The first part of the ford was deep, but the water then shallowed on nearing the shore, and the velocity of the noisy stream greatly increased. Still we arrived easily enough at the first island, but to pass from that to the smaller one appeared at first to rather daunt even the Tehuelches. The current was running like a millrace, and the waters foamed over the uneven bottom with a rush and roar that rendered all warnings inaudible. It was evident that only strong horses could cross at all; but one or two bolder spirits dashed in, and although unacquainted with the pass, reached the second island some distance down the river in safety, so the remainder shortly followed, the women crossing behind the men; here and there were places in the ford which necessitated swimming, and in others were huge boulders, over which the water swirled in large waves. At last we all reached the bank in safety, and were met by some of Inacayal’s Indians. Being among the lucky first arrivals, I came in for some apples and other food that some of these people of Inacayal’s had thoughtfully brought with them from the toldos.

When all were mustered and had resumed their clothes, we started for the toldos, where we were received by Inacayal, and as it was needful to await those who had remained behind drinking, we bivouacked by the bank of the river, and shortly some cattle and mares were brought up and slaughtered to satisfy the cravings of our hunger. After bathing in the river, I was sitting by the fireside watching our dinner cooking, when I received a message to say that I was required in one of the toldos. In that indicated I found an old Indian, a brother of Quintuhual, who spoke fluent Spanish; he invited me to sit down, and then narrated that an Englishman named Cox had formerly descended the river from Lake Nahuel-huapi in a boat, but in trying to descend under cover of night, had been wrecked in the rapids at the bend, about a mile above the ford which we had recently crossed: he then took refuge among these Indians, by whom he was hospitably received, and subsequently returned to Valdivia across the mountains, being unable to proceed to Patagones. The old Indian entertained a most friendly feeling for Mr. Cox, whom he had known well, as he had remained several days in his toldo.

After talking some time about this, food was served, and he then proceeded to ask my opinion as to the treatment the Indians experienced from what he called the Spaniards, stating that the Chilians were encroaching on one side and the Argentines on the other, by which means the Indians must eventually be driven off the face of the earth, or else fight for their existence.

After some more conversation I returned to our fireside accompanied by a half-bred nephew of Inacayal, who had left Patagones some eight months previously, having been ‘wanted’ by the Juez de Paz on account of his having deserted from the army, and having further, in a quarrel, either killed or wounded a Frenchman. He was anxious to induce me to use my influence with Casimiro to allow him to join us, which I did not do for the best of reasons, viz., that he appeared to be a great scoundrel, but I volunteered to take a message to some of his friends in Patagones.

About midnight, bugle calls on the opposite side of the river indicated the approach of the rest of the party, who arrived next day, but Casimiro was in the bad temper customary with him after a debauch, and steadily refused to proceed and take advantage of the fine weather; so another day was spent in loitering about by the side of the river and eating a great deal of beef.

My first cousins, who were also nephews of the old man who had formerly been acquainted with Mr. Cox, started in company with him to procure some apples and piñones, promising me plenty when they returned. Meanwhile I made acquaintance with a Pampa Indian named Gravino, who must have originally been a Christian captive; he himself stated that his mother formerly resided near the settlements, and described her as a Pampa Indian; on her death he, being about fifteen years of age, left the settlements to join the Indians of her tribe, and had got but three days on his journey when he met the united party of Tehuelches, Pampas, and Araucanos, or, as he called them, Chilenos, under the cacique Lenketrou, proceeding to make a raid on the settlements; he had nothing for it but to turn back, and much against his will proceed to rob people under whose protection he had formerly been. In the foray he, with another youth of about his own age, succeeded in driving off a troop of mixed horses and mares, but being dreadfully tired he laid down to sleep in a retired place, having secured his riding horse by means of a lazo attached to his own ancle. At night he was awoke by a stampede of all the horses; and his own taking fright at the same time dragged him some yards, until disentangled by his companion, who cut the lazo: they then tried to secure their animals, but found that the Araucanians had taken off all the best, so he did not make much by the invasion. He had since been employed as a ‘manso’ or tame Indian in the service of the Argentine Government, but disliking the work had returned to the Pampas and married a relation of Inacayal’s. He was a fine-looking young fellow, neatly dressed in ponchos made, as he informed me, by his wife.

On the following day, amidst a storm of wind and rain, we started for Las Manzanas. After ascending the northern barrancas of the river valley, we traversed a level plain where a hunting circle was made for form sake, as the ostriches were very scarce, and I only saw one killed; and passing below, or rather to the N.E. of the hill before mentioned, descended into a valley watered by a small stream; this we followed for some distance, until we arrived at a point where another valley opened into it, the two united forming one of considerable width. Here, under the shelter of some trees, we halted and lit fires to warm ourselves, for the drenching rain had by this time thoroughly forced its way through our mantles. Whilst conversing and making as merry as possible under the circumstances, a messenger dashed up, splashed with blood, and with the effects of drink or furious excitement visible in his face. All crowded round to hear the news, and he shortly informed us that the party who had started to obtain apples on the previous day had met another party of Indians with liquor. A drinking bout ensued, and a quarrel occurred in which a man was killed; but the rest went on drinking, leaving the body outside, where the dogs made a meal of it. This so exasperated one of his comrades that he galloped off to Cheoeque, to whose tribe the party belonged, and the chief at once sent twenty-five horsemen to surround my cousins and demand payment for the death. This they refused to give, so a fight took place, in which four out of the five brothers and another were left for dead, with lance thrusts all over them, the youngest escaping on his own or somebody else’s horse, after dropping four of the enemy who tried to intercept him, with a revolver brought by me from Santa Cruz. This was bad news for us, as we were bound to protect these people, who belonged to our united Indians. A consultation took place, in the middle of which Inacayal dashed up with a party all well armed with lances, in addition to their other arms. Foyel’s people came next, eager for the fray; the Tehuelches, however, having an eye to business, in the way of bartering the mantles they had brought with them for trade, overruled the warlike ideas of these people, saying ‘it was better to wait a little.’ Meanwhile guns were loaded and arms got ready, and a party were being told off to proceed to the scene of the mêlée and pick up the wounded, when a messenger arrived from Cheoeque with proposals of a peace. I and the rest of the relations of those who had been killed, as we then supposed, were placed under a guard of Tehuelches for a short time until the party started to find the wounded men. We then all proceeded a short distance down the valley, and bivouacked in the pampa grass about a mile and a half from, but out of sight of, the toldos of Cheoeque. Messengers passed two or three times between the latter’s residence and our bivouac, and ultimately a very old woman came over and made a long oration on the benefits of peace. This was all very well, but as both parties were evidently suspicious of each other, a watch was kept in the event of a surprise; and as we thought it probable that the negotiations would fall through, we spent the night shivering round the fires and making bolas perdidas. I assured Quintuhual and Casimiro that there would be no fight, at which the latter grew very irate, saying he knew better, that the whole business was a trap to obtain the gear and firearms of our party, also stating that I did not understand these Indians, in which I differed from him. Later in the evening news came, that although fearfully cut about, none of ‘my cousins’ were dead; the opposite party, however, had fared worse, losing three killed outright. For six men to fight against twenty-five seems long odds, but I believe that Quintuhual’s and Foyel’s people are the bravest Indians to be met with in the southern part of America, fully deserving the proud title of ‘the Warrior Indians.’

