THE RIVER VALLEYS 



73 



THE GUANACO (an INTIMATE OF THE OLD ZAINO's) 



We had not long lost the waggon, and now followed the losing of 

 important stores and the yet more important ammunition. We 

 knotted together eight of the cargo-ropes, and while Scrivenor and 

 I were doing this, Barckhausen retrieved one of the boxes of 

 ammunition, and told us that there were a couple more farther 

 down, and out of reach, he 

 feared, which had stuck in 

 the soft earth of the landslip. 

 However, with the aid of 

 the rope I managed to bring 

 both up to safe ground. 



" During this time we 

 could see Burbury and Jones 

 far away in the valley, where 

 the river narrowed and the 

 current swinging near the 

 bank offered a hopeful chance 

 of catching the floating ar- 

 ticles. They succeeded in 



dragging ashore most of the packages, but Burbury's clothes, 

 which were in a brown waterproof bag, sank, the bag, I fancy, 

 having filled with water. Our total losses thus amounted to 

 200 i2-bore cartridges, a tin of Mauser ammunition, a 25-kilo 

 bag of oatrtieal, and the clothes. On the whole we could not help 

 thinking things might have been- very much worse. 



" The horses had meantime come to a standstill in a patch 

 of high grass farther along beneath the barranca, and there we 

 rounded them up and re-cargoed. 



"When this was done it was found that we had another place, 

 almost as difficult as that upon which we had come to grief, to 

 surmount. This time, however, Burbury led a horse in front, 

 and the others followed meekly 

 several hours in negotiating the 

 time to camp. As we had no 



not kill some geese {Chloephaga magellanicd), which I 

 observed upon a neck of land, that stretched out into 

 river. There were five geese, and I was lucky enough to kill 



in his track. We had wasted 

 first barranca, and it was soon 

 meat, I went to see if I could 



had 

 the 



