RETURN TO GALLEGOS. 47 



who was driving a troop of horses, from which I selected one, paying 

 nine pounds. This gave us each a saddle horse, and going on to Guer 

 Aike I found that our party had arrived in advance and put up for the 

 night. Neither myself nor Mr. Peterson had any desire to pass another 

 night at this wretched place, so saddling our newly purchased horses, we 

 went on to Gallegos that night, leaving Senor Villegrand to follow in the 

 morning. 



Upon our return to Gallegos we applied ourselves quite energetically 

 to the securing of additional horses, a suitable vehicle, and such other 

 articles as were necessary for our equipment. Fortunately we had 

 brought with us a tent, and a camp stove made of heavy sheet iron, such 

 as we were accustomed to use in tenting on our western plains. The 

 weather continued uncomfortably cold and disagreeable, and, in order to 

 add to our comfort, we pitched our tent, put up the stove and secured a 

 supply of wood, with which we made ourselves comfortable, while engaged 

 in getting together, assorting and preparing our outfit. After dining in 

 the cold, barn-like government building, it was a real comfort to repair to 

 our canvas tent, the interior of which we kept delightfully warm. 



We had been greatly perplexed as to the procuring of a proper vehicle. 

 That offered us by Senor Sanchez was entirely too low and too heavy for 

 our purposes. For a time, however, it appeared that it was to be that or 

 nothing. Just as we were about giving up in despair, Senor Ferrari, an 

 Italian and the keeper of the principal shop in the village, came to our 

 rescue by very considerately offering us at a moderate price a two-wheeled 

 horse-cart fitted with shafts and a shaft harness, which he had been using 

 in conveying his goods from the beach to the store. This was really very 

 kind of Senor Ferrari, considering that the vehicle was almost as much of 

 a necessity to him as to ourselves, and the trouble and delay he was put 

 to in having another brought down from Buenos Aires. Needless to say, 

 we accepted this offer at once, for while the cart was by no means what 

 we could have wished, it was by all odds the best we could do under the 

 circumstances. We now had cart, harness and saddle horses, but had yet 

 to procure cart-horses. 



Horses are so seldom broken to harness in Patagonia, the carting for 

 the most part being done with bullocks, that the possibility of procuring 

 well-broken cart-horses was quite out of the question. However, an Ar- 

 gentine gaucho and Indian trader, who had been present when we pur- 



