At home with the Patagonians

by George C. Musters

At a late hour I retired to Patricio’s toldo, and coiled up in one corner. The next morning we were getting our horses ready for a start, when a boy galloped into camp with the news that people were coming in from Patagones. Everybody at once mounted and went to escort in the new arrivals, who proved to be Teneforo himself and two of his followers. They had brought a hundred head of horses and cattle as far as Valchita, two days’ journey from Trinita, and had left them there, bringing on with them only some liquor and yerba, which were at once unloaded. After I had been presented to the newly-arrived chief, who hailed me as a brother, and honoured me by a place among the four caciques, who, pannikins in hand, walked round the lances in due performance of the ceremony of blessing the liquor, already described, the drinking commenced.

When the people arrived the sun had just risen, and by 10 o’clock most of the liquor, which consisted of some gin and caña, or white rum, had disappeared. Many of the Indians were intoxicated, but all after a merry, good-tempered fashion, which it had never been my luck to see before. After imbibing freely enough with my numerous friends—who, if it had been left to them, would have made me as drunk as themselves—I mounted my horse, and after a bathe amongst the tall reeds on the borders of the stream, returned to the toldo, where I found the aged Patricio singing to himself in a very maudlin state. By sundown all were sober again, and Patricio imparted to me that he intended himself to proceed with us, as well as some other friends, his wife, and two or three other women, but that we were to travel by the lower route, which, though longer, was easier and safer than the shorter and upper road, where the thorns grew higher and thicker: the latter is usually selected in summer, when water is scarce, of which at this season there was no danger.

The following morning, bidding adieu to Antonio, Champayo, and Jackechan—whose ration I had promised to procure—we started, eleven men and four women, taking plenty of horses, besides a troop of mares for an Indian called Hernandez, settled near the Guardia Chica, the mares being intended for the purpose of treading out his crop of corn. We were soon out of sight of the encampment at Trinita, and proceeding at either a gallop or a trot through an undulating country, in which incense, algarroba, and other shrubs abounded, arrived near sunset at a stream, on the north side of which we encamped, amongst some thick bushes. A little distance to the west lay a large salina, from which, several miles across, the place takes its name, being called Hitchin-kaik, or Salt Hill. The stream flows round one side of the salina, and is, I think, the same that we subsequently crossed near Valchita. This time we travelled in great style, the women having brought with them stores of horse-meat and yerba.

After dinner we all sat round the fire and took a matè, and some of an Indian sweetmeat, a yellow paste made from the algarroba bean pounded and mixed with water. Old Patricio, who had turned over a new leaf and grown quite frisky after the drink, said that I was a fortunate man, having a wife with me; alluding to one of the wives of the Cacique El Ingles, who was travelling with us to rejoin her husband near Patagones.

The following morning at daylight we again started, and, travelling over much the same description of country as on the previous day, arrived, about mid-day, at the place where Teneforo had left his cattle. Here we dismounted and refreshed ourselves off the round berries, about the size of a turnip-radish, the fruit of a small plant growing by the margin of the water, which had a very pleasant taste. The river here had a fringe of tussocks of pampa grass, under which we reclined and smoked.

