114 A BOOK-LOVER'S HOLIDAYS 



ployees were men from the Western ranches, 

 from Montana, Colorado, Texas, or elsewhere; 

 and they and the stock and the vast, pleasant, 

 open-air country were enough to make any 

 man feel at home who had ever lived in the 

 West. The children round the ranch-house 

 were already speaking fluent Portuguese! 



There were Indians in the neighborhood; but 

 we saw none, for they are very shy and dwell 

 in the timber. Although nominally Christian, 

 and somewhat under the influence of the priests, 

 they are otherwise entirely outside of govern- 

 mental control. At first Mackenzie's cattle 

 were sometimes killed by the wild, furtive crea- 

 tures ; but he stopped this by a mixture of firm- 

 ness and fair treatment. 



It was a beautiful country, well watered, 

 with good grass and much timber. I was as- 

 sured by both the men on the ranch and their 

 wives that the climate was better than that of 

 our own Western cattle country, for the heat 

 is not as extreme as during summer in the 

 southern part of our country, and the winters 

 are mild, with only occasional touches of frost. 

 Much care has to be shown in dealing with the 

 ticks and certain other insect plagues, but not 

 materially more than in some of our own South- 

 ern regions. While we were at the outlying 



