Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
andextinguishing thecandle, asupplyofwhich Ialways carried inmysaddlebags, Imade the
necessary preparations to receive visitors. However, I spent a good night, and all went well
until I had saddled up in the, morning. When I was just about to leave the gobernador arrived
on the scene and came dashing up to me on a mule which seemed to be as excited and heated
as the rider, who fairly barked and snorted 'perro chileno' and other not very complimentary
names at me. A group of men had assembled, some being armed with clubs and one or two
with pitchforks, ready to storm the bastille. They were still a good distance away from me,
and did not seem any too keen to advance more than a few short steps at a time. In order to
impress me, the gobernador whipped and spurred his excited and panting mule, and whenever
the animal moved he pulled it back with a violent jerk on the bit which made it dance around
in a circle. Of course I knew that nobody was any too keen on showing fight, for the two guns
that were in my holsters looked too dangerous, and the average mestizo, although plucky with
knives,isterrifiedoffirearms,quitethereverseofAnglo-Saxons,whofairlyfreezewhenthey
see the flashing of a knife, but who will usually face bullets without losing their heads.
I tried hard to get a word in, but it was impossible to penetrate the verbal barrage of the
raving
gobernador
,whoeverytimeItriedtospeak,barked:'Shutyourmouth,perrochileno!'
The men did not seem inclined to come any closer, and remained at a safe distance, and so I
stood there with my document in my hand, waiting until the
gobernador
's batteries of insults
shouldrundownsufficiently toallowhimtolisten toreason.Althoughmysituation wasnota
very pleasant one, I could not help seeing the humorous side of it; I compared myself to a dog
whohadventuredintoastrangevillage,andtherebeforemewasthebiggrowler,snarlingand
showing his teeth whilst all the other mongrels were waiting in the distance for the fight to
begin. Once the
gobernador
's admirable vocabulary was exhausted he grabbed the document
I had been holding towards him and began to read it. It took him a long time to decipher its
contents,andInoticedthatthesealwasthethingthatmostinterestedhim,andinordertoread
it he turned the paper round in a circle several times, and then he suddenly shouted: '
Viva la
República Argentina!
' and turning towards the men he again shouted the same, and this time
his call was answered by a chorus of '
Viva!
' although I suppose the majority of the men had
about as much idea where the Argentine is as wives have of their husbands' real whereabouts
when they are 'away on business'. I was immediately invited to stay in the village as long
as I might wish; and as I had already lost half the morning, I accepted the invitation to eat
something, and took advantage to ask for a good feed for the horses, who could well do with
it.
A kind of woolly seaweed that grows in the lake makes excellent feed for the small cattle
the Indians raise. Men and boys wade out as far as they can where the water is shallow, and
forming a line slowly move towards the shore, thus catching the seaweed with their legs. I
have often watched cows, ponies and goats in shallow pools and have been surprised to see
them submerge their heads to pull out some of these weeds, and it was remarkable how long
they could keep their heads under water.
