goat. If one of their number is killed the whole herd deserts
the locality at night. When wounded they are fierce fighters, if forced
into close quarters.

Punta Arenas, or "Sandy Point," is on the north side of the Strait of
Magellan and is Chilean territory. It is a new town cut out of the
woods, and even yet many of the streets are diversified by the stumps of
big beech trees. The place is an important coaling and provision station
and, next to Honolulu, the most important ocean post-office in the
world. It has a population of twelve thousand, and is the capital and
centre of the great wool industry of the Territory of Magellan, which
comprises a majority of the islands south of the mainland, together with
the southern part of Patagonia.

A few years ago, in order to encourage the building up of Punta Arenas,
the government offered a lot free to any one who would erect a building
on it. Many accepted the offer, and to-day some of the lots in the
business part of the town are very valuable. Although most of the
buildings are constructed with regard to economy rather than beauty, yet
some of the business blocks will compare favorably with those of the new
cities in the United States.

Like several Australian cities, Punta Arenas was a convict colony. It
was founded as such in 1843, and so remained until the European
steamships began to thread the strait instead of doubling the Horn. Then
it became a coaling station, a supply store, a half-way town, and an
ocean post-office. All this business was previously carried on at the
Falkland Islands, but the route through the strait settled the business
for both places. The Falkland station was abandoned; Punta Arenas became
a thriving town. A ticket-of-leave was given to each convict who
consented to join the Chilean army.

The town forthwith blossomed into a typical frontier settlement--banks
and gambling dens, churches and saloons, schools and bullfights. Every
race of people and almost every industry is represented there. The
Spanish see to it that the Sunday bullfights are correct; the French
insure the proper social functions; the Germans manage the banks; and
the Americans take the profits of the railways, telegraph lines, and
flour-mills. As to latitude, Punta Arenas is cold and inhospitable; but
for business and social affairs, it is very, very warm, especially in
the matter of social affairs.

CHAPTER XVI

RECLAIMABLE SWAMP REGIONS

If only Dame Natur