afci
I
journal of Researches into tbe natural fiistory
and Geology of tbe countries visited during
tbe Uoyage of fi.m.s. Beagle Round
tbe World, under tbe Command
of gapt f itz Roy, R. n.
By
Cbarles Darwin, m.Jf., T.R.S.
Hutbor of Origin of Species, etc.
new edition
new York
D. flppltton and Company
Authorized Edition.
TO
CHAELES LYELL, ESQ., F.B.S.,
SECOND EDITION IS DEDICATED WITH GRATEFUL PLEASURE, AS
AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT THE CHIEF PART OF WHATEVER
SCIENTIFIC MERIT THIS JOURNAL AND THE OTHER WORKS OF THE
AUTHOR MAY POSSESS, HAS BEEN DERIVED FROM STUDYING THE
WELL-KNOWN AND ADMIRABLE
PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY.
2033576
PREFACE.
J HAVE stated in the preface to the first Edition of this work,
and in the Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle, that it was ir.
consequence of a wish expressed by Captain Fitz Roy, of having
some scientific person on board, accompanied by an offer from
him of giving up part of his own accommodations, that I volun-
teered my services, which received, through the kindness of the
hydrographer, Captain Beaufort, the sanction of the Lords of
the Admiralty. As I feel that the opportunities which I en-
joyed of studying the Natural History of the different countries
we visited, have been wholly dne to Captain Fitz Roy, I hope I
may here be permitted to repeat my expression of gratitude
to him ; and to add that, during the five years we were together,
I received from him the most cordial friendship and steady
assistance. Both to Captain Fitz Roy and to all the Officers of
the Beagle * I shall ever feel most thankful for the undeviating
kindness with which I was treated during our long voyage.
This volume contains, in the form of a Journal, a history of
our voyage, and a sketch of those observations in Natural
History and Geology, which I think will possess some interest
for the general reader. I have in this edition largely condensed
and corrected some parts, and have added a little to others, in
order to render the volume more fitted for popular reading ; but
I trust that naturalists will remember, that they must refer for
details to the larger publications, which comprise the scientific
results of the Expedition. The Zoology of the Voyage of
the Beagle includes an account of the Fossil Mammalia, by
Professor Owen ; of the Living Mammalia, by Mr. Water-
house ; of the Birds, by Mr. Gould ; of the Fish, by the
Rev. L. Jenyns ; and of the Reptiles, by Mr. Bell. I have
appended to the descriptions of each species an account of its
habits and range. These works, which I owe to the high
* I must take this opportunity of returning my sincere thanks to Mr. Bynoe,
the surgeon of the Beagle, for his very kind attention to me when I was ill
t Valuaraiso.
PREFACE.
talents and disinterested zeal of the above distinguished authors,
could not have been undertaken, had it not been for the libe-
rality of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury,
who, through the representation of the Right Honourable the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, have been pleased to grant a sum
of one tnousand pounds towards defraying part of the expenses
of publication.
I have myself published separate volumes on the ' Structure
and Distribution of Coral Reefs ;' on the ' Volcanic Islands
visited during the Voyage of the Beagle ;' and on the ' Geology
of South America.' The sixth volume of the ' Geological Trans-
actions ' contains two papers of mine on the Erratic Boulders
and Volcanic Phenomena of South America. Messrs. Water-
house, Walker, Newman, and White, have published several
able papers on the Insects which were collected, and I trust that
many others will hereafter follow. The plants from the southern
parts of America will be given by Dr. J. Hooker, in his great
work on the Botany of the Southern Hemisphere. The Flora of
the Galapagos Archipelago is the subject of a separate memoir
by him, in the ' Linnean Transactions.' The Reverend Professor
Henslow has published a list of the plants collected by me at
the Keeling Islands ; and the Reverend J. M. Berkeley has de-
scribed my cryptogamic plants.
I shall have the pleasure of acknowledging the great assist-
ance which I have received from several other naturalists, in the
course of this and my other works ; but I must be her allowed
to return my most sincere thanks to the Reverend Professor
Henslow, who, when I was an under-graduate at Cambridge,
was one chief means of giving me a taste for Natural History,
who, during my absence, took charge of the collections I sent
home, and by his correspondence directed my endeavours, and
who, since my return, has constantly rendered me every assist-
ance which the kindest friend could offer.
Down, Bromley, Kent
June. 1845.
PREFACE. vii
POSTSCRIPT.
I TAKE the opportunity of a new edition of my Journal to
correct a few errors. At page 83 I have stated that the
majority of the shells which were embedded with the extinct
mammals at Punta Alta, in Bahia Blanca, were still living
species. These shells have since been examined (see ' Geological
Observations in South America,' p. 83) by M. Alcide d'Orbigny,
and he pronounces them all to be recent. M. Aug. Bravard has
lately described, in a Spanish work (* Observaciones Geologicas,'
1857), this district, and he believes that the bones of the extinct
mammals were washed out of the underlying Pampean deposit,
and subsequently became embedded with the still existing shells ;
but I am not convinced by his remarks. M. Bravard believes
that the whole enormous Pampean deposit is a sub-aerial forma-
tion, like sand-dunes: this seems to me to be an untenable
doctrine.
At page 378 I give a list of the birds inhabiting the Galapagos
Archipelago. The progress of research has shown that some of
these birds, which were then thought to be confined to the islands,
occur on the American continent. The eminent ornithologist,
Mr. Sclater, informs me that this is the case with the Strix puncta-
tissima and Pyrocephalus nanus ; and probably with the Otus
galapagoensis and Zenaida galapagoensis : so that the number of
endemic birds is reduced to twenty-three, or probably to twenty-
one. Mr. Sclater thinks that one or two of these endemic forms
should be ranked rather as varieties than species, which always
seemed to me probable.
The snake mentioned at page 381, as being, on the authority
of M. Bibron, the same with a Chilian species, is stated by Dr.
Gunter (Zcolog. Soc., Jan. 24th, 1859) to be a peculiar specks,
not known to inhabit any other country.
Ft*. 1st 1860.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Porto Praya Ribeira Grande Atmospheric
imst iviih Infusoria Habits of a Sea-slug and
Cuttib-fish St. Paul's Rocks, non volcanic
Singular incrustations Insects the first Colo-
nistfl of Islands Fernando Noronha Bahia
Burnished Rocks-Habits of a Diodon
Pel-igic Conferva? and Infusoria Causes of
discoloured Sea Page 1
CHAPTER IL
Rio de Janeiro Excursion north of Cape Frio
Great Evaporation Slavery Botofogo
Bay Terrestrial Planari.-E Clouds on the
Corcovado Heavy Rain Musical Frogs
Phosphorescent Insects Elater, springing
powers of Blue Haze Noise made by a
Butterfly Entomology Ants- Wasp kill-
ing a Spider Parasitical Spider Artifices of
an Epeira Gregarious Spider Spider with
an uuaynimi'trical Web 19
CHAPTER III.
Monte Video-Maldonado-Excursion to R.
Polanco-Lazo and Bolas Partridges Ab-
sence of Trees Deer Capybara, or River
Hog Tucutuco Molotlirus, cuckoo-like
habits Tyrant Flycatcher Mocking-bird
Carrion Hawks Tubes formed by Lightning
House struck 39
CHAPTER IV.
Rio Negro Estancias attacked by the Indians
Salt Lakes Flamingoes R. Negro to R.
G)lorado Sacred Tree Patasonian Hare
Indian Families General Rosas Proceed to
Bahia Blanca Sand Dunes Negro Lieuto-
nant Bahia Blanca Saline Incrustations -
Punta Alta fcjrillo 63
CHAPTER V.
3ahia Blanca Geology Numerous gigantic
extinct Quadrupeds Recent Extinction
Longevity of Species Lar^e Animals do not
require a luxuriant Vegetarion Southern
Africa Siberian Fossils Two Species of
Ostrich Habits of Oven-bird Aimadilloes
Venomous Snake, Toad, Lizard Hyberna-
tion of Animals Habits of Sea-PenIndian
Wars and Massacres Arrow-head Antiqua-
rian Relic ;i
CHAPTER VI.
Set out for Buenos Ayres Rio Sauce Sierra
Ventana Third Posta Driving Horses
Bolas Partridges and Foxes Features of th"
Country Long-legged Plover Teru-tero
Hailstorm Natural Enclosures in the Sierra
Tapalguen Flesh of Puma Meat Diet
Guardia del Monte Eftects of Cattle on the
Vegetation Cardoon Buenos Ayres Cor-
ml where Cattle are slaughtered 106
gul
She
CHAPTER VIL
Excursion to St. Fe Thistle-Beds Habits 01
the Bizcacha Little Owl Saline Streams-
Level Plains Mastodon St. Fe Change in
Landscape Geology Tooth of extinct Horse
Relation of the Fossil and recentQuadrupeds
of North and South America Effects of a
great Drought Parana Habits of the Jaguar
Sciiwor-beak King-fisher, Parrot, and
Scissor-tail Revolution Buenos Ayres
State of Government ................. 123
CHAPTER VIU.
Excursion to Colonia del Sacramiento Value
of an Estancia Cattle, how counted Sin-
lar Breed of Oxen Perforated Pebbles
pherd-DogsHorses broken-in, Gauchot
Riding Character of Inhabitants Rio Plata
Flocks of Butterfl es Aeronaut Spiders
Phosphorescence of the Sea Port Desire
Guanaco Port St. Julian Geology of Pata-
goniaFossil gigantic Animal Types ol
Organization constant Change in the Zoo-
logy of America-Causes of Extinction . 142
CHAPTER IX.
SanU Cruz Expedition up the River Indians
Immense Streams of Basaltic Lava Frag-
ments not transported by the River Exca-
vation of the Valley Condor, habits of
Cordillera Erratic Boulders of great size-
Indian Relics Return to the Ship Falk-
land Islands Wild Horses, Cattle, Rabbits-
W r olf-like Fox Fire made of Bones Man-
ner of hunting Wild Cattle Geology
Streams of Stones Scenes of Violence
Penguin Geese Eggs of Doris -Compound
Animals ............. ................ 177
CHAPTER X.
Tierra del Fuego, first arrival Good Success
Bav An Account of the Fuegians on board
Interview with the Savages Scenery of
the Forests Cape Horn Wigwam Cove
Miserable Condition of the Savages Famine*
Cannibals Matricide Religious Feelings
Great Gale Beagle Channel Ponsonby
Sound Build Wigwams and settle the Fue-
gians Bifurcation of the Beagle Channel-
Glaciers Return to the Ship Second Visit
in the Ship to the Settlement Equality of
Condition amongst the Native* ....... 204
CHAPTER XI.
Strait of Magellan Port Famine Ascent ol
Mount Tarn Forests Edible Fungus-
Zoology Great Sea-weed-Leave Tierra del
Fuego Climate Fruit Tiees and Produc-
tions of the Southern Coasts Height of
Snow-line on the CordiL>ra Descent ol
Glaciers to the Sea Icebergs formed Trans-
portal of Boulders Climate and Produc-
tions of the Antarctic Islands Preservation
of Frozen Carcasses Recapitulation . . . 2&I
CONTEXTS.
CHAPTER XIL
Valparaiso Excursion to the Foot of the Andes
Structure of the Land Ascend the Bell of
Quillota Shattered Masses of Greenstone
Immense Valley* Mines State cf Miners
Santiago Hot-baths of Cauquenes Gold-
mines Grinding-mills Perforated Stones
Habits of the Puma El Turco and Tapa-
colo Humming-birds 2!>2
CHAPTER XIII.
Chiloe General Aspect Boat Excursion-
Native Indians -Castro Tame Fox Ascend
San Pedro Chonos Archipelago -Peninsula
of Tres Monies Granit.c Range Boat-
wrecked Sailors Low's Harbour Wild Po-
tato Formation of Peat Myopotamus,
Otter and Mice Cheucau and Barking-bird
Opetiorhynchus Singular Character of Or-
nithology Petrels 273
CHAPTER XIV.
Ban Carlos, Chiloe Osorno in eruption, rrm-
temporaneously with Aconcagua and Cose-
gnina Ride to" Cucao Impenetrable forests
Valdivia Indians Earthquake Concep-
tionGreat earthquake Rocks fissured
Appearance of the former towns The sea
black and boiling Direction of the vibra-
tionsStones twisted round Great Wave
Permanent elevation of the land Area of
volcanic phenomena The connexion be-
tween the elevatorv and eruptive forces
Cause of earthquakes Slow elevation of
Mountain-chains 291
CHAPTER XV.
Valoaraiso Portillo pass Sagacity of mules-
Mountain torrents Mines, how discovered
Proofs of the gradual elevation of the Cor-
dillera ETect of snow on rocks -Geological
structure of the two main ranges Their dis-
tinct origin and upheaval Great subsidence
Red snow Winds Pinnacles of <inow
Dry and clear atmosphere Electricity
Pampas-Zoology of the opposite sides of "the
Andes Locusts Great bugs Mendoza
TJspallata Pass Silicified trees buried as
they grew Incas Bridge Badness of the
passes exaggerated Cumbre Casuchas
Valparaiso 313
CHAPTER XVI.
Cuact-road to Coquimbo Great loads carried
by the miners Coquimbo Earthquake
Step-formed terraces Absence of recent de-
posits Contemporaneousness of the Tertiary
formations Excursion up the valley Road
to Guasco Deserts Valley of Copiapo
Rain and earthquakes Hydrophobia The
Dcspoblado Indian Ruins IVobable change
of climate River-bed arched by an earth-
quake Cold gales of wind Noises from a
bill Iquique Salt alluvium Nitrate of
Soda Lima Unhealthy country Ruins of
Callao, overthrown by an earthquake Recent
Hibsidence Elevated shells on San Lorenzo,
tbeir decomposition -Plain with eml>edded
ebells and fragments of pottery Antiquitv
crfthe Indian Race :m
CHAPTER XVII.
Galapagos Archipelago The whole group vol-
canic Number of craters Leafless buthes
Colony at Charles Island James Island
Salt-lake in crater Natural History of the
group Ornithology, curious finches Rep-
tiles Great tortoises, habits of Marine li-
zard, feeds on sea-weed Terrestrial li/ard,
burrowing habits, herbivorous Importance
of reptiles in the Archipelago Fish, shells,
insects Botany American type of organi-
sation Differences in the species or races on
different islands Tameness of the birds-
Fear of man, an acquired instinct 372
CHAPTER XVIII.
Pass through the Low Archipelago Tahiti
Aspect Vegetation on the Mountains View
of Eimeo Excursion into the Interior Pro-
found Ravines Succession of Waterfalls-
Number of wild useful Plants Temperance
of the Inhabitants Their moral state Par-
liament convened New Zealand Bay of
Islands Hippahs Excursion to Waimate
Missionary Establishment English Weeds
now run wil-1 Waiomio Funeral of a New
Zealand Woman Sail for Australia.... 408
CHAPTER XIX.
Sydney Excursion to Bathurst Aspect of the
Woods Party of Natives Gradual extinc-
tion of the Aborigines Infection generated
by associated men in health Blue Moun-
tainsView of the grand gulf-like Valleys
Their origin and formation Bathurst, gene-
ral civility of the lower orders-State of So-
cietyVan Diemen's Land Hobart Town
Aborigines all banished Mount Welling-
tonKing George's Sound Cheerless aspect
of the Country Bald Head, calcareous casts
of branches of trees Party of Natives Leave
Australia.... 431
CHAPTEK XX.
Keeling Island Singular appearance Scanty
Flora Transport of Seeds- Birds and Insects
Ebbing and flowing Wells Fields ol
dead Coral Stones transported in the roots
of trees Great Crab Stinging Corals
Coral-eating Fish - Coral Formations La-
goon Islands, or Atolls Depth at which reef-
building Corals can live Vast Areas inter-
spersed with low Coral Islands Subsidence
of their foundations Barrier Reefs Fring
ing Keefs - Conversion of Fringing Reefs into
Barrier Reefs, and into Atolls Evidence n.
changes in Level Breaches in Barrier Reefs
Maldiva Atolls; their peculiar structure-
Dead and submerged Reefs Areas of subsi-
dence and elevation Distribution of Volcano*
Subs.dence slow, and vast in amount.. 432
CHAPTER XXI.
Mauritius, beautiful appearance of Great cra-
terirorm ring of Mountains Hind.xM vSt
Helena History of the changes in the vege-
tation Cause of the extinction of land-shelle
Ascension Variation in the imported ratj
Volcanic Bombs Beds of infusoria -Baliia
Brazil Splendour of tropical scenery Per-
namliuco Singular Reef Slavery Return
to England Retrospect on our voyage.. 4S3
JOURNAL.
CHAPTER I.
Portt Praya Ribeira Grande Atmospheric Dust with Infusoria Habits
of a Sea-slug and Cuttle-fish St. Pauls Rocks, non volcanic Singular
Incrustations Insects the first Colonists of Islands Fernando Noronha
Bahia Burnished Rocks Habits of a Diodon Pelagic Confervae and
Infusoria Causes of discoloured Sea.
ST. JAGO CAPE DE VERD ISLANDS.
AFTER having been twice driven back by heavy south-western
gales, Her Majesty's ship Beagle, a ten-gun brig, under the com-
mand of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., sailed from Devonport on the
27th of December, 1831. The object of the expedition was to
complete the survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, com-
menced under Captain King in 1826 to 1830 to survey the
shores of Chile, Peru, and of some islands in the Pacific and
to carry a chain of chronometrical measurements round the
World. On the 6th of January we reached Teneriffe, but were
prevented landing, by fears of our bringing the cholera : the
next morning we saw the sun rise behind the rugged outline of
the Grand Canary island, and suddenly illumine the Peak of
Teneriffe, whilst the lower parts were veiled in fleecy clouds.
This was the first of many delightful days never to be forgotten.
On the 16th of January, 1832, we anchored at Porto Praya, in
St. Jago, the chief island of the Cape de Verd archipelago.
The neighbourhood of Porto Praya, viewed from the sea,
wears a desolate aspect. The volcanic fires of a past age, and
the scorching heat of a tropical sun, have in most places rendered
the soil unfit for vegetation. The country rises in successivf
2 ST. JAGO CAPE DE VERB ISLANDS. [CHAP! i.
steps of table-land, interspersed with some truncate conical hills,
and the horizon is bounded by an irregular chain of more lofty
mountains. The scene, as beheld through the hazy atmosphere
of this climate, is one of great interest ; if, indeed, a person,
fresh from sea, and who has just walked, for the first time, in a
grove of cocoa-nut trees, can be a judge of anything but his own
happiness. Tha island would generally be considered as very
uninteresting ; but to any one accustomed only to an English
landscape, the novel aspect of an utterly sterile land possesses
a grandeur which more vegetation might spoil. A single green
leaf can scarcely be discovered over wide tracts of the lava plains ;
yet flocks of goats, together with a few cows, contrive to exist.
It rains very seldom, but during a short portion of the year
heavy torrents fall, and immediately afterwards a light vegeta-
tion springs out of every crevice. This soon withers ; and upon
such naturally formed hay the animals live. It had not now
rained for an entire year. When the island was discovered, the
immediate neighbourhood of Porto Praya was clothed with trees,*
the reckless destruction of which has caused here, as at St. Helena,
and at some of* the Canary islands, almost entire sterility. The
broad, flat-bottomed valleys, many of which serve during a few
days only in the season as watercourses, are clothed with
thickets of leafless bushes. Few living creatures inhabit these
valleys. The commonest bird is a kingfisher (Dacelo lagoensis),
which tamely sits on the branches of the castor-oil plant, and
thence darts on grasshoppers and lizards. It is brightly coloured,
but not so beautiful as the European species : in its flight, man-
ners, and place of habitation, which is generally in the driest
valley, there is also a wide difference.
One day, two of the officers and myself rode to Eibeira Grande,
a village a few miles eastward of Porto Praya. Until we
reached the valley of St. Martin, the country presented its usual
dull brown appearance ; but here, a very small rill of water pro-
duces a most refreshing margin of luxuriant vegetation. In the
course of an hour we arrived at Ribeira Grande, and were sur-
prised at the sight of a large ruined fort and cathedral. This
little town, before its harbour was filled up, was the principal
* I state this on the authority of Dr. E. Diofienhach, in his German
translation of the first edition of this Journal.
1832.] RIBEIRA GRANDE ST. DOMINGO.- 3
place in the island : it now presents a melancholy, but very pic-
turesque appearance. Having procured a black Padre for a
guide, and a Spaniard who had served in the Peninsular war as
an interpreter, we visited a collection of buildings, of which an
ancient church formed the principal part. It is here the gover-
nors and captain-generals of the islands have been buried. Some
of the tombstones recorded dates of the sixteenth century.* The
heraldic ornaments were the only things in this retired place that
reminded us of Europe. The church or chapel formed one side
of a quadrangle, in the middle of which a large clump of bananas
were growing. On another side was a hospital, containing about
a dozen miserable-looking inmates.
We returned to the Venda to eat our dinners. A considerable
number of men, women, and children, all as black as jet, col-
lected to watch us. Our companions were extremely merry ;
and everything we said or did was followed by their hearty
laughter. Before leaving the town we visited the cathedral. It
does not appear so rich as the smaller church, but boasts of a
little organ, which sent forth singularly inharmonious cries. We
presented the black priest with a few shillings, and the Spaniard,
patting him on the head, said, with much candour, he thought
his colour made no great difference. We then returned, as fast
as the ponies would go, to Porto Praya.
Another day we rode to the village of St. Domingo, situated
near the centre of the island. On a small plain which we crossed,
a few stunted acacias were growing ; their tops had been bent
by the steady trade-wind, in a singular manner some of them
even at right angles to their trunks. The direction of the
branches was exactly N.E. by N., and S.W. by S., and these
natural vanes must indicate the prevailing direction of the force
of the trade-wind. The travelling had made so little impression
on the barren soil, that we here missed our track, and took that
to Fuentes. This we did not find out till we arrived there ; and
we were afterwards glad of our mistake. Fuentes is a pretty
village, with a small stream ; and everything appeared to prosper
well, excepting, indeed, that which ought to do so most its
* The Cape de Verd Islands were discovered in 1449. There was a
tombstone of a bishop with the date of 1571 ; and a crest of a hand and
dagger, dated 1497.
4 ST. JAGO CAPE DE VERD ISLANDS. [CHAP. i.
inhabitants. The black children, completely naked, and looking
very wretched, were carrying bundles of firewood half as big as
their own bodies.
Near Fuentes we saw a large flock of guinea-fowl probably
fifty or sixty in number. They were extremely wary, and could
not be approached. They avoided us, like partridges on a rainy
day in September, running with their heads cocked up ; and if
pursued, they readily took to the wing.
The scenery Of St. Domingo possesses a beauty totally unex-
pected, from the prevalent gloomy character of the rest of the
island. The village is situated at the bottom of a valley, bounded
by lofty and jagged walls of stratified lava. The black rocks
afford a most striking contrast with the bright green vegetation,
which follows the banks of a little stream of clear water. It
happened to be a grand feast-day, and the village was full of
people. On our return we overtook a party of about twenty
young black girls, dressed in excellent taste ; their black skins
and snow-white linen being set off by coloured turbans and large
shawls. As soon as we approached near, they suddenly all
turned round, and covering the path with their shawls, sung with
great energy a wild song, beating time with their hands upon
their legs. We threw them some yinte'ms, which were received
with screams of laughter, and we left them redoubling the noise
of their song.
One morning the view was singularly clear ; the distant moun-
tains being projected with the sharpest outline, on a heavy bank
of dark blue clouds. Judging from the appearance, and from
similar cases in England, I supposed that tho air was saturated
with moisture. The fact, however, turned out quite the con-
trary. The hygrometer gave a difference of 29'6 degrees,
between the temperature of the air, and the point at which dew
was precipitated. This difference was nearly double that which
I had observed on the previous mornings. This unusual degree
of atmospheric dryness was accompanied by continual flashes of
lightning. Is it not an uncommon case, thus to find a re-
markable degree of aerial transparency with such a state of
weather ?
Generally the atmosphere is hazy ; and this is caused by the
fulling of impalpably fine dust, which was found to have slightly
1832.] ATMOSPHERIC DUST WITH INFUSORIA. 5
injured the astronomical instruments. The morning before we
anchored at Porto Praya, I collected a little packet of this
brown-coloured fine dust, which appeared to have been filtered
from the wind by the gauze of the vane at the mast-head. Mr.
Lyell has also given me four packets of dust which fell on a
vessel a few hundred miles northward of these islands. Professor
Ehrenberg* finds that this dust consists in great part of infusoria
with siliceous shields, and of the siliceous tissue of plants. In
five little packets which I sent him, he has ascertained no less
than sixty -seven different organic forms ! The infusoria, with
the exception of two marine species, are all inhabitants of fresh-
water. I have found no less than fifteen different accounts of
dust having fallen on vessels when far out in the Atlantic. From
the direction of the wind whenever it has fallen, and from its
having always fallen during those months when the harmattan
is known to raise clouds of dust high into the atmosphere, we
may feel sure that it all comes from Africa. It is, however, a
very singular fact, that, although Professor Ehrenberg knows
many species of infusoria peculiar to Africa, he finds none of
these in the dust which I sent him : on the other hand, he finds
in it two species which hitherto he knows as living only in South
America. The dust falls in such quantities as to dirty every-
thing on board, and to hurt people's eyes ; vessels even have run
on shore owing to the obscurity of the atmosphere. It has often
fallen on ships when several hundred, and even more than a
thousand miles from the coast of Africa, and at points sixteen
hundred miles distant in a north and south direction. In some
dust which was collected on a vessel three hundred miles from
the land, I was much surprised to find particles of stone above
the thousandth of an inch square, mixed with finer matter. After
this fact one need not be surprised at the diffusion of the far
lighter and smaller sporules of cryptogamic plants.
The geology of this island is the most interesting part of its
natural history. On entering the harbour, a perfectly horizontal
white band in the face of the sea cliff, may be seen running for
* I must take this opportunity of acknowledging the great kindness with
which this illustrious naturalist has examined many of my specimens. I
have sent (June, 1845) a full account of the falling of this dust to the Geolo
.^ical Society.
6 ST. JAGO CAPE DE VEED ISLANDS. [CHAP. i.
some miles along tiie coast, and at the height of about forty-five
feet above the water. Upon examination, this white stratum is
found to consist of calcareous matter, with numerous shells em-
bedded, most or all .of which now exist on the neighbouring
coast. It rests on ancient volcanic rocks, and has been covered
by a stream of basalt, which must have entered the sea when the
white shelly bed was lying at the bottom. It is interesting to
trace the changes, produced by the heat of the overlying lava, on
the friable mass, which in parts has been converted into a crys-
talline limestone, and in other parts into a compact spotted stone.
Where the lime has been caught up by the scoriaceous fragments
of the lower surface of the stream, it is converted into groups of
beautifully radiated fibres resembling arragonite. The beds of
lava rise in successive gently-sloping plains, towards the interior,
whence the deluges of melted stone have originally proceeded.
Within historical times, no signs of volcanic activity have, I be-
lieve, been manifested in any part of St. Jago. Even the form
of a crater can but rarely be discovered on the summits of the
many red cindery hills ; yet the more recent streams can be dis-
tinguished on the coast, forming lines of cliffs of less height, but
stretching out in advance of those belonging to an older series :
the height of the cliffs thus affording a rude measure of the age
of the streams.
During our stay, I observed the habits of some marine animals.
A large Aplysia is very common. This sea-slug is about five
inches long; and is of a dirty yellowish colour, veined with
purple. On each side of the lower surface, or foot, there is a
broad membrane, which appears sometimes to act as a ventilator,
in causing a current of water to flow over the dorsal branchiae or
lungs. It feeds on the delicate sea-weeds which grow among
the stones in muddy and shallow water ; and I found in its sto-
mach several small pebbles, as in the gizzard of a bird. This
slug, when disturbed, emits a very fine purplish-red fluid, which
stains the water for the space of a foot around. Besides thia
means of defence, an acrid secretion, which is spread over its
body, causes a sharp, stinging sensation, similar to that produced
by the Physalia, or Portuguese man-of-war.
I was much interested, on several occasions, by watching the
habits of an Octopus, or cuttle-fish. Although common in the
1832.] HABITS OF A CUTTLE-FISH. 7
pools of water left by the retiring tide, these animals were no*
easily caught. By means of their long arms and suckers, they
could drag their bodies into very narrow crevices ; and when
thus fixed, it required great force to remove them. At other
times they darted tail first, with the rapidity of an arrow, from
one side of the pool to the other, at the same instant discolouring
the water with a dark chestnut-brown ink. These animals also
escape detection by a very extraordinary, chameleon-like power
of changing their colour. They appear to vary their tints accord-
ing to the nature of the ground over which they pass: when in
deep water, their general shade was brownish purple, but when
placed on the land, or in shallow water, this dark tint changed
into one of a yellowish green. The colour, examined more care-
fully, was a French grey, with numerous minute spots of bright
yellow: the former of these varied in intensity ; the latter entirely
disappeared and appeared again by turns. These changes were
effected in such a manner, that clouds, varying in tint between a
hyacinth red and a chestnut brown,* were continually passing
over the body. Any part, being subjected to a slight shock of
galvanism, became almost black : a similar effect, but in a less
degree, was produced by scratching the skin with a needle. These
clouds, or blushes as they may be called, are said to be produced
by the alternate expansion and contraction of minute vesicles
containing variously coloured fluids.^
This cuttle-fish displayed its chameleon-like power both during
the act of swimming and whilst remaining stationary at the bot-
tom. I was much amused by the venous arts to escape detection
used by one individual, which seemed fully aware that I was
watching it. Remaining for a time motionless, it would then
stealthily advance an inch or two, like a cat after a mouse ; some-
times changing its colour : it thus proceeded, till having gained a
deeper part, it darted away, leaving a dusky train of ink to hide
the hole into which it had crawled.
While looking for marine animals, with my head about two
feet above the rocky shore, I was more than once saluted by a
jet of water, accompanied by a slight grating noise. At first I
could not think what it was, but afterwards I found out that it was
* So named according to Patrick Symes's nomenclature.
f See Encyclop. of Anat. and Physiol., article Cephalopoda
2
ST. PAUL'S ROCKS. [CHAP. i.
this cuttle-fish, which, though concealed in a hole, thus often led
me to its discovery. That it possesses the power of ejecting
water there is no doubt, and it appeared to me that it could cer-
tainly take good aim by directing the tube or siphon on the under
side of its body. From the difficulty which these animals have
in carrying their heads, they cannot crawl with ease when placed
on the ground. I observed that one which I kept in the cabin
was slightly phosphorescent in the dark.
ST. PAUL'S ROCKS. In crossing the Atlantic we hove-to,
during the morning of February 16th, close to the island of St.
Paul's. This cluster of rocks is situated in 58' north latitude,
and 29 15' west longitude. It is 540 miles distant from the
coast of America, and 350 from the island of Fernando Noronha.
The highest point is only fifty feet above the level of the sea, and
the entire circumference is under three-quarters of a mile. This
small point rises abruptly out of the depths of the ocean. Its
mineralogical constitution is not simple ; in some parts the rock
is of a cherty, in others of a felspathic nature, including thin
veins of serpentine. It is a remarkable fact, that all the many
small islands, lying far from any continent, in the Pacific, Indian,
and Atlantic Oceans, with the exception of the Seychelles and
this little point of rock, are, I believe, composed either of coral
or of erupted matter. The volcanic nature of these oceanic
islands is evidently an extension of that law, and the effect of
those same causes, whether chemical or mechanical, from which
it results that a vast majority, of the volcanoes now in action
stand either near sea-coasts or as islands in the midst of the sea.
The rocks of St. Paul appear from a distance of a brilliantly
white colour. This is partly owing to the dung of a vast multi-
tude of seafowl, and partly to a coating of a hard glossy sub-
stance with a pearly lustre, which is intimately united to the sur-
face of the rocks. This, when examined with a lens, is found to
consist of numerous exceedingly thin layers, its total thickness
being about the tenth of an inch. It contains much animal
matter, and its origin, no doubt, is due to the action of the rain
or spray on the birds' dung. Below some small masses of guano
at Ascension, and on the Abrolhos Islets, I found certain stalac-
titic branching bodies, formed apparently in the same manner as
1832.] SINGULAR INCRUSTATIONS. 9
the thin white coating on these rocks. The branching bodies so
closely resembled in general appearance certain nulliporae (a
family of hard calcareous sea-plants), that in lately looking hastily
over my collection I did not perceive the difference. The glo-
bular extremities of the branches are of a pearly texture, like the
enamel of teeth, but so hard as just to scratch plate-glass. 1
may here mention, that on a part of the coast of Ascension,
where there is a vast accumulation of shelly sand, an incrustation
is deposited on the tidal rocks, by the water of the sea, resembling,
as represented in the woodcut, certain cryptogamic plants (Mar-
chantiae) often seen on damp walls. The surface of the fronds is
beautifully glossy ; and those parts formed where fully exposed
to the light, are of a jet black colour, but those shaded under
ledges are only grey. I have shown specimens of this incrusta-
tion to several geologists, and they all thought that they were of
volcanic or igneous origin ! In its hardness and translucency
in its polish, equal to that of the finest oliva-shell in the bad
smell given out, and loss of colour under the blowpipe it shows
a close similarity with living sea-shells. Moreover in sea-shells,
it is known that the parts habitually covered and shaded by the
mantle of the animal, are of a paler colour than those fully ex-
posed to the light, just as is the case with this incrustation.
When we remember that lime, either as a phosphate or carbonate,
enters into the comoosition of the hard parts, such as bones and
10 ST. PAUL'S ROCKS. [CHAP. i.
shells, of all living animals, it is an interesting physiological
fact * to find substances harder than the enamel of teeth, and
coloured surfaces as well polished as those of a fresli shell, re-
formed through inorganic means from dead organic matter
mocking, also, in shape some of the lower vegetable productions.
