g82 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



ON THE PAMPAS OF ENTRE RIOS— 11. 



In a former letter on the above subject I mentioned 

 the carpincho aa one of the animals abundant in 

 Eatre Rios, This animal is known to scientists as the 

 Hydroehoerus capyhara, or water hogr, and it is the larg- 

 est of all the living rodent animals. In appearance it is 

 repulsive and clumsy, being about 4ft, long, very squatty 

 and bulky, its stomach not more than an inch or two 

 from the ground. Its muzzle is heavy and blunt, and 

 its eyes are small and set very high in the head. . Its 

 body is covered with quite long, coarse brown hair, and 

 its incisor teeth are enormous. Its feet are partially 

 webbed, and it is equally at home on the land or in the 

 water. It swims and dives with ease, and when fright- 

 ened it always takes to the water, diving at first, then 

 rising to the surface, showing only its eyes and a small 

 portion of its head. It is always found in small herds 

 and makes its home on the banks of streams or lakes, 



I shall never forget my first introduction to the carpin- 

 cho. We had gone twenty-one miles from tlie rancb to 

 a woods that grew on the banks on a stream called the 

 Guallyguaychu to get a load of fij-ewood. there being no 

 trees nearer. While the men were taking tbeir siesta 

 after dinner I amused myself by strolling along the 

 bank of the stream, taking in whatever there was of in- 

 terest to be seen. Walking leisurely along I came to 

 some large mud holes just like the hog wallows we see in 



went to the place indicated and found the beast wallow- 

 ing in a partially dried up mud bole, and it seemed to be 

 in a very bad humor, showing fight on our approach. 

 The right and left barrels of my No. 12 HoUis caused it 

 to roll over on its side apparently dead. I approached as 

 near as possible and poked it with the butt of my gun, 

 when it suddenly gave a snap and caught the butt in its- 

 terrible curved teeth, holding on and pulling tremend 

 ously, I called Benancio, the man who was with me, to 

 grab me round the waist and help pull. For several sec 

 onds it was a ttig of war between us, I was afraid th< 

 carpincho would get the gun or pull me into the mud, 

 which was of unknown depth, and where he would havt 

 had me at a very great disadvantage. However, he soor 

 weakened, as he was mortally wounded, and let go his 

 hold. 



One day while bunting carotnchos in the Arroyo Gual- 

 leguy, quite a large stream, I met with an adventure that 

 might nave resulted disastrously, but fortunately I got 

 out all right, I was working my way up the channel 

 through a swamp in a boat. The bushes were very thick 

 and growing in water from six to ten feet deep. At the 

 place where the accident occurred it was at least a quar- 

 ter of a mile to either bank, and half a mile to where I 

 entered the swamp. I was hauling the boat through the 

 water by pulling on the branches of the bushes. A large 

 and strong one that looked as if it ought to have stood a 

 good pull broke with me, and I fell over backward into 



return that night or the next morning, I sent another 

 man to look for him. This man returned in a short time 

 with the cart and one horse, and reported that Crespo, 

 the Indian, was lying on the pampas drunk and that he 

 had killed one of the horses by sticking him with his 

 knife. That afternoon I saw Crespo making his way on 

 foot toward the estancia, My room was quite a large one, 

 with a piae table in the middle. I always sat at the side 

 of the table furthest, and opposite the door, when giving 

 orders or paying the men. Creppo came up to the donr^ 

 ind when T asked him why he killed the horse he 

 mswered very insolently that he killed him because he 

 vould not follow behind the cart. I told him his ser- 

 vices were no longer needed and that I should deduct 

 ^5 from balance due him to pay for the horse he had 

 dilled. I had no sooner said this than he pulled out his 

 knife and made a vicious lunge at me. As I jumped 

 back from the table he came around toward my side, 

 but seeing me grab my gun from the deer horns over 

 my head he ran out and around the kitchen, a detached 

 building near the door. In my excitement at the attempt 

 on my life I Ipt go both barrelsof the gun at him. I saw 

 a large piece fiy out of the biichen, which was a thatched 

 structure, and thought, of course, I had shot the man. 

 A reaction then set in and I sat down on my bed, feel- 

 ing horribly at the thought of having shot a human 

 beinp-. Finally, I nerved myself to go and look at him, 

 but not seeing his gory corpse lying on the ground I 



CAKPINCHO, WATER CAVy, OR CAPYBARA {Hyclrorhwrm capyhara). 



this country. While debating in my mind the best way 

 to avoid them, there arose from each of them huge 

 strange, horrible looking animals, each one of which gave 

 an awful snort and grunt, running rapidly toward the 

 stream, while I ran as fast the other way. 



Finding the beasts were not following me I returned 

 cautiously to the bank of the stream, first cocking my Tin, 

 Colts revolver that I always carried with me. Looking 

 carefully over where their muddy trail showed me they 

 had gone m, I saw a pair of bright eyes, and the end of "a 

 broad snout showing above the water. Taking careful 

 aim I fired and by good luck planted a bullet in one of the 

 eyes. The animal immediately sank, and in a few 

 moments there was a tremendous boiling up of mud and 

 . water where he had disappeared. I knew he was mortally 

 wounded, and hurried back to the men, who told me 

 It was a carpincho, and seemed delighted at the prospect 

 of getting It. They said the body would rise after four 

 or five hours and we could then secure it. We went to 

 the spot about sundown, and sure enough there he was 

 and a very large one too. We hauled him ashore with a 

 lasso, and the men soon had him skinned and his fat 

 collected, which they tied up in the skin. The flesh is 

 strong and coarse and is not eaten by the natives, but the 

 «S?oKfT^ P,"^?^ them, as it is peculiarly 



suitable for making lariats. They cut the skin into a 

 long string about 31m. wide, which strip they stretch 

 while green by fastening one end to a postfand pixllingon 

 S J^^ilf ""'f-f /^^^ it down to about lin. 



