Malacara (died 1909) was a horse which gained a place in the history of the Welsh settlement in Patagonia, Argentina by a daring leap which saved the life of his rider, John Evans, on a trip to explore the upper Chubut valley and the Andes.
John Daniel Evans was three years old when he arrived in Patagonia with the first shipload of Welsh emigrants in 1865. As the colony developed the upper Chubut valley was explored, and John Evans played a prominent part in this, using skills he learnt from the local Tehuelche people. In November 1883 he led a group westwards towards the Andes, looking for gold and exploring. On the way they met an army contingent escorting Tehuelche prisoners to Valcheta, part of one of the last campaigns in the Conquest of the Desert. Some of the group decided to turn back, but four men, led by Evans, continued.
By the end of February 1884 they had reached the river now called Gualjaina, and there they met three members of the tribe led by the cacique Foyel. One of the three, Juan Salvo, knew them, and said that he suspected them to be spies for the army. He tried to take them to Foyel, and when they refused a quarrel resulted. The four explorers decided to head back to the lower Chubut valley, 600 km away, pursued by Foyel's warriors. On 4 March they were ambushed, and Evans' three companions killed. Evans, riding Malcara, took the only way of escape by spurring Malacara towards a precipitous slope into a deep canyon. Malacara made the leap successfully and scrambled up the other side of the canyon. None of Evans' pursuers dared to make the same leap, and the lead he gained while they went round the canyon enabled him to reach safety. Evans continued to explore this area and was a leading figure in the setting up of Welsh settlements here, which in turn led to the area becoming part of Argentina rather than Chile.
Malacara lived on until 1909, dying at the age of 31. Evans buried him at Trevelin in a grave bearing the inscription "Aqui yacen los restos de mi caballo Malacara que me salvo la vida en el ataque de los indios en el Valle de los Martires 4-3-84 al regresarme de la cordillera R.I.P. John Daniel Evans" ("Here lie the remains of my horse Malacara, who saved my life in the Indian attack in the Valley of the Martyrs 4-3-84 when returning from the mountains"). Malacara's grave is now one of the tourist attractions of Trevelin.
Other pages about History of Argentina
-1944 San Juan earthquake -1973 Ezeiza massacre -1976 Argentine coup -1989 attack on La Tablada Regiment -1992 Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires -1994 AMIA bombing -1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution -Agricultural colonies in Argentina -Agriculture in Argentina -Agustin Tosco -Alliance for Work, Justice and Education -Andinia Plan -Antonio Samore -Argentine Anticommunist Alliance -Argentine Constitution of 1853 -Argentine Declaration of Independence -Argentine War of Independence -Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros -Beagle conflict -Bombing of Plaza de Mayo -Cacerolazo -Carapintadas -Carlos de Amesquita -Centro Popular de la Memoria -Cite catholique -City of the Caesars -Congress of Tucuman -Conquest of the Desert -Crossing of the Andes -Daniel James (historian) -David Jewett -Descamisado -Enrique Gorriaran Merlo -Erich Priebke -Exposicion Internacional del Centenario (1910) -Federal intervention -Federales (Argentina) -First Triumvirate (Argentina) -Flag of the Andes -Forced disappearance -Francisca Rojas -Gabriel de Aviles y del Fierro -Generation of '80 -Government of the Rio de la Plata -Hacienda -Hector Aldo Fagetti Gallego -Hernando Arias de Saavedra -Heroina -Hippolyte de Bouchard -Historical exchange rates of Argentine currency -History of Argentina -History of Lobos -History of Mar del Plata -History of Rosario -Horizontalidad -House of Tucuman -Infamous Decade -Jacques de Mahieu -Juan Bautista Cabral -Juan Facundo Quiroga -Juan Manuel de Rosas -Juan Pascual Pringles -Juan de Garay -Junta Grande -Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia -La Noche de los Bastones Largos -Latin American Parliament -Liga Federal -Maitland Plan -Malacara (horse) -Maletinazo -Malon de la Paz -March of the Malvinas -Mariano Moreno -Mario Firmenich -Mariquita Sanchez de Thompson -Martin Fierro (1904–? -May Revolution -Montoneros -National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons -National Reorganization Process -Oligarquia -Operation Condor -Operation Corporate -Origin and history of the name of Argentina -Pacto Federal -Pacto de Olivos -Pedro Lozano -Pedro de Mendoza -People's Revolutionary Army (Argentina) -Pilar, Buenos Aires -Piquetero -Plaza de Mayo -Primera Junta -Propaganda Due -Ramallo massacre -Revolucion Libertadora -Revolution of the Park -Robert Cunninghame-Graham -Roca-Runciman Treaty -Rosariazo -Saenz Pena Law -San Nicolas Agreement -Santa Maria Addolorata a piazza Buenos Aires -Santiago de Liniers -Second Malon de la Paz -Second Triumvirate (Argentina) -State-Church relations in Argentina -Supreme Court of Argentina -Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata -Supreme director -Tacuara Nationalist Movement -Theory of the two demons -Thirty-Three Orientals -Timeline of Argentine history -Treaty of Pilar -Unitarian Party -United Provinces of South America -United Provinces of the River Plate -University reform in Argentina -Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Malacara_(horse)
