282 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



fortably warm. The Indians were friendly and brought 

 us eggs, goats' milk, chickens, and bread. Each morning 

 the children took the flocks to the narrow river-bed to feed 

 on the sparse vegetation, and at night they brought them 

 back to the stone corrals; they took a few boiled potatoes 

 with them for lunch, and also their spinning for pastime. 

 All spin except the men; and every one had an abundance 

 of blankets and ponchos; even the bags for grain and pota- 

 toes are made of homespun wool. 



The harvest had been gathered and every one seemed 

 contented. One day a party of Indians collected to thresh 

 wheat; from a distance I could hear the boom of a drum 

 and the shrill wail of reed flutes; as I approached, a strange 

 sight met my eyes. Bundles of grain had been piled in a 

 high mound, on the top of which sat the musicians; a dozen 

 mounted Indians were driving a herd of mules and burros 

 around the base. Around and around they went at a 

 frantic pace, keeping perfect time with the music; as the 

 animals circled the stack a man on top cast armfuls of 

 wheat down in their path, so that in running over it re- 

 peatedly they naturally trampled out the grain. About a 

 hundred men, each holding to a long rope, formed a circular 

 fence around the racing mob and prevented any of the 

 animals from escaping. 



We were surprised at the abundance of life in this natu- 

 rally barren region. There were practically no indigenous 

 trees, but a long line of willows had been planted near one 

 of the houses, and to these thousands of cowbirds, doves, 

 and finches came each night to sleep. A short walk across 

 the stubble-fields always revealed something new. There 

 were tinamou which rose with a loud whir, reminding one 

 of partridges; many species of brownish birds belonging to 

 the wood-hewer family, one of them with a long, curved bill, 

 but they ran about on the ground or perched on the stone 

 fences; large flickers lived among the rocks, and condors 

 soared above; and there were even flocks of gulls and plov- 

 ers. The most unusual birds were two species of very 



