This Argentine literary classic, one of the most subtle and perceptive commentaries ever written about life on the frontier, appeared in print initially in serial form. Later published as a book, Una excursion a los indios ranqueles constitutes one of the few literary works that presents a vivid and testimonial account of a peaceful encounter between the native inhabitants of the South and those who consider themselves to be representatives of European civilization and of the Argentina of the future. Esteemed for its humor and narrative originality, Lucio V. Mansilla"s Una excursion a los indios ranqueles is comparable to Sarmiento"s Facundo and the two complement each other. Mansilla"s book offers penetrating observations about the fundamental aspects of the confrontation between "civilization and barbarism," as well as about immigration, racial and ethnic diversity, private property ownership and land tenure. Juan Manuel de Rosas had dominated a large part of the country between...