DEPARTURE OF OUR GUESTS--THE START FOR THE PAMPAS--AN
UNTOWARD ACCIDENT--A DAY'S SPORT--UNPLEASANT EFFECTS OF
THE WIND--OFF CAPE GREGORIO.
The sun had hardly risen the next morning ere our little camp was
again astir. Making a hasty toilet I stepped out and found that our
guests had all risen, and were busy in getting their guns and shooting
accoutrements ready for the coming sport. As soon as they had partaken
of some coffee, the whole party started off to the plains below, and
for an hour or so, till their return, the repeated reports of their
guns seemed to indicate that they were having good sport. Towards
breakfast-time they came back, fairly satisfied with their morning's
work, though I am inclined to attribute this satisfaction to their
evident desire to look at everything connected with their picnic from
an optimist point of view, as their bag was in reality a very small
one, consisting only of a few brace of snipe and wild-duck. We then
set to work to get a good breakfast ready, at which employment Prince
Henry lent an intelligent hand, turning out some poached eggs in
excellent style. We had a very pleasant meal, the officers expressing
great regret that they were unable to prolong their stay in our
beechwood quarters, the steamer being obliged to continue her journey
that evening. Whilst they smoked a last pipe, the horses were driven
up and saddled, and at about eight o'clock, Mr. B. and myself
accompanying them as guides, they mounted and set out on the road
homeward.
The stiffness consequent on their exertions of the previous day must
have made the sensations they experienced on returning to the saddle
anything but pleasant ones, and at the start a decidedly uncheerful
spirit seemed to prevail among them; but as we cantered along, and
they warmed to their work, this uneasiness disappeared, and soon all
were as merry as possible. The day was lovely, and the scenery looked
to the best advantage, the only drawback to our enjoyment of the ride
being that the sun was rather too hot.
After we had gone several miles we got off our horses to rest under
the shade of some trees, by the side of a little stream which came
bubbling out of the cool depths of the forest, emptying itself into
the adjacent Straits. Here an incident occurred which might have been
attended with inconvenient consequences. One of the officer's horses
suddenly took it into its head to trot off, and, before any one could
stop it, disappeared round a point in the direction of Sandy Point.
Mr. B. got on his horse and started in pursuit, and in the meanwhile a
time of some suspense ensued, for, in the event of his being
unsuccessful, some unfortunate would have had to make the best of his
way on foot. However, this unpleasant contingency was happily avoided;
Mr. B. soon reappeared, having managed to catch the runaway, not
indeed without a great deal of trouble.
We reached Sandy Point late in the afternoon, and very glad the whole
party must have been to get there, for they were most of them
completely done up, and, considering the length of the ride, their
rough horses and rougher saddles, this was no wonder.
After having said good-bye to the officers, with many expressions of
thanks on their part for the unexpected diversion our presence in that
outlandish part of the world had afforded them, Mr. B. and I
immediately set out to return to the camp, which we managed to reach
just as it was getting dark.
Everything was now ready for our journey, and it was resolved that we
should make a start the next morning. We were therefore up early, in
order to help the guides as much as possible with the packing, which
was quite a formidable undertaking. It took fully three hours to get
our miscellaneous goods and chattels stowed away on the pack-horses,
whose number was thirteen. At last, however, all was ready; we got
into the saddle, and with a last glance at the beechwood camp, which
had grown quite familiar and home-like to us, we rode off, now fairly
started on our journey into the unknown land that lay before us. We
soon had our hands full to help the guides to keep the horses
together, a rather difficult task. The mules in particular gave great
trouble, and were continually leading the horses into mischief. At one
time, as if by preconcerted signal, the whole troop dispersed in
different directions into the wood, and there, brushing through the
thick underwood, many of the pack-horses upset their packs, and
trampled on the contents, whilst some of the others turned tail, and
coolly trotted back to the pasture-ground they had just left at Cabo
Negro.
All this was very provoking, but, with a little patience and a good
deal of swearing on the part of the guides, the refractory
pack-horses were re-saddled, the troop was got together again, and by
dint of careful driving we at last got safely out of the wooded
country, and emerged on the rolling pampa, where there was for some
distance a beaten Indian track, along which the horses travelled with
greater ease, till, gradually understanding what was required of them,
they jogged on in front of us with tolerable steadiness and sobriety,
which was only occasionally disturbed by such slight ebullitions as a
free fight between two of the stallions, or an abortive attempt on the
part of some hungry animal to make a dash for some particularly
inviting-looking knoll of green grass at a distance off the line of
our march.
[Illustration: "COLLECTING THE 'TROPILLA'--SADDLING UP."]
The country we were now crossing was of a totally different character
to that we had left behind us. Not a tree or a shrub was to be seen
anywhere, and while to the left of us lay the rugged range of the
Cordilleras, in front and to the right an immense plain stretched away
to the horizon, rising and falling occasionally in slight undulations,
but otherwise completely and monotonously level. The ground, which was
rather swampy, was covered with an abundance of coarse green grass,
amongst which we could see flocks of wild geese grazing in great
numbers. We passed several freshwater lakes, covered with
wild-fowl, who flew up very wild at our approach. A hawk or two would
occasionally hover over our heads, and once the dogs started off in
pursuit of a little grey fox that had incautiously shown itself; but
except these, there was no sign of animal life on the silent,
seemingly interminable plain before us.