We found on St. Paul's only two kinds of birds the booby
and the noddy. The former is a species of gannet, and the
latter a tern. Both are of a tame and stupid disposition, and
are so unaccustomed to visitors, that I could have killed anj
number of them with my geological hammer. The booby lays
her eggs on the bare rock ; but the tern makes a very simple
nest with seaweed. By the side of many of these nests a small
flying-fish was placed ; which, I suppose, had been brought by
the male bird for its partner. It was amusing to watch how
quickly a large and active crab (Graspus), which inhabits the
crevices of the rock, stole the fish from the side of the nest, as
soon as we had disturbed the parent birds. Sir W. Symonds,
one of the few persons who have landed here, informs me that
he saw the crabs dragging even the young birds out of their
nests, and devouring them. Not a single plant, not even a
lichen, grows on this islet ; yet it is inhabited by several insects
and spiders. The following list completes, I believe, the ter-
restrial fauna : a fly (Olrersia) living on the booby, and a tick
which must have come here as a parasite on the birds ; a small
brown moth, belonging to a genus that feeds on feathers ; a
beetle (Quedius) and a woodlouse from beneath the dung ; and
lastly, numerous spiders, which I suppose prey on these small
attendants and scavengers of the waterfowl. The often repeated
description of the stately palm and other noble tropical plants,
then birds, and lastly man, taking possession of the coral islets
as soon as formed, in the Pacific, is probably not quite correct ;
I fear it destroys the poetry of this story, that feather and dirt-
* Mr. Homer and Sir David Brewster have described (Philosophical
Transactions, 1836, p. 65) a singular " artificial substance resembling shell."
It is deposited in fine, transparent, highly polished, brown-coloured laminae,
possessing peculiar optical properties, on the inside of a vessel, in which
cloth, first prepared Avith glue and then with lime, is made to revolve rapidly
in water. It is much softer, more transparent, and contains more animal
matter, than the natural incrustation at Ascension ; but we here again see
die strong tendency which carbonate of lime and animal matter evince to
form a solid substance allied to shell.
1832.] FERNANDO NORONHA. 11
feeding and parasitic insects and spiders should be the first in-
habitants of newly formed oceanic land.
The smallest rock in the tropical seas, by giving a foundation
for the growth of innumerable kinds of seaweed and compound
animals, supports likewise a large number of fish. The sharks
and the seamen in the boats maintained a constant struggle
which should secure the greater share of the prey caught by the
fishing-lines. I have heard that a rock near the Bermudas,
lying many miles out at sea, and at a considerable depth, was
first discovered by the circumstance of fish having been observed
in the neighbourhood.
FERNANDO NORONHA, Feb. 20th. As far as I was enabled
to observe, during the few hours we stayed at this place, the con
stitution of the island is volcanic, but probably not of a recent
date. The most remarkable feature is a conical hill, about one
thousand feet high, the upper part of which is exceedingly steep,
and on one side overhangs its base. The rock is phonolite, and
is divided into irregular columns. On viewing one of these iso-
lated masses, at first one is inclined to believe that it has been
suddenly pushed up in a semi-fluid state. At St. Helena, how-
ever, I ascertained that some pinnacles, of a nearly similar
figure and constitution, had been formed by the injection of
melted rock into yielding strata, which thus had formed the
moulds for these gigantic obelisks. The whole island is co-
vered with wood ; but from the dryness of the climate there
is no appearance of luxuriance. Half-way up the mountain,
some great masses of the columnar rock, shaded by laurel-like
trees, and ornamented by others covered with fine pink flowers
but without a single leaf, gave a pleasing effect to the nearer
parts of the scenery.
BAIIIA, OR SAN SALVADOR. BRAZIL, Feb. 29th. The day
has past delightfully. Delight itself, however, is a weak term
to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has
wandered by himself in a Brazilian forest. The elegance of the
grasses, the novelty of the parasitical plants, the beauty of the
flowers, the glossy green of the foliage, but above all the ge-
noral luxuriance of the vegetation, filled me with admiration.
A most paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the
12 BAHIA BRAZIL. [CHAP. i.
shady parts of the wood. The noise from the insects is so loud,
that it may be heard even in a vessel anchored several hundred
yards from the shore; yet within the recesses of the forest a
universal silence appears to reign. To a person fond of natural
history, such a day as this brings with it a deeper pleasure than
he can ever hope to experience again. After wandering about
for some hours, 1 returned to the landing-place; but, before
reaching it, I was overtaken by a tropical storm. I tried to
find shelter under a tree, which was so thick that it would never
have been penetrated by common English rain ; but here, in a
couple of minutes, a little torrent flowed down the trunk. It is
to this violence of the rain that we must attribute the verdure
at the bottom of the thickest woods : if the showers were like
those of a colder clime, the greater part would be absorbed or
evaporated before it reached the ground. I will not at present
attempt to describe the gaudy scenery of this noble bay, because,
in our homeward voyage, we called here a second time, and I
shall then have occasion to remark on it.
Along the whole coast of Brazil, for a length of at least 2000
miles, and certainly for a considerable space inland, wherever
solid rock occurs, it belongs to a granitic formation. The cir-
cumstance of this enormous area being constituted of materials
which most geologists believe to have been crystallized when
heated under pressure, gives rise to many curious reflections.
Was this effect produced beneath the depths of a profound ocean ?
or did a covering of strata formerly extend over it, which has
since been removed ? Can we believe that any power, acting
for a time short of infinity, could have denuded the granite over
so many thousand square leagues ?
On a point not far from the city, where a rivulet entered the
sea, I observed a fact connected with a subject discussed by
Hurnboldt.* At the cataracts of the great rivers Orinoco, Nile,
and Congo, the syenitic rocks are coated by a black substance,
appearing as if they had 'been polished with plumbago. The
layer is of extreme thinness ; and on analysis by Berzelius it was
found to consist of the oxides of manganese and iron. In the
Orinoco it occurs on the rocks periodically washed by the floods,
and in those parts alone where the stream is rapid ; or, as the
* Pers. Narr., vol. v. pt. i. p. 18.
1832.] HABITS OF A DIODON. 13
Indians say, " the rocks are black where the waters are white."
Here the coating is of a rich brown instead of a black colour,
and seems to be composed of ferruginous matter alone. Hand
specimens fail to give a just idea of these brown burnished
stones which glitter in the sun's rays. They occur only within
the limits of the tidal waves ; and as the rivulet slowly trickles
down, the surf must supply the polishing power of the cataracts
in the great rivers. In like manner, the rise and fall of the tide
probably answer to the periodical inundations ; and thus the
same effects are produced under apparently different but really
similar circumstances. The origin, however, of these coatings
of metallic oxides, which seem as if cemented to the rocks, is not
understood ; and no reason, I believe, can be assigned for their
thickness remaining the same.
One day I was amused by watching the habits of the Diodon
antennatus, which was caught swimming near the shore. This
fish, with its flabby skin, is well known to possess the singular
power of distending itself into a nearly spherical form. After
having been taken out of water for a short time, and then again
immersed in it, a considerable quantity both of water and air
is absorbed by the mouth, and perhaps likewise by the branchial
orifices. This process is effected by two methods : the air is
swallowed, and is then forced into the cavity of the body, its
return being prevented by a muscular contraction which is exter-
nally visible : but the water enters in a gentle stream through
the mouth, which is kept wide open and motionless ; this latter
action must, therefore, depend on suction. The skin about the
abdomen is much looser than that on the back ; hence, during
the inflation, the lower surface becomes far more distended than
the upper ; and the fish, in consequence, floats with its back
downwards. Cuvier doubts whether the Diodon in this position
is able to swim ; but not only can it thus move forward in a
straight line, but it can turn round to either side. This latter
movement is effected solely by the aid of the pectoral fins ; the
tail being collapsed, and not used. From the body being buoyed
up with so much air, the branchial openings are out of water,
but a stream drawn in by the mouth constantly flows through
them.
The fish, having remained in this distended state for a short
14 BAHIA BRAZIL. [CHAP. i.
time, generally expelled the air and water with considerable
force from the branchial apertures and mouth. It could emit,
at will, a certain portion of the water ; and it appears, therefore,
probable that this fluid is taken in partly for the sake of regu-
lating its specific gravity. This Diodon possessed several means
of defence. It could give a severe bite, and could eject water
from its mouth to some distance, at the same time making a curious
noise by the movement of its jaws. By the inflation of its body,
the papillae, with which the skin is covered, become erect and
pointed. But the most curious circumstance is, that it secretes
from the skin of its belly, when handled, a most beautiful car-
mine-red fibrous matter, which stains ivory and paper in so
permanent a manner, that the tint is retained with all its bright-
ness to the present day : I am quite ignorant of the nature and
use of this secretion. I have heard from Dr. Allan of Forres,
that he has frequently found a Diodon, floating alive and dis-
tended, in the stomach of the shark ; and that on several occa-
sions he has known it eat its way, not only through the coats of
the stomach, but through the sides of the monster, which has thus
been killed. Who would ever have imagined that a little soft
fish could have destroyed the great and savage shark ?
March IStk.We sailed from Bahia. A few days afterwards,
when not far distant from the Abrolhos Islets, my attention was
called to a reddish-brown appearance in the sea. The whole
surface of the water, as it appeared under a weak lens, seemed as
if covered by chopped bits of hay, with their ends jagged. These
are minute cylindrical confervas, in bundles or rafts of from
twenty to sixty in each. Mr. Berkeley informs me that they are
the same species (Trichodesmium erythrasum) with that found over
large spaces in the Red Sea, and whence its name of Red Sea is de-
rived.* Their numbers must be infinite : the ship passed through
several bands of them, one of which was about ten yards wide,
and, judging from the mud-like colour of the water, at least two
and a half miles long. In almost every long voyage some
account is given of these confervas. They appear especially com-
mon in the sea near Australia ; and off Cape Leeuwin I found an
* M. Montagne, in Comptes Rendus, &c., Juillet, 1844; and Annal. des
Scienc. Nat, Dec. 1844.
1832.] PELAGIC CONFERVA AND INFUSORIA. 15
allied, but smaller and apparently different species. Captain
Cook, in his third voyage, remarks, that the sailors gave to this
appearance the name of sea-sawdust.
Near Keeling Atoll, in the Indian Ocean, I observed many
little masses of confervas a few inches square, consisting of long
cylindrical threads of excessive thinness, so as to be barely visible
to the naked eye, mingled with other rather larger bodies, finely
conical at both ends. Two of these
are shown in the woodcut united
together. They vary in length from
04 to -06, and even to -08 of an
inch in length ; and in diameter from -006 to '008 of a inch.
Near one extremity of the cylindrical part, a green septum,
formed of granular matter, and thickest in the middle, may
generally be seen. This, I believe, is the bottom of a most deli-
cate, colourless sac, composed of a pulpy substance, which lines
the exterior case, but does not extend within the extreme conical
points. In some specimens, small but perfect spheres of brownish
granular matter supplied the places of the septa ; and I observed
the curious process by which they were produced. The pulpy
matter of the internal coating suddenly grouped itself into lines,
some of which assumed a form radiating from a common centre ;
it then continued, with an irregular and rapid movement, to
contract itself, so that in the course of a second the whole was
united into a perfect little sphere, which occupied the position of
the septum at one end of the now quite hollow case. The for-
mation of the granular sphere was hastened by any accidental
injury. I may add, that frequently a pair of these bodies were
attached to each other, as represented above, cone beside cone, at
that end where the septum occurs.
I will here add a few other observations connected with the
discoloration of the sea from organic causes. On the coast of
Chile, a few leagues north of Concepcion, the Beagle one day
passed through great bands of muddy water, exactly like that of
a swollen river ; and again, a degree south of Valparaiso, when
fifty miles from the land, the same appearance was still more
extensive. Some of the water placed in a glass was of a pale
reddish tint ; and, examined under a microscope, was seen to
swarm with minute animalcula darting about, and often explod-
16 DISCOLOURED SEA. [CHAP. i.
ing. Their shape is oval, and contracted in the mid lie by a
ring of vibrating curved ciliae. It was, however, very difficult
to examine them with care, for almost the instant motion ceased,
even while crossing the field of vision, their bodies burst. Some-
times both ends burst at once, sometimes only one, and a quan-
tity of coarse, brownish, granular matter was ejected. The
animal an instant before bursting expanded to half again its
natural size; and the explosion took place about fifteen seconds
after the rapid progressive motion had ceased : in a few cases it
was preceded for a short interval by a rotatory movement on the
longer axis. About two minutes after any number were isolated
in a drop of water, they thus perished. The animals move with
the narrow apex forwards, by the aid of their vibratory ciliee,
and generally by rapid starts. They are exceedingly minute,
and quite invisible to the naked eye, only covering a space equal
to the square of the thousandth of an inch. Their numbers
were infinite ; for the smallest drop of water which I could re-
move contained very many. In one day we passed through two
spaces of water thus stained, one of which alone must have
extended over several square miles. What incalculable numbers
of these microscopical animals ! The colour of the water, as
seen at some distance, was like that of a river which has flowed
through a red clay district ; but under the shade of the vessel's
side it was quite as dark as chocolate. The line where the red
and blue water joined was distinctly defined. The weather for
some days previously had been calm, and the ocean abounded, to
an unusual degree, with living creatures.*
In the sea around Tierra del Fuego, and at no great distance
from the land, I have seen narrow lines of water of a bright red
colour, from the number of Crustacea, which somewhat resemble
in form large prawns. The sealers call them whale-food.
Whether whales feed on them I do not know ; but terns, cormo-
* M. Lesson (Voyage de la Coquille, torn, i., p. 255) mentions red water
off Lima, apparently produced by the same cause. Peron, the distinguished
naturalist, in the Voyage aux Terres Australes, gives no less than twelve
references to voyagers who have alluded to the discoloured waters of the sea
(vol. ii. p. 239). To the references given by Peron may be added, Hum-
boldt's Pers. Narr., vol. vi. p. 804 ; Flinders' Voyage, vol. i. p. 92 ; Labil-
lardiere, vol. i. p. 287; Ulloa's Voyage; Voyage of the Astrolabe and 01
thf Coquille ; Captain King's Survey of Australia, &c.
1832.] DISCOLOURED SEA. 17
rants, and immense herds of great unwieldy seals derive, on some
parts of the coast, their chief sustenance from these swimming
crabs. Seamen invariably attribute the discoloration of the
water to spawn ; but I found this to be the case only on one
occasion. At the distance of several leagues from the Archipe-
lago of the Galapagos, the ship sailed through three strips of
r. dark yellowish, or mud-like water; these strips were some
miles long, but only a few yards wide, and they were separated
fmr\ the surronndiiior water by a sinuous yet distinct margin.
The colour was caused by little gelatinous balls, about the fifth
of an inch in diameter, in which numerous minute spherical
ovules were embedded : they were of two distinct kinds, one being
of a reddish colour and of a different shape from the other. 1
cannot form a conjecture as to what two kinds of animals these
belonged. Captain Colnett remarks, that this appearance is
very common among the Galapagos Islands, and that the direc-
tion of the bands indicates that of the currents ; in the described
case, however, the line was caused by the wind. The only other
appearance which I have to notice, is a thin oily coat on the
water which displays iridescent colours I saw a considerable
tract of the ocean thus covered ou the coast of Brazil ; the sea-
men attributed it to the putrefying 1 carcass oi some whale, which
probably was floating ai no great distance. I do not here men-
tion the minute gelatinous particles, hereafter to be referred to,
which are frequently dispersed throughout the water, for they
are not sufficiently abundant to create any change of colour.
There are two . circumstances in the aoove accounts which
appear remarkable : first, how do the various bodies which form
the bands with denned edges keep together ? In the case of the
prawn-like crabs, their movements were as coinstantaneous as Li
a regiment of soldiers ; but this cannot happen from any thing
like voluntary action with the ovules, or the confervae, nor is it
probable among the infusoria. Secondly, what causes the length
and narrowness of the bands ? The appearance so much re-
sembles that which may be seen in every torrent, where the stream
uncoils into long streaks the froth collected in the eddies, that
I must attribute the effect to a similar action either of the cur-
rents of the air or sea. Under this supposition we must believe
that the various organized bodies are produced in certain favour
18 DISCOLOURED SEA. [CHAP. i.
able places, and are thence removed by the set of either wind or
water. I confess, however, there is a very great difficnlty in
imagining any one spot to be the birthplace of the millions of
millions of animalcula and confervas : for whence come the
germs at such points? the parent bodies having been distri-
buted by the winds and waves over the immense ocean. But on
no other hypothesis can I understand their linear grouping. I
may add that Scoresby remarks, that green water abounding with
pelagic animals is invariably found in a neriaiu part of the Arc-
tic Sea.
1832.] RIO DE JANEIRO. 19
CHAPTER II.
Rio de Janeiro Excursion north of Cape Frio Great Evaporation Slavery
Botofogo Bay Terrestrial Planarise Clouds on the Corcovado Heavy
Rain Musical Frogs Phosphorescent Insects Elater, springing powers
of Blue Haze Noise made by a Butterfly Entomology Ants Wasp
killing a Spider Parasitical Spider Artifices of an Epeira Gregarious
Spider Spider with an unsymmetrical Web.
RIO DE JANEIRO.
April 4th to July 5th, 1 832. A few days after our arrival 1
became acquainted with an Englishman who was going to visit
his estate, situated, rather more than a hundred miles from the
capital, to the northward of Cape Frio. I gladly accepted his
kind offer of allowing me to accompany him.
April 8th. Our party amounted to seven. The first stage
was very interesting. The day was powerfully hot, and as we
passed through the woods, every thing was motionless, excepting
the large and brilliant butterflies, which lazily fluttered about.
The view seen when crossing the hills behind Praia Grande was
most beautiful ; the colours were intense, and the prevailing tint
a dark blue ; the sky and the calm waters of the bay vied with
each other in splendour. After passing through some cultivated
country, we entered a forest, which in the grandeur of all its
parts could not be exceeded. We arrived by midday at Itha-
caia ; this small village is situated on a plain, and round the
central house are the huts of the negroes. These, from their
regular form and position, reminded me of the drawings of the
Hottentot, habitations in Southern Africa. As the moon rose
early, we determined to start the same evening for our sleeping-
place at the Lagoa Marica. As it was growing dark we passed
under one of the massive, bare, and steep hills of granite which
are so common in this country. This spot is notorious from
having been, for a long time, the residence of some runaway
slaves, who, by cultivating a little ground near the top, con
20 RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n.
trived to eke out a subsistence. At length they were discovered,
and a party of soldiers being sent, the whole were seized with the
exception of one old woman, who, sooner than again be led into
slavery, dashed herself to pieces from the summit of the moun-
tain. In a Roman matron this would have been called the noble
love of freedom : in a poor negress it is mere brutal obstinacy.
We continued r'ding for some hours. For the few last miles
the road was intricate, and it passed through a desert waste of
marshes and lagoons. The scene by the dimmed light of the
moon was most desolate. A few fireflies flitted by us ; and the
solitary snipe, as it rose, uttered its plaintive cry. The distant
and sullen roar of the sea scarcely broke the stillness of the
night.
April 9th. We left our miserable sleeping-place before sun-
rise. The road passed through a narrow sandy plain, lying
between the sea and the interior salt lagoons. The number of
beautiful fishing birds, such as egrets and cranes, and the succu-
lent plants assuming most fantastical forms, gave to the scene an
interest which it would not otherwise have possessed. The few
stunted trees were loaded with parasitical plants, among which
the beauty and delicious fragrance of some of the orchideae were
most to be admired. As the sun rose, the day became extremely
hot, and the reflection of the light and heat from the white sand
was very distressing. We dined at Mandetiba ; the thermometer
in the shade being 84. The beautiful view of the distant wooded
hills, reflected in the perfectly calm water of an extensive lagoon,
quite refreshed us. As the venda* here was a very good one, and
I have the pleasant, but rare remembrance, of an excellent din-
ner, I will be grateful and presently describe it, as the type of
its class. These houses are often large, and are built of thick
upright posts, with boughs interwoven, and afterwards plastered.
They seldom have floors, and never glazed windows ; but are
generally pretty well roofed. Universally the front part is open,
forming a kind of verandah, in which tables and benches are
placed. The bed-rooms join on each side, and here the passenger
may sleep as comfortably as he can, on a wooden platform,
covered by a thin straw mat. The venda stands in a courtyard,
where the horses are fed. On first arriving, it was our custom
* Ve'nda, the Portuguese name for an iim.
1832.] LIVING AT A VEND A. 21
to unsaddle the horses and give them their Indian corn ; then,
with a low bow, to ask the senhor to do us the favour to give us
something to eat. " Any thing you choose, sir," was his usual
answer. For the few first times, vainly I thanked providence
for having guided us to so good a man. The conversation pro-
ceeding, the case universally became deplorable. " Any fish
can you do us the favour of giving?" " Oh ! no, sir." " Any
soup ?" " No, sir." " Any bread ?" " Oh ! no, sir." " Any
dried meat ?" " Oh ! no, sir." If we were lucky, by waiting a
couple of hours, we obtained fowls, rice, and farinha. It not
(infrequently happened, that we were obliged to kill, with stones,
the poultry for our own supper. When, thoroughly exhausted
by fatigue and hunger, we timorously hinted that we should be
glad of our meal, the pompous, and (though true) most unsatis-
factory answer was, " It will be ready when it is ready." If we
had dared to remonstrate any further, we should have been told
to proceed on our journey, as being too impertinent. The hosts
are most ungracious and disagreeable in their manners ; their
houses and their persons are often filthily dirty ; the want of the
accommodation of forks, knives, and spoons is common ; and I
am sure no cottage or hovel in England could be found in a
state so utterly destitute of every comfort. At Campos Novos,
however, we fared sumptuously ; having rice and fowls, biscuit,
wine, and spirits, for dinner ; coffee in the evening, and fish with
coffee for breakfast. All this, with good food for the horses,
only cost 2s. 6d. per head. Yet the host of this v n da, being
asked if he knew any thing of a whip which one of the party
had lost, gruffly answered, " How should I know ? why did you
not take care of it ? I suppose the dogs have eaten it."
Leaving Mandetiba, we continued to pass through an intricate
wilderness of lakes ; in some of which were fresh, in others salt
water shells. Of the former kind, I found a Limnaea in great
numbers in a lake, into which, the inhabitants assured me that
the sea enters once a year, and sometimes oftener, and makes the
water quite salt. I have no doubt many interesting facts, in
relation to marine and fresh water animals, might be observed
in this chain of lagoons, which skirt the coast of Brazil. M.
Gay* has stated that he found in the neighbourhood of Rio,
* Annales des Sciences Naturelles for 1833.
RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n.
shells of the marine genera solen and mytilus, and fresh water
ampullarise, living together in brackish water. I also frequently
observed in the lagoon near the Botanic Garden, where the
water is only a little less salt than in the sea, a species of hydro-
philus, very similar to a water-beetle common in the ditches of
P^ngland : in the same lake the only shell belonged to a genus
generally found in estuaries.
Leaving the coast for a time, we again entered the forest. The
trees were very lofty, and remarkable, compared with those of
Europe, from the whiteness of their trunks. I see by my note-
book, " wonderful and beautiful, flowering parasites," invariably
struck me as the most novel object in these grand scenes. Travel-
ling onwards we passed through tracts cf pasturage, much in-
jured by the enormous conical ants' nests, which were nearly
twelve feet high. They gave to the plain exactly the appear
ance of the mud volcanos at Jorullo, as figured by Humboldt.
We arrived at Engenhodo after it was dark, having been ten
hours on horseback. I never ceased, during the whole journey,
to be surprised at the amount of labour which the horses were
capable of enduring ; they appeared also to recover from any
injury much sooner than those of our English breed. The Vam-
pire bat is often the cause of much trouble, by biting the horses
on their withers. The injury is generally not so much owing to
the loss of blood, as to the inflammation which the pressure of
the saddle afterwards produces. The whole circumstance has
lately been doubted in England ; I was therefore fortunate in
being present when one (Desmodus d'orbignyi, Wat.) was actually
caught on a horse's back. We were bivouacking late one even-
ing near Coquimbo, in Chile, when my servant, noticing that
one of the horses was very restive, went to see what was the
matter, and fancying he could distinguish something, suddenly
put his hand on the beast's withers, and secured the vampire.
Tn the morning the spot where the bite had been inflicted was
easily distinguished from being slightly swollen and bloody..
The third day afterwards we rode the horse, without any ill
effects.
April IZth. After three days' travelling we arrived at Socego,
the estate of Senhor Manuel Figuireda, a relation of one of our
party. The house was simple, and, though like a barn in form.
1832.] ARRIVAL AT SOCEGO. 23
was well suited to the climate. In the sitting-room gilded chairs
and sofas were oddly contrasted with the whitewashed walls,
thatched roof, and windows without glass. The house, together
with the granaries, the stables, and workshops for the blacks,
who had been taught various trades, formed a rude kind of quad-
rangle ; in the centre of which a large pile of coffee was drying.
These buildings stand on a little hill, overlooking the cultivated
ground, and surrounded on every side by a wall of dark green
luxuriant forest. The chief produce of this part of the country
is coffee. Each tree is supposed to yield annually, on an average,
two pounds; but some give as much as eight. Mandioca or
cassada is likewise cultivated in great quantity. Every part of
this plant is useful : the leaves and stalks are eaten by the horses,
and the roots are ground into a pulp, which, when pressed dry
and baked, forms the farinha, the principal article of sustenance
in the Brazils. It is a curious, though well known fact, that the
juice of this most nutritious plant is highly poisonous. A few
years ago a cow died at this Fazenda, in consequence of having
drunk some of it. Senhor Figuireda told me that he had planted,
the year before, one bag of feijao or beans, and three of rice ;
the former of which produced eighty, and the latter three hun-
dred and twenty fold. The pasturage supports a fine stock of
cattle, and the woods are so full of game, that a deer had been
killed on each of the three previous days. This profusion of
food showed itself at dinner, where, if the tables did not groan,
the guests surely did : for each person is expected to eat of every
dish. One day, having, as I thought, nicely calculated so that
nothing should go away . untasted, to my utter dismay a roast
turkey and a pig appeared in all their substantial reality. Dur-
ing the meals, it was the employment of a man to drive out of
the room sundry old hounds, and dozens of little black children,
which crawled in together, at every opportunity. As long as the
idea of slavery could be banished, there was something exceed-
ingly fascinating in this simple and patriarchal style of living:
it was such a perfect retirement and independence from the rest
of the world. As soon as any stranger is seen arriving, a large
bell is set tolling, and generally some small cannon are fired
The event is thus announced to the rocks and woods, but to
nothing else. One morning I walked out an hour before day-
24 RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n.
light to admire the solemn stillness of the scene ; at last, the
silence, was broken by the morning hymn, raised on high by the
whole body of the blacks ; and in this manner their daily work
is generally begun. On such fazendas as these, I have no doubt
the slaves pass happy and contented lives. On Saturday ar,d
Sunday they work for themselves, and in this fertile climate the
labour of two days is sufficient to support a man and his family
for the whole week.
April \\th. Leaving Socego, we rode to another estate on
the Rio Macae, which was the last patch of cultivated ground in
that direction. The estate was two and a half miles long, and
the owner had forgotten how many broad. Only a very small
piece had been cleared, yet almost every acre was capable of
yielding all the various rich productions of a tropical land.
Considering the enormous area of Brazil, the proportion of cul-
tivated ground can scarcely be considered as any thing, compared
to that which is left in the state of nature : at some future age,
how vast a population it will support ! During the second day's
journey we found the road so shut up, that it was necessary that
a man should go ahead with a sword to cut away the creepers.
The forest abounded with beautiful objects ; among which the
tree ferns, though not large, were, from their bright green
foliage, and the elegant curvature of their fronds, most worthy
of admiration. In the evening it rained very heavily, and
although the thermometer stood at 65, I felt very cold. As
soon as the rain ceased, it was curious to observe the extraordi-
nary evaporation which commenced over the whole extent of the
forest. At the height of a hundred feet the hills were buried in
a dense white vapour, which rose like columns of smoke from the
most thickly-wooded parts, and especially from the valleys. I
observed this phenomenon on several occasions : I suppose it is
owing to the large surface of foliage, previously heated by the
sun's rays.
While staying at this estate, I was very nearly being an eye-
witness to one of those atrocious acts which can only take place
in a slave country. Owing to a quarrel and a law-suit, the
owner was on the ^oint of taking all the women and children
from the male slaves, and selling them separately at the public
auction at Rio. Interest, and not any feeling of compassioQj
1832.] APPEARANCE OF THE FORESTS. 25
prevented this act. Indeed, I do not believe the inhumanity of
separating thirty families, who had lived together for many years,
even occurred to the owner. Yet I will pledge myself, that in
humanity and good feeling he was superior to the common run
of men. It may be said there exists no limit to the blindness of
interest and selfish habit. I may mention one very trifling anec-
dote, which at the time struck me more forcibly than any story
of cruelty. I was crossing a ferry with a negro, who was un-
commonly stupid. In endeavouring to make him understand, I
talked loud, and made signs, in doing which I passed my hand
near his face. He, I suppose, thought I was in a passion, and
was going to strike him ; for instantly, with a frightened look
and half-shut eyes, he dropped his hands. I shall never forget
my feelings of surprise, disgust, and shame, at seeing a great
powerful man afraid even to ward off a blow, directed, as he
thought, at his face. This man had been trained to a degrada-
tion lower than the slavery of the most helpless animal.
April ISth. In returning we spent two days at Socego, and
I employed them in collecting insects in the forest. The greater
number of trees, although so lofty, are not more than three or
four feet in circumference. There are, of course, a few of much
greater dimension. Senhor Manuel was then making a canoe
70 feet in length from a solid trunk, which had originally been
1 10 feet long, and of great thickness. The contrast of palm
trees, growing amidst the common branching kinds, never fails
to give the scene an intertropical character. Here the woods
were ornamented by the Cabbage Palm one of the most beau-
tiful of its family. With a stem so narrow that it might be
clasped with the two hands, it waves its elegant head at the
height of forty or fifty feet above the ground. The woody
creepers, themselves covered by other creepers, were of great
thickness : some which I measured were two feet in circumference.
Many of the older trees presented a very curious appearance from
the tresses of a liana hanging from their boughs, and resembling
bundles of hay. If the eye was turned from the world of foliage
above, to the ground beneath, it was attracted by the extreme
elegance of the leaves of the ferns and mimosae. The latter, in
some parts, covered the surface with a brushwood only a few inches
high. In walking across these thick beds of mimoaes, a broad track
26 RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n.
was marked by the change of shade, produced by the drooping oi
theii sensitive petioles. It is easy to specify the individual objects
of admiration in these grand scenes ; but it is not possible to give
an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment,
and devotion, which fill and elevate the mind.
April 19th. Leaving Socego, during the two first days, we
retraced our steps. It was very wearisome work, as the road
generally ran across a glaring hot sandy plain, not far from the
coast. I noticed that each time the horse put its foot on the fine
siliceous sand, a gentle chirping noise was produced. On the
third day we took a different line, and passed through the gay
little village of Madre de Deos. This is one of the principal
lines of road in Brazil ; yet it was in so bad a state that no wheel
vehicle, excepting the clumsy bullock-waggon, could pass along.
In our whole journey we did not cross a single bridge built of
stone ; and those made of logs of wood were frequently so much
out of repair, that it was necessary to go on one side to avoid
them. All distances are inaccurately known. The road is
often marked by crosses, in the place of milestones, to signify
where human blood has been spilled. On the evening of the
23rd we arrived at Rio, having finished our pleasant little ex
cursion.
During the remainder of my stay at Rio, I resided in a cottage
at Botofogo Bay. It was impossible to wish for anything more
delightful than thus to spend some weeks in so magnificent a
country. In England any person fond of natural history enjoys
in his walks a great advantage, by always having something to
attract his attention ; but in these fertile climates, teeming with
life, the attractions are so numerous, that he is scarcely able to
walk at all.
The few observations which I was enabled to make were
almost exclusively confined to the invertebrate animals. The
existence of a division of the genus Planaria, which inhabits the
dry land, interested me much. These animals are .of so simple a
structure, that Cuvier has arranged them with the intestinal
worms, though never found within the bodies of other animals.
Numerous species inhabit both salt and fresh water ; but those to
which I allude were found, even in the drier parts of the forest,
1832.] PLANARLE. 27
beneath logs of rotten wood, on which I believe they feed. Iu
general form they resemble little slugs, but are very much nar-
rower in proportion, and several of the species are beautifully
coloured with longitudinal stripes. Their structure is very
simple : near the middle of the under or crawling surface there
are two small transverse slits, from the anterior one of which a
tunnel-shaped and highly irritable mouth can be protruded, lor
some time after the rest of the animal was completely dead from
the effects of salt water or any other cause, this organ still re-
tained its vitality.
I found no less than twelve different species of terrestrial Pla-
nariae in different parts of the southern hemisphere.* Some
specimens which I obtained at Van Diemen's Land, I kept alive
for nearly two months, feeding them on rotten wood. Having
cut one of them transversely into two nearly equal parts, in the
course of a fortnight both had the shape of perfect animals. I
had, however, so divided the body, that one of the halves con-
tained both the inferior orifices, and the other, in consequence,
none. In the course of twenty-five days from the operation, the
more perfect half could not have been distinguished from any
other specimen. The other had increased much in size ; and to-
wards its posterior end, a clear space was formed in the pa-
renchymatous mass, in which a rudimentary cup-shaped mouth
could clearly be distinguished ; on the under surface, however,
no corresponding slit was yet open. If the increased heat of the
weather, as we approached the equator, had not destroyed alJ
the individuals, there can be no doubt that this last step would
have completed its structure. Although so well-known an ex-
periment, it was interesting to watch the gradual production of
every essential organ, out of the simple extremity of another
animal. It is extremely difficult to preserve these Planariae ; as
soon as the cessation of life allows the ordinary laws of change
to act, their entire bodies become soft and fluid, with a rapidity
which I have never seen equalled.
I first visited the forest in which these Planariae were found,
in company with an old Portuguese priest who took me out to
hunt with him. The sport consisted in turning into the covei
* I have described and named these species in the ' Annals of NaL Hist.
vol. xiv. p. 241.
RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n.
a few dogs, and then patiently waiting to fire at any animal
which might appear. We were accompanied by the son of a
neighbouring farmer a good specimen of a wild Brazilian
youth. He was dressed in a tattered old shirt and trousers, and
had his head uncovered : he carried an old-fashioned gun and a
large knife. The habit of carrying the knife is universal ; and
in traversing a thick wood it is almost necessary, on account of
the creeping plants. The frequent occurrence of murder may
be partly attributed to this habit. The Brazilians are so dex-
terous with the knife, that they can throw it to some distance
with precision, and with sufficient force to cause a fatal wound.
I have seen a number of little boys practising this art as a game
of play, and from their skill in hitting an upright stick, they
promised well for more earnest attempts. My companion, the
day before, had shot two large bearded monkeys. These ani-
mals have prehensile tails, the extremity of which, even after
death, can support the whole weight of the body. Oiae of them
thus remained fast to a branch, and it was necessary to cut down
a large tree to procure it. This was soon effected, and down
came tree and monkey with an awful crash. Our day's sport,
besides the monkey, was confined to sundry small green parrots
and a few toucans. I profited, nowever, by my acquaintance
with the Portuguese padre, for on another occasion he gave me
a fine specimen of the Yagouaroundi cat. ,
Every one has heard of the beauty of the scenery near Boto-
fogo. The house in which I lived was seated close beneath the
well-known mountain of the Corcovado. It has been remarked,
with much truth, that abruptly conical hills are characteristic of
the formation which Humboldt designates as gneiss-granite.
Nothing can be more striking than the effect of these huge
rounded masses of naked rock rising out of the most luxuriant
vegetation.
I was often interested by watching the clouds, which, rolling
in from seaward, formed a bank just beneath the highest point
of the Corcovado. This mountain, like most others, when thus
partly veiled, appeared to rise to a far prouder elevation than its
real height of 2300 feet. Mr. Daniell has observed, in his me-
teorological essays, that a cloud sometimes appears fixed on a
mountain summit, while the wind continues to blow over it.
1832.] PHOSPHORESCENT INSECTS. 29
The same phenomenon here presented a slightly different appear-
ance. In this case the cloud was clearly seen to curl over, and
rapidly pass by the summit, and yet was neither diminished nor
increased in size. The sun was setting, and a gentle southerly
breeze, striking against the southern side of the rock, mingled
its current with the colder air above ; and the vapour was thus
condensed : but as the light wreaths of cloud passed over the
ridge, and came within the influence of the warmer atmosphere
of the northern sloping bank, they were immediately redis-
solved.
The climate, during the months of May and June, or the be-
ginning of winter, was delightful. The mean temperature, from
observations taken at nine o'clock, both morning and evening,
was only 72". It often rained heavily, but the drying southerly
winds soon again rendered the walks pleasant. One morning,
in the course of six hours, 1.6 inches of rain fell. As this
storm passed over the forests which surround the Corcovado,
the sound produced by the drops pattering on the countless mul-
titude of leaves was very remarkable ; it could be heard at the
distance of a quarter of a mile, and was like the rushing of a
great body of water. After the hotter days, it was delicious to
sit quietly in the garden and watch the evening pass into night.
Nature, in these climes, chooses her vocalists from more humble
performers than in Europe. A small frog, of the genus Hyla,
sits on a blade of grass about an inch above the surface of the
water, and sends forth a pleasing chirp : when several are to-
gether they sing in harmony on different notes. I had some
difficulty in catching a specimen of this frog. The genus Hyla
has its toes terminated by small suckers ; and I found this animal
could crawl up a pane of glass, when placed absolutely perpen-
dicular. Various cicadse and crickets, at the same time, keep
up a ceaseless shrill cry, but -which,, softened by the distance, is
not unpleasant. Every evening after dark this great concert
commenced ; and often have I sat listening to it, until my atten-
tion has been drawn away by some curious passing insect.
At these times the fireflies are seen flitting about from hedge
to hedge. On a dark night the light can be seen at about two
hundred paces distant. It is remarkable that in all the different
kinds of glowworms, shining elaters, and various marine animalf
RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n.
(such as the Crustacea, medusae, nereidse, a coralline of the genus
Clytia, and Pyrosoma), which I have observed, the light has
been of a well-marked green colour. All the fireflies, which I
caught here, belonged to the Lampyridae (in which family the
English glowworm is included), and the greater number of spe-
cimens were of Lampyris occidental is.* I found that this insect
emitted the most brilliant flashes when irritated : in the intervals,
the abdominal rings were obscured. The flash was almost co-
instantaneous in the two rings, but it was just perceptible first
in the anterior one. The shining matter was fluid and very ad-
hesive : little spots, where the skin had been torn, continued
bright with a slight scintillation, whilst the uninjured parts were
obscured. When the insect was decapitated the rings remained
uninterruptedly bright, but not so brilliant as before : local irri-
tation with a needle always increased the vividness of the light.
The rings in one instance retained their luminous property nearly
twenty-four hours after the death of the insect. From these
facts it would appear probable, that the animal has only the
power of concealing or extinguishing the light for short inter-
vals, and that at other times the display is involuntary. On the
muddy and wet gravel-walks I found the larvze of this lampyris
in great numbers : they resembled in general form the female of
the English glowworm. These larvae possessed but feeble
luminous powers; very differently from their parents, on the
slightest touch they feigned death, and ceased to shine ; nor did
irritation excite any fresh display. I kept several of them alive
for some time : their tails are very singular organs, for they act,
by a well-fitted contrivance, as suckers or organs of attachment,
and likewise as reservoirs for saliva, or some such fluid. I re-
peatedly fed them on raw meat ; and I invariably observed, that
every now and then the extremity of the tail was applied to the
mouth, and a drop of fluid exuded on the meat, which was then
in the act of being consumed. The tail, notwithstanding so
much practice, does not seem to be able to find its way to the
mouth ; at least the neck was always touched first, and appa-
rently as a guide.
'nlT- gre f y indeb u d t0 Ml> - Waterhouse for his kindness in naming
me tins and many other insects, and in giving me much valuable a&dst
BOTANIC GARDEN. 31
When we were at Bahia, an elater or beetle (Pyrophorus lu-
minosus, Illig.) seemed the most common luminous insect. The
light in this case was also rendered more brilliant by irritation.
I amused myself one day by observing- the springing powers of
this insect, which have not, as it appears to me, been properly
described.* The elater, when placed on its back and preparing
to spring, moved its head and thorax backwards, so that the
pectoral spine was drawn out, and rested on the edge of its
sheath. The same backward movement being continued, the
spine, by the full action of the muscles, was bent like a spring ;
and the insect at this moment rested on the extremity of its head
and wing-cases. The effort being suddenly relaxed, the head
and thorax flew up, and in consequence, the base of the wing-
cases struck the supporting surface with such force, that the
insect by the reaction was jerked upwards to the height of one
or two inches. The projecting points of the thorax, and the
sheath of the spine, served to steady the whole body during the
spring. In the descriptions which I have read, sufficient stress
does not appear to have been laid on the elasticity of the spine :
so sudden a spring could not be the result of simple muscular
contraction, without the aid of some mechanical contrivance.
On several occasions I enjoyed some short but most pleasant
excursions in the neighbouring country. One day I went to
the Botanic Garden, where many plants, well known for their
great utility, might be seen growing. The lea v es of the cam-
phor, pepper, cinnamon, and clove trees were delightfully aro-
matic ; and the bread-fruit, the jaca, and the mango, vied with
each other in the magnificence of their foliage. The landscape
in the neighbourhood of Bahia almost takes its character from
the two latter trees. Before seeing them, I had no idea that
any trees could cast so black a shade on the ground. Both oi
them bear to the evergreen vegetation of these climates the same
kind of relation which laurels and hollies in England do to the
lighter green of the deciduous trees. It may be observed, that
the houses within the tropics are surrounded by the most beau-
tiful forms of vegetation, because many of them are at the same
* Kirby's Entomology, vol. ii., p. 317,
32 RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n.
time most useful to man. Who can doubt that these qualities
are united in the banana, the cocoa-nut, the many kinds of palm,
the orange, and the bread-fruit tree ?
During this day I was particularly struck with a remark oi
Humboldt's, who often alludes to " the thin vapour which, with-
out changing the transparency of the air, renders its tints more
harmonious, and softens its effects." This is an appearance
which I have never observed in the temperate zones. The at-
mosphere, seen through a short space of half or three quarters?
of a mile, was perfectly lucid, but at a greater distance all
colours were blended into a most beautiful haze, of a pale French
grey, mingled with a little blue. The condition of the atmos-
phere between the morning and about noon, when the effect
was most evident, had undergone little change, excepting in irs
dryness. In the interval, the difference between the dew point
and temperature had increased from 7.5 to 17.
On another occasion I started early and walked tr the Gavia,
or topsail mountain. The air was delightfully cool and fra-
grant ; and the drops of dew still glittered on the leaves of the
large liliaceous plants, which shaded the streamlets of clear
water. Sitting down on a block of granite, it was delightful to
v/atch the various insects and birds as they flew past. The
humming-bird seems particularly fond of such shady retired
spots. Whenever I saw these little creatures buzzing round a
flower, with their wings vibrating so rapidly as to be scarcely
visible, I was reminded of the sphinx moths : their movements
and habits are indeed in many respects very similar.
Following a pathway I entered a noble forest, and from a
height of five or six hundred feet, one of those splendid views
was presented, which are so common on every side of Rio. At
this elevation the landscape attains its most brilliant tint ; and
every form, every shade, so completely surpasses in magnificence
all that the European has ever beheld in his own country, that
he knows not how to express his feelings. The general effect
frequently recalled to my mind the gayest scenery of the Opera-
house or the great theatres. I never returned from these excur
pions empty handed. This day I found a specimen of a curious-
fungus, called Hymenophallus. Most people know the English
Phallus, which in autumn taints the air with its odious srncll
1832.] BUTTERFLIES. 33
this, however, as the entomologist is aware, is to some of our
beetles a delightful fragrance. So was it here ; for a Strongylus.
attracted by the odour, alighted on the fungus as I carried ; in
my hand. We here see in two distant countries a similar rela-
tion between plants and insects of the same families, though tht
species of both are different. When man is the agent in intro-
ducing into a country a new species, this relation is often
broken : as one instance of this I may mention, that the leaves
of the cabbages and lettuces, which in England afford food to
such a multitude of slugs and caterpillars, in the gardens near
Rio are untouched.
Difring our stay at Brazil I made a large collection of insects.
A few general observations on the comparative importance of
the different orders may be interesting to the English entomolo-
gist. The large and brilliantly-coloured Lepidoptera bespeak
the zone they inhabit, far more plainly than any other race of
animals. I allude only to the butterflies ; for the moths, con-
trary to what might have been expected from the rankness of the
vegetation, certainly appeared in much fewer numbers than in
our own temperate regions. I was much surprised at the
habits of Papilio feronia. This butterfly is not uncommon, and
generally frequents the orange-groves. Although a high flier,
yet it very frequently alights on the trunks of trees. On these
occasions its head is invariably placed downwards ; and its wings
are expanded in a horizontal plane, instead of being folded verti-
cally, as is commonly the case. This is the only butterfly which
I have ever seen, that uses its legs for running. Not being
aware of this fact, the insect, more than once, as I cautiously
approached with my forceps, shuffled on one side just as the in-
strument was on the point of closing, and thus escaped. But a
far more singular fact is the power which this species possesses
of making a noise.* Several times when a pair, probably male
* Mr. Doubleday has lately described (before the Entomological Society,
March 3rd, 1845) a peculiar structure in the wings of this butterfly, which
seems to be the means of its making its noise. He says, " It is remarkable
for having a sort of drum at the base of the fore wings, between the costal
uervure and the subcostal. These two nervures, moreover, have a peculiar
screw-like diaphragm or vessel in the interior." I find in Langsdorff's
travels (in the years 1803-7, p. 74) it is said, that in the island of St. Cathe-
rine's on the coast of Brazil, a butterfly called Februa Hoffmanseggi, makes
a noise, when flying away, like a rattle.
84 RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n.
and female, were chasing each other in an irregular course,
they passed within a few yards of me ; and I distinctly heard
a clicking noise, similar to that produced by a toothed
wheel passing under a spring catch. The noise was conti-
nued at short intervals, and could be distinguished at about
twenty yards' distance : I am certain there is no error in the
observation.
I was disappointed in the general aspect of the Coleoptersu
The number of minute and obscurely-coloured beetles is exceed-
ingly great.* The cabinets of Europe can, as yet, boast only of
the larger species from tropical climates. It is sufficient to
disturb the composure of an entomologist's mind, to look fofVard
to the future dimensions of a complete catalogue. The carnivorous
beetles, or Carabidae, appear in extremely few numbers within the
tropics : this is the more remarkable when compared to the case
of the carnivorous quadrupeds, which are so abundant in hot
countries. I was struck with this observation both on entering
Brazil, and when I saw the many elegant and active forms of
the Harpalidae re-appearing on the temperate plains of La Plata.
Do the very numerous spiders and rapacious Hymenoptera sup-
ply the place of the carnivorous beetles ? The carrion-feeders
and Brachelytera are very uncommon ; on the other hand, the
Rhyncophora and Chrysomelidae, all of which depend on the
vegetable world for subsistence, are present in astonishing num-
bers. I do not here refer to the number of different species, but
to that of the individual Insects ; for on this it is that the most
striking character in the entomology of different countries de-
pends. The orders Orthoptera and Hemiptera are particularly
numerous ; as likewise is the stinging division of the Hymeno-
ptera; the bees, perhaps, being excepted. A person, on first
entering a tropical forest, is astonished at the labours of the ants :
well-beaten paths branch off in every direction, on which an
army of never-failing foragers may be seen, some going forth,
* I may mention, as a common instance of one day's (June 23rd) collect-
ing, when I was not attending particularly to the Coleoptera, that I caught
sixty-eight species of that order. Among these, there were only two of the
Carabidae, four Brachelytra, fifteen Rhyncophora, and fourteen of the Chry-
somelidse. Thirty-seven species of Arachnidse, which I brought home, wil/
De sufficient to prove that I was not paying overmuch attention to the gene
rally favoured order of Coleoptera.
1832.] SWARM OF ANTS. 35
and others returning, burdened with pieces of green leaf, often
larger than their own bodies.
A small dark-coloured ant sometimes migrates in counties*
numbers. One day, at Bahia, my attention was drawn by ob-
serving many spiders, cockroaches, and other insects, and some
lizards, rushing in the greatest agitation across a bare piece oi
ground. A little way behind, every stalk and leaf was blackened
by a small ant. The swarm having crossed the bare space,
divided itself, and descended an old wall. By this means many
insects were fairly enclosed ; and the efforts which the poor little
creatures made to extricate themselves from such a death were
wonderful. When the ants came to the road they changed their
course, and in narrow files reascended the wall. Having placed
a small stone so as to intercept one of the lines, the whole body
attacked it, and then immediately retired. Shortly afterwards
another body came to the charge, and again having failed to
make any impression, this line of march was entirely given up.
By going an inch round, the file might have avoided the stone,
and this doubtless would have happened, if it had been originally
there : but having been attacked, the lion-hearted little warriors
scorned the idea of yielding.
Certain wasp-like insects, which construct in the corners of the
verandahs clay cells for their larvae, are very numerous in the
neighbourhood of Rio. These cells they stuff full of half-dead
spiders and caterpillars, which they seem wonderfully to know
how to sting to that degree as to leave them paralysed but alive,
until their eggs are hatched ; and the larvae feed on the horrid
mass of powerless, half-killed victims a sight which has been
described by an enthusiastic naturalist * as curious and pleasing !
I was much interested one day by watching a deadly contest
between a Pepsis and a large spider of the genus Lycosa. The
wasp made a sudden dash at its prey, and then flew away : the
spider was evidently wounded, for, trying to escape, it rolled down
a little slope, but had still strength sufficient to crawl into a
thick tuft of grass. The wasp soon returned, and seemed sur-
In a MS. in the British Museum by Mr. Abbott, who made his observ-
ations in Georgia; see Mr. A. White's paper in the ' Annals of Nat. Hist.,
vol. vii. p. 472. Lieut. Button has described a sphex with similar habits ill
India, in the ' Journal of the Asiatic Society,' fol. i.. p. 555.
RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP, n
prised at not immediately finding its victim. It then commenced
as regular a hunt as ever hound did after fox ; making short
semicircular casts, and all the time rapidly vibrating its wings
and antennae. The spider, though well concealed, was soon dis-
covered ; and the wasp, evidently still afraid of its adversary's
jaws, after much manoeuvring, inflicted two stings on the under
side of its thorax. At last, carefully examining with its antennae
the now motionless spider, it proceeded to drag away the body.
But I stopped both tyrant and prey.*
The number of spiders, in proportion to other insects, is here
compared with England very much larger; perhaps more o
than with any other division of the articulate animals. The
variety of species among the jumping spiders appears almost
infinite. The genus, or rather family of Epeira, is here charac-
terized by many singular forms ; some species have pointed coria-
ceous shells, others enlarged and spiny tibiae. Every path in the
forest is barricaded with the strong yellow web of a species,
belonging to the same division with the Epeira clavipes of Fa-
bricius, which was formerly said by Sloane to make, in the West
Indies, webs so strong as to catch birds. A small and pretty
kind of spider, with very long fore-legs, and which appears to
belong to an undescribed genus, lives as a parasite on almost
every one of these webs. I suppose" it is too insignificant to be
noticed by the great Epeira, and is therefore allowed to prey on
the minute insects, which, adhering to the lines, would, otherwise
be wasted. When frightened, this little spider either feigns
death by extending its front legs, or suddenly drops from the
web. A large Epeira of the same division with Epeira tubercu-
lata and conica is extremely common, especially in dry situations.
Its web, which is generally placed among the great leaves of the
common agave, is sometimes strengthened near the centre by a
pair or even four zigzag ribbons, which connect two adjoining
rays. When any large insect, as a grasshopper or wasp, is
caught, the spider, by a dexterous movement, makes it revolve
very rapidly, and at the same time emitting a band of threads
Don Felix Azara (vol. i., p. 175), mentioning a hymenopterous Insect,
probably of the same genus, says, he saw it dragging a dead spider through
tall grass, in a straight line to its nest, which was one hundred and sixty-
three paces distant. He adds that the wasp, in order to find the road, every
now and then made " demi-tours d'environ trois palmes."
1832.] SPIDERS. 37
from its spinners, soon envelops its prey in a case like the cocoon
of a silkworm. The spider now examines the powerless victim,
and gives the fatal bite on the hinder part of its thorax ; then
retreating, patiently waits till the poison has taken effect. The
virulence of this poison may be judged of from the fact that in
half a minute I opened the mesh, and found a large wasp quite
lifeless. This Epeira always stands with its head downwards
near the centre of the web. When disturbed, it acts differently
according to circumstances : if there is a thicket below, it
suddenly falls down ; and I have distinctly seen the thread from
the spinners lengthened by the animal while yet stationary, as
preparatory to its fall. If the ground is clear beneath, the Epeira
seldom falls, but moves quickly through a central passage from
one to the other side. When still further disturbed, it practises
a most curious manoeuvre : standing in the middle, it violently
jerks the w<;b, which is attached to elastic twigs, till at last the
whole acquires such a rapid vibratory movement, that even the
outline of the spider's body becomes indistinct.
It is well known that most of the British spiders, when a large
insect is caught in their webs, endeavour to cut the lines and
liberate their prey, to save their nets from being entirely spoiled.
I once, however, saw in a hot-house in Shropshire a large female
wasp caught in the irregular web of a quite small spider; and
this spider, instead of cutting the web, most perseveringly con-
tinued to entangle the body, and especially the wings, of its
prey. The wasp at first aimed in vain repeated thrusts with
its sting at its little antagonist. Pitying the wasp, after allow-
ing it to struggle for more than an hour, I killed it and put
it back into the web. The spider soon returned ; and an
hour afterwards I was much surprised to find it with its jaws
buried in the orifice, through which the sting is protruded by
the living wasp. I drove the spider away two or three times,
but for the next twenty-four hours I always found it again
sucking at the same place. The spider became much distended
by the juices of its prey, which was many times larger than
itself.
I may here just mention, that I found, near St. Fe Bajada,
many large black spiders, with ruby coloured marks on their
backs, having gregarious habits. The webs were placed verti-
38 RIO DE JANEIRO. [CRAP. n.
cally, as is invariably the case with the genus Epeira : they were
separated from each other by a space of about two feet, but were
all attached to certain common lines, which were of great length,
and extended to all parts of the community. In this manner the
tops of some large bushes were encompassed by the united nets.
Azara* has described a gregarious spider in Paraguay, which
Walckenaer thinks must be a Theridion, but probably it is an
Epeira, and perhaps even the same species with mine. I cannot,
however, recollect seeing a central nest as large as a hat, in
which, during autumn, when the spiders die, Azara says the eggs
are deposited. As all the spiders which I saw were of the same
size, they must have been nearly of the same age. This gre-
garious habit, in so typical a genus as Epeira, among insects,
which are so bloodthirsty and solitary that even the two sexes at-
tack each other, is a very singular fact.
In a lofty valley of the Cordillera, near Mendoza, I found
another spider with a singularly-formed web. Strong lines
radiated in a vertical plane from a common centre, where the
insect had its station ; but only two of the rays were connected
by a symmetrical mesh-work ; so that the net, instead of being, at
is generally the case, circular, consisted of a wedge-shaped seg-
ment. All the webs were similarly constructed.
* Azara's Voyage, vol. L, p. 213.
[1832. ESTUARY OF THE PLATA. 39
CHAPTER III.
Monte Video Maldonado Excursion to R. Polanco Lazo and Bolas
Partridges Absence of Trees Deer Capybara, or River Hog Tucu-
tuco Molothrus, cuckoo-like habits Tyrant-flycatcher Mocking-bird
Carrion Hawks Tubes formed by Lightning House struck.
MALDONADO.
July 5th, 1832. IN the morning we got under way, and
stood out of the splendid harbour of Rio de Janeiro. In our
passage to the Plata, we saw nothing particular, excepting on
one day a great shoal of porpoises, many hundreds in number.
The whole sea was in places furrowed by them ; and a most
extraordinary spectacle was presented, as hundreds, proceeding
together by jumps, in which their whole bodies were exposed,
thus cut the water. When the ship was running nine knots an
hour, these animals could cross and recross the bows with the
greatest ease, and then dash away right ahead. As soon as we
entered the estuary of the Plata, the weather was very unsettled.
One dark night we were surrounded by numerous seals and
penguins, which made such strange noises, that the officer on
watch reported he could hear the cattle bellowing on shore.
On a second night we witnessed a splendid scene of natural fire-
works; the mast-head and yard-arm-ends shone with St. Elmo's
light ; and the form of the vane could almost be traced, as if it
had been rubbed with phosphorus. The sea was so highly lumi-
nous, that the tracks of the penguins were marked by a fiery
wake, and the darkness of the sky was momentarily illuminated
by the most vivid lightning.
When within the mouth of the river, I was interested by ob-
serving how slowly the waters of the sea and river mixed. The
latter, muddy and discoloured, from its less specific gravity,
floated on the surface of the salt water. This was curiously
exhibited in the wake of the vessel, where a line of blue watej
was seen mingling in little eddies, with the adjoining fluid.
4
40 MALDONADO. [CHAP. in.
July 2Qth. We anchored at Monte Video. The Beagle was
employed in surveying the extreme southern and eastern coasts
of America, south of the Plata, during the two succeeding years.
To prevent useless repetitions, I will extract those parts of my
journal which refer to the same districts, without always attend-
ing to the order in which we visited them.
MALDONADO is situated on the northern bank of the Plata,
and not very far from the mouth of the estuary. It is a most
quiet, forlorn, little town ; built, as is universally the case in
these countries, with the streets running at right angles to each
other, and having in the middle a large plaza or square, which,
from its size, renders the scantiness of the population more evi-
dent. It possesses scarcely any trade ; the exports being con-
fined to a few hides and living cattle. The inhabitants are chiefly
landowners, together with a few shopkeepers and the neces-
sary tradesmen, such as blacksmiths and carpenters, who do nearly
all the business for a circuit of fifty miles round. The town is
separated from the river by a band of sand-hillocks, about a mile
broad : it is surrounded, on all other sides, by an open slightly-
undulating country, covered by one uniform layer of fine green
turf, on which countless herds of cattle, sheep, and horses graze.
There is very little land cultivated even close to the town. A
few hedges, made of cacti and agave, mark out where some wheat
or Indian corn has been planted. The features of the country
are very similar along the whole northern bank of the Plata.
The only difference is, that here the granitic hills are a little
bolder. The scenery is very uninteresting ; there is scarcely a
house, an enclosed piece of ground, or even a tree, to give it an
air of cheerfulness. Yet, after being imprisoned for some time
in a ship, there is a charm in the unconfined feeling of walking
over boundless plains of turf. Moreover, if your view is limited
to a small space, many objects possess beauty. Some of the
smaller birds are brilliantly coloured ; and the bright green
sward, browsed short by the cattle, is ornamented by dwarf
flowers, among which a plant, looking like the daisy, claimed
the place of an old friend. What would a florist say to whole
tracts so thickly covered by the Verbena melindres, as, even at a
distance, to appear of the most gaudy scarlet ?
T staid ten weeks at Maldonado, in which time a nearly perfect
1832.] IGNORANCE OF THE PEOPLE. 41
collection of the animals, birds, and reptiles, was procured.
Before making 1 any observations respecting them, I will give an
account of a little excursion I made as far as the river Polanco,
which is about seventy miles distant, in a northerly direction.
I may mention, as a proof how cheap everything is in this
country, that I paid only two dollars a day, or eight shillings,
for two men, together with a troop of about a dozen riding-
horses. My companions were well armed with pistols and
sabres ; a precaution which I thought rather unnecessary ; but
the first piece of news we heard was, that, the day before, a tra-
veller from Monte Video had been found dead on the road, with
his throat cut. This happened close 1o a cross, the record of a
former murder.
On the first night we slept at a retired little country-house ;
nd there I soon found out that I possessed two or three articles,
especially a pocket compass, which created unbounded astonish-
ment. In every house I was asked to show the compass, and by
its aid, together with a map, to point out the direction of various
places. It excited the liveliest admiration that I, a perfect
stranger, should know the road (for direction and road are syno-
nymous in this open country) to places where I had never been.
At one house a young woman, who was ill in bed, sent to entreat
me to come and show her the compass. If their surprise was
great, mine was greater, to find such ignorance among people
who possessed their thousands of cattle, and " estancias " of great
extent. It can only be accounted for by the circumstance that
this retired part of the country is seldom visited by foreigners.
I was asked whether the earth or sun moved ; whether it \cas
hotter or colder to the north ; where Spain was, and many other
such questions. The greater number of the inhabitants had an
indistinct idea that England, London, and North America, were
different names for the same place ; but the better informed well
knew that London and North America were separate countries
^lose together, and that England was a large town in London !
I carried with me some promethean matches, which I ignited by
biting ; it was thought so wonderful that a man should strike
fire with his teeth, that it was usual to collect the whole family
to see it : I was once offered a dollar for a single one. Washing
tny face in the morning caused much speculation at the village
42 MALDONADO. [CHAP. in.
of Las Minas ; a superior tradesman closely cross- questioned me
about so singular a practice ; and likewise why on board we
wore our beards ; for he had heard from my guide that we did
so. He eyed me with much suspicion ; perhaps he had heard of
ablutions in the Mahomedan religion, and knowing me to be a
heretick, probably he came to the conclusion that all hereticks
were Turks. It is the general custom in this country to ask for
a night's lodging at the first convenient house. The astonish-
ment at the compass, and my other feats in jugglery, was to a
certain degree advantageous, as with that, and the long stories
my guides told of my breaking stones, knowing venomous from
harmless snakes, collecting insects, &c., I repaid them for their
hospitality. I am writing as if I had been among the inhabit-
ants of central Africa : Banda Oriental would not be flattered
by the comparison ; but such were my feelings at the time.
The next day we rode to the village of Las Minas. The
country was rather more hilly, but otherwise continued the same ;
an inhabitant of the Pampas no doubt would have considered it
as truly Alpine. The country is so thinly inhabited, that
during the whole day we scarcely met a single person. Las Minas
is much smaller even than Maldonado. It is seated on a little
plain, and is surrounded by low rocky mountains. It is of the
usual symmetrical form ; and with its whitewashed church
standing in the centre, had rather a pretty appearance. The
outskirting houses rose out of the plain like isolated beings,
without the accompaniment of gardens or courtyards. This is
generally the case in the country, and all the houses have, in
consequence, an uncomfortable aspect. At night we stopped at
a pulprria, or drinking-shop. During the evening a great num-
ber of Gauchos came in to drink spirits and smoke cigars : their
appearance is very striking ; they are generally tall and hand-
some, but with a proud and dissolute expression of countenance.
They frequently wear their moustaches, and long black hair
curling down their backs. With their brightly-coloured gar-
ments, great spurs clanking about their heels, and knives stuck
as daggers (and often so used) at their waists, they look a very
different race of men from what might be expected from their
name of Gauchos, or simple countrymen. Their politeness is
excessive ; they never drink their spirits without expecting you
1832.] POINTS OF ETIQUETTE. 43
to taste it ; but M hilst making their exceedingly graceful bow,
they seem quite as ready, if occasion offered, to cut your throat.
On the third day we pursued rather an irregular course, as 1
was employed in examining some beds of marble. On the fine
plains of turf we saw many ostriches (Struthio rhea). Some of the
flocks contained as many as twenty or thirty birds. These, when
standing on any little eminence, and seen against the clear &ky,
presented a very noble appearance. I never met with such tame
ostriches in any other part of the country : it was easy to gallop
np within a short distance of them ; but then, expanding their
wings, they made all sail right before the wind, and soon left the
horse astern.
At night we came to the house of Don Juan Fuentes, a rich
landed proprietor, but not personally known to either of my
companions. On approaching the house of a stranger, it is
usual to follow several little points of etiquette : riding up slowly
to the door, the salutation of Ave Maria is given, and until
somebody comes out and asks you to alight, it is not customary
even to get off your horse : the formal answer of the owner is,
" sin pecado concebida " that is, conceived without sin. Having
entered the house, some general conversation is kept up for a
few minutes, till permission is asked to pass the night there.
This is granted as a matter of course. The stranger then takes
his meals with the family, and a room is assigned him, where
with the horsecloths belonging to his recado (or saddle of the
Pampas) he makes his bed. It is curious how similar circum-
stances produce such similar results in manners. At the Cape
of Good Hope the same hospitality, and very nearly the same
points of etiquette, are universally observed. The difference,
however, between the character of the Spaniard and that of the
Dutch boor is shown, by the former never asking his guest a
single question beyond the strictest rule of politeness } whilst the
honest Dutchman demands where he has been, where he is going,
what is his business, and even how many brothers, sisters, or
children he may happen to have.
Shortly after our arrival at Don Juan's, one of the large herds
of cattle was driven in towards the house, and three beasts were
picked out to be slaughtered for the supply of the establishment.
These half-wild cattle are very active ; and knowing full well
44 MALDONADO. [CHAP. in.
the fatal lazo, they *ed the horses a long and laborious chase.
After witnessing the rude wealth displayed in the number of
cattle, men, and horses, Don Juan's miserable house was quite
curious. The floor consisted of hardened mud, and the windows
were without glass ; the sitting-room boasted only of a few of
the roughest chairs and stools, with a couple of tables. The
supper, although several strangers were present, consisted of two
huge piles, one of roast beef, the other of boiled, with some
pieces of pumpkin : besides this latter there was no other vege-
table, and not even a morsel of bread. For drinking, a large
earthenware jug of water served the whole party. Yet this man
was the owner of several square miles of land, of which nearly
every acre would produce corn, and, with a little trouble, all the
common vegetables. The evening was spent in smoking, with a
little impromptu singing, accompanied by the guitar. The sig-
noritas all sat together in one corner of the room, and did not
sup with the men.
So many works have been written about these countries, that
it is almost superfluous to describe either the lazo or the bolas.
The lazo consists of a very strong, but thin, well-plaited rope,
made of raw hide. One end is attached to the broad surcingle,
which fastens together the complicated gear of the recado, or
saddle used in the Pampas ; the other is terminated by a small
ring of iron or brass, by which a noose can be formed. The
Gaucho, when he is going to use the lazo, keeps a small coil in
his bridle-hand, and in the other holds the running noose, which
is made very large, generally having a diameter of about eight
feet. This he whirls round his head, and by the dexterous move-
ment of his wrist keeps the noose open ; then, throwing it, he
causes it to fall on any particular spot he chooses. The lazo,
when not used, is tied up in a small coil to the after part of the
recado. The bolas, or balls, are of two kinds : the simplest,
which is chiefly used for catching ostriches, consists of two
round stones, covered with leather, and united by a thin plaited
thong, about eight feet long. The other kind differs only in
having three balls united by the thongs to a common centre.
The Gaucho holds the smallest of the three in his hand, and
whirls the other two round and round his head ; then, taking
aim, sends them like chain shot revolving through the air. The
1832.] THROWING THE BOLAS. 45
balls no sooner strike any object, than, winding round it, they
cross each other, and become firmly hitched. The size and
weight of the balls varies, according to the purpose for which
they are made: when of stone, although not larger than au
apple, they are sent with such force as sometimes to break the
leg even of a horse. I have seen the balls made of wood, and as
large as a turnip, for the sake of catching these animals without
injuring them. The balls are sometimes made of iron, and these
can be hurled to the greatest distance. The main difficulty in
using either lazo or bolas is to ride so well as to be able at full
speed, and while suddenly turning about, to whirl them so
steadily round the head, as to take aim : on foot any person
would soon learn the art. One day, as I was amusing myself
by galloping and whirling the balls round my head, by accident
the free one struck a bush ; and its revolving motion being thus
destroyed, it immediately fell to the ground, and like magic
caught one hind leg of my horse ; the other ball was then jerked
out of my hand, and the horse fairly secured. Luckily he was
an old practised animal, and knew what it meant ; otherwise he
would probably have kicked till he had thrown himself down.
The Gauchos roared with laughter ; they cried out that they
had seen every sort of animal caught, but had never before seen
a man caught by himself.
