The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-02-16
The Argentine Cattle Supply; Why
That Country Is a Big Exporter

much of the pampas, this part of the
country being all public land. Certain.
clever gentlemen took possession of
extensive blocks Of prairie, always
complying with the simple government
regulations in tn matter of taking up
public domain, and all the cattle
founo roaming on a mans property
belonged, Of course. to him. .,.
At first h ranch owners only at
tempted the. expectation of hides. This
proved a growing industry. But actual
beef business dates from the first ship
ment. Of "chaqui'. This is sun-dried
meat somewhat like the jerked beef
Of pioneer days on the western prai-
ries Of the United States.
The life on the pampas Of Argentina.
was in many ways similar to existence
in what American cowboys call with a
note Of affection "that western coun-
try. ..
His love of colors and the bizarre
petticoat trousers he wears gives to
the gaucho an ever more picturesque
appearance h the cowboy. Instead
Of the familiar / x-shooter the. Argen-
tine ranger carried a long, wicked
looking knife, which he uses equally
well in cutting on a steak for supper
or in cutting up an opponent in an ar
gument.
The cowchasar of the south is, as.
tough. as solid rubber and, although on
the average he weighs about twenty
pounds lighter than the Texas species,
he is a bundle of steel spring muscles,
working from Sunup to shutdown on
nothing but meat and tea.
Yes, tea. It is incongruous to think
of a wild rider Of the plains preferrinR
the 5 o'clock, fashion beverage to whis-
by, but, such is the fact. Actually the
gaucho does MOI drink the Chinese
concoction, but an effusion drawn OF
the leaves Of a bush that grows in
Paraguay. This Paraguayan, tea, yerba
mate is Its native name, has the quail
tiles of a splendid stimulant with no
deleterious after effects.
Another accomplishment Of the
gaucho is playing the guitar. With
this instrument he accompanies him
self while singing the, plaintiff songs
of the pampas.. When you hear the
law notes of the guitar and the soft
grooming, lamenting voice off, some
cowboy coming over the prairie you
realize that he. too, knows that the
wild free, life is nearing an end In
Argentina even. as it is in the North,
American republic.
h ranch owner soon saw the ad-
vantage of improving the native strain
in order TO produce an animal of great
| or weight. The best bulls were i'm.
ported and blooded cattle have become
a fad with all the big ranch owners.
The annual cattle show, which ia held
in Buenos Aires, is an exhibition OF
stock that cannot be surpassed in
breed outside OF Great Britain.
Most of the dressed beef from Ar
gentina goes to England and Europe,
IA American packer found that his
South American rival could more than
hold his own in that field. But now
the American packer has invaded Ar
gentina- Already the United States
beef interests have acquired several
plants near Buenos Aires and these
plants are models for the native abat-
TORS.
The agricultural department in
Washington has sent down am expert
to show the Argentine meat purvey-
ors just how beef must be killed and
pressed in order to meet the United
States inspection requirements. In q
short time the, American. housewife
may expect a supply from this new
butcher shop and beefsteaks from
Buenos Aires may be a specially at
chophouse menus.