LAKE REGION OF WESTERN ARGENTINA 421 



were so stormy that outdoor work was impossible, so we 

 were glad to remain in the tent disposing of the work in 

 hand. 



When the weather cleared we took other boat-trips 

 through the marshes and out into the lake, but our bag 

 was always limited to things we did not possess or needed 

 for food. The geese were leaving in small flocks to breed 

 in the high Andes, the natives said. Swans also started to 

 drift southward; but still the number of remaining water- 

 fowl, mostly ducks and coots that did not migrate, was 

 incalculable. The water was constantly ruffled by the 

 myriad of moving forms and, at times, the roar of rapidly 

 beating wings reminded us of distant thunder. 



The few people living in widely separated hovels around 

 the borders of the lake lead miserable lives. They culti- 

 vate small areas in grain, but live mostly on fish, water- 

 birds, and goat's milk. The winter season is most trying. 

 Snow falls infrequently and in small quantities, but the 

 cold is intense. The dust-storms, however, are the real 

 tribulations which render life well-nigh unbearable. They 

 frequently last many days at a time; the fine sand sifts 

 through and into everything and is almost suffocating. 

 One breathes it, eats it, wakes up in the morning covered 

 with a layer, and lives in it continuously as in a thick, brown 

 haze that is most exasperating and invites almost constant 

 profanity, at least in thought. We were glad we visited 

 Media Agua; but we were glad indeed when we found our- 

 selves back in San Juan. 



It requires but four hours to reach Mendoza from San 

 Juan by train. This attractive city is really in the heart 

 of the wine country, but the vineyards were almost depleted 

 from the inroads of an insect called the bicho de ccsto. The 

 vegetation all about was covered with small, ragged cocoons 

 from which the hungry hordes of destructive creatures 

 would emerge in the spring. In places wide areas of weeds 

 had been burned over to destroy the pest while still in the 

 incipient stage; but enough always escaped to undo the 



