Butch and Sundance: The Glory Of Argentina

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Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!

We're in the middle of a series about two of America's most famous and successful outlaws, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In case you haven't been following the series, the boys have moved to Argentina in South America to start their lives over.

Their plans to build a ranch and cattle, sheep and horse operation were very successful and they were working hard. Not only on the ranch but also working to fit into the local community. The language was their biggest problem for the boys, Etta knew some Spanish and seemed to do fairly well in communicating.

There have been myths about Butch and Sundance being like Robin Hood, only robbing from the rich and then giving to the poor. That is pure fantasy though. They DID rob from the rich corporations but they never gave any of that loot to the poor.

Fitting in

However, in Argentina they gave gold coins to the poor locals in the community. I can't judge their hearts but I have to think that was part of their strategy to gain acceptance and favor with the locals. Knowing their spiritual background I think they probably did have compassion on the poor peasants in the area though.

They also attended local events and fiestas and invited many locals to their home for dinner. Of course Butch, being very outgoing, playful, and fun was a big hit with everyone in spite of his language difficulties. Personality is more important than language and his shown brightly.

Local historians tell us that the community members were very impressed with Sundance's fast draw and excellent marksmanship and he and Butch kept the same American style Cowboy clothes so they stood out from their gaucho counterparts with the wide brimmed hats, baggy pants and high boots.

A custom home

The home which the boys built was also different in style and materials because they built a log cabin while the typical ranch home in Patagonia was made of stone. I think they may have built a cabin because that's what they were used to in the States or possibly made them feel more at home.

We do have a couple of photos because they became friends with the territorial governor and he came to visit them and had a photographer with him. Word is that he was somewhat smitten with the lovely Etta Place like many of them were. The photos aren't very good quality but you get the idea.

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The top photo shows Sundance and Etta and the bottom one has Butch there too, I think Butch is on the right but it's so hard to see it doesn't make much difference. Etta had a dog who was always at her side and that's why you see the dog in both photos.

As far as the cabin it was a four room building with four windows but the windows were double hung and imported from the United States, no one else around there had windows that opened. The cabin and barn still stands.

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You can tell those guys were doing great at fitting in and building their ranch. They built a bunk house for hired hands, a stable, a chicken coop, a barn, corrals, most think that Butch also had a small separate cabin for himself.

Etta became known as a very gracious host and an excellent cook, especially with Mexican food.

An eye witness account

Local historian Raul Cea, whose dad was a kid and lived close to the homestead said this about them:

"Senora Place had a dog- a Spaniel I think- that went with her everywhere. She was devoted to it. Ryan(Butch, who was using the name Ryan James) was more gregarious than his companions. He also loved to read and frequently borrowed books from English speaking neighbors.

The three were well to do and very cultured. They set a table with a certain etiquette...napkins and china plates. Their windows went up and down."

Wow, can life get any better for Etta and the boys? They have it all! They're fitting in, they're popular, they have money, their ranch is succeeding. They've been there for three years and they're well established.

I don't know what could possible go wrong do you? We'll find out in the next post.

Thanks for reading folks, God bless you all!

-jonboy Texas
the gentleman redneck

PS - ya know..you might just be a redneck if:

You drove yourself to elementary school!