Patagonia has always been a land of mystery. Only a few years ago the geographers labelled it “no man’s land,” because no nation seemed interested in it. Later Chile and Argentina, longing to expand, cast envious eyes upon this great territory immediately adjoining their borders, and parcelled it out between themselves. The Andes was made the general boundary line, and this gave to Argentina by far the greatest share of the territory. Even Tierra del Fuego, the Land of Fire, was thus divided, so that each nation has a share in that large island which is the last inhabited land on the way to the Antarctic continent. Patagonia impresses the traveller as vast and elemental. Its natural configuration is stamped with these characteristics. From its northern boundary it tapers gradually to the Straits of Magellan. The Argentine section naturally divides itself into three divisions,[137] running north and south. Along the Atlantic shores lie the pampas, the flat and level plains. These plains rise in gently graduated terraces toward the west, one level plain above another. Then follows a network of lagoons and lakes, some connected by rivers and others by channels, many of which shift and alter under the climatic influences. On the western side the Andes range of the Cordilleras stand out against the sky like a mighty barrier. They are a tumult of mountains ever climbing upwards, their lofty gorges choked with glaciers, their hollows holding great lakes of ice-cold blue waters, and about their bases stretch thousands of miles of forests of which only the mere edge has been explored. Thus it is that the vast extent of Patagonia offers the most extreme and the most abrupt contrasts. Flat pampa, with hardly an undulation in sight, stands in sight of mountains almost inaccessible in their steep escarpments. Side by side these contrasts lie, mountain against plain, forest against thorn-scrub. The wind is the only element common to both. For a thousand miles the Atlantic coast is a low-lying, level, treeless series of bleak and brown downs, with few bays that offer protection to shipping; the Pacific[138] coast, in Chile, is dented and notched with fiords, and the shores are covered with dense forests due to the excessive rainfall.
Patagonia is a land of big distances. On the Atlantic coastland it is often a ride of three or four days from one farm to another. The holdings are measured by the square league and not by the quarter-section. There is one farm that covers five hundred square leagues, or more than two million acres of land, and is larger than the state of Rhode Island. No wonder the distances seem almost appalling to the traveller. One accustomed only to cities would indeed feel very forlorn here. As one travels into the interior, a white face becomes more and more rare; empty leagues upon leagues surround you on every side. One seems to stand alone with only the wind, the mirages and the limitless distances, and the blue sky above for a canopy. This wild land appears, according to geologists, to have been the last habitation of the greater beasts of preceding ages. It is now one of the last to be occupied by civilized man, and receive its proper share of the human population.
The discovery of Patagonia dates from 1520, when that intrepid explorer, Ferdinand Magellan,[139] forced his way down the east coast of South America in the face of continuous storms. With his little fleet of five vessels he pushed on in the hope of finding a strait which connected the two oceans. He was compelled to winter one season along the coast of Patagonia. A mutiny broke out among his captains and only one remained loyal. Two of the others were executed, and one was marooned upon the shore. For months no signs of life appeared on shore, although expeditions were sent a short distance into the interior; but one day a painted savage, very tall, appeared. One of the crew wrote, “So tall was this man that we came up to the level of his waist-belt. He was well enough made and had a broad face, painted red, with yellow circles around his eyes, and two heart-shaped spots on his cheeks.” Thus was the report of giants inhabiting Patagonia first carried back to civilization. They were named Pata-goas, big feet, and that name has since clung to the country. Sir Francis Drake visited these shores a half-century later with a small squadron, and during the succeeding hundred years a number of navigators skirted along the coast. Several of them brought back tales of the giants, but[140] these have since been found erroneous, as the Indians are not much taller than the North American Indians, whom they strongly resemble in physical characteristics. Darwin visited this country early in the last century and gave the first detailed account of the country and people, and his report dwelt strongly upon the desolate character of the land. Since then it has become better known, and a number of travellers as well as scientists have visited Patagonia and recorded their impressions. The Chilean and Argentine boundary commissions have also been at work for several years, establishing the international boundaries, and their reports have contained much valuable information.
On the eastern coast there are a number of settlements, such as Santa Cruz, San Julian and Gallegos, at the mouths of the half-dozen rivers which pour their icy waters across the wind-swept plains. Gallegos is the name given by the Spaniards to the strong west wind, so this name was given to a river, and, finally, to the little settlement at its mouth. This village of corrugated iron is a Mecca for the sheep-men and Indians who dwell in the vicinity. From it a few highways may be traced out on[141] the pampas, where they disappear. The Welsh have founded settlements at Dawson, Gaimon and Trelew, which have grown into thriving colonies, and there are a few smaller ones in the interior. The Welsh settlements are made up of good sturdy folk, who are excellent pioneers for an undeveloped country.
