PATAGONIAN SHEEP RANCHES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10503, 11 July 1910, Page 6

PATAGONIAN SHEEP RANCHES.

Throughout the whole arid, windswept length of Patagonia, from the Kio Negro to the Strait of Magellan, only six rivers are to be found. These drain the glacial streams from the eastern slopes of the Andes, and send their swift, icy currents, careening to the Atlantic, grooving great canyons through the sandstone soil of the pampas. At the mouths of some of these are mushroom settlements, little Meccas for the sheepmen, gauelios, and Tehuelche Indians, and ports for the few steamers which irregularly put in with cargoes of corrugated iron and other building material for shelters on the treeless pampas; also bringing food, camp gear, and general supplies, and taking away with them tjie annual cargoes of wool and skins, j Into the mouths of the southern-. ! most of these rivers rush tremendous tides, with a rise of forty feet in the vicinity of Gallegoes. To meet the-exi-gencies of unloading occasioned by this I extreme rise and fall, a novel expedi- | ent has been resorted to. Moored and I anchored at high tide alongside the I beach, steel steamers are left high and dry as the tide recedes, looking like great stranded leviathans. The cargoes are then transferred in carts, at low tide, or over the short space of water in lighters at high tide. An arriving steamer is an event here, and all Gallegos had turned out to look for cargo and receive news. "We entered one of the four-wheeled rigs on the outskirts of the crowd; the horses were at once whipped into a mad gallop over the stony beach crest, and we were in the town, bolting along the dustv, rutty roads, and were deposited at oiie 'of the little hotels of which Gal.legos boasts. Less than two years before the small garrison was withdrawn,' Gallegos numbered fifteen hundred souls: now but a third of this number remain, and many of the vacant houses can be had for a song. Gallegos, like many a frontier settlement, is a place of contrasts. Here on its few highways, which crease out into the pampas and disappear, the slowmoving bullock-carts are passed by a tcuek Fiat locomobile which has recently proved a success within certain limits. Also several single telephone wires sing their ways from the correo (post-office) to a few of the neighboring ranches. At the end of one of these antenna: of civilisation was Killik-Aike, one of the most attractive estancia homes in southern Patagonia, whose owner, Mr Herbert Felton, with whom I was soon in communication, is a splendid type of the hospitable British sheep-ranclier. Patagonia, hitherto a mirage of my imagination, stretched away in reality, a treeless waste of brown, a surface of small brown stones set by nature in irregular mosaic into the brown soil, between which small scattered tufts of brown parched "grass grew, the whole Surface, as far as the eye could reach, monotonous and brown, broken only by the low-growing mate-ncgro and mateverde shrubs, and punctuated occasionally by the slightly greener, prickly caliphate. A gray monotonous cloud covering stretched 'to the horizon and. cooled somewhat the warm color of the pampas by its reflected grayness. There was a wild, unbounded freeness which caused one mentally and physically to breathe deep—white-blooded he must be who does not feel its spell. Here over these vast undulating plains, from the Rio Negro to the Strait of Magellan, from the Atlantic to the Cordillera, roamed the big Teliuelches in uncontrolled freedom — Patagons, the big-footed, the early Spaniards called them, and hence the country Patagonia derived its name. Here still roam the remnant of those aborigines, in the main unaffected by civilisation —save for the worse —but cut off not only from many of their choicest and traditional camping-places (ailte) in the most fertile spots of the eastern river vallevs, but even from the ocean itself: for'from thirty to forty miles back from the Atlantic they bring short up against that boundary of the frontier. the wire fence. Even Killik-Aike was on the site of a favorite campingj'iiacc, as. its name and scattered fragments ol' a stone age amply testify. The land which is considered available for sheep-farming the Government divides into two kinds, fiscal and freehold. A thousand dollars capital, a knowledge of sheep, and- good iudgarc considered sufficient assets by !'«■ bnr-lv pioneer with which to start, provided hi' can find satisfactory "camp" r;hce)>-land). In .Patagonia this is of two kinds, winter camp and summer camp. Summer camp is land where the sheep j .feed during that season, and may be any grazing-land particularly exposed in winter to the fierce cold and snows which sweep dov.-n from the Cordillera, and upon which flocks could riot survive during the winter. "Winter camp is available land for winter pasturage, .naturally more protected, and where the snow falls shallow enough for the sheep to get at the grass. It can be seen that the extent of winter camp determines the number of sheep a ranch can support. But even under the best conditions severe winters frequently decimate large flocks. To mv knowledge a winter's toll of , a single' ranch was thirty thousand out of forty thousand sheep. ' To-dav good camp in southern Patagonia is limited more or less to its eastern littoral mostly occupied, unless one makes the long trek afcross the pampas to the vegas of the Andean foot-hills; but here enters in that important feature of any exported product—transportation. ' Here the only available moans-is-the bullock-cart. But despite this drawback olie English pioneer has proved its feasibility, although his transportation costs aloue would float a small-sized ranch on the eastern littoral. To the traveller in Patagonia there was one unique asset of which KillikAike iTistly garden: for the lack of water and the terrific winds which sweep bare the barren pampas leave only stubble grass and a few hardy shrubs. First, by irrigation at the loot of a protected slope in the lee of a tall fence, a double row of willows was raised : then within this enclosure, by dint of every care, apple, cherry, and other fruit tree.-, and vegetables of all kinds had successfully borne fryit —a

