On the Pampas; Or, the Young Settlers — G.A. Henty / George Alfred Henty

G A Henty was a 19th century novelist, special correspondent and Imperialist. His best-known works are historical adventures. While most of the 122 books he wrote were for children, he also wrote adult novels, non-fiction such as The March to Magdala (1868) and Those Other Animals (1891), short stories for the likes of The Boy's Own Paper and edited the Union Jack, a weekly boys magazine. An excerpt from On the Pampas reads "The boys were in the highest spirits at being at last really out upon the pampas, and as day fairly broke they had a hearty laugh at the appearance of their cavalcade. There was no road or track of any kind, and consequently, instead of following in a file, as they would have done in any other country, the party straggled along in a confused body. First came the animals--the sheep, bullocks, and cows. Behind these rode Lopez, in, his gaucho dress, and a long whip in his hand, which he cracked from time to time, with a report like that of a pistol--not that there was any difficulty in driving the animals at a pace sufficient to keep well ahead of the bullock carts, for the sheep of the pampas are very much more active beasts than their English relations." This book is recommended for older children and adults.