During the two succeeding days, I reached the furthest point
which I was anxious to examine. The country wore the same
aspect, till at last the fine green turf became more wearisome
than a dusty turnpike road. We everywhere saw great numbers
of partridges (Nothura major). These birds do not go in coveys,
nor do they conceal themselves like the English kind. It appears
a very silly bird. A man on horseback by riding round and
round in a circle, or rather in a spire, so as to approach closer
each time, may knock on the head as many as he pleases. The
rrore common method is to catch them with a running noose, or
little lazo, made of the stem of an ostrich's feather, fastened to
the end of a long stick. A boy on a quiet old horse will fre-
quently thus catch thirty or forty in a day. In Arctic North
America* the Indians catch the Varying Hare by walking spirally
* Hearne's Journey, p. 383.
46 MALDONADO. [CHAP. in.
round and round it, when on its form : the middle of the day
is reckoned the best time, when the sun is high, and the shadow
of the hunter not very long.
On our return to Maldonado, we followed rather a different
line of road. Near Pan de Azucar, a landmark well known to
all those who have sailed up the Plata, I stayed a day at the
house of a most hospitable old Spaniard. Early in the morning'
we ascended the Sierra de las Animas. By the aid of the rising
sun the scenery was almost picturesque. To the westward the
view extended over an immense level plain as far as the Mount,
at Monte Video, and to the eastward, over the mamrnillaled
country of Maldonado. On the summit of the mountain there
were several small heaps of stones, which evidently had lain there
for many years. My companion assured me that they were the
work of the Indians in the old time. The heaps were similar,
but on a much smaller scale, to those so commonly found on the
mountains of Wales. The desire to signalize any event, on the
highest point of the neighbouring land, seems an universal pas-
sion with mankind. At the present day, not a single Indian,
either civilized or wild, exists in this part of the province ; nor
am I aware that the former inhabitants have left behind them
any more permanent records than these insignificant piles on the
summit of the Sierra de las Animas.
The general, and almost entire absence of trees in Banda
Oriental is remarkable. Some of the rocky hills are partly co-
vered by thickets, and on the banks of the larger streams, espe-
cially to the north of Las Minas, willow-trees are not uncommon.
Near the Arroyo Tapes I heard of a wood of palms ; and one of
these trees, of considerable size, I saw near the Pan de Azucar,
in lat. 35. These, and the trees planted by the Spaniards,
offer the only exceptions to the general scarcity of wood. Among
the introduced kinds may be enumerated poplars, olives, peach,
and other fruit trees: the peaches succeed so well, that they
afford the main supply of firewood to the city of Buenos Ayres.
Extremely level countries, such as the Pampas, seldom appear
favourable to the growth of trees. This may possibly be attri-
buted either to the force of the winds, or the kind of drainage.
In the nature of the land, however, around Maldonado, no such
1832.] CLIMATE AND VEGETATION. 47
reason is apparent ; the rocky mountains afford protected situa-
tions, enjoying various kinds of soil ; streamlets of water are
common at the bottoms of nearly every valley ; and the clayey
nature of the earth seems adapted to retain moisture. It has
been inferred with much probability, that the presence of wood-
land is generally determined* by the annual amount of moisture ;
yet in this province abundant and heavy rain falls during the
winter ; and the summer, though dry, is not so in any excessive
degree.! We see n?arly the whole of Australia covered by
lofty trees, yet that country possesses a far more arid climate.
Hence we must look to some other and unknown cause.
Confining our view to South America, we should certainly be
tempted to believe that trees flourished only under a very humid
climate ; for the limit of the forest-land follows, in a most re-
markable manner, . that of the damp winds. In the southern
part of the continent, where the western gales, charged with
moisture from the Pacific, prevail, every island on the broken
west coast, from lat. 38 to the extreme point of Tierra del
Fuego, is densely covered by unpenetrable forests. On the eastern
side of the Cordillera, over the same extent of latitude, where a
blue sky and a fine climate prove that the atmosphere has been
deprived of its moisture by passing over the mountains, the arid
plains of Patagonia support a most scanty vegetation. In the
more northern parts of the continent, within the limits of the
constant south-eastern trade wind, the eastern side is ornamented
by magnificent forests ; whilst the western coast, from lat. 4 S.
to lat. 32 S., may be described as a desert : on this western
coast, northward of lat. 4 S., where the trade-wind loses its
regularity, and heavy torrents of rain fall periodically, the shores
of the Pacific, so utterly desert in Peru, assume near Cape Blanco
tho character of luxuriance so celebrated at Guyaquil and Pa-
nama. Hence in the southern and northern parts of the con-
tinent, the forest and desert lands occupy reversed positions with
respect to the Cordillera, and these positions are apparently de-
termined by the direction of the prevalent winds. In the middle
of the continent there is a broad intermediate band, including
* Maclaren, art. ' America,' Encyclop. Britann.
T Azara-says, " Je crois que la qnantite annuelle des pluies est, dans toutes
oes conlrees, plus considerable qu'cn Espagne." Vol. i. p. 36.
48 MALDONADO. [CHAP. m.
central Chile and the provinces of La Plata, where the rain-
bringing winds have not to pass over lofty mountains, and where
the land is neither a desert nor covered by forests. But even
the rule, if confined to South America, of trees flourishing only
in a climate rendered humid by rain-bearing winds, has a
strongly marked exception in the case of the Falkland Islands.
These islands, situated in the same latitude with Tierra del
Fuego and only between two and three hundred miles distant
from it, having a nearly similar climate, with a geological
formation almost identical, with favourable situations arid the
same kind of peaty soil, yet can boast of few plants deserving
even the title of bushes ; whilst in Tierra del Fuego it is impos-
sible to find an acre of land not covered by the densest forest.
In this case, both the direction of the heavy gales of wind and
of the currents of the sea are favourable to the transport of
seeds from Tierra del Fuego, as is shown by the canoes and
trunks of trees drifted from that country, and frequently thrown
on the shores of the Western Falkland. Hence perhaps it is,
that there are many plants in common to the two countries : but
with respect to the trees of Tierra del Fuego, even attempts made
to (.ra.ifplant them have failed.
Duruig our stay at Maldonado I collected several quadru-
peds, eighty kinds of birds, and many reptiles, including nine
species of snakes. Of the indigenous mammalia, the only one
now left of any size, which is common, is the Cervus campestris.
This deer is exceedingly abundant, often in small herds, through-
out the countries bordering the Plata and in Northern Pata-
gonia. If a person crawling close along the ground, slowly
advances towards a herd, the deer frequently, out of curiosity,
approach to reconnoitre him. I have by this means killed, from
one spot, three out of the same herd. Although so tame and
inquisitive, yet when approached on horseback, they are exceed-
ingly wary. In this country nobody goes on foot, and the deer
knows man as its enemy only when he is mounted and armed
with the bolas. At Bahia Blanca, a recent establishment in
Northern Patagonia, I was surprised to find how little the deer
cared for the noise of a gun : one day I fired ten times from
within eighty yards at one animal; and it was much more
startled at the ball cutting up the ground than at the report of
1832-3.] THE CAPYBARA OR WATER-HOG. 49
the rifle. My powder being exhausted, I was obliged to get up
(to my shame as a sportsman be it spoken, though well able to
kill birds on the wing) and halloo till the deer ran away.
The most curious fact with respect to this animal, ia the ovcr-
poweringly strong and offensive odour which proceeds from the
buck. It is quite indescribable : several times whilst skinning
the specimen which is now mounted at the Zoological Museum,
I was almost overcome by nausea. I tied up the skin in a silk
pocket-handkerchief, and so carried it home : this handkerchief,
after being well washed, I continually used, and it was of course
as repeatedly washed ; yet every time, for a space of one year
and seven months, when first unfolded, I distinctly perceived
the odour. This appears an astonishing instance of the perma-
nence of some matter, which nevertheless in its nature must be
most subtile and volatile. Frequently, when passing at the
distance of half a mile to leeward of a herd, I have perceived
the whole air tainted with the effluvium. I believe the smell
from the buck is most powerful at the period when its horns are
perfect, or free from the hairy skin. When in this state the
meat is, of course, quite uneatable ; but the Gauchos assert, that
if buried for some time in fresh earth, the taint is removed. I
have somewhere read that the islanders in the north of Scotland
treat the rank carcasses of the fw"h-eating birds in the same
manner.
The order Rodentia is here very numerous in species : of
mice alone I obtained no less than eight kinds.* The largest
gnawing animal in the world, the Hydrochserus capybara (the
water-hog), is here also common. One which I shot at Monte
Video weighed ninety-eight pounds : its length, from the end of
the snout to the stump-like tail, was tnree feet two inches ; and
its girth three feet eight. These great Rodents occasionally
frequent the islands in the mouth of the Plata, where the
water is quite salt, but are far more abundant on the borders
* In South America I collected altogether twenty-seven species of mice,
and thirteen more are known from the works of Azara and other authors.
Those collected by myself have been named and described by Mr. Water-
house at the meetings of the Zoological Society. I must be allowed to take
this opportunity of returning my cordial thanks to Mr. Waterhouse, and to
the other gentlemen attached to that Society, for their kind and most liberal
assistance on all occasions.
50 MALDONADO. [CHAP. m.
of fresh-water lakes and rivers. Near Malcloriado three or
four generally live together. In the daytime they either lie
among the aquatic plants, or openly feed on the turf plain.*
When viewed at a distance, from their manner of walking
and colour they resemble pigs : but when seated on their
haunches, and attentively watching any object with one eye,
they reassume the appearance of their congeners, cavies and
rabbits. Both the front and side view of their head has quite
a ludicrous aspect, from the great depth of their jaw. These
animals, at Maldonado, were very lame ; by cautiously walk-
ing, I approached within three yards of four old ones. This
lameness may probably be accounted for, by the Jaguar having
been banished for some years, and by the Gaucho not thinking
it worth his while to hunt them. As I approached nearer and
nearer they frequently made their peculiar noise, which is a low
abrupt grunt, not having much actual sound, but rather arising
from the sudden expulsion of air: the only noise I know at all
like it, is the first hoarse bark of a large dog. Having watched
the four from almost within arm's length (and they me) for
several minutes, they rushed into the water at full gallop with
the greatest impetuosity, and emitted at the same time their
bark. After diving a short distance they came again to the
surface, but only just showed the upper part of their heads.
When the female is swimming in the water, and has young ones,
they are said to sit on her back. These animals are easily killed
in numbers ; but their skins are of trifling value, and the meat is
very indifferent. On the islands in the Rio Parana they are
exceedingly abundant, and aiford the ordinary prey to the
Jaguar.
The Tucutuco (Ctenomys Brasiliensis) is a C'irious small
animal, which may be briefly described as a Gnawer, with the
habits of a mole. It is extremely numerous in some parts of the
country, but is difficult to be procured, and never, I believe,
comes out of the ground. It throws up at the mouth of its
* In the stomach and duodenum of a capybara which I opened, I found a
very large quantity of a thin yellowish fluid, in which scarcely a fibre could
be distinguished. Mr. Owen informs me that a part of the oesophagus is so
constructed that nothing much larger than a crowquill can be passed down.
Certainly the broad teeth and strong jaws of this animal are well fitted to
grind into pulp the aquatic plants yn. which it feeds.
1832-3.] THE TUCUTTJCO. 61
burrows hillocks of earth like those of the mole, but smaller.
Considerable tracts of country are so completely undermined by
these animals, that horses in passing over, sink above their fet-
locks. The tucutucos appear, to a certain degree, to be grega-
rious : the man who procured the specimens for me had caught
six together, and he said this was a common occurrence. They
are nocturnal in their habits ; and their principal food is the
roots of plants, which are the object of their extensive and
superficial burrows. This animal is universally known by a very
peculiar noise which it makes when beneath the ground. A
person, the first time he hears it, is much surprised ; for it is not
easy to tell whence it comes, nor is it possible to guess what
kind of creature utters it. The noise consists in a short, but not
rough, nasal grunt, which is monotonously repealed about four
times in quick succession : * the name Tucutuco is given in imi-
tation of the sound. Where this animal is abundant, it may be
heard at all times of the day, and sometimes directly beneath
one's feet. When kept in a room, the tucutucos move both
slowly and clumsily, which appears owing to the outward action
of their hind legs ; and they are quite incapable, from the socket
of the thigh-bone not having a certain ligament, of jumping even
the smallest vertical height. They are very stupid in making
any attempt to escape ; when angry or frightened they uttered
the tucu-tuco. Of those I kept alive several, even the first day,
became quite tame, not attempting to bite or to run away ; others
were a little wilder.
The man who caught them asserted that very many are inva-
riably found blind. A specimen which I preserved in spirits was
in this state ; Mr. Reid considers it to be the effect of inflam-
mation in the nictitating membrane. When the animal was
alive I placed my finger within half an inch of its head, and not
the slightest notice was taken : it made its way, however, about
the room nearly as well as the others. Considering the strictly
subterranean habits of the tucutuco, the blindness, though so
* At the R. Negro, in Northern Patagonia, there 5s an animal of the same
habits, and probably a closely allied species, but which I never saw. Its
noise is different from that of the Maldonado kind ; it is repeated only twice
instead of three or four times, and is more distinct and sonorous : when heard
from a distance it so closely resembles the sound made in cutting down a small
tie* with an axe, that I have sometimes remained in doubt concerning it.
52 MALDONADO. [CHAP. ni.
common, cannot be a very serious evil ; yet it appears strange
that any animal should possess an organ frequently subject to be
injured. Lamarck would have been delighted with this fact, had
he known it, when speculating* (probably with more truth than
usual with him) on the gradual \y-acquired blindness of the
Aspalax, a Gnawer living under ground, and of the Proteus, a
reptile living in dark caverns filled with water ; in both of which
animals the eye is in an almost rudimentary state, and is covered
by a tendinous membrane and skin. In the common mole the
eye is extraordinarily small but perfect, though many anatomists
doubt whether it is connected with the true optic nerve; its
vision must certainly be imperfect, though probably useful to the
animal when it leaves its burrow. In the tucutuco, which I
believe never comes to the surface of the ground, the eye is
rather larger, but often rendered blind and useless, though with-
out apparently causing any inconvenience to the animal: no
doubt Lamarck would have said that the tucutuco is now passing
into the state of the Aspalax and Proteus.
Birds of many kinds are extremely abundant on the undulat
ing grassy plains around Maldonado. There are several species
of a family allied in structure and manners to our Starling : one
of these (Molothrus niger) is remarkable from its habits. Seve-
ral may often be seen standing together on the back of a cow or
horse ; and while perched on a hedge, pluming themselves in the
sun, they sometimes attempt to sing, or rather to hiss ; the noise
being very peculiar, resembling that of uubbles of air passing
rapidly from a small orifice under water, so as to produce an
acute sound. According to Azara, this bird, like the cuckoo,
deposits its eggs in other birds' nests. I was several times told
by the country people, that there certainly is some bird having
this habit ; and my assistant in collecting, who is a very accurate
person, found a nest of the sparrow of this country (Zonotrichia
matutina), with one egg in it larger than the others, and of a
different colour and shape. In North America there is another
species of Molothrus (M. pecoris), which has a similar cuckoo-
like habit, and which is most closely allied in every respect to
the species from the Plata, even in such trifling peculiarities as
Philosoph. Zoolog., torn. i. p. 249
1832-3.] HABITS OF THE CUCKOO. 63
standing on the backs of cattle ; it differs only in being a little
smaller, and in its plumage and eggs being of a slightly different
shade of colour. This close agreement in structure and habits,
in representative species coming from opposite quarters of a great
continent, always strikes one as interesting, though of common
occurrence.
Mr. Swainson has well remarked,* that with the exception of
the Molothrus pecoris, to which must be added the M. niger, the
cuckoos are the only birds which can be called truly parasitical ;
namely, such as " fasten themselves, as it were, on another living
animal, whose animal heat brings their young into life, whose
food they live upon, and whose death would cause theirs
during the period of infancy." It is remarkable that some of
the species, but not all, both of the Cuckoo and Molothrus,
should agree in this one strange habit of their parasitical propa-
gation, whilst opposed to each other in almost every other habit :
the molothrus, like our starling, is eminently sociable, and lives
on the open plains without art or disguise : the cuckoo, as every
one knows, is a singularly shy bird ; it frequents the most retired
thickets, and feeds on fruit and caterpillars. In structure also
these two genera are widely removed from each other. Many
theories, even phrenological theories, have been advanced to ex-
plain the origin of the cuckoo laying its eggs in other birds'
nests. M. Prevost alone, 1 think, has thrown light by his obser-
vations f on this puzzle : he finds that the female cuckoo, which,
according to most observers, lays at least from four to six eggs,
must pair with the male each time after laying only one or two
egg. Now, if the cuckoo was obliged to sit on her own eggs,
she would either have to c-it on all together, and therefore leave
those first laid so long, that they probably would become addled ;
or she would have to hatch separately each egg or two eggs, as
soon as laid : but as the cuckoo stays a shorter time in th's
country than any other migratory bird, she certainly would not
have time enough for the successive hatchings. Hence we can
perceive in the fact of the cuckoo pairing several times, and
laying her eggs at intervals, the cause of her depositing her
eggs in other birds' nests, and leaving them to the care of fostcr-
* Magazine of Zoology and Botany, vol. i. p. 217.
f Ktad before the Academy of Sciences in Paris. L'Institut, 1834, p. 41&
54 MALDONADO. [CHAP. in.
parents. I am strongly inclined to believe that this view is cor-
rect, from having been independently led (as we shall hereafter
see) to an analogous conclusion with regard to the South
American ostrich, the females of which are parasitical, if I may
so express it, on each other ; each female laying several eggs in
the nests of several other females, and the male ostrich under-
taking all the cares of incubation, like the strange foster-parents
with the cuckoo.
I will mention only two other birds, which are very common,
and render themselves prominent from their habits. The Sauro-
phagus sulphuratus is typical of the great American tribe of
tyrant-flycatchers. In its structure it closely approaches the
true shrikes, but in its habits may be compared to many birds.
I have frequently observed it, hunting a field, hovering over one
spot like a hawk, and then proceeding on to another. When
seen thus suspended in the air, it might very readily at a short
distance be mistaken for one of the Rapacious order ; its stoop,
however, is very inferior in force and rapidity to that of a hawk.
At other times the Saurophagus haunts the neighbourhood of
water, and there, like a kingfisher, remaining stationary, it
catches any small fish which may come near the margin. These
birds are not unfrequently kept either in cages or in courtyards,
with their wings cut. They soon become tame, and are very
amusing from their cunning odd manners, which were described
to me as being similar to those of the common magpie. Their
flight is undulatory, for the weight of the head and bill appear
too great for the body. In the evening the Saurophagus takes
its stand on a bush, often by the road-side, and continually
repeats without change a shrill and rather agreeable cry, which
somewhat resembles articulate words : the Spaniards say it is like
the words " Bien te veo" (I see you well), and accordingly have
given it this name.
A mocking-bird (Mimus orpheus), called by the inhabitants
Calandria, is remarkable, from possessing a song far superior
to that of any other bird in the country : indeed, it is nearly the
only bird in South America which I have observed to take its
stand for the purpose of singing. The song may be compared
to thut of the Sedge warbler, but is more powerful ; some harsh
notes and some very high ones, being mingled with a pleasant
1832-3.] CARRION HAWKS. 65
warbling. It is heard only during the spring. At other times
its cry is harsh and far from harmonious. Near Maldonado
these birds were tame and bold ; they constantly attended the
country houses in numbers, to pick the meat which was hung
up on the posts or walls : if any other small bird joined the
feast, the Calandria soon chased it away. On the wide un-
inhabited plains of Patagonia another closely allied species,
O. Patagoriica of d'Orbigny, which frequents the valleys clothed
with spiny bushes, is a wilder bird, and has a slightly different
tone of voice. It appears to me a curious circumstance, as
showing the fine shades of difference in habits, that judging from
this latter respect alone, when I first saw this second species, I
thought it was different from the Maldonado kind. Having
afterwards procured a specimen, and comparing the two without
particular care, they appeared so very similar, that I changed my
opinion ; but now Mr. Gould says that they are certainly dis-
tinct; a conclusion in conformity with the trifling difference of
habit, of which, however, he was not aware.
The number, tameness, and disgusting habits of the carrion-
feeding hawks of South America make them pre-eminently strik-
ing to any one accustomed only to the birds of Northern Europe.
In this list may be included four species of the Caracara or Poly-
borus, the Turkey buzzard, the Gallinazo, and the Condor. The
Caracaras are, from their structure, placed among the eagles : we
shall soon see how ill they become so high a rank. In their
habits they well supply the place of our carrion-crows, magpies,
and ravens ; a tribe of birds widely distributed over the rest of
the world, but entirely absent in South America. To begin with
the Polyborus Brasiliensis : this is a common bird, and has a
wide geographical range ; it is most numerous on the grassy
savannahs of La Plata (where it goes by the name of Carrancha),
and is far from unfrequent throughout the sterile plains of Pata-
gonia. In the desert between the rivers Negro and Colorado,
numbers constantly attend the line of road to devour the car-
casses of the exhausted animals which chance to perish from
fatigue and thirst. Although thus common in these dry and
open countries, and likewise on the arid shores of the Pacific, it
ts nevertheless found inhabiting the damp impervious forests of
West Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. The Carranchas,
MALDONADO. [CHAP. in.
together with the Chimango, constantly attend in numbers the
estancias and slaughtering-houses. If an animal dies on the plain
the Gallinazo commences the feast, and then the two species of
Folyborus pick the bones clean. These birds, although thus
commonly feeding together, are far from being friends. When
the Carrancha is quietly seated on the branch of a tree or on the
ground, the Chimango often continues for a long time flying
backwards and forwards, up and down, in a semicircle, trying
each time at the bottom of the curve to strike its larger relative.
The Carrancha takes little notice, except by bobbing its head.
Although the Carranchas frequently assemble in numbers, they
are not gregarious ; for in desert places they may be seen solitary,
or more commonly by pairs.
The Carranchas are said to be very crafty, and to steal great
numbers of eggs. They attempt, also, togethe** with the Chi-
mango, to pick off the scabs from the sore backs of horses
and mules. The poor animal, on the one hand, with its ears
down and its back arched ; and, on the other, the "hovering bird,
eyeing at the distance of a yard, the disgusting morsel, form a
picture, which has been described by Captain Head with his own
peculiar spirit and accuracy. These false eagles most rarely
kill any living bird or animal ; and their vulture-like, necropha-
gous habits are very evident to any one, who has fallen asleep on
the desolate plains of Patagonia, for when he wakes, he will see,
on each surrounding hillock, one of these birds patiently watch-
ing him with an evil eye : it is a feature in the landscape of
these countries, which will be recognised by every one who has
wandered over them. If a party of men go out hunting with
dogs and horses, they will be accompanied, during the day, by
several of these attendants. After feeding, the uncovered craw
protrudes ; at such times, and indeed generally, the Carrancha
is an inactive, tame, and cowardly bird. Its flight is heavy and
slow, like that of an English rook. It seldom soars ; but I have
twice seen one at a great height gliding through the air with
much ease. It runs (in contradistinction to hopping), but not
quite so quickly as some of its congeners. At times the Carran-
cha is noisy, but is not generally so: its cry is loud, very
harsh and peculiar, and may be likened to the sound of the
Spanish guttural g, followed by a rough double r r ; when utter-
1832-3.] CARRION HAWKS. 57
:ng this cry it elevates its head higher and higher, till at last,
with its beak wide open, the crown almost touches the lower part
of the back. This fact, which has been doubted, is quite true ;
I have seen them several times with their heads backwards in a
completely inverted position. To these observations I may add,
on the high authority of Azara, that "the Carrancha feeds on
worms, shells, slugs, grasshoppers, and frogs ; that it destroys
young lambs by tearing the umbilical cord ; and that it pursues
the Gallinazo, till that bird is compelled to vomit up the carrion
it may have recently gorged. Lastly, Azara states that several
Carranchas, five or six together, will unite in chace of large
birds, even such as herons. All these facts show that it is a bird
of very versatile habits and considerable ingenuity.
The Polyborus Chimango is considerably smaller than the
last species. It is truly omnivorous, and will eat even bread ;
and I was assured that it materially injures the potato-crops in
Chiloe, by stocking up the roots when first planted. Of all
the carrion-feeders it is generally the last which leaves the
skeleton of a dead animal ; and may often be seen within the
ribs of a cow or horse, like a bird in a cage. Another species
is the Polyborus Novae Zelandiae, which is exceedingly common
in the Falkland Islands. These birds in many respects resemble
in their habits the Carranchas. They live on the flesh of dead
animals and on marine productions ; and on the Ramirez rocks
their whole sustenance must depend on the sea. They are extra-
ordinarily tame and fearless, and haunt the neighbourhood of
houses for offal. If a hunting party kills an animal, a number
soon collect and patiently await, standing on the ground on all
sides. After eating, their uncovered craws are largely pro-
truded, giving them a disgusting appearance. They readily
attack wounded birds : a cormorant in this state having taken to
the shore, was immediately seized on by several, and its death
hastened by their blows. The Beagle was at the Falklands only
during the summer, but the officers of the Adventure, who were
there in the winter, mention many extraordinary instances of
the boldness and rapacity of these birds. They actually pounced
on a dog that was lying fast asleep close by one of the party;
and the sportsmen had difficulty in preventing the wounded
geese from being seized before their eyes. It is said that several
68 MALDONADO. [CHAP. m.
together (in this respect resembling the Carranchas) wait at the
mouth of a rabbit-hole, and together seize on the animal when
it comes out. They were constantly flying on board the vessel
when in the harbour ; and it was necessary to keep a good look
out to prevent the leather being torn from the rigging, and the
meat or game from the stern. These birds are very mischievous
and inquisitive ; they will pick up almost any thing from the
ground ; a large black glazed hat was carried nearly a mile, as
was a pair of the heavy balls used m catching cattle. Mr.
Usborne experienced during the survey a more severe loss, in
their stealing a small Kater's compass in a red morocco leather
case, which was never recovered. These birds are, moreover,
quarrelsome and very passionate ; tearing up the grass with their
bills from rage. They are not truly gregarious ; they do not
soar, and their flight is heavy and clumsy ; on the ground they
run extremely fast, very much like pheasants. They are noisy,
uttering several harsh cries ; one of which is like that of the
English rook ; hence the sealers always call them rooks. It is
a curious circumstance that, when crying out, they throw their
heads upwards and backwards, after the same manner as the
Carrancha. They build in the rocky cliffs of the sea-coast, but
only on the small adjoining islets, and not on the two main
islands : this is a singular precaution in so tame and fearless a
bird. The sealers say that the flesh of these birds, when cooked,
is quite white, and very good eating ; but bold must the man be
who attempts such a meal.
We have now only to mention the turkey-buzzard (Vultur
aura), and the Gallinazo. The former is found wherever the
country is moderately damp, from Cape Horn to North America.
Differently from the Polyborus Brasiliensis and Chimango, it
has found its way to the Falkland Islands. The turkey-buzzard
is a solitary bird, or at most goes in pairs. It may at once bo
recognised from a long distance, by its lofty, soaring, and most
elegant flight. It is well known to be a true carrion-feeder.
On the west coast of Patagonia, among the thickly- wooded islets
and broken land, it lives exclusively on what the sea throws up,
and on the carcasses of dead seals. Wherever these animals
ire congregated on the rocks, there the vultures may be seen.
The Gallinazo (Cathartes atratus) has a different range from
1832-3.] TUBES FORMED BY LIGHTNING. 59
the last species, as it never occurs southward of lat. 41. Azara
states that there exists a tradition that these birds, at the time of
the conquest, were not found near Monte Video, but that they
subsequently followed the inhabitants from more northern dis-
tricts. At the present day they are numerous in the valley of
the Colorado, which is three hundred miles due south of Monte
Video. It seems probable that this additional migration ha.i
happened since the time of Azara. The Gallinazo generally
prefers a humid climate, or rather the neighbourhood of fresh
water ; hence it is extremely abundant in Brazil and La Plata,
while it is never found on the desert and arid plains of Northern
Patagonia, excepting near some stream. These birds frequent
the whole Pampas to the foot of the Cordillera, but I never saw
or heard of one in Chile : in Peru they are preserved as scaven-
gers. These vultures certainly may be called gregarious, for
they seem to have pleasure in society, and are not solely brought
together by the attraction of a common prey. On a fine day a
flock may often be observed at a great height, each bird wheel-
ing round and round without closing its wings, in the most
graceful evolutions. This is clearly performed for the mere
pleasure of the exercise, or perhaps is connected with their matri-
monial alliances.
I have now mentioned all the carrion-feeders, excepting the
condor, an account of which will be more appropriately intro-
duced when we visit a country more congenial to its habits than
the plains of La Plata.
In a broad band of sand-hillocks which separate the Laguna
del Potrero from the shores of the Plata, at the distance of a few
miles from Maldonado, I found a group of those vitrified, silice-
ous tubes, which are formed by lightning entering loose sand.
These tubes resemble in every particular those from Drigg in
Cumberland, described in the Geological Transactions.* The
sand-hillocks of Maldonado, not being protected by vegetation,
are constantly changing their position. From this cause the
* Geolog. Transact, vol. ii. p. 528. In the Philosoph. Transact ( 1790,
p. 294) Dr. Priestley has described some imperfect siliceous tubes and a melted
pebble of quartz, found in digging into the ground, under a tree, where a
man had been killed by lightning.
MALDONADO. [CHAP. in.
tubes projected above the surface ; and numerous fragments
lying near, showed that they had formerly been buried to a
greater depth. Four sets entered the sand perpendicularly : by
working with my hands I traced one of them two feet deep ; and
some fragments which evidently had belonged to the same tube,
when added to the other part, measured five feet three inches.
The diameter of the whole tube was nearly equal, and therefore
,ve must suppose that originally it extended to a much greater
Jepth. These dimensions are however small, compared to those
of the tubes from Drigg, one of which was traced to a depth of
not less than thirty feet.
The internal surface is completely vitrified, glossy, and smooth.
A small fragment examined under the microscope appeared,
from the number of minute entangled air or perhaps steam
bubbles, like an assay fused before the blowpipe. The sand is
entirely, or in greater part, siliceous ; but some points are of a
black colour, and from their glossy surface possess a metallic
lustre. The thickness of the wall of the tube varies from a
thirtieth to a twentieth of an inch, and occasionally even equals
a tenth. On the outside the grains of sand are rounded, and
have a slightly glazed appearance : J could not distinguish any
signs of crystallization. In a similar manner to that described
in the Geological Transactions, the tubes are generally com-
pressed, and have deep longitudinal furrows, so as closely to
resemble a shrivelled vegetable stalk, or the bark of the elm or
cork tree. Their circumference is about two inches, but in
some fragments, which are cylindrical and without any furrows,
it is as much as four inches. The compression from the surround-
ing loose sand, acting while the tube was still softened from the
effects of the intense heat, has evidently caused the creases or
furrows. Judging from the uncompressed fragments, the mea-
sure or bore of the lightning (if such a term may be used), must
have been about one inch and a quarter. At Paris, M. Hachette
and M. Beudant* succeeded in making tubes, in most respects
similar to these fulgurites, by passing very strong shocks oi
galvanism through finely-powdered glass : when salt was added,
so as to increase its fusibility, the tubes were larger in every
* Annales de Chimic et do Physique, torn, xxxvii., p. 319.
1832-3.] ELECTRIC PHENOMENA. 61
dimension. They failed both with powdered felspar and quartz.
One tube, formed with potmded glass, was very nearly an inch
long, namely, -982, and had an internal diameter of -019
of an inch. When we hear that the strongest battery in Paris
was used, and that its power on a substance of such easy fusi-
bility as glass was to form tubes so diminu+ive, we must feel
greatly astonished at the force of a shock of lightning, which,
striking the sand in several places, has formed cylinders, in one
instance of at least thirty feet long, and having an internal
bore, where not compressed, of full an inch and a half; and this
in a material so extraordinarily refractory as quartz !
The tubes, as I have already remarked, enter the sand nearly
in a vertical direction. One, however, which was less regular
than the others, deviated from a right line, at the most con-
siderable bend, to the amount of thirty-three degrees. From
this same tube, two small branches, about a foot apart, were
sent off; one pointed downwards, and the other upwards. This
latter case is remarkable, as the electric fluid must have turned
back at the acute angle of 26, to the line of its main course.
Besides the four tubes which I found vertical, and traced be-
neath the surface, there were several other groups of frag-
ments, the original sites of which without doubt were near.
All occurred in a level area of shifting sand, sixty yards by
twenty, situated among some high sand-hillocks, and at the dis-
tance of about half a mile from a chain of hills four or five
hundred feet in height. The most remarkable circumstance, as
it appears to me, in this case as well as in that of Drigg, and in
one described by M. Ribbentrop in Germany, is the number of
tubes found within such limited spaces. At Drigg, within an
area of fifteen yards, three were observed, and the same number
occurred in Germany. In the case which I have described,
certainly more than four existed within the space of the sixty by
twenty yards. As it does not appear probable that the tubes are
produced by successive distinct shocks, we must believe that the
lightning, shortly before entering the ground, divides itself into
separate branches.
The neighbourhood of the Rio Plata seems peculiarly subject
to electric phenomena. In the year 1793,* one of the rnosl
Azara's Voyage, vol. i. p. 36.
62 MALDON T ADO. [CHAP. in.
destructive thunderstorms perhaps on record happened at Buenos
Ayres : thirty-seven places within the city were struck by light-
ning, and nineteen people killed. From facts stated in several
books of travels, I am inclined to suspect that thunderstorms are
very common near the mouths of great rivers. Is it not pos-
sible that the mixture of large bodies of fresh and salt water may
disturb the electrical equilibrium ? Even during our occasional
visits to this part of South America, we heard of a ship, two
churches, and a house, having been struck. Both the church
and the house I saw shortly afterwards : the house belonged to
Mr. Hood, the consul-general at Monte Video. Some of thft
effects were curious : the paper, for nearly a foot on each side of
the line where the bell-wires had run, was blackened. The
metal had been fused, and although the room was about fifteen
feet high, the globules, dropping on the chairs and furniture,
had drilled in them a chain of minute holes. A part of the
wall was shattered as if by gunpowder, and the fragments had
been blown off with force sufficient to dent the wall on the
opposite side of the room. The frame of a looking-glass was
blackened, and the gilding must have been volatilized, for a
smelling-bottle, which stood on the chimney-piece, was coated
with bright metallic particles, which adhered as firmly as if they
had been enamelled.
