The William F. Cody Archive: Documenting the life and times of Buffalo Bill

ROUGH RIDERS OF THE "WILD WEST."

The watery element was rather unfavourable to the first appearance the other day of the South American Gauchos, the sixth band of "Rough Riders of the World" which Colonel Cody and his partner Nate Salsbury have introduced into this country with a view to their subsequent appearance at the Chicago World's Fair; but in spite of the bad weather a large number of people were seen in the vast arena, among them being many well-known persons and members of the Press, who had been specially invited. Fortunately the rain ceased just as the performances were about to begin, but the arena was one mass of mud and wet. This, however, gave a more natural or picturesque appearance to the scene than would otherwise have been the case, as rough riders are of course seen to the best advantage in a rough country; but doubtless the swarthy sons of the Argentine Republic could have dispensed with certain spills which happened while speeding on their perfectly untamed steeds, which rather spoiled the picturesque appearance of their brand-new costumes. These Gauchos come from the interior of the country, about 200 leagues distant from Buenos Ayres, and they of course speak the language of Old Castile, save for the accent and certain native words and expressions. Some of them have been very well interviewed in the Pall Mall Gazette by some one who appears to be well posted in their patois.

Your correspondent did not see Mr Charles Townley on this occasion, which was a pity, as that gentleman might have given us a new version of his ever popular music-hall ditty "Hi-hi! Houp-la!" The Gauchos are riders with a vengeance! They appear to do almost anything in the saddle, and out of it, on the bare-backed steeds, or "bronchos," as they are called.

There are 15 horses, and every one of them nearly kicked a man's eye out the other day, and another is said to have made his escape from the "Wild West" upon a voyage of discovery in the direction of the Metropolitan East, somewhere between the Strand and Fleet-street. He was eventually captured by a cowboy, but whether the latter succeeded in lassoing him, as stated by some of the papers, is not known. The Gauchos are remarkable for their skill with the lasso, but instead of the cord used by the cowboys and Buffalo Bill, they employ an instrument which they call "bolas," consisting of a number of raw-hide thongs fastened to a central thong with an iron ball at each end. The Gaucho, as he rides his fastest, throws this at a runaway or wild horse, a cow, an ostrich, or other animal with two or four legs, bringing his object helplessly to the ground. They also do a little in the buck-jumping line, and two of them mount a wild horse as he lies sprawling on the ground. Their feats of horsemanship altogether caused a good deal of amusement. After the performances a number of the specially-invited guests were regaled with a magnificent cold collation under the hospitable roof of the ever hospitable Major Burke at his log-wood cabin; which is without exception the most picturesque feature of the camp, and it is worthy of note that all the refreshments were prepared on the spot by Buffalo Bill's American supply agent, Mr W. Langan.

By command of the Queen, Colonel Cody went down to Windsor on Saturday afternoon to give a special performance before her Majesty, and took with him a small contingent of cowboys, Cossacks, and Gauchos, together with his general manager, Major Burke. The Queen was immensely pleased and interested with the performances, which took place on the lawn-tennis ground, and the party returned to Town in time for the evening show at the "Wild West." Royalty also witnessed the performances of Friday, when the Duchess of Edinburgh, together with her two daughters, Princess Marie and Princess Victoria, and Prince Ferdinand of Roumania were present. Mr H. E. Milner, chairman of the Executive Council, received the Royal guests, and conducted them through the Horticultural Exhibition. By-the-bye, nobody seems to like the general title of this section of the show. Certainly, "International Horticultural Exhibition" is rather a mouthful, and makes a somewhat lengthy headline in newspapers for special notices. As for "pars.," the title alone is a complete "par." in itself.