ISIDORO--AN UNSAVOURY MEAL--EXPENSIVE LOAVES--GUANACO
SCARCE--DISAPPOINTMENT--NIGHT SURPRISES US--
SUPPERLESS--CONTINUED FASTING--NO MEAT IN THE CAMP.
We rode down a broad valley, which led to the Gallegos River, where we
were to camp for the night. On reaching its farther end we were
suddenly surprised by the sight of an Indian camp, composed of three
tents, which were pitched on the other side of the river. Having
little curiosity to make the acquaintance of their inmates, we
continued our journey along the river towards our intended camp, but
Gregorio and Mr. B. rode over to see them. They rejoined us an hour
afterwards; Mr. B. had found an old friend, an Argentine Gaucho, named
Isidoro, who had accompanied him on a former trip, and whom, curiously
enough, he had parted from a year before, on exactly the same spot
where he now met him. I was glad to hear that Isidoro was going to pay
us a visit the next day, as I had heard a great deal about him, and
was anxious to make his acquaintance. We camped near the river, seven
or eight miles away from the Indian camp, and consequently, we hoped,
rather too far to attract a call from these people, the disagreeable
experience of their visit whilst we were at Cape Gregorio being still
fresh in my mind.
Early in the morning we saw a man riding in the direction of the camp,
who, I was told, was Isidoro. He presently appeared among us, and,
except for his moustache and beard, and the superior cleanliness of
his dress, he might have been taken for an Indian. He was warmly
welcomed by the guides, amongst whom his unequalled proficiency in all
that pertains to the pampa craft, and his personal character, had
gained him great prestige. Isidoro did not stop long, as he was going
to hunt with the Indians that day; so, after having taken a few cups
of maté, and smoked a pipe or two in silence, he said good-bye, and
took his departure.
As he rode away, I could not help admiring his manly bearing and his
perfect seat on a splendid, well-bred looking horse, which seemed not
unworthy of its master. He wore his guanaco capa with a certain
foppish grace that one might have looked in vain for in Gregorio or
any of the others, and every article of his accoutrements, from his
carefully coiled lasso to the bright-coloured garters round his new
potro-boots, was perfectly finished and natty.
After he had gone, my husband and myself started off guanaco-hunting.
We soon killed a guanaco, and were busily engaged in the laborious
operation of cutting it up, when we heard a grunt, and looking up, saw
an Indian behind us on horseback. He watched our clumsy efforts for
some time in silence, occasionally breaking out into loud laughter,
and then dismounting, took out his own knife, and with a few adroit
and easy cuts, did the whole trick in no time. He rewarded himself for
his labours by cutting out the kidneys and the heart, and eating them
raw and bloody, there and then! This disgusting repast over, he
smacked his lips, mounted his horse, and rode away, grinning
eloquently, and leaving us wondering and horrified.
The evening after our halt at Gallegos we camped in a stony, rocky
region, where there was very little grass, but plenty of quail,
several of which we shot, though we found them to be very dry and
unpalatable. It poured all the next day, so we were compelled to
remain where we were, much against our will. To have to lie all day
in a little tent, with a dreary bit of gray landscape to look out
upon, while the rain patters on the canvas in a remorseless,
dispiriting monotone, is one of the most severe trials one's patience
can be put to, and ours came very badly out of the ordeal, Patagonia
being by no means complimentarily alluded to in the course of these
weary hours. However, towards sundown, it cleared up, and we were able
to have a turn and stretch our limbs in the open air before it got
dark.
Two days after leaving this camp we struck the Indian trail to Sandy
Point, and on the third we camped opposite Cape Gregorio, not far from
the place whence we had made our visit to the Indians. Here we
intended halting for a couple of days to take in a good supply of meat
before starting for Sandy Point, as neither guanaco nor ostriches were
to be met with, except by a mere chance, any farther south, and all
our other provisions being exhausted, we had now to rely solely upon
the product of the chase for our food.
In the morning two traders passed through our camp, and we were
delighted to find that they had a small bag of bread, which they were
taking to the Indians. They sold us twenty small loaves, each about
the size of a penny roll, for five pounds; and I think they got the
best of the bargain, for the bread was half mildewed and scarcely
eatable, and so heavy, that even the stomach of an ostrich could
scarcely have compassed its digestion with impunity. Famished as we
were, we preferred to give it to the dogs, who showed their good sense
by turning up their noses at it; and unless the foxes rashly
experimented upon it after our departure, for aught I know these
expensive loaves may still be lying in a fossil state on the
Patagonian pampas!
We all went out guanaco-hunting that day, but were not very
successful. I'Aria managed to run down a young one with his dog, and
Mr. B. shot one; but as he killed it some twenty miles away from our
camp he could only bring the head and the two sides, not daring to
load his dead-beat horse with more.
But meat had to be procured somehow, so next day, whilst the others
went on along the trail with the packhorses, my husband, Mr. B.,
myself, and Gregorio, went out hunting again, intending to catch up
the others before the evening. We rode for several hours towards Cape
Gregorio, but although we saw several ostriches, they got up very
wild, and pursuit of them was always out of the question. Guanaco,
there were none to be seen. This was very dispiriting; if we did not
manage to kill anything here it was still more unlikely that we should
be able to do so farther on. Our companions were relying on our
efforts, and to have to join them empty-handed would have been in
itself vexatious enough from a sportsman's point of view, apart from
the serious and practical consideration that we could scarcely go on
to Sandy Point, which was quite three days' march away, without food.
