Argentina: Horsemen Of The Pampa (1948)

[music] [music] The second largest nation in South America is the Republic of Argentina. Our country is very wealthy because of the cattle, wheat, corn, and wool raised on the level plains stretching inland from Buenocidis, our national capital. At Buenocidis, the great river La Plata is 30 mi wide. Ships come to the city's docks from all over the world. Our capital is one of the Western Hemisphere's most beautiful cities. It has handsome parks and broad avenues. Most of our buildings, like those which house our government, are more European than American in style. Our ancestors were mainly Spaniards and Italians. And when they came from Europe, they brought their old traditions with them. 3 million people live here now. And all of us are proud that Buenosidis has become one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world. Our restaurants serve the foods raised on the open plains not far away. We are great meat eaters because in our country beef is plentiful. We have a mild climate and spend much time out of doors. Many homes are built around patios. These shaded courtyards originated in Spain and are found widely throughout Latin America. The coolness of the patio is especially welcomed during the warm days of December and January and February, the months of the summer season south of the equator. But living in the crowded city is far different from life on the great plane called the PMPA, which surrounds Buenosidis for hundreds of miles. The PMPA is the source of our country's wealth. As flat as the sea, the level PMPA land stretches on and on. Its black soil is deep and fertile, well suited for raising both crops and livestock. Water for animals is pumped from beneath the ground by windmills and stored in open tanks. Large areas of the PMPA are set apart for raising corn and wheat. Teams of horses are used instead of motor-driven tractors. For in Argentina, gasoline and oil are expensive. Some of the farms on the PMPA are as large as a 100 square miles. They are fenced off into sections. We call these great ranches estas. Each section is looked after by a worker called a pesterero who lives with his family in a small house belonging to the owner of the estansia. Dardo is the son of the psterero in charge of the cattle of this section. Psteros, like Dardo's father, are paid very little, but besides their home, they are provided with some food and firewood. of mate made like tea with boiling water and the dried leaves of a South American tree. Dardo's first job each day is to ride out to the pasture and round up his father's horses. Instead of a heavy saddle, he uses a lamp skin. Dardo learned to ride a horse just about the same time he learned to walk. Boys of the PMPA feel as much at home on horseback as boys in other lands do on bicycles. In the field is a small herd of horses which the psterero needs for riding around the estansia. These herds are called tropas and the horses in them always stay together. Trained to follow the sound of a bell, the horses keep close behind their leader, the bell horse. Questeros spend most of the day on horseback and travel many miles. When one of his horses gets tired, Dardo's father changes to a fresh animal. Usually, a pester rides each of his horses once before the day is over. In Argentina, as everywhere else, cowboys can always be recognized by their outfits. They are fond of silver ornaments, and their knives and broad belts are heavily decorated. With his tropia, Dardo's father sets out for the day's work. Once a year, the cattle on the Estansia are counted. The psteros round up the herds from the different grazing areas and drive them into a central corral. >> [music] >> Large ranches often have as many as 20,000 beef cattle. We can raise big herds on a PMPA because the grass and alalfa grow so abundantly. We have enough cattle to feed ourselves and in addition we send large shipments of meat overseas. Wool is also an important product of the pompa. >> Once a year, the flocks are counted to find out how many sheep are on hand, how many have died, and how many lambs were born during the season. >> [screaming] >> Some of our countrymen have grown very rich from the wheat, corn, beef, and wool raised on their huge estates. Their homes are luxurious and surrounded by gardens and parks. The trees have been imported from other parts of the world and carefully cultivated until their roots have sunk deep enough to reach the water beneath the soil. Ordinarily, trees do not grow untended on the pompa. The owners of many estansas spend most of their time in Buenosidis or foreign countries. There are also owners who live on their estates and pay close attention to the management of their properties. Each section of the Estansia is enclosed by miles of high barbed wire fence which must be inspected every day. If a fence breaks, the cattle and sheep will move into the fields where the crops are growing. The pestto carries tools and spare