Harrison, Margaret H.

English

University of New Mexico

New Mexico Quarterly
Volume 13 | Issue 4 Article 4
1943
The Black Ghost of the Pampas, Juan Draghi
Lucero
Margaret H. Harrison
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Recommended Citation
Harrison, Margaret H.. "The Black Ghost of the Pampas, Juan Draghi Lucero." New Mexico Quarterly 13, 4 (1943).
https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmq/vol13/iss4/4
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THE BLACK'GHOST OF'THE PAMPAS
An Argentine Legend
Juan Dra{{hi Lucero
Translated by Margaret H. Harrison
ONeE UPON A TIME there lived a most capable and efficient negroslave. , Sometimes his master set him to work at a loom, where
he woye cloth neatly with the same skill with which he pruned the
orchard's fruit trees. Sometimes he branded the cattle that were to
go over to Chile, or shaped great earthern jars, baking them in the
oven at the correct teIIlperature. No hand like his for brewing aguardi.
ente. Moreover, he was noted as a daring driver and muleteer, often
hauling wine to distant Buenos Aires, where he sold his master's wares
and returned with blankets, knives, perfumed powder, and all kinds
of odds and ends for the shop.
The slave could also play the guitar. He would sigh sadly as his
fingers drew forth the sleeping harmonies of the strings, for h~ was
singing of his lost treasure-freedom. Beholding him thus plunged in
gloom, his master, with studied carelessness, asked why he was so cast
down.
"Because of my freedom, master," he replied, rousing himself there·
upon to infiuire, "Dare I some day hope for my liberty?"
"Yes, negro, I will set you free-on the day when a malJlmoth snake
$!
creeps down from the sky." ~
"Master, master," groaned the slave, shrinking away from the peals
of cruel laughter.
His owner was well satisfied with his bargain. He had paid four
hundred pesos for the man at an auction sale held by the court of
justice under a spreading tree. It had been a profitable deal because
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Harrison: The Black Ghost of the Pampas, Juan Draghi Lucero
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THE BLACK GHOST OF THE PAMPAS
the slave had already cleared that amount, and his usefulness kept
increasing with ,the years.
However, the more the slave' toiled, the more he continued to plead
and beg for his freedom. So tireless was his persistence that at last his
exasperated master roared: "Look here, negro. If completely unclothed,
you are able to pass one whole night on that snow-eovered mountain
top over yonder, I shall sign the papers for your release." And he
pointed to the highest peak in the district, one which the clouds caressed
by day, and which on clear nights showed its brilliant whiteness against
the black background of the sky.
"N0 man, my master, could endure the cold of that mountain, even
if he were completely clothed an~ wrapped in his poncho."
"When you pass the night on those heignts," sneered his master,
"I shall not even allow you to have a spark of fire for your vigil. You
shall learn the cost of attaining freedom, my man."
"Alas, alas. My liberty will be my death."
And while the slave sweated, forging horse shoes for the animals
his owner was sending to Chile, he continued to mutter as he doggedly
beat his hammer, "My liberty will be my death." So many back-break-
ing tasks, however, was the negro forced to perform that at last he
found himself swept by the terrible decision: "Even if it costs me my
life, I shall go in quest of my freedom." "
He asked permission to speak with his master, and when granted
it, he rollee! his torn sombrero between his hands, and ~id ina 'high-
pitched excited voice: "My master, I shall pass the night naked on the
peak of yonder highest mountain. If I get through with my life, I am
to enjoy my freedom. Is it agreed?"'
"That is the bargain, negro," replied his mocking owner.
"I shall go tomorrow, master, to win what I most desire, in spite
of the terrible conditions." ,
"Let it be as you say." -
The next day, early in the morning, the slave presented himself to
Ris master, and the rich man searched him from head to foot to see if
he carried a tin~er box or flirit to strike a '·fire; but as the negro had
nothing, he. let him go.. The affair was an excellent jest, worth betting
on.
.
The slave proceeded on his way. He trudged all day and was just
able to reach ~he foot of the mountain. After a little nap, he began the
ascent shortly before midnight. He climbed all the next day and part
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410 NEW M E X leo Q U ,A R T E R L Y REV I E 'W
of the night, but it was only at the beginnjng of the third day that he:
was able to crawl up on the fearful heights. ~
Here everlasting snows and wind lashed the summit with· a cold
that pierced through the flesh. The negro sought a semi-shelter among
some overhanging rocks, where he crouc~ed' down as well as he could,
'Vllen darkness fell, faithful to his promik, he took off his red poncho,
his well-worn shirt, his patched trousers and his sandals. Thus naked
as he had come into the world, he settled down to endure the terron
of the Andean night.
