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Esteban EchevernaArgentina(1805-1851)

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Although Esteban Echevem’a’s renown rests on his intellectual and political ac-tivities, he was an important writer, and “ The Slaughter House,” the selection chosen for this volume, is a landmark in the history of Latin American short fiction. Echeverria was one of the young Argentines who founded in 1838 the Asociaci6n de Mayo. This organization hoped to develop a national literature reflecting Ar-gentina’s realities. Having spent four formative years in Paris (1825-30), Eche-verria was imbued in the romantic spirit, and he became one of the movement’s promoters. Back in Argentina he devoted himself to the overthrow of the Rosas dictatorship. In 1841 he went into exile in nearby Uruguay, where he stayed until his death. Echeverria’s “The Captive,” a narrative poem about a white woman abducted by Indians, is among the better-known tales from nineteenth-century Latin America. “ The Slaughter House,” written about 1838, was published thirty years later, so its immediate political aim was not realized, but it became one of the most important stories in Latin American literary history. Its opening, which proposes the colonial chronicles as a narrative model, is a programmatic and prophetic statement on the relationship between Latin American history and fic-tion. “ The Slaughter House” is mostly significant, however, because it displays the clash between “civilization and barbarism” that Sarmiento saw at the core of Latin American culture. Read in this light the story is a political allegory. Its more specific design was to accuse Rosas of cuddling the thugs who slay the civilized young man. A deeper conflict perhaps is between the liberal ideology of “ The Slaughter House” and its painstaking representation of the ritual murder, an atavistic story of sacrifice that appears to be the source of its quasi-religious power.

T h e Slaughter House

Although the following narrative is historical, I shall not begin it with N o ah ’s ark and the genealogy o f his forebears as was w ont once to be done by the ancient Spanish historians o f America w ho should be our models. N umerous reasons I m ight adduce for not pursuing their example, b u t I shall pass them over in order to avoid prolixity, stating merely that the events here narrated occurred in the 1830’s o f o ur Christian era. M ore-

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over, it was during Lent, a time when meat is scarce in B uenos Aires because the C hurch, adopting Epictetus’ precept— sustine abstine (suffer, abstain)— orders vigil and abstinence to the stomachs o f the faithful because camivorousness is sinful and, as the proverb says, leads to carnality. A nd since the Church has, ab initio and through G od’s direct dispensation, spir-itual sway over consciences and stomachs, w hich in no way belong to th e individual, nothing is more just and reasonable than for it to forbid th at w hich is both harmful and sinful.

T he purveyors o f meat, on the other hand, w ho are staunch Federalists and therefore devout Catholics, know ing that the people o f Buenos Aires possess singular docility w hen it comes to submitting themselves to all manner o f restrictions, used to bring to the Slaughter House during L ent only enough steers for feeding the children and the sick w h o m the Papal Bull excused, and had no intention o f stuffing the heretics— o f w hich there is no dearth— who are always ready to violate the meat com m andm ents o f the C hurch and demoralize society by their bad examples.

At this time, then, rain was pouring dow n incessandy. T h e roads w ere inundated; in the marshes water stood deep enough for swimming, and the streets leading to the city were flooded w ith watery mire. A trem endous stream rushed forth from the Barracas rivulet and majestically spread o u t its turbid waters to the very foot o f the Alto slopes. T he Plata, overflowing, enraged, pushed back the water that was seeking its bed and made it rush, swollen, over fields, embankments, houses, and spread like a huge lake over the lowlands. Encircled from north to east by a girdle o f w ater and mud, and from the south by a whitish sea on whose surface small craft bobbed perilously and on which were reflected chimneys and treetops, the city from its towers and slopes cast anxious glances to the horizon as if imploring mercy from the Lord. It seemed to be the threat o f a new deluge. Pious men and w om en wept as they busied themselves w ith their nov- enaries and continuous prayers. In church preachers thundered and made the pulpit creak under the blows o f their fists. This is the day o f judgm ent, they proclaimed, the end o f the world is approaching! G od’s w rath runs over, pouring forth an inundation. Alas you poor sinners! Alas you impious Unitarians w ho mock the C hurch and the Saints and hearken not with veneration to the w ord o f those anointed by the Lord! Alas you w ho do not beg mercy at the foot o f the altars! T he fearful hour o f futile gnashing o f teeth and frantic supplications has come! Y our impiety, your heresies, your blasphemies, your horrid crimes, have brought to o ur land the Lord’s plagues. Justice and the G od o f the Federalists will damn you.

