288 THROUGH THE HEART OF PATAGONIA 



were drying up, numbers of guanaco had descended to the lower 

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

 had taken up quarters near the River Califate, a spot formerly 

 inhabited by wildfowl only. For three days we followed the shore 

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

 we made our camp in a bushless canadon 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 canadon was clear of snow, but the 

 sky was heavy with the promise of it. We hoped most heartily 

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



The next day we followed the canadon, 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 early, that the horses might not be turned out sweating 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 weighed twenty odd stone ! We learned 

 from her that the season had been a good one for guanaco chicos. 



In reply to our question 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 sky but did not commit herself to Jigures. 



The Indian encampment made a singular picture against a 

 somewhat striking background. The western sky was piling up 

 and bulged with snow-clouds, while the sinking sun glowed like a 

 red-hot cannon-ball on the rim of the pampa. Against this curtain 

 of colour were set the brown tents of guanaco-skin. In one of 

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

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



