30 PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS : NARRATIVE. 



fast and dinner are the daily allowance. The hours for the former are 

 from eleven A. M. to one P. M.; those for the latter from five to eight 

 P. M. Strive as we might, it was quite impossible to restrain our appe- 

 tites until the breakfast hour, which with our hosts was always set for one 

 o'clock. We had always been accustomed to rising at a seasonable hour 

 in the morning, and refreshing ourselves with a substantial meal before 

 essaying any work of more than minor importance, and to wait until 

 one o'clock for the arrival of this accustomed meal, was an imposition 

 against which our appetites seldom failed to rebel, whenever and wher- 

 ever put to the test, so long as we remained in the country. 



We were up early the following morning and were delighted to find 

 that the weather, while still raw and cold, showed a decided improvement 

 over the day previous. On looking toward the river, I was surprised 

 to see only the top-masts of the Villarino showing above the crest of 

 the shingle-covered beach. On entering the government building a 

 little before noon, after leaving the vessel the day before, I remem- 

 bered having seen almost her entire hull, as she lay tugging at her 

 anchor on the broad bosom of the river. Could it be that some accident 

 had befallen her during the night? The entire village was still fast 

 asleep, so that there was no one at hand of whom to inquire as to what 

 had happened. Just as I was becoming thoroughly alarmed for the safety 

 of the vessel and those on board, I noticed a great change in the character 

 of the river itself from that which it had presented before. Instead of 

 the broad sheet of water stretching uninterruptedly for three miles, almost 

 on a level with the surface of the uppermost banks of shingle on either 

 shore, there was now only a narrow channel to be seen on the northern 

 side, while an extensive mud flat lay between it and the main river 

 channel on the south, which from my point of view was quite concealed 

 by the bank of shingle in the foreground. It was in the latter channel 

 that the Villarino was anchored. This was my first practical illustra- 

 tion of the enormous tides in this river, which are only exceeded by 

 those of the Bay of Fundy and are given by some authorities as attain- 

 ing a maximum of fifty-two feet. 



We spent the first day after our arrival at Gallegos in overhauling our 

 luggage, in order to ascertain what, if any, injury our equipment had 

 suffered during the long voyage. We were delighted to find that every- 

 thing was in excellent condition. 



