. Through the heart of Patagonia. Natural history. 12 THROUGH THE HEART OF PATAGONIA all are almost invariably roofed in with the universal galvanised ARGENTINE GAUCHO The Welsh colonists have introduced a good strain to ttae growing population, and there are constant wholesome as well as Vicious importations. In a country where shepherding of one sort or another is the chiet industry, it is inevitable that some equivalent of the cow- boy of the North must be developed. The Gaucho is the Patagonian cowboy, and he is manly and picturesque enough to be very interest- ing. The Gauchos are
. Through the heart of Patagonia. Natural history. 12 THROUGH THE HEART OF PATAGONIA all are almost invariably roofed in with the universal galvanised ARGENTINE GAUCHO The Welsh colonists have introduced a good strain to ttae growing population, and there are constant wholesome as well as Vicious importations. In a country where shepherding of one sort or another is the chiet industry, it is inevitable that some equivalent of the cow- boy of the North must be developed. The Gaucho is the Patagonian cowboy, and he is manly and picturesque enough to be very interest- ing. The Gauchos are pic- turesque both in their lives and in their appearance : a pair of moleskin trousers, long boots, and a handkerchief usually of a red pattern, a slouch hat of black felt, and a gaudy poncho serve them for apparel. The poncho, which is merely a rug with a hole in the middle for the head, makes a comfortable great-coat by day and a blanket by night. A Gaucho may be sprung from any nation on earth. Even as the shores of Patagonia are washed by the farthest tides of ocean, so the same tides have borne to people her solitude a singular horde of massed nationalities. But it is the man born in the country of whatever stock who becomes the true Gaucho. In- fancy finds him in the saddle, and he grows there. Other men can stick on a horse, but the Gaucho can ride. Living as they do, they form a class alone. On horseback they are more than men ; on foot, I am half tempted to say, less, for they would rather ride fifty miles than walk two. They are farm-hands, shepherds, horse-breakers, occasionally good working vets, and when they prosper they buy waggons and go into the carrying trade ; in fact, they form the foundation of Patagonian life. The coast settlements are similar to such places all the world over: storekeepers, men who run wine-shops, traders, and the. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability -
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectnatural, bookyear1902