1833.] ARRIVE AT RIO NEGRO. 63
CHAPTP:R iv.
Hio Negro Estancias attacked by the Indians Salt Lakes Flamingoes
R.Negro to R. Colorado Sacred Tree Patagonian Hare Indian Families
General Rosas Proceed to Bahia Blanca Sand Dunes Negro Lieu-
tenant Bahia Blanca Saline Incrustations Punta Alta Zorillo.
RIO NEGRO TO BAHIA BLANCA.
July 24th, 1833. The Beagle sailed from Maldonado, and on
August the 3rd she arrived off the mouth of the Rio Negro.
This is the principal river on the whole line of coast between
the Strait of Magellan and the Plata. It enters the sea about
three hundred miles south of the estuary of the Plata. About
fifty j^ears ago, under the old Spanish government, a small colony
was established here ; and it is still the most southern position
(lat. 41) on this eastern coast of America, inhabited by civilized
man.
The country near the mouth of the river is wretched in the
extreme : on the south side a long line of perpendicular cliffs
commences, which exposes a section of the geological nature of
the country. The strata are of sandstone, and one layer was re-
markable from being composed of a firmly-cemented conglome-
rate of pumice pebbles, which must have travelled more than
four hundred miles, from the Andes. The surface is every-
where covered up by a thick bed of gravel, which extends far
and wide over the open plain. Water is extremely scarce, and,
where found, is almost invariably brackish. The vegetation is
scanty ; and although there are bushes of many kinds, all are
armed with formidable thorns, which seem to warn the strangei
not to enter on these inhospitable regions.
The settlement is situated eighteen miles up the river. The
road follows the foot of the sloping cliff, which forms the north-
ern boundary of the great valley, in which the Rio Negro flows.
On the way we passed the ruins of some fine " estancias," which
a few years since had been destroyed by the Indians. They witfc^
64 RIO NEGRO. TCIIAP. iv.
stood se\eral attacks. A man present at one gave me a very
lively description of what took place. The inhabitants had suffi
cient notice to drive all the cattle and horses into the " corral"*
which surrounded the house, and likewise to mount some small
cannon. The Indians were Araucanians from the south of Chile ;
several hundreds in number, and highly disciplined. They first
appeared in two bodies on a neighbouring hill ; having there dis-
mounted, and taken off their fur mantles, they advanced naked to
the charge. The only weapon of an Indian is a very long bam-
boo or chuzo, ornamented with ostrich feathers, and pointed by a
sharp spear-head. My informer seemed to remember with the
greatest horror the quivering of these chuzos as they approached
near. When close, the cacique Pincheira hailed the besieged to
give up their arms, or he would cut all their throats. As this
would probably have been the result of their entrance under any
circumstances, the answer was given by a volley of musketry.
The Indians, with great steadiness, came to the very fence of the
corral : but to their surprise they found the posts fastened toge-
ther by iron nails instead of leather thongs, and, of couAe, in
vain attempted to cut them with their knives. This saved the
lives of the Christians : many of the wounded Indians were car-
ried away by their companions ; and at last one of the under
caciques being wounded, the bugle sounded a retreat. They re-
tired to their horses, and seemed to hold a council of war. This
was an awful pause for the Spaniards, as all their ammunition,
with the exception of a few cartridges, was expended. In an
instant the Indians mounted their horses, and galloped out of
sight. Another attack was still more quickly repulsed. A cool
Frenchman managed the gun ; he stopped till the Indians ap-
proached close, and then raked their line with grape-shot : he
thus laid thirty-nine of them on the ground ; and, of course, such
a friow immediately routed the whole party.
The town is indifferently called El Carmen or Patagones. It
is built on the face of a cliff which fronts the river, and many of
the houses are excavated even in the sandstone. The river in
about two or three hundred yards wide, and is deep and rapid.
The many islands, with their willow-trees, and the flat headlands,
* The corral is an enclosure made of tall and strong stakes Every
tetancia, or farming estate, has one attached to it.
SALT-LAKES OR SALINAS.
seen one behind the other on the northern boundary of the broad
green valley, forms, by the aid of a bright sun, a view almost
picturesque. The number of inhabitants does not exceed a few
hundreds. These Spanish colonies do not, like our British ones,
carry within themselves the elements of growth. Many Indians
of pure blood reside here : the tribe of the Cacique Lucanee con-
stantly have their Toldos * on the outskirts of the town. The
local government partly supplies them with provisions, by gi ing
them all the old worn-out horses, and they earn a little by
making horse-rugs and other articles of riding-gear. These
Indians are considered civilized ; but what their character may
have gained by a lesser degree of ferocity, is almost counter-
balanced by their entire immorality. Some of the younger men are,
however, improving ; they are willing to labour, and a short time
since a party went on a sealing-voyage, and behaved very well.
They were now enjoying the fruits of their labour, by being
dressed in very gay, clean clothes, and by being very idle. The
taste they showed in their dress was admirable ; if you could have
turned one of these young Indians into a statue of bronze, his
drapery would have been perfectly graceful.
One day I rode to a large salt-lake, or Salina, which is distant
fifteen miles from the town. During the winter it consists of a
shallow lake of brine, which in summer is converted into a field
of snow-white salt. The layer near the margin is from four to
five inches thick, but towards the centre i'.s thickness increases.
This lake was two and a half miles long, and one broad. Others
occur in the neighbourhood many times larger, and with a floor
of salt, two and three feet in thickness, even when under water
during the winter. One of these brilliantly-white and level ex-
panses, in the midst of the brown and desolate plain, offers an
extraordinary spectacle. A large quantity of salt is annually
drawn from the salina ; and great piles, some hundred tons in
weight, were lying ready for exportation. The season for work-
ing the salinas forms the harvest of Patagones ; for on it, the
prosperity of the place depends. Nearly the whole population
encamps on the bank of the river, and the people are employed
In drawing out the salt in bullock- waggons. This salt is crystal-
* The hovels of the Indians are thus, called.
66 PJO NEGRO. [CHAP. iv.
hzed in great cubes, and is remarkably pure : Mr. Trenham Reeks
has kindly analyzed some for me, and he finds in it only 0'26 of
gypsum and 0'22 of earthy matter. It is a singular fact, that it
does not serve so well for preserving meat as sea-salt from the
Cape de Verd islands ; and a merchant at Buenos Ayres told me
that he considered it as fifty per cent, less valuable. Hence the
Cape de Verd salt is constantly imported, and is mixed with that
from these salinas. The purity of the Patagonian salt, or absence
from it of those other saline bodies found in all sea-water, is the
only assignable cause for this inferiority : a conclusion which no
one, I think, would have suspected, but which is supported bv
the fact lately ascertained,* that those salts answer best for pre-
serving cheese which contain most of the deliquescent chlorides.
The border of the lake is formed of mud : and in this nume-
rous large crystals of gypsum, some of which are three inches
long, lie embedded ; whilst on the surface others of sulphate of
soda lie scattered about. The Gauchos call the former the
" Padre del sal," and the latter the " Madre ;" they state that
these progenitive salts always occur on the borders of the salinas,
when the water begins to evaporate. The mud is black, and has
a fetid odour. I could not at first imagine the cause of this, but
I afterwards perceived that the froth which the wind drifted on
shore was coloured green, as if by confervae : I attempted to carry
home some of this green matter, but from an accident failed.
Parts of the lake seen from a short distance appeared of a reddish
colour, and this perhaps was owing to some infusorial animalcula.
The mud in many places was thrown up by numbers of some kind
of worm, or annelidous animal. How surprising it is that any
creatures should be able to exist in brine, and that they should
be crawling among crystals of sulphate of soda and lime ! And
what becomes of these worms when, during the long summer, the
surface is hardened into a solid layer of salt ? Flamingoes in
considerable numbers inhabit this lake, and breed here ; through-
out Patagonia, in Northern Chile, and at the Galapagos Islands,
I met with these birds wherever there were lakes f brine. I
saw them here wading about in search of food probably for the
worms which burrow in the mud ; and these latter probably feed
* Report of the AgrieuJt Chem. Assoc. in the Agricult. Gazette, 1845
p. 93.
1833.] R. NEGRO TO R. COLORADO. 6*7
on infusoria or confervge. Thus \ve have a little living world
within itself, adapted to these inland lakes of brine. A minute
crustaceous animal (Cancer salinus) is said * to live in countless
numbers in the brine-pans at Lymington ; but only in those in
which the fluid has attained, from evaporation, considerable
strength namely, about a quarter of a pound of salt to a pint of
water. Well may we affirm, that every part of the world is
habitable ! Whether lakes of brine, or those subterranean ones
hidden beneath volcanic mountains warm mineral springs the
wide expanse and depths of the ocean the upper regions of the
atmosphere, and even the surface of perpetual snow all support
organic beings.
To the northward of the Rio Negro, between it and the inha-
bited country near Buenos Ayres, the Spaniards have only one
small settlement, recently established at I>ahia Blanca. The dis-
tance in a straight line to Buenos Ayres is very nearly five hun-
dred British miles. The wandering tribes of horse Indians,
which have always occupied the greater part of this country,
having of late much harassed the outlying estancias, the govern-
ment at Buenos Ayres equipped some time since an army under
the command of General Rosas for the purpose of exterminating
them. The troops were now encamped on the banks of the Co-
lorado ; a river lying about eighty miles northward of the Rio
Negro. When General Rosas left Buen'os Ayres he struck in a
direct line across the unexplored plains : and as the country was
thus pretty well cleared of Indians, he left behind him, at wide
ntervals, a small party of soldiers with a troop of horses
( postd), so as to be enabled to keep up a communication with
* Linnacan Trans., vol. xi. p. 205. It is remarkable how all the circum-
stance's connected with the salt-lakes in Siberia and Patagonia are similar.
Siberia, like Patagonia, appears to have been recently elevated above the
waters of the sea. In both countries the salt-lakes occupy shallow depres-
sions in the plains ; in both the mud on the borders is black and fetid ; be-
neath the crust of common salt, sulphate of soda or of magnesia occurs, hn-
perfectly crystallized ; and in both, the muddy sand is mixed with lentils of
gypsum. The Siberian salt-lakes are inhabited by small crustaceous ani-
mals ; and flamingoes (Edin. New Philos. Jour., Jan. 1830) likewise frequent
them. As these circumstances, apparently so trifling, occur in two distanl
continents, we may feel sure that they are the necessary results of conunoa
sauses. See Pallas' s Travis. 1793 to 1794, pp. 129-134.
68 R. NEGRO TO R. COLORADO. [CHAP. iv.
the capital. As the Beagle intended to call at Bahia Blanca,
[ determined to proceed there by land; and ultimately I ex-
tended my plan to travel the whole way by the postas to Buenos
Ay res.
August llth. Mr. Harris, an Englishman residing at Pata-
gones, a guide, and five Gauchos, who were proceeding to the
army on business, were my companions on the journey. The
Colorado, as I have already said, is nearly eighty miles distant :
and as we travelled slowly, we were two days and a half on the
road. The whole line of country deserves scarcely a better name
than that of a desert. Water is found only in two small wells ;
it is called fresh ; but even at this time of the year, during the
rainy season, it was quite brackish. In the summer this must
be a distressing passage ; for now it was sufficiently desolate.
The valley of the Rio Negro, broad as it is, has merely been ex-
cavated out of the sandstone plain ; for immediately above the
bank on which the town stands, a level country commences,
which is interrupted only by a few trifling valleys and depres-
sions. Everywhere the landscape wears the same sterile aspect ;
a dry gravelly soil supports tufts of brown withered grass, and
low scattered bushes, armed with thorns.
Shortly after passing the first spring we came in sight of a
famous tree, which the Indians reverence as the altar of Wal-
leechu. It is situated on a high part of the plain, and hence is a
landmark visible at a" great distance. As soon as a tribe of
Indians corne in sight of it, they offer their adorations by loud
shouts. The tree itself is low, much branched, and thorny .
just above the root it has a diameter of about three feet. It stands
by itself without any neighbour, and was indeed the first tree we
saw ; afterwards we met with a few others of the same kind, but
they were far from common. Being winter the tree had no
leaves, but in their place numberless threads, by which the
various offerings, such as cigars, bread, meat, pieces of cloth, &c.
had been suspended. Poor Indians, not having anything better,
only pull a thread out of their ponchos, and fasten it to the
tree. Richer Indians are accustomed to pour spirits and
raatt* into a certain hole, and likewise to smoke upwards,
thinking thus to afford all possible gratification to Walleechu.
To complete the scene, the tree was surrounded by the bleached
183S.] SACRED TREE.
bones of horses which had been slaughtered as sacrifices. All
Indians of every age and sex make their offerings ; they then
think that their horses will not tire, and that they themselves
shall be prosperous. The Gaucho who told me this, said that in
the time of peace he had witnessed this scene, and that he and
others Used to wait till the Indians had passed by, for the sake of
stealing from Walleechu the offerings.
The Gauchos think that the Indians consider the tree as the
god itself; but it seems far more probable, that they regard it as
the altar. The only cause which I can imagine for this choice,
is its being a landmark in a dangerous passage. The Sierra de
la Ventana is 'visible at an immense distance ; and a Gaucho
told me that he was once riding with an Indian a few miles to
the north of the Rio Colorado, when the Indian commenced
making the same loud noise, which is usual at the first sight of
the distant tree ; putting his hand to his head, and then pointing
in the direction of the Sierra. Upon being asked the reason
of this, the Indian said in broken Spanish, " First see the Sierra."
About two leagues beyond this curious tree we halted for the
night : at this instant an unfortunate cow was spied by the lynx-
eyed Gauchos, who set off in full chace, and in a few minutes
dragged her in with their lazos, and slaughtered her. We
here had the four necessaries of life " en el campo," pasture
for the horses, water (only a muddy puddle), meat and fire-
wood. The Gauchos were in high spirits at finding all these
luxuries ; and we soon set to work at the poor cow. This was
the first night which I passed under the open sky, with the
gear of the recado for my bed. There is high enjoyment
in the independence of the Gaucho life to be able at any
moment to pull up your horse, and say, " Here we will pass
the night." The death-like stillness of the plain, the dogs
keeping watch, the gipsy-group of Gauchos making their beds
round the fire, have left in my mind a strongly-marked picture of
this first night, which will never be forgotten.
The next day the country continued similar to that above de-
scribed. It is inhabited by few birds or animals of any kind.
Occasionally a deer, or a Guanaco (wild Llama) may be seen ;
but the Agouti (Cavia Patagonica) is the commonest quadruped.
7"his aniraal here represents our hares. It differs, however, from
70 RIO COLORADO. [CHAP. IT.
that genus in many essential respects ; for instance, it has only
three toes behind. It is also nearly twice the size, weighing
from twenty to twenty-five pounds. The Agouti is a true friend
of the desert ; it is a common feature in the landscape to see two
or three hopping quickly one after the other in a straight line
across these wild plains. They are found as far north as the
Sierra Tapalguen (lat. 37 30'), where the plain rather suddenly
becomes greener and more humid ; and their southern limit is
between Port Desire and St. Julian, where there is no change in
the nature of the country. It is a singular fact, that although
the Agouti is not now found as far south as Port St. Julian, yet
that Captain Wood, in his voyage in 1670, talks of them as
being numerous there. What cause can have altered, in a wide,
uninhabited, and rarely- visited country, the range of an animal
like this ? It appears also from the number shot by Captain
Wood in one day at Port Desire, that they must have been
considerably more abundant there formerly than at present.
Where the Bizcacha lives and makes its burrows, the Agouti
uses them; but where, as at Bahia Blanca, the Bizcacha is
not found, the Agouti burrows for itself. The same thing
occurs with the little owl of the Pampas (Athene cunicularia),
which has so often been described as standing like a sentinel
at. the mouth of the burrows ; for in Banda Oriental, owing to
the absence of tne Bizcacha, it is obliged to hollow out its own
habitation.
The next morning, as we approached the Rio Colorado, the
appearance of the country changed ; we soon came on a plain
covered with turf, which, from its flowers, tall clover, and little
owls, resembled the Pampas. We passed also a muddy swamp
of considerable extent, which in summer dries, and becomes in-
crusted with various salts ; and hence is called a salitral. It was
covered by low succulent plants, of the same kind with those
growing on the sea-shore. The Colorado, at the pass where we
crossed it, is only about sixty yards wide ; generally it must be
nearly double that width. Its course is very tortuous, being
marked by willow-trees and beds of reeds : in a direct line the
distance to the mouth of the river is said to be nine leagues, but
by water twenty-five. We were delayed crossing in the canoe
by some immense troops of mares, which were swimming the
1833.] ENCAMPMENT OF GENERAL ROSAS. 71
river in order to follow a division of troops into the interior.
A more ludicrous spectacle I never beheld than the hundreds
and hundreds of heads, all directed one way, with pointed ears
and distended snorting nostrils, appearing just above the water
like a great shoal of some amphibious animal. Mare's flesh is
the only food which the soldiers have when on an expedition.
This gives them a great facility of movement ; for the distance
to which horses can be driven over these plains is quite sur-
prising : I have been assured that an unloaded horse can travel a
hundred miles a day for many days successively.
The encampment of General Rosas was close to the river. It
consisted of a square formed by waggons, artillery, straw huts,
&c. The soldiers were nearly all cavalry ; and I should think
such a villanous, banditti-like army was never before collected
together. The greater number of men were of a mixed breed,
between Negro, Indian, and Spaniard. 1 know not the reason,
but men of such origin seldom have a good expression of coun-
tenance. I called on the Secretary to show my passport. He
began to cross-question me in the most dignified and mysterious
manner. By good luck I had a letter of recommendation from
the government of Buenos Ayres * to the commandant of Pata-
gones. This was taken to General Rosas, who sent me a very
obliging message ; and the Secretary returned all smiles and gra-
ciousness. We took up our residence in the rancho, or hovel,
of a curious old Spaniard, who had served with Napoleon in the
expedition against Russia.
We stayed two days at the Colorado ; I had little to do, for the
surrounding country was a swamp, which in summer (December),
when the snow melts on the Cordillera, is overflowed by the
river. My chief amusement was watching the Indian families as
they came to buy little articles at the rancho where we stayed.
It was supposed that General Rosas had about six hundred Indian
allies. The men were a tall, fine race, yet it was afterwards
easy to see in the Fuegian savage the same countenance rendered
hideous by cold, want of food, and less civilization. Some
authors, in defining the primary races of mankind, have sepa-
* I am bound to express, in the strongest terms, my obligation to the
Government of Buenos Ayres for the obliging manner in which passports
to all parts of the country were given me, as naturalist of the Beagle.
6
72 RIO COLORADO. [CHAP. IT.
rated these Indians into two classes ; but this is certainly incor-
rect. Among the young women or chinas, some deserve to be
called even beautiful. Their hair was coarse, but bright and
black; and they wore it in two plaits hanging down to the
waist. They had a high colour, and eyes that glistened with
brilliancy ; their legs, feet, and arms were small and elegantly
formed ; their ankles, and sometimes their waists, were orna-
mented by broad bracelets of blue beads. Nothing could be
more interesting than some of the family groups. A mother
with one or two daughters would often come to our rancho,
mounted on the same horse. They ride like men, but with their
knees tucked up much higher. This habit, perhaps, arises from
their being accustomed, when travelling, to ride the loaded
horses. The duty of the women is to load and unload the horses ;
to make the tents for the night ; in short to be, like the wives of
all savages, ueeful slaves. The men fight, hunt, take care of the
horses, and make the riding gear. One of their chief indoor
occupations is to knock two stones together till they become
round, in order to make the bolas. With this important weapon
the Indian catches his game, and also his horse, which roams free
over the plain. In fighting, his first attempt is to throw down the
horse of his adversary with the bolas, and when entangled by the
fall to kill him with the chuzo. If the balls only catch the neck
or body of an animal, they are often carried away and lost. As
Ihe making the stones round is the labour of two days, the
manufacture of the balls is a very common employment. Several
of the men and women had their faces painted red, but I never
saw the horizontal bands which are so common among the
Fuegians. Their chief pride consists in having everything made
of silver ; I have seen a cacique with his spurs, stirrups, handle
of his knife, and bridle made of this metal : the head-stall and
reins being of wire, were not thicker than whipcord ; and to see
a fiery steed wheeling about under the command of so light a
chain, gave to the horsemanship a remarkable character of
elegance.
General Rosas intimated a wish to see me; a circumstance
which I was afterwancls very glad of. He is a man of an extra-
ordinary character, and has a most predominant influence in the
country, which it seems probable he will use to its prosperity
1833.] GENERAL ROSAS. 73
and advancement.* He is said to be the owner of seventy-four
square leagues of land, and to have about three hundred thou-
sand head of cattle. His estates are admirably managed, and are
far more productive of corn than those of others. He first gained
his celebrity by his laws for Jiis own estancias, and by disciplin-
ing several hundred men, so as to resist with success the attacks
of the Indians. There are many stories current about the rigid
manner in which his laws were enforced. One of these was,
that no man, on penalty of being put into the stocks, should
carry his knife on a Sunday : this being the principal day for
gambling and drinking, many quarrels arose, which from the
general manner of fighting with the knife often proved fatal.
One Sunday the Governor came in great form to pay the estan-
cia a visit, and General Rosas, in his hurry, walked out to
receive him with his knife, as usual, stuck in his belt. The
steward touched his arm, and reminded him of the law;
upon which turning to the Governor, he said he was extremely
sorry, but that he must go into the stocks, and that till let out,
he possessed no power even in his own house. After a little
time the steward was persuaded to open the stocks, and to let
him out, but no sooner was this done, than he turned to the
steward and said, " You now have broken the laws, so you must
take my place in the stocks." Such actions as these delighted
the Gauchos, who all possess high notions of their own equality
and dignity.
General Rosas is also a perfect horseman an accomplishment
of no small consequence in a country where an assembled army
elected its general by the following trial : A troop of unbroken
horses being driven into a corral, were let out through a gateway,
above which was a cross-bar: it was agreed whoever should
drop from the bar on one of these wild animals, as it rushed
out, and should be able, without saddle or bridle, not only to
ride it, but also to bring it back to the door of the corral, should
be their general. The person who succeeded was accordingly
elected ; and doubtless made a fit general for such an army. Thia
extraordinary feat has also been performed by Rosas.
By these means, and by conforming to the dress and habits of
* This prophecy has turned out entirely and miserably -wrong. 1845
74 RIO COLORADO. [CHAP. iv.
Ihe Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the
country, and in consequence a despotic power. I was assured
by an English merchant, that a man who had murdered another,
when arrested and questioned concerning his motive, answered,
" He spoke disrespectfully of General Rosas, so I killed him."
At the end of a week the murderer was at liberty. This doubt-
less was the act of the general's party, and not of the general
himself.
In conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave.
His gravity is carried to a high pitch : I heard one of his mad
buffoons (for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the
following anecdote : " I wanted very much to hear a certain
piece of music, so I went to the general two or three times to
ask him ; he said to me, ' Go about your business, for I am en-
gaged.' I went a second time ; he said, ' If you come again I
will punish you.' A third time I asked, and he laughed. I
rushed out of the tent, but it was too late ; he ordered two
soldiers to catch and stake me. I begged by all the Saints in
heaven he would let me off; but it would riot do ; when the
general laughs he spares neither mad man nor sound." The
poor flighty gentleman looked quite dolorous, at the very recol-
lection of the staking. This is a very severe punishment ; four
posts are driven into the ground, and the man is extended by his
arms and legs horizontally, and there left to stretch for several
hours. The idea is evidently taken from the usual method of
drying hides. My interview passed away without a smile, and
I obtained a passport and order for the government post-horses,
and this he gave me in the most obliging and ready manner.
In the morning we started for Bahia Blanca, which we
reached in two days. Leaving the regular encampment, we
passed by the toldos of the Indians. These are round like ovens,
and covered with hides ; by the mouth of each, a tapering chuzo
was stuck in the ground. The toldos were divided into separate
groups, which belonged to the different caciques' tribes, and the
groups were again divided intc smaller ones, according to the
relationship of the owners. For several miles we travelled
along the valley of the Colorado. The alluvial plains on
the side appeared fertile, and it is supposed that they are well
adapted to the growth of corn. Turning northward from the
1833.] SAND-DUNES. 75
river, we soon entered on a country, differing from the plains
south of the river. The land still continued dry and sterile ;
but it supported many different kinds of plants, and the grass,
though brown and withered, was more abundant, as the thorny
bushes were less so. These latter in a short space entirely dis-
appeared, and the plains were left without a thicket to cover
their nakedness. This change in the vegetation marks the com-
mencement of the grand calcareo argillaceous deposit, which
forms the wide extent of the Pampas, and covers the granitic
rocks of Banda Oriental. From the Strait of Magellan to the
Colorado, a distance of about eight hundred miles, the face of
the country is everywhere composed of shingle : the pebbles are
chiefly of porphyry, and probably owe their origin to the rocks
of the Cordillera. North of the Colorado this bed thins out, and
the pebbles become exceedingly small, and here the charac-
teristic vegetation of Patagonia ceases.
Having ridden about twenty-five miles, we came to a broad
belt of sand-dunes, which stretches, as far as the eye can reach,
to the east and west. The sand-hillocks resting on the clay,
allow small pools of water to collect, and thus afford in this dry
country an invaluable supply of fresh water. The great advan-
tage arising from depressions and elevations of the soil, is not
often brought home to the mind. The two miserable springs in
the long passage between the Rio Negro and Colorado were
caused by trifling inequalities in the plain ; without them not a
drop of water would have been found. The bolt of sand-dunes
is about eight miles wide ; at some former period, it probably
formed the margin of a grand estuary, where the Colorado now
flows. In this district, where absolute proofs of the recent
elevation of the land occur, such speculations can hardly be
neglected by any one, although merely considering the physical
geography of the country. Having crossed the sandy tract, we
arrived in the evening at one of the post-houses ; and, as the
fresh horses were grazing at a distance, we determined to pass
the night there.
The house was situated at the base of a ridge, between one
and two hundred feet high a most remarkable feature in this
country. This posta was commanded by a negro lieutenant,
born in Africa : to his credit be it said, there was not a ranche
76 BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. iv.
between the Colorado and Buenos Ayros in nearly such neat
order as his. He had a little room for strangers, and a small
corral for the horses, all made of sticks and reeds ; he had also
dug a ditch round his house, as a defence in case of being
attacked. This would, however, have been of little avail, if the
Indians had come ; but his chief comfort seemed to rest in the
thought of selling his life dearly. A short time before, a body
of Indians had travelled past in the night ; if they had been
aware of the posta, our black friend and his four soldiers would
assuredly have been slaughtered. I did not any where meet a
more civil and obliging man than this negro ; it was therefore
the more painful to see that he would not sit down and eat
tvith us.
In the morning we sent for the horses very early, and started
for another exhilarating gallop. We passed the Cabeza del
Buey, an old name given to the head of a large marsh, which
extends from Bahia Blanca. Here we changed horses, and
passed through some leagues of swamps and saline marshes.
Changing horses for the last time, we again began wading
through the mud. My animal fell, and I was well soused in
black mire a very disagreeable accident, when one does not
possess a change of clothes. Some miles from the fort we met
a man, who told us that a great gun had been fired, which is a
signal that Indians are near. We immediately left the road,
and followed the edge of a marsh, which when chased offers the
best mode of escape. We were glad to arrive within the walls,
when we found all the alarm was about nothing, for the Indians
turned out to be friendly ones, who wished to join General
Bahia Blanca scarcely deserves the name of a village. A few
houses and the barracks for the troops are enclosed by a deep
ditch and fortified wall. The settlement is only of recent stand-
ing (since 1828) ; and its growth has been one of trouble. The
government of Buenos Ayres unjustly occupied it by force, in-
stead of following the wise example of the Spanish Viceroys,
who purchased the land near the older settlement of the Rio
Negro, from the Indians. Hence the need of the fortifications ;
hence the few houses and little cultivated land without tho
limits of the walls : even the cattle are not safe from the attacks
1833.] AN ATTACK BY THE INDIANS. 77
of the Indians beyond the boundaries of the plain, on which the
fortress stands.
The part of the harbour where the Beagle intended to anchor
being distant twenty-five miles, I obtained from the Comman-
dant a guide and horses, to take me to see whether she had
arrived. Leaving the plain of green turf, which extended along
the course of a little brook, we soon entered on a wide level waste
consisting either of sand, saline marshes, or bare mud. Some
parts were clothed by low thickets, and others with those succu-
lent plants, which luxuriate only where salt abounds. Bad as
the country was, ostriches, deers, agoutis, and armadilloes, were
abundant. My guide told me, that two months before he had a
most narrow escape of his life : he was out hunting with two other
men, at no great distance from this part of the country, when
they were suddenly met by a party of Indians, who giving chace,
soon overtook and killed his two friends. His own horse's legs
were also caught by the bolas ; but he jumped off, and with his
knife cut them free : while doing this he was obliged to dodge
round his horse and received two severe wounds from their
chuzos. Springing on the saddle, he managed, by a most wt>n-
derful exertion, just to keep ahead of the long spears of his pur-
suers, who followed him to within sight of the fort. From that
time there was an order that no one should stray far from the
settlement. I did not know of this when I started, and was
surprised to observe how earnestly my guide watched a deer,
which appeared to have been frightened from a distant quarter.
We found the Beagle had not arrived, and consequently set
out on our return, but the horses soon tiring, we were obliged
to bivouac on the plain. In the morning we had caught an
armadillo, which, although a most excellent dish when roasted
in its shell, did not make a very substantial breakfast and dinner
for two hungry men. The ground at the place where we stopped
for the niglit, was incrusted with a layer of sulphate of soda,
and hence, of course, was without water. Yet many of the
smaller rodents managed to exist even here, and the tucutuco
was making its odd little grunt beneath my head, during half
the night. Our horses were very poor ones, and in the morning
they were soon exhausted from not having had any thing to
drink, so that we were obliged to walk. About noon the dogs
78 BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. iv.
killed a kid, which we roasted. I ate some of it, but it made
me intolerably thirsty. This was the more distressing as the
road, from some recent rain, was full of little puddles of clear
water, yet not a drop was drinkable. I had scarcely been twenty
hours without water, and only part of the time under a hot sun,
yet the thirst rendered me very weak. How people survive two
or three days under such circumstances, I cannot imagine : at
the same time, I must confess that my guide did not suffer at all,
and was astonished that one day's deprivation should be so trou-
blesome to me.
I have several times alluded to the surface of the ground
being incrusted with salt. This phenomenon is quite different
from that of the salinas, and more extraordinary. In many
parts of South America, wherever the climate is moderately
dry, these incrustations occur ; but I have nowhere seen them so
abundant as near Bahia Blanca. The salt here, and in other
parts of Patagonia, consists chiefly of sulphate of soda with some
common salt. As long as the ground remains moist in these
salitrales (as the Spaniards improperly call them, mistaking this
substance for saltpetre), nothing is to be seen but an extensive
plain composed of a black, muddy soil, supporting scattered
tufts of succulent plants. On returning through one of these
tracts, after a week's hot weather, one is surprised to s&e square
miles of the plain white, as if from a slight fall of snow, here
and there heaped up by the wind into little drifts. This latter
appearance is chiefly caused by the salts being drawn up, during
the slow evaporation of the moisture, round blades of dead grass,
stumps of wood, and pieces of broken earth, instead of being
crystallized at the bottoms of the puddles of water. The salitrales
occur either on level tracts elevated only a few feet above the
level of the sea, or on alluvial land bordering rivers. M. Par-
chappe* found that the saline incrustation on the piain, at the
distance of some miles from the sea, consisted chiefly of sulphate
of soda, with only seven per cent, of common salt ; whilst nearer
to the coast, the common salt increased to 37 parts in a hundred.
This circumstance would tempt one to believe that the sulphate
of soda is generated in the soil, from the muriate, left on the
* Voyage dans 1'Amerique Merid. par M. A. d'Orbigny. Part. Hist
torn. i. p. 664.
1833.] AN ADVENTURE. 79
surface during the slow and recent elevation of this dry country.
The whole phenomenon is well worthy the attention of natural-
ists. Have the succulent, salt-loving plants, which are well
known to contain much soda, the power of decomposing the
muriate? Does the black fetid mud, abounding with organic
matter, yield the sulphur and ultimately the sulphuric acid ?
Two days afterwards I again rode to the harbour : when not
far from our destination, my companion, the same man as before,
spied three people hunting on horseback. He immediately dis-
mounted, and watching them intently, said, " They don't ride
like Christians, and nobody can leave the fort." The three
hunters joined company, and likewise dismounted from their
horses. At last one mounted again and rode over the hill out
of sight. My companion said, " We must now get on our
horses : load your pistol ;" and he looked to his own sword. I
asked, " Are they Indians ?" " Quien sabe? (who knows?) if
there are no more than three, it does not signify." It then struck
me, that the one man had gone over the hill to fetch the rest of
his tribe. I suggested this ; but all the answer I could extort
was, "Quien sabe?" His head and eye never for a minute
ceased scanning slowly the ii^tant horizon. I thought his un-
common coolness too good a joke, and asked him why he did not
return home. I was startled when he answered, " We are
returning, but in a line so as to pass near a swamp, into which
we can gallop the horses as far as they can go, and then trust to
our own legs ; so that there is no danger." I did not feel quite
so confident of this, and wanted to increase our pace. He said,
" No, not until they do." When any little inequality concealed
us, we galloped ; but when in sight, continued walking. At last
we reached a valley, and turning to the left, galloped quickly to
the foot of a hill ; he gave me his horse to hold, made the dogs
lie down, and then crawled on his hands and knees to reconnoitre.
He remained in this position for some time, and at last, bursting
out in laughter, exclaimed, " Mugeres ! " (women !) He knew
them to be the wife and sister-in-law of the major's son, hunting
for ostrich's eggs. I have described this man's conduct, because
he acted under the full impression that they were Indians. As
soon, however, as the absurd mistake was found out, he gave ine
80 BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. iv.
a hundred reasons why they could not have been Indians ; but
all these were forgotten at the time. We then rode on in peace
and quietness to a low point called Punta Alta, whence we could
see nearly the whole of the great harbour of Bahia Blanca.
