Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-10
HORSES IN ABUNDANCE.
A Land Where They Are Given Away and
Killed When Too Numerous.
American Agriculturist.

Killed When Too Numerous,
American Agriculturist.
Nobody has thought of this Southern
| country (Buenos Ayres) as one from
which there may spring rival in wheat
growing effort that may effect the market
of the United States. As a matter of
fact the thing is accomplished, and from
the district where write wheat in grain
and in -four is already starting its remu-
nerative journey from the pampas, and
has brought back its value from Brazil ),
Chill and the Latin states Of Europe. En-
couraged by these results, the area of
planting is increasing The acreage of the
increase, as fact, is pitiful, and the
amount of land under cultivation is to
the Yankee mind contemplate; but the
possibilities of wheat are greater than
those Minnesota knew in 1860, or Dakota
and her sister territories enjoy to-day
A climate that knows no frost, a soil
virgin to the pillow but enriched by CEN
turtles of grasses blown into the land and
fortified by innumerable cattle, whose
movement over its area has known gen.
erations of death as well as the
contribution of their life, has
made land fit for the garden
er's spade. Its generic character is,
of course, alluyial, but time beyond
memory this land east of the Andes has
known no curse except that of man,
whose misuse of its offerings has brought
forth race whose character, until
within ten years, has been that of non
producers, hopeful from the efforts of
every enterprise except their own, spec
ulatiye upon any foreign energy, and
ready and anxious to enjoy the fruits of
every industry so long as they could
profit by either, or hold the harvest
reaped where they had not planted, and
garnered whence they had not sown
Let me give some practical illustrations
of values here. went to visit an es-
tancia'' (raneh) of twelve leagues of
land Ca league is nearly 5000 acres) 1
was met at the railway station on a cold
winters morning i'll July by four-in-
hand The driver was peon; the We
hicle one under which the two forward
wheels turned easily, and its body behind
the seats was covered with the home
dressed hides of horses. Its seats were
cushioned with padded horsehides, the
harnesses were raw horsehide, the whip
was braided horsehide, and the pace was
a run; no trotting horse is known. Over
the pampas, thirty-two miles in
100 minutes, the only skill
of the coachman called upon was to
avoid the cattle walloWs. 1t was pace
for experience. Arriving at the estaneia
the horses were brought up all standing,
the harness dragged off and the animals
sent adrift OH the pampas. I asked the
superintendent of the farm what became
of those horses. 81 don t know - he re-
Piled "What are they worth?''
"About three nationals each. - "a ma
tional is dollar; in the present depre-
ciated condition of currency, about 81
cents That afternoon with new four,
the superintendent and 1 were driving
and came upon some poems slxinning a
dead but still steaming horse. An inquiry
revealed that it was one of the four
that gallOped thIrty-two miles in the
morning. 81 knew the driving was too
hard, - said; ':the horse was killed -
''Why, bless your innocent heart, - said
the superintendent, ''we shoot fifty or
sixty horses or mares q week. Tomorrow
l will show you a roundup. 80 And he
did, and they killed seventy-four horses,
took their hides, boiled down their fat,
stripped the hair from their names and
tails, and counted it profit and left the
carcasses on the pampas for the waiting
scavenger of South America, the condor
What is that Carlyle says about the
stOred-up energy which constitutes ma
ton S wealth? There was lot of energy
released that day.
1t must seem incredible to our Yankee
and prairie farmers that horses could be
so used, but it is calm fact that more
than 700 900 were slaughtered in the Ar
gentine Republic last year, as shown by
the raw hides sold in market. Horses
grow wild and worse horses it is impossi-
bic to conceive. A horse is cheaper than
a coat mean horse broken to ride or
drive. Beggars (and in this country
there are many ride from house to house
to solicit aims, and refuse q horse from
an almoner from whom they expect a
richer gift, for horse is the cheapest
thing he can give,
Judged by our ideas of economy, this
all seems mad extravaganza They ex-
cuse it in ways not satisfactory to me, for
it is extravaganza, say what they will.
No distance of market can compensate
for the waste of pure strength easily real
lied upon, in u land where premium of
$50 per capita is paid for every immi-
grant, however poor who comes to settle
ana work. Bad as the horses are, one
of them Is worth any four immigrants l
saw of this class out of 10 900 landing in
Buenos Ayres in July.