THE RIVER VALLEYS 75 



fifty rounds of ammunition dropped by the Alazan, two ducks, a 

 telescope, and a water-bottle ! 



" October 31. — Soon after we started a big cloud blew out of the 

 south and brought with it a heavy hailstorm, which whistled before 

 a drivintr wind. The horses would not face it, but huddled to-'^ether 

 in the centre of the valley. We encamped early as we needed 

 meat. Jones and I left the camp here among the sand-dunes 

 in the valley and went a-hunting. We rode up a cailadon, in 

 the centre of which our horses foundered in some verv bad 

 ground. Getting out of this we struck a stretch of desolate 

 pampa, across which we cut towards the big caiiadon of the Mayo 

 in order to explore the route which we must follow upon the 

 morrow. To my surprise we presently came to a clear stream, 

 flowing through another wide caiiadon, which joined the Mayo 

 from a south-westerly direction. Can this be the River Genguel .-^ 

 The Indian tjuide told us that it would take us a month to o-et from 

 here to lake Buenos Aires. If it is the Genguel, however, we 

 should arrive at the lake in ten marches — a very different matter. 

 It would be as well to halt to-morrow for the day, so that an 

 observation may be taken to determine this point, and also to 

 enable us to go hunting, as we have but one duck in the camp, 

 and, since our losses at the Senguerr barranca, it is more than ever 

 necessary to save our stock of tinned provisions. 



" To-day the Old Zaino, this time fortunately not carrying a 

 cargo, again attempted to repeat his trick of the Senguerr 

 barranca, but was circumvented by Burbury and Barckhausen. 



''November i. — To-day Scrivenor shot the sun 70 56' W. 

 long, and 45° 39' S. lat. So the river we saw yesterday is the 

 Genguel, which is excellent. Jones and I went out to shoot for the 

 pot. As there were no guanaco in the neighbourhood, he took the 

 Paradox and 1 my 12-bore, and we confined ourselves to 

 following some flocks of upland geese which we had observed in 

 the valley. I will describe the day's sport at length, as it was 

 very typical of Patagcmian wild-fowl shooting in a fairly good 

 district. 



"We rode our horses, of course, I taking the Cruzado and 

 Jones ' JA'.I'^.' a small brown animal, so called because he bears 



