ESTANCIA LIFE
Similarities between the farming routine of Uruguay and of
Argentina--The Banda Oriental a pastoral rather than an
agricultural land--Viticulture an asset in estancia
affairs--Wheat, maize, and linseed--Scarcity of
alfalfa--Excellence of the natural pastures--The possibilities of
private agricultural colonisation--Favourable outlook for grazing
countries in general--Lemco estancias--The estancia San Juan--A
comprehensive enterprise--Cattle, cereals, and viticulture--Stone
quarries--A Campo sketch--The cutting out of a bullock--A Gaucho
meal.
The Uruguayan estancia life resembles that of Argentina very closely.
And of this latter so much has been written in recent years that a too
lengthy description of the routine of one of the great cattle farms
would almost inevitably savour of repetition and superfluity. The
duties of both estanciero and his major-domo are, indeed, almost
identical with those of their brethren upon the other side of the
great river. There are similar rides of inspection in order to "revise
camp," similar great _rodeos_, or gatherings of cattle, and a general
method of life that is distinct from the other merely in minor
details.
[Illustration: THE BICHADERO ESTANCIA.]
[Illustration: HEREFORD CATTLE ON THE BICHADERO ESTANCIA.
To face p. 246.]
In the main ethics of the farming itself, it is true, there are some
differences. Seeing that Uruguay is a pastoral rather than an
agricultural land, the system of setting apart a certain proportion of
a private estancia for the purpose of colonisation by crop-raising
tenants is almost unknown. On the other hand, as it happens that
the soil of a portion of almost every province is suitable for
viticulture, a great number of the Uruguayan landowners throughout the
republic cultivate vineyards--an industry that in Argentina is
confined almost entirely to the two great grape-growing centres of
Mendoza and San Juan. In many districts of the Banda Oriental,
moreover, fruit-growing forms part and parcel of the industrial
programme of an estancia, instead of necessarily forming an entirely
separate branch of commerce, as is the case in Argentina.
Although I have referred to Uruguay as an essentially pastoral
country, it must not be inferred from this that the cultivation of
cereals and the like has no existence in the land. On the contrary,
many districts--notably that of Colonia, the most fertile in the
Republic--produce really important quantities of wheat and maize, and
a certain amount of linseed beyond, although this latter is grown in a
minor degree. Very few districts in the country are adapted for the
favourable cultivation of alfalfa, a fact that is undoubtedly to be
regretted, since the merits of this lucerne for the purposes of
fattening cattle are supreme. Yet this disadvantage is to a great
extent counterbalanced by the excellent pastures of natural grass with
which Uruguay is so plentifully endowed.
It is likely enough, too, that the system of private agricultural
colonisation referred to above will in the future be seriously
undertaken. At the present moment experiments in this direction are
being undertaken, and, should the landowners become impressed with the
success of the departure, it is quite possible that the system will
spread with the same rapidity as was the case in Argentina.
In the meanwhile the supreme interest of Uruguay remains pastoral; and
the bulls and the rams continue to be lords in the land. In a sense
this is undoubtedly just as well, for in all probability never was the
outlook for grazing countries more favourable than it is at the
present moment, when the exports of North America are rapidly dying
away, and the markets of Europe are opening their metaphorical mouths
in a clamorous demand for further supplies.
Some of the largest and most imposing of the Uruguayan estancias are
situated in the western districts of the Republic. Many of these, such
as the Bichadero, Ombú, and others, are owned by the Lemco Company,
and constitute most imposing estates, stocked by pedigree cattle.
The San Juan estancia is situated in the neighbourhood of Colonia,
and, under the able management of Mr. J. Booth, affords one of the
best possible examples of an estate whose lands have been aptly
utilised to serve various purposes. The estancia is noted in the first
place for the quality of its live stock--and with no little reason,
since it harbours over a thousand head of pedigree shorthorn and
Hereford cattle.