The following morning at daylight all mounted their best horses, and forming into column of six proceeded, with the lancers of the warriors at our head, towards the toldos situated in a valley running at right angles to the one we had rested in the previous night. On arriving in sight of Cheoeque’s ancestral halls, we observed the Araucanians or Manzaneros forming into line and manœuvring about half a mile distant; we approached to within 300 yards, and then forming into open line to display our whole force (my proposal of hiding a reserve behind an eminence having been overruled), awaited the course of events. Thus we remained about half an hour watching the Manzaneros, who presented a fine appearance, dressed in bright-coloured ponchos and armed with their long lances; they manœuvred in four squadrons, each with a leader—from whose lance fluttered a small pennon—moving with disciplined precision, and forming line, wheeling, and keeping their distances in a way that would not have discredited regular cavalry.

At the end of the half hour’s suspense hostages were exchanged, and we went through the ceremony of welcome. The Tehuelches were all very excited, and being in the middle of the troop, when we formed column and raced down towards the Manzaneros, I at first thought that we were in for a general scrimmage. On arriving, however, at the line, our leaders wheeled sharp round, and we went through the usual routine, with the unpleasant exception that both sides had their guns and revolvers loaded with ball, and every now and then a bullet would whistle past one’s ears or close over our heads. After the usual hand-shaking between the chiefs, the great Cheoeque, an intelligent-looking man of some thirty-five years of age, well dressed in blue cloth ponchos, a hat, and leather boots, rode down our line, shaking hands with everybody and making some remark. When he arrived at my number I felt rather ashamed of my dress, a simple mantle not in a very good state of repair. He, on his side, having asked who I was, appeared rather astonished at hearing I was an Englishman, and having been further informed that I had written the Spanish letters previously sent to him, which had been translated by a Valdivian, stopped for some minutes conversing with me. After this a parlemento took place, during which all remained mounted, and the discussion lasted till sundown, by which time every one was very hungry. The conclusions arrived at related chiefly to effecting a firm and lasting peace amongst the Indians present, on which point a happy unanimity prevailed. Another day was appointed for the discussion of Casimiro’s proposition for guarding Patagones, and the Chilian war with the Indians farther north; also to consider Calficura’s message concerning a raid on Bahia Blanca, and the Buenos Ayrean frontier generally.

One of the principal persons present at the parlemento was a chief subordinate to Cheoeque, named Mafulko; a fine-looking old man, magnificently dressed in ponchos which, as well as his arms, were profusely ornamented, indeed almost covered, with silver; he was remarkable for a most stentorian voice, which when raised in discussion became an absolute roar, as of a bull of Bashan. He afterwards noticed me particularly and was very courteous, pressing me to come and visit him in his own country, which lay to the northward of the Snowy Mountain.

In his train was a man who accosted me in pure Spanish, stating that he had read and translated my letter, and warning me that these Indians hated the name of Spaniard. Before I could make any inquiries he was called away; but, when in Patagones, questions were asked as to an unfortunate settler who was a captive and slave amongst the Araucanians, and the description tallied exactly with that of the poor Spaniard. His master was, doubtless, fearful of recognition and mediation on my part, so hastened to interrupt our colloquy.

We dispersed and bivouacked in the neighbourhood of Cheoeque’s toldos, where animals were lazoed and slain for our immediate wants; and Manzaneros and Picunche Indians came round bartering piñones, apples, and now and then a little flour, for knives, bolas, &c. The piñones were some in husks and some ready husked, the white almond-like kernels, about the size of dates, being strung on threads; and, whether roasted like chestnuts in their husks or boiled, proved delicious. The apples also were deliciously fresh and juicy, and I considered a score of them fairly purchased for a pair of bolas, although my comrades declared I had been cheated by the Picunche thieves.

Towards evening Cheoeque sent over to say that, as it was late and disturbances might occur, he considered it would be better not to allow any liquor to be sold until the following day, when all arms might be stored in a safe place, and anybody who felt disposed to get drunk might do so with comfort. To this Casimiro agreed, further assuring me, in the most positive manner, that he would keep sober. Whilst we were sitting by the fireside, a bird, exactly resembling our well-known nightjar, flew over our heads, uttering its peculiar grating cry; the Indians all looked startled, asserting that it was a sign of ill luck, and that whenever this bird croaked in the vicinity of an assembly of people some one was sure to fall sick or die. Their superstitious belief in the ill-omened bird received a confirmation, for in the middle of the night, while asleep by the fire, I was roused by Graviel, who, shaking my arm and shouting ‘Let us go, let us go!’ rushed away from the fire-light into the dark night. His father and myself followed him, and after a long chase caught and, with difficulty, mastered him. He was raving mad, struggling violently, and vociferating incoherent nonsense. When the fit had passed off, his exhaustion and prostration were so great that all thought he would die; but he recovered for the time.

At break of day we were all on the alert; and, as the evening previously we had been too tired and hungry to observe the scenery, I proceeded to reconnoitre the locality generally. To my great surprise, the head-quarters of Cheoeque consisted but of four toldos, belonging to the chief and his brother-in-law, the men who had received us having come from distant residences unaccompanied by their wives, and bivouacking, like ourselves, in the open air. The scene of the encampment was a valley running east and west, the western end being apparently shut in by some high mountains, spurs of the Cordillera. A good stream watered this valley, which was everywhere more or less wooded: away to the north-west, about four miles distant, the apple-groves might be seen; these trees had, however, already been stripped of fruit, and it was necessary to proceed much farther to the north to procure any; but an expedition to visit that district and to get fruit, planned by Orkeke, Hinchel, myself, and others, proved impracticable. Beyond the apple-groves the place was also pointed out where the araucarias grow, from which the piñones are gathered, just below the snow-clad mountains we had viewed from the ridge above the Rio Limay, and about thirty miles distant.

In our valley the pasture was rather scanty, although there appeared to be sufficient for the three flocks of small sheep, each owned by one of Cheoeque’s wives, to get into good condition; but sheep will feed anywhere. Immediately behind the toldos was situated a corral for enclosing cattle, none of which, however, were visible, having, probably, been driven off to some secluded valley near at hand, to avoid giving our people a chance of helping themselves. Round this corral were grouped the Indians of Cheoeque’s tribe, and the Picunches with fruit, &c. to barter; and between the corral and the river lay the bivouac of the Tehuelches; our fireside being denoted by Casimiro’s flag, the colours of the Argentine Confederation. Up and down the valley, and even about the neighbouring hills, were scattered our horses. Proceeding to inspect the toldos, at which I had given but a cursory glance the night before, I found that they were all fixed dwellings; that is to say, not put together so as to be moved in marches, like those of the Patagonians. They were, indeed, constructed in the same manner, but the poles were much stouter, and the whole edifice more resembled a house.

