NORTH AMERICAN BANDITS 39 



of the territory, to call on the Governor, and present our 

 letter of introduction from the Minister of Interior. He 

 seemed much interested in our plans and offered to give^ 

 us a general pass through the territory with instructions 

 to all officials to aid us where possible. 



This proved very valuable to us, for North Americans 

 are viewed^skance down there. Two of our fellow-coun- 

 trymen held up a train in Texas and were so much wanted 

 that a reward of $10,000 was offered for them dead or 

 alive. They moved to the back country of Patagonia and 

 were quiet for three or four years. A year or so before 

 our arrival they had gone down to Gallegos and deposited 

 about $1,000 in the bank; then they invited the President of 

 the bank and leading citizens to dinner, — in fact for a couple 

 of days they entertained the town. When ready to leave 

 they entered the bank, pulled their guns and held up every- 

 one while they gathered together about $40,000 and de- 

 parted. They also held up an interior store which carried 

 a large amount of cash, and in the melee, killed the pro- 

 prietor. They were said to be "good fellows," for they 

 never robbed poor men, and at the store gave six dollars 

 back to an Indian who was trading at the time. Several 

 posses had been sent out after them, but few believed 

 that they were really anxious to meet the North Americans. 

 Whenever we announced that we were North Americans 

 there seemed to be a feeling that we might be similar to, 

 or in some way connected with, our too well-known fellow- 

 countrymen. But time after time we produced our letter 

 from the Governor, with the effect that distrust changed 

 to the most cordial hospitality, which is the normal manner 

 of the Spanish frontiersman (or of the frontiersman of any 

 nationality) in greeting strangers. 



It was Friday night when we reached Trelew. Tuesday 

 morning about eight o'clock we bought our first horse, 

 "Colorado," which I used for a saddle horse throughout 

 the trip. He had just come in from the Cordilleras, and 



