On the Pampas; Or, The Young Settlers

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XI.

  QUIET TIMES.

  "After a storm comes a calm:" a saying true in the case of theHardys, as in that of most others. All their neighbors agreed thatafter the very severe loss of the Indians, and the capture of thewhole of their horses, there was no chance whatever of anotherattack, at any rate for many months. After that it was possible,and indeed probable, that they would endeavor to take vengeance fortheir disastrous defeat; but that at present they would be toocrippled and disheartened to think of it.

  The settlers were now, therefore, able to give their wholeattention to the farm. The first operation was the sheep-shearing.Four men had been hired to do the shearing at Canterbury, and thento come over to Mount Pleasant. Charley rode over to theirneighbors' with Mrs. Hardy and his sisters, Mr. Hardy and Hubertremaining at home--the latter laid up with the wound in his leg.

  It was an amusing sight to see three or four hundred sheep driveninto an enclosure, and then dragged out by the shearers. These menwere paid according to the number shorn, and were very expert, agood hand getting through a hundred a day. They were rather rough,though, in their work, and the girls soon went away from theshearing-place with a feeling of pity and disgust, for the shearersoften cut the sheep badly. Each man had a pot of tar by his side,with which he smeared over any wound. A certain sum was stoppedfrom their pay for each sheep upon which they made a cut of over acertain length; but although this made them careful to a certainextent, they still wounded a great many of the poor creatures.

  A much more exciting amusement was seeing the branding of thecattle, which took place after the shearing was over. The animalswere let out, one by one, from their enclosure, and, as they passedalong a sort of lane formed of hurdles, they were lassoed andthrown on to the ground. The hot branding-iron was then clappedagainst their shoulder, and was received by a roar of rage andpain. The lasso was then loosened, and the animal went off at agallop to join his companions on the plain. Some caution wasrequired in this process, for sometimes the animals, upon beingreleased, would charge their tormenters, who then had to make ahasty leap over the hurdles; Terence, who stood behind them, beingin readiness to thrust a goad against the animals' rear, and thisalways had the effect of turning them. For a few days after thisthe cattle were rather wild, but they soon forgot their fright andpain, and returned to their usual ways.

  Mr. Hardy had by this time been long enough in the country to feelsure of his position. He therefore determined to embark the rest ofhis capital in agricultural operations. He engaged ten nativepeons, and set-to to extend the land under tillage. Thewatercourses from the dam were deepened and lengthened, and sidechannels cut, so that the work of irrigation could be effectuallycarried on over the whole of the low-lying land, the water beingsufficient for the purpose for nearly ten months in the year. Fourplows were kept steadily at work, and the ground was sown withalfalfa or lucern as fast as it was got into condition. Patches ofIndian corn, pumpkins, and other vegetables were also planted. Mr.Hardy resolved that until the country beyond him became so settledthat there could be little danger from Indian incursions, he wouldnot increase his stock of sheep and cattle, but would each yearsell off the increase.

  He also decided upon entering extensively upon dairy operations. Hehad already ascertained that a ready sale could be obtained, amongthe European residents of Rosario and Buenos Ayres, of any amountof butter and fresh cheese that he could produce, and that Europeanprices would be readily given for them. Up to the present time thebutter made had been obtained from the milk of two cows only, buthe now determined to try the experiment upon a large scale.

  A dairy was first to be made. This was partially cut out of theside of the slope, and lined with sun-baked bricks. Against thewalls, which projected above the ground, earth was piled, to makethem of a very considerable thickness. Strong beams were placedacross the roof; over these rafters was nailed felt, whitewashedupon both sides to keep out insects. Upon this was placed aconsiderable thickness of rushes, and, over all, puddled clay wasspread a foot deep. Ventilation was given by a wide chimney risingbehind it, and light entered by two windows in front. The whole ofthe interior was whitewashed.

  In this way a dairy was obtained which, from the thickness of itswalls, was cool enough for the purpose during the hottest weather.Preparations were now made for breaking in the cows to be milked. Asort of lane was made of two strong fences of iron wire. This lanewas of the shape of a funnel, narrowing at one end to little morethan the width of a cow. At the end of this was a gate, andattached to the gate a light trough filled with fresh alfalfa.

  Half a dozen cows which had recently calved were now separated fromthe herd, and driven into the wide end of the enclosure. One by onethey approached the narrow end, and when one had reached theextremity, and had begun to devour the alfalfa, of which they arevery fond, a bar was let down behind her, so that she could nowneither advance, retreat, nor turn round.