garden famed in southern -Patagonia. But it is this same Gallegos which lias made its contiguous territory coveted sheep land; for to the sheeprancher of Patagonia, next perhaps to good winter camp, the most important assets are facilities for transportation; consequently the estancieros of its shores have hut to invest -in a single boat or perchance a lighter,' 'and, woolladen, go down with the tide to the port of Gallegos. So it was in 1887 that Mr Felton, coming from his native islands, the Falklands, trekked overland from-Sandy Point (Punta. Arenas) with three linen arid- eight carqueros Xpack-htS'rses), and. landed oil the -south side of the Kio Gallegos—as he expressed it, "with what lie stood up in." Two years later lie shifted across'the river to Killik-Aike, where he rented twelve leagues of land. Some corrals up, a few sheds, dipping-peris constructed, several hundred sheep shipped from the Falklands, and his new venture was begun, not, however, without those numerous and ofttimes Unexpected setbacks which the best judgment fails to foresee and forestall.

In the early days, before the fences were up, the sheep were watched by mounted shepherds and dogs during the day, and driven into pens at night. Ori one occasion this latter precaution was neglected, and when the gray dawn of the gray winter morning diffused over the frozen pampas, the sheaf) —a flock of six hundred, shipped a little while before from the Falklands—had disappeared. Search proved fruitless, and later in the morning Mr Felton, while having his coffee, received the unwelcome news.

Without a moment's -hesitation, though dressed light, he jumped into his saddle, and with a single dog set out. Skirting the range, his practised eye soon picked up the slight track on the hard ground. It led in an unwavering line duo cast for a straight thirty miles clear to Cape Fairweatlier, where he finally found the entire flock right at the water's edge, with necks outstretched, seeing, as Mr Felton said, how they could best get hack to the F alklands. The start back began at dark, and. man, dog, horse, and sheep were fearfully exhausted. Lightly clad, the owner dismounted and travelled beside his horse in the pitch darkness and freezing cold, the stars his guides. All were weary, so the man took off his saddle, and piled up the prickly grass in an endeayor to get warm ; but that insidious bugaboo, Cold, was drowsing over him. Ho knew it was a "move on now" or the big move, to eternity. By daybreak he staggered to a shanty. An old man made him the best drink he had ever swallowed, camp tea (mate), which he had never before been able to "go," arid while the old fellow was frying chops, Felton fell asleep. One of the greatest difficulties was and still is getting supplies into the country and shipping wool out of it—and all wood construction for the ranches 011 these treeless pampas had to be shipped from elsewhere at high cost.

After a long wait, the wood for their house, all cut to size in the Falklands, arrived at Gallegos, and Mr Felton's brother was sent down to raft it up, as was done in the early days. All went well until the ebb-tide began its race toward the sea, cutting and chafing the rope lashings and carrying the entire house away below Punta Loyala at the entrance of the Atlantic. But, as in many events, the tide turned, a,nd with it back came the lumber, which was secured with a boat used to tow it, and filially beached.

