THE BATTLE OF THE HORSES 49 



"'Oh, the drearv, drearv moorland! Oh, the wearv, wearv 

 shore ' (of the Chico) ! I took my gun down to the river and 

 shot five widgeon {^Mareca sibilatrix) and six martinetas {Calo- 

 di'omas elegans). 



" Late in the evening Scrivenor and I went up over the ridge of 



bare hills rather with the idea of shooting, if possible, a condor we 



had seen poised high up. Sight at back came off Scrivenor's 



Mauser.* W^e went on and saw a herd of guanaco, one much 



nearer than the rest, and we crawled towards him. The stones were 



a penance. The only cover was thorn, and little of that up there 



on the high pampa above the valley where our camp is. At two 



hundred yards I shot and hit him, but he went on. and })resently 



swayed his neck and lay down. I crawled up and had a shot at 



his neck. Thereafter followed periods of cantering in a rickety 



way, followed by periods of lying down, and at last we went round 



over a rise and crawled down on him. I thought he was dead but for 



the shadow of his neck, and I crawled on with ])ut one cartridge left 



in my gun. As I neared him, up he got and I fired again and hit 



him. He was growin,; very weak. Scrivenor shouted that he had 



no revolver, and so here were we with only our knives. I followed 



the guanaco and Scrivenor w^ent round. I was upon him first 



but my knife was weak. Scrivenor, startled from his usual calm, 



and with a shout, leaped at the guanaco and caught him round 



the neck. So we bore him to earth and slew him. 1 examined 



him for wounds and found four. Two of the shots were \'ital. 



vet he had led us a chase of two and a half miles, and we had 



to carry the meat back to camp. Arrived there, and preparing 



a meal bv the fire, in came Burburv and Jones. Thev had met 



a Gaucho trekking to Colohuapi, whu told them that Colohuapi 



w^as yet twenty-five leagues away and that there were no bolts 



or wood to be had there. I went to bed and smoked, feelino- 



pretty sad. There is but one thing to do. We must jettison some 



of the cargo and sew \\\\ the rest in the skins of guanac(xs. and go 



forward with pack-horses." 



=•■• This happened in the case of two Mausers I had with mc. One came oft" at the 

 third shot from the mere recoil — a serious business. 



