That Was
What She Was Called, Because There Was A Solitary Grand Old Ombu Tree
Growing About A Hundred Yards From The House - A Well-Known Landmark In
The District.
There were also half a dozen weeping willows close to
the house, but no plantation, no garden, and no ditch or enclosure of
any kind.
The old mud-built rancho, thatched with rushes, stood on the
level naked plain; it was one of the old decayed establishments, and
the cattle were not many, so that by midday the work was done and the
men, numbering about forty or fifty, trooped to the house to be
entertained at dinner.
As the day was hot and the indoor accommodation insufficient, the
tables were in the shade of the willows, and there we had our feast of
roast and boiled meat, with bread and wine and big dishes of _aros
con leche_ - rice boiled in milk with sugar and cinnamon. Next to
cummin-seed cinnamon is the spice best loved of the gaucho: he will
ride long leagues to get it.
The dinner over and tables cleared, the men and youths disposed
themselves on the benches and chairs and on their spread ponchos on
the ground, and started smoking and conversing. A guitar was produced,
and Barboza being present, surrounded as usual by a crowd of his
particular friends or parasites, all eagerly listening to his talk and
applauding his sallies with bursts of laughter, he was naturally first
asked to sing. The accompanist in this case was Goyo Montes, a little
thick-set gaucho with round staring blue eyes set in a round pinky-
brown face, and the tune agreed on was one known as _La Lechera_ - the
Milkmaid.
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