The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-09-06
GILLIAN PLEASURES
A Drive to the Palanco and Street
Curiosities ON the Way.
AN EQUESTRIAN CABALLERo
Country in Which the Presence Of Belated
Person is Announced by Shrill
Whistle.

Try stable Tor vehicle but sallieS forth on
DOT, carrying whatever paraphernalia the
may require, and walks until
olrlochero comes along. These public car
'iages are much like the "hacks' in COM
non use at home, except that they are
quilt in mare substantial fashion, for these
roundly- paved roads would soon shake
IN ordinary coach into kindling wood. Hail
/ passing birlochero, and its rider
will whirl his raw-boned horses two
Or three times around in the narrow
streets, grazing the houses on either side,
to the imminent peril of pedestrians; for
he considers that deal of noise, flourish
and whip cracking are needed to do proper
honor to the occasion. Having satisfied
his conscience in that regard and brought
his foaming steeds to q stand-stlll, you
Chamber in and are whisked away, pell-
nell, over the stones, at pace that may
be truly termed spanking one, for you
are bounded against the top like rubber
ball and hurled into your neighbours arms
with force enough to fracture thlnly
cushioned ribs, bonnets battered, hats
knocked off; but you may be consoled by
the reflection that you are riding for pleas
ure, and that this heroic exercise is
GOOD FOR GARLIC-IMPA1RED DIGESTION.
Hereabouts the favorite after dinner
drive is to a suburban pleasure garuen
called the Polanco, which is much ire
guented by all classes of society. The
place in itself has no attractions; but there
are few ways of varying the monotony of
70 in (Nhiln nd no
like sheep the world over, you know, in
following the lead of bell-wether. When
first arrived in this part of the country, we
used to carefully explain to our coachmen
that we were strangers in the land and de-
sired to be shown the most beautiful and
entertaining sights We found the cocheros
obliging fellows, always delighted with the
mission and proud to exhibit home lnst1tu-
tons; but unfortunately their ideas OF
the beautiful differed greatly from our
own. The first Jehu drove US straight to
the slaughter house, and throwing wide
the door, triumphantly invited US to enter
and view the whole process Of killing and
dressing. Having declined that amuse-
ment, to his infinite surprise and
disappointment, he drove next to the
big hospital, where legs and arms
are sawed galore, and where a
vast array of amputated sores and
tumors and monstrosities are set forth in
glass bottles. Finding US still not agree
ably diverted, even by this gruesome dis
play, which possesses extraordinary fas-
cination for the low class Chlleno, he
spent the remainder of the afternoon driv-
ing sulkily up and down the same streets,
evidently Illuminating upon
THE STUPIDITY OF GRINGoEs.
Another cochero, delegated with the
a. 49, III oil,
house, another carried US at once to the
penetertary, aud another to the poor little
cemetery. At last we learned that Con
cepcion has no sights even her churches
being too new to be interesting; and now
on our afternoon drive. we give the IN
varying order "Vaya al Palanco," go tc
the pleasure garden. One is sure to en-
counter many novelties en- route, and the
streets are lively panorama, slow moving
but Kaleidoscope, of unfalling interest tc
the foreigner. For example, there is
gray-bearded digniied Guaso, mounted or
fine horse. with his fat wife behind him
He is topped by 8 broad-brimmed hat, the
rest of his person enveloped in a bright
hued poncho, or native blanket, with {
slit in the centre through which he
Ihrusts his head; while she wears purple
cotton gown, scarlet shawl anC
mans hat of Panama straw. The
horses bride is plated with silver, and or
the saddle are piled five or six shaggy pill
lows of wooden cloths which almost cover
his thighs. The rollers of Guaso's spurs
are, without eXaggeration, as large as or
binary tea plates, from six to eight inches
across, and often heavily plated with sill
yer. His stirrups are made of block o.
oak deliberately carved and followed in
side-say ten inches high by nine inches il
diameter for a moderate size, each weigh
ing four or five bounds
A COMPLETE PROTECTION
for the feet when passing through mud
mountain bushes and rocky detiles. a
one side of the middle is fastened coileC
lasso, made of twisted hide, about as thicl
as your thumb, fifty or sixty feet long
with slip-noose at the end. The Guaso il
never wiahout his lasso, and the skill
with which he can use it is amazing. L
| he wishes to capture an animal tina
may be running off at full speed, he take
the coil in his right hand, urges his hors
| to mad gallop, and whirling the lasso t.
give it momentum, hurls it's loop with I'm
erring aim around the neck, horns or leg
of the animal with as much ease ant
accuracy as a skilled baseball player send
| his ball. The horse is SO trained that tn
instant the lasso leaves his riders hand b,
stops and braces himself to bear the strait
of the struggling animal. Chllians of tn
! Guaso class are bred TO this exercise from
| infancy, and every ragamutfin urchin oil
enough to toddle is forever trying practis
| ing his art on poultry, dogs, cats and othe
small animals that come In his way wit
the same diabolical persistency that til
gamin of Peru and Bolivia shy stones on
| of sings at passers-by, and Patagonia
boys. a degree less civilized,
SHOOT THEIR BoNE-TIPPED ARROWS.
Hurrying on toward the Polanco, we NEE
and pass other birlocheros all filed wit
chattering aud smiling Chilenos; drunke
huana to paint the town." galloping tn
streets ut break-neck speed, knowing littl
about horsemanship and caring less; an
poems, seated on the rear end of littl
donkeys, carrying before them huge pan
niers of fruits and vegetables. Ever
street corner is occupied by ragged exil
from sunny Italy, with hand organ an
monkey, grinding out music 10 the de
lighted populace. These troubadourin
nuisances are more fortunate here than j
the far north, for in Chill they are neve
routed by the police, but are actually pal
by the authorities. Here comes a PEG
with long pole over hi
shoulders, from which dangle bunche
of tallow candles, which b
sings in a musical voice with many varia
tions of infection, ''velos desebo' (tallo,
candles) ''aqui son velos de sebo,' "velo
de Sc boo" Behind him comes anothe
bare footed citizen carrying an armful @
country brooms, each being merely bur
die of broom-corn tied around the end of
rough stick. We pass no end of mel
chants, male and female, seated on th
ground with broad, shallow baskets befor
them containing
CAKES AND DULCEs FOR SALE,
or charcoal pots over which garlic seasone
tomales are sizzling in grease Other
have gay feather busters, made from III
plumage of Patagonia ostriches; and th
stock of trade of one or two are elegar
robes OF guanaco skins, a fine soft fur c
/ r,oir,.rloa nanar.u-c nlnr nff Z.