T he wretched w om en left the church breathless, overwhelmed, blaming the Unitarians, as was natural, for this calamity.

However, the torrential rainfall continued and the waters rose, adding credence to the predictions o f the preachers. T he bells tolled plaintively

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by order o f the most Catholic Restorer, w ho was rather uneasy. T he lib-ertines, the unbelievers, that is to say, the Unitarians were frightened at seeing so many contrite faces and hearing such clamor o f imprecations. T here was m uch talk about a procession which the entire population was to attend barefoot and bareheaded, accompanying the Host, w hich was to be carried under a pallium by the Bishop to the Balcarce slope, where thousands o f voices exorcising the dem on o f inundation were to implore divine mercy.

Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, for it might have been something w o rth seeing, the ceremony did not take place, because the Plata receded and the overflow gradually subsided w ithout the benefit o f conjuration or prayer.

N o w what concerns my story above all is that, because o f the inunda-tion, the Convalescencia Slaughter House did not see a single head o f catde for fifteen days and that, in one or tw o days, all the catde from nearby farmers and watercarriers were used up in supplying the city w ith meat. T h e unfortunate little children and sick people had to eat eggs and chick-ens, and foreigners and heretics bellowed for beefsteak and roast. Absti-nence from meat was general in the tow n w hich never was m ore w orthy o f the blessing o f the C hurch, and thus it was that millions and millions o f plenary indulgences were showered upon it. Chickens w ent up to six pesos and eggs to four reales and fish became exceedingly expensive. D uring Lent there were no promiscuities or excesses o f gluttony, and coundess souls w ent straight to heaven and things happened as if in a dream.

In the Slaughter House not even one rat remained alive from the many thousands w hich used to find shelter there. All o f them either perished from starvation o r were drow ned in their holes by the incessant rain. In-numerable N egro w om en w ho go around after offal, like vultures after carrion, spread over the city like so many harpies ready to devour whatever they found eatable. Gulls and dogs, their inseparable rivals in the Slaughter House, emigrated to the open fields in search o f animal food. Sickly old m en wasted away from the lack o f nutritive broth; but the most remarkable event was the rather sudden death o f a few heretic foreigners w ho com-m itted the folly o f glutting on sausages from Extremadura, on ham and dry codfish, and w ho departed to the other world to pay for the sin o f such abominations.

Some physicians were o f the opinion that if the shortage o f meat con-tinued, half the tow n w ould fall in fainting fits, since their stomachs were accustomed to the stimulating meat juice; and the discrepancy was quite noticeable between this melancholy prognosis o f science and the anathemas broadcast from the pulpit by the reverend fathers against all kinds o f animal nutrition and promiscuity during days set aside by the C hurch for fasting and penitence. Therefore a sort o f intestinal war between stomachs and

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consciences began, stirred by an inexorable appetite and the n o t less in-exorable vociferations o f the ministers o f the C hurch, w ho, as is th eir duty, tolerated no sin whatsoever which might tend to slacken C atholic prin-ciples. In addition to all this, there existed a state o f intestinal flatulence in the population, brought on by fish and beans and other som ewhat indi-gestible fare.

This war manifested itself in sighs and strident shrieks during the sermons as well as in noises and sudden explosions issuing from the houses and the streets o f the city and wherever people congregated. T he R estorer’s gov-ernm ent, as paternal as it is foreseeing, became somewhat alarmed, believ-ing these tumults to be revolutionary in origin and attributing them to the savage Unitarians, whose impiety, according to Federalist preachers, had brought upon the nation the deluge o f divine wrath. T he G overnm ent, therefore, took provident steps, scattered its henchm en around tow n, and, finally, appeasing consciences and stomachs, decreed wisely and piously that w ithout further delay and floods notwithstanding, catde be brought to the Slaughter Houses.

Accordingly, on the sixteenth day o f the meat crisis, the eve o f Saint Dolores’ day, a herd o f fifty fat steers swam across the Burgos pass on their way to the Alto Slaughter House. O f course this was not m uch considering that the tow n consumed daily from 250 to 300 and that at least one-third o f the population enjoyed the C hurch dispensation o f eating meat. Strange that there should be privileged stomachs and stomachs subjected to an inviolable law, and that the C hurch should hold the key to all stomachs!