The cattle were grouped about amongst these tussocks, and Golwin, Jackechan’s son with the light hair, amused himself by vain attempts to count them. After half an hour’s dawdling we proceeded, leaving behind one of Meña’s horses which was done up, and, following more or less the line of the river, we arrived, about 3 P.M., at the encampment of Valchita. As it was early in the day, some of the party started to hunt, but returned empty-handed. We filled up the skins and water-bottles, in anticipation of entering the travesia the following day; and, after the usual meal and matè, sought out each his own particular nest in the Pampa grass, and went to sleep without fear of the horses straying far, the pasture and water both being of the best quality. As it was in this encampment that, according to Casimiro, the defunct Mendoza had discovered gold, I prospected carefully for any signs, but only noticed that parts of the adjoining pampa were strewn, amongst other pebbles, with pieces of quartz. At the usual hour we started to commence the ascent to the travesia, or desert, which rose above us to the north, in a high plateau. On ascending a short distance, we observed on our left hand (to the westward) a salina of several leagues in length, which bordered the edge of the travesia in about an east or west direction. I am inclined to think that the river Valchita loses itself in this salina. This river is subject to great floods, evidences of which were visible in the drift weeds and rubbish clinging to the bushes and shrubs throughout the valley, evidently left there by the spring inundation. By a gradual ascent we at length reached the level of the plateau, and saw before us an interminable dreary expanse strewn with small shingle, and covered with shrubs varying from four to twelve feet, or even higher, and here and there small tufts of grass. No signs of life were visible. The sky was bright and clear, although clouds were gathering on the southern horizon, and the wind (it nearly always blows in Patagonia) was cutting. I remarked to Luiz Aguirre that it would possibly rain; his reply, ‘I hope it will—it will be splendid, then all the lagoons will be full,’ told of the danger of drought, but found no assent from me, having had enough of wet weather during the excursion to Las Manzanas. During the ride he told me that he knew the difference between the Catholic and Protestant religions, and of the two he preferred the latter; he also asked me if I had ever been to China, where the tea came from, and various other questions evincing a considerable amount of information; and wound up by proposing that I should set up a trading establishment near the Chupat; Jackechan—who, if any one can claim it, is the real lord of the soil—having volunteered to cede the ground to me. In the event of establishing a store in that neighbourhood, this astute Indian considered that all the Indian trade would be taken out of the hands of the people of Patagones, who notoriously used false weights, besides charging exorbitantly for all articles supplied to the Indians.

About 2 P.M., as the rough shingle had already begun to tell on our horses’ feet, a halting place was found near a laguna containing rain-water of the colour of café au lait. The horses were for the present let loose, to pick up the best meal they could off the stunted grass near the borders of the lagoon. Before dark most of them were tethered, and a careful watch kept all night, lest they should return to Valchita in search of pasture and water. After a lengthened conversation by the fireside—in which I was informed that the track we were travelling was called Pig’s-road, from wild pigs, or perhaps peccaries, having been killed near one of the lagoons in the route—we wrapped ourselves in our mantles and sheltered ourselves like hedgehogs under the bushes, from time to time getting up to look round for the horses. Next day we rode over the same interminable desert of stones, and bushes of the following descriptions:—Chañal or whitethorn; picayun, furnishing the best firewood; the osier-like switches before described; black bush, which is useless for burning, owing to the pestiferous smell it emits; algarroba, incense, which are, however, very scarce; and some others whose names I was unable to procure. The chañal is the only one that impedes the traveller’s progress, as the thorns are large and sharp. In the other road (more to the west), which we had avoided, although the distance is shorter across the travesia, and therefore more used by the Tehuelches, who dread this crossing, especially in summer or for small parties, the chañal grows to the height of ten to fifteen feet, and, like the ‘waitabit’ thorns in Albania, renders fast riding impossible.

This day we were about to start hunting, when a demijohn of rum was discovered in a bush. This put an end to the sport, for, although it was hidden again in another place, enough was taken out to render most of the party talkative, a bottle or two also being reserved for discussion at the camp fire.

At 4 P.M. we camped by the side of a lagoon similar to the previous one, and, our Valchita water being finished, diluted the rum with meal and water about the consistency of Spanish chocolate. I forgot to state that in the excitement of the ‘find’ the horses were not looked after, and on mustering to proceed, one of Nacho’s had disappeared, and, although carefully searched for, he was not found again.

The next day, despite the dissipations over night, we were in the saddle at daybreak, and had hardly traversed a league of this wearisome waste when we came suddenly upon seven wild horses. An effort made to surround them failed, owing to the difficult nature of the ground; but the failure was to me fully made up by the magnificent spectacle of these splendid creatures careering in their untamed strength and beauty across the plain.