134 THROUGH THE HEART OF PATAGONIA 



ourselves ; as we expected, they broke landwards, passing- within 

 about seventy yards with their ears laid back, swaying their long- 

 necks and leaping and jinking among the stones. I pulled one 

 over as she ranged up the side of the cliff. She turned out to be 

 heavy with young, and the buck with her stopped at the top of 

 the hill, but when I went towards him he fled. We were delighted 

 at thus getting meat, especially as this guanaco was the fattest we 

 had yet shot. Her flesh was, however, very strong. 



When we were returning Jones, who was in front, suddenly 

 said, " There go the horses ! " It was so. They had stampeded, 

 leaving us to get home as best we could. We threw off our coats, 

 laid down our rifles carefully, and ran. Jones' horse was in hobbles, 

 but being used to them kept up with his companions ; we were, 

 however, lucky enough to catch them after a couple of miles, and 

 makinof bridles out of our waist-scarves rode them into camp. 

 Scrivenor said the horses had suddenly started madly, broken 

 their cabrestos, dashed together and then made off. W^e thought 

 at the time they must have winded a puma, but this proved to be 

 a mistake, for in the night two of them again escaped, and Jones 

 retrieved them when the first streaks of dawn were etching the 

 landscape in black and white. He woke me and we discovered 

 that a wolf must have come into camp and stolen our duck and 

 goose. This wolf had also eaten both my rifle-slings within three 

 yards of where we were sleeping. W hile we were discussing 

 our ill luck and lamenting the fact that we had carefully plucked 

 the duck and goose upon the preceding evening, I observed 

 the author of our misfortunes calmly watching us from under a 

 bush. Revenge was, of course, uppermost in my thoughts. I killed 

 her with a Mauser. She proved to be an old female 3 ft. 8 in. 

 from the top of her teeth to the end of her tail 



It was beautifully warm all day in Rosy Camp, as we had 

 named it, and we lay on the ground after making much-needed 

 toilettes in the river. 



The next niirht we had a visit from the mate of the wolf 

 we had killed. It is a singular fact that the horses were at the 

 least as much afraid of these wolves as they were of the pumas. 

 While I was writing my diary and nursing my knee, which had 



