, 1886-06-23
A~RGENTINA'S COWBOY.
BISHOP FOWLER TELLS OF THE CEri-
TAUR OF SOUTH AMERICA.

lNON VT
Personal Appearance and characteristics
of the Geucho of the Pampas-simpis
Food and Picturesque Garments-span-
i.h Speech and Compliment.
The original cowboy is the product of
South America. He rides n horse as II he
and the animal was one. He comes near
to realizing the old thought of the Mexi-
cans, when they first saw the Spanish
horsemen, that this mounted human body
was n distinct order Of beings. One would
not hunt on the pampas among the
gauchos for the millennium, nor for u
higher order Of beings, any quicker
than he would among the cowboys OF
Texas or Arizona. The gLucho Is not I'M
like the cowboy, except that he is every
way more so. He is more OF an Indian.
for he usually has quite a per cent. Of
Indian blood, ~undeniably declared in his
high ~cheekboncs. straight, course, black
hair, and copper or dark-tinged skin. He
rides wilder horses. and with either more
or less %trappings, as necessity compels or
fortune allows. He needs only n short,
club-handled. heavy-lashed whip, with
which he first tames his horse and then
hi6 nv IN hAoC cav -
with saddle and bride heavily plated with
silver. He sleeps where night overtakes
him and feeds on the dried meat which he
carries; under more favorable circum-
stances he has n small foorless cabin as
headquarters.
FOOD n CLOTHING.
Here he takes his breakfast on broilei
meat. He goes after the herd, leaving his
wife, when he has one, in the hut, and he
returns late at night to be fed on meat.
For months at n time he never tastes of
vegetables c. bread. Sometimes he has n
little pulverized %farina, into which he
dips his meat. His dress is, like himself,
II compromise between the Spaniard and
the pampas Indian. There is the broad
trimmed sombrero, borrowed from Spain.
Then he wears over his shoulders his
poncho. This is the garment upon which
he sets his heart. 1t Is like n shawl, with
"A slit In the middle, through which he
thrusts his head. and allows the ends of
the shawl to hang down over his arms.
When his arms are extended at full length
the poncho looks like Il shawl folded
through the middle and held up by the
folded edge. This Is often embroidered
most deliberately and ornamentally.
When he comes to town wearing this gar
ment he sticks to it regardless of the tenn
perature. We have seen the poor fellows
on the steamers, with the thermometer
nearly 100 in the shade, wrapped in one OF
these heavily embroidered shawls, per
spring as If in n Turkish bath, but
they would never think of putting them
aside.
Next he wears "A Chirrepa. This monde
script is worn where civilized men wear
pantaloons. II looks like n square or OBJ
l.-.. H. - .IAtl f.Il,l Itn-Ann1lx r NM
corner fastened to the waist and the OPP
posite corner brought up between the
limbs and fastened to the belt in front.
The limbs seem to be loosely enswathed
with it. The chirrepa may be very com
Portable, but 1t is far from trim. 1t looks,
when they stand still, like very loose
drawers. but when they step it shows the
garment to be one piece, loosely folded
and wrapped about the limb, with the bias
fold hanging between their feet. Under
the chirrepa the gaucho wears ~calconcillos,
II pair of loose white cotton drawers Thus
got up. the gaucho adds he Turk to the
combination of the Spaniard and the In
dian in his composition. Mounted on his
horse, with his lariat hanging to his saddle,
he is n distinct product OF South America,
DIGNITY n P~oLITENEss.
1t il not well to regard him as n savage.
lHDukn he lttuS On lltutt uliu cuJo1S Dot
dangers and hardships, he has in his veins
some OF the best blood Of Europe. Go to
this mans hut on the pampas push aside
the untanned bull's-hide which serves as
a "portiere" at the doorway, greeting you
with all the dignity and ostentatious
p%oliteness of an old Castilian knight, he
will offer you n seat on the skull OF an OK.
BE careful to bring to the front your best
and most courtley manners, II exercise
your most prudent Judgment in determin-
ing how much of his smooth Spanish
speech is meant and how much is to be
set down ms pure Spanish compliment. 1t
is good manner in n Spaniard to say my
house is thine"-but 1t is Saxon boorish-
ness to accept his offer.
The gauchos have had their representa-.
tives on all the fields where liberty was
the stake, and they have also had their
term in the place OF power. The tyrant
Rosas was a gaucho. Few men ever exer-
cised more power in their fields thar did
he in his. The assassination of rivals and
enemies is II phenomenon produced by
weak and strong %despotism alike, but to
order the color of ones family to be worn
by all the families of a state indicates
great confidence in ones executive abili
ties. Nc weakling could, for instance, sur.
round the churches with soldiers on "A fine
sabbath morning, capture all the women,
rich and poor, and stick with pitch Il red
rosette upon the hair Of each one But
Rosas, who did this, could dare anything.
He could mount a wild horse-never even
haltered-and, armed with a heavy whip,
run him down, tame him to be guided by
the motion of his hand, and then knock
the animal down for his own convenience
in ~dismounting, and in this be only n
gaucho, a wild Spaniard, bred Into the
fierce blood OF the pampas Indian. But to
capture, paste and subdue all the women
Of his dominion he must need be an execu.
tive of majestic proportions. Bishop Fow
ler's letter in Chicago News.
one Of ArKentina's Public Works.
Par Of the great plan for widening the
belt OF safety is known as Alsina' ditch.