The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 826: Chapter 383: The Evening Breeze Brings News from South America (5K2)

Dear Arthur,

How have you been recently? By the way, it’s been a while since I last wrote to you. When Charles brought back the letter earlier, I was still deeply absorbed in the massacre that the Argentine butcher Rosas launched against the Indians. Therefore, when Charles asked if I wanted to write to you, I didn’t ask him to send my letter along with the merchant ship heading to Britain.

But that doesn’t mean I forgot about you. Of course, I still remember you bunch of rascals in London enjoying good food and drink. Attending various high society banquets and salons, flirting with young and beautiful ladies, sampling various exotic foods from around the world, and drinking various top-notch wines imported from France.

You all must be having a great time, so I didn’t plan to spoil your fun back then. I, Eld Carter, am not an insensitive guy, though I live my days like a mouse in the ship’s cabin, I still need to act cheerful. This world is already quite messed up, do I really have to bend over backwards to please it? Hahaha!

Arthur, you must understand how I feel now. Yes, I have come out of the depressive mood. To hell with Rosas, damn those Argentinians, of course, I don’t mean to insult all the Argentine people, just those who willingly act as his executioners for the massacre.

So, as for why I suddenly felt like writing this letter today… Haha, don’t laugh at me, Arthur. It’s because Alexander told me in his letter that he heard you died, first being shot in Liverpool and then having your heart pierced under the Tower of London.

To be honest, this fat guy from France clearly wasn’t hoping well for you, and his character really isn’t something to be proud of. I have to admit, his story is well-crafted, with vivid scenes and details, but it’s ultimately an unfounded absurd fantasy, I wouldn’t believe his nonsense.

However, from his words, I could still sense that you might have been feeling quite down lately. Maybe you got beer splashed all over you while trying to hit on a girl? Come on, buddy, why let such a trivial matter get to you? There are women everywhere, it doesn’t take long to start a new sincere relationship again.

But thinking more carefully, you don’t seem like the guy to get bothered by a failed pickup. So, is it because work hasn’t been going well recently? Being suppressed by that old guy Rowan again? If that’s the case, Arthur, then you’ve only got yourself to blame.

I told you earlier, you should join me on the ship, to see the spectacular and colorful views around the world, meet some exotic beauties, and also see dolphins and sharks. Ahem… although there’s nothing much to see with those two creatures either.

Of course, the global voyage isn’t entirely bad. For instance, in this trip to Argentina, although we encountered many unpleasant experiences along the way, in retrospect, the joyful times were still in the majority.

The culture and people of South America are simply crazy. Do you know the Gauchos here? They are a kind of Indians, and every single one of them is a horse-training master. No matter how wild the horse is, in their hands, it will be tamed within a week.

Here, a horse must learn to come to a complete stop at any unforeseen situation while running at full speed to be considered fully tamed. According to their standards, riding a horse at full speed towards a wall, then tightening the reins to command the horse to stop by lifting its front legs, the horse’s hooves must just brush against the wall, that’s considered a successful training.

I bet you, any one of these Gauchos could easily win a Derby horse competition. But there’s a quirky habit here when it comes to horse training; they think it’s ridiculous to train and ride mares.

However, in Europe, we usually think stallions are hard to control if not gelded, but after being gelded, they lose their running ability. So, it’s better to ride mares, as they are both gentle and fast.

But I have to admit, famous figures often prefer taking the risk to ride ill-tempered stallions, like the horse “Copenhagen” that carried the Duke of Wellington through 17 hours of continuous combat at Waterloo. Although the newspapers gave much coverage to this heroic horse, I heard from some people that this hot-tempered creature nearly kicked off the Duke’s head at the end of the battle. Luckily, it failed in the end, otherwise, I’d suggest the French make it their King.

Of course, as the biggest rival to the Duke of Wellington, Napoleon also liked bad-tempered horses, such as the grey purebred Arabian horse “Virgil” given by the Ottoman Sultan, and the chestnut “Waler” he rode while retreating from the Russian defeat. But during the Battle of Waterloo, he chose the most steady one, the pure white mare “Desiree” named after his first love.

But no matter what Napoleon thought, the Gauchos here would never ride mares; they only use them for harvesting and slaughtering for their hides. Here, a complete horsehide only sells for five pesos, roughly equivalent to half a crown, which is a quarter of a pound.