  One of the boys now began cautiously and quietly to milk her, andthe cows in few cases offered any resistance. One or two animalswere, however, very obstreperous, but were speedily subdued byhaving their legs firmly fastened to the posts behind. In a fewdays all were reconciled to the process, and ere long would come innight and morning to be milked, with as much regularity as Englishcows would have done.

  The wives of the peons were now taught to milk; and more and morecows were gradually added to the number, until in six months therewere fifty cows in full milk. Maud and Ethel had now no longeranything to do with the house, Mrs. Hardy undertaking the entiremanagement of that department, while the girls had charge of thefowl-house and dairy.

  The milk was made partly into butter, partly into fresh cheese.These were sent off once a week to catch the steamer for BuenosAyres. Mr. Hardy had a light cart made for one horse, and by thisconveyance the butter--starting as soon as the sun wentdown--arrived in Rosario in time for the early boat to the capital.It was sent in large baskets made of rushes, and packed in manylayers of cool, fresh leaves; so that it arrived at Buenos Ayres,forty hours after leaving Mount Pleasant, perfectly fresh and good.The skim milk was given to the pigs, who had already increased toquite a numerous colony.

  Although they had been planted less than a year, the fruit treesround the house had thriven in a surprising manner, and alreadybore a crop of fruit more than sufficient for the utmost wants ofthe household. Peaches and nectarines, apricots and plums, appearedat every meal, either fresh, stewed, or in puddings, and afforded avery pleasant change and addition to their diet. As Maud said oneday, they would have been perfectly happy had it not been for thefrogs.

  These animals were a very great nuisance. They literally swarmed.Do what they would, the Hardys could not get rid of them. If theywould but have kept out of the house, no one would have mindedthem; indeed, as they destroyed a good many insects, they wouldhave been welcome visitors in the garden; but this was just whatthey would not do. The door always stood open, and they evidentlyconsidered that as an invitation to walk in. There they would hidebehind boxes, or get under beds, and into water-jugs and baths,and, in fact, into every possible corner, They would even get intoboots; and these had always to be shaken before being put on, incase frogs or insects should have taken up their abode there.

  It used at first to be quite a matter of difficulty to know what todo with the frogs after they were caught; but after a time acovered basket was kept outside the door, and into this the frogswere popped, and taken once a day and emptied into the stream. Atfirst they had got into the well, and had proved a great nuisance;and they were only got rid of by nearly emptying the well out withbuckets, and by then building a wall round its mouth, with atightly-fitting lid.

  Insects of all kinds were indeed a great pest, scorpions being byno means uncommon, while large centipedes occasionally intrudedinto the house. These creatures were a great trouble to the girlsin their dairy, for the frogs and toads would climb up the walls,and fall squash into the milk-pans. The only way that they could beat all kept out was
by having the door sawn asunder three feet fromthe ground, so that the lower half could be shut while the girlswere engaged inside. However, in spite of the utmost pains, thelittle ones would crawl in through crevices, or leap in at the window;and at last the girls had to get wicker-work covers madefor all the pans; and as the natives are very skillful at thiswork, they were thus enabled to keep the milk clean. Almost asgreat a trouble as the frogs were the brocachas, who committedterrible havoc in the garden and among the crops. They are aboutthe size, and have somewhat the appearance of hares, and burrow inimmense quantities in the pampas. The only way to get rid of themwas by puffing the fumes of burning sulphur down into their holes;and it was quite a part of the boys' regular work to go out withthe machine for the purpose, and to suffocate these troublesomecreatures. Their holes, however, are not so dangerous to horsemenas are those of the armadillos, as the ground is always bare intheir neighborhood.

  The armadillos are of three or four species, all of them small. Thepeludo is about a foot in length, and has hair sticking out betweenhis scales. The muletas are smaller. Both are excellent eating; butthe girls were some time before they could bring themselves totouch them. The matajo, in addition to the protection of his Iscales, is able to roll himself into a ball at the approach ofdanger, and, clothed in his impervious armor, is proof againstany attacks except those of man. These animals are so common that theplain is in many cases quite honeycombed with them.