Cheoeque’s toldo was quite sixteen feet high, and able to accommodate forty men; while three fires of huge billets of wood burned in the front part. It was closed in completely, except a doorway in the corner with a skin curtain by way of door; and along the front ran a species of verandah, composed of interwoven branches, forming a pleasant canopy, under the shade of which we sat and smoked. Inside, the bed-places were raised on timber; and altogether, what with the sheep, corral, &c., the place had such an air of civilisation about it that, with a small effort of imagination, one might have fancied oneself in a frontier estancia of the settlements. There were other toldos hidden amongst the trees on the northern side of the valley, but these I did not visit.

About eight o’clock several loaded horses came in sight, bringing the liquor which had been stowed away in the valley in which we had encamped the night after the disturbance. As soon as the jars and skins had been unloaded in Cheoeque’s toldo, an order was passed round for all arms to be given up, and after some little difficulty they were nearly all collected and stowed in a safe place. The chiefs were then formally invited to drink, and subsequently all comers were asked, the liquor being provided in the most liberal manner by Cheoeque. This chief was fully conscious of his high position and power; his round, jolly face, the complexion of which, inherited from his Tehuelche mother, is darker than that of his subjects, exhibited a lurking cunning, and his frequent laughter was rather sardonic. He possessed a regally strong head, and was disposed to despise Casimiro for his inebriety; in fact it was plain that he regarded himself, and not without reason, as superior to all the caciques, even though they were not subject to him.

Hinchel, myself, and many of the Araucanians had remained away; and I was proceeding to look up the horses, when I was called to the corral by some of the Picunches. These men presented a cast of countenance decidedly differing from, and much inferior to, that of the Araucanians, from whom they were easily distinguished by their darker complexions; but they were very courteous, asking how I came to be with the Tehuelches, and what sort of a place my country was; and were pleased when I told them it was hilly and well wooded, and, referring to Devonshire, that apples abounded. Of course all our conversation was carried on by means of an interpreter (a Valdivian). After a few more questions some rum was produced, and having taken a glass I mounted and proceeded on my original quest. Hinchel rode a part of the way with me, as he was bound in search of a former acquaintance, whose toldo was pitched about four leagues distant, and who was, he said, the best worker in silver amongst the Indians. I afterwards saw specimens of his handiwork, in the shape of silver tubes for ornamenting stirrup-leathers, and the appearance of these and other silver ornaments made of solid metal in peculiar patterns, evidently of their own devising, left little doubt in my mind that these Indians or some of the neighbouring tribes possess the knowledge of the places whence the precious ore is to be obtained, and smelt it themselves.

On returning after having counted and driven the troop of horses belonging to our party down to the best pasture, I found that Cheoeque had sent several messengers in search of me, so I at once proceeded to his toldo, where I found him and Mariano Linares sitting on two real chairs, the latter playing a guitar, Casimiro slightly inebriated and vowing eternal friendship, and howling Indians, men and women, in various stages of intoxication, all round. Cheoeque shook hands, invited me to a seat, and provided me with a glass of grog out of his own bottle, which it is needless to say was not watered like the remainder. I then took advantage of a slight confusion occasioned by an Indian wishing to embrace Cheoeque, and retired, but was intercepted, and had to drink with various acquaintances before reaching the bivouac. As our fireside was soon occupied by noisy, half-drunken Indians, amongst others Hinchel’s son, who, very drunk, had come to get his gun for the purpose of killing the master of the revels, but was fortunately overthrown and bound down by his father, who opportunely arrived, I retired to Foyel’s bivouac, where Gravino and others were keeping guard, to be in readiness to look after their chief. He arrived soon after midnight, much to their relief.

The jealousy existing between Foyel and Cheoeque, which had broken out in the disturbance so nearly fatal to my cousins, had existed ever since the migration of this chief and Quintuhual to the south, and all the Araucanos of their following kept themselves on this occasion as much as possible aloof, and abstained from sharing in the jovialities, while the Tehuelches, who were unconcerned in the matter, enjoyed themselves freely.

The next day Foyel and Quintuhual marched off their followers in regular array, and proceeded homewards followed by many of the Tehuelches, the great races which it had been settled to hold being abandoned in consequence of the uneasy state of feeling and the consequent fears of a quarrel: the fight in that case would have been an obstinate one, as Cheoeque’s forces would not have been much too strong for their opponents, although outnumbering them. We had been surprised on arriving not to find more Indians ready to receive us, as we only counted ninety lances, but it transpired that some were concealed in the woods by the side of the river, who did not appear; besides these seventy or a hundred men had gone to Patagones to obtain their chief’s ration of cattle, but 200 more, friends and relations of Foyel, who were on their march to the rendezvous at Las Manzanas, had turned back on hearing of the attack made by Cheoeque’s party on their friends, my cousins. Whether they remained away in order to be neutral or to come to the support of their kinsmen did not appear, but Foyel had frequently boasted that 200 of Cheoeque’s followers would espouse his quarrel. The Picunches were the original cause of the feud. This tribe, asserted by Antonio Guaitu, who gave them the name of Chollo, to be a branch of the Araucanians, are under Cheoeque’s dominion, though governed by local caciques. As already mentioned, they live near the passes of the Cordillera and plunder all travellers. They had not respected Foyel’s messenger bringing him stores from Valdivia, and at last forcibly annexed two sheepskins of rum, on which occasion some fighting ensued. Thereupon Foyel sent Cheoeque a defiant message to the effect that if any more robberies by his subjects took place, he should make reprisals; that the latter chief must have imagined that he (Foyel) had forgotten how to ride and use his lance. All this was subsequently amicably settled, but in the end Foyel, who was by right under the rule of Cheoeque, preferred to throw off his allegiance and retire across the Rio Limay. The chief reason alleged by him was that although Cheoeque received large rations of cattle from the Buenos Ayrean Government, he never thought fit to share them with his subordinate chiefs. How far these stories were true I cannot say; as to the Picunches and their subjection to Cheoeque, the Valdivians had been detained over a year waiting for a safe conduct, which was at length obtained on the eve of our arrival, and as far as could be afterwards ascertained, they passed unmolested, although probably suffering loss of cattle from the weather, as it was full late in the year to cross the passes, which during the winter are obstructed by snow and swollen rivers.

Antonio and Ventura Delgado assured me they would have to cross one river seven times owing to its tortuous windings, and on every occasion be obliged to swim their animals. This I at first fancied to be a branch of the Rio Limay, but in answer to other inquiries the Valdivians stated that it flowed to the westward. Apropos of this route, an enterprising German had some short time previously crossed from Valdivia to trade with the Indians; he was allowed to pass unmolested with all his merchandise, and drove a profitable trade, and at last started on his return journey with a goodly stock of horses and gear, but near the passes he was stripped of everything and left to make his way homewards on foot if possible. It was very tantalising to be so near Valdivia and not to be able to explore the route thither and visit the Picunches, and indeed Casimiro and myself had planned a trip from Las Manzanas, but it was abandoned, owing to the lateness of the season and other circumstances, combined with my own conviction that if the Cacique got into Valdivia he would not be able to tear himself away from civilised pleasures for too long a period.

