130 Idle Days in Patagonia. 



case. Nothing will serve to remove it when it 

 comes to this pass but raw suet, vigorously chewed 

 for half an hour, with occasional sips of cold water 

 to harden the delightful mixture and induce it to 

 come away. The culmination of the mess is when 

 the gum spreads over the lips and becomes entangled 

 in the hairs that overshadow them ; and when the 

 closed mouth has to be carefully opened with the 

 fingers, until these also become sticky and hold 

 together firmly as if united by a membrane. All 

 this comes about through the neglect of a simple 

 precaution, and never happens to the accomplished 

 masticator, who is to the manner born. When the 

 gum is still fresh occasionally it loses the quality of 

 stiffness artificially imparted to it, and suddenly, 

 without rhyme or reason, retransforms itself into 

 the raw material as it came from the tree. The 

 adept, knowing by certain indications when this is 

 about to happen, takes a mouthful of cold water at 

 the critical moment, and so averts a result so dis- 

 couraging to the novice. Maken-chewingis a habit 

 common to everybody throughout the entire terri- 

 tory of Patagonia, and for this reason I have de- 

 scribed the delightful practice at some length. 



When disinclined for gum-chewing I ramble for 

 hours through the bushes to listen to the birds, 

 learning their language and making myself familiar 

 with their habits. How coy are some species whose 

 instincts ever impel them to concealment ! What 

 vigilance, keen and never relaxed, is theirs ! 

 Difficult even to catch a passing glimpse of them as 