  The girls had a great scare the first time they came upon aniguana, thinking that it was a crocodile. These great lizards areabout five feet long, and are ferocious-looking, but very harmlessunless attacked. Then they will defend themselves, and can inflicta sharp blow with their tails, or a severe bite with their teeth.They are very common, and the Indians eat them, and say that themeat is excellent; but the young Hardys could never be persuaded totaste it. Thus matters proceeded for some time without anynoteworthy incident. Their circle of acquaintances grew little bylittle. Several neighboring plots had been taken up; and althoughthe new settlers had little time for making visits, still the veryfact of their presence near gave a feeling of companionship andsecurity. Very frequently young men would arrive with letters ofintroduction, and would stay a few days with them while theyinspected the country.

  Their household, too, had received an increase. A young Englishmannamed Fitzgerald, the son of some very old friend of the Hardys,had written expressing a very strong desire to come out, and askingtheir advice in the matter. Several letters had been exchanged, andat length, at Mr. Fitzgerald's earnest request, Mr. Hardy agreed toreceive his son for a year, to learn the business of a pampasfarmer, before he embarked upon his own account. A small room wasaccordingly cleared out for him, and Mr. Hardy never had any reasonto regret having received him. He was a pleasant, light-heartedyoung fellow of about twenty years of age.

  One change, however, had taken place which deserves mention. Sarahone day came to her mistress, and with much blushing and hesitationsaid that Terence Kelly had asked her to marry him.

  Mrs. Hardy had long suspected that an attachment had sprung upbetween the Irishman and her servant, so she only smiled and said,"Well, Sarah, and what did you say to Terence? The year you agreedto stop with us is over, so you are at liberty to do as you like,you know."

  "Oh, ma'am, but I don't want to leave you. That is just what I toldTerence. 'If master and mistress are willing that I shall marry youand stay on with them as before, I won't say no, Terence; but ifthey say that they would not take a married servant, then Terence,we must stay as we are.'"

  "I have no objection at all, Sarah, and I think I can answer forMr. Hardy having none. Terence is a very good, steady fellow, and Iknow that Mr. Hardy has a high opinion of him; so you could notmake a marriage which would please us more. We should be very sorryto Jose you, but we could not in any case have opposed you marryingwhom you liked, and now we shall have the satisfaction of keepingyou here with us."

  And so it was settled, and a fortnight afterward Terence and Sarahhad two days' holiday, and went down to Buenos Ayres, where therewas an English church, and came back again man and wife. After thateach went back to work as usual, and the only change was, thatTerence now took his meals and lived in the house instead of downin the men's huts. By this time they had begun to find out which ofthe crops peculiar to warm countries would pay, and which wouldnot, or rather--for they all paid more or less--which was the mostsuitable.

  The cotton crop had proved a success; the field had in time beencovered with cotton plants, which had burst first into a brightyellow blossom, and had then been covered with many balls of whitefluff. The picking the cotton had been looked upon at first asgreat fun, although it had proved hard work before it was finished.

  Its weight had rather exceeded Mr. Hardy's anticipation. Theprocess of cleaning the cotton from the pods and seeds had proved along and troublesome operation, and had taken an immense time.Judging by the progress that they at first made with it, theyreally began to despair of ever finishing it, but with practicethey became more adroit. Still it was found to be too great a laborduring the heat of the day, although carried on within doors. Ithad been a dirty work too; the light particles of fluff had goteverywhere, and at the end of a couple of hours' work the party hadlooked like a family of bakers. Indeed, before more than a quarterof the quantity raised was cleaned they were heartily sick of thejob, and the remainder was sold in the pod to an Englishman who hadbrought out machinery, and was attempting to raise cotton nearBuenos Ayres. Although the profits had been considerable, it wasunanimously determined that the experiment should not be repeated,at any rate for the present.

  Mr. Hardy had not at first carried out his idea of planting acouple of acres with tobacco and sugar-cane, the ground having beenrequired for other purposes. He had not, however abandoned theidea; and about two months before the marriage of Terence and Sarahhe had planted some tobacco, which was, upon their return fromBuenos Ayres, ready to be picked.

  The culture of tobacco requires considerable care. The ground isfirst prepared with great care, and is well and thoroughly manured;but this was not required in the present case, as the rich virginsoil needed no artificial aid. It is then dug in beds somethinglike asparagus beds, about two feet wide, with a deep trenchbetween each. The seeds are raised in a seed-bed, and when nine orten inches high they are taken up and carefully transplanted intothe beds, two rows being placed in each, and the plants being afoot apart.

