We presently came to a hilly country, where the plains were of shorter
duration, and cut up in all directions by steeper and more irregular
cañadas than I had hitherto met; whilst occasionally we passed broad
tracts of scoriæ, which forced us, in consideration of our horses, to
change our gallop for a soberer pace. These tracts grew more and more
frequent as we approached a range of high hills, at whose base we
hoped to camp that night, though as yet their jagged and fantastic
outlines showed but dimly on the distant horizon.
We passed several herds of guanacos, who fled away at our approach.
Presently, however, one solitary animal, whose curiosity was stronger
than its good sense, came neighing and frisking around us, halting at
last almost under our very noses. The voice of his master had hitherto
kept back our remaining dog (the other had refused to cross the
river); but this was rather more than he could stand, and darting out
from behind our horses, where he had hitherto very unwillingly kept
himself, he flew out at the startled guanaco, who, on seeing him,
gave an affrighted bound, and stretched away over the plain with the
speed of lightning. The dog followed pretty close on its heels. Our
blood was up, and we dashed after them as fast as the horses would
carry us, to aid the dog in case he should turn the guanaco round our
way. For a moment they ran pretty evenly, but then the guanaco,
evidently a tough old male, gradually distanced his pursuer, though
the latter was a remarkably swift dog, and of very good breed. We were
just despairing of the chase, when it suddenly became apparent that
the guanaco was in difficulties, his flight having been arrested by a
belt of marshy ground, where his heavy weight immediately put him at a
great disadvantage. The very efforts he made to redouble the force of
his bounds only caused his sharp hoofs to sink deeper into the heavy
soil; and in a few seconds the dog, whose speed was not so much
affected by the nature of the ground, had reached his now helpless
prey, and flown at his throat. We soon came up to them, and Guillaume,
dismounting, despatched the guanaco with his long hunting-knife.
After all, the game turned out to be not worth the candle, or rather
the sunlight we had lost in its pursuit, for it proved to be as lean
of flesh as it had been swift of foot. We, therefore, merely stayed to
cut off and secure its head, and then resumed our journey with all
speed, as the sun was already getting low, and we had still a long
ride before us. Fate, however, seemed determined to prevent us
reaching our intended halting-place that night. Not long after the
guanaco-hunt an ostrich started up, so close to us that Guillaume
could not resist the temptation, but went off in its pursuit, whilst I
looked about for the nest. I found it to contain fourteen eggs, which
I carefully packed up so that they should not break, and then rode off
to meet Guillaume, who, I was glad to see, had the ostrich already
dangling at his saddle. It turned out to be tolerably fat, which,
considering the season, was quite a miracle. This piece of fortune put
us into high spirits, and, as we remarked to each other, our bad luck
had evidently abandoned us at last.
On we rode, gradually getting nearer to the hills, which now loomed
blackly against the sky; for the sun had already sunk behind their
sharp, irregular peaks, and night was coming on apace. We passed
several large lakes, which proved to be salt; and gloomy and dismal
they looked, encircled by broad belts of shingle and sand, with not a
single bush or blade of grass in their blighting vicinity. Leaving
them behind us, we stumbled on over the lava-covered ground, across a
wild-looking plain, strewn with jagged masses of rock, through which
our horses picked their way with extreme difficulty. The ruggedness of
the country increased as we proceeded, and when we at last came to a
break, where there was a small plain with plenty of grass and a pool
of fresh water, we resolved to go no further, but to remain there for
the night.
We brought our saddles and traps to a clump of stones, which made a
good shelter against the wind, and then hobbled one of the horses, and
secured the other with a long cord to a heavy stone--a precaution not
absolutely necessary, as after a hard day's work they do not care to
stray far, but which we thought better to take on this occasion, as we
were in a broken country, where we might have a great deal of
difficulty in finding them again, even if they only strayed a couple
of hundred yards. Having made our minds easy on this point, we set
about preparing supper, which, with the abundance of material at our
disposal, was an easy and a grateful task. We were altogether in the
very best of spirits that evening, under the influence of our unwonted
good cheer, and at the thoughts of our speedy arrival at Sandy Point
and the indulgences we should then be able to allow ourselves in such
long-missed luxuries as coffee, sugar, bread, tobacco, etc., of which
and similar dainties we talked till our mouths watered again. We
reviewed the events of the day, too, and recounted the various
impressions and feelings they had given rise to. It was an open
question who had passed the worst _quart d'heure_--I whilst struggling
in the water and feeling that all was over, or Guillaume, when, after
he had seen me disappear without returning, he reflected that he must
run the same risk, and possibly incur the same fate. Meanwhile, having
roasted and eaten as many eggs as we dared, we sought our couches,
and, overcome by our day's exertions, soon fell into a sound sleep.
