides alone. During recent years, however, owing to the number of revolutions, and the little encouragement afforded by the government to stock raisers, the herds on the llanos have greatly dwindled in size and number.12