Our most familiar and interesting writer, Frederick Simpich, compares Argentina to Texas, "We don't eat armadillos in Dallas or race our horses after ostriches; otherwise this flat Argentine pampa, with all its wire fence, windmills, and cow music around the water troughs, looks, smells, and sounds just like Texas. Even the pampero windstorms blow like our Texas northers," Life on the Argentine Pampa, National Geographic Magazine, October, 1933, p. 449. Note: "pampa" translates, "plains."
In comparison to other South American countries, Argentina was not settled 400 years ago when the first Spanish explorers came on the scene. "No glittering pagan cities, no rich gold mines or Inca treasure were here to lure the Conquistadores. Also, Europe then lived from its own farms. It had not yet grown so thickly peopled or so highly industrialized that, as later, it had to look overseas for more bread and meat," (p. 449). The plains of Argentina, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes Mountains, were a vast fertile area. In 1933, this area had seen millions of settlers from the European countries. They were farmers and cowboys.
"While the pampa was still as empty as Oklahoma in 1870. . . there was the same Indian menace," (p. 451). Thus, many forts developed along the trails for defense, as in the American Wild West days.
In the early 1900's and beyond, literally millions of cattle and hogs were exported to Europe from Argentina. The wheat crop was so large that an extra big crop would affect world prices of wheat. The chief reason for the farming success was a great network of railroads built by Mr. Wheelwright from Massachusetts, U.S.A. Every farmer in the pampas was only a few miles from railroad service. Otherwise, the distances would be too great for practical transportation to the coast and chief Argentina city, Buenos Aires, in the north.
The South American cowboys, or "gauchos," are legendary in movies, always portrayed as romantic and courageous. Simpich describes them as "adept in love as in war, with his lavishly comparisoned horse, his own elegant costume, his raven locks, swarthy skin and gleaming teeth. Daring, hot-headed, virile, violent and reckless, yet gallant, with the blood of Moors, Spaniards, and native Indians coursing in his veins - what a man of another day!" (photo caption, p. 458). There was a particularly beautiful eight-page section of color paintings by the artist de Quiros depicting ordinary gaucho life.
In addition to cows, hogs, and wheat, other products of that era included sugar, wine, oil, wool and mutton. The Pampa Indians had plenty of llamas and alpacas but had never seen a cow until 1552 when "seven cows and one bull" arrived from Portugal. . . "Think what a feat that was, to crowd enough fresh water and fodder on a small sailing ship, already loaded with animals, to keep them alive on so long a voyage!" (p. 463).
Windmills are used to supply the ranches and the gardens, but mostly for the cattle, as there are few flowing rivers in the pampas. These are not the huge and decorative windmills such as are used in the Netherlands; they are strictly utilitarian. "Now windmill towers dot the prairie like castle turrets," (p. 471). This seems like a good place to close this for the evening and leave the rest of the long article for another day.
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