After the drinking bout and the departure of Foyel’s party, a day devoted to trading intervened, political discussions being postponed in consequence of the indisposition of Casimiro, who required twenty-four hours to recover from the effects of Cheoeque’s hospitality. Our Tehuelches, thanks to the profuse generosity of Cheoeque, disposed of all their wares to advantage, and became the happy possessors of numerous horses, silver ornaments, and mandils. Had it been necessary for them to purchase liquor, they would have returned empty-handed and in bad tempers. The Manzaneros appeared to depend on the Tehuelches for their supply of toldo coverings, just as the latter in their turn must procure from them the woven mandils and ponchos. I noticed that the horses brought up for sale by the Manzaneros more resembled those used in the Argentine States than the breed common amongst the Tehuelches, showing finer points and greater speed for racing on flats, but being inferior in the staying powers requisite for hunting.

The second parlemento or council, attended by numerous chiefs, was duly held, in which Mariano Linares, brother of the chief of the Indians in pay of the Government, participated. He was a connection by marriage of Cheoeque’s, and had been despatched from Patagones to induce him to keep the peace. The speeches of the Araucanos were made in a peculiar chant, intoned in fact, in a manner closely resembling that I have since heard in some churches at home. Cheoeque thus intoned an harangue setting forth how chiefs had come to him from Araucania proper, soliciting his aid in the war with Chili. He had at first refused to receive them, but at last had heard what they had to say, and it was probable that he might send a small force to assist his countrymen.

Calficura’s message relating to the foray on the settlements had been forwarded to us already. Many speeches were made, and Linares and Casimiro pointed out that it was to the Cacique’s interest not to interfere, as he would inevitably lose the valuable supplies of horses and cattle given him by the Buenos Ayrean Government, and that it was more profitable to receive the annual rations than plunder and break up the Rio Negro settlements. Finally, it was unanimously resolved that a message should be sent to Calficura, desiring him to confine his hostilities to Bahia Blanca, and that Cheoeque should protect the north bank of the Rio Negro and guard Patagones on that side, while Casimiro guaranteed the southern, which arrangement was duly adhered to on both sides. Accordingly Calficura revenged his real or supposed injuries on the ‘Cristianos’ by two destructive inroads into Bahia Blanca, carrying off plunder and captives. But letters from the Rio Negro have informed me that peace had been restored, and an exchange or ransom of prisoners effected. This will be more fully dwelt upon, but it is mentioned here in order to show that the Indians are fully aware of the advantages of peace, though they are undoubtedly, the Araucanians especially, jealous of the encroachments of foreigners, and the traditions of their past history have caused them to hold the very name of Spaniard or ‘Cristiano’ in abhorrence. It is also difficult for the superior caciques in all cases to restrain the petty caciquillos from small depredations; but a fair and well-arranged system of ‘rations’ will prevent them from making forays, and it is much to be regretted that the well-intentioned and liberal plans of the Buenos Ayrean Government for the protection of the frontiers are too often thwarted by the unscrupulous agents who enrich themselves by appropriating the supplies intended for the Indians. Some may consider the method of keeping the chiefs quiet by pensions undignified; but it is certainly a more humane and economical policy than continual wars of reprisals, which in the end would lead to the extermination either of the Indians or the settlers, most probably the latter, and the certain impoverishing of the country.

After the parlemento a grand banquet was given by Cheoeque to all the assembled caciques and their sons. Over three huge fires in his spacious toldo, large iron pots were supported on tripods, containing beef, mutton, and horse flesh. The guests sat down as they could, while Cheoeque sat, as the Spaniards say, ‘on horseback’ on a chair in the middle of the toldo, dressed in a magnificent cat skin mantle, and holding a ‘revengue’ or hide whip in his hand, with which he ever and anon chastised an intrusive dog, or even one of his numerous sons if they came too near, or made too much noise.

The small boys were evidently used to it, and showed great agility in avoiding a blow, and equal unconcern if they received it. The chief’s three wives presided at the fires, and wooden platters loaded with large portions of meat and a due allowance of fat were handed round for the first course. Each guest was expected to consume all that was in the platter, and when cleared it was carried off, washed, and refilled for another. The second course consisted of apples and piñones, raw or cooked according to taste, and it was strict etiquette to eat or pocket all the fruit supplied. Water was handed round after the feed, no other drink being produced save a private bottle, from which the chief helped two or three of his most favoured guests. There must have been at least thirty present at once, and there were ample room and abundant supplies. And subsequently a succession of guests of less distinction were fed; all the Tehuelches as well as Araucanos and Picunches being maintained during their stay by the chief.

I was very much struck with the obedience and respect evinced by these people towards their Cacique. His authority extends as far north as Mendoza, over hundreds of Indians, residing in fixed tolderias, some few in the valley near Manzanas, but the chief part more to the northward, near the groves of araucarias. But the power of the chief is absolute, and his word is law to his most distant subjects. At an order from him they leave their toldos, wives, and children, and repair mounted, and ready for any service, to his head-quarters. His wealth is considerable: besides the numerous flocks and herds, one of the toldos was used simply as a treasury, where his stores of silver ornaments, ponchos, mantles, &c., were safely stowed away.

I was present in his toldo at the arrival of a messenger. The Indian, who had evidently come from a long distance, did not venture to enter until commanded to do so, when, with the utmost respect, he took his seat at a distance from the chief, communicated his message, received his orders, and retired; when again ready for the road he appeared to receive final instructions, after which he mounted his horse and rode off without more ado.

The subordinate caciques, whose office and rank are hereditary, appeared to be finer and more intelligent men than the rank and file. Whether this was owing to a difference of race, or merely to their aristocratic descent and hereditary refinement of features and bearing, I cannot say; but their superiority was very marked; whereas among the Tehuelches no such difference between the caciques and their clansmen is observable. The superiority of these semi-civilised Araucanos to their southern neighbours was evident in every way, save only bodily strength. Their residence in a more fertile country, near the apple and araucaria groves, gives them great advantages over the nomad Patagonians. They cultivate wheat, small quantities of which were brought to us for sale; besides storing the natural harvest of piñones and apples, from which, as before stated, they brew cider of unusual strength, and also distil ‘pulco,’ an intoxicating liquor, from the algarroba bean. My intercourse with both Foyel’s people and those at Manzanas was not sufficiently long to enable me to become conversant with their language and customs, which have been described by others. The language, of which I learnt a few words, seemed softer and more melodious, as well as possessing a more copious vocabulary, than the guttural Tehuelche, and appeared to me closely akin to the Pampa tongue; but Jackechan, who could speak both, and Gravino, strongly insisted on the distinction between the two dialects. Their personal habits were excessively neat and cleanly, the morning bath never being omitted by men, women, and children, who all regularly trooped down to the water just before dawn; and their dress was much more carefully attended to than that of the Patagonians. I had no opportunity of witnessing their religious ceremonies, but was assured that they are worshippers of the sun, and there was no vestige of idols of any sort possessed by them. Their ceremonials on occasions of births, &c., were very similar to those of the Tehuelches, save that the ‘doctor’ appeared on such occasions more elaborately adorned with various colours.

When Quintuhual’s niece was sick, her brother enacted the part of ‘wizard,’ duly painted and adorned with a head-dress of feathers. Instead of a mandil tent, a screen of ponchos hung over posts was erected, and all the finery of the family displayed. I was a guest at the feast of slaughtered mares, but was not present at the previous proceedings, as by this time the restraints of dignity as a caciquillo forbade my wandering about as an idle spectator.