Ifif^f n hV"" wV' ^^u'' ^*«t^ned securely at the ends and 

 left to dry. When thorough ly dry it is softened by being 

 pulled through a clef t stick a number of times. Whef 

 ready for use it is soft and pliable, and no amount of 

 = rj°v.''''T-l^'^^r ^'■yi'^S ^ill cause it to get hard or 

 stretch, and It is about as strong as a piece of telegraph 

 wire. As the lariats are used almost exclusively for 



deshaSr '^'"^ 



The carpincho is rarely found awav from nermanen*^ 

 water or by itself . but one ca=e came under m^y own ob- 

 servation where one of them had wandered twenty miles 

 away from Its habitat and had apparently been hVing 



by one of my men. who reported it. Taking my gun I 



the water. On rising to the surface to my horror I found 

 the boat had drifted away quite rapidly. Stopping a 

 moment to think what it would he best to do, work through 

 the bushes to the bank or keep in the open water and 

 work toward the place where I entered the swamp, I 

 noticed the boat had 8v?ung against the bushes and was 

 fast. Quickly regaining her I was soon out of the swamp 

 and had my clothes hanging up to dry, and it is needless 

 to say that I did not hunt carpinchos any more that day. 



The (lauchos had very few firearms, and the one who 

 possessed an old musket was considered wealthy indeed. 

 They were very poor shots and after wounding any kind 

 of an animal they rarely fired at it again, but relied on 

 their lasso, knife, or bolas to finish it. Some of them 

 earned pistols that had large bell-shaped muzzles and 

 were called trabucos. Their theory was that the wide 

 muzzle caused the bullets to scatter, thereby doing more 

 execution, and in this connection they had a saying 

 which , freely translated, reads. "That which will kill the 

 man will at the same time bill the horse." The most in- 

 dispensable article that the Gaucho possesses is his knife 

 This IS usually a large, long-bladed knife, frequently 

 made from the end of a sword and having a silver- 

 mounted handle. The knife is carried in a rawhide 

 sheath stuck through the belt or sash well back on the 

 right hip. They use the knife with wonderful dexterity, 

 killing and skinning cattle with it or as easily cutting 

 strips of rawhide so fine that they can be used as thread 

 with a needle. They also eat with their knives, cut up 

 theu- tobacco for their cigarrillos, and not infrequentlv 

 commit murder with it. They are very quick to draw 

 their knives, and I have seen a good many of them badly 

 carved up. ' 



Twice during my sojourn in Entre Rios I had knives 

 drawn on me. The first time by a young Gaucho about 

 nineteen years old, to whom I had administered some 

 rather rough demonstrances on account of his scaring 

 the sheep with a lasso at shearing time. Fortunately 

 there was a convenient strip of pine board lying near 

 me, with which I knocked him down, c^iptured his knife 

 and broke it short off at the handle. The second time 

 T^«^*^!!i«/° ^^^°it'°g episode in my life on the pampas. 



®° ^^''^ a oarb and two horses to a 



neighboring estanxjla to get someBtoree. As be did not 



looked up, and saw him at least a quarter of a mile away 

 and his horse running for dear life. About three months 

 after thi'» he reappeared, and at a warning from me not 

 to get off his horse he pulled up his shirt and showed me 

 his back, which was seamed and scarred up terribly, 

 which he told me was from extracting the shot I had 

 put into him. 



The Gauchos are on the whole a pretty good-natured 

 set of fellows when sober, but are quarrelsome when 

 drunk. They get .$5 to ^& a month ard work very well 

 until they have accumulated ,$10 to |"20, when they con- 

 sider themselves rich, and invariably knock ctT work, 

 going to the nearest pulperia or store, where they stay 

 and drink and gamble as long aa their money lasts, which 

 of course depends on their luck. I have known some to 

 stay away three and four months and then come back 

 looking for a job. They are inveterate gamblers, and 

 when their money is gone «hey will stake their boots, 

 hats, whip, latao, bolas, saddle, and in fact everything 

 they possess except their horses and bridles, which they 

 never part with. I have seen them frequently leave the 

 estancia to go on a spree, decked out in grand style with 

 fine saddle, beautifully made whij), which they decorate 

 themselves, many colored poncho and chiripa, in fact, 

 with all the finery they had been able to accumulate 

 since their last spree. In about two or three weeks they 

 would return with nothing on except pantaloons and 

 shirt, riding bareback. 



Dogs are very numerous around estancias. being mostly 

 mongTels, but they never molest sheep. There are also 

 a good many wild dogs, called perws civimarones. They 

 are very destructive to sheep if inty find them unattended 

 at night away from the buildings.* Sometimes a careless 

 shepherd will leave a small point of sheep out on the 

 pampas, and if they do not come home themselves.which 

 they are not apt to do, there will probably be none of 

 them left by morning, as the wild dngs will destroy them. 

 They hunt in packs, but do not all run together. Select- 

 ing a heavy mare or old stallion for their prey, two or 

 more of them will start aft^r it on a full run, working in 

 a large circle. When the first dogs become tired, fresh 

 ones will take their places, keeping their prey on the run 

 all the time. The horse soon becomee tired and will stop 

 and try to keep off the dogs by kicking and jumping oa 