But it is not so strange if one believes that through meat the devil enters the body, and that the Church has the pow er to conjure it. T he thing is to reduce man to a machine whose prime m over is not his ow n free will but that o f the C hurch and the government. Perhaps the day will come w hen it will be prohibited to breathe, to take walks and even to chat with a friend w ithout previous permission from com petent authorities. Thus it was, more o r less, in the happy days o f our pious grandparents, unfortu-nately since ended by the May Revolution.

Be that as it may, when the news about the action o f the governm ent spread, the Alto Slaughter House filled with butchers, offal collectors, and inquisitive folk w ho received w ith much applause and outcry the fifty steers.

“ It’s surely wonderful!” they exclaimed. “ Long live the Federalists! Long live the Restorer!” The reader must be informed that in those days the Federalists were everywhere, even amid the offal o f the Slaughter House, and that no festival took place w ithout the R estorer—just as there can be no sermon w ithout Saint Augustine. T he rum or is that on hearing all the hubbub the few remaining rats dying in their holes o f starvation revived and began to scamper about, carefree, confident, because o f the

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unusual jo y and activity, that abundance had once m ore returned to the place.

T he first steer butchered was sent as a gift to the Restorer, who was exceedingly fond o f roasts. A committee o f butchers presented it to him in the name o f the Federalists o f the Slaughter House and expressed to him , viva voce, their gratitude for the governm ent decree and their profound hatred for the savage Unitarians, enemies o f G od and men. T he Restorer replied to their harangue by elaborating on the same theme, and the cer-em ony ended with vivas and vociferations from both spectators and pro-tagonists. It is to be assumed that the R estorer had special dispensation from His Most R everend Father, excusing him from fasting, for otherwise, being such a punctilious observer o f laws, such a devout Catholic, and such a staunch defender o f religion, he w ould not have set such a bad example by accepting such a gift on a holy day.

T he slaughtering w ent on, and in a quarter o f an hour forty-nine steers lay in the court, some o f them skinned, others still to be skinned. The Slaughter House offered a lively, picturesque spectacle even though it did contain all that is horribly ugly, filthy, and deformed in the small proletarian class peculiar to the Plata R iv er area. T hat the reader may grasp the setting at one glance, it might not be amiss to describe it briefly.

T he Convalescencia, or Alto Slaughter House, is located in the southern part o f Buenos Aires, on a huge lot, rectangular in shape, at the intersection o f tw o streets, one o f w hich ends there while the other continues eastward. T h e lot slants to the south and is bisected by a ditch made by the rains, its shoulders pitted w ith ratholes, its bed collecting all the blood from the Slaughter House. At the junction o f the right angle, facing the west, stands w hat is commonly called the casilla, a low building containing three small room s w ith a porch in the front facing the street and hitching posts for tying the horses. In the rear are several pens o f nandubay picket fence with heavy doors for guarding the steers.

In w inter these pens become veritable mires in which the animals remain bogged down, immobile, up to the shoulder blades. In the casilla the pen taxes and fines for violation o f the rules are collected, and in it sits the ju d g e o f the Slaughter House, an im portant figure, the chieftain o f the butchers, w ho exercises the highest power, delegated to him by the R e -storer, in that small republic. It is not difficult to imagine the kind o f man required for the discharge o f such an office.

T he casilla is so dilapidated and so tiny a building that no one would notice it were it not that its name is inseparably linked w ith that o f the terrible judge and that its white front is pasted over with posters: “ Long live the Federalists! Long live the R estorer and the Heroine Dona Encar- nacion Escurra! Death to the savage Unitarians!” Telling posters, indeed, symbolizing the political and religious faith o f the Slaughter House folk!

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But some readers may not know that the above m entioned H eroine is th e deceased wife o f the Restorer, the beloved patroness o f the butchers, w h o even after her death is venerated by them as if she w ere still alive, because o f her Christian virtues and her Federalist heroism during the rev olution against Balcarce. T he story is that during an anniversary o f that m em orable deed o f the mazorca, the terrorist society o f Rosas’ henchm en, the butchers feted the H eroine w ith a magnificent banquet in the casilla. She attended, with her daughter and other Federalist ladies, and there, in the presence o f a great crowd, she offered the butchers, in a solemn toast, her Federalist patronage, and for that reason they enthusiastically proclaimed her p atro n -ess o f the Slaughter House, stamping her name upon the walls o f the casilla, w here it will remain until blotted out by the hand o f time.