wire for making repairs. Shortly before noon, the men working near a corral meet at the cook house for lunch. The mate is passed around. It tastes like tea. And everywhere in Argentina, we like to drink it, not only at meals, but at any odd moment of the day. About the time his father is finishing lunch, Dardo leaves home for school. Classes begin at noon, for it often takes 2 hours for the boys and girls who live at the far ends of the Estansia to ride the flat miles across the plane to the schoolhouse. The school, like almost everything in Dardo's world, belongs to the owner of the Estansia. Some children are driven to school in wagons. Coats and jumpers protect their clothes from the dust of the flat and windy pompa. >> School is in session only in the warm months. Wood is scarce on the PMPA and it would be too expensive to heat the schoolhouse in cold weather. Like most Latin Americans, we Argentine speak Spanish. Though our accent is different from that used in other countries, we write our language in the same way. After lunch, the Psteros take on one of their most difficult jobs. rounding up horses and driving them into a corral to break them for riding. In the veins of many of these pesteros runs the blood of the famed gauchos, the half Spanish half Indian cowboys who roamed the Pampa long ago. Like a gaucho, a psterero has to know how to catch a wild horse and stay on its back until he is its master. After the horses have been trained, they will follow the bell of the lead animal. A psterero never worries about his tropia mixing with others. At least once a year, the manager orders the foreman to prepare for the cattle drive. Some of the animals will be taken to new pastures. Others will be sent to the stockyards to be sold. Before the drive starts, the animals are put through a cattle dip. This is a chemical bath to remove insects and kill germs. If the health inspectors in Buenositis find any diseased cattle, they will quarantine the whole ranch for at least a month. Stubborn animals are made to hurry through the bath by a shock from an electrically charged stick. The poister will drive the animals that are to be sold in the city to a rail siding on the Estansia many miles away. Dardo is going along with his father and the other horsemen. For the long trip, he will need his poncho, a blanket that slips over the head, and his saddle and saddle cover. Away from home, Dardo's father will still drink his mate with every meal. He takes his mate cup and the long silver straw that goes with it. It will take two days to drive the cattle to the rail siding. By the age of 12, boys like Dardo are used to long hours in the saddle and able to ride as far as the older horsemen. The horses are well trained and help the psteros keep the cattle together. Heat. Heat. As one ride straight across the open fields, the PMPA seems as big as any place can be. It is nothing but the flat land, the empty sky, and the cattle. In the late afternoon, the horsemen find a place near water where they can make camp for the night. When the poettos have decided where they will sleep, the packs of the horses are unloaded. The bundles of firewood brought from home must be used with care because there is nothing on the pompa with which to make a fire. Even on a trip, Psteros like to keep themselves busy, either by mending harnesses or making cowhide belts. For the evening meal, sides of freshly killed animals are roasted on spikes. When dinner is served, each man slices his own chunk of roast meat and helps himself to bread. Because they must start the next part of the journey long before sunrise. The men go to bed early. The saddles and lambkins are used as mattresses and the ponchos as covers. Soon the camp is asleep, except for the men who take turns watching the cattle. At daybreak, the drive moves on across the PMPA to the railroad. Railroads join the outlying points on the PMPA with Buenosidis and the other big cities along the river, La Plata and Rosario. La Plata is one of our meat packing centers. The packing plants along the docks are called frigorificos, which means refrigerators because large amounts of beef and other meats are frozen there. Before meat is frozen, it is graded by inspectors who make sure it is of good quality. Besides freezing plants, we have large caneries where meat is cooked and packed in jars or tins. From the harbors of La Plata, Rosario, and Buenosidis, we send our beef and other meats to countries across the seas. We also send large amounts of wool, corn, and wheat. And in return, Argentina receives machinery, cloth, and fuel needed from other countries. Sometimes as many as 200 ships from all over the world are docked at Buenocidis, the second largest port in South America. These ships take to the world are cattle, wheat, corn, and wool. All these have come from the PMPA. This vast level plane where the climate is mild and the earth is rich has made the Republic of Argentina the wealthiest nation in South America.