The sheep ranchers on these lonely pampas are interesting studies. Some of them own hundreds of thousands of these useful little animals, and there is one company that possesses more than two millions which are kept on their several ranches. These are usually divided into herds of a couple of thousand each. Each flock has several square miles of pasture allotted to it. The shepherd has a number of dogs who aid him in controlling the recalcitrant ones, and they understand their masters’ orders very well. These herders are Scotchmen, Germans and half-breeds. The animals feed all the year around on the pastures. The successful ranch in Patagonia must possess both a winter camp and summer camp. The winter camp is land available for pasturage which is protected from the fierce winds and where the snow does not fall too deep for the sheep to get at the grass, as no provender is[142] put up for them. The summer camp is any other grazing land which is so exposed that sheep could not feed on it during the winter. From this it may easily be seen that the number of sheep that can be maintained is determined not by the total acreage, but by the extent of winter camp. Even under the best conditions an unusually severe winter greatly decimates a flock. At the end of winter the shepherds always go out over the ranch, taking the pelts off the bodies of the animals that have perished during the winter. Another feature to be sought is accessibility for the bringing in of supplies and taking out of the wool. For this reason most of the ranches are located near the rivers so that boats can be used. From some places in the interior it is a trip occupying days and weeks for the ranchman to transport the wool to market.
 
A SHEEP DIP
 
The estancia buildings are usually insignificant affairs, for all the material has to be brought long distances. One of the most distinctive features is a large square corral into which the stock can be driven, and the miles upon miles of wire fencing which spread out across the plains in a thin line. Every farm has its own store, where the men get their supplies[143] at good prices. The “scab” is one of the enemies of the sheep here, as elsewhere, and the ranchers constantly fight it. The “dip” is usually employed, in which the sheep are washed several times each year. It is expensive to keep the sheep free from this troublesome little parasite, which spreads so rapidly, but it must be done, for it will eat into the flesh and the sheep will frequently die before many days after infection. The dip fluid is placed in large vats so deep that the sheep must swim in order to get through it, and they are then driven into it at one end and emerge on a dripping board at the other side, where they are allowed to remain for a few minutes for the “dip” to drip and run back into the pool. The cost of running a sheep ranch in Patagonia is comparatively small because of the low value of the land and low wages paid.
It is not difficult to leave civilization behind in Patagonia. For hundreds of miles in the interior there are few pioneers and only an occasional tribe of wandering Indians. Otherwise it is absolutely unpeopled. Near the Cordilleras it is practically houseless; scarcely a human inhabitant can be found, and little animal life flourishes under the snow peaks and[144] in the unmeasured spaces of virgin forest. There are hundreds of square miles of forest land, gorges, open slopes and terraced hollows, on which the eye of a white man has never yet fallen.
For the traveller across this vast land it is necessary to take a supply of food and an entire camp outfit, including a reliable guide. A man alone seems very puny within this vast setting. The wind-blown grass stretches out as far as the eye can see, with the thorn and a green shrub called “poison-bush” for variety. In other places the surface undulates in graceful monotony, and occasionally a swift-flowing river cuts across the plains on its impatient way to the sea. Mirages like lakes or squadrons of cavalry will often be seen near the horizon. Many long reaches are almost desert wastes and are known as the “land without water.” Over the sterile wastes the cold winds from the Andes sweep and raise great dust and sand storms which are almost blinding and suffocating.
Herds of wild cattle are found in some places, although not in such numbers as the stories that are sometimes heard down in that region would lead one to believe. The guanaco is the[145] principal game animal, and helps out the traveller in the way of food. This animal is very much like a wild llama and they are found by the thousands, although generally in small herds. They look very picturesque when seen in an attentive attitude, with their long sleek necks stretched out in inquiry or curiosity. Wild ostriches may also be found in many parts, while duck and geese are generally plentiful where there is water. Of the wild animals the puma is the most dangerous, and will sometimes attack a man. He is a terrible foe to the sheep farmer, levying heavy toll upon his flocks before strychnine or a bullet puts an end to his career. The wolf is another enemy of the farmer. The curious armadillo is quite common, and is considered very good eating by the hunter.
Lake Buenos Aires is one of the big lakes of Patagonia. One writer, who spent several weeks in that vicinity, says: “Lake Buenos Aires is certainly the very heart of the wind’s domain. While we were there the wind never died down; it blew all the time, often lifting sand and gravel, and sometimes a great piece of our camp fire, sheltered as that was. It raged on most days, blowing so hard that most[146] people in England would not have cared to venture out of doors.” This lake is the largest of a chain of lakes which lie in the foothills of the great Andes system. It is fully seventy-five miles in length from north to south, and its waters are in perpetual motion from the action of the winds. Near the lake is a stretch of arid land that is the very picture of desolation. There is a very horror of bareness about it that almost makes the eyes sick to look upon it. Right near it is one of those sudden contrasts that one will find in Patagonia, fine and fertile land where sweet flowers bloom in profusion. Lake Argentine is another large lake to the south of the other. It is a great sheet of blue water, is higher up, and the peaks of the Cordilleras are nearer. This lake and those farther south are often filled with small icebergs, for the climate is getting colder all the way.
At almost the southernmost point of the mainland lies the little city of Punta Arenas. It is situated on the Straits of Magellan, and is sheltered fr............