"He told us that his greatest annoyances came from the wild horses and the Indians. His own horses had been attacked by the wild ones on several occasions, and he once lost all except those that he and his attendants were riding at the time. He said the wild brutes display a great deal of intelligence in attacking a herd of tame ones; they form a circle about the latter, and attempt to drive them away, and if they are very numerous there is great danger of their success. He said the best way to defeat them was to single out the leader of the attacking force, and pay no attention to the rest. If you can kill the leader the rest can be driven off without much trouble, but as long as the head of the herd is unharmed there is no safety.
"The Indians are usually peaceable, but they had a habit of coming to his camp, and literally eating him out. They stayed as long as there was anything to eat, and had no modesty about asking for what they wanted. He always endeavored to keep as far from them as he could, partly because they 'ate him out of house and home,' and partly because game was always scarce and shy when they were about.
"In addition to ostriches and guanacos, there are plenty of armadillos, pumas, foxes, and skunks. Our guacho generally killed pumas when they came in his way, but did not go around in search of them. He said the flesh was good eating, and tasted like veal, but it varied somewhat in quality, according to the age and condition of the animal. The puma lives on the ostrich and guanaco; he is very powerful, and can kill a guanaco with a single blow of his huge paw. He is as cowardly as he is strong, and when attacked by a hunter he rarely resists unless slightly wounded and 'cornered.' The guacho said he had frequently ridden close up to a crouching puma and killed him with a blow from a bolas, or a shot from a revolver.
SEEKING SAFETY.
"I asked about the ostrich, and he said there were two kinds in Patagonia, that of the north being larger and darker than the one inhabiting the south. While he was talking I turned to Mr. Beerbohm's book and found the following:
"'The ostrich of southern Patagonia (Rhea Darwinii) is smaller than the "Avestruz Moro" (Rhea Americana), as the species which frequents the country near the River Negro is called by the natives. The color of its plumage is brown, the feathers being tipped with white, whereas the moro, as its name indicates, is uniformly gray. The R. Darwinii are extremely shy birds, and as their vision is remarkably acute, it is by no means an easy matter to catch them unless one has very swift dogs to hunt with.'