  There are various methods of cultivation, but this was the oneadopted by Mr. Hardy. The plants grew rapidly, the ground betweenthem being occasionally hoed, and kept free from weeds. When theywere four feet high the tops were nipped off, and any leaves whichshowed signs of disease were removed. Each stem had from eight toten leaves. When the leaves began to turn rather yellow, Mr. Hardyannounced that the time for cutting had arrived, and one morningall hands were mustered to the work. It consisted merely in cuttingthe stems at a level with the earth, and laying the plants downgently upon the ground. By breakfast-time the two acres werecleared. They were left all day to dry in the sun, and a littlebefore sunset they were taken up, and carried up to one of thestore-sheds, which had been cleared and prepared for the purpose.Here they were placed in a heap on the ground, covered over withraw hides and mats, and left for three days to heat. After thisthey were uncovered, and hung up on laths from the roof, close toeach other, and yet sufficiently far apart to allow the air tocirculate between them. Here they remained until they were quitedry, and were then taken down, a damp covering being chosen for theoperation, as otherwise the dry leaves would have crumbled to dust.They were again laid in a heap, and covered up to allow them toheat once more, This second heating required some days toaccomplish, and this operation required great attention, as thetobacco would have been worthless if the plants had heated toomuch.

  In ten days the operation was complete. The leaves were thenstripped off, the upper leaves were placed by themselves, as alsothe middle and the lower leaves; the higher ones be
ing of thefinest quality. They were then tied in bundles of twelve leaveseach, and were packed in layers in barrels, a great pressure beingapplied with a weighted lever, to press them down into an almostsolid mass. In all they filled three barrels, the smallest ofwhich, containing sixty pounds of the finest tobacco, Mr. Hardykept for his own use and that of his friends; the rest he sold atBuenos Ayres at a profitable rate. The venture, like that of thecotton, had proved a success, but the trouble and care required hadbeen very great, and Mr. Hardy determined in future to plant onlysufficient for his own use and that of the men employed upon theestate.

  The next experiment which was perfected was that with thesugar-cane. In this, far more than in the others, Mrs. Hardy andthe girls took a lively interest. Sugar had been one of the fewarticles of consumption which had cost money, and it had been usedin considerable quantities for converting the fruit into finepuddings and preserves. It was not contemplated to make sugar forsale, but only for the supply of the house: two acres, therefore,was the extent of the plantation. Mr. Hardy procured the cuttingsfrom a friend who had a small sugar plantation near Buenos Ayres.

  The cultivation of sugar is simple. The land having been got inperfect order, deep furrows were plowed at a distance of five feetapart. In these the cuttings, which are pieces of the upper part ofthe cane, containing two or three knots, were laid at a distance ofthree feet apart. The plow was then taken along by the side of thefurrow, so as to fill it up again and cover the cuttings. In sugarplantations the rows of canes are close together, but Mr. Hardy hadchosen this distance, as it enabled his horse-hoe to work betweenthem, and thus keep the ground turned up and free from weeds,without the expense of hard labor. In a short time the shootsappeared above the soil. In four months they had gained the heightof fourteen feet, and their glossy stems showed that they wereready to cut.

  "Now, Clara," Mr. Hardy said, "this is your manufacture, you know,and we are only to work under your superintendence. The canes areready to cut: how do you intend to crush the juice out? becausethat is really an important question."

  The young Hardys looked aghast at each other, for in the pressureof other matters the question of apparatus for the sugarmanufacture had been quite forgotten.

  "Have you really no idea how to do it, Frank?"

  "No, really I have not, my dear. We have certainly no wood on theplace which would make the rollers; besides, it would be rather adifficult business."

  Mrs. Hardy thought for a minute, and then said, "I should thinkthat the mangle would do it."

  There was a general exclamation of "Capital, mamma!" and then aburst of laughter at the idea of making sugar with a mangle. Themangle in question was part of a patent washing apparatus which Mr.Hardy had brought with him from England, and consisted of twostrong iron rollers, kept together by strong springs, and turningwith a handle.

  "I do think that the mangle would do, Clara," Mr. Hardy said, "andwe are all much obliged to you for the idea. I had thought of thegreat washing copper for boiling the sugar, but the manglealtogether escaped me. We will begin to-morrow. Please get all thetubs scrubbed out and scalded, and put out in the sun to dry."

  "How long will it take, papa?"

  "Some days, Ethel; we must only cut the canes as fast as the boilercan boil the juice down."

