288 THROUGH THE HEART OF PATAGONIA 



were drxiiiL;" up, iuim1)(Ts of o'uanaco liad descended to the lower 

 oTOunds. An Indian trader, accompanied by a few tents of Indians, 

 hatl taken up (jiiarters near the Ri\-er CaHfate, a spot formerly 

 inhabited bv wildfowl onK". For three' days we followed the shore 

 of the lake, but then our way led us upon to the high pampa, where 

 we made our camp in a l)ushless cahadon beside a rocky pool. By 

 this time the horses were beginning to lose their tricks, but at the 

 outset they would hardly allow themselves to be caught, and they 

 wandered every night. The cahadon was clear of snow, but the 

 skv was heavy with the promise of it. We hoped most heartih- 

 that it would give us two more days' grace before it fell. 



The next day we followed the cahadon, which was a shallow 

 depression running south-west. There was no fuel to be found 

 but the thin roots of the dark bush known as mate negra. The 

 early frosts made travelling difficult, as it was necessary to off- 

 saddle earlw that the horses mio-ht not be turned out sweatino- into 

 the cold. We covered sixty miles, changing horses three times, 

 for it was quite clear that we must push on if we hoped to escape 

 the snow. That was one of the most fatiguing marches we had 

 during the whole expedition. About three o'clock I espied some 

 herds of tame cattle in the distance by the side of a lagoon. 

 These proved to belong to some tents of Indians. The men were 

 absent hunting and the camp was given over to the women and 

 decrepit dogs. An enormous china sat in the opening of the 

 largest toldo ; she must have weicrhed twenty odd stone ! We learned 

 from her that the season had been a orood one for guanaco cJiicos. 



In reply to our (|uestion as to how far we might be from the 

 nearest white man's habitation on the next stage of our journey, the 

 fat lady waved her hand picturesquely and vaguely towards the 

 eastern skv but did not commit herself to fio-ures. 



The Indian encampment made a singular picture against a 

 somewhat striking background. The western sky was ])iling up 

 and bulofed with snow-clouds, while the sinkino- sun olowed like a 

 reddiot cannon ball on the rim of the pampa. Against this curtain 

 of colour were set the ])rown tents of ouanaco-skin. In one of 

 these a small fire was burning with little fiames about an old meat 

 tin in which water was beintr boiled for mate. Around the women 



