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[[underline]] May 25 - B.A. [[/underline]]

     This is one of the great holidays of the Argentine - celebrating 110 years of independence. San Martin being the hero of most of South America, a Te Deum Mass was sung at the cathedral where San Martin is buried. We couldn't get in, but we walked down as near the Plazo de Mayo as we could get, and saw the guard of honor, the cadets, and the mounted guard. The mounted guard, with their beautifully matched horses, and their splendid uniforms of navy and red, were most picturesque, and as they sat at attention, with swords drawn, for over an hour, gave evidence of being well-disciplined. The town is very gay with blue and white banners floating everywhere.

[[underline]] May 26 - B.A. [[/underline]]

     Dr. Gray left us today as he is sailing home on the Argentina. The po icemen also got off. We intended to go down to see the ship sail, but as we were catching a train at seven-ten, and the ship sailed at eight, it was not practicable. Dr. John left me a parting present of a gaucho belt of cowhide with the hair on, fastened with a handsome silver buckle - very good-looking, and I am thrilled to have it.

     We were having a final drink with theShippens before we all went to the station, and Bill S. pulled out a small yellow envelope, and proudly showed a single yellow slip of paper, saying "That is all it takes - for Patagonia." We had two slips of paper, and promptly became very much upset. Somebody - either Bill S. or American Express - had lost one of the Shippens' tickets. Bill did some frantic last minute telephoning, and we had a wild dash for the train, where poor Bill S. had to buy another ticket, hoping he would be able eventually to get a refund. As we are guests of the Argentine government, it seems unlikely that we will be able to rectify this. If one loses a pass, and has to pay one's way, there is littlechance of getting one's money back.

     We had dinner on the train, and a rough night's ride. Evidently the engineer had a grudge against somebody onboard, for never have I been so badly jolted. Every time the train stopped or started, I expected my better half to be thrown out of his upper berth, and consequently slept not at all.

[[underline]] May 27 - En route Patagonia [[/underline]]

     When we awoke, we were well south of Bahia Blanca. As we traveled all day, turning westward as well as south, we saw the endless plains of Buenos Aires Province, stretching flatly to the horizon. Toward noon we came into the real desert country, which, inconsistently enough, was mostly under water, due to the heavy recent rains. Sand dunes were wet, roads were under water, and the desert vegetation was mirrored in mud puddles.

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