From a distance the view o f the Slaughter House was now grotesque, full o f animation. Forty-nine steers were stretched out upon their skins a n d about tw o hundred people walked about the muddy, blood-drenched floor. Hovering around each steer stood a group o f people o f different skin colors. Most prom inent among them was the butcher, a knife in his hand, his arms bare, his chest exposed, long hair dishevelled, shirt and sash a n d face besmeared with blood. At his back, following his every m ovem ent, romped a gang o f children, N egro and mulatto wom en, offal collectors whose ugliness matched that o f the harpies, and huge mastitis which sniffed, snarled, and snapped at one another as they darted after booty. Forty o r more carts covered w ith awnings o f blackened hides were lined up along the court, and some horsemen with their capes throw n over their shoulders and their lassos hanging from their saddles rode back and forth through th e crowds or lay on their horses’ necks, casting indolent glances upon this o r that lively group. In mid-air a flock o f bluewhite gulls, attracted by th e smell o f blood, fluttered about, drow ning with strident cries all the o th e r noises and voices o f the Slaughter House, and casting clear-cut shadows over that confused field o f horrible butchery. All this could be observed at the very beginning o f the slaughter.

But as the activities progressed, the picture kept changing. W hile some groups dissolved as if some stray bullet had fallen nearby o r an enraged dog had charged them, new groups constandy formed: here w here a steer was being cut open, there where a butcher was already hanging the quarters on the hook in the carts, or yonder where a steer was being skinned o r the fat taken off. From the m ob eyeing and waiting for the offal there issued ever and anon a filthy hand ready to slice off meat or fat. Shouts and explosions o f anger came from the butchers, from the incessantly milling crowds, and from the gamboling street urchins.

“ W atch the old woman hiding the fat under her breasts,” someone shouted.

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“ T h at’s nothing— see that fellow there plastering it all over his behind,” replied the old Negro woman.

“ H ey there black witch, get out o f there before I cut you open,” shouted a butcher.

“ W hat am I doing to you, N o Juan? D o n ’t be so mean! C an’t I have a b it o f the guts?”

“ O u t w ith the witch! O u t w ith the witch!” the children squalled in unison. “ She’s taking away liver and kidneys!” And with that, huge chunks o f coagulated blood and balls o f m ud rained upon her head.

Nearby tw o N egro w om en were dragging along the entrails o f an an-imal. A mulatto w om an carrying a heap o f entrails slipped in a pool o f b lood and fell lengthwise under her coveted booty. Farther on, huddled together in a long line, four hundred Negro w om en unw ound heaps o f intestines in their laps, picking off one by one those bits o f fat which the b u tch er’s avaricious knife had overlooked. O th er w om en emptied stom-achs and bladders and after drying them used them for depositing the offal.

Several boys gamboling about, some on foot, other on horseback, banged one another with inflated bladders o r threw chunks o f meat at one another, their noise frightening the cloud o f gulls w hich celebrated the slaughtering in flapping hordes. Despite the R estorer’s orders and the ho-liness o f the day, filthy words were heard all around, shouts full o f all the bestial cynicism w hich characterizes the populace attending our slaughter houses— but I will not entertain the reader w ith all this dirt.

Suddenly a mass o f bloody lungs w ould fall on somebody’s head. He forthw ith w ould throw it on someone else’s head until some hideous m on-grel picked it up as a pack o f other mongrels rushed in, raising a terrific grow l for little or no reason at all, and snapping at one another. Sometimes an old woman w ould run, enraged, after some ragamuffin w ho had smeared her face with blood. Summoned by his shouts his comrades would com e to his rescue, harassing her as dogs do a bull, and showering chunks o f meat and balls o f dung upon her, accompanied by volleys o f laughter and shrieks, until the Judge w ould command order to be restored.

In another spot tw o young boys practicing the handling o f their knives, slashed at one another w ith terrifying thrusts, while farther on, four lads, m uch m ore mature than the former, were fighting over some offal which they had filched from a butcher. N o t far from them some mongrels, lean from forced abstinence, struggled for a piece o f kidney all covered with m ud. All a representation in miniature o f the savage ways in w hich indi-vidual and social conflicts are thrashed o u t in our country.

O nly one longhorn, o f small, broad forehead and fiery stare, remained in the corrals. N o consensus o f opinion about its genitals had been possible: some believed it to be a bull, others a steer. N o w its hour approached.

