130 Ldle 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 bairs 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-chewing is 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 
