SOCIETY IN ARGENTINA.

Otago Witness, 14 December 1893, Page 42

SOCIETY IN ARGENTINA.

There is no middle-clas3 society as in England (says a correspondent in the Quean), except in Urge towns like Buenos Ayres and Rosario, where there are numerous foreigners. The community is divided into the wealthy classes and the poor. The former class is chiefly composed of landowners, many of whom, however, though owning vast testates, would find great difficulty in laying tbeir hands upon even so small a sum as £50 in cash. The latter class are sometimes in a miserable state of poverty," and live in huts, or ranclios as they are called, built of mud and sticks, often having no doorß or windows, the walla and roof frequently being perforated with holes of all sizes, through which the keen blast of winter whistles wildly. The inmates of these wretched habitations live upon maize and beef. From the former, after having ground it in a primitive kind of mortar made of hard wood, with a psstle of the same material, they make a species of bread. The beef they boil or roast over wood ashes, the boiled meat being called pitchero ; it is eaten after the broth in which it has been prepared. The men drink, whenever they get the chance, bad spirits and wine, to be obtained at the many small drinking shops scattered over the country, or, as it is universally termed, el campo, or " the camp." Those men of the lower class who live principally in " tho camp " are called "Gauchos," while aU the women folk among the lower class natives are termed " Chinas," and both scxc3 are generally very dark - skinned, some of them being almost as black as negroe3, plainly indicating their Indian descent. The costume of the Gaucho is very picturesque, consisting of a white linen shirt and loose baggy trousere, which are fastened round the waist by a broad belt covered with silver coins. Stuck in this belt behind is a long dagger or knife called machete, and in front he carries a revolver. Over his shoulders is thrown a poncho, which is a cloak, with a hole in the middle through which tha head passes, often brilliantly striped with colours. Top boots furnished with large silver spurs and a broad-brimmed sombrero complete the attire of this semi-barbarian. On special occasions, when he wishe3 to show himself off, our Gaucho discards his loose bagcy trousers, and dons white linen drawers edged with deep frills of lace, which fall over the tops of bis riding-boots. Over these he arranges a black poncho in a peculiar manner, in lieu of trousers. This, with the addition of a fine vicuna or guanaco poncho, enhance his appearance considerably. Many of these fellows are extremely ferocious in appearance. As an instance of their brutality, I will cite the case of a former acquaintance of mine, who had married a native of the country. It seems that a cousin of his wife had conceived a violent attachment for her, and in order to compass the death of his rival he sent my friend a letter purporting to have been written by a landowner at some distance, requesting a meeting on a certain day. The unfortunate young man, not suspecting any foul play, proceeded by train to the station nearest the appointed place, where he was met by a peon, or labourer, with a horfe, upon which he mounted and rode towards his supposed destination. But uponreaching a part of the road which, on account of the thick bushes lining either side, afforded an excellent position for an ambuscade, his unseen and cowardly rival, firing with cool deliberation, sent a bullet through the poor fellow's brain. Not content with this, the dastardly villain drew his knife, and almost severed the head from the body of the dead man. lam glad to state, however, that the principal actors in this cruel murder — the Gaucho, the peon, and the wife, who was implicated in the tragedy — were arrested, and it is to be hoped paid the penalty of their crime. On the other hand, however, these crimes are frequently committed in self-defence, either in the case of a quarrel, or in escaping from the officers of the law, who frequently arrest a man for the furtherance of their own ends, as in the instance of a Gaucho named Toledo, who was accused, without any foundation, of committing a burglary at a house close to where I was living at the time. . He was carousing in a small wine shop when the police commanded him to accompany them. He, however, refused, and the police departed, but returned soon after with a lieutenant, who was determined to take the Gaucho with him. Summoning him to appear, without dismounting from his horse, the officer drew his revolver and awaited the approach of Toledo, who came out of the wine shop a moment later, and demanded what he wanted. The lieutenant replied that he must go with them to the Policia or take the consequences, and upon the Gaucho refusing he opened fire upon him. with his revolver. Thereupon Toledo, drawing his machete or short sword, rushed upon the officer, inflicting a mortal wound with his first thrust ; then, turning upon the policemsn, he succeeded in wounding and disarming oil three, and eventually made good his escape into the country without a rciratcb.