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T w o lasso m en on horseback entered the corral while the m ob milled ab o u t its vicinity on foot or on horseback, or dangled from the forked stakes o f the enclosure. A grotesque group formed at the corral’s gate: a group o f goaders and lasso m en on foot, with bare arms and provided w ith slipknots, their heads covered w ith red kerchiefs, and wearing vests and red sashes. Behind them several horsemen and spectators watched with eager eyes.

W ith a slipknot already round its horns, the angrily foaming anim al bellowed fiercely; and there was no dem on strong o r cunning enough to make it move from the sticky m ud in w hich it was glued. It was impossible to lasso it. T he lads shouted themselves hoarse from the forked stakes o f the corral and the men tried in vain to frighten it w ith blankets and k er-chiefs. The din o f hissing, handclapping, and shrill and raucous voices w hich issued from that weird orchestra was fearful.

T he witty remarks, the obscene exclamations traveled from m o u th to m outh, and either excited by the spectacle or piqued by a thrust from som e garrulous tongue, everyone gratuitously showed off his cleverness and caus-tic humor.

“ So— they want to give us cat for rabbit!”“ I’m telling you, it’s a steer— that’s no bull!”“ C an’t you see it’s an old bull?”“ T he hell it is— show me its balls and I’ll believe you!”“ C an’t you see them hanging from between its legs? Each one bigger

than the head o f your roan horse. I guess you left your eyes by the road-side!”

“ It’s your old woman who was blind to have given birth to a chum p like you! C an’t you see that the mess between its legs is just mud?”

“ Bull o r steer, it’s as foxy as a Unitarian!”O n hearing this magic word “ Unitarian,” the m ob exclaimed in unison:

“Death to the savage Unitarians!”“ Leave all sons o f bitches to O ne-Eye!”“Y ou bet, O ne-Eye has guts enough to take care o f all the Unitarians

put together!”“Yes— Yes— leave the bull to Matasiete, the beheader o f Unitarians.

Long live Matasiete!”“ T he bull for Matasiete!”“ T here it goes!” shouted someone raucously, interrupting the interlude

o f the cowardly mob. “ There goes the bull!”“ Get ready! W atch out, you fellows near the gate! There it goes, mad

as hell!”And so it was. Maddened by the shouts and especially by tw o sharp

goads which pricked its tail, the beast, divining the weakness o f the slip-knot, charged on the gate, snorting, casting reddish, phosphorescent glances right and left. The lasso man strained his line taut, dll his horse

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squatted. Suddenly the knot broke loose from the steer’s homs and slashed across the air with a sharp hum. In its wake there came instantly rolling dow n from the stockade the head o f a child, cut clean from the trunk as if by an ax. T he trunk remained immobile, perched in the fork o f a pole, long streams o f blood spurting from every artery.

“ T he rope broke and there goes the bull!” one o f the men shouted. Some o f the spectators, overwhelmed and puzzled, were quiet. It all hap-pened like lightning.

T h e crowd by the gate trickled away. Some, clustered around the head and palpitating trunk o f the beheaded child, registered horror in their astonished faces; others, mosdy horsemen, w ho had not witnessed the mis-hap, slipped away in different directions in the tracks o f the bull. All o f them shouted at the top o f their voice: “ There goes the bull! Stop it! W atch out! Lasso it, Sietepelos! It’s coming after you, Botija! H e ’s mad, d o n ’t get to o close! Stop it, Morado, stop it! Get going with that hag o f yours! Only the devil will stop that bull!”

T he hubbub and din was infernal. A few N egro w om en w ho were seated along the ditch huddled together on hearing the tum ult and crouched amid the intestines which they were unraveling w ith a patience w orthy o f Penelope. This saved them, because the beast, w ith a terrify-ing bellow, leaped sideways over them and rushed on, followed by the horsemen. It is said that one o f the wom en voided her self on the spot, that another prayed ten Hail M ary’s in a few seconds, and that tw o others promised San Benito never to return to the damned corrals and to quit offal-collecting forever and anon. However, it is not know n w hether they kept their promises.