The wide expanse of water is choked up by numerous great
mud-banks, whicli the inhabitants call Cangrejales, or crabberies,
from the number of small crabs. The mud is so soft that it is
impossible to walk over them, even for the shortest distance.
Many of the banks have their surfaces covered with long rushes,
.he tops of which alone are visible at high water. On one oc-
casion, when in a boat, we were so entangled by these shallows
that we could hardly find our way. Nothing was visible but
the flat beds of mud ; the day was not very clear, and there was
much refraction, or as the sailors expressed it, " things loomed
high." The only object within our view which was not level
was the horizon ; rushes looked like bushes unsupported in the
air, and water like mud-banks, and mud-banks like water.
We passed the night in Punta Alta, and I employed myself in
searching for fossil bones ; this point being a perfect catacomb
for monsters of extinct races. The evening was perfectly calm
and clear ; the extreme monotony of the view gave it an interest
even in the midst of mud-banks and gulls, sand-hillocks and
solitary vultures. In riding back in the morning we came across
a very fresh track of a Puma, but did not succeed in finding
it. We saw also a couple of Zorillos, or skunks, odious
animals, which are far from uncommon. In general appearance
the Zorillo resembles a polecat, but it is rather larger, and much
thicker in proportion. Conscious of its power, it roams by clay
about the open plain, and fears neither dog nor man. If a dog
is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few
drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and run-
ning at the nose. Whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever
useless. Azara says the smell can be perceived at a league dis-
tant ; more than once, when entering the harbour of Monte
Video, the wind being off shore, we have perceived the odour
on board the Beagle. Certain it is, that every animal most will-
ingly makes room for the Zorillo.
1833.] BAHIA BLAXCA. 81
CHAPTEE V.
fiahia Blanca Geology Numerous gigantic extinct Quadrupeds Recent
Extinction Longevity of Species Large Animals do not require a luxu-
riant vegetation Southern Africa Siberian Fossils Two Species of
Ostrich Habits of Oven-bird Armadilloes Venomous Snake, Toad,
Lizard Hybernation of Animals Habits of Sea-Pen Indians Wars and
Massacres Arrow-head, antiquarian Relic.
BAHIA BLANCA.
THE Beagle arrived here on the 24th of August, and a week after-
wards sailed for the Plata. With Captain Fitz Roy's consent I
was left behind, to travel by land to Buenos Ayres. I will here
add some observations, which were made during this visit and
on a previous occasion, when the Beagle was employed in sur-
veying the harbour.
The plain, at the distance of a few miles from the coast,
belongs to the great Pampean formation, which consists in part
of a reddish clay, and in part of a highly calcareous marly rock.
Nearer the coast there are some plains formed from the wreck
of the upper plain, and from mud, gravel, and sand thrown up
by the sea during the slow elevation of the land, of which eleva-
tion we have evidence in upraised beds of recent shells, and in
rounded pebbles of pumice scattered over the country. At
Punta Alta we have a section of one of these later-formed little
plains, which is highly interesting from the number and extra-
ordinary character of the remains of gigantic land-animals em-
bedded in it. These have been fully described by Professor
Owen, in the Zoology of the voyage of the Beagle, and are depo-
sited in the College of Surgeons. I will here give only a brief
outline of their nature.
First, parts of three heads and other bones of the Megathe-
rium, the huge dimensions of which are expressed by its name.
Secondly, the Megalonyx, a great allied animal. Thirdly, the
Scclidotlierium, also an allied animal, of which I obtained a
82 BAIIIA BLAXCA. [CHAP. T.
nearly perfect skeleton. It must have been as large as a rhino-
ceros : in the structure of its head it comes, according to Mr.
Owen, nearest to the Cape Ant-eater, but in some other respects it
approaches to the armadilloes. Fourthly, the Mylodon Darwinii,
ft closely related genus of little inferior size. Fifthly, another gi-
gantic edental quadruped. Sixthly, a large animal, with an osseous
soat in compartments, very like that of an armadillo. Seventhly,
an extinct kind of horse, to which I shall have again to refer.
Eighthly, a tooth of a Pachydermatous animal, probably the same
with the Macrauchenia, a huge beast with a long neck like a camel,
which I shall also refer to again. Lastly, the Toxodon, perhaps
one of the strangest animals ever discovered : in size it equalled an
elephant or megatherium, but the structure of its teeth, as Mr.
Owen states, proves indisputably that it was intimately related to
the Gnawers, the order which, at the present day, includes most
of the smallest quadrupeds : in many details it is allied to the
Pachydermata : judging from the position of its eyes, ears, and
nostrils, it was probably aquatic, like the Dugong and Manatee,
to which it is also allied. How wonderfully are the different
Orders, at the present time so well separated, blended together in
different points of the structure of the Toxodon !
The remains of these nine great quadrupeds, and many de-
tached bones were found embedded on the beach, within the
space of about 200 yards square. It is a remarkable circum-
stance that so many different species should be found together ;
and it proves how numerous in kind the ancient inhabitants of
this country must have been. At the distance of about thirty
miles from P. Alta, in a cliff of red earth, I found several frag-
ments of bones, some of large size. Among them were the teeth
of a gnawer, equalling in size and closely resembling those of
the Capybara, whose habits have been described ; and therefore,
probably, an aquatic animal. There was also part of the head of
a Ctenomys ; the species being different from the Tucutuco, but
with a close general resemblance. The red earth, like that of
the Pampas, in which these remains were embedded, contains, ac-
cording to Professor Ehrenberg, eight fresh-water and one salt-
water infusorial animalcule ; therefore, probably, it was an
estuary deposit.
The remains at Punta Alta were embedded in stratified gravel
1833.] EXTINCT QUADRUPEDS. 83
and reddish mud, just such as the sea might now wash up on a
shallow bank. They were associated with twenty-three species
of shells, of which thirteen are recent and four others very
closely related to recent forms ; whether ,he remaining ones are
extinct or simply unknown, must be uoubtful, as few collections
of shells have been made on this coast. As, however, the recent
species were embedded in nearly the same proportional numbers
with those now living in the bay, I think there can be little
doubt, that this accumulation belongs to a very late tertiary
period. From the bones of the Scelidotheriiim, including even
the knee-cap, being intombed in their proper relative positions,
and from the osseous armour of the great armadillo-like animal
being so well preserved, together with the bones of one of
its legs, we may feel assured that these remains were fresh
and united by their ligaments, when deposited in the gravel
together with the shells. Hence we have good evidence that
the above enumerated gigantic quadrupeds, more different from
those of the present day than the oldest of the tertiary quadru-
peds of Europe, lived whilst the sea was peopled with most of its
present inhabitants ; and we have confirmed that remarkable law
so often insisted on by Mr. Lyell, namely, that the " longevity
of the species in the mammalia is upon the whole inferior to that
of the testacea."*
The great size of the bones of the Megatheroid animals, includ-
ing the Megatherium, Megalonyx, Scelidotherium, and Mylodon,
is truly wonderful. The habits of life of these animals were a
complete puzzle to naturalists, until Professor Owenf lately
solved the problem with remarkable ingenuity. The teeth in-
dicate, by their simple structure, that these Megatheroid animals
lived on vegetable food, and probably on the leaves and small
twigs of trees ; their ponderous forms and great strong curved
claws seem so little adapted for locomotion, that some eminent
naturalists have actually believed, that, like the sloths, to which
they are intimately related, they subsisted by climbing back
downwards on trees, and feeding on the leaves. It was a bold,
* Principles of Geology, vol. iv. p. 40.
t This theory was first develop***! in the Zoology of the Voyage of the
Beagle, aud subsequently in Professor Oweu!s Meaioir on Mylodon ro-
bustus.
84 BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. v.
not to say preposterous, idea to conceive even antediluvian trees,
with branches strong enough to bear animals as large as ele-
phants. Professor Owen, with far more probability, believes
that, instead of climbing on the trees, they pulled the branches
down to them, and tore up the smaller ones by the roots, and so
fed on the leaves. The colossal breadth and weight of their
hinder quarters, which can hardly be imagined without having
been seen, become, on this view, of obvious service, instead of
being an incumbrance : their apparent clumsiness disappears.
With their great tails and their huge heels firmly fixed like a
tripod on the ground, they could freely exert the full force of
their most powerful arms and great claws. Strongly rooted,
indeed, must that tree have been, which could have resisted such
force ! The Mylodon, moreover, was furnished with a long
extensile tongue like that of the giraife, which, by one of those
beautiful provisions of nature, thus reaches with the aid of its
long neck its leafy food. I may remark, that in Abj'ssinia the
elephant, according to Bruce, when it cannot reach with its
proboscis the branches, deeply scores with its tusks the trunk of
the tree, up and down and all round, till it is sufficiently
weakened to be broken down.
The beds including the above fossil remains, stand only from
fifteen to twenty feet above the level of high-water ; and hence
the elevation of the land has been small (without there has
been an intercalated period of subsidence, of which we have no
evidence) since the great quadrupeds wandered over the sur-
rounding plains ; and the external features of the country must
then have been very nearly the same as now. What, it may natu-
rally be asked, was the character of the vegetation at that period ;
was the country as wretchedly sterile as it now is ? As so many
of the co-embedded shells are the same with those now living in
the bay, I was at first inclined to think that the former vegeta-
tion was probably similar to the existing one ; but this would
have been an erroneous inference, for some of these same shells
live on the luxuriant coast of Brazil ; and generally, the character
of the inhabitants of the sea are useless as guides to judge of
those on the land. Nevertheless, from the following considera-
tions, I do not believe that the simple fact of many gigantic
quadrupeds having lived on the plains round Bahia Blanca, is
1833.] FOOD OF LARGE QUADRUPEDS. 85
any sure guide that they formerly were clothed with a luxuriant
vegetation : I have no doubt that the sterile country a little
southward, near the Rio Negro, with its scattered thorny trees,
would support many and large quadrupeds.
That large animals require a luxuriant vegetation, has been a
general assumption which has passed from one work to another ;
hut I do not hesifate to say that it is completely false, and that
it has vitiated the reasoning of geologists on some points of great
interest in the ancient history of the world. The prejudice has
probably been derived from India, and the Indian islands, where
troops of elephants, noble forests, and impenetrable jungles, are
associated together in every one's mind. If, however, we refer
to any work of travels through the southern parts of Africa, we
shall find allusions in almost every page either to the desert cha-
racter of the country, or to the numbers of large animals inha-
biting it. The same thing is rendered evident by the many
engravings which have been published of various parts of the
interior. When the Beagle was at Cape Town, I made an
excursion of some days' length into the country, which at least
was sufficient to render that which I had read more fully intel-
ligible.
Dr. Andrew Smith, who, at the head of his adventurous
party, has lately succeeded in passing the Tropic of Capricorn,
informs me that, taking into consideration the whole of the
southern part of Africa, there can be no doubt of its being a
sterile country. On the southern and south-eastern coasts there
are some fine forests, but with these exceptions, the traveller may
pass for days together through open plains, covered by a poor
and scanty vegetation. It is difficult to convey any accurate
idea of degrees of comparative fertility ; but it may be safely
said that the amount of vegetation supported at any one time*
by Great Britain, exceeds, perhaps even tenfold, the quantity on
an equal area, in the interior parts of Southern Africa. The
fact that bullock- waggons can travel in any direction, excepting
near the coast, without more than occasionally half an hour's
delay in cutting down bushes, gives, perhaps, a more definite
* I raean by this to exclude the total amount, -which may have been suc-
cessively produced and consumed during a given period.
BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP.
notion of the scantiness of the vegetation. Now, if we look to
the animals inhabiting these wide plains, we shall find their
numbers extraordinarily great, and their bulk immense. We
must enumerate the elephant, three species of rhinoceros, and
probably, according to Dr. Smith, two others, the hippopotamus,
the giraffe, the bos caffer as large as a full-grown bull, and the
elan but little less, two zebras, and the quaccha, two gnus, and
several antelopes even larger than these latter animals. It may
be supposed that although the species are numerous, the indivi-
duals of each kind are few. By the kindness of Dr. Smith, I
am enabled to show that the case is very different. He informs
me, that in lat. 24, in one day's march with the bullock- wag-
gons, he saw, without wandering to any great distance on either
side, between one hundred and one hundred and fifty rhinoceroses,
which belonged to three species : the same day he saw several
herds of giraffes, amounting together to nearly a hundred ; and
that, although no elephant was observed, yet they are found in
this district. At the distance of a little more than one hour's
march from their place of encampment on the previous night,
his party actually killed at one spot eight hippopotamuses, and
saw many more. In this same river there were likewise croco-
diles. Of course it was a case quite extraordinary, to see so
many great animals crowded together, but it evidently proves
that they must exist in great numbers. Dr. Smith describes the
country passed through that day, as " being thinly covered with
grass, and bushes about four feet high, and still more thinly
with mimosa- trees." The waggons were not prevented travelling
in a nearly straight line.
Besides these large animals, every one the least acquainted
with the natural history of the Cape, has read of the herds of
antelopes, which can be compared only with the flocks of
migratory birds. The numbers indeed of the lion, panther,
and hyaena, and the multitude of birds of prey, plainly speak of
the abundance of the smaller quadrupeds: one evening seven
lions were counted at the same time prowling round Dr. Smith's
encampment. As this able naturalist remarked to me, the carnage
each day in Southern Africa must indeed be terrific ! I confess
it is truly surprising how such a number of animals can find
support in a country producing so little food. The larger qua-
1833.] FOOD OF LARGE QUADRUPEDS. 87
drupeds no doubt roam over wide tracts in search of it ; and
their food chiefly consists of underwood, which probably contains
much nutriment in a small bulk. Dr. Smith also informs me
that the vegetation has a rapid growth ; no sooner is a part con-
sumed, than its place is supplied by a fresh stock. There can
be no doubt, however, that our ideas respecting the apparent
amount of food necessary for the support of large quadrupeds are
much exaggerated : it should have been remembered that the
camel, an animal of no mean bulk, has always been considered as
the emblem of the desert.
The belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation
must necessarily be luxuriant, is the more remarkable, because
the converse is far from true. Mr. Burchell observed to me
that when entering Brazil, nothing struck him more forcibly
than the splendour of the South American vegetation contrasted
with that of South Africa, together with the absence of all large
quadrupeds. In his Travels,* he has suggested that the com-
parison of the respective weights (if there were sufficient data)
of an equal number of the largest herbivorous quadrupeds of
each country would be extremely curious. If we take on the
one side, the elephant,f hippopotamus, giraffe, bos caffer, elan,
certainly three, and probably five species of rhinoceros ; and on
the American side, two tapirs, the guanaco, three deer, the vicuna,
peccari, capybara (after which we must, choose from the monkeys
to complete the number), and then place these two groups along-
side each other, it is not easy to conceive ranks more dispro-
portionate in size. After the above facts, we are compelled to
* Travels in the Interior of South Africa, vol. ii., p. 207.
t The elephant which was killed at Exeter Change was estimated (heing
partly weighed) at five tons and a half. The elephant actress, as I was in-
formed, weighed one ton less ; so that we may take five as the average of a
full-grown elephant. I was told at the Surrey Gardens, that a hippopotamus
which was sent to England cut up into pieces was estimated at three tons and
a half, we will call it three. From these premises we may give three tons
and a half to each of the five rhinoceroses ; perhaps a ton to the giraffe, and
half to the bos caffer as well as to the elan (a large ox weighs from 1200 to
1500 pounds). This will give an average (from the above estimates) of 2' 7
of a ton for the ten largest herbivorous animals of Southern Africa. In
South America, allowing 1200 pounds for the two tapirs together, 550 for the
guanaco and vicuna, 500 for three deer, 300 for the capybara, peccari, and a
monkey, we shall have an average of 250 pounds, which I believe is over-
stating the result. The ratio will therefore be as 6048 to 250, or 24 to 1, for
the ten largest animals from the two continents.
BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. v.
conclude, against anterior probability,* that among the mam-
malia there exists no close relation between the bulk of the
species, and the quantity of the vegetation, in the countries
which they inhabit.
With regard to the number of large quadrupeds, there cer-
tainly exists no quarter of the globe which will bear comparison
with Southern Africa. After the different statements which
have been given, the extremely desert character of that region
will not be disputed. In the European division of the world,
we must look back to the tertiary epochs, to find a condition of
things among the mammalia, resembling that now existing at
the Cape of Good Hope. Those tertiary epochs, which we
are apt to consider as abounding to an astonishing degree with
large animals, because we find the remains of many ages accu-
mulated at certain spots, could hardly boast of more large
quadrupeds than Southern Africa does at present. If we
speculate on the condition of the vegetation during those epochs,
we are at least bound so far to consider existing analogies, as
not to urge as absolutely necessary a luxuriant vegetation,
when we see a state of things so totally different at the Cape
of Good Hope.
We knowf that the extreme regions of North America, many
degrees beyond the limit where the ground at the depth of a few
feet remains perpetually congealed, are covered by forests of
large and tall trees. In a like manner, in Siberia, we have
woods of birch, fir, aspen, and larch, growing in a iatitudej
(64), where the mean temperature of the air falls below the
freezing point, and where the earth is so completely frozen, that
* If we suppose the case of the discovery of a skeleton of a Greenland
frhale in u fossil state, not a single cetaceous animal being known to exist,
what naturalist would have ventured conjecture on the possibility of a car-
cass so gigantic being supported on the minute Crustacea and mollusca living
in the frozen seas of the extreme North ?
t See Zoological Remarks to Capt. Back's Expedition, by Dr. Richardson.
He says, " The subsoil north of latitude 50 is perpetually frozen, the thaw
ou the coast not penetrating above three feet, and at Bear Lake, in latitude
64, not more than twenty inches. The frozen substratum does not of itself
destroy vegetation, fur forests flourish on the surface, at a distance from the
coast."
J See Humboldt, Fragment Asiatvques, p. 386 : Barton's Geography of
Plants : and Malte Brun. In the latter work it is said that the limit of the
growth of trees in Siberia may be drawn under the parallel of 70.
1833.] SOUTH AMERICAN OSTRICH. 89
the carcass of an animal embedded in it is perfectly preserved.
With these facts we must grant, as far as quantity alone of vege
lation is concerned, that the great quadrupeds of the later ter-
tiary epochs might, in most parts of Northern Europe and Asia,
have lived on the spots where their remains are now found. 1
do not here speak of the kind of vegetation necessary for their
support ; because, as there is evidence of physical changes, and
as the animals have become extinct, so may we suppose that the
species of plants have likewise been changed.
These remarks, I may be permitted to add, directly bear on
the case of the Siberian animals preserved in ice. The firm con-
viction of the necessity of a vegetation possessing a character of
tropical luxuriance, to support such large animals, and the im-
possibility of reconciling this with the proximity of perpetual
congelation, was one chief cause of the several theories of sudden
revolutions of climate, and of overwhelming catastrophes, which
were invented to account for their entombment. I am far from
supposing that the climate has not changed since the period
when those animals lived, which now lie buried in the ice. At
present I only wish to show, that as far as quantity of food alone
is concerned, the ancient rhinoceroses might have roamed over
the steppes of central Siberia (the northern parts probably being
under water) even in their present condition, as well as the
living rhinoceroses and elephants over the Karros of Southern
Africa.
I will now give an account of the habits of some of the more
interesting birds which are common on the wild plains of North-
ern Patagonia ; and first for the largest, or South American
ostrich. The ordinary habits of the ostrich are familiar to every
one. They live on vegetable matter, such as roots and grass ;
but at Bahia Blanca I have repeatedly seen three or four come
down at low water to the extensive mud-banks which are then
dry, for the sake, as the Gauchos say, of feeding on small fish.
Although the ostrich in its habits is so shy, wary, and solitary,
and although so fleet in its pace, it is caught without much dif-
ficulty by the Indian or Gaucho armed with the bolas. When
several horsemen appear in a semicircle, it becomes confounded,
and does not know which way to escape. They generally prclei
90 BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. v.
running against the wind ; yet at the first start they expand
their wings, and like a vessel make all sail. On one fine hoi
day I saw several ostriches enter a bed of tall rushes, where they
squatted concealed, till quite closely approached. It is not gene-
rally known that ostriches readily take to the water. Mr. King
informs me that at the Bay of San Bias, and at Port Valdes in
Patagonia, he saw these birds swimming several times from
island to island. They ran into the water both when driven
down to a point, and likewise of their own accord when not
frightened : the distance crossed was about two hundred yards.
When swimming, very little of their bodies appear above water ;
their necks are extended a little forward, and their progress is
slow. On two occasions I saw some ostriches swimming across
the Santa Cruz river, where its course was about four hundred
yards wide, and the stream rapid. Captain Sturt,* when de-
scending the Murrumbidgee, in Australia, saw two emus in the
act of swimming.
The inhabitants of the country readily distinguish, even at a
distance, the cock bird from the hen. The former is larger and
darker-coloured,t and has a bigger head. The ostrich, I believe
the cock, emits a singular, deep-toned, hissing note: when first
I heard it, standing in the midst of some sand-hillocks, I thought
it was made by some wild beast, for it is a sound that one cannot
tell whence it comes, or from how far distant. When we were
at Bahia Blanca in the months of September and October, the
eggs, in extraordinary numbers, were found all over the country.
They lie either scattered and single, in which case they are
never hatched, and are called by the Spaniards huachos ; or they
are collected together into a shallow excavation, which forms the
nest. Out of the four nests which I saw, three contained twenty-
two eggs each, and the fourth twenty-seven. In one day's
hunting on horseback sixty-four eggs were found ; forty-four of
these were in two nests, and the remaining twenty, scattered
huachos. The Gauchos unanimously affirm, and there is no
reason to doubt their statement, that the male bird alone hatches
the eggs, and for some time afterwards accompanies the young.
* Sturt's Travels, vol. ii. p. 74.
f A Gauche assured me that he had once seen a snow-white or Albino
rariety, and that it was a most beautiful bird.
1833.] HABITS OF THE OSTRICH. 91
The cock when on the nest lies very close ; I have myself almost
ridden over one. It is asserted that at such times they are occa-
sionally fierce, and even dangerous, and that they have been
known to attack a man on horseback, trying to kick and leap on
him. My informer pointed out to me an old man, whom he had
seen much terrified by one chasing him. I observe in Burchell's
travels in South Africa, that he remarks, " Having killed a male
ostrich, and the feathers being dirty, it was said by the Hoi ten-
tots to be a nest bird." I understand that the male emu in the
Zoological Gardens takes charge of the nest: this habit, there-
fore, is common to the family.
The Gauchos unanimously affirm that several females lay in
one nest. I have been positively told that four or five hen birds
have been watched to go in the middle of the day, one after the
other, to the same nest. I may add, also, that it is believed in
Africa, that two or more females lay in one nest.* Although
this habit at first appears very strange, I think the cause may
be explained in a simple manner. The number of eggs in thp
nest vanes from twenty to forty, and even to fifty ; and accord-
ing to Azara, sometimes to seventy or eighty. Now although
it is most probable, from the number of eggs found in one dis-
trict being so extraordinarily great in proportion to the parent
birds, and likewise from the state of the ovarium of the hen, that
she may in the course of the season lay a large number, yet the
time required must be very long. Azara states,| that a female
in a state of domestication laid seventeen eggs, each at the inter-
val of three days one from another. If the hen was obliged to
hatch her own eggs, before the last was laid the first probably
would be addled ; but if each laid a few eggs at successive
periods, in different nests, and several hens, as is stated to be the
case, combined together, then the eggs in one collection would
be nearly of the same age. If the number of eggs in one of
these nests is, as I believe, not greater on an average than the
number laid by one female in the season, then there must be as
many nests as females, and each cock bird will have its fair share
of the labour of incubation ; and that during a period when the
* Burchell's Travels, vol. i. p. 280.
f Azara, vol. iv. p. 1 73.
92 BAHIA BLANC A. [CHAP. v.
females probably could not sit, from net having finished laying.*
I have before mentioned the great numbers of huachos, or de-
serted eggs ; so that in one day's hunting twenty were found in
this state. It appears odd that so many should be wasted. Does
it not arise from the difficulty of several females associating to-
gether, and finding a male ready to undertake the office of incu-
bation ? It is evident that there must at first be some degree of
association between at least two females ; otherwise the eggs
would remain scattered over the wide plains, at distances far too
great to allow of the male collecting them into one nest : some
authors have believed that the scattered eggs were deposited for
the young birds to feed on. This can hardly be the case in
America, because the huachos, although often found addled and
putrid, are generally whole.
When at the Rio Negro in Northern Patagonia, I repeatedly
heard the Gauchos talking of a very rare bird which they called
Avestruz Petise. They described it as being less than the com-
mon ostrich (which is there abundant), but with a very close
general resemblance. They said its colour was dark and mottled,
and that its legs were shorter, and feathered lower down than
those of the common ostrich. It is more easily caught by the
bolas than the other species. The few inhabitants who had seen
both kinds, affirmed they could distinguish them apart from a
long distance. The eggs of the small species appeared, however,
more generally known ; and it was remarked, with surprise, that
they were very little less than those of the Rhea, but of a slightly
different form, and with a tinge of pale blue. This species occurs
most rarely on the plains bordering the Rio Negro ; but about a
degree and a half further south they are tolerably abundant.
When at Port Desire, in Patagonia (lat. 48), Mr. Martens
shot an ostrich ; and I looked at it, forgetting at the moment,
in the most unaccountable manner, the whole subject of the
Petises, and thought it was a not full-grown bird of the com-
mon sort. It was cooked and eaten before my memory returned
* Liechtenstein, however, asserts (Travels, vol. ii. p. 25) that the hens b^gk
sitting when they have laid ten or twelve eggs ; and that they continue
laying, I presume, in another nest. This appears to me very improbable
He asserts that four or five hens associate for incubation with one cock, who
site only at night
1833.] THE AVESTRUZ PETISE. 93
Fortunately the head, neck, legs, wings, many of the larger
feathers, and a large part of the skin, had been preserved ; and
from these a very nearly perfect specimen has been put together,
and is now exhibited in the museum of the Zoological Society.
Mr. Gould, in describing this new species, has done me the
honour of calling it after my name.
Among the Patagonian Indians in the Strait of Magellan, we
found a half Indian, who had lived some years with the tribe,
but had been born in the northern provinces. I asked him if he
had ever heard of the Avestruz Petise ? He answered by saying,
" Why there are none others in these southern countries." He
informed me that the number of eggs in the nest of the petise
is considerably less than in that of the other kind, namely, not
more than fifteen on an average ; but he asserted that more than
one female deposited them. At Santa Cruz we saw several of
these birds. They were excessively wary : I think they could
see a person approaching when too far off to be distinguished
themselves. In ascending the river few were seen ; but in our
quiet and rapid descent, many, in pairs and by fours or fives,
were observed. It was remarked that this bird did not expand
its win^s, when first starting at full speed, after the manner of
the northern kind. In conclusion I may observe, that the Stru-
thio rhea inhabits the country of La Plata as far as a little south
of the Rio Negro in lat. 41, and that the Struthio Darwinii
takes its place in Southern Patagonia ; the part about the Rio
Negro being neutral territory. M. A. d'Orbigny,* when at the
Rio Negro, made great exertions to procure this bird, but never
had the good fortune to succeed. Dobrizhoffer f long ago was
aware of there being two kinds of ostriches ; he says, " You
must know, moreover, that Emus differ in size and habits in
different tracts of land; for those that inhabit the plains of
Buenos Ayres and Tucuman are larger, and have black, white,
and gray feathers; those near to the Strait of Magellan are
smaller and more beautiful, for their white feathers are tipped
* When at the Rio Negro, we heard much of the indefatigable labours of
iLis naturalist. M. Alcide d'Orbigny, during the years 1825 to 1833, tra-
versed several large portions of South America, and has made a collection,
and is now publishing the results on a scale of magnificence, which at once
places himself in the list of American travellers second only to Humbolit.
< Account of the Abipones, A.D. 1749, vol. i. (English translation), p. 314
94 BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. v.
with black at the extremity, and their black ones in like manner
terminate in white."
A very singular little bird, Tinochorus rumicivorus, is here
common : in its habits and general appearance, it nearly equally
partakes of the characters, different as they are, of the quail and
snipe. The Tinochorus is found in the whole of southern South
America, wherever there are sterile plains, or open dry pasture
land. It frequents in pairs or small flocks the most desokte
places, where scarcely another living creature can exist. Upon
being approached they squat close, and then are very difficult to
be distinguished from the ground. When feeding they walk
rather slowly, with their legs wide apart. They dust themselves
in roads and sandy places, and frequent particular spots, where
they may be found day after day : like partridges, they take wing
in a flock. In all these respects, in the muscular gizzard adapted
for vegetable food, in the arched beak and fleshy nostrils, short
legs and form of foot, the Tinochorus has a close affinity with
quails. But as soon as the bird is seen flying, its whole appear-
ance changes ; the long pointed wings, so different from those in
the gallinaceous order, the irregular manner of flight, and plain-
tive cry uttered at the moment of rising, recal the idea of a
snipe. The sportsmen of the Beagle unanimously called it the
short-billed snipe. To this genus, or rather to the family of the
Waders, its skeleton shows that it is really related.
The Tinochorus is closely related to some other South Ame-
rican birds. Two species of the genus Attagis are in almost
every respect ptarmigans in their habits ; one lives in Tierra del
Fuego, above the limits of the forest land ; and the other jusi
beneath the snow-line on the Cordillera of Central Chile. A
bird of another closely allied genus, Chionis alba, is an inha-
bitant of the antarctic regions ; it feeds on sea-weed and shells
on the tidal rocks. Although not web-footed, from some unac-
countable habit, it is frequently met with far out at sea. This
small family of birds is one of those which, from its varied rela-
tions to other families, although at present offering only difficul-
ties to the systematic naturalist, ultimately may assist in revealing
the grand scheme, common to the present and past ages, on
which organized beings have been created.
1833.] THE OVEN-BIRD. 95
The genus Furnarius contains several species, all small birds,
living on the ground, and inhabiting open dry countries. In
structure they cannot be compared to any European form. Or-
nithologists have generally included them among the creepers,
although opposed to that family in every habit. The best known
species is the common oven-bird of La Plata, the Casara or
housemaker of the Spaniards. The nest, whence it takes its
name, is placed in the most exposed situations, as on the top of
a post, a bare rock, or on a cactus. It is composed of mud and
bits of straw, and has strong thick walls : in shape it precisely
resembles an oven, or depressed beehive. The opening is large
and arched, and directly in front, within the nest, there is a
partition, which reaches nearly to the roof, thus forming a passage
or antechamber to the true nest.
Another and smaller species of Furnarius (F. cunicularius),
resembles the oven-bird in the general reddish tint of its plu-
mage, in a peculiar shrill reiterated cry, and in an odd manner
of running by starts. From its affinity, the Spaniards call it
Casarita (or little housebuilder), although its nidification is
quite different. The Casarita builds its nest at the bottom of a
narrow cylindrical hole, which is said to extend horizontally to
nearly six feet under ground. Several of the country people
told !">, that when boys, they had attempted to dig out the nest,
but had scarcely ever succeeded in getting to the end of the
passage.- The bird chooses any low bank of firm sandy soil by
the side of a road or stream. Here (at Bahia Blanca) the walls
round the houses are built of hardened mud ; and I noticed that
one, which enclosed a courtyard where I lodged, was bored
through by round holes in a score of places. On asking the
owner the cause of this, he bitterly complained of the little
casarita, several of which I afterwards observed at work. It is
rather curious to find how incapable these birds must be of ac-
quiring any notion of thickness, for although they were con-
stantly flitting over the low wall, they continued vainly to
bore through it, thinking it an excellent bank for their nests. 1
do not doubt that each bird, as often as it came to daylight on
the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the marvellous fact.
I have already mentioned nearly all the mammalia common
hi this country Of armadilloes three species occur, namely,
BAIIIA BLAXCA. [CHAP. v.
the L>asypus mitnitus or picky, the D. villosus or peludo, and
the npar. The first extends ten degrees further south than any
otner kind : a fourth species, the Mulita, does not come as far
south as Bahia Blanca. The four species have nearly similar
habits; the peludo, however, is nocturnal, while the others
wander by day over the open plains, feeding on beetles, larvae,
roots, and even small snakes. The apar, commonly called ma-
tnco, is remarkable by having only three moveable bands ; the
rest of its tesselated covering being nearly inflexible. It has the
power of rolling itself into a perfect sphere, like one kind oi
English woodlouse. In this state it is safe from the attack of
dogs ; for the dog not being able to take the whole in its mouth,
tries to bite one side, and the ball slips away. The smooth hard
covering of the mataco offers a better defence than the sharp
spines of the hedgehog. The pichy prefers a very dry soil ; and
the sand-dunes near the coast, where for many months it can
never taste water, is its favourite resort : it often tries to escape
notice, by squatting close to the ground. In the course of a
day's ride, near Bahia Blanca, several were generally met with.
The instant one was perceived, it was necessary, in order to
catch it, almost to tumble off one's horse ; for in soft soil the
animal burrowed so quickly, that its hinder quarters would
almost disappear before one could alight. It seems almost a
pity to kill such nice little animals, for as a Gaucho said, while
sharpening his knife on the back of one, " Son tan -mansos"
(they are so quiet).
