THE BATTLE OF THE HORSES 39 



enough, owing to some inequality of the ground, the waggon, 

 although very heavily laden, did not hurt the animal. He was not 

 even cut, and when we got him up he resumed his journey as 

 if nothing had happened, and eventually turned out one of our best 

 horses. 



We now made two or three good marches in succession, but on 



J. B. SCRIVENOR (GEOLOGIST) AND MULA 



October 10, in spite of all precautions, the horses belonging to the 

 black mare's troop deserted her.* Upon this, finding that until 

 the horses of the different troops became more used to each other, 

 it would be almost impossible to keep them together on the open 

 pampas, where, as a further disadvantage, the grass was poor and 

 sparse, and the horses had to scatter a great deal to feed, I decided 

 to cut across to the Rio Chico of Chubut and march along the 

 river valley, the tall cliffs of which would serve as a barrier to pre- 

 vent the tropilla straying. Never was such an awful place as these 

 pampas in which to lose anything, or, worse still, to get lost yourself 

 You ride a hundred yards or so and you are in some deep-mouthed 

 canadon, lying flush with the pampa, and out of sight of your com- 

 panions in an instant. 



On the expedition we spoke four languages — Spanish, English, 

 German and Welsh, but English was more used than the others. 



* When a mare is in foal— as was the case' with the black mare— her troop will 

 often desert her and wander away, but when the foal is born the horses become very 

 much attached to it. 



