WANDERING CATTLE 65 



is the enclosure (potrero) for calves that have just 

 been born. The cows come there every morning, and 

 they are milked for a few months to make cheese. 

 Like the cerco, the represa is the personal property 

 of the man who made it, or of one who has inherited 

 it and sees to its upkeep. 



The cattle of the Llanos move a good deal. There 

 are certain irregular migrations, and others that are 

 periodic or connected with the seasons. Everywhere 

 on the fringe of the Sierra the cattle remain in the 

 ravine and on the foot-hills during the winter. In the 

 summer they return of themselves to their querencia 

 on the plain. The irregular migrations are due to 

 scarcity of water or pasture. Driven by hunger, the 

 beasts travel a long distance of their own accord. They 

 mingle with other herds, sometimes so far from the 

 ranche where they were born that no one recognizes 

 their mark. Sometimes, again, the rancher himself 

 goes, when his represa is dry, to ask hospitality in some 

 more favoured canton. He is fortunate if the drought 

 has not been general ; if part of the country has been 

 spared and can offer a refuge. 



But it sometimes happens that the whole district 

 has suffered, and the land is naked and scorched every- 

 where. There is then no help except a long journey, 

 to San Luis or to the lucerne-farms of San Juan, 

 for the cattle. The misfortune of the Llanos sends 

 up at once the rent of the invernadas all round. A 

 general evacuation of the cattle is a desperate remedy, 

 and is, in fact, often impracticable. During the whole 

 summer the men wait patiently, hoping for the end of 

 the drought. There is room for hope until April, 

 when storms are still possible. If the month ends 

 without rain, it is too late to remove the exhausted 

 cattle ; the stages across the desolated country are 

 too severe. 



The memory of the worst years of drought — the 

 " epidemics," as the Llanero calls them — lives for a 



5 