But the energies of the San Juan estancia are not confined to the
raising of cattle and the production of maize. Viticulture is a matter
of great importance here, for the place enjoys a great repute for the
quality of its wine. Its vineyards, as a matter of fact, repose on a
subsoil of iron-stone rocks, which lends a particularly pleasant
flavour to the vintages. In addition to the great vineyards that
spread themselves over portions of the estate, the cellars of its
bodega are well worth a visit. The building is specially constructed
for the purpose, and contains air-spaces between the inner and outer
walls, thus rendering the interior to all intents and purposes
damp-proof.
The cellars contain forty-two large casks, each with a capacity for
holding 3,600 litres, and, beyond these, twelve giant specimens, in
each of which eight thousand litres of wine may be stored. The extent
of the vineyards on the place is thirty hectares, and from this area
an average 250,000 litres of wine are produced annually. Thus it will
be seen that the vineyard industry of San Juan is of no mean
importance.
Among the other branches of general industry in which San Juan is
interested is that of stone-quarries, the quality and extent of the
deposits here being considerable. A large bee-farm is also attached to
the place. In addition to this comprehensive programme there are, of
course, the ordinary side-issues of estancia production in the way of
both live stock and agriculture. Among the horses bred are not a few
racers of pedigree stock that have given a good account of themselves
in the neighbourhood and elsewhere.
The estancia-house of San Juan is delightfully situated amidst orange,
wattle, and paraiso trees, from whose trunks and branches hang
festoons of air-plants and masses of yellow orchids. From the
picturesque, shaded building itself the view embraces miles of
undulating country on all sides, with a few distant peeps of the
waters of the River Plate to the south-west. It would be difficult to
conceive a pleasanter or a better managed spot.
Such estancias as these, of course, represent the cream of the land,
and Uruguayan "camp" life must not be judged as a whole by such
particularly favourable examples. Even the foreigner in the Republic,
whose life is wont to be rather more fully surrounded with comfort
than that of his native-born brother, must perforce make a beginning,
and, as in all else, it is always the first steps that are the
roughest. It is said that one of the first requisites of a gardener
is a cast-iron back. In the same way the primary needs of the budding
estanciero are undoubtedly health and a good horse. In these respects
he is likely to be well suited, for the climate will attend to the
former and his _patron_ to the latter.
I have already said that the scenes upon the Uruguayan estancias are
much the same as elsewhere, but the following sketch may serve to show
a little of the local colour with which the rural Oriental landscape
and life are imbued:
* * * * *
[Illustration: ESTANCIA HOUSE: SAN JUAN.
To face p. 250.]
The bullock is grazing in the midst of his fellows, plucking stolidly
at the spring grass, whose close blades paint the undulations of the
Uruguayan Campo in soft green. No pedigree animal this, his lengthy
horns, rather pointed nose, and shaggy mottled coat being redeemed by
various features that tend to raise him from the mere ruck of the
disappearing country-bred. There is a trace of Hereford in the compact
form, straight back, and in the symptoms of red-brown and white that
endeavour to assert themselves from out of the confusion of his other
markings. Representing one of the earlier stages in the forward march
of the local breeds, he is of the type known to experts by the cryptic
word "useful"--a meritorious physical condition whose reward is wont
to fructify in an earlier death than that accorded to those of his
brethren who are less liberal in meat. At the present moment the
bullock is supremely content, although profoundly unconscious of the
charm of his surroundings. This is perhaps just as well, since his
ribs would undoubtedly emerge from their plump covering were he to
waste the precious moments of mastication in favour of less material
delights. As it is, he tramples carelessly on the patches of scarlet
verbena, and crushes the life from the white tobacco blossom and
the blue lupin flower with a ponderous impartiality. It is enough for
him that the warm sunlight beats down upon his back, and that the
plentiful grass rises to his cud in a ceaseless green stream.
Moreover, the few score of companions that surround him lend a
dimly-felt but comforting sense of comradeship.
