Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
real exquisite had his reins and bridles studded with silver, and sometimes a semi-lunar plate
of the same metal swung loosely under the horse's jaws.
Visitors began to arrive early; the men on horseback and the womenfolk in sulkies. The
latter were not one whit behind their men in the matter ofpersonal adornment, and very pretty
indeed were many of the girls in their gay dresses and neat stockings and shoes - it is rarely
that one sees an Argentine girl badly shod and hosed, whatever her station in life may be -
their deep black eyes and glossy hair, derived from a touch of Indian blood, added to a perfect
natural complexion, making as pleasing a sight as one could wish to see. As the majority had
been on the move since the small hours they were not slow in getting to work on the asado ,
and by eleven o'clock the feast was in full swing, the meat being washed down with an ad-
equate supply of wine or beer. They were in no hurry, they had the whole day before them,
and it must have been close on one o'clock before the last knife was cleaned and replaced in
the owner's belt.
The majority composed themselves for siesta, while a few of the more active retired to a
shady spot for a game of taba . The taba is the astragalus (heel-bone) of a bullock, on to one
side of which is screwed a metal plate. The object of the game is to toss the taba over a line
sometentofifteenyardsawaysothatitwilllandwiththemetaluppermost.Achildishenough
game at first sight, but the players get desperately excited, and enough money has been lost
and won over it to make it illegal in any public place.
When the fierce heat had somewhat abated and the carne con cuero digested, the real
business of the day commenced with horse races. These races are almost invariably matches
between two horses, sprints of two to four hundred metres, and are very interesting to watch.
The jockeys ride bareback and start themselves, although there is an official at the starting-
posttoseefairplay.Alotoftimeiswastedbytheriders'kidding'eachothertobreakawayto
a false start, this being one of the first arts of camp jockeyship. Eventually, however, they ap-
pearmutuallyagreedanddownthecoursetheycomehellforleather.The juez de raya (judge)
doesnotpublishtheresultbutwhispersittoanassistant whoannouncesittotheanxiouspub-
lic.
A lot of money changes hands at these meetings, and I was greatly amused at the excite-
ment of one gentleman before the first race. This was between an alazan (chestnut) and a
Colorado (red bay). He waved his hand, in which was a bundle of notes, and commenced
roaring, ' Mil pesos al Colorado ' at the top of his voice. As a thousand pesos was more than
most of them earned in a year it was small wonder that there were no takers. Accordingly he
reduced his offer to quinientos pesos (five hundred pesos) but still without success. Gradu-
ally the amount grew smaller and smaller until finally it came down to diez pesos (ten pesos).
At this stage another shouted, ' Che, te juego cinco pesos ' (I bet you five pesos). ' Muy bien '
shoutedtheplunger,andatoncedepositedhisentirewadwiththenecessarythirdparty:itwas
exactly five pesos.
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