Of reptiles there are many .kinds : one snake (a Trigono-
cephalus, or Cophias), from the size of the poison channel in its
fangs, must be very deadly. Cuvier, in opposition to some other
naturalists, makes this a sub-genus of the rattlesnake, and inter-
mediate between it and the viper. In confirmation of this opi-
nion, I observed a fact, which appears to me very curious and
instructive, as showing how every character, even though it may
be in some degree independent of structure, has a tendency to
vary by slow degrees. The extremity of the tail of this snake
is terminated by a point, which is very slightly enlarged ; and
as the animal glides along, it constantly vibrates the last inch ;
and this part striking against the dry grass and brushwood, pro-
duces a rattling noise, which can be distinctly heard at the dis-
1833.] CURIOUS SNAKE. 97
taiice of six feet. As often as the animal was irritated 01
surprised, its tail was shaken ; and the vibrations were extremely
rapid. Even as long as the body retained its irritability, a
tendency to this habitual movement was evident. This Trigo-
nocephalus has, therefore, in some respects the structure of a
/iper, with the habits of a rattlesnake : the noise, however, being
produced by a simpler device. The expression of this snake's
face was hideous and fierce ; the pupil consisted of a vertical slit
In a mottled and coppery iris ; the jaws were broad at the base,
and the nose terminated in a triangular projection. I do not
think I ever saw any thing more ugly, excepting, perhaps,
some of the vampire bats. I imagine this repulsive aspect ori-
ginates from the features being placed in positions, with respect
to each other, somewhat proportional to those of the human
face ; and thus we obtain a scale of hideousness.
Amongst the Batrachian reptiles, I found only one little toari
(Phryniscus nigricans), which was most singular from its colour.
If we imagine, first, that it had been steeped in the blackest ink,
and then, when dry, allowed to crawl over a board, freshly
painted with the brightest vtrnnllion, so as to colour the soles oi
its feet and parts of its stomach, a good idea of its appearance
will be gained. If it had been an unnamed species, surely it
ought to have been called Diabolicus, for it is a fit toad to
preach in the ear of Eve. Instead of being nocturnal in its
habits, as other toads are, and living in damp obscure recesses,
it crawls during the heat of the day about the dry sand-hillocks
and arid plains, where not a single drop of water can be found.
It must necessarily depend on the dew for its moisture ; and this
probably is absorbed by the skin, for it is known, that these
reptiles possess great powers of cutaneous absorption. At Mal-
donado, I found one in a situation nearly as dry as at Bahia
Blanca, and thinking to give it a great treat, carried it to a pool
of water ; not only was the little animal unable to swim, but, I
think without help it would soon have been drowned.
Of lizards there were many kinds, but only one (Proctotretus
multimaculatus) remarkable from its habits. It lives on the
bare sand near the sea coast, and from its mottled colour, the
brownish scales being 1 speckled with white, yellowish red, and
dirty blue, can hardly be distinguished from the surrounding
BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP.
surface. When frightened, it attempts to avoid discovery by
feigning death, with outstretched legs, depressed body, and
closed eyes : if further molested, it buries itself with great quick-
ness in the loose sand. This lizard, from its flattened body and
short legs, cannot run quickly.
I will here add a few remarks on the hybernation of animals
in this part of South America. When we first arrived at Bahia
Blanca, September 7th, 1832, we thought nature had granted
scarcely a living creature to this sandy and dry country. By
digging, however, in the ground, several insects, large spiders,
and lizards were found in a half torpid state. On the 15th, a
few animals began to appear, and by the 18th (three days from
the equinox), every thing announced the commencement of
spring. The plains were ornamented by the flowers of a pink
wood-sorrel, wild peas, cenotherge, and geraniums ; and the birds
began to lay their eggs. Numerous Lamellicorn and Hetero-
merous insects, the latter remarkable for their deeply sculptured
bodies, were slowly crawling about ; while the lizard tribe, the
constant inhabitants of a sandy soil, darted about in every direc-
tion. During the first eleven aays, whilst nature was dormant,
the mean temperature taken from observations made every two
hours on board the Beagle, was 51; and in the middle of the
day the thermometer seldom ranged above 55. On the eleven
succeeding days, in which all living things became so animated,
the mean was 58, and the range in the middle of the day between
sixty and seventy. Here then an increase of seven degrees in
mean temperature, but a greater one of extreme heat, was suffi-
cient to awake the functions of life. At Monte Video, from
which we had just before sailed, in the twenty-three days included
between the 26th of July and the 19th of August, the mean
temperature from 276 observations was 58.4 ; the mean hottest
day being es .^, and the coldest 46. The lowest point to
which the thermometer fell was 41.5, and occasionally in the
middle of the day it rose to 69 or 70. Yet with this high
temperature, almost every beetle, several genera of spiders,
snails, and land-shells, toads and lizards were all lying torpid
beneath stones. But we have seen that at Bahia Blanca, which
is four degrees southward, and therefore with a climate only a
i r ery little coluer, this same temperature with a rather less ox-
1833.] SEA-PEN.
treme heat, was sufficient to awake all orders of animated beings.
This shows how nicely the stimulus required to arouse hybernat-
ing animals is governed by the usual climate of the district, and
not by the absolute heat. It is well known that within the
tropics, the hybernation, or more properly aestivation, of animals
is determined not by the temperature, but by the times of
drought. Near Rio de Janeiro, I was at first surprised to ob-
serve, that, a few days after some little depressions had been
filled with water, they were peopled by numerous full-grown
shells and beetles, which must have been lying dormant. Hum-
boldt has related the strange accident of a hovel having been
erected over a spot where a young crocodile lay buried in the
hardened mud. He adds, " The Indians often find enormous
boas, which they call Uji, or water serpents, in the same lethar-
gic state. To reanimate them, they must be irritated or wetted
with water."
I will only mention one other animal, a zoophyte (I believe
Virgularia Patagonica) a kind of sea-pen. It consists of a thin,
straight, fleshy stem, with alternate rows of polypi on each side,
and surrounding an elastic stony axis, varying in length from
eight inches to two feet. The stem at one extremity is truncate,
but at the other is terminated by a vermiform fleshy appendage.
The stony axis which gives strength to the stem may be traced
at this extremity into a mere vessel filled with granular matter.
At low water hundreds of these zoophytes might be seen, pro-
jecting like stubble, with the truncate end upwards, a few inches
above the surface of the muddv sajid. When touched or pulled
they suddenly drew themselves in with force, so as nearly or
quite to disappear. By this action, the highly elastic axis must
be bent at the lower extremity, where it is naturally slightly
curved ; and I imagine it is by this elasticity alone that the
zoophyte is enabled to rise again through the mud. Each poly-
pus, though closely united to its brethren, has a distinct mouth,
body, and tentacula. Of these polypi, in a large specimen,
there must be many thousands ; yet we see that they act by one
movement : they have also one central axis connected with a
system of obscure circulation, and the ova are produced in an
organ distinct from the separate individuals.* Well may one be
* The cavities leading from the fleshy compartments of the extremity,
100 BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. v.
allowed to ask, what is an individual ? It is always interesting to
discover the foundation of the strange tales of the old voyagers ;
and I have no doubt but that the habits of this Virgularia explain
one such case. Captain Lancaster, in his voyage* in 1601, nar-
rates that on the sea-sands of the Island of Sombrero, in the
East Indies, he " found a small twig growing up like a young
tree, and on offering to pluck it up it shrinks down to the ground,
and sinks, unless held very hard. On being plucked up, a great
worm is found to be its root, and as the tree groweth in great-
ness, so doth the worm diminish ; and as soon as the worm is
entirely turned into a tree it rooteth in the earth, and so becomes
great. This transformation is one of the strangest wonders
that I saw in all my travels : for if this tree is plucked up, while
young, and the leaves and bark stripped off, it becomes a hard
stone when dry, much like white coral : thus is this worm twice
transformed into different natures. Of these we gathered and
brought home many."
During my stay at Bahia Blanca, while waiting for the Beagle,
the place was in a constant state of excitement, from rumours of
wars and victories, between the troops of Rosas and the wild
Indians. One day an account came that a small party forming
one of the postas on the line to Buenos Ayres, had been found
all murdered. The next day three hundred men arrived from
the Colorado, under the command of Commandant Miranda. A
large portion of these men were Indian* (mansos, or tame),
belonging to the tribe of the Cacique Bernantio. They passed
were filled with a yellow pulpy matter, which, examined under a micro-
scope, presented an extraordinary appearance. The mass consisted of
rounded, semi-transparent, irregular grains, aggregated together into par-
ticles of various sizes. All such particles, and the separate grains, possessed
the power of rapid movement ; generally revolving around different axes,
but sometimes progressive. The movement was visible with a very weak
power, but even with the highest its cause could not be perceived. It was
very different from the circulation of the fluid in the elastic bag, containing
the thin extremity of the axis. On other occasions, when dissecting small
marine animals beneath the microscope, I have seen particles of pulpy mat-
ter, eome of large size, as soon as they were disengaged, commence revolv-
ing. I have imagined, I know not with how much truth, that this grannlo-
pulpy matter was in process of being converted into ova. Certainly in thJe
Koophyte such appeared to be the case.
* Kerr s Collection of Voyages, vol. viii. p. 119.
1833.] EXPEDITION AGAINST THE INDIANS. 101
the night here ; and it was impossible to conceive any thing
more wild and savage than the scene of their bivouac. Some
drank till they were intoxicated ; others swallowed the steaming
blood of the cattle slaughtered for their suppers, and then, being
sick from drunkenness, they cast it up again, and were besmeared
with filth and gore.
Nam simul expletus dapibus, vinoque sepultus
Cervicem inflexam posuit, jacuitque per antrum
Immensus, saniem eructans, ac frusta cruenta
Per SOIUQUIU commixta mero.
In the morning they started for the scene of the murder, with
orders to follow the " rastro," or track, even if it led them to
Chile. We subsequently heard that the wild Indians had escaped
into the great Pampas, and from some cause the track had been
missed. One glance at the rastro tells these people a whole
history. Supposing they examine the track of a thousand horses,
they will soon guess the number of mounted ones by seeing how
many have cantered ; by the depth of the other impressions,
whether any horses were loaded with cargoes ; by the irregularity
of the footsteps, how far tired ; by the manner in which the food
has been cooked, whether the pursued travelled in haste ; by the
general appearance, how long it has been since they passed.
They consider a rastro of ten days or a fortnight, quite recent
enough to be hunted out. We also heard that Miranda struck
from the west end of the Sierra Ventana, in a direct line to the
island of Cholechel, situated seventy leagues up the Rio Negro.
This is a distance of between two and three hundred miles,
through a country completely unknown. What other troops in
the world are so independent ? With the sun for their guide,
mares' flesh for food, their saddle-cloths for beds, as long as
there is a little water, these men would penetrate to the end of
the world.
A few days afterwards I saw another troop of these banditti-
like soldiers start on an expedition against a tribe of Indians at
the small Salinas, who had been betrayed by a prisoner cacique.
The Spaniard who brought the orders for this expedition was a
very intelligent man. He gave me an account of the last engage-
ment at which he was present. Some Indians, who had been
taken prisoners, gave information of a tribe living north of the
102 " BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. T.
Colorado. Two hundred soldiers were sent ; and they first dis-
covered the Jndians by a cloud of dust from their horses' feet,
as they chanced to be travelling 1 . The country was mountainous
and wild, and it must have been far in the interior, for the
Cordillera were in sight. The Indians, men, women, and children,
were about one hundred and ten in number, and they were nearly
all taken or killed, for the soldiers sabre every man. The Indians
are now so terrified that they offer no resistance in a body, but
each flies, neglecting- even his wife and children ; but when over-
taken, like wild animals, they fight against any number to the
last moment. One dying Indian seized with his teeth the thumb
of his adversary, and allowed his own eye to be forced out sooner
than relinquish his hold. Another, who was wounded, feigned
death, keeping a knife ready to strike one more fatal blow. My
informer said, when he was pursuing an Indian, the man cried
out for mercy, at the same time that he was covertly loosing the
bolas from his waist, meaning to whirl it round his head and so
strike his pursuer. " I however struck him with my sabre to
the ground, and then got off my horse, and cut his throat with
my knife." This is a dark picture ; but how much more shock-
ing is the unquestionable fact, that all the women who appear
above twenty years old are massacred in cold blood ! When I
exclaimed that this appeared rather inhuman, he answered,
" Why, what can be done ? they breed so !"
Every one here is fully convinced that this is the most just
war, because it is against barbarians. Who would believe in
this age that such atrocities could be committed in a Christian
civilized country ? The children of the Indians are saved, to be
sold or given away as servants, or rather slaves for as long a time
as the owners can make them believe themselves slaves ; but I
believe in their treatment there is little to complain of.
In the battle four men ran away togther. They were pursued,
one was killed, and the other three were taken alive. They
turned out to be messengers or ambassadors from a large body oi
Indians, united in the common cause of defence, near the Cor-
dillera. The tribe to which they had been sent was on the point
of holding a grand council ; the feast of mare's flesh was ready,
and the dance prepared : in the morning the ambassadors were
to have returned to the Cordillera. They were remarkably fine
1833.] CAPTIVE INDIANS. 103
men, very fair, above six feet high? and all under thirty years oi
age. The three survivors of course possessed very valuable
information ; and to extort this they were placed in a line. The
two first being questioned, answered, " No se " (I do not know),
and were one after the other shot. The third also said " No se ;"
adding, " Fire, I am a man, and can die !" Not one syllable
would they breathe to injure the united cause of their country !
The conduct of the above-mentioned cacique was very different :
he saved his life by betraying the intended plan of warfare, and
the point of union in the Andes. It was believed that there
were already six or seven hundred Indians together, and that in
summer their numbers would be doubled. Ambassadors were to
have been sent to the Indians at the small Salinas, near Bahia
Blanca, whom I have mentioned that this same cacique had
betrayed. The communication, therefore, between the Indians,
extends from the Cordillera to the coast of the Atlantic.
General Rosas's plan is to kill all stragglers, and having
driven the remainder to a common point, to attack them in a
body, in the summer, with the assistance of the Chilenos. This
operation is to be repeated for three successive years. I imagine
the summer is chosen as the time for the main attack, because
the plains are then without water, and the Indians can only
travel in particular directions. The escape of the Indians to the
south of the Rio Negro, where in such a vast unknown country
they would be safe, is prevented by a treaty with the Tehuelches
to this effect ; that Rosas pays them so much to slaughter every
Indian who passes to the south of the river, but if they fail in so
doing, they themselves are to be exterminated. The war is
waged chiefly against the Indians near the Cordillera ; for many
of the tribes on this eastern side are fighting with Rosas. The
general, however, like Lord Chesterfield, thinking that his friends
may in a future day become his enemies, always places them in
the front ranks, so that their numbers may be thinned. Since
leaving South America we have heard that this war of exter-
mination completely failed.
Among the captive girls taken in the same engagement, there
were two very pretty Spanish ones, who had been carried away
by the Indians when young, and could now only speak the
Indian tongue. From their account they must have come from
8
104 BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. v.
Salta, a distance in a straight line of nearly one thousand miles.
This gives one a grand idea of the immense territory over which
the Indians roam : yet, great as it is, I think there will not, in
another half-century, be a wild Indian northward of the Rio
Negro. The warfare is too bloody to last ; the Christians killing
every Indian, and the Indians doing the same by the Christians.
It is melancholy to trace how the Indians have given way before
the Spanish invaders. Schirdel* says that in 1535, when Buenos
Ayres was founded, there were villages containing two and three
thousand inhabitants. Even in Falconer's time (1750) the
Indians made inroads as far as Luxan, Areco, and Arrecife, but
now they are driven beyond the Salado. Not only have whole
tribes been exterminated, but the remaining Indians have
become more barbarous : instead of living in large villages, and
being employed in the arts of fishing, as well as of the chace,
they now wander about the open plains, without home or fixed
occupation.
I heard also some account of an engagement which took place,
a few weeks previously to the one mentioned, at Cholechel.
This is a very important station on account of being a pass for
horses; and it was, in consequence, for some time the head-
quarters of a division of the army. When the troops first arrived
there they found a tribe of Indians, of whom they killed twenty
or thirty. The cacique escaped in a manner which astonished
every one. The chief Indians always have one or two picked
horses, which they keep ready for any urgent occasion. On one
of these, an old white horse, the cacique sprung, taking with
him his little son. The horse had neither saddle nor bridle.
To avoid the shots, the Indian rode in the peculiar method of
his nation ; namely, with an arm round the horse's neck, and
one leg only on its back. Thus hanging on one side, he was
seen patting the horse's head, and talking to him. The pur-
suers urged every effort in the chace ; the Commandant three
times changed his horse, but all in vain. The old Indian father
and his son escaped, and were free. What a fire picture one
can form in one's mind, the naked, bronze-like figure of the
* Pumhas's Collection of Voyages. I believe the date was really
1833.] ANTIQUARIAN RELIC. 105
old man with his little boy, riding like a Mazeppa on the white
horse, thus leaving far behind him the host of his pursuers !
I saw one day a soldier striking fire with a piece of flint,
which I immediately recognised as having been a part of the
head of an arrow. He told me it was found near the island of
Cholechel, and that they are frequently picked up there. It
was between two and three inches long, and therefore twice as
large as those now used in Tierra del Fuego : it was made of
opake cream-coloured flint, but the point and barbs had been
intentionally broken off. It is well known that no Pampas
Indians now use bows and arrows. I believe a small tribe in
Banda Oriental must be excepted ; but they are widely separated
from the Pampas Indians, and border uiose on those tribes that
inhabit the forest, and live on foot. It appears, therefore, that
these arrow-heads are antiquarian* relics of the Indians, before
the great change in habits consequent on the introduction of the
horse into South America.
* Azara haa even doubted whether the Pampas Iiidians ever used bows.
106 BAHIA BLANCA. [CHAP. vi.
CHAPTER VI.
Set out for Buenos Ayres Rio Sauce Sierra Ventana Third Posta
Driving Horses Bolas Partridges and Foxes Features of the Country
Long-legged Plover Teru-tero Hail-storm Natural Enclosures in the
Sierra Tapalguen Flesh of Puma Meat Diet Guardia del Monte-
Effects of Cattle on the Vegetation Cardoon Buenos Ayres Corral
where Cattle are slaughtered-
BAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES
SEPTEMBER 8th. I hired a Gaucho to accompany me on my
ride to Buenos Ayres, though with some difficulty, as the father
of one man was afraid to let him go, and another, who seemed
willing, was described to me as so fearful, that I was afraid to
take him, for I was told that even if he saw an ostrich at a dis-
tance, he would mistake it for an Indian, and would fly like the
wind away. The distance to Buenos Ayres is about four hun-
dred miles, and nearly the whole way through an uninhabited
country. We started early in the morning ; ascending a few
hundred feet from the basin of green turf on which Bahia Blanca
stands, we entered on a wide desolate plain. It consists of a
crumbling argillaceo-calcareous rock, which, from the dry nature
of the climate, supports only scattered tufts of withered grass.
without a single bush or tree to break the monotonous uniformity.
The weather was fine, but the atmosphere remarkably hazy ; I
thought the appearance foreboded a gale, but the Gauchos said
it was owing to the plain, at some great distance in the interior,
being on fire. After a long gallop, having changed horses twice,
we reached the Rio Sauce : it is a deep, rapid, little stream,
not above twenty-five feet wide. The second posta on the
road to Buenos Ayres stands on its banks ; a little above there is
a ford for horses, where the water does not reach to the horses'
belly ; but from that point, in its course to the sea, it is quite
impassable, and hence makes a most useful barrier against the
Indians.
1833.] SIERRA VENT AN A. IOY
Insignificant as this stream is, the Jesuit Falconer, whose
information is generally so very correct, figures it as a consider-
able river, rising at the foot of the Cordillera. With respect
to its source, I do not doubt that this is the case ; for the Gau-
chos assured me, that in the middle of the dry summer, this
stream, at the same time with the Colorado, has periodical floods ;
which can only originate in the snow melting on the Andes. It
is extremely improbable that a stream so small as the Sauce
then was, should traverse the entire width of the continent ; and
indeed, if it were the residue of ja. large river, its waters, as in
other ascertained cases, would be saline. During the winter
we must look to the springs round the Sierra Ventana as the
source of its pure and limpid stream. I suspect the plains of
Patagonia, like those of Australia, are traversed by many water-
courses, which only perform their proper parts at certain periods.
Probably this is the case with the water which flows into the
head of Port Desire, and likewise with the Rio Chupat, on the
banks of which masses of highly cellular scoriae were found by
the officers employed in the survey.
As it was early in the afternoon when we arrived, we took
fresh horses, and a soldier for a guide, and started for the Sierra
de la Ventana. This mountain is visible from the anchorage
at Bahia Blanca ; and Capt. Fitz Roy calculates its height to be
3340 feet an altitude very remarkable on this eastern side of
the continent. I am not aware that any foreigner, previous to
my visit, had ascended this mountain ; and indeed very few of
the soldiers at Bahia Blanca knew anything about it. Hence
we heard of beds of coal, of gold and silver, of caves, and of
forests, all of which inflamed my curiosity, only to disappoint it.
The distance from the posta was about six leagues, over a level
plain of the same character as before. The ride was, however,
interesting, as the mountain began to show its true form. "When
we reached the foot of the main ridge, we had much difficulty in
finding any water, and we thought we should have been obliged
to have passed the night without any. At last we discovered
some by looking close to the mountain, for at the distance even
of a few hundred yards, the streamlets were buried and entirely
lost in. die friable calcareous stone and loose detritus. I do not
think Nature ever made a more solitary, desolate pile of rock ;
108 BAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES. [CHAP. vi.
it well deserves its name of Hurtado, or separated. The
mountain is steep, extremely rugged, and broken, and so entirely
destitute of trees, and even bushes, that we actually could not
make a skewer to stretch out our meat over the fire of thistle-
stalks.* The strange aspect of this mountain is contrasted by
the sea-like plain, which not only abuts against its steep sides,
but likewise separates the parallel ranges. The uniformity of
the colouring gives an extreme quietness to the view ; the whit-
ish grey of the quartz rock, and the light brown of the withered
grass of the plain, being unrelieved by any brighter tint. From
custom, one expects to see in the neighbourhood of a lofty and
bold mountain, a broken country strewed over with huge frag-
ments. Here nature shows that the last movement before the
bed of the sea is changed into dry land may sometimes be one
of tranquillity. Under these circumstances I was curious to
observe how far from the parent rock any pebbles could be found.
On the shores of Bahia Blanca, and near the settlement, there
were some of quartz, which certainly must have come from thi?
source : the distance is forty-five miles.
The dew, which in the early part of the night wetted the
saddle-cloths under which we slept, was in the morning frozen.
The plain, though appearing horizontal, had insensibly sloped
up to a height of between 800 and 900 feet above the sea. In
the morning (9th of September) the guide told me to ascend the
nearest ridge, which he thought would lead me to the four peaks
that crown the summit. The climbing up such rough rocks was
very fatiguing ; the sides were so indented, that what was gained
in one five minutes was often lost in the next. At last, when I
reached the ridge, my disappointment was extreme in finding a
precipitous valley as deep as the plain, which cut the chain trans-
versely in two, and separated me from the four points. This
valley is very narrow, but flat-bottomed, and it forms a fine
horse-pass for the Indians, as it connects the plains on the
northern and southern sides of the range. Having descended,
and while crossing it, I saw two horses grazing : I immediately
hid myself in the long grass, and began to reconnoitre ; but as I
could see no signs of Indians I proceeded cautiously on my
* I call these thistle-stalks for the want of a more correct name. I bo
uevo it la a species of Eryngiuin.
1833.] SIERRA. VENTANA. 109
second ascent. It was late in the day, and this part of the moun
tain, like the other, was steep and rugged. I was on the top oi
the second peak by two o'clock, but got there with extreme dif-
ficulty ; every twenty yards I had the cramp in the upper part
of both thighs, so that I was afraid I should not have been able
to have got down again. It was also necessary to return by
another road, as it was out of the question to pass over the
saddle-back. I was therefore obliged to give up the two highei
peaks. Their altitude was but little greater, and every purpose
of geology had been answered ; so that the attempt was not
worth the hazard of any further exertion. I presume the cause
of the cramp was the great change in the kind of muscular action,
from that of hard riding to that of still harder climbing. It is
a lesson worth remembering, as in some cases it might cause
much difficulty.
I have already said the mountain is composed of white quartz
rock, and with it a little glossy clay-slate is associated. At the
height of a few hundred feet above the plain, patches of conglo-
merate adhered in several places to the solid rock. They re-
sembled in hardness, and in the nature of the cement, the masses
which may be seen daily forming on some coasts. I do not
doubt these pebbles were in a similar manner aggregated, at a
period when the great calcareous formation was depositing be-
neath the surrounding sea. We may believe that the jagged
and battered forms of the hard quartz yet show the effects of the
waves of an open ocean.
I was, on the whole, disappointed with this ascent. Even the
view was insignificant ; a plain like the sea, but without its
beautiful colour and defined outline. The scene, however, was
novel, and a little danger, like salt to meat, gave it a relish.
That the danger was very little was certain, for my two com-
panions made a good fire a thing which is never done when il
is suspected that Indians are near. I reached the place of our
bivouac by sunset, and drinking much mate, and smoking several
cigaritos, soon made up my bed for the night. The wind was
very strong and cold, but I never slept more comfortably.
September 10th. In the morning, having fairly scudded
before the gale, we arrived by the middle of the day at the Sauce
posta. On the road we saw great numbers of deer, and near the
110 BAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES. [CHAP. vi.
mountain aguanaco. The plain, which abuU against the Sierra,
is traversed by some curious gulleys, of which one was about
twenty feet wide, and at .least thirty deep ; we were obliged in
consequence to make a considerable circuit before we could find
a pass. We stayed the night at the posta, the conversation, as was
generally the case, being about the Indians. The Sierra Ven-
tana was formerly a great place of resort ; and three or four
years ago there was much righting there. My guide had been
present when many Indians were killed : the women escaped to
the top of the ridge, and fought most desperately with great
stones ; many thus saving themselves.
September \\th. Proceeded to the third posta in company
with the lieutenant who commanded it. The distance is called
fifteen leagues ; but it is only guess-work, and is generally over-
stated. The road was uninteresting, over a dry grassy plain ;
and on our left hand at a greater or less distance there were some
low hills ; a continuation of which we crossed close to the posta.
Before our arrival we met a large herd of cattle and horses,
guarded by fifteen soldiers ; but we were told many had been
lost. It is very difficult to drive animals across the plains ; for
if in the night a puma, or even a fox, approaches, nothing can
prevent the horses dispersing in every direction ; and a storm
will have the same effect. A short time since, an officer left
Buenos Ayres with five hundred horses, and when he arrived at
the army he had under twenty.
Soon afterwards we perceived by the cloud of dust, that a
party of horsemen were coming towards us ; when far distant
my companions knew them to be Indians, by their long hair
streaming behind their backs. The Indians generally have a
fillet round their heads, but never any covering ; and their black
hair blowing across their swarthy faces, heightens to an uncom-
mon degree the wildness of their appearance. They turned oul
to be a party of Bernantio's friendly tribe, 'going to a salina for
salt. The Indians eat much salt, their children sucking it like
sugar. This habit is very different from that of the Spanish
Gauchos, who, leading the same kind of life, eat scarcely any :
according to Mungo Park,* it is people who live on vegetable
Travels in Africa, p. 233.
1833.] THROWING THE BOLAS. Ill
food who have an unconquerable desire for salt. The Indians
gave us good-humoured nods as they passed at full gallop, driv-
ing before them a troop of horses, and followed by a train of
lanky dogs.
September 12/7* and 13th. I staid at this posta two days,
waiting for a troop of soldiers, which General Kosas had the
kindness to send to inform me, would shortly travel to Buenos
Ayres ; and he advised me to take the opportunity of the escort.
In the morning we rode to some neighbouring hills to view the
country, and to examine the geology. After dinner the soldiers
divided themselves into two parties for a trial of skill with ths
bolas. Two spears were stuck in the ground thirty-five yards
apart, but they were struck and entangled only once in four or
five times. The balls can be thrown fifty or sixty yards, but
with little certainty. This, however, does not apply to a man
on horseback ; for when the speed of the horse is added to the
force of the arm, it is said, that they can be whirled with effect
to the distance of eighty yards. As a proof of their force, 1
may mention, that at the Falkland Islands, when the Spaniards
murdered some of their own countrymen and all the Englishmen,
a young friendly Spaniard was running away, when a great tall
man, by name Luciano, came at full gallop after him, shouting
to him to stop, and saying that he only wanted to speak to him.
Just as the Spaniard was on the point of reaching the boat, Lu-
ciano threw the balls : they struck him on the legs with such a
jerk, as to throw him down and to render him for some time
insensible. The man, after Luciano had had his talk, was
allowed to escape. He told us that his legs were marked by
great weals, where the thong had wound round, as if he had been
flogged with a whip. In the middle of the day two men arrived,
who brought a parcel from the next posta to be forvfarded to
the general : so that besides these two, our party consisted this
evening of my guide and self, the lieutenant, and his four soldiers.
The latter were strange beings ; the first a fine young negro ; the
second half Indian and negro ; and the two others nondescripts ;
namely, an old Chilian miner, the colour of mahogany, and an-
other partly a mulatto ; but two such mongrels, with such de-
testable expressions, I never saw before. At night, when they
were sitting round the fire, and playing at cards, I retired to
112 BAIIIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES. [CHAP. vi.
view such a Salvator Rosa scene. They were seated under a
low cliff, so that I could look down upon them ; around the
party were lying dogs, arms, remnants of deer and ostriches ;
and their long spears were stuck .in the turf. Further in the
dark background, their horses were tied up, ready for any sudden
danger. If the stillness of the desolate plain was broken by one
of the dogs barking, a soldier, leaving the fire, would place his
head close to the ground, and thus slowly scan the horizon.
Even if the noisy teru-tero uttered its scream, there would be a
pause in tne conversation, and every head, for a moment, a little
inclined.
What a life of misery these men appear to us to lead ! They
were at least ten leagues from the Sauce posta, and since the
murder committed by the Indians, twenty from another. The
Indians are supposed to have made their attack in the middle of
the night ; for very early in the morning after the murder, they
were luckily seen approaching this posta. The whole party
here, however, escaped, together with the troop of horses ; each
one taking a line for himself, and driving with him as many
animals as he was able to manage.
The little hovel, built of thistle-stalks, in which they slept,
neither kept out the wind or rain ; indeed in the latter case the
only effect the roof had, was to condense it into larger drops.
They had nothing to eat excepting what they could catch, such
as ostriches, deer, armadilloes, &c., and their only fuel was the
dry stalks of a small plant, somewhat resembling an aloe. The
sole luxury which these men enjoyed was smoking the little
paper cigars, and sucking mate. I used to think that the carrion
vultures, man's constant attendants on these dreary plains, while
seated on the little neighbouring cliffs, seemed by their very
patience *to say, " Ah ! when the Indians come we shall have a
feast."
In the morning we al sallied forth to hunt, and although we
had not much success, there were some animated chaces. Sooii
after starting the party separated, and so arranged their plans,
that at a certain time of the day (in guessing which they show
much skill) they should all meet from different points of the
compass on a plain piece of ground, and thus drive together the
wild animals. One day I went out hunting at Bahia Blanca,
1833.] HOSPITALITY. 113
but the men there merely rode in a crescent, each being about a
quarter of a mile apart from the other. A fine male ostrich
being turned by the headmost riders, tried to escape on one side.
The Gauchos pursued at a reckless pace, twisting their horses
about with the most admirable command, and each man whirling
the balls round his head. At length the foremost threw them,
revolving through the air : in an instant the ostrich rolled over
and over, its legs fairly lashed together by the thong.
The plains abound with three kinds of partridge,* two of
which are as large as hen pheasants. Their destroyer, a small
and pretty fox, was also singularly numerous ; in the course oi
the day we could not have seen less than forty or fifty. They
were generally near their earths, but the dogs killed one. When
we returned to the posta, we found two of the party returned
who had been hunting by themselves. They had killed a puma,
and had found an ostrich's nest with twenty-seven eggs in it.
Each of these is said to equal in weight eleven hens' eggs ; so
that we obtained from this one nest as much food as 297 hens
eggs would have given.
September 14th. As the soldiers belonging to the next posta
meant to return, and we should together make a party of five,
and all armed, I determined not to wait for the expected troops.
My host, the lieutenant, pressed me much to stop. As he had
been very obliging not only providing me with food, but lend-
ing me his private horses I wanted to make him some remu-
neration. I asked my guide whether I might do so, but he told
me certainly not ; that the only answer I should receive, pro
bably would be, " We have meat for the dogs in our country,
and therefore do not grudge it to a Christian." It must not be
supposed that the rank of lieutenant in such an army would at
all prevent the acceptance of payment : it was only the high
sense of hospitality, which every traveller is bound to acknow-
ledge as nearly universal throughout these provinces. After
galloping some leagues, we came to a low swampy country, which
extends for nearly eighty miles northward, as far as the Sierra
Tapalguen. In some parts there were fine damp plains, covered
with grass, while others had a soft, black, and peaty soil. There
* Two species of Tinamus, and Eudromia elegans of A. d'Orbigny, which
cam only be called a partridge with regard to its habits.
114 BAHIA BLAXCA TO BUEXOS AYRES. [CHAP. vi.
were also many extensive but shallow lakes, and large beds of
reeds. The country on the whole resembled the better parts of
the Cambridgeshire fens. At night we had some difficulty in
finding, amidst the swamps, a dry place for our bivouac.
September 15th. Rose very early in the morning, and shortly
after passed the posta where the Indians had murdered the five
soldiers. The officer had eighteen chuzo wounds in his body.
By the middle of the day, after a hard gallop, we reached the
fifth posta: on account of some difficulty in procuring horses
we stayed there the night. As this point was the most exposed
on the whole line, twenty-one soldiers were stationed here; at
sunset they returned from hunting, bringing with them seven
deer, three ostriches, and many armadilloes and partridges.
When riding through the country, it is a common practice to
set fire to the plain ; and hence at night, as on this occasion, the
horizon was illuminated in several places by brilliant conflagra-
tions. This is done partly for the sake of puzzling any stray
Indians, but chiefly for improving the pasture. In grassy plains
unoccupied by the larger ruminating quadrupeds, it seems neces-
sary to remove the superfluous vegetation by fire, so as to render
the new year's growth serviceable.
The rancho at this place did not boast even of a roof, but
merely consisted of a ring of thistle-stalks, to break the force of
(he wind. It was situated on the borders of an extensive but
shallow lake, swarming with wild fowl, among which the black-
necked swan was conspicuous.