They were invariably scrupulous not to commence a meal without first throwing broth or a small piece of meat on the ground, at the same time muttering a charm to propitiate the Gualichu, and they are generally more superstitious and more fearful of witchcraft than even the other Indians. They have some knowledge of precious stones, and seem to attribute certain virtues to them. Thus Foyel possessed what seemed to be a magnificent rough turquoise, which he was on the point of bestowing on me, when his wife and brother-in-law interposed some remark, upon which he apologised, saying that he did not like to part with it, as it had been long in the family. They object strongly, however, to any strangers picking up stones as specimens, or appearing to ‘prospect’ in any way, which, being forewarned by Ventura Delgado, I was especially careful to avoid. Mons. Guinnard has given a description of some of their games, differing from those in vogue among the Tehuelches, as for instance gambling with black and white beans. Casimiro is my authority for stating that this people preserve the singular custom of abduction in marriage. The intending bridegroom does not trouble himself to obtain the consent of the bride, but having paid the fixed dowry or price to her parents, he gallops up, and forcibly seizing the girl carries her off before him to the bush, whence, after an enforced honeymoon of two days, they return as man and wife to his dwelling. This, however, is not the practice in the case of the marriage of a cacique’s daughters. Polygamy is allowable: thus the great Cheoeque possessed three wives, the chief favourite, whose amiable good-humour deserved the honour, occupying the central place in the toldo; but all three lived in perfect harmony and took care of each other’s children with impartial affection.

These Araucanos are, as I have said, apt to kidnap or buy captives, and I am inclined to suspect that there is a scarcity of women amongst them, of which the exterminating cruelties practised towards women and children by the frontier ‘Cristianos’ is a probable cause. They are certainly more dangerous to strangers than the Southern Indians, and it is unsafe to venture amongst them without proper safe conducts from the cacique.

To myself Cheoeque offered permission to travel directly north through the interior of the country as far as the Argentine Provinces, guaranteeing my safety; and the temptation was only resisted by reflecting on the necessity of keeping faith with my Tehuelche friends by proceeding to Patagones. He also gave me a cordial invitation to return, and an assurance that I should be always welcomed as a friend. All our business, both commercial and political, being concluded, and the farewell banquet over, Cheoeque distributed gifts of horses, &c., among the Tehuelches in return for the numerous presents he had received from them. As a set-off to a set of gold studs, he presented me with one of the peculiar lances always used by his people, about fifteen to eighteen feet long and very light, the shaft being made of a cane, which grows in the Cordillera forests, strongly resembling a bamboo, and of the thickness of the butt of a stout pike rod. This present, by the way, caused me to commit a breach of etiquette. I placed it leaning against the toldo, and was at once requested to remove it, as it was a sign of war, though whether it was regarded as a challenge or an omen was not clear; but I was instructed that the lance must either be laid down on, or planted upright in the ground. Another lance was also bestowed on Casimiro, besides numerous horses and other valuables. We took leave of the powerful Cheoeque, and of Linares, with whom, as it had been settled that I should proceed as chasqui, I made an agreement to meet in Patagones, and on the 11th started on our return to the toldos, all in high satisfaction at the success of our visit. The natural exultation of Casimiro was much lessened by the continual illness of his son Graviel, on whom a careful watch had to be kept to restrain him, in the event of his being attacked by another paroxysm of madness.

Riding up the valley where we had slept the night previous to arriving at Cheoeque’s, we observed some cattle in the thicket on the borders of the stream; part of the herd belonging to the chief, which had been stowed away in various secluded parts of the neighbourhood. We crossed the barren high pampa, and descended, about one o’clock, to the banks of the Rio Limay, bivouacking in the same spot as on our journey to Las Manzanas, close to Inacayal’s toldos. Here we found Orkeke and a good many other Tehuelches; also the four wounded men, two of whom were already on the high road to recovery.

We proceeded to Inacayal’s toldo at his personal request, where we remained until evening was drawing on, when cattle were brought up, caught, and slain, and divided amongst the chiefs. Whilst busy shaving a piece of hide wherewith to make some gear, I received a message from Orkeke, whose fire was situated at perhaps a hundred paces from ours, that he wished to see me when disengaged, and after supper I strolled down, and found the veteran sitting loading his pipe. After a smoke, he invited me to accompany him to inspect his newly-acquired troop of horses, and show him which I considered to be the best. I picked out a young white animal that had belonged to Cheoeque’s own stud. ‘Very well,’ he replied; ‘take him; he is yours; I never made you any return for the revolver you gave me in Teckel.’ Although I did not require the horse, it would have been insulting to refuse it, so I walked off with my racer in tow. This little incident is mentioned to correct the notion entertained by some that the greed of gain is a predominant feature in the Indian character.

The following morning we bid adieu to Inacayal and his people, and turned our horses’ heads for the pass of the river Limay, which was if possible more swollen and rapid than on the previous occasion; but we all crossed in safety, although Casimiro’s and my horse fell once, fortunately where the water was shallow. Everybody, however, got thoroughly wet, and a continual downfall of rain coming on, prevented all chance of drying our mantles. We marched back by a route lying to the westward of that we had before followed, passing under and amongst the high wooded mountains, on the heights of which every now and then we could perceive a condor sitting in majestic solitude, looking down on us like a priest from a pulpit.

About four P.M. the rain cleared off, and we bivouacked in a grassy valley, with incense and other bushes growing on the sides. Here, owing to the sickness of Graviel and another of our party, we passed a miserable time, not even being able to get dry; and in addition to our previous discomfort, towards evening a frost set in, and when I woke up about midnight to look round for the horses my mantle was like a board.

I kindled a fire, as the weather was now clear, and soon all the party were huddled round it to warm their half-frozen limbs before lying down again.

The next morning at daylight, thoroughly chilled and hungry, two of us started to fetch the horses, some of the new ones having, as we expected, found their way back to within a few miles of the Rio Limay. However, by the time the sun had risen to sufficient height to give some warmth, we had caught up the others of our party, and not sparing our horses, by two o’clock had passed through the street of rocks and come in sight of the toldos, where we shortly arrived.

Before sunset all the Tehuelches had returned to the bosoms of their families, and all were glad to sleep under the shelter of a toldo once more, after having passed twelve days and nights in stormy weather without any covering save our mantles.

The 14th of April, the morning after our return, a complaint was made by Foyel’s people that the Tehuelche Indians left behind, thinking it useless to proceed to the plains, some miles distant, to hunt for the supply of the toldos whilst cattle and sheep were grazing in the immediate vicinity, had helped themselves in the obscurity of the night. Meña corroborated the fact; and although he had been away hunting with the greatest assiduity, he had met with but little success, and complained bitterly of the hungry times they had endured.

Soon after our arrival Kai Chileno was seized with illness, and in a few days several of the more aged and children sickened with headache and fever, showing all the symptoms of severe influenza. Alarmed lest the sickness should spread, on the 16th of April most of the Tehuelches struck toldos and took the road leading to Patagones; but our toldo and another remained behind on account of the continued illness of Graviel and the others. Towards evening of the same day we suddenly heard shouts and cries in the toldos of Foyel, and all except Casimiro, who sat quite still by the fireside, rushed to seize their arms, naturally thinking that a party had arrived to fight from Las Manzanas. After a little suspense we observed a line of men advancing towards our toldos on foot, shouting, firing, and brandishing their arms. Casimiro, who was having a quiet laugh at us, then explained that they were only fighting the sickness. The party advanced to our toldo, beating the back of it with their lances, to scare away the Gualichu, and then retired.

We all had a good laugh over this affair; and I was amused to hear Meña, who was an intelligent youth, arguing that the Indians were quite right, as sickness never attacked an armed man.

We lived chiefly on air the last four days of our stay in Geylum, as no hunting was done; but Foyel, after learning our wants, came to the rescue, presenting me with a couple of sheep, which I received with gratitude, and divided amongst the party.

It had been intended that his party should accompany the Tehuelches to Patagones, but as it would be necessary to leave their women and children in Geylum with only a few boys to take care of the flocks and herds, and they were not confident as to the pacific intentions of the Manzaneros, he and Quintuhual considered it more advisable to remain for the present in their camp, and afterwards, by riding in fast, to overtake our party en route previous to their arrival in the settlements.

I bid an affectionate adieu to Miss Foyel, who had always shown me the greatest kindness, and the natural grace of whose manners would have adorned a civilised drawing-room. Her parting words were an invitation to return if possible and pay another visit to the toldo, where I had been made to feel myself at home.

Her father asked me to procure him a grinding organ, as Casimiro had informed him that he had seen music made by turning a handle. I promised to get one if I could, and after a cordial farewell returned to our toldo, as we intended going away at daylight on the 17th.

Accordingly we prepared for a start; and a boy came over from the other toldos to join us. He was a Tehuelche, whose father had been killed on suspicion of witchcraft, and being a remote connexion of Casimiro’s, had claimed his protection, which of course was granted, and he (Casimiro) had agreed to take him with us, informing him that he was to act as my page, look after my horses, &c., and make himself generally useful. This was a very fine idea, but one glance at the face and figure of this illustrious youth was sufficient to show me that I should probably spend my time in looking after him, and a more mischievous imp I never saw. When told that he might catch one of my horses to travel on, he immediately fixed on the wrong one, a horse that I had myself barely mounted for perhaps six weeks, in order to get it into condition for the journey into Patagones.

This horse he caught, and came down to the toldos at full gallop over rocks, stones, and bushes, with a grin of delight on his face. After being warned in mild terms that he was not to ride that horse, which I took from him and turned loose, he proceeded to catch one of Casimiro’s, which he treated in the same manner, but at length got the right one, and then, without saying ‘With your leave, or by your leave,’ galloped off, yelling at the top of his voice, to follow the road which the Indians had taken the previous day.

We were about to start ourselves when, at the last moment, Quintuhual sent to say that he wished to have a council. So Casimiro and myself remained in the pouring rain squatting on the grass listening to a repetition of what we had heard the previous day.

When the council was concluded a sheep was brought up and killed. The poor beast was lashed to a post with its head looking to the sky, and the throat being cut, salt was forced into the wound, the lip of which was compressed secundum artem, in order to flavour the blood and lungs, &c., which formed the repast. All the girls then crowded round, each preferring a request to us to bring a little yerba, flour, sugar, &c., from the settlements, till, our horses being ready, mine having been additionally burdened with the dead mutton by way of provisions for the road, we extricated ourselves from the crowd, and amidst repeated injunctions, charges, and affectionate farewells, got away, and towards 4 P.M. started to overtake the now distant cavalcade.

CHAPTER VIII.
GEYLUM TO PATAGONES.

My friends had been unanimous in describing the district that intervened between Geylum and a place spoken of as Margensho, nine marches distant, as both difficult to travel, and affording scanty pasture for the horses and little game for the people. The rain which had been falling when we left, had turned to sleet driven by a strong westerly gale, and my load of mutton sadly interfered with the management of the sheltering mantle. Fortunately, as the direction of our route was easterly, we thus escaped having to face the storm, while the gale in our backs stimulated both horses and riders to their utmost speed.

At the entrance of the rock-strewn gorge which formed the eastern gateway of the valley of Geylum, to the south of which towered the isolated column of rock, we were suddenly startled by the apparition of mounted Indians galloping towards us from the direction which our advanced party had taken. Conjectures as to possible calamity in the shape of a fight or accident were speedily dispelled, as they proved to be Tehuelches riding back in search of lost horses, which they averred had been stolen and craftily concealed by the Araucanians. So we continued our march through a succession of narrow rocky gorges winding amongst the hills, till, as the twilight was growing dark, we arrived, wet and weary, and feeling symptoms of illness, at the encampment situated in one of the usual grassy valleys. The toldo when reached proved to be in utter disorder, two of the women and a child having been attacked with the epidemic; so we set to work ourselves to light a fire, secure the skin covering of the toldo, and arrange the beds, and after a time the interior assumed a more ship-shape aspect, although the grass (our carpet) and everything else were wet. On every side one heard complaints of some child having fallen sick, and throughout the night the wailing cry of the women ‘Ah gelay loo!’ over their darlings rendered sleep all but impossible. Next morning broke fine and clear, so it was determined to march onwards in the hope that speedy change might get rid of the epidemic, but starting was almost as difficult as staying.

Of our party Meña had returned to look for a missing horse; Crimè was dying, and Casimiro was attending to him; and what with sick friends and children all were occupied or distracted, and the business of catching the horses devolved on myself, single-handed at first. Having secured the troop, the next task was to catch my newly-acquired steed; the sight of a lazo was sufficient to make him gallop a league, and as he was very swift, three hours were spent in ineffectual efforts, but at last, two or three of my comrades coming up to my assistance, he was caught. Giving my flibbertigibbet page charge of the remaining horses, I started, in company with one of my friends, to join the hunting circle, already in course of formation.

We rode up a valley in an easterly direction, on our way passing the invalid Crimè, who, groaning with pain, lay stretched out at full length on a sort of couch composed of blankets on the horse’s back, his wife leading the horse and wailing out loud. But as condolences were of little use, we passed on in silence, and shortly emerged from the valley, which sloped up by gradual ascent to a wide plain of sandy soil and stunted bushes, bounded on the eastern horizon by a line of high jagged hills, which stretched to the southward as far as the eye could reach. While sitting under a bush by the fire, I was attacked with headache and sickness, the premonitory symptoms of the epidemic; however, I mounted and joined the hunting party, and at the end of the circle felt much better, although unable to eat.

