28 HUNTING CAMPS. 



the south, generally on horseback, but sometimes 

 penetrating deeper into the heart of the mighty range 

 by boat. The lower spurs of the Andes and the levels 

 between them are rich in game, and all through the 

 wide and virgin land the hunter may ride sheltered 

 from the incessant wind which torments the pampas, 

 while during the early autumn one blue and golden day 

 succeeds another and life is refreshing and delightful. 



In the shadow of the Andes there are still vast spaces 

 between the towering peaks unvisited and unseen by 

 human eyes. There still remain blanks on the maps 

 that science has not as yet filled in, for few prospectors 

 have touched even the fringe of this region, and the 

 Tehuelche Indians, who are born and live, migrate, 

 hunt, and die within sight of the white summits, can 

 never be persuaded to venture within the limits of the 

 great forests which cling about the feet of the cordillera, 

 for the reason that they believe that the Gualicho, the 

 Spirit of Evil, has his dwelling among the mountains, 

 and no reward of meat or skins or shelter can tempt 

 them to brave his anger. 



Another reason for the unbroken solitude of the 

 cordillera is undoubtedly the fact that the forests are 

 singularly devoid of life. As one passes through them 

 the usual sounds to be heard are the purely woodland 

 sounds of falling trees, the rustling of leaves, the snap 

 of a twig, but few calls of birds or cries of wild animals 

 in fact, signs of organic life grow fewer and fewer the 

 further one advances into their recesses. 



But about the foothills, and among the thousand 

 gullies and canadones that run up towards the high 

 bulk of the range, game abounds. Round the shores of 

 Lake Argentine, for example, just south of lat. 50, 