So we kept riding on towards Cape Gregorio, in the hopes of still
being able to find something. We presently sighted some guanacos
grazing at the base of a ridge of hills, and whilst Gregorio went
after an ostrich, which sprang up at that moment, we three spurred our
horses, and separating, so as to attract as little attention as
possible, rode towards them.
I soon lost sight of my companions, who disappeared down some of the
many gulches that led to the valley where the guanaco were grazing.
Fervently praying that one of us might be successful, I hurried on.
When I got into the valley, to my chagrin I saw that the guanaco,
already aware of danger, were moving slowly up the valley, not at a
great distance from where I was, but still a good way beyond
rifle-range. Mr. B., who was a long way to the left, was much nearer
to them, and my husband was in a similar position to the right. As we
approached, the guanaco trotted up among the hills and disappeared. We
had no option but to follow them, entering on the range of hills at
different points, as the herd would probably scatter as soon as we
came close upon them.
I came upon them of a sudden, and, as I had surmised, they all broke
into different directions. I took a flying shot at one, but missed,
and presently a report on each side of me showed that the others had
had a shot too. I was soon joined by my husband, who had also been
unsuccessful, but Mr. B. did not turn up, and we began to hope that he
might have killed something. We presently saw him galloping full speed
up a distant hill after a guanaco, which was no doubt wounded, but
which seemed to be going too gamely to admit of our being very
sanguine as to his chance of ultimately getting at it. We waited for
some time, but he did not reappear, and so we went down into the
valley to look for Gregorio. He soon came in sight, and,
unfortunately, as empty-handed as we ourselves were. Matters were now
getting serious. The day was far gone, and to catch up our companions
on our jaded horses would have been a hard task, unless we started at
once. We were therefore obliged to relinquish all hope of getting any
guanaco ourselves that day, our only consolation being that Mr. B.'s
prolonged absence boded that he at least had been successful.
We waited for him a little, but as he did not come, knowing that he
could find the way to the place where the others were to camp, we rode
on, lighting fires at intervals, to show our whereabouts. Our horses
were so tired that we could scarcely get them into a trot, and to our
dismay we suddenly found it was getting dark. The sky had been clouded
all day, and we had had no sun to judge the time by, the result being
that we were two or three hours out in our calculations. It is very
easy to guess the time within half an hour or so, under ordinary
circumstances, but the excitement of our various runs after guanacos
and ostriches had so absorbed us that the hours had slipped by
unperceived. We thus found ourselves face to face with the
uncomfortable knowledge that, it being quite impossible to catch up
the others, we should have to go to bed in the open, and unless Mr. B.
had killed his guanaco, supperless. The unpleasantness of this at any
time disagreeable contingency was increased on this occasion by the
prospect of our getting wet through into the bargain, for the aspect
of the sky was very threatening, and it was only in keeping with our
day's luck that there should be a downpour of rain during the night.
But there was absolutely nothing to be done but give in to the
inevitable as cheerfully as we could, so we dismounted and unsaddled
our horses, carefully tethering them to some bushes, lest they should
stray away in the night, and then we sat down to await Mr. B's coming,
the numerous fires we had lit on the way making us quite sure he would
be able to find us. But it grew darker and darker, the tooth of hunger
got fiercer and fiercer, and still he did not come. What could have
happened? Surely he must have run down the guanaco, or given up the
chase hours ago. Perhaps he has met with some accident! That's
impossible! With these and other reflections we beguiled the anxious
moments, hoping against hope that before long a goodly rib of guanaco
would be roasting at the blazing fire we had prepared in rash
anticipation of its advent. But time went on; already we could
scarcely distinguish the bushes in the distance, the hills faded away
altogether into the darkness, and our missing companion did not come.
Having strained our eyes blind, peering into the gloom, we now sat
silently, straining our ears to catch the slightest sign of an
approaching footstep; but our hopes grew gradually fainter and
fainter, and at last we were obliged to give them up altogether.
Gregorio fortunately found a small piece of guanaco meat in one of his
saddle-bags, which we cooked and ate, a small mouthful being all each
of us got. Mingled with our regrets for our enforced fast were
speculations as to what Mr. B. was doing at that moment. Had he killed
his guanaco, and (horrible thought!) was he at that very moment
perhaps roasting its head in the ashes? or was he in a worse plight
than ourselves,--supperless as well as companionless? Our thoughts
reverted to the other party too, who no doubt were in some anxiety as
to what could have become of us. I did not sleep very sound that
night, nor did my companions, as may be imagined. Just as day broke
the dogs gave tongue; there was a crashing among the bushes, and Mr.
B. rode up, with an eager, hungry look on his face, which boded no
good. "Have you got anything to eat?" were his first words, to which
our despairing answer was, "Good gracious! haven't you?" And our faces
grew longer and more disconsolate than ever, as the hopes of a good
breakfast, which had hitherto sustained us, were remorselessly
shattered on both sides.
There was nothing to be done but immediately saddle and ride off to
join our companions. On the way Mr. B. told us how he had followed the
wounded guanaco till he had run his horse to a complete standstill,
and like us, having been overtaken by darkness, had been obliged to
stop where he was till morning.
After several hours' ride we got to the place where the others were
camped, and found them very much alarmed at our protracted absence,
though they had naturally supposed that we had been taken a long
distance out of our way by the chase. We lost no time in making a
hearty meal on what remained of the guanaco meat, which being
finished, there was no food of any kind in the camp.