Augustus Kark came to the territory from Germany in the year 1886. He brought some capital, but above all, he came armed with a strong will and a marked spirit of enterprise. Settling on the lands which are today his property, "Markatch-Aike", he became for four years a partner of Mr. Seeger, who was replaced thereafter, as partner, for an equal period of time by Mr. Robert Loeschigk.

During those early years, Mr. Kark devoted his energies to cattle breeding, which, by reason of the nature of the land in that region, gave such a small profit that it was out of all proportion to the sacrifices it entailed. In 1895, Kark entered into partnership with Mr. Bernard Osenbrüg, who had come to the territory with the ex-Governor, Don Edelmiro Mayer, and from that time they set to work with sheep, some from, the Falkland Islands, and others, from the North of the Republic.

About the same time, the partners started to equip their establishment with the necessary fittings for the work and its progressive development. They at once began the task of fencing the lands they dad taken up, which, because of the nature of the soil, consisting of a thick stratum of volcanic lava, exacted an intensity of effort scarcely foreseen by the settlers. As it was impossible to dig holes in the ground on account of the soil, they had to pile up great heaps of stone in order to hold up the posts. If the lack of help be added to the comparatively great distance, and the precarious means of transportation then in its infancy between the estancia and the headquarters — the only ones — and sources of supply at Gallegos, the magnitude of Messrs. Kark and Osenbrüg's undertaking may be easily imagined.

The farm being started and its management in good hands, the partners left for Germany with the intention of settling down there, but without relaxing their watchfulness over their interests for which reason they took short trips of inspection, in turns, to coincide in general with the time of shearing.

Mr. Kark is at the present time sixty-four years old and is married to a daughter of Mr. Hermann Eberhardt, another old settler in the territory. Mr. Osenbrüg, who is fifty-six years old, died at the estancia on the 26th of January of the current year, when he was getting ready to start a new journey home, after overseeing the last shearing.