The words with which Guillaume woke me in the morning brushed the
sleepiness from my brain in an instant, and made me jump to my feet
and stare blankly about me in utter dismay. 'The horses have
stampeded!' I said, repeating the sentence slowly after him, dwelling
on each word in complete stupefaction. He nodded his head dejectedly,
and sank down on his couch, and for a long time neither of us spoke,
each giving way to his own gloomy train of thought.
It was, indeed, a stroke of misfortune, which, happening as it did on
the very night after we had overcome what we believed to be the only
obstacle which separated us from Sandy Point, appeared almost in the
light of an intimation that we were fated never to reach our
destination.
The idea took such firm hold of my mind, and so completely paralysed
my energy, that for a short space I allowed myself to give way to
despair, and to a feeling of incapacity to struggle any longer against
what in my agitation appeared to me a superior decree of destiny. In
truth, the difficulties which beset us were no ordinary ones. We were
about 150 miles from Sandy Point--no great distance to walk, it is
true, for a strong, healthy man, who can depend on a supply of proper
nourishment. But we were so weakened that even such a slight exertion
as saddling our horses seemed often too much for our strength; the
effort required for crossing the river had been a spasmodic burst,
which we were quite incapable of sustaining for any length of time.
Besides, we were wholly unaccustomed to walking, and long inaction had
relaxed those muscles we now most required. Even then, however, it was
not so much the actual distance which frightened me as the nature of
the ground to be gone over. There were streams to be crossed, which at
that time of the year would be swollen and perhaps impassable for us;
marshy grounds to be traversed, which to a man on horseback were
nothing, but to cross which on foot implied continual wettings; and we
had only four matches left, and therefore no means of making a fire to
dry ourselves by when once these were used. Taking the uncongenial
season into consideration, we were not wrong in doubting whether our
bodies would stand all these hardships. With proper food, no doubt
they would; but there was another great difficulty. When once we had
consumed the ostriches' eggs and the meat we had left, how were we to
procure more? We had a dog, it is true; but how could we follow him on
foot, when, in a few minutes, he could pursue a guanaco for ten
miles, and run his prey to earth somewhere, far beyond our ken?
Besides, within a certain distance from Sandy Point the guanacos cease
altogether, and ostriches are very scarce. The Indians, Guillaume
knew, were somewhere near the colony. We might, therefore, meet them
on the road, in which case we should be all right; but, on the other
hand, they might have struck towards the Cordilleras, which certainly
would have been more in keeping with our general luck. Whatever
happened, one thing was certain, and that was that we had a great deal
of misery and hardship to face, even supposing we should have strength
to overcome all difficulties and reach our destination in safety.
All these considerations passed through my mind in rapid succession,
but having once looked the situation steadily in the face and
contemplated it in all its bearings, my courage rose again, and I felt
it was a great deal too soon to despair. After all, there are very few
difficulties that are not to be vanquished by determination, and, my
momentary fit of despondency over, I nerved myself to face whatever
new trials might be in store for us.
Guillaume now told me how he had risen at daybreak and found the
horses gone, the cord which had tied one of them being broken. Amongst
the confused tracks he had seen footmarks of a puma, a circumstance
which led him to suppose that this animal must have frightened the
horses during the night, and caused them to stampede. He followed the
tracks for a great distance, and then lost them in a plain of scoriæ,
where it was, of course, impossible to trace them any further. As a
last chance he had climbed several hills, and overlooked the
surrounding country, without, however, being able to see the horses
anywhere; and at last, completely exhausted, he had returned to the
camp. Having rapidly reviewed our position, we resolved to commence
our pilgrimage immediately, as time was precious, in view of the poor
state of our larder. Not a moment was to be lost--not on account of
catching the steamer; that was no longer uppermost in my mind--but we
must now hurry over as much ground as possible daily, to save our
lives.
I rolled two of my capas tightly together, and strapped them on my
shoulders like a knapsack. Guillaume took a capa and a pair of
saddle-bags, in one side of which he put the six remaining eggs, and
in the other all that was left of the ostrich, which was not much
after our supper of last night, and what we had given to the dog, for
the bird, though fat, had unfortunately been small. With as strict an
economy as was compatible with keeping up our strength, we had enough
provisions to last us for four days; after that--well, _quien sabe_;
but I had resolutely made up my mind not to think of the future, so
all was right--for the present. We took our knives, of course, and one
tin cup; our revolvers, as being too heavy, we left behind us, as well
as our saddles, beds, superfluous clothes, etc., etc., for the benefit
of the foxes, or whoever should chance to find them.