In the meantime the bull rushed toward the city by a long, narrow street w hich, beginning at the acutest point o f the rectangle previously described, was surrounded by a ditch and a cactus fence. It was one o f the so-called “ deserted” streets because it had but tw o houses and its center was a deep marsh extending from ditch to ditch. A certain Englishman, on his way hom e from a salting establishment w hich he ow ned nearby, was crossing this marsh at the m om ent on a somewhat nervous horse. O f course he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he did not hear the onrush o f horsemen o r the shouts until the bull was crossing the marsh. His horse took fright, leaped to one side, and dashed away, leaving the poor devil sunk in half a yard o f mire. This accident did not curb the racing o f the bull’s pursuers; o n the contrary, bursting into sarcastic laughter— “ T he gringo’s sunk. Get up, gringo!” — they shouted and crossed the marsh, their horses’ hoofs trampling over his wretched body. T he gringo dragged himself o u t as best h e could, but more like a dem on roasting in the fires o f hell than a blond-haired w hite man.

Farther on, at the shout o f “ the bull! the bull!” four N egro w om en who

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were leaving w ith their booty o f offal dived into a ditch full o f water, th e only refuge left them.

T he beast, in the meantime, having run several miles in one d irectio n and another, frightening all living being?, got in through the back gate o f a farm and there met his doom. Although weary, it still showed its spirit and wrathful strength, but a deep ditch and a thick cactus fence su rrounded it and there was no escape. The scattered pursuers got together and decided to take it back convoyed between tamed animals, so that it could expiate its crimes on the very spot where it had committed them.

An hour after its flight, the bull was back in the Slaughter House w h ere the dwindling crowd spoke only o f its misdeeds. T he episode o f the gringo w ho got stuck in the m ud moved them to laughter and sarcastic remarks.

O f the child beheaded by the lasso there remained but a pool o f blood: his body had been taken away.

T he men threw a slipknot over the horns o f the beast w hich leaped and reared, uttering hoarse bellows. They threw one, two, three lassos— to n o avail. T he fourth, however, caught it by a leg. Its vigor and fury redoubled. Its tongue, hanging out convulsively, drooled froth, its nostrils fumed, its eyes emitted fiery glances.

“ Knock that animal down!” an imperious voice commanded. Matasiete dismounted at once from his horse, hocked the bull w ith one sure thrust, and, moving on nimbly with a huge dagger in his hand, stuck it dow n to the hilt in the bull’s neck and drew it out, showing it smoking and red to the spectators. A torrent gushed from the w ound as the bull bellowed hoarsely. T hen it quivered and fell, amid cheers from the crowd, w hich proclaimed Matasiete the hero o f the day and assigned him the most suc-culent steak as his prize. Proudly Matasiete stretched o u t his arm and the bloodstained knife a second time, and then with his comrades bent dow n to skin the dead bull.

T he only question still undecided was w hether the animal was a steer or a bull. Although it had been provisionally classified as bull because o f its indomitable fierceness, they were all so fatigued w ith the long drawn out performance that they had overlooked clearing up this point. But sud-denly a butcher shouted: “ Here are the balls!” and sticking his hands into the animal’s genitals he showed the spectators tw o huge testicles.

There was much laughter and talk and all the aforementioned unfor-tunate incidents o f the day were readily explained. It was stricdy forbidden to bring bulls to the Slaughter House and this was an exceptional occur-rence. According to the rules and regulations this bull should have been throw n to the dogs, but with the scarcity o f meat and so many hungry people in tow n the Judge did not deem it advisable.

In a short while the bull was skinned, quartered, and hung in the cart. Matasiete took a choice steak, placed it under the pelisse o f his saddle and

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b e g a n g e t t i n g re a d y to go hom e. T h e slaughtering had been com pleted by n o o n , a n d t h e small crow d w hich had rem ained to the end was leaving, so m e o n f o o t, others on horseback, others pulling along the carts loaded w ith m e a t.

S u d d e n ly th e raucous voice o f a butcher was heard announcing: “ H ere com es a U n itarian !” O n hearing that w ord, the m ob stood still as i f th u n -derstruck.

“ C a n ’t y o u see his U -shaped side whiskers? C an ’t you see h e carries no insignia o n his coat and no m ourning sash o n his hat?”

“ T h e U nitarian cur!”“ T h e son o f a bitch!”“ H e has the same kind o f saddle as the gringo!”“ T o the gibbet w ith him !”“ G ive him the scissors!”“ G ive him a good beating!”“ H e has a pistol case attached to his saddle ju st to show offl”“ All these cocky Unitarians are as showy as the devil himself!”“ I b e t you w o u ld n ’t dare touch him , M atasiete.”“ H e w ouldn’t, you say?”“ I b e t you he w ould!”M atasiete was a man o f few words and quick action. W h e n it came to

violence, dexterity, skill in the handling o f an ox, a knife, o r a horse he did n o t talk m uch, b u t he acted. T hey had piqued him; spurring his horse, he tro tte d away, bridle loose, to m eet the Unitarian.

