The Cowboy & the Airplane

At handsome Euclides Guterres' home on the south Brazilian cattle ranges, the skies were not cloudy all day--till the flying machines came. Then, a few years ago, some smart fellows bought themselves a lot of little airplanes and opened a flying club just a hoot and a holler from the ranch where Cowboy Euclides worked. After that, the crazy things flew all over the place, diving at his cattle, scaring his pony, and impressing the girls so much that for the first time in Euclides' courting life, the girls had discouraging words for a mere ground-bound gaucho.

One day last fortnight, a little plane kept swooping low at his boss's house. How was Euclides to know that the pilot was merely trying to get the boss's daughter to come out of the house so he could drop her a love letter? Euclides got mad. Fed up with all flat-hatters, he rushed from the barn. Next time the plane came round for a low, slow buzz, he swung his trusty leather lac,o--and lassoed the plane's propeller.

Euclides was knocked to the ground. His lac,o-- snapped off. With 3 1/2 metres of lac,o-- wound around his propeller hub, the startled pilot headed for home. Though the wooden prop was cracked, he made it safely. The flying club grounded him; the girl threw him over. And Euclides, the only cowboy ever to lasso an airplane, was once again the lion of the dark-eyed ladies of Rio Grande do Sul.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.