After South America, the last years in Australia

Abstract

Salta was not a stimulating place for a man possessed of a lively spirit like Ledger’s. This he realised within a few months of settling there with Charlotte. When he had visited the place some 20 years before with the alpacas, he had been admired for the courage he was showing in his enterprise and -as one would have expected as a foreigner — had been revered as a rich man. The people — Indians and expatriates alike — could see that he had the money he required for his expedition, and that he had no problem finding advances when needed. The interest and enthusiasm that he had raised among the gossiping inhabitants of Salta became watered down, perhaps tinted with a sort of revengeful satisfaction, after it became clear that Ledger was now in a position similar to their own, needing to earn money by carrying out the same uninteresting activities as they had to do.