So. in the face of numerous obstacles 1 Felton began to gain ground, and ten years of arduous labor and fluctuating luck found him at the end of shearing with a fine new shed just, built, new tools, dip for washing sheep and curing scab, the whole season's clip baled, and the sheepskins rolled, all carefully stored in the new sheds. It was with well-earned satisfaction that Feltoisaw the last fleece tied, the final bale hooped and shoved out from the press, and stretched his weary- frame to dream, perchance of the dawn of enjoyment of the fruits of hard work. Light broke, but it was not that of morning; with it came that dreaded, terror of the estanciero, the crackle; and roar of fire; and when dawn did break, instead of over the new sheds, and their contents (everything: Felton owned except the sheep themselves), it shed its cold light over a black smudge 011 the pampas. This, Felton told ni". was the crudest thing that . happened. ._; But the next shearing saw sufficient. provision made, and from that time 011, save for minor hinderance, such pumas, some disease, theft, and storm, Killik-Aike progressed and gradually developed under wise managemerit. Through the long Patagoriian winter : the shepherds and gauchos busy themselves making their new rawhide liorsc-. gear, lassoos, and bo! as (tlirowingballs), occasionally turning out to dig sheep from snow-drifts or to. drive a: troop of mares to break down the snow that the sheep may get at' the grass. But Killik-Aike as a whole is low camp, and the sheep practically take care of themselves, seeking the high pampas in fair weather, the low _ Historm. When I was at Killik-Aike the mercury crept to llSdeg. Fahr. y!i the suit, while the preceding winter it had registered as low as 47deg. below zero.

By the end of my week at KillikAike I had tried out and bought my tropilla (troop) of horses, which with that of my gaucho, Adams, and the niadrina (bell-mare) numbered eight. The day before my departure the hoofs were pared down, for the horses had been running wild : . also they were eounterbranded as required by the law of the Argentine; for when a horse exchanges hands honestly ho is branded with his last, owner's brand reversed, in addition to the new brand. Horses in the Argentine are named according to their colors and markings. totalling a formidable category applicable to almost every variety of color and value. For instance, in my own troop -I had an alazan (chestnut), a sino (dark chestnut), an azuleeo

(blue-gray and white .-patched), an oscuro (black), a moro (gray), and a little Indian horse, a liorqueta-overo (slit-eared, piebald), while the madrina, or, bell-mare, "was a sort of rosado (red and white'patches, roan). The madrina is an important factor of the tropilla, the link which holds the troop together,- but-'horses -will rr •: always take up with a madrina, consequently -they scatter when being driven, as well as at night when feeding in the open, often with disastrous results; hence horses used to the madrina are often .bought in troops. -The day we branded, the fierce wind blew the dust' ; in blinding hurricanes from the corrals, making it doubly difficult to see through our tearblinded eyes, and to keep clear of tho animal's roofs. The day following wo geared up the two. cargueros and our own mounts, a.nd after some difficulty "with thh -four spare horses, "rounded 'up the : trbop arid set out north-east-for the 'Rio Coyle.

On. "reaching the high pampas a bitter," biting Wind'n'tfarly lifted us from our saddles -and smooched our faces with its grimy dust. Wb reached the Coyle, and later twnliglit found us up against a wire fence, without sign of a gate. '(rate's are "supposed to be marked with p'aiiited posts, for otherwise one may travel perhaps ten miles before he finds an opening; for fencecutting in the Argentine is a crime. However-, the unscrupulous resort to it and spill thousands of sheep, perhaps, loose oil the pampas; while tlio scrupulous gauclio will pass the noose of his lasso about tho top and bottom wires midway between two posts and make fast other end-to his saddle cinch, start up his horse, -and thus draw the wires together; holding it thus, lie secures the wires with a piece of rawhide, coils up his lasso, jumps the low space, and releases the wires, which spring back into place. Tho wool-carter has his way. Ho knocks down a few of the 'posts by backing his cart against them, drives over the length of fencing thus laid low, and resets tho posts as best lie can.