  The next day the work began. The canes were cut at a level with theground, the tops were taken off, and the canes cut into lengths ofthree feet. They were then packed on a bullock cart and taken up tothe house. They were next passed through the mangle, whichsucceeded admirably, the juice flowing out in streams into the tubplaced below to receive it. When all the canes had been passedthrough the mangle, the screws were tightened to increase thepressure, and they were again passed through; by which time,although the juice was not so thoroughly extracted as it would havebeen by a more powerful machine, the quantity that remained was notimportant. As the tub was filled the contents were taken to thegreat copper, under which a fire was then lighted. The crushing ofthe canes was continued until the copper was nearly full, when Mr.Hardy ordered the cutting of the canes to be discontinued for theday. The fire under the copper was fed with the crushed canes,which burned very freely. Mr. Hardy now added a small quantity oflime and some sheep's blood, which last ingredient caused manyexclamations of horror from Mrs. Hardy and the young ones. Theblood, however, Mr. Hardy informed them, was necessary to clarifythe sugar, as the albumen contained in the blood would rise to thesurface, bringing the impurities with it. The fire was continueduntil the thermometer showed that the syrup was within a fewdegrees of boiling, and the surface was covered with a thick,dark-colored scum. The fire was then removed, and the liquorallowed to cool, the family now going about other work, as so largea quantity of liquor would not be really cold until the next day.

  The following morning the tap at the bottom of the boiler wasturned, and the syrup came out bright and clear--about the color ofsherry wine. The scum descended unbroken on the surface of theliquor; and when the copper was nearly empty the tap was closed,and the scum and what little liquor remained was taken out. Thebright syrup was now again poured into the boiler, the firere-lighted, and the syrup was kept boiling, to evaporate the waterand condense the syrup down to the point at which it wouldcrystallize. It required many hours' boiling to effect this, anyscum which rose to the surface being carefully taken off with askimmer. At last it was found that the syrup on the skimmer beganto crystallize, and Mr. Hardy pronounced it to be fit to draw offinto the large washing tubs to crystallize. A fresh batch of caneswas now crushed, and so the process was repeated until all thecanes were cut. It took a fortnight altogether, but only five daysof this were actually occupied in cutting and crushing the canes.As the sugar crystallized it was taken out-a dark, pulpy-lookingmass, at which the young Hardys looked very doubtfully-and wasplaced in a large sugar hogshead, which had been procured for thepurpose. In the bottom of this eight large holes were bored, andthese were stopped up with pieces of plantain stalk. Through theporous substance of these stalks the molasses or treacle slowlydrained off. As the wet sugar was placed in the cask, layers ofslices of plantain stems were laid upon it, as the spongy substancedraws the dark coloring matter out from the sugar. The plantaingrows freely in South America, and Mr. Hardy had planted a numberof this graceful tree near his house; but these had not beenadvanced enough to cut, and he had therefore procured a sufficientquantity from a friend at Rosario. It was three months before thedrainage of the molasses quite ceased; and the Hardys were greatlypleased, on emptying the hogshead and removing the plantain stems,to find that their sugar was dry, and of a very fairly light color.The sugar-canes did not require planting again, as they will growfor many years from the same roots; and although the canes from oldstools, as they are called, produce less sugar than those of thefirst year's planting, the juice is clearer, and requires far lesstrouble to prepare and refine. Before another year came round theboys made a pair of wooden rollers of eighteen inches in diameter.These were covered with strips of hoop iron, nailed lengthways uponthem at short intervals from each other, thereby obtaining a bettergrip upon the canes, and preventing the wood from being bruised andgrooved. These rollers were worked by a horse mill, which Mr. Hardyhad ordered from England. It was made for five horses, and did agreat deal of useful work, grinding the Indian corn into fine flourfor home consumption and for sale to neighboring settlers, and intocoarse meal, and pulping the pumpkins and roots for the pigs andother animals.

  Mr. Hardy also tried many other experiments, as the climate issuited to almost every kind of plant and vegetable. Among them wasthe cultivation of ginger, of the vanilla bean, of flax, hemp, andcoffee. In all of them he obtained more or less success; but thedifficulty of obtaining labor, and the necessity of devoting moreand more attention to the increasing flocks, herds, and irrigatedland, prevented him from carrying them out on a large scale.However, they served the purpose for which he principally undertookthem--of giving objects of interest and amusement to his children.