The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-10-04
THE SOUTH AMERICAN COWBOY.
Howling Savage Who Puts the Texas Bull
Whacker to Shame


Whacker to Shame.
William E. Curtis. in Chicago Inter Ocean.
| The gaucho pronounced gowcho) is the cow
| boy OF Argentine and Uruguay, a reckless dare
devil, regardless alike of God and man, peaceable
when sober, but a bowling savage when drunk.
AS brave as lion, active panther, with
endurance equal to any test, faithful to his
friends. but implacable as fate to his enemies,
| living the year round with roof but the azure
sky no bed but the ground, no pillow but his
saddle. and no shelter but his poncho. He loves
nothing but his horse, and the word fear is not
In his vocabulary. His speech is a mixture of
Spanish and the Guarani native Indian
dialect; his costume is poncho pair of buck
skin breaches, high boots, and silver spurs
that weigh pound or two each. His
saddle, his bride and his breeches
| 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 no
| lite as he is cruel, and will make bow like
| dancing or kill being with as
| little conscience as he would kill wolf. He
| recognizes no law but the unwrtten code of the
cattle range, and ali violations are punishable by
| Punishment or death. Whoever offends him
| must fight or fly, and as the statute of imita-
ton is not recognized by him, he kills on sight
| enemies he has not seen for a quarter of a
century He never shoots or strikes with
| his fist, but uses lasso at long range
| and 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 decenty buried and the widow and orphans
| cared for. The widow if she pleases him. be-
| comes his wife or his mistress and the children
| grow up to be gauchos under his tutelage. He
| is as superstitious as Hindoo, and when he is
not asleep or in the saddle he is gambling. hav-
| ing quaint games of chance that are known to
| no other race In the world.
| The cowboys of the United States or the herd
| ers of Mexico, would grow green with envy at
| the horsemanship of the guacho 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 ten twelve years old he
| will ride tornado. A guacno who
| is thrown from horseback is as much
nothing he can do will restore his standing in
| society. The animals they ride splendid
native horses, larger than the native Arab or the
| broncho of the United States, and equally feet
| and tough. Fifty or sixty miles day is con-
| sidered an easy ride, and ordinary pampa
horse will make it as easily as an American
| horse will make ten. During the recent raid
against the Pagonian Indians a gaucho courier is
said to have made GOO miles in forty eight hours
with nine relays of horses, including stops for
food; and rides of 300 and 400 miles are of COM
mon occurrence. gaucho thinks more OF
such gallon as this than ordinary traveller
does of trip from New York to Boston
I The skill with which the gaucho uses the
lasso passes creduty. At full gallop he can
throw a moose of rawhde with as great accuracy
as an expert rif1eman will crack glass ball
He will catch a sheep a hog horse by the
| leg as easily as steer by the horns. Fights
with lassos are of frequent occurrence, the
dnelists standing on horseback, within range
| firing slip nooses at each others heads sparring
and lodging like pugilists, until one the other
| is..dragged out of the saddle. It is a sure
| enough duel; the man who is caught
| is often dragged with a moose around
| his neck behind 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 becoming
| more civilized. Emigrants are crowding out
upon the pampas, and are leavening the lump
The word gaucho Is becoming a term of re-
proach. and, except upon the frontier is now
| applied only to worthless characters who live by
stealing cattle. and correspond to the genus
'rustlor" of Texas and the Western Territories
of the United States
On the frontier, however the gaucho is still
seen III his pristine glory, moving further and
further out upon the pampas, trying to escape
from the restraints of civilization and resenting
the inroads upon his ancient domain. Few os
them acquire land, but keep their cattle upon
government territory. looking with contempt
introduce foreign breeds of stock. His domain
hence be must become domestcated or disap-
pear. Civilization seems to sap his vitality. and
quench the fire of his life A domesteated
gaucho is as forlorn imprisoned eagle He
loses his sense of honor with his energy and
hAcOmps a drunkard parnhler and thiaf