The finish brought us to the entrance of a valley which wound among the precipitous rocky hills of the range seen from the farther verge of the plain. While watching the cavalcade of women and baggage, I looked long in vain for my own troop of four horses, but at last descried them trotting without a guide in the rear of the column, their natural sagacity or perhaps thirst having induced them to follow their comrades. The trusty page had left them to take care of themselves, and gone off hunting on his own account, which behaviour, repeated on a subsequent occasion, caused the loss of the stud. Towards evening we encamped in a valley enclosed by three hills, one of which, of decidedly volcanic aspect, was named ‘Oerroè.’ The side of this hill was thickly scattered with fragments of the vesicular lava which furnishes the favourite material for the hand bolas. As most of us had exchanged our weapons of the chase for apples, piñones, &c., in Las Manzanas, many were soon employed picking stones and fashioning bolas. I took very good care that my page should be unprovided with hunting implements, but, alas! here he fell sick, or pretended to be, and was just as useless as before. The day after our arrival Crimè’s sufferings were terminated. I received a summons to his death-bed; the Cacique, though wandering, knew his friends, and called all to witness that his death had been caused by a Southern Tehuelche whom he named and described, and then, raising his arm, pointed to a vacant space and cried, ‘Look at him, there he stands.’ He then asked me to ‘feel his arm,’ and as, to please him, I laid my finger on his pulse it beat slower and slower, till, with a sudden gasp, he died. According to etiquette we silently retired, and the toldo resounded with the clamorous crying of the women and the wailing of his widow. The usual funeral rites were hurriedly gone through, but most were too absorbed in their own troubles to participate in them. During the night three children died, and more were at death’s door; and, the supply of horseflesh from the funeral victims being abundant, all thoughts of marching were abandoned, and the camp resounded with the lamentations of the women. In our toldo all the inmates were sick, and the duty of looking after the horses devolved on myself and Casimiro, who was recovering from his attack.

We were joined in this place by Hinchel’s son with his Araucanian wife, with whom another man came to look for a girl who had run away from Foyel’s toldo, but his quest proved fruitless, as she remained invisible, stowed away in some of the toldos. This man brought further news that Cheoeque’s people, renewing the old feud, were arming to fight now that we had gone; also that a man had been killed in a drunken brawl since our departure, and that a rumour was current that the Valdivians had had their cattle taken from them, and various other stories, most of which were declared to be lies by Orkeke, who, having lost a horse, had returned to look for it in Geylum; the budget of alarming news thus proving to be a fresh illustration of the Indians’ proneness to invent if they have nothing of real importance wherewith to astonish their hearers. Crimè’s widow took up her abode in our toldo; and as, by this chief’s death, the post of Capitanejo, with the rank of Lieutenant in the Buenos Ayrean army, and the right of drawing rations, was vacant, Casimiro consulted me as to his successor. But successive proposals of those who seemed most fit, beginning with Wáki, were objected to by the Cacique, who at last declared that he should name his almost insane son Graviel as the chief to be placed by the Argentine Government upon the list of the Caciques to be conciliated by annual pay! On April 22 a start was made, but we remained to the last, as four of Casimiro’s horses which I had brought down to the valley the previous evening were missing, so the chieftain returned to look for them, and the rest of the toldo pursued their journey.

After taking a farewell look at the Cordillera, which was presently shut out from view by the hills, the counterslope of which we descended, a hurried march led us through a very barren rocky country entangled in broken irregular hills, with scarcely a bush to shelter under, and little or no pasture. We encamped, or rather reached the camp after it was pitched, in a cañon containing a small spring and a very little green pasture, and went to bed supperless, as, not being in time for the hunt, and game being very scarce, what we could beg from our neighbours was naturally given to those recovering from sickness.

Jackechan’s wife and child were still very unwell, and, as the child was supposed to be dying, the doctor was sent for. He proceeded to cure it by laying it on the ground, muttering a charm and patting it on the head; after which he put his mouth close to its chest and shouted to bring the devil out: he then turned it on its face and repeated the same process. The child’s health mended next day, and it was shortly out of danger.

About ten o’clock at night Casimiro returned with his horses, which had strayed a considerable distance on the road back to Geylum. The next day a long march of twenty miles brought us to an encampment on the western verge of a broad plain, watered by a brooklet. During the hunt the first Patagonian hares, or cavies, were caught. These little animals live in burrows, but are generally out feeding or sleeping in the grass during the day. They are excessively swift for perhaps a mile, but, like the foxes of this country, soon get tired. The chase of these small deer afforded an agreeable relief to the monotony of the journey. As soon as we entered a plain or valley where they abounded, as they always were found in numbers where the pasture was good, all hurried off to ‘stop the earths,’ i.e. close up the burrows with bushes; but the cunning little beasts often evaded us by slipping into a burrow overlooked by the earth stoppers. It required considerable skill to bring them down with the bolas, as, if only caught round the legs or body, they disentangled themselves quickly, but a blow on the head proved at once fatal. They are good eating, though the flesh is somewhat dry when roasted. Their skins are made up into mantles, but are of little value, as the hair soon comes off.

About a mile below the encampment, where the sandy plain narrowed and sloped down to a low-lying grassy valley, a singular phenomenon presented itself. The morning after our arrival, when going out to look for the horses, a furious easterly gale whirled the dust aloft in dense clouds, and, to my great surprise, the sand, which was driven into our faces, was as hot as when the fire so nearly encircled us. Almost blinded in forcing our way through this curtain of driving sand, we rode right into a hollow, where the earth appeared to be on fire; as the horses plunged through the heated surface the hair was burnt off their fetlocks, and they were nearly maddened with fright, so that it was a difficult feat for the riders without saddles or stirrups to keep their seats. Once I was somewhere near my horse’s ears, but, more by good luck than good management, just escaped being thrown as it were into the fire. After the gale had partially moderated, I proceeded to inspect this place, and found that, although not, as I at first thought, absolutely on fire, the ground was smoking as if from internal combustion. The surface presented a crust of baked yellow clay, which, yielding to the horses’ feet, disclosed a black subsoil; there was no flame, but a thin white vapour issued from the ground. When I incautiously ventured a step on the treacherous crust it gave way, but I managed to extricate myself with no further damage than burning my potro boots. The Indians stated that the fire had been originally caused some years previously by their having kindled the pasture higher up the valley, and that the ground had been burning ever since. It was impossible to discover whether there was any subjacent bed of combustible matter which might thus have been ignited; but, as there are hot wells and springs in the same range not many miles distant to the south-east, it seems more probably due to volcanic agency. The principal hot spring was described as a circular basin of about six feet in diameter, the water, of a temperature not so hot as to scald the hand, bubbling up through numerous holes in a clay bottom. In many of the surrounding hills there are lava and pumice of not extremely ancient formation; some of the hills have also an appearance of having been at a recent period the outlets of eruptive forces, which have scattered large shattered masses of rock over the sides of the extinct craters.

In this encampment I had a serious misunderstanding with our chief, which all but ended in a downright quarrel; but after consideration we agreed to make it up, as although on two occasions of danger he had left me to my fate, I thought it better on the whole to keep friends for the present. The evening of this quarrel, as a party of three toldos were starting off to go to the Chupat, and Casimiro was desirous of extending his fame to the Welsh settlement, I wrote a letter to the authorities enquiring about some saddles, part of his Argentine rations sent thither by mistake, which the chief declared to have been intended for him, but which had been distributed amongst other Indians. The letter was forwarded by one of the Indians who was supposed to be of English parentage on one side, although he showed but little traces of English blood in his type, with the exception perhaps of his hair, which was of a lighter colour than that usually met with: he was a very good-natured fellow, and I regretted his departure, as he was one of my adherents, but being a man of very sober habits he did not wish to be mixed up in the universal orgie which would probably take place on arriving in the vicinity of Patagones. With this party the young widow who had made overtures of marriage to me also departed, after an affectionate farewell, and receiving a handkerchief as a remembrance. The following morning we also started, and one of the universal loafers who had gambled his property away, asking for a mount, was told to catch the ‘white horse’ presented by Orkeke: he accordingly borrowed a horse to catch him, and at the end of our day’s journey had not succeeded in doing more than driving him in, to use a nautical term, in our wake; this was exactly what I had intended, as this Indian was a great rogue, and had cheated me at cards out of a set of metal bolas, equivalent to a horse.

