nts, each one with his small herd of cows and working
bullocks.

We changed our ponies every three or four leagues, always going at the
same jog-trot, stopping occasionally at a wayside inn to wet our parched
throats with fresh well water (with a drop of cana in it to kill the
microbes), and smoking hard all the time to keep off the swarms of
mosquitoes.

After travelling ten leagues or so we began to leave these habitations
behind us, and got into wilder country with no fences, only long
stretches of undulating land, dotted with patches of splendid-looking
trees and enticing shade.

The road occasionally crossed small streams, which gradually became more
tropical looking, until we came to quite a large river, two or three
hundred metres wide, looking beautifully peaceful and oily. Standing
above on the bank, in the shade of some magnificent quebracho trees, we
looked down upon this lazy stretch of perfect scenery, when suddenly
there was a slight disturbance in the water and a small black dot
appeared on the top of the water. The capataz at once pulled out his
revolver, all of us doing likewise, only to have to put them back again,
as the dot had disappeared as quickly as it came. This was the first
sign of wild animal life we saw, the "jacare" or alligator. In the more
civilised parts of the Chaco, these animals, as well as the carpincho or
water-hog, are getting quite rare, and having been so much shot at and
worried they need the most careful stalking.

As we got further away, we came upon many more of these streams, all
looking much the same; some had bridges over them made of quebracho
logs, laid endways on and covered with earth, very dangerous to cross
after wet weather or floods, especially at night, as they are generally
full of holes where the earth has fallen in.

At 10 a.m. each day we unsaddled for lunch, which was generally composed
of "charque" or salted beef, biscuits, and coffee. The first night we
slept at the last habitation which we saw, a small wayside inn. Arriving
there late in the evening, we had the greatest difficulty in obtaining
entrance on account of the chorus of barking, snapping dogs, and on
account of the innkeeper's fear of drunken gauchos.

Another early start on the second day saw us well on our journey by
siesta time, which we spent on the edge of a very fine forest. The
afternoon was very hot, and we did not start off again until 4 o'clock.
During the evening we swam across