T h e U nitarian was a young man, about tw enty-five years old, elegant, debonair o f carriage, w ho, as the above-m entioned exclamations w ere spouting from these im pudent m ouths, was trotting towards Barracas, quite fearless o f any danger ahead o f him. N oticing, how ever, th e significant glances o f that gang o f Slaughter H ouse curs, his right hand reached au-tomatically for the pistol-case o f his English saddle. T h e n a side push from M atasiete’s horse threw him from his saddle, stretching him out. Supine and motionless he rem ained on the ground.

“ L ong live Matasiete!” shouted the m ob, swarming upon the victim. C onfounded, the young man cast furious glances on those ferocious

m en and hoping to find in his pistol com pensation and vindication, m oved tow ards his horse, w hich stood quiedy nearby. Matasiete rushed to stop him . H e grabbed him by his tie, pulled him dow n again o n th e ground, and w hipping o u t his dagger from his belt, p u t it against his throat.

L oud guffaws and stentorian vivas cheered him.W h at nobility o f soul! W hat bravery, that o f the Federalists! Always

ganging to g eth er and falling like vultures up o n the helpless victim!“ C u t o p e n his throat, Matasiete! D id n ’t he try to shoot you? R ip him

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“ W hat scoundrels these Unitarians! Thrash him good and hard!”“ H e has a good neck for the ‘violin’— you know, the gibbet!”“ Better use the Slippery-One on him!”“ Let’s try it,” said Matasiete, and, smiling, began to pass the sharp edge

o f his dagger around the throat o f the fallen man as he pressed in his chest w ith his left knee and held him by the hair w ith his left hand.

“ D o n ’t behead him, d on’t!” shouted in the distance the Slaughter House Judge as he approached on horseback.

“ Bring him into the casilla. Get the gibbet and the scissors ready. D eath to the savage Unitarians! Long live the R estorer o f the laws!”

“ Long live Matasiete!”T he spectators repeated in unison “ Long live Matasiete! Death to the

Unitarians!” They tied his elbows together as blows rained upon his nose, and they shoved him around. Amid shouts and insults they finally dragged the unfortunate young man to the bench o f tortures just as if they had been the executioners o f the Lord themselves.

T he main room o f the casilla had in its center a big, hefty table, w hich was devoid o f liquor glasses and playing cards only in times o f executions and tortures administered by the Federalist executioners o f the Slaughter House. In a com er stood a smaller table w ith writing materials and a note-book and some chairs, one o f which, an armchair, was reserved for the Judge. A man w ho looked like a soldier was seated in one o f them, playing on his guitar the “ Resbalosa,” an immensely popular song among the Fed-eralists, w hen the m ob rushing tumultuously into the corridor o f the casilla brutally showed in the young Unitarian.

“ The Slippery-One for him!” shouted one o f the fellows.“ C om m end your soul to the devil!”“ H e’s furious as a wild bull!”“ T he whip will tame him!”“ Give him a good pummeling!”“ First the cowhide and scissors.”“ Otherwise to the bonfire with him!”“ T he gibbet w ould be even better for him!”“ Shut up and sit dow n,” shouted the Judge as he sank into his armchair.

All o f them obeyed, while the young man standing in front o f the Judge exclaimed w ith a voice pregnant w ith indignation:

“ Infamous executioners, what do you w ant to do w ith me?”“ Q uiet!” ordered the Judge, smiling. “ T here’s no reason for getting

angry. Y ou’ll see.”T he young man was beside himself. His entire body shook with rage:

his m otded face, his voice, his tremulous Ups, evinced the throbbing o f his heart and the agitation o f his nerves. His fiery eyes bulged in their sockets,

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his long black hair bristled. His bare neck and the front o f his shirt showed his bulging arteries and his anxious breathing.

“ Are you trembling?” asked the Judge.“ Trem bling with anger because I cannot choke you.”“ Have you that m uch strength and courage?”“ I have will and pluck enough for that, scoundrel.”“ Get out the scissors I use to cut my horse’s mane and clip his hair in

the Federalist style.”T w o m en got hold o f him. O ne took his arms and another his head and

in a m inute clipped o ff his side whiskers. T he spectators laughed merrily. “ Get him a glass o f w ater to cool him off,” ordered the Judge.“ I’ll have you drink gall, you wretch!”A N egro appeared w ith a glass o f water in his hand. T he young man

kicked his arm and the glass smashed to bits on the ceiling, the fragments sprinkling the astonished faces o f the spectators.