From the green of the foreground to the blue and mysterious distant
swellings of the horizon the face of the Campo has been devoid of
humanity. Near by a humble rancho, it is true, raises its diffident
walls from the earth, a lowly erection of turf and reeds, enlivened
here and there by a small auxiliary patch of corrugated iron, that
catches up the sun-rays to flash them back in brilliant defiance. But
there are no signs of life about the place beyond that afforded by a
couple of hens of worn and frayed appearance that make rapid and
spiteful passes at the dust with their beaks. Only when the sun is
falling near to the horizon does the first sign manifest itself of
more active stirrings. The figures of two horsemen have emerged from
behind a distant clump of eucalyptus that stands out like a green
island from the midst of a rolling sea.
As the riders draw nearer it is plain that they are Gauchos--Gauchos
in a workaday mood, and consequently in attire far less picturesque
than that which lends colour to their feast days. Yet they afford
striking enough figures of men in their sombreros, kerchiefs, white
shirts, broad trousers, horse-hide boots, and giant spurs. Each part
and parcel of his horse, they come loping easily along with that
curious air of careless alertness that is characteristic of the
Gaucho. With the first warning of human approach the cattle have
raised their heads in the wary and rather resentful stare that the
presence of such visitors demands. When no doubt longer remains that
the grim-faced riders are heading directly for their own company,
doubt turns to active alarm. There is a flinging up of heels and
tails, a bunching together of scattered units, and a surging to and
fro, while the horns wave in a panic of indecision. The bullock with
the traces of Hereford markings has run to a common centre with the
rest.
A moment later the horses are cleaving the ranks of the cattle, and
the cumbrous bodies of the horned creatures go floundering to right
and left just as they have floundered a dozen times before, with
precisely the same degree, moreover, of dread and confusion. Dodging
and twisting ponderously, they rush to and fro for a while, then flee
with a thunder of hoofs from the impact, ending up in a breathless
halt at length to turn their horns upon one another in a fury of
terror. All but the bullock with the scanty Hereford markings. He has
raced and charged with the rest, only to find on each occasion a
horse's flank or chest barring the way to safety, and a threatening
human arm raised on high that sent him without further ado to the
right-about. And now the situation is doubtless quite inexplicable,
since the rumbling of his companions' hoofs has died away, and he is
racing across the Campo quite alone save for the horseman who gallops
remorselessly on either flank--fatal attendants who are no more to be
shaken off than the hairs of his hide. A lasso circles lightly in the
air, uncoiling as it goes like an aerial snake: the noose falls with a
gentle rattle on the hurrying animal's horns. A terrific jerk shakes
him from tail to nostril. But the bullock has kept his legs, and
stands firm now, pulling with all his might against the strain that
follows, heaving from side to side in his fight with the rope that
never slackens. There is a thudding of horses' hoofs at his quarters
now. Enraged at the presence of a second foe, the bullock kicks
wildly, and the action is the signal for his doom. Another rope has
whistled through the air, and has encircled his fetlock in some
demoniacal fashion. In consequence, he gives a strenuous jump into the
air--his last, for ere his feet have touched the ground his legs are
wrenched away from under him, and the heavy body of the creature,
flung full upon its side, strikes the earth with a crash. Ere he can
move the beat of galloping horses' hoofs has drawn near, and ceased.
Two men have sprung to the ground, and are securing his legs with
ropes; then one rises to draw the blade of a huge knife from its
sheath at his belt. A minute later there is a pool of darker crimson
by the side of the verbena patches. A couple of hours later there is a
log fire upon the Campo, and the beef is being cut into long strips
from where it is spitted above the blaze, and eaten wholesale as
Gaucho appetite demands. In the meanwhile the carancho birds are
gathering thickly above, for meat is cheap upon the open pastures, and
they will be economically-minded Gauchos indeed who do not leave them
the greater share of the carcass.