The kind of plover, which appears as if mounted on stilts,
(Himantopus nigricollis) is here common in flocks of consi-
derable size. It has been wrongfully accused of inelegance ;
when wading about in shallow water, which is its favourite
resort, its gait is far from awkward. These birds in a flock
utter a noise, that singularly resembles the cry of a pack of
small dogs in full chace : waking in the night, I have more than
once been for a moment startled at the distant sound. Tho
teru-tero (Vanellus cayanus) is another bird, which often dis-
turbs the stillness of the night. In appearance and habits it
resembles in many respects our peewits ; its wings, however, arc
armed with sharp spurs, like those on the legs of the common
cock. As our peewit takes its name from the sound of its voice,
1833.] A VIOLENT HAIL-STORM. 115
BO does the teru-tero. While riding over the grassy plains, one
is constantly pursued by these birds, which appear to hate man-
kind, and I am sure deserve to be hated for their never-ceasing,
unvaried, harsh screams. To the sportsman they are most an-
noying, by telling every other bird and animal of his approach :
to the traveller in the country, they may possibly, as Molina
says, do good, by warning him of the ir idnight robber. During
the breeding season, they attempt, like cur peewits, by feigning
to be wounded, to draw away from their nests dogs and other
enemies. The eggs of this bird are esteemed a great delicacy.
September 16th. To the seventh posta at the foot of the Sierra
Tapalguen. The country was quite level, with a coarse herbage
and a soft peaty soil. The hovel was here remarkably neat, the
posts and rafters being made of about a dozen dry thistle-
stalks bound together with thongs of hide ; and by the support
of these Ionic-like columns, the roof and sides were thatched
with reeds. We were here told a fact, which I would not have
credited, if I had not had partly ocular proof of it ; namely,
that, during the previous night, hail as large as small apples,
and extremely hard, had fallen with such violence, as to kill
the greater number of the wild animals. One of the men had
already found thirteen deer (Cervus campestris) lying dead, and
I saw their fresh hides ; another of the party, a few minutes
after my arrival, brought in seven more. Now I well know,
that one man without dogs could hardly have killed seven deer
in a week. The men believed they had seen about fifteen dead
ostriches (part of one of which we had for dinner) ; and they
said that several were running about evidently blind in one eye.
Numbers of smaller birds, as ducks, hawks, and partridges, were
killed. I saw one of the latter with a black mark on its back,
as if it had been struck with a paving-stone. A fence of thistle-
stalks round the hovel was nearly broken down, and my in-
former, putting his head out to see what was the matter, received
a severe cut, and now wore a bandage. The storm was said to
have been of limited extent : we certainly saw from our last
night's bivouac a dense cloud and lightning in this direction. It
is marvellous how such strong animals as deer could thus have
been killed ; but I have no doubt, from the evidence I have
given, that the story is not in the least exaggerated. I am glad,
116 BAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES. [CHAP. vi.
however, to have its credibility supported by the Jesuit Drobriz-
hoffer,* who, speaking of a country much to the northward,
Bays, hail fell of an enormous size and killed vast numbers oi
cattle: the Indians hence called the place Lalegraicavalca,
meaning " the little white things." Dr. Malcolmson, also, in-
forms me that he witnessed in 1831 in India, a hail-storm, which
killed numbers of large birds and much injured the cattle.
These hail-stones were flat, and one was ten inches in circum-
ference, and another weighed two ounces. They ploughed up a
gravel-walk like musket-balls, and passed through glass-windows,
making round holes, but not cracking them.
Having finished our dinner of hail-stricken meat, we crossed
the Sierra Tapalguen ; a low range of hills, a few hundred feet
in height, which commences at Cape Corrientes. The rock in
this part is pure quartz ; further eastward I understand it is gra-
nitic. ' The hills are of a remarkable form ; they consist of flat
patches of table-land, surrounded by low perpendicular cliffs,
like the outliers of a sedimentary deposit. The hill which I
ascended was very small, not above a couple of hundred yards
in diameter ; but I saw others larger. One which goes by the
name of the " Corral," is said to be two or three miles in dia-
meter, and encompassed by perpendicular cliffs between thirty
and forty feet high, excepting at one spot, where the entrance
lies. Falconerf gives a curious account of the Indians driving
troops of wild horses into it, and then by guarding the entrance,
keeping them secure. I have never heard of any other instance
of table land in a formation of quartz, and which, in the hill I
examined, had neither cleavage nor stratification. I was told
that the rock of the " Corral" was white, and would strike fire.
We did not reach the posta on the Rio Tapalguen till after it
was dark. At supper, from something which was said, I was
suddenly struck with horror at thinking that I was eating one oi
the favourite dishes of the country, namely, a half-formed calf,
long before its proper time of birth. It turr ed out to be Puma ;
the meat is very white, and remarkably like veal in taste. Dr.
Shaw was laughed at for stating that " the flesh of the lion is
in great esteem, having no small affinity with veal, both in
* History of the Abipones, vol. ii. p. 6.
t Falconer's Patagonia, p. 70.
1833.] MEAT DIET. 117
colour, taste, and flavour." Such certainly is the case with the
Puma. The Gauchos differ in their opinion, whether the Ja-
guar is good eating, but are unanimous in saying that cat is ex-
cellent.
September \llh. We followed the course of the Rio Tapal-
guen, through a very fertile country, to the ninth posta. Tapal-
guen itself, or the town of Tapalguen, if it may be so called,
consists of a perfectly level plain, studded over, as far as the eye
can reach, with the toldos, or oven -shaped huts of the Indians.
The families of the friendly Indians, who were fighting on the
side of Rosas, resided here. We met and passed many young
Indian women, riding by two or three together on the same
horse : they, as well as many of the young men, were strikingly
handsome, their fine ruddy complexions being the picture of
health. Besides the toldos, there were three ranches ; one in-
habited by the Commandant, and the two others by Spaniards
with small shops.
We were here able to buy some biscuit. I had now been
several days without tasting any thing besides meat : I did not
at all dislike this new regimen ; but I felt as if it would only
have agreed with me with hard exercise. I have heard that
patients in England, when desired to confine themselves exclu
sively to an animal diet, even with the hope of life before their
eyes, have hardly been able to endure it. Yet the Gaucho in
the Pampas, for months together, touches nothing but beef.
But they eat, I observe, a very large proportion of fat, which is
of a less animalized nature ; and they particularly dislike dry
meat, such as that of the Agouti. Dr. Richardson,* also, has
remarked, " that when people have fed for a long time solely
upon lean animal food, the desire for fat becomes so insatiable,
that they can consume a large quantity of unmixed and even oily
fat without nausea :" this appears to me a curious physiological
fact. It is, perhaps, from their meat regimen that the Gauchos,
like other carnivorous animals, can abstain long from food. I
was told that at Tandeel, some troops voluntarily pursued a party
of Indians for three days, without eating or drinking.
We saw in the shops many articles, such as horsecloths, bolts.
* Fauna Boreali- Americana, vol. i. p. 85.
118 BAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES. [CHAP. vi.
and garters, woven oy the Indian women. The patterns were
very pretty, and the colours brilliant ; the workmanship of the
garters was so good that an English merchant at Buenos Ay res
maintained they must have been manufactured in England, till
he found the tassels had been fastened by split sinew.
September ISth. We had a very long ride this day. At the
twelfth posta, whi:h is seven leagues south of the Rio Salado,
we came to the first estancia with cattle and white women.
Afterwards we had to ride for many miles through a country
flooded with water above our horses' knees. By crossing the
stirrups, and riding Arab-like with our legs bent up, we con-
trived to keep tolerably dry. It was nearly dark when we
arrived at the Salado ; the stream was deep, and about forty
yards wide ; in summer, however, its bed becomes almost dry,
and the little remaining water nearly as salt as that of the sea.
We slept at one of the great estancias of General Rosas. It was
fortified, and of such an extent, that arriving in the dark 1
thought it was a town and fortress. In the morning we saw
immense herds of cattle, the general here having seventy-four
square leagues of land. Formerly nearly three hundred men
were employed about this estate, and they defied all the attacks
of the Indians.
September 19th. Passed the Guardia del Monte. This is a
nice scattered little town, with many gardens, full of peach and
quince trees. The plain here looked like that around Buenos
Ayres ; the turf being short and bright green, with beds of
clover and thistles, and with bizcacha holes. I was very much
struck with the marked change in the aspect of the country after
having crossed the Salado. From a coarse herbage we passed on
to a carpet of fine green verdure. I at first attributed this to
some change in the nature of the soil, but the inhabitants
assured me that here, as well as in Banda Oriental, where there
is as great a difference between the country around Monte Video
and the thinly-inhabited savannahs of Colonia, the whole was
to be attributed to the manuring and grazing of the cattle.
Exactly the same fact has been observed in the prairies* of North
America, where coarse grass, between five and six feet high,
* See Mr. Atwater's account of the Prairies, in Silliman's X. A. Journal
vol. L p. 117.
1833.] THE CARDOOX. 119
when grazed by cattle, changes into common pasture land. I
am not botanist enough to say whether the change here is owing
to the introduction of new species, to the altered growth of the
same, or to a difference in their proportional numbers. Azara
has also observed with astonishment this change : he is likewise
much perplexed by the immediate appearance of plants not oc-
curring in the neighbourhood, on the borders of any track that
leads to a newly-constructed hovel. In another part he says,*
" ces chevaux (sauvages) ont la manie de preferer les chemins,
et le bord des routes pour deposer leurs excremens, dont on trouve
des monceaux dans ces endroits." Does this not partly explain
the .circumstance? We thus have lines of richly-manured land
serving as channels of communication across wide districts.
Xear the Guardia we find the southern limit of two European
plants, now become extraordinarily common. The fennel in
great profusion covers the ditch-banks in the neighbourhood of
Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, and other towns. But the cardoon
(Cynara cardunculus)']' has a far wider range : it occurs in these
latitudes on both sides of the Cordillera, across the continent.
I saw it in unfrequented spots in Chile, Entre Rios, and Banda
Oriental. In the latter country alone, very many (probably
several hundred) square miles are covered by one mass of these
prickly plants, and are impenetrable by man or beast. Over the
undulating plains, where these great beds occur, nothing else
can now live. Before their introduction, however, the surface
must have supported, as in other parts, a rank herbage. I
doubt whether any case is on record of an invasion on so grand
a scale of one plant over the aborigines. As I have already
said, I nowhere saw the cardoon south of the Salado ; but it is
* Azara's Voyage, vol. 5. p. 373.
f M. A. d'Orbigny (vol. i. p. 474) says that the cardoon and artichoke are
both found wild. Dr. Hooker (Botanical Magazine, vol. Iv. p. 2862), has
described a variety of the Cynara from this part of South America under
the name of inermis. He states that botanists are now generally agreed that
the cardoon and the artichoke are varieties of one plant. I may add, that an
intelligent farmer assured me that he had observed in a deserted garden
some artichokes changing into the common cardoon. Dr. Hooker believes
that Head's vivid description of the thistle of the Pampas applies to the car-
doon ; but this is a mistake. Captain Head referred to the plant, which I
have mentioned a few lines lower down, under the title of giant thistle
Whether it is a true thistle, I do not know ; but it is quite different from tlif
cardoon ; and more like a thistle properly so called.
120 BAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES. [CHAP. vi.
probable that in proportion as that country becomes inhabited,
the cardoon will extend its limits. The case is different with
the giant thistle (with variegated leaves) of the Pampas, for I
met with it in the valley of the Sauce. According to the
principles so well laid down by Mr. Lyell, few countries have
undergone more remarkable changes, since the year 1 535, when
the first colonist of La Plata landed with seventy-two horses.
The countless herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, not only have
altered the whole aspect of the vegetation, but they have almost
banished the guanaco, deer, and ostrich. Numberless other
changes must likewise have taken place ; the wild pig in some
parts probably replaces the peccari ; packs of wild dogs may. be
heard howling on the wooded banks of the less frequented streams ;
and the common cat, altered into a large and fierce animal, in-
habits rocky hills. As M. d'Orbigny has remarked, the increase
in numbers of the carrion-vulture, since the introduction of the
domestic animals, must have been infinitely great ; and we have
given reasons for believing that they have extended their southern
range. No doubt many plants, besides the cardoon and fennel,
are naturalized ; thus the islands near the mouth of the Parana,
are thickly clothed with peach and orange trees, springing from
seeds carried there by the waters of the river.
While changing horses at the Guardia several people ques-
tioned us much about the army, I never saw any thing like the
enthusiasm for Rosas, and for the success of the " most just oi
all wars, because against barbarians." This expression, it must
be confessed, is very natural, for till lately, neither man, woman,
nor horse, was safe from the attacks of the Indians. We had a
long day's ride over the same rich green plain, abounding with
various flocks, and with here and there a solitary estancia, and
its one ombu tree. In the evening it rained heavily : on arriv-
ing at a post-house we were told by the owner that if we had
not a regular passport we must pass on, for there were so many
robbers he would trust no one. When he read, however, my
passport, which began with " El Naturalista Don Carlos," his
respect and civility were as unbounded as his suspicions had been
before. What a naturalist might be, neither he nor his country-
men, I suspect, had any idea ; but probably my title lost nothing
of its value from that cause.
1833.] THE GREAT CORRAL. 121
September 20th. We arrived by the middle of the day at
Buenos Ayres. The outskirts of the city looked quite pretty,
with the agave hedges, and groves of olive, peach, and willow
trees, all just throwing out their fresh green leaves. I rode to
the house of Mr. Lumb, an English merchant, to whose kind-
ness and hospitality, during my stay in the country, I was greatly
indebted.
The city of Buenos Ayres is large ;* and I should think one
of the most regular in the world. Every street is at right angles
to the one it crosses, and the parallel ones being equidistant, the
houses are collected into solid squares of equal dimensions, which
are called quadras. On the other hand, the houses themselves
are hollow squares ; all the rooms opening into a neat little
courtyard. They are generally only one story high, with flat
roofs, which are fitted with seats, and are much frequented by
the inhabitants in summer. In the centre of the town is the
Plaza, where the public offices, fortress, cathedral, &c., stand.
Here also, the old viceroys, before the revolution, had their
palaces. The general assemblage of buildings possesses consider-
able architectural beauty, although none individually can boast
of any.
The great corral, where the animals are kept for slaughter to
supply food to this beef-eating population, is one of the spectacles
best worth seeing. The strength of the horse as compared to
that of the bullock is quite astonishing : a man on horseback
having thrown his lazo round the horns of a beast, can drag it
any where he chooses. The animal ploughing up the ground
with outstretched legs, in vain efforts to resist the force, generally
dashes at full speed to one side ; but the horse immediately turn-
ing to receive the shock, stands so firmly that the bullock is
almost thrown down, and it is surprising that their necks are not
broken. The struggle is not, however, one of fair strength ;
the horse's girth being matched against the bullock's extended
neck. In a similar manner a man can hold the wildest horse, iJ
caught with the lazo, just behind the ears. When the bullock
has been dragged to the spot where it is to be slaughtered, the
matador with great caution cuts (he hamstrings. Then is given
* It is said to contain 60,000 inhabitants. Monte Video, the second towr
of importance on the banks of the Plata, has 15,000.
122 BUENOS AYRES. [CHAP. vi.
;he death bellow ; a noise more expressive of fierce agony than
any I know : I have often distinguished it from a long distance,
and have always known that the struggle was then drawing to a
close. The whole sight is horrible and revolting : the ground is
almost made of bones; arid the horses and riders are drenched
with gore.
1833.] EXCURSION TO ST. F& 123
CHAPTER VII.
Excursion to St. Fe Thistle Beds Habits of the Bizcacha Little Owl-
Saline Streams Level Plains Mastodon St. Fe' Change in Landscape
Geology Tooth of extinct Horse Relation of the Fossil and recent
Quadrupeds of North and South America Effects of a great Drought
Parana Habits of the Jaguar Scissor-beak Kingfisher, Parrot, and
Scissor-tail Revolution Buenos Ayres State of Government.
BUENOS AYRES TO ST. FE .
September 27th. IN the evening I set out on an excursion to
St. Ft, which is situated nearly three hundred English milea
from Buenos Ayres, on the banks of the Parana. The roads in
the neighbourhood of the city, after the rainy weather, were
extraordinarily bad. I should never have thought it possible
for a bullock waggon to have crawled along : as it was, they
scarcely went at the rate of a mile an hour, and a man was kept
ahead, to survey the best line for making the attempt. The
bullocks were terribly jaded : it is a great mistake to suppose
that with improved roads, and an accelerated rate of travelling,
the sufferings of the animals increase in the same proportion.
We passed a train of waggons and a troop of beasts on their
road to Mendoza. The distance is about 580 geographical miles,
and the journey is generally performed in fifty days. These wag-
gons are very long, narrow, and thatched with reeds ; they have
only two wheels, the diameter of which in some cases is as much
as ten feet. Each is drawn by six bullocks, which are urged on
by a goad at least twenty feet long : this is suspended from
within the roof; for the wheel bullocks a smaller one is kept ;
and for the intermediate pair, a point projects at right angles
from the middle of the long one. The whole apparatus looked
like some implement of war.
September 28th. We passed the small town of Luxan, where
there is a wooden bridge over the river a most unusual conve-
nience in this country. We passed also Areco. The plains
124 PAMPAS. [CHAP. vn.
appeared level, but were not so in fact ; for in various places the
horizon was distant. The estancias are here wide apart ; for
.here is little good pasture, owing to the land being covered by
beds either of an acrid clover, or of the great thistle. The
latter, well known from the animated description given by Sir
F. Head, were at this time of the year two-thirds grown ; in
some parts they were as high as the horse's back, but in others
they had not yet sprung up, and the ground was bare arid dusty
as on a turnpike-road. The clumps were of the most brilliant
green, and they made a pleasing miniature-likeness of broken
forest land. When the thistles are full grown, the great beds
are impenetrable, except by a few tracks, as intricate as those in
a labyrinth. These are only known to the robbers, who at this
season inhabit them, and sally forth at night to rob and cut
throats with impunity. Upon asking at a house whether rob-
bers were numerous, I was answered, " The thistles are not up
yet ;" the meaning of which reply was not at first very obvious.
There is little interest in passing over these tracts, for they are
inhabited by few animals or birds, excepting the bizcacha and
its friend the little owl.
The bizcacha* is well known to form a prominent feature in
the zoology of the Pampas. It is found as far south as the Rio
Negro, in lat. 41, but not beyond. It cannot, like the agouti,
subsist on the gravelly and desert plains of Patagonia, but pre-
fers a clayey or sandy soil, which produces a different and more
abundant vegetation. Near Mendoza, at the foot of the Cordil-
lera, it occurs in close neighbourhood with the allied alpine spe-
cies. It is a very curious circumstance in its geographical dis-
tribution, that it has never been seen, fortunately for the inha-
bitants of Banda Oriental, to the eastward of the river Uru-
guay : yet in this province there are plains which appear admira-
bly adapted to its habits. The Uruguay has formed an insuper-
able obstacle to its migration ; although the broader barrier oi
the Parana lias been passed, and the bizcacha is common in
Entre Rios, the province between these two great rivers. Near
Buenos Ayres these animals are exceedingly common. Their
* The bizcacha (Lagostomus trichodactylus) somewhat resembles a large
rabbit, but with bigger gnawing teeth and a long tail : it has, however, only
three toes behind, like the agouti. During the last three or four years the
skins of these animals have been sent to England for the sake of the fur.
1833.] THE BIZCACHA.
most favourite resort appears to be those parts of the plain which
during one half of the year are covered with giant thistles, to
the exclusion of other plants. The Gauchos affirm that it lives
on roots ; which, from the great strength of its gnawing teeth,
and the kind of places frequented by it, seems probable. In the
evening the bizcachas come out in numbers, and quietly sit at
the mouths of their burrows on their haunches. At such times
they are very tame, and a man on horseback passing by seems
only to present an object for their grave contemplation. They
run very awkwardly, and when running out of danger, from
their elevated tails and short front legs, much resemble great
rats. Thein flesh, when cooked, is very white and good, but it
is seldom used.
The bizcacha has one very singular habit ; namely, dragging
every hard object to the mouth of its burrow : around each
group of holes many bones of cattle, stones, thistle-stalks, hard
lumps of earth, dry dung, &c., are collected into an irregular
heap, which frequently amounts to as much as a wheelbarrow
would contain. I was credibly informed that a gentleman, when
riding on a dark night, dropped his watch ; he returned in the
morning, and by searching the neighbourhood of every bizcacha
hole on the line of road, as he expected, he soon found it. This
habit of picking up whatever may be lying on the ground any
where near its habitation, must cost much trouble. For what
purpose it is done, I am quite unable to form even the most re-
mote conjecture : it cannot be for defence, because the rubbish
is chiefly placed above the mouth of the burrow, which enters
the ground at a very small inclination. No doubt there must
exist some good reason ; but the inhabitants of the country are
quite ignorant of it. The only fact which I know analogous to
it, is the habit of that extraordinary Australian bird, the Calo-
dera maculata, which makes an elegant vaulted passage of twigs
for playing in, and which collects near the spot, land and sea-
shells, bones, and the feathers of birds, especially brightly co-
loured ones. Mr. Gould, who has described these facts, in-
forms me, that the natives, when they lose any hard object,
search the playing passages, and he has known a tobacco-pipe
thus recovered.
The little owl (Athene cuuicularia), which has been so often
126 PAMPAS. [CHAP. vn.
mentioned, on the plains of Buenos Ayres exclusively inhabits
the holes of the bizcacha ; but in Banda Oriental it is its own
workman. During the open day, but more especially in the
evening, these birds may be seen in every direction standing fre-
quently by pairs on the hillock near their burrows. If disturbed
they either enter the hole, or, uttering a shrill harsh cry, move
with a remarkably undulatory flight to a short distance, and
then turning round, steadily gaze at their pursuer. Occasionally
in the evening they may be heard hooting. I found in the sto-
machs of two which I opened the remains of mice, and I one
day saw a small snake killed and carried away. It is said that
snakes are their common prey during the daytime. - 1 may here
mention, as showing on what various kinds of food owls subsist,
that a species killed among the islets of the Chonos Archipelago,
had its stomach full of good-sized crabs. In India* there is a
fishing genus of owls, which likewise catches crabs.
In the evening we crossed the Eio Arrecife on a simple raft
made of barrels lashed together, and slept at the post-house on
the other side. 1 this day paid horse-hire for thirty-one leagues ;
and although the sun was glaring hot I was but little fatigued.
When Captain Head talks of riding fifty leagues a day, I do
not imagine the distance is equal to 150 English miles. At all
events, the thirty-one leagues was only 76 miles in a straight
line, and in an open country I should think four additional miles
for turnings would be a sufficient allowance.
29th and 30th. We continued to ride over plains of the
same character. At San Nicolas I first saw the noble river of
the Parana. At the foot of the cliff on which the town stands,
some large vessels were at anchor. Before arriving at Rozario,
we crossed the Saladillo, a stream of fine clear running water,
but too saline to drink. Eozario is a large town built on a dead
level plain, which forms a cliff about sixty feet high over the
Parana. The river here is very broad, with many islands, which
are low and wooded, as is also the opposite shore. The view
would resemble that of a great lake, if it were not for the linear-
shaped islets, which alone give the idea of running water. The
cliffs are the most picturesque part ; sometimes they are abso-
lutely perpendicular, and of a red colour ; at other times in large
* Journal of Asiatic Soc., vol. v. p. 363.
1833.] RIO TERCERO. 127
broken masses, covered with cacti and mimosa-trees.. The real
grandeur, however, of an immense river like this, is derived
from reflecting how important a means of communication and
commerce it forms between one nation and another ; to what a
distance it travels ; and from how vast a territory it drains the
great body of fresh water which flows past your feet.
For many leagues north and south of San Nicolas and Roza-
rio, the country is really level. Scarcely anything which travel-
lers have written about its extreme flatness, can be considered as
exaggeration. Yet I could never find a spot where, by slowly
turning round, objects were not seen at greater distances in some
directions than in others ; and this manifestly proves inequality
in the plain. At sea, a person's eye being six feet above the
surface of the water, his horizon is two miles and four-fifths dis-
tant. In like manner, the more level the plain, the more nearly
does the horizon approach within these narrow limits ; and this,
in my opinion, entirely destroys that grandeur which one would
have imagined that a vast level plain would have possessed.
October 1st. We started by moonlight and arrived at the
Rio Tercero by sunrise. This river is also called the Saladillo,
and it deserves the name, for the water is brackish. I stayed
here the greater part of the day, searching for fossil bones.
Besides a perfect tooth of the Toxodon, and many scattered
bones, 1 found two immense skeletons near each other, projecting
in bold relief from the perpendicular cliff of the Parana. They
were, however, so completely decayed, that I could only bring
away small fragments of one of the great molar teeth ; but these
are sufficient to show that the remains belonged to a Mastodon,
probably to the same species with that, which formerly must have
.nhabited the Cordillera in Upper Peru in such great numbers.
The men who took me in the canoe, said they had long known
of these skeletons, and had often wondered how they had got
there : the necessity of a theory being felt, they came to the
conclusion that, like the bizcacha, the mastodon was formerly a
burrowing animal ! In the evening we rode another stage, and
crossed the Monge, another brackish stream, bearing the dregs
of the washings of the Pampas.
October 2nd. We passed through Corunda, which, from the
luxuriance of its gardens, was one of the prettiest villages I saw,
128 ST. Fl. [CHAP. vn.
From this, point to St. Fe the road is not very safe. The western
side of the Parana northward, ceases to be inhabited ; and hence
the Indians sometimes come down thus far, and waylay travellers.
The nature of the country also favours this, for instead of a grassy
plain, there is an open woodland, composed of low prickly
mimosas. We passed some houses that had been ransacked and
since deserted ; we saw also a spectacle, which my guides viewed
with high satisfaction ; it was the skeleton of an Indian with the
dried skin hanging on the bones, suspended to the branch of a
tree.
In the morning we arrived at St. Fe. I was surprised to
observe how great a change of climate a difference of only three
degrees of latitude between this place and Buenos Ayres had
caused. This was evident fronr* the dress and complexion of the
men from the increased size of the ombu-trees the number of
new cacti and other plants and especially from the birds. In
the course of an hour I remarked half-a-dozen birds, which I had
never seen at Buenos Ayres. Considering that there is no natural
boundary between the two places, and that the character of the
country is nearly similar, the difference was much greater than I
should have expected
October 3rd and 4tk. I was confined for these two days to
my bed by a headach. A good-natured old woman, who attended
me, wished me to try many odd remedies. A common practice
is, to bind an orange-leaf or a bit of black plaster to each temple :
and a still more general plan is, to split a bean into halves,
moisten them, and place one on each temple, where they will
easily adhere. It is not thought proper ever to remove the beans
or plaster, but to allow them to drop off; and sometimes, if a
man, with patches on his head, is asked, what is the matter? he
will answer, " I had a headach the day before yesterday." Many
of the remedies used by the people of the country are ludicrously
strange, but too disgusting to be mentioned. One of the least
nasty is to kill and cut open two puppies and bind them on each
side of a broken limb. Little hairless dogs are in great request
to sleep at the feet of invalids.
St. Fe is a quiet little town, and is kept clean and in good
order. The governor, Lopez, was a common soldier at the time
of the revolution ; but has now been seventeen years in power.
1833.] GEOLOGY OF THE PAMPAS. 129
This stability of government is owing to his tyrannical habits ;
for tyranny seems as yet better adapted to these countries than
republicanism. The governor's favourite occupation is hunting
Indians : a short time since he slaughtered forty-eight, and sold
the children at the rate of three or four pounds apiece.
October 5th. We crossed the Parana to St. Fe Bajada, a
town on the opposite shore. The passage took some hours, as
the river here consisted of a labyrinth of small streams, separated
by low wooded islands. I had a letter of introduction to an old
Catalonian Spaniard, who treated me with the most uncommon
hospitality. The Bajada b the capital of Entre Eios. In 1825
the town contained 6000 inhabitants, and the province 30,000 ;
yet, few as the inhabitants are, no province has suffered more from
bloody and desperate revolutions. They boast here of repre-
sentatives, ministers, a standing army, and governors : so it is no
wonder that they have their revolutions. At some future day
this must be one of the richest countries of La Plata. The soil
is varied and productive ; and its almost insular form gives it
two grand lines of communication by the rivers Parana and
Uruguay.
I was delayed here five days, and employed myself in ex-
amining the geology of the surrounding country, which was very
interesting. We here see at the bottom of the cliffs, beds contain-
ing sharks' teeth and sea-shells of extinct species, passing above
into an indurated marl, and from that into the red clayey earth
of the Pampas, with its calcareous concretions and the bones of
terrestrial quadrupeds. This vertical section clearly tells us of a
large bay of pure salt-water, gradually encroached on, and at last
converted into the bed of a muddy estuary, into which floating
carcasses were swept. At Puuta Gorda, in Banda Oriental, I
found an alternation of the Pampoean estuary deposit, with a
limestone containing some of the same extinct sea-shells; and
this shows either a change in the former currents, or more pro-
bably an oscillation of level in the bottom of the ancient estuary.
Until lately, my reasons for considering the Pampaean formation
to be an estuary deposit were, its general appearance, its position at
the mouth of the existing great river the Plata, and the presence
of so many bones of terrestrial quadrupeds : but now Professoj
130 ST. Ffi. [CHAP. vn.
Ebrenberg has had the kindness to examine for me a little of the
red earth, taken from low down in the deposit, close to the
skeletons of the mastodon, and he finds in it many infusoria,
partly salt-water and partly fresh-water forms, with the latter
rather preponderating ; and therefore, as he remarks, the water
must have been brackish. M. A. d'Orbigny found on the banks
of the Parana, at the height of a hundred feet, great beds of an
estuary shell, now living a hundred miles lower down nearer the
sea ; and I found similar shells at a less height on the banks of
the Uruguay : this shows that just before the Pampas was slowly
elevated into dry land, the water covering it was brackish.
Below Buenos Ayres there are upraised beds of sea-shells of
existing species, which also proves that the period of elevation
of the Pampas was within the recent period.
In the Pampaean deposit at the Bajada I found the osseous armour
of a gigantic armadillo-like animal, the inside of which, when the
earth was removed, was like a great cauldron ; I found also teeth of
the Toxodon and Mastodon, and one tooth of a Horse, in the same
stained and decayed state. This latter tooth greatly interested
me,* and 1 took scrupulous care in ascertaining that it had been
embedded contemporaneously with the other remains ; for I was
not then aware that amongst the fossils from Bahia Blanca there
was a horse's tooth hidden in the matrix : nor was it then known
with certainty that the remains of horses are common in North
America. Mr. Lyell has lately brought from the United States
a tooth of a horse ; and it is an interesting fact, that Professor
Owen could find in no species, either fossil or recent, a slight
but peculiar curvature characterizing it, until he thought of com-
paring it with my specimen found here : he has named this
American horse Equus curvidens. Certainly it is a marvellous
fact in the history of the Mammalia, that in South America a
native horse should have Kved and disappeared, to be succeeded
in after ages by the countless herds descended from the few
introduced with the Spanish colonists !
The existence in South America of a fossil horse, of the
mastodon, possibly of an elephant,']' and of a hollow-horned
* I need hardly state here that there is good evidence against any horse
living in America at the time of Columbus,
t Cuvier, Ossemens Fossiles, torn. i. p. 158.
1833.] ZOOLOGY OF NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA. 131
ruminant, discovered by MM. Lund and Clausen in the caves of
Brazil, are highly interesting facts with respect to the geo-
graphical distribution of animals. At the present time, if we
divide America, not by the Isthmus of Panama, but by the
southern part of Mexico* in lat. 20, where the great table- land
presents an obstacle to the migration of species, by affecting the
climate, and by forming, with the exception of some valleys and
of a fringe of low land on the coast, a broad barrier ; we shall
then have the two zoological provinces of North and South
America strongly contrasted with each other. Some few species
alone have passed the barrier, and may be considered as wander-
ers from the south, such as the puma, opossum, kinkajou, and pec-
cari. South America is characterized by possessing many peculiar
gnawers, a family of monkeys, the llama, peccari, tapir, opossums,
and, especially, several genera of Edentata, the order which in-
cludes the sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos. North America,
on the other hand, is characterized (putting on one side a few
wandering species) by numerous peculiar gnawers, and by four
genera (the ox, sheep, goat, and antelope) of hollow-horned
ruminants, of which great division South America is not known
to possess a single species. Formerly, but within the period
when most of the now existing shells were living, North
America possessed, besides hollow-horned ruminants, the ele-
phant, mastodon, horse, and three genera of Edentata, namely,
the Megatherium, Megalonyx, and Mylodon. Within nearly this
same periods (as proved by the shells' at Bahia Blanca) South
America possessed, as we ha\e just seen, a mastodon, horse,
hollow-horned ruminant, and the same three genera (as well as
several others) of the Edentata. Hence it is evident that North
and South America, in having within a late geological period
these several genera in common, were much more closely related
in the character of their terrestrial inhabitants than they now are.
* This is the geographical division folio-wed by Lichtenstein, Swaiuson,
Erichson, and Richardson. The section from Vera Cruz to Acapulco, given
by Humboldt in the Polit. Essay on Kingdom of N. Spain, will show how
immense a barrier the Mexican table-land forms. Dr. Richardson, in his
admirable Report on the Zoology of N. America read before the Brit. Assoc.
1836 (p. 157), talking of the identification of a Mexican animal with the
Synetheres prehensilis, says, " We do not know with what propriety, but if
correct, it is, if not a solitary instance, at least very nearly so, (if a rodent
animal being common to North arid South America/
132 ST. Ffi. [CHAP. TII.
The more I reflect on this case, the more interesting it appears :
I know of no other instance where we can almost mark the
period and manner of the splitting up of one great region into
two well-characterized zoological provinces. The geologist, who
is fully impressed with the vast oscillations of level which have
affected the earth's crust within late periods, will not fear to
speculate on the recent elevation of the Mexican platform, or,
more probably, on the iccent submergence of land in the West
Indian Archipelago, as the cause of the present zoological sepa-
ration of North and South America. The South American
character of the West Indian mammals * seems to indicate that
this archipelago was formerly united to the southern continent,
and that it has subsequently been an area of subsidence.
When America, and especially North America, possessed its
elephants, mastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants, it was
much more closely related in its zoological characