120 THE RETURN JOURNEY. 



killed in the fight, and four dispatched afterwards ; nei- 

 ther of these belligerent tribes recognized such a thing as 

 quarter. The wounded Gauchos were attended to roughly, 

 but with some skill. A great fire was then kindled on the 

 space cleared, near the bank of the stream, so that the 

 grass could not catch the blaze, and the party, then num- 

 bering about twenty, sat around, took out some beef, ate, 

 compared notes of the fight, grinned at us, and examined 

 what they had taken from the Indians. 



The chief sat down with us, around the fire, within the 

 breastwork, at which he could not but express his con- 

 tempt, and chatted with Joaquin and Mr. Barrill till the 

 break of day. He then bade us adieu, mounted his horse, 

 summoned his men, and in a few moments, the robber 

 .band was scampering away across the plain. 



Congratulating ourselves upon our escape, we imme- 

 diately held a sort of council of war in regard to our fu- 

 ture course. Mr. Barrill broached the idea of our re- 

 turning to Buenos Ayres. He expressed himself satis- 

 fied with what he had seen and enjoyed of life on the 

 Pampas, and said that to proceed farther would only be 

 to encounter great dangers to no purpose. I agreed with 

 him, not because I was under his patronage, but because 

 the counsel was wise. Joaquin murmured, but the debate 

 was decided in favor of the return. 



Before sunrise, we had taken the trail leading back to 