During big sheep-drivos crosscountry it is not infrequently necessary to. pass through fenced land, so a gaucho is sent 011 ahead and the estanciero notified, as the law requires. If he he a wise man, lie sends out his own flocks and avoids mixing, as a prevention against both scab-and theft, for some herders on these long drives, often covering hundreds of miles, have a faculty of absorbing into their flocks sheep with other than their own, and the uninitiated might wonder at the prolific, increase at the end of a long, hard trek. In the case of extreme hunger of a traveller on the loualy, desolate pampas, it is no breach of law or honor to slay a wether. Following eastward along the vega of the Coyle, we stopped at a boliclie, a sort of pampas <road-hou.se and drmk-iug-tavern. These are generally located at river fords, and often harbor a most undesirable crowd. A stop here, a few purchases of maneas (hobbles) and bombachos (loose gauclios' trousers) on my part, and a new cartridgebelt by Adams,, we continued oil for Tres Lagunas (Three Lakes), north or Coyle. The boliclie-keeper told us the trail. "Over there," -he said, with a wave of his hand, "you'll find some tracks —that's the ford; keep the point on that hill in line .with the one below it; se.e that you keep it; and' look out for quicksands; over the second range you'll come to a valley; there pick ii]) the trail of a shepherd, who went over yesterday; follow his tracks west and north and you'll come to Tres Lagliiias about dark, down in a canyon." Reaching the other side, we swung up a small valley, gradually aseending to the high pampas, keeping a constant, lookout for the herders tracks, and here I had my first experience in pampas trailing.' ''G.ot tlie trail?" inquired Adams. "Not yet." • ~ "Not vet P We, picked it up a mile back; that means we've lost it and ja good hour too." Back we drove with the troop, with the sino showing signs of being sore-footed;: then leaving the animals to graze, we searched for half an. hour., I managed to partly redeem myself by finding it. Now tracking on the dry' pampasgrass among the parched mate-negro b'tislies is <no" "siii'SoUfe:' -A flight 'sheen on the down-pressed grass tufts is often the only indication of a previous passer. Thus.-Adams' keen eye had discerned it, anil, he took it for granted that I had' seen it, too. The custom is to drive the tropilla ahead of you and: never allow the trail to.pass away from you on "vonr side of" tlie troop, each man being responsible for his side. As ,tlie troop veers to one side or the other of the tracks you're following, the man .whose'side the trail is on sees, to it that the trail is held; thus two experienced: plainsmen Will hold a followed trail for hours: without a word or sign to each other, each in turn being responsible for it. Tli 6 troop had shifted to Adams' he, supposing I was "vaqueno" (guide-wise) enough, had left the trail over ; to me, until I learned with disgust the truth. The ground 'now was very barren in many places and' difficult to rail oh. The hard' and dry, blew the dust from the troop into our faces, parching our lips and blinding onr eyes with tears, and causing us to lose the trail from time 'to tithe.

Half an liour to sunset, and 110 sign of Tres Lagunas. Suddenly a deep valley yawiied below us", in which, lay three lakes which we mistook for Tres Lagunas; but there, west, was a welcome sight—a small habitation. As we rode up we found two big Tehuclche horse-tamers in charge. W-e turned out the sore-footed horses at once. The wind blew through the window openings, almost extinguishing the candle from time to time, while the dark-vis-aged, black-haired Teliuelclies' sat about and ate. We slept 011 some sheepskins where the meat was hung. Before the next morning's sun was an hour old. we had breakfasted on rice, horse ribs, and coffee. About noon a bad-looking Argentine rode up with two horses and a hound. After I had shared some of my cooked peas, with him, this shifty individual proved to be of a most inquisitive turn of mind regarding my future whereabout and next night's camp in particular; mean-

while amusing himself by viciously stabbing tile window ledge with his long knife, observing me closely while I packed my cargo. • But our business was not with liim or his kind. We were shortly heading for the long, level line of the western horizon, the sheep ranches behind us, our quest the big Tehuelches, our goal the great Andean range and the Pacific beyond.