More than 100 miles to the south is Camerones Bay, near which are some fine estancias. There is great promise for sheep-farming in this district, but the coast has a waterless strip about 25 miles broad. Further inland there is excellent water and pasture.
The most desolate Gobernacion of all this desolate country is undoubtedly Santa Cruz itself. It takes its name from that river, the second largest in Patagonia, which Darwin found such difficulty in ascending. It is said that it will be navigable by steamers when its channel is ascertained, and Dr. Moreno has advanced as far as the Lago Argentino. The town of Santa Cruz has only a few hundred inhabitants, but it possesses a fine natural harbour, and may some day be a place of importance. Far to the North the Rio Deseado abounds in wild fowl, and at its mouth is the once famous Port Desire. Almost as far to the south and at no great distance from the Straits of Magellan is the considerable town of Port Gallegos, possessing a bank and a good trade. More than ten years ago a traveller[138] said: "The coasts of the Straits of Magellan and of the Atlantic have long been occupied, but just lately many settlers have taken up their quarters in the Gallegos valley and in the region between Last Hope inlet, and the lakes right away towards the dry Patagonian pampa. Until recently land could be got very cheaply, and there is still a lot of good 'camp' unoccupied, but that state of things will not last long. Most of the settlers are English-speaking people, hailing from England, Scotland, the Falkland Islands, or Australia."
Something should now be said of the lake system of Patagonia. The northernmost sheet of water of any size is Buenos Aires. Its length is 75 miles, and though it is close to the Andes, it is only 985 feet above the level of the sea. It is the largest of the lakes. Next in position and next in size is Lake Viedma. Its elevation is 828 feet, and it lies in a savage region. Somewhat less in area but consisting of three arms is Lake Argentino at the head of the Rio Santa Cruz. It is connected with Viedma by the Leona. This lake was only discovered in 1868 by Gardiner. In some cases the scenery is very fine; Buenos Aires is a lake of special beauty, and possibly in the future the district will be one of the world's pleasure-grounds. The development of Argentina has been so rapid that there has been no leisure to spare for inaccessible spots, but it may be that at some distant date the wealthy Argentines will be glad to take advantage of their splendid mountains and no longer be content with commonplace seaside resorts.
The fauna of Patagonia are not specially varied. Those who desire the results of keen observation on the subject should turn to Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle." The guanaco and the ostrich are the most notable, and the latter creature is in great favour in Northern Argentina as a destroyer of locusts. Darwin[139] says: "The guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped of the plains of Patagonia; it is the South American representative of the camel of the East. It is an elegant animal in a state of nature, with a long slender neck and fine legs. It is very common over the whole of the temperate parts of the continent, as far south as the islands near Cape Horn. It generally lives in small herds of from half a dozen to thirty in each; but on the banks of the St. Cruz we saw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred." It is a gentle animal and easily domesticated, but, of course, in the plains it is not nearly as useful as the invaluable llama of the Chilian and Peruvian Andes.
A VIEW OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO.
Patagonia is almost virgin land, a spacious adjunct to a country whose wealth and scanty population has hitherto prevented the inhabitants from seeking pastures new when the new are less luxuriant than the old. For long years it was considered almost worthless and was abandoned to wandering tribes of Indians. Now it is recognised as having a great future before it, and, promising as have been the settlements already, it can hardly be said that a beginning has yet been made, for Patagonia has hardly any railways, and the abundant rivers have scarcely been tapped for the purposes of irrigation. When iron rails have opened up the fine pasture-lands and when the waters of the great streams shall have been utilised for agriculture, it is safe to predict that the expansion of Argentina will exceed beyond comparison the progress hitherto made—a progress which even now fills the world with astonishment.