THE OX FAIR OF SIENA
TO lliurtrain x\^ : ro^rtT^ihU-elrl
oxen the '-people ,*f /"l&Jia^i^^fj^ihi
of telling tfelS^oVv:- r !\S%^l^4
unpopular land owner had coaj«£
Irons Rome to Siena to look over ..Tils*
possessions. He had brought t.-'.i!i Urn,
his wife and some of Jit friends. "Hi*!
day after his arrival be decided thatr
he would prove to his factor that homes
are more serviceable than oxen. A cer- j
tain heavy piece of machinery tv to
fee moved from on* farm to another.
The owner ordered that horses be
used, and accordingly sis were har
nessed to th* m*"'Mn#. On a slight
grade th» horses rave out. A peasant
who happened to b#» passing ofl>rrd the
«cc Of his oxen. Th«> Roman laughed
at him and asked him what he sup
posed, a pair of oxen eoulfi do where
fix horses had felled. The peasant in
rirted that they could move the load.
The Roman, all the angrier since his
wife and her friends were present, said
be was willing to bet a thousand franc*
against the hog the peasant had in his
cart that the «Sx horse* were- far more
powerful than the two oxen. The
peasant took him' up. attached the oxen
to the machine and they, with little
effort, started up the hill.
Whether or not this little story is
trustworthy, the Sienese oxen are cer
tainly marvelous, and It Is surprising
that they are not used on the harvest
ers In the Middle West of our own
country.
The people about Siena, are very un
willing to sell their oxen to stranger*.
and m. the numerous fairs they are
careful to avoid any buyer who does
not live In the province.
The Great Fairs
Every first Monday in the month
there :Is an ox i fair aY Siene.\bpt j
the two most important fairs of the
year are in the* middle of Angust and
the middle of October.. . '. *.
The fairs are all held at the parade
ground, the Piazza d'Arrai.; Just* out
elde the oily walls. Early in the morn-
Ing of lair flays ; the people about the
piazza begin to prepare for the <rowd.
Every wine' shop ', in 1 the neighborhood
makes -ready for a busy day, and^new
ones are opened on all sides. /\u25a0
EhooUn* at a targot. Is a favorite
pastlrfte uf. Italians, and no fair Is -com
plete without two or three galleries. !
\u25a0 Then, all along tin* Florence road
from the city jratr to the Piazza d'Ann!.
; the hucksters . <*olle«*t. pushing their
carts -up close to the sidewalks or
spreading: tliclr wares out on the
ground. They sHI <*x - erything under
the sun, and It "is \\t-rf that the'peas
ants make their purchases for the suc
ceeding month. Tlio jewel merchant
Is by. far the most popular. Masses 'of.
brass and glittpring glass lure the un
lucky peasant from the path of won
omy. .
The fairs are intended primarily
for the peasants, but the r-ity people
usually come down to enjoy the fun.
And from the city also romes the pump
kin-seed man. This \u25a0 follow - is \u25a0well
'known in S'.cns. In the morning he
eclla postcards in front of the Town
Ilftll. In the afternoon he sells cara
nels and "tollerl." a . honey-cake pe
chliar to Siena, at the Uzsa. the. city
jiark. At night he, sells olives and.
pumpkin-seeds in the cafes.' He boasts
that Mb ancestors hare been selling
caramels and "tollerl" and olives 'and.
pumpkin -srods pver since the days of
the republic He never fail* to appear
at the Piazza d'Armi on market days, '
' accompanied "by his son. who "is learn
ing tho trade." .
Down the Florence road into the
Piazza d'Annl stride the mlnstre ls. last
remnants 'of a on<-«» proi'd brotherhood.
But' tho Slrnosr ':ire loysl to the pait
and a broken* dorm "•cantastorie". -with
a wornout guitar is *<tJH a- welcome
eight to' the peasants. They maintain
that it is impossible to work without -
a good song, atid th*y rflyupon the
"cantastorie" for new- ones.
At the entrance to the Piazza d'Armi
iß,e certain space reserved.- for win*
casks. The peasant buys herein pref
erence to going Into the city. Every
$i£k bear* . a r tamp, placed there by
an official, of .the .commune, which.
guarantees the - capacity of the vessel.
The oxen occupy toe greater; part
of the piazza, but along . the . great
utone vail on one side > are stationed
the asses. These are not 'larger J than
dogs, 'but * their owners-, are willing
to swear to a prospective \u25a0 purchaser
that they can haul- more* than . an < ox.
They are usually" worked with' horses.
