East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1922-09-23

pas wool is shipped from Santa Cruz
and Galligos to Punta Arenas and the
wool itself is known by that name.
Thus this lonely little Strait settle
ment the Mecca of southern Chile and
| Patagonia, is one of the great wool
exporting ports of the world, shipping
away on steamers, three years ago,
over 16, 100000 pounds of wool with
commercial value of over $1,6OO,OOO.
In addition to this there was sale
of nearly 100000 sheep pelts. Thus
| sheep raising has proven more profit
able than gold digging or copper min
ing.
Although here in southern Patago-
mia the few million sheep craze on
some of the poorest land, yet they go
far toward piling up her total of per-
haps seventy million head of sheep,
making her first as an exporter OF
frozen meat and second only as
shipper of wool, justifying Argentine
in maintaining in her beautiful cap
ital, The Central Produce Market of
Buenos Aires, the largest Wool and
hide market in the world.
| "Gallegagos' the natives call the
west wind, and so they named the
river and later settlers named the IT.
tie tinsel town Of corrugated iron,
boards and adobe, which lies hugginS
the plain of the pampas on the south
crn bank, and whose low-iying roof
tops we could already see glistenlng
cold and sharp-edged like waves of the
river.
The boat was swung in broadside to
the town, grounded and anchored;
her starboard chain held her to river
ward, while strong hawsers were put
out fore and aft to shore. Amid no
little confusion passengers VITA lug
gage and camp gear were crowded m
to the small boats and deposited on
the beach
on a Patagonia coaster are invari- |
ably to be found various men VINO
have interests in sheep. OF my TWO
companions one was the senior dlrcc-
tor of perhaps the largest sheep com |
pany in the world which in the regions
of the Strait and Patagonia carried
over 1000 900 head of sheep, having !
control of numerous separate ranch
es each with its own name and under
its own management The ether /
from Buenos Ayres, owned ranch or
two. Both were on a tour of inspec-
ton. Among the other passengers
were squatters. shepherds and gau-
chos. the cowboys of the plains. III
Throughout the arid, wind-sWept
length Of Patagonia, from Rio Negro |
to the Strait of Magellan, only six riv-
crs are to he found. These drain the Y
glacial streams from the eastern
sIopes of the Andes and send their
swift currents to the Atlantic, groov-
ing great canyons through the soil d
the paTnpas. At the mouth Of some
Of these are mushroom settlements
Ncccas for the sheepmen. Snuchos 4
and Indians. and DocTs fcr the Few
steamers.
Into the mouths Of The rivers rush /
tremendous tides with Il rise of 40
feet To meet the exisenc.cs Of nn-
loading occasioned by tic eStrcme rise
and fall. a novel expsdjen+ mas hccn
resorted to. Moored and anchored az |
high tide alongside the beach. steel
steamers are left high and 'lry a. the ]
Ieviathans. Cargoes are then trans |
ferred on carts, at low tide, or over
the short spaces Of water u lighters
at high tide. An arriving steamer Is |
an event and all Gallegos had turned |
ont TO meet gs.
We entered a four wheeled TiC and |
were taken to small hotel tess tnan |
two years before the small GARRISON
was withdrawn. Gallegos numbered |
1890 souls. now but a third OF The
number remain and the v1"au. houses
may be had for a song
! was to be he guest cf 81. Ds--
bert FELTON,. n splendid two 'f theI
British sheey--o 1cher. ATrlngz z-ncnts
were made 90 meet me across She
river. The next forenoon, with my