and ferns. Having washed off the dust of three
days' travel from our weary persons, and having changed into more
suitable travelling gear, we sat down to an excellent spread.

In the cool of the evening we made a tour of the town, being most
interested in the cigar factories, where we bought excellent smokes for
$2 a hundred, all hand-made from pure tobacco leaf by the brown-hued
lasses of Reconquista.

The rest of the evening we spent in unpacking our native saddles, and
preparing everything for our long horseback journey--not having
forgotten to see that our tropilla of fifteen grey ponies were fit and
ready to make an early start next morning.

Three a.m. next morning found us out in the "corrales" having our ponies
allotted to us by the capataz--we found the tropilla on "ronda"--that
is, in a corner with a lasso tied across in front of them, the height of
their chests, and all facing outwards. This is the most general way of
teaching horses to stand in the Chaco, as, if taught to stand singly,
they would fall too easy a prey to the Indians and gauchos. In order to
saddle these ponies we had to "manear" them, that is, tie their forelegs
together, for without this they refused to let us put the blankets on
their backs.

All being ready, we started off, four of us, two in front and two
behind, with eleven loose ponies between us. By this time the sky was
beginning to grow light, and evidently the fresh morning air had
disagreed with my friend T.'s horse, which suddenly cleared down a side
street with his head between his forelegs and his back arched like the
bend in an archer's bow.

After some seconds of this amusing sight T. managed to get the pony's
head up and came along again, looking very warm and beaming; his
pink-nosed pony quite satisfied that he would have to carry more than
his own weight for some distance further.

Leaving Reconquista on the north we crossed, over an old railway
embankment, a large stretch of low country, through which a small stream
glided with winding course, and jogging along league after league we
gradually got into more interesting country: little clumps of trees with
very thick undergrowth, clinging creepers, bright-coloured flowers, and
gorgeously plumaged birds.

All along the sides of the roads were little farms, apparently
uncultivated, except for small patches of wonderfully grown maize and
browning linseed. Practically all these farms are owned by Swiss and
German peasa