Our march lay up the valley, and the circle was formed on the surrounding volcanic hills, the sides of which, besides the vesicular lava, presented large masses of the ironstone noted as having been observed at Santa Cruz. Shrubs were sparsely scattered on these hills, and game was exceedingly scarce.

Towards evening we encamped on the borders of a stream in a place called by the Indians Telck. There the sickness broke out afresh in its worst form, and several children died, in consequence of which a quantity of mares and horses were slaughtered, and numbers of ponchos, ornaments, and other property burnt by the parents in their grief. It was most distressing to see and hear the melancholy manifestations of sorrow, and the sound alone of that dreadful crying aloud, and the dismal ‘ullagoning,’ to use the Irish expression, of the old women, haunted me even in my sleep. The night of our arrival a mock combat with the Gualichu took place, in which everybody joined. After dark, when many were sitting by the firesides conversing, and I myself was reclining on my bed smoking, the Doctor came into the toldo, and communicated with the chief, who told all to get their arms ready, and loaded his gun: on a shout being set up all fires were immediately extinguished, and all commenced firing off guns, clashing their swords, and beating the backs of the toldos, and yelling ‘kow-w!’ at each blow; firebrands being, at the same time, thrown into the air by the women, with clamorous shouts and cries. The scene was wild and striking, the darkness of the night being only illuminated by the flashes of the guns or the sparks from the brands whirled high into the air. At a given signal all stopped simultaneously, and for two or three minutes the camp remained in perfect darkness, after which the fires were relighted, and things resumed their ordinary aspect.

The following day, strange to say, a real fight took place, in which one man was wounded, and for a few minutes a general mêlée or free fight appeared imminent. Parties were already forming to cancel old blood feuds, when further mischief was checked by the return of Hinchel, myself, and others. We had been absent trying new horses on the racecourse, which, as in almost all the camping-grounds since leaving the Rio Sengel, was a regular beaten level track of about a couple of miles in length, and my new horse had established his fame as a racer by winning a match over a distance of a mile-and-a-half; meanwhile the quarrel broke out—such are the uncertainties of Indian life.

We remained some days in this place, and whilst hunting in the surrounding country (where hares abounded), we observed a new description of spinous shrub with small ovate leaves and yellow flowers, resembling holly, and growing to about two feet in height. Casimiro and myself agreed to try whether the leaves might not be medicinal, so a quantity were bruised and boiled: the infusion proved exceedingly bitter, reminding me of quinine, and acted as an admirable sudorific, being administered to the invalids with great success. In one of our excursions we had crossed the hills and descended on a high elevated plain, concluding our hunt near a swelling eminence exactly resembling a huge ‘barrow’ thickly overgrown with shrubs, from which what appeared to be a salina was espied, to our great delight. Hinchel and myself being alone, and having a fat ostrich to discuss for dinner, determined to enjoy our meal by its shore, first testing the quality of the salt, a luxury which we had long been destitute of. Dismounting, we proceeded to investigate it; but to our great disappointment, after walking over every part of it, and digging down with knives a foot below the surface, the supposed salt proved to be bitter and nauseous nitrate of soda.

After quitting the vicinity of the Cordillera the weather had every day become warmer, and the frosts at night much lighter: indeed whilst in Telck some warm days were experienced, although the winter season was fast approaching. Near this encampment the small edible root previously described as growing in the dried-up lagoons was found in abundance, and was collected by the women and children.

Cavies were plentiful in the hollows and valleys in the neighbouring hills, and even close to the encampment, but the chase of other game proved difficult, the hill sides being so strewn with stones as to render galloping a horse a certainty of laming him. In this neighbourhood Hinchel pointed out a detached pinnacle of rock, much resembling that noticed at Geylum, and according to custom invoked a blessing from the guardian spirit; and then he informed me that on the third next march we should pass a deposit of yellow ore, lying to the south of the route, and that during the hunt he would show it to me. Orkeke also corroborated this statement, and I have every reason to believe that there is in that locality a deposit of iron or more probably copper ore.

As the meat of the slain horses was nearly consumed, we marched the following day across a most stony, rocky, and inhospitable country, and at length arrived at a range of hills, through which ran a steep, narrow gorge. Descending through its tortuous windings, we at length arrived at a spring, the waters of which, joining with another small rivulet, flowed out and formed a sort of marsh at the head of a large plain. From the slope of the hill bordering the ravine a fine panorama extended to the east, the entire face of the country appearing to be more uniformly undulating than the confused ranges of hills, through the intricacies of which we had been marching and hunting since leaving Geylum. In the foreground were visible distant black figures, moving with swiftness across the plain in pursuit of numerous ostriches; and away to the eastward rose a column of smoke, the cause of which was eagerly speculated on.

I am conscious that the description of this part of the journey is not likely to give a very clear idea of the country traversed; and that the directions of the successive ranges, and the general character of the ground, are left too much to the reader’s imagination; but, in deprecation of criticism and censure, it is pleaded that I was under the impression that this district had been traversed, and accurately surveyed and described, by a savant employed by the Argentine Government; and that I was deprived of the assistance of my compass, which had been presented to Foyel. The notes taken at the time were very scanty, and my recollections were confused, inasmuch as I was labouring under a constantly-recurring attack of sickness, which was only kept at bay by resolute endeavours not to give way; but which rendered observation and record, in addition to hunting and the usual toils of marching, impossible. It was the more needful for me to endeavour to keep up, as all were more or less ill, and becoming increasingly gloomy and dispirited. To add to the troubles which weighed down the Indians’ spirits at this place, the doctor’s horse fell while descending a precipitous rocky hill. The unfortunate physician was stunned, and very nearly crushed to death by the horse falling on him; great grief was universally expressed at this catastrophe, as no one was left to cure the invalids and contend with the malignant Gualichu, who it was natural for the Indians to imagine had laid a trap for his opponent, and upset the medicine man’s steed in order to have the field clear for himself.

We encamped in a sort of morass by the side of the hills overlooking the plain, and were woke at daylight by the chattering of a flock of blue and orange parroquets; these birds, which brought back old pleasant associations of the banks of the Parana, and almost seemed to be harbingers of civilised life, were numerous in this locality, though they were the first of the species that I had observed in the country.

The distant signal smoke was concluded to indicate the presence of Jackechan and the Pampa Indians under Teneforo, and all were in spirits at the prospect of obtaining news, and perhaps luxuries in the shape of flour, yerba, &c., from Patagones. The order was accordingly given to march, and a large answering signal fire kindled in some dry pasture bordering the hill side, a messenger being at the same time despatched to ascertain the news. After a rather long march over a barren plain strewn with angular masses of chalcedony and projecting rocks resembling alabaster, we arrived at a dreary encampment, sheltered under a bank, from which a spring gushed out, forming a refreshing rivulet.