Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/58

 of Patagonia. Our scientific men went ashore in quest of objects in their different departments, and to see what

GROUP OF PATAGONIANS.

curiosities could be found. The other officers were busily engaged in surveying, etc. There is a considerable Spanish settlement on this coast, about twenty miles from  the mouth of the river, and also a village of about two thousand inhabitants, consisting mostly of women and soldiers. When they saw the squadron standing in, they fled into the country, mistaking us for a French fleet, as they were  at war with France at the time. They soon found out their mistake, however, and returned, some of them  minus their dinner, which they had left on their tables  in their hurry to escape. This district of Patagonia abounds in all kinds of game, while fine horses and horned  cattle are numerous. We brought off some armadillos