Each moment rendered the position of the Indian more critical; for on the arrival in the flat of the many that were now rushing down its sides, he would be exposed to a fire from which he would have but little chance of escape. With the instinct of his race, the warrior of the pampas seemed fully aware of his danger, for, before any had reached half-way to where I lay, his dark body sprang from the cover that protected him, and with rapid bounds he sought to reach the summit of the gully. A fierce and prolonged yell told of his attempt, and several shots were fired, but ineffectually, on account of distance. I alone was within good shot; covered with the rifle, whose aim had been so often proved, I felt his life was in my hands; for a moment I hesitated—but the nature of my position overpowered all thoughts of mercy—the mouth of my piece poured forth its small sheet of flame, and before the sharp report had ceased to reverberate, the body of my enemy was tumbling, a lifeless mass, from rock to rock, forcing its way through the tangled, matted grass and brush-wood. Congratulating friends, and startled tenants of the hacienda soon surrounded me, and the body of the Indian being dragged to the bank of the stream, two friendly Indians of the party pronounced it to be that of a powerful chief of one of the southern tribes, who were said to be committing the depredations in the villages under the Andes. What brought the chief away from his tribe, and in the neighborhood of the hacienda, remained unexplained, until some of the guides who had been dispatched at the first alarm, to bring in the few horses that remained unturned out the previous night, joined the party, and informed us that they had seen three other Indians issue from the gully, some short distance down, and, mounting horses that had been in charge of two companions, dash across the plain with a led horse, in the direction of the mountains. This news caused no inconsiderable stir amongst the motley assemblage, and we returned to the hacienda to decide what course we were to adopt. Ten days previous, with three companions, all Englishmen, three guides, and four rancheros as attendants, we left St. Jago with the intention of proceeding by land to Buenos Ayres. The reason of our employing the rancheros was, that they had a short time previous accompanied a Valparaiso merchant from St. Fé to St. Jago, and had been most useful to him on the route. Absent from their own country they were glad of an opportunity to return, and we secured them for a comparatively small recompense. The guides were the usual adjuncts to all travelers, and indispensable in order to pilot us on our way, and catch horses for us, when those we rode were knocked up. The previous evening we had arrived at the hacienda of San Jacinto, after having two days before descended from the Andes, whence it was distant some ninety miles.