24 HUNTING CAMPS. 



armed only with his boleadores, and this is still done at 

 the present day, yet, though the puma has no great 

 reputation as a fighter, instances have been known of 

 one turning savage when at bay. They are the con- 

 stant and inveterate enemies of the Patagonian sheep- 

 farmer, taking a heavy toll from the flocks, and often 

 killing a dozen or more animals in a single raid. They 

 also continually stampede the horses of travellers, a very 

 annoying matter, as I knew to my cost. These creatures 

 are very readily tamed, and are often kept as pets till 

 almost full-grown. One settler near Lake Argentine 

 lived alone with two three-quarter grown pumas 

 throughout the winter of 1901 in his little single- 

 roomed hut. A strange taste in companionship ! 



This chapter would not be complete without some 

 mention of the Tehuelche methods of hunting. In 

 former times the fabled Patagonian Indians hunted 

 on foot as do the Onas to-day in Terra del Fuego, 

 but since the introduction of the horse from the Aura- 

 canian tribes, whose country marches with that of the 

 Tehuelches to the north-west, the latter now always 

 hunt upon horseback. 



The Tehuelches are a fine race, with large well-hewn 

 features ; their skin is of a reddish brown, but, though 

 they still average six feet in stature, they have noticeably 

 deteriorated in physique from their habit of riding on aU 

 occasions and everywhere. A man will not walk a 

 hundred yards, but catches his horse and rides the dis- 

 tance. As far as the upper part of the body is concerned, 

 the breadth of shoulder and great back and arm muscles 

 demand admiration, but their lower limbs are not pro- 

 portionately strong. 



The Tehuelches, unlike most savage tribes, have never 



