Estancieros and Gauchos
An Argentine gentleman’s ambition is to be able to call himself an estanciero—that is, the owner of an estancia, or ranch.
From: 1890 C.E. To: 1890 C.E.
Location: Argentina
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
Estancieros and Gauchos.
From Estancieros and Gauchos by Byron P. Stephenson, from The Illustrated American, Vol 3, 1890.
An Argentine gentleman’s ambition is to be able to call himself an estanciero—that is, the owner of an estancia, or ranch. Most of the estancias in the Plate are about three square leagues in extent, but there are some that reach a hundred leagues and over. During the “boom” of three years ago the estancieros spent money right and left in imported cattle and horses, and in building fine country houses upon their properties.
The typical estancia house is one story high. The estanciero and his family usually occupy a house by themselves, a separate one being devoted to the guests, a third to the kitchens, etc. while a fourth is occupied by the peons.
The gaucho (properly pronounced ga-oo-tcho, but more often improperly called gowtcho)is the cowboy of the River Plate district. He is the descendant of the Spanish colonist and the Guarani Indian woman, and belongs to a class so distinct that, were it not he spoke a dialect of the same language as the Spanish Americans do, he might be taken to belong to a different race. The gaucho, who is a born rider, is wrapt up in his horse, which he values far above his wife and family.
In the Western plains of this country one rarely comes across a cowboy who owns the horse he rides. The gaucho always does, and generally is the possessor of a half a dozen others. He will spend his last penny upon his saddle and other trappings. And the greatest favor you can ask of a gaucho is the loan of any part of his riding rig. On ordinary days the gaucho is a very shabby looking fellow, and he rides without stirrups; but on saints’ days and holidays he dons brave attire, and has reached the height of his ambition when he can ride with a silver bit and put the tip of his small and wonderfully high-instepped foot into a silver stirrup. Give a gaucho a silver coin and he will fix it on some part of his riding gear.
The most characteristic parts of a gaucho’s costume are the chiripa and the poncho. The former is a shawl, generally made of some light, black woollen material, which the gaucho arranges into a pair of loose picturesque trowsers. The poncho, which has become almost a national garb, is a rug with a slit in the middle. The head is passed through the slit, and the poncho, falling over the shoulders, makes one of the most convenient and graceful of overcoats.
The native saddle has no horn, and the end of the lazo, which we are in the habit of spelling lasso, is attached to a ring at the back of the saddle.
The gaucho is a sober fellow, and it is only on rare occasions that you find him drinking caña, the native spirits, distilled from the sugar-cane, at the pulperia or public house. The pulperia—for politeness’ sake it is generally called the esquina or corner—would drive a poor trade were it not for its English, Scotch, and Irish patrons.
The gaucho will lay everything he has on a horse race, and he is up to all the tricks of the sporting trade. If only two are racing, the signal for the start is the simultaneous dropping of the rider’s ruiches, short-handled whips with leather thongs about a foot and a half long. If more horses are in the race, the start is given by the riders at each end of the line, giving the simultaneous signal of Fuera! (away).
A gaucho will not ride anything but a criollo, as the native horse is called; although the criollo is often far more difficult to manage than the most vicious thoroughbred. A favorite sport among the gauchos is dropping from the beam of the gateway of a corral upon a wild horse as it rushes out. It was the skill that General Rosas exhibited in this sport that made his mo popular with the gauchos; and it was the support of the gauchos that enabled him to rule as dictator of the Argentine Republic for many years.In those days the gaucho was a power in politics, and the city of Buenos Ayres was crowded with them. It is a rare thing nowadays to come across a gaucho in any of the big cities.
Another source of Rosas’ popularity among the gauchos was his genius as a payador, the native improvisator. The gauchos, sitting in a circle on their haunches, hurl questions at the payador, who stands in the centre of the ring and has to answer in rhyme. They will carry on this game for hours, smoking cigarettes and sipping yerba maté (Jesuit’s tea)the whole time.
The gaucho’s favorite dish is carne con cuero (flesh with the hide), but he only gets this on great occasions. A whole ox is roasted in its hide in the open air, and the gauchos make very short work of it as soon as the roasting is completed.
Stephenson, Byron P. “Estancieros and Gauchos.” The Illustrated American, 2 Aug. 1890.
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