Chapter I: Front Matter

Francisco

Our Little Argentine Cousin

THE

Little Cousin Series

(TRADE MARK)

Each volume illustrated with six or more full-page plates in
tint. Cloth, 12mo, with decorative cover,
per volume, 60 cents

LIST OF TITLES

BY MARY HAZELTON WADE

(unless otherwise indicated)

=Our Little African Cousin=
=Our Little Alaskan Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Arabian Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little Armenian Cousin=
=Our Little Australian Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Brazilian Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Brown Cousin=
=Our Little Canadian Cousin=
By Elizabeth R. MacDonald
=Our Little Chinese Cousin=
By Isaac Taylor Headland
=Our Little Cuban Cousin=
=Our Little Dutch Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little Egyptian Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little English Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little Eskimo Cousin=
=Our Little French Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little German Cousin=
=Our Little Greek Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Hawaiian Cousin=
=Our Little Hindu Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little Hungarian Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Indian Cousin=
=Our Little Irish Cousin=
=Our Little Italian Cousin=
=Our Little Japanese Cousin=
=Our Little Jewish Cousin=
=Our Little Korean Cousin=
By H. Lee M. Pike
=Our Little Mexican Cousin=
By Edward C. Butler
=Our Little Norwegian Cousin=
=Our Little Panama Cousin=
By H. Lee M. Pike
=Our Little Persian Cousin=
By E. C. Shedd
=Our Little Philippine Cousin=
=Our Little Porto Rican Cousin=
=Our Little Russian Cousin=
=Our Little Scotch Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little Siamese Cousin=
=Our Little Spanish Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Swedish Cousin=
By Claire M. Coburn
=Our Little Swiss Cousin=
=Our Little Turkish Cousin=

L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
New England Building, Boston, Mass.

(_See page 33._)]

FRANCISCO

Our Little Argentine Cousin

By Eva Cannon Brooks

_Illustrated by_ John Goss

Boston
L. C. Page & Company
_MDCCCCX_

_Copyright, 1910_

BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY

(INCORPORATED)

_All rights reserved_

First Impression, June, 1910

TO

Katharine and Elizabeth Brooks

Preface

IF you take a steamer in New York whose destination is the eastern coast of South America, and remain on it a little over four weeks, you will reach the great metropolis of our twin continent, Buenos Aires.

In all probability they will be weeks of infinite content and delight, for the southern half of the Atlantic Ocean is milder in her moods than the northern half, and there will be a sufficient number of stops _en route_ to relieve the journey of monotony.

First comes the Barbadoes, then Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio-de-Janeiro, and Santos in Brazil, and then Montevideo, the capital of the Republic of Uruguay.

At Montevideo the steamer leaves the ocean and enters the mouth of the River Plata, which is several hundred miles wide at this point, and in ten hours the beautiful city of Buenos Aires, the gate-way to the Pampas, is spread out before the eye.

It is more like a city of North America than any of the South American metropolises, both in its appearance and its remarkable spirit of modernization.

Beyond, and about this attractive port, lie great tracts of level country known as the _campo_, and here you will find conditions not unlike those existing in some parts of our own western territory. Large ranches predominate, although the industries are varied.

The people are of mixed nationalities, but the greater proportion is of Spanish extraction and a new race, or type, is being welded with a sufficient infusion of Anglo-Saxon blood to counteract the inherent tendency of all Latin races towards procrastination. Because of this, and aided by an unequalled climate, a fertile soil, and definite aims, they are already achieving a part of their manifest destiny.

This, the year of 1910, the publication date of this small volume, marks the one hundredth anniversary of Argentina's independence; may it mark also the beginning of an era of even greater harmony and more splendid achievement.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE
PREFACE v
I. FRANCISCO'S HOME 1
II. A WONDERFUL DAY 15
III. A LESSON IN HISTORY 29
IV. CURIOUS SIGHTS 47
V. GREAT SURPRISES 60
VI. NEW EXPERIENCES 75
VII. ON THE RANCH 92
VIII. CATTLE BRANDING 104
IX. A SUCCESSFUL SEARCH 122
X. THE CARNIVAL 142

List of Illustrations

PAGE
"THEY SAT DOWN ALMOST UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE HIGH
STATUE OF SAN MARTÍN" (see page 33) _Frontispiece_
"HE PERMITTED FRANCISCO TO TAKE A RIDE ON THE TAME
LLAMA" 24
"'DID YOU EVER SEE SUCH GLORIOUS BLUE EYES!'" 67
"SOON AFTER HIS EAGER QUESTION THEY PASSED A GROUP
OF THEM" 100
"BLAZED THE LINES OF THE TRES ARROYAS ON ITS HIP" 106
"ELENA AND FRANCISCO WERE DRESSED AND READY" 147

Francisco

Our Little Argentine Cousin