“ This fellow is incorrigible!”“ D o n ’t worry, w e’ll tame him yet!”“ Q uiet!” said the Judge. “ N o w you are shaven in the Federalist style—

all you need is a mustache, d o n ’t forget to grow one!”“ N ow , let’s see: why d o n ’t you wear any insignia?”“Because I d on’t care to .”“D o n ’t you know that the R estorer orders it?”“ Insignia become you, slaves, but not free men!”“ Free men will have to w ear them, by force.”“ Indeed, by force and brutal violence. These are your arms, infamous

wretches! Wolves, tigers, and panthers are also strong like you and like them you should walk on all fours.”

“ Are you not afraid o f being to m to pieces by the tiger?”“ I prefer that to having you pluck out my entrails, as the ravens do, one

by on e.”“ W hy don’t you wear a m ourning sash on your hat in mem ory o f the

H eroine?”“ Because I wear it in my heart in mem ory o f my country which you,

infamous wretches, have m urdered.”“ D o n ’t you know that the R estorer has ordered m ourning in memory

o f the H eroine?”“ Y ou, slaves, were the ones to order it so as to flatter your master and

pay infamous homage to h im .”“ Insolent fellow! Y ou are beside yourself. I’ll have your tongue cut off

if you utter one m ore word. Take the pants off this arrogant fool, and beat him on his naked ass. Tie him dow n on the table first!”

Hardly had the Judge uttered his commands w hen four bruisers be-

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spattered w ith blood lifted the young man and stretched him o u t upon th e table.

“ R a th e r behead me than undress m e, infamous rabble!”T hey muzzled him w ith a handkerchief and began to pull o ff his clothes.

T h e young m an wriggled, kicked, and gnashed his teeth. His muscles as-sum ed no w the flexibility o f rushes, no w the hardness o f iron, and h e squirmed like a snake in his enem y’s grasp. Drops o f sweat, large as pearls, streamed dow n his cheeks, his pupils flamed, his m outh foamed, and the veins on his neck and forehead ju tte d o u t black from his pale skin as i f congested w ith blood.

“ T ie him u p ,” ordered the Judge.“ H e ’s roaring w ith anger,” said one o f the cutthroats.In a short while they had tied his feet to the legs o f the table and turned

his body upside dow n. In trying to de his hands, the m en had to unfasten them from behind his back. Feeling free, the young man, w ith a brusque m ovem ent w hich seemed to drain him o f all his strength and vitality, raised him self up, first upon his arms, then upon his knees, and collapsed im -mediately, m urm uring: “ R ath er behead me than undress m e, infamous rabble!”

His strength was exhausted, and having tied him dow n crosswise, they began undressing him. T h en a torrent o f blood spouted, bubbling from the young m an’s m outh and nose, and flowed freely dow n the table. T h e cutthroats rem ained im m obile and the spectators, astonished.

“ T he savage U nitarian has burst w ith rage,” said one o f them .“ H e had a river o f blood in his veins,” put in another.“ P oor devil, we w anted only to amuse ourselves w ith him , b u t he took

things too seriously,” exclaimed the Judge, scowling tiger-like.“ W e must draw up a report. U ntie him and let’s go!”T hey carried o u t the orders, locked the doors, and in a short while the

rabble w ent o u t after the horse o f the downcast, taciturn Judge.T h e Federalists had brought to an end one o f their innum erable feats o f

valor.Those w ere the days w hen the butchers o f the Slaughter H ouse w ere

aposdes w h o propagated by dint o f w hip and poignard Rosas’ Federation, and it is not difficult to imagine w hat sort o f Federation issued from their heads and knives. T hey w ere w o n t to dub as savage Unitarians (in accor-dance w ith the jarg o n invented by the R estorer, patron o f the b ro th er-hood) any man w ho was neither a cutthroat n o r a crook; any m an w h o was kindhearted and decent; any patriot o r noble friend o f enlightenm ent and freedom; and from the foregoing episode it can be clearly seen that the headquarters o f the Federation w ere located in the Slaughter House.

T r a n s l a t e d b y A n g e l Fl o r e s

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