A team , of horses Is * a rare sjgbt in
the Sienese country. Most, of the -work
Is done by oxen, but* -one." often/ sees
a horse and an ass harnessed together,
the ' ass : marching ' ahead with ' traces
twice as long f as i those \u25a0' of i the • horse. V '
Against the wall on the ' opposite ild •
of ' the pi azza ar e the bogs s aa4 sheep.
Between these and the asses, the plas
ca, 2SO yards in width, is covered with
oxen. Every peasant In the « country
brines in his pair of oxen.- He usually
walks in the center, leading the oxen.
• ' loop stick '. In' i hii ,- hand.' Arrived
at the pliiia. J*o j^inU hi» stick' la tb»
around,' * and " from-.tnat tbo
oxen do not move unless forced to do
«o. ; .The > l peaiant *If t ree^ to \u25a0* f o * hunt
a' purchaser,'
On good daya there are probably over
a : thousand ' oxen- offered ,; for ; sale; and
the greater/ part of them change .mas
ters. - Tot; the* Italian - peasant * prides
himself on his skill as a bargainer and
Is ' always * ready f to'/ trade or s ell any-;
thing, he has. , "When two of them get
together the sale is likely to be "a long
operation. They swear at each other
In a more or lees friendly fashion, until
finally .-'.the* "se^isale" \ comes * \u25a0up.*.--.* The"
"sen«ale" is the mediator; ln such affairs
and without >' a ! "seneale'' , ; " few.* 'oxen 1
would f be 9010.'..- H« '. txt* 'what I h e con-.
, «s<!«r» a • Juet prlcse; , the •. three adjourn
i to ' a neighboring i wineshop '» and discuss
t the matter.'Flnally,' when; tha I ;'ienBaJe'*
I thinks "I the y proper V- price > hasl.* been
i reached* he '« grasps % the * right * hands f.of
1 the contracting : , parties *•'. and '/ squeezes
i them '^together. u,,Thlsi- enforced *'hand
: shake In the presence of witnesses'; con
cludes the bargain, but both buyer and
> seller^ declare V- that r they.; ,\u25a0% have *-^been
' (^eated'ahdTgb'away'oursiri'g."."^.;^* Z'"f,
7. , The ; peasant lls '\u25a0' always <. counseled '\u25a0 by
i the*:", factor, '.the;: representative j^of A the
* owner. : of I the f land on * which* he \u25a0 lives.
•in'Jfact'.the^oxen^do.not'as'a ;rulef.bef
• long^to ,«thVf peasant.tv The .-owner^of • a
large.tract of land' divides if in to farms
; on ?, t p.chV'of J,whioh v , llvfts "i a*E f iniily > of
/ oontroi of a farm ; finds hotiw i . aad . barn ;
d«aulppe4,'f-Half 'Jot lth*l pwftt » to |
j otbeTT'half stO'-jthe :
\u25a0> peasantry But * the- latter \ usually/ man-,
* ages ito j get away^'with'the^ lion's j share. .;
?£ln{| faot;^when k a i- peasant ;•: manages & to *
* v savef up -buyja* farm^
•he » relits'i It* andi still* works'; the \u25a0 land {ot 7
.'some -, one "else" 'He^'is J cohfldent* that
" heTwllU'beTablet to*gety half ** tKeYproflt*
5 f rora ; the i land * h'eFowns j and ! more ; than^
i half 'f rpmithat i which ) heJcultiya.tes.'jiS^
*-? >: Among J the riches &of Shis if arm X the |
* Sienese ?peasa"nt /counts ihls^oxen^flrst.'^
VThen they are youngi the ; oxen. are, they
| playmates i of : ,
•:tbti«!accust6mad'to'chndr«n can^usuaUy >i
tm? entrusted -' to : v the .•.'guardianship "-of:
y o ung h*n ds. Ho wever, & the *cases 1 a f ,
ohlldrenr being* j gored^tog death iby> in- \u25a0
furlated '; oxen '"areV l^ unfortunately, \u25a0; not;
rareJv "••''-'•\u25a0>"'•)•%. 3:^-^\ \, / V ; 'i?--V" :,-''•'\u25a0 ..{' ''
'^Whenf; the 'i cix' can f no ilongor ,be^ han-j
died^byya' «lmplejrqp9|about?hlajneck.^
two (pieces t, of ?lron ? are \ fastened : ln^his - 1
nostrils. \u25a0'•,-\u25a0 Thenl & ring. 1 is Inserted ipress"
ing i against 'the * two ? irons." ~A'; rope" Is '
passedVthrough^the+ t rlng^arid" wound-*
