"The Patagonian dress is a poncho or mantle of guanaco skins, which hangs from the shoulders and has a hole in the centre for the head; sometimes it is gathered at the waist by a belt, especially when the wearer is on horseback, and in cold weather those who can afford it have a smaller garment of nearly the same sort underneath a larger one. The men pluck out their beards when they have any, and as the dress is the same for both sexes it is next to impossible for a stranger to distinguish men from women in a group of natives. I made a sketch of a girl who was said to be about twenty years old; she was considered a belle, but I do not believe any belle of New York would be jealous of her good looks. [Illustration: A PATAGONIAN BELLE.] "This Antipodean Langtry wore a guanaco robe which was by no means new; her black hair was greasy and unkempt at the sides, but cut rather short on the top of the head; her nose was broad and flat; and her mouth extended almost from side to side of her face. Her eyes were black and piercing, and her self-satisfied smile as she stood for her picture told that she knew how handsome she was. "I hear some one asking about the height of the Patagonians, and if they are really the giants they were represented in the school-books of forty years ago. They are not giants in the ordinary acceptation of the term, but are certainly above the ordinary height. The governor of Sandy Point personally measured the height of a great many Patagonian men, and his experiments covered several years of his residence there. He reports the average height as between five feet eleven inches and six feet. "Mr. Beerbohm, the author of 'Wanderings in Patagonia,' says the Indians he travelled with possess extraordinary strength, and he tells the following story as an illustration of what they can do: "'An Indian was leading a horse towards the camp by a lasso, when the animal for some reason or other stopped suddenly short, and obstinately refused to stir from the spot. After a few coaxing but ineffectual tugs at the lasso, the Indian gave a short grunt of impatience, and then taking the lasso over his shoulder, bent forward, seemingly without effort, and dragged the horse by main force about twenty yards, notwithstanding its determined attempts at resistance.' "From the same writer and from other sources," continued Fred, "I learned a good deal about the country and the people of Patagonia, which consoled me for my inability to make a journey through it, and indulge in hunting the ostrich and the guanaco. Formerly hunting was possible within a few hours' ride of Sandy Point, but at present the game has been killed off or driven to the north, and those who would have sport cannot find it nearer than fifty or sixty miles away. This is too far to go when we wish to continue on our journey with a steamer that remains only a few hours in port.