The Lizard Does Not Provide Shells
For Her Eggs, But Only Covers Them With A Thick, Soft Skin, And They,
Buried In The Soil, Eventually Hatch Themselves.
When the Gaucho cannot obtain a better meal, the tail of the lizard
is not considered such a despicable dish by him, for he is no
epicure.
When he has nothing he is also contented. His philosophy is:
"Nunca tenga hambre cuando no hay que comer" (Never be hungry when
no food is to be had).
The estancia, or catile ranch, is a feature of the Argentine prairie.
Some of these establishments are very large, even up to one hundred
square miles in extent. On them hundreds of thousands of cattle,
sheep and horses are herded. "It is not improbable that there are
more cattle in the pampas and llanos of South America than in all the
rest of the world." [Footnote: Dr. Hartwig in "Argentina," 1910] An
estancia is almost invariably called by the name of some saint, as
are the different fields belonging to it. "Holy Mary field" and
"Saint Joseph field" are common names. Notwithstanding the fact that
there may be thousands of cows on a ranch, the visitor may be unable
to get a drop of milk to drink. "Cows are not made to milk, but to
eat," they say. Life on these establishments is rough and the fare
generally very coarse. Even among the wealthy people I have visited
you may sit down to dinner with nothing but meat put before you,
without a bite of bread or any vegetables.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 78 of 313
Words from 20794 to 21055
of 83353