about ithe • horns. \u25a0\u25a0, This ' harness ; is^never^,
removed. .^.The-oxklsUediby^raeans* of) a*
roper attached the" harness sbetween\
the* hbrhs,T?.but •> not l^? pulllng r ,odlrectly J
against the 'ring.. If : he iwereiheld by iai
ring £ which! ? pierced" the Vnostrils he ]
would .'certainly. s te*r>blß\w;ay;ol«»r^lt» :
,'Jurlng hlms«Jf.to:aijch- an, extent that he
-would be. eractlcally, worthless.^ :
Cvv'Tbe"; 1 pxeri \u25a0 are"; alwa'y"s v shod^aßd this
£ts ;frequeritly ;no".«jimall\ .task.. Blacky
\u25a0 smiths ''have 'a X: special I apparatus •'; for
\u0084'tuis 7; purpose, ji The ,'ooc '* is f led * up.", to I** J
.heavyjpost.'- Then •on --both sides and In
> baok i'oC aim bars r are/ let ', down and \
'i made' fast.' '. By. 'means - of "a - screw. « .the <
'\u25a0; head of* the beast ! is ,wb'rk*ed «up against i
.the jpostVisp vthat C lt ~, cannot., be. ' xnoved;'^
j.Thl»;ls y very \u25a0 painful" and \u25a0 the'bellowing"
\u25a0?e t ithe ;. Infuriated t.apimal • -makes , one t
' shudder^to<ithlnk .what! wouldVhappen
'If ;ha. ? succfleded'in» breaking "looser One >
» hind ' 1 eg Js • f astenedj tightly? to | a." sec- 1
a ond: post* and; the |blacksmlth * hoists* the |
i hoofs one after, another. In to hi s ; 1ap." . ".-. «-;
|:.' , The"- peasant's iwife v and; children: ac- "•
*eonjpany.«biinrto>(the fair..,:N'qt jinfro- •
• quently^ the 'wife of daughter remains;
'InVchargeTof .the'oxenVwWle^the "..
;ant I wanders^through^.the{. crowd in
'search' of arausttcnent and' a \u25a0 purchaser. '
% "/.The '.women from about- Siena , aro"
famed*i'fpr ; ,tlisir' beauty/ Certainly, at.
'any.:- rate,'. their hats /are-. pretty.' WLeg-f.
'; horn t hatsi are rarely A seen in "the «vl- '.
-clnltr, of the city r 6t Leghorn^ • but- ihey »
the, distinctive mark of t the peasant .
.'women' f of Siena and 'the manufacture of 1 :
Cthes«.hafcs Is an Important lndustry.JTha \
Jwoven'straWils exported In large quan- I
ttl tie* » to la'UJ parts; of .the! world. : *Everv
Iseen^Leghorn'-f hats. .'white 'or
t cream Vcoloredrlvarylng"' gr eatly.ln^qual-'-'
' ltyibut'iln variably/ flapping labout ithe *
I wearer's i headi In i a 7 mo»t V
; f oahion.' ." ,Th 9 i 8(«nos« twonoao^ always ;
The^ Sanv Francisco Sunday CalL
; trim them with- wld« wfcns> rlb,l>cn op
long white .plumes.; ; . .
'As the women* stand. In front of the
.oxen ;one,doea»not know what, to ad
mire most— the" oxen, the woman or her
hat- v. t . • '' * \u25a0-_•\u25a0-
-After an ; hour.or two tho long rows
;of \u25a0 ' oxen' become disordered. Krerv
whare. are heard « the crie3 of . buyers
and' sellers, for as soon as a peasant
has- sold'his os-n he must look around
to buy another pair. Along the Flor
:ence*road -the hucksters ar© • crrlnz
their Heads ott % to:attracz to o Atention
of the'erowd. The thootlnc galleries
are in, full operation. The -cLSstorjl"
twangs .his and sings ' loucer
than ever. - The children playing- hide
and, seek among the oxen add thei
crics *- 16 the ' confusion and . everywhere
;_are>, buyers and sellers laugnlns; and
. The^oxen :are.the coolest animals o
the; piazza.' Nothing disturbs their
gravity., ; Yet eyery ; one knciws that If
s^rfes^f^ \u25a0»?*•
;The piazza gradually clears, and as
.thesun^sets. one sees in every direction
oa;all- % the roads: great^llnes ,of, happy
tired peasants- in - their *-wlcker carts
driving .v slowly > homeward-; the newly
bought span of oxen."' "^wjjt
'And after -it 'ls all over: a \u25a0 little old
man ; with -a . shovel over his 4 shoulder
comes { slowly • to* tho piazza, once morl
nd , 811^ at V foUowed h * • woeful
UtU» : who.v^wJUi"' head ' down:
dra 4 r.^ftor,hUa- I »^ttle.'oW*«rV