One of the chief discomforts in riding across these plains is the dust which sifts in through the windows and doors at times until it is almost stifling. Then again a baby _pampero_ may come up and blow almost with the force of a hurricane. A Kansas blizzard is hardly equal to it in force and velocity. The dust at times comes in such clouds that it makes difficult work for the section-hands, for it must be removed from the track. I have heard stories of the real, simon-pure _pampero_, which comes up from the Patagonia plains, blowing cars off the track, and the propelling of cars by means of a sail hoisted up on the car. One thing is sure, it is decidedly unpleasant and will so fill your mouth with dust that you feel you are continually chewing sand. The real _pampero_ generally follows a drouth and is preceded by a few days of extreme heat. At last a cloud appears on the pampas which looks like a great woolly ball set in a frame of gold. The dust of the road begins to fly and whirl about in little eddies. Bird and beast seek shelter and the people may be seen scurrying in every direction. Millions of insects scud past in the clouds of fine dust. The lightning flashes in sheets and forks, and the thunder seems to shake the very earth. Then comes the welcome rain, not in drops but in sheets, and mingled with it hailstones big as nuts. A few minutes after the rain ceases and the sun shines in a tranquil, cloudless sky. The atmosphere is so transparent that one can see almost incredible distances. The people breathe in deep draughts of the delicious air, the blood circulates freely and one feels as though he had renewed his lease on life. One could scarcely imagine an easier country through which to build a railroad than across these pampas. Not only is it level but a shallow excavation gives a solid road-bed which needs little ballast. The work has mostly been done by Italian gangs who are employed by contractors. One can see their camps in many places. They live in small “A” tents and a car fitted out as commissary wagon is labelled the _provideria_. It is really a small department store on wheels, where almost anything can be purchased at reasonable prices. The line from Buenos Aires to Mendoza, six hundred and fifty-five miles in length, is built on the broad gauge so common in Argentina. For several hundred miles after leaving Buenos Aires the country is as level as a barn floor, and the train traverses fertile fields in which wheat, corn and grazing lands alternate. One will pass through corn fields miles in length and then wheat fields still larger; and following these the alfalfa pasture will extend clear to the horizon, with immense herds of cattle dotting it until, in the distance, where earth and sky meet, the largest animals appear as mere specks on the landscape.