After we had ridden for several hours, we turned off to the left,
facing the Cordilleras again, and soon the plain came to a sudden end,
a broken country now appearing, over which we rode till nightfall,
when we came in sight of the "Despuntadero," the extremity of
Peckett's Harbour, an arm of the sea which runs for some distance
inland. Here we were to camp for the night, and as we were all rather
tired and hungry after our long ride, we urged on our horses to cover
the distance that still lay between us and our camping-place as
quickly as possible. But to "hasten slowly" would have been a wiser
course in this case, as in most others. The rapid trot at which we now
advanced disturbed the equilibrium of one of the packs, the cords
holding which had already become slack, and down came the whole pack,
iron pot, tin plates, and all, with an awful clatter, whilst the mare
who carried it, terrified out of her wits, dashed off at a gallop,
spurring with her heels her late encumbrances, and followed by the
whole troop of her equally frightened companions.
The pampa was strewn with broken bags; and rice, biscuits, and other
precious stores lay scattered in all directions. When we had picked up
what we could, and replaced the pack on the mare, who in the meantime
had been caught again, we were further agreeably surprised by the
sight of another packless animal galloping over the brow of a distant
hill, followed at some distance by Gregorio, who was trying to lasso
it, whilst I'Aria was descried in another direction, endeavouring to
collect together another scattered section of our troop. Off we
scampered to aid him, turning on the way to drive up one of the mares,
whom we accidentally found grazing with her foal in a secluded valley,
"the guides forgetting, by the guides forgot."
By the time we got up to I'Aria, the obstinacy and speed of the
refractory animals had evidently proved too much for him, inasmuch as
we found him sitting under a bush philosophically smoking a pipe. In
answer to our query as to what had become of the horses, he waved his
hand vaguely in the direction of a distant line of hills, and we were
just setting off on what we feared would prove a rather arduous quest
when a welcome tinkle suddenly struck our ears, and the troop
reappeared from the depths of a ravine, driven up by Francisco, who
had providentially come across them in time to intercept their further
flight.
It was quite dark as we rode down and pitched our camp by the shore of
the inlet above mentioned, under the lee of a tall bluff, not far from
a little pool of fresh water. After the tents had been set up some of
the men went to look for firewood, but there was a scarcity of that
necessary in the region we were now in, and the little they could
collect was half green. However, we managed to make a very fair fire
with it, and our dinner was soon cooked and eaten, whereupon we
retired to rest.
The next morning was fine, and we resolved to stop a day at our
present encampment and have some shooting,--game, as Gregorio informed
us, being plentiful in that region. After a light breakfast we took
our guns and started off in the direction of a group of freshwater
lakes which lay beyond a range of hills behind our camp. We were
rewarded for our arduous climb by some excellent sport, wild geese,
duck, etc., being very plentiful, and on our way back we crossed some
marshy ground where there were some snipe, several brace of which we
bagged. In the afternoon, it being rather hot and sultry, we refreshed
ourselves with a bath in the sea, and then came dinner-time, and by
half-past seven we were in bed and asleep.
The following day we continued our journey northward. A long day's
ride brought us to some springs, called "Pozos de la Reina," where we
camped for the night. After we had rested for a short time round the
fire, and had leisure to look at one another, we became aware of a
most disagreeable metamorphosis that had taken place in our faces.
They were swollen to an almost unrecognisable extent, and had assumed
a deep purple hue, the phenomenon being accompanied by a sharp
itching. The boisterous wind which we had encountered during the day,
and which is the standing drawback to the otherwise agreeable climate
of Patagonia, was no doubt the cause of this annoyance, combined
possibly with our salt-water bath of the day previous.
After a few days the skin of our faces peeled off completely, but the
swelling did not go down for some time. I would advise any person who
may make the same journey to provide themselves with masks; by taking
this precaution they will save themselves a great deal of the
discomfort we suffered from the winds.
The following day we left "Pozos de la Reina," and pushed forward as
quickly as possible, as we had no meat left, and had not yet arrived
in the country of the guanacos and ostriches. The Indians had very
recently passed over all the ground we were now crossing, and, as
usual, had swept away any game there might have been there.
The range where guanaco really become plentiful is about eighty miles
away from Sandy Point. Still we kept a good look-out, and any ostrich
or guanaco that might have had the misfortune to show itself would
have stood a poor chance of escape with some eight or nine hungry dogs
and a number of not less keen horsemen at its heels.
But the day wore on, and we arrived at our destination empty-handed.
The spot we camped at lay directly in front of Cape Gregorio, which
was hazily visible in the distance. There was an abundance of wood in
the locality, and the Indian camp being not far off, we were
conveniently situated in every respect, as we intended paying these
interesting people a visit before continuing our journey.