St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-27
THE COWBOYS, RIVAL.
Surprising Dexrerity of the South
American GauchOs.

Surprising Dexrerity of the South
American GauchOs.
Chicago Inter Ocean.
The gaucho pronounced gow-cho) is the
cowboy of Argentine and Uruguay, reck-
less daredevil, regardless alike Of God and
man. peaceable when sober. but bowling
savage when drunk. AS brave as lion. as
active as panther, with endurance equal
| to any test, faithful to his friends but as
implacable as fate to his enemies. living the
year round with no roof but the azure sky,
no bed but the ground, no pillow but the
his saddle and no shelter but his pOncho.
| He loves nothing but his horse. and the
word fear is not known in his vOcabulary.
His speech is a mixture of Spanish and the
Guarani, or native Indian dialect; his cos
| tune is a ponchO, pair OF buckSkln
| breeches, high boots and silver spurs that
weigh pound or two EACH His saddle, his
bride and breeches are loaded with silver,
representing the accumulated earnings of
his life, and when he wants to buy horse
or Sombrero he pulls Off button or two,
for among the race silver ornaments are
| legal tender. Half savage, half cOurtier,
he is as polite as he is cruel, and will make
bow like dancing master OF kill fell
he would kill wolf. He recognizes no
range. and all violations are punishable by
Punishment or death. Whoever Offends
him must fight or fly, and as the statute of
limitation is not recognized by him. he kills
sight enemies he has not seen for quarter
of a century. He never shoots or strikes
with his fist, but uses lasso at long range
and a wicked knife that is always in his
belt or his hand.
A fight between gauchos always means
murder, and it is the duty of him who kills
to see that his victim is decently buried
and the widow and orphans cared for. The
widow, if she pleases him, becomes his
wife or his mistress. and the children grow
up to be gauchos under his tutelage. He is
as supersttious as HindoO, and when he
is not asleep or i'll the saddle he is gambling.
having quaint games of chance that are
known to no other race in the world.
| The cowboys of the United States or the
herders of Mexico would grow green with
envy at the horSemanship of the Gaucho
and his skill with the lasso. A child among
them is put in the saddle as soon as civilized
| boys are put in pants. and when he is 10
or u years old he will ride tornado. A
| faucho who is thrown from horseback is as
much disgraced as if he had stolen a sheep,
and nothing he can do will restore his stand
| ing in society. The animals they ride
are splendid native horses, larger than
the native Arab OF the broncho Of the
| United States, and equally neat and tough.
Fifty or sixty miles day is considered an
easy ride. and an ordinary pampa horse will
make it as easily as an American horse will
make ten During the recent raid on the
Patagonian Indians gaucho courier is said
to have made 600 miles in forty-eight hours,
with nine relays of horses including stops
| for food, and rides of 800 and 400 miles are
of common occurrence. A gauchO thinks
no more of such galop as this than an Or
binary traveller does of a trip from New
| York to Boston.
| The skill with which the gaucho uses the
lasso passes credulity. At full gallop he
can throw moose of rawhide with as great
accuracy as an expert rif1emen will crack a
glass ball. He will catch a sheep or hog
or horse by the leg as easily as steer by
the horns. Fights with lassos are of fire.
quent occurrence, the duelistS standing on
horseback, within range, firing slip-nooses
at each others heads, sparring and lodging
like pugilistS. until one or the other is
dragged out of the saddle. 1t is sure
ellOuSll uuGl, jllc tiluH WHO Is CduSll Is O1ten
dragged with moose around his neck be-
hind galloping horse until life is choked
and pounded out of his body.
Travellers on the pampas in olden times
were frequently treated to scenes of this
sort. with crowds of gauchos standing by to
see fair play. But Of late the gaucho is be-
coming more civilized. Emigrants are
crowding out upon the pampas and are
leayening the lump. The word gaucho is
becoming term of reproach and, except
upon the frontier is now applied only to
worthless characters who live by stealing
cattle. and correspond to the genus rust
ler'' of Texas and the Western territories of
the United States
On the frontier, however, the gaucho is
still seen in his pristine glory, moving fur
Their and further out upon the pampas, try
ing to escape from the restraints of civiliza-
ton and resentng the inroads upon his
ancient domain. Few of them acquire
land. but keep their cattle upon govern
ment territory, looking with contempt up
on ranchmen who build houses to live in
and introduce foreign breeds of stock. His
domain is growing smaller annually, and
in few years hence he must become do
mesticated or disappear. Civilization
seems to sap his vitality and quench the
fire of his life. A domesticated gaucho is
as forlorn as an imprisoned eagle. He
loses his sense of honor with his energy
and becomes drunkard, gambler and a
of