There is an old saying, “Give a dog a bad name and you may as well hang him.”  The truth of this saying has never been better exemplified than in the case of the Chaco, which long held the reputation of being good for nothing.  Rumour had it that the northern land was useless; life was impossible there for the white man; indeed, it was supposed that cattle even could not live there on account of the mosquitoes and garrapata; and Indians were said to be as thick as flies, and equally disturbing.

The Santa Fe Land Company has been one of the pioneers who steadily fought down these reports, and by showing what good cattle could be bred there, and what crops grown, has gradually opened up the possibilities of the northern lands to colonists and investors.  Slowly but surely workers came north, first in fear and dread, but later with confidence, and now the cry is “They come, and still they come.”  Before we had gone far on our journey we had an opportunity of conversing with one lately arrived colonist.  A wonderful crop of maize attracted our notice, and we stopped to speak to the great, jolly, strong-framed Italian who had grown it.  He has moved up from the south with his wife and family, and his fellow-workmen.  They started ploughing, and though it was late in the season, he was persuaded to try a catch-crop of maize, with the result that he has to-day banked $5,000, when he never expected to secure a chance harvest.  And so sure is he that the land will repay all labour and time expended upon it that he is anxious to take up a league and colonize it with his fellow-countrymen.

It is the same story all through the northern lands; anyone with pluck, adaptability and grit can do what this man has done:  indeed hard work and perseverance will as amply reward the labourer in the northern lands as they have done in the south.  The sight of this great crop of valuable maize, on land which a few months before was a mere waste, brings the words of the Psalmist forcibly to one’s thoughts, for surely of no country could it more truly be said than of the Argentine, “Dwell in the land, and be doing good, and, verily, thou shalt be fed”; and perhaps there are few countries in which there are less openings for the man whose mind is not set towards “doing good”:  the Argentine has little room for the shirker.

[Illustration:  Horses awaiting Inspection.]

The rain of yesterday relieved us from the trials of dust on our journey, but it also made the going very heavy, and instead of travelling for the usual two hours before relieving horses, we were obliged to make an early stop for a change.  This is always an interesting sight, for the animals are so well trained.  Our total number is 87, and when a halt is called, these animals are all lined up in a row, generally against a wire fence.  At the word of command they range themselves, backed close against the fence in a long line with their heads outwards.