Placing his hands under his armpits, he rolled himself into a ball
in a groove in the rock. He maintained himself this way for a while
until, nearly suffocated, he crept out of his hiding place and jumped
up Cl;nd down until utterly e~austed. This went on foc a while, until
the glacial wind whirled him back to his shelter. Through the ominous
silence of the peaks, the night in its immensity folded about him. The
snow fell, and the icy wind lashed the height~in a fury.
The slave rolled himself up into a tighter ball. "If I only had a tiny
fire," he whimpered. Completely numbed by the cruel cold, he leaped
up again, but the raging hurricane of the Sierra whipped him without
mercy. Peering down towards the plains, as if pleading for mercy, the
negro managed to see, miles and miles -away, a small fire th'at the
gauchos had kindled.
Stretching out his shivering arms, his streaming eyes remained fixed
on the tiny light lost in the wilds of the pampas. Through his wildly
chattering teeth, he shrieked, half delirious, "Give me your heat, little
fire. Ah, chih, chih, chih." \Vith this delusion the lengthy hours of the
dreary night dragged by.
Time passed, and with it neared the dawn. "Give me your heat,
little ~re. Ah, chih, chih, chih," whined the slave in his frenzy to warm
himself. The light of day found him still stretching out his long arms,
seeking the impossible. The painted rays of the East proclaimed the
coming of the sun, but the ball of fire had to rise high in the heavens
before it could revive the negro. Stunned, trembling from the lash of
the cold, he drew on his clothes, and step by step, staggered down the
Sierra. He gained the arid river bed, then the footpath, then the trail.
Entering the town, he tottered, now falling, new rising, into his owner's
house. ¢
"How did you get.through the night, negro?"
HAy, my master. When I reached the peak, I took off my clothes,
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Harrison: The Black Ghost of the Pampas, Juan Draghi Lucero
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THE BLACK GHOST OF; THE PAMPAS 411
and the night hours dragg~d by with their agony of cold. I did not see
how I possibly could escape death, when about ten leagues away at one
extremity of the pampas, I spied a little bonfire made by gauchos. I
stretched out my arms: 'Give me your heat, tiny fire. Ah, chih, chih,
chih," I said, my teeth striking one another as they chattered. Thus I
could endure the tortures of the icy-night. The 'price of freedom, my
mast~r:' - " .
The owner threw his head back and guffawed. "I can't give you
your liberty, negro, because you warmed yourself in the fire." i
"But it was Jeagues and leagues away." .
"N0 matter. Had you not seen that distant flame, you would have
lost heart and given up the struggle. When you have recovered your
strength, you.must try the _task again."
"Alas, my master."
After forty days the slave had recovered from exposure. In his
desperate desire for freedom~ he returned once more to brave the
mountain's perils. It took him three days t<? reach the peak, but on
arrival, as night had already fallen, he disrobed and, stark naked, faced
-the cold.
From Mt. Aconcagua roared down the moaning penitent blasts of
a thousand years of snow. They were the burning tongues of eternal
cold. The slave defended himself, crouching against a rock. Averting
his eyes from the plains that he might not see the gaucho fires, he only
permitted himself to stare at the high heaven. The full moon turned
the snow on the sierras even whiter. If o~e pictures the immensity of
night on the Cordilleras, the cold seems more piercing in that white'
penetrating light. The hours crawled by, dragging, to the greater
torture of the sufferer. Pitiless flaying winds from the heights forced
him to arch himself under the fury of their whips. Still other blasts
sweeping through the night tore over the ridge-and flew by, depositing
ice and needles of snow on his flesh; and the negro, on the point of
collapse, forced himself to shout and stamp, to silence his gnawing wild
terror.
Feeling the painful tongue of the enemy, he groaned for an illusion
of fire. Lifting his eyes to the sky, he beheld the full moon. "It is the
mouth of a burning oven," shouted the slave, lifting his hands on high,
pleading for heat and comfort.
"Give me your heat, lighted oven. Ah, chih, chih, chih," rattled
his teeth. With this fancy h~ consoled Itimself through the rigor of the
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New Mexico Quarterly, Vol. 13 [1943], Iss. 4, Art. 4
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pitiless night. The more ~sts roared down from the summit, the marl
the storm lashed on all sides, the more the slave stretched out his arm
to the moon. "Give me of your heat, burning oven. Ah, chih, chih
chih," he implored, his teeth dancing. The night deepened, and witl
this delusion time galloped by.
Day broke, and the sun rode high in the heavens before the negn
roused from his stupor. By the middle of the afternoon, life and contra
of his limbs had returned. He rubbed his body and rolled over on the
ground into a little sunshine. Shivering, he jbst managed to dress him
self and creep down the slope; but crushed and broken, racked by ;:
violent cough, falling down and staggering to his feet, he contrive(
after two days to reach his owner's ranch house. His cough tore hi:
chest apart. .
The next day, bent and shaking, he appeared before his mockin~
master.
"Master," said he, "I have won my poor liberty. I undressed on th(
mountain peak. All night I resisted the cold.'"
"TelLme, negro, did you not see the fires of the gauchos down 011
the pampas?'"
"I saw none. my master. The fact is that, staring at the full moon,
I pretended it was the mouth of a burning oven, and I stretched out
my arms to it and fortified myself by calling: 'Give me your heat,
burning ovenf Ahf Chih, chih, chih'."
"Uh-uh," snapped his owner. "Had it not been for that fancy, you
could never have resisted the frightful cold. I will not give you your
liberty, slave. You have not 'Yon it fairly."
. "Ah, my master."
After sixty dct.ys, the negro recovered and decided to face· the test
for the last time. That night there was no moon.
Seeing him depart, his master said, "Do not even warm your spirit
by looking on a gaucho fire leagues away, nor by picturing an oven
in the moon."
"What of the stars? May Tgaze at them?'~
"Only if they line up one by one and form a serpent in the sky."
"Alas, my master."
The slave took three days to climb the peak. Stumbling, falling and
rising again, he reached the top, and as darkness had fallen, he un-
dressed. In ~he Andes the thaws were setting in. In the short periods of
sun, the north wind melted only a small part of the snow, but at night
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41 2 NEW MEXICO QUARTERLY REVIE\I
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Harrison: The Black Ghost of the Pampas, Juan Draghi Lucero
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THE BLACK GHOST OF THE PAMP.AS
the boisterous south wind returned, with all the malignancy of a
delayed cold,>whipping mercilessly with its icYcbreath. Before midnight,
in roared the wind that had been pent up in Tupungato. Howling it
seemed to concent~ate its madness on the ribs of the naked negro
huddling among the jagged rocks. He shrank together, seemingly
diffused in universal chaos.
Time dragged, but the rocks tore h~m with their icy points. He
jumped up, rubbing his body with small ~tones to keep up circulation
and resistance in his stubborn battle. So violently did he rub that his
blood flowed in streams. Moments dragged by. A sudden lull, the
strange calm that comes on great heights, gave hinl a respite in his
courageous battle. -
When midnight struck, the gales tore down from the great canons
of Mercedano. Its crevices and peaks resounded with the ;;:shrill anthem
of the melancholy cold. The negro moaned for shelter and crouched
again in the shadow of a jutting cliff.. Rock and wind brought him
face to face with the lashes of the storm. The poor creature crept forth
to fight the hostile night. In his third and last night of trial, his uncon-
trolled tongue vomited filthy words. He'" felt that his flesh was van-
quished a~d that he faced Eternity. The storm's vortex approached
him, returning insult for insult, 'piercing his flesh with daggers of snow.
The slave repented on his knees, asking pardon of the implacable
scourger. His vain words availed him nothing. The full madness of
the storm was unleashed. The negro, acknowledging defeat, looked at
his clothes and stretched out his hands to them. He lift~d his eyes and
could not find the moon; he stared at the pampas and could see.no
gaucho fire.
As he peered into the darkness, he perceived myriads of stars. The
sky was sown with them. They seemed burning coals. In his mind's
eye, the negro- connected them, and gritting his teeth, comforted him-
self, searching for them through the thick icy gale that vomited crystals
of snow "about hi~. The hostile scourge grew more pitiless.;,!; Gritting
his teeth, the slave moaned, "Give me some heat, coals of heaven. Ah,
chih, chih, chih," and he -extended his cramped arms. He pulled him-
self out of the freezing abyss long enol,lgh to murmur, "I have no more
strength to fight. The cold is in my soul, master. Goodbye to freedom.
Alas, for my 'chains' and yoke." His tears, as they left his eyes, turned
"to little icy tapers. -
That moonless night, the negro's master walked out to the patio
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New Mexico Quarterly, Vol. 13 [1943], Iss. 4, Art. 4
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"NEW MEXICO QUARTERLY REVIEl
and stared up at the Andes. He amused himself peering at the burninl
morning star, King of the dark night. He observed many other star
and they pleased him too.
Suddenly _panic terror gripped him. The fiery star seemed to mOVl
and the others were lined up Close behind. He saw a viper of lighte<
stars forming in the sky. The snake was coiling down in a straight pad
towards the earth. Touching the earth at last, it shot towards the riel
tyrant's estancia. An angry blue light illuminated the darkness, an(
the master's servants beheld a snake of stars shoot through the patio an(
dart into his foolish mouth, wide open in stark terror. The mastel
shrivelled, a mass of burning coals. It took. t~ree days to extinguisl
the fire and stamp it to ashes.
Sometimes at night, far out on the pampas, the gauchos by theiJ
bonfire are horrified at the' figure of a black man creeping towards them.
groaning as he stretches out his poor hands pleadingly to the flame.
"Give me of your heat, little fire. Give me of your heat. Ah, chih, chih,
hOh "c 1 •
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Harrison: The Black Ghost of the Pampas, Juan Draghi Lucero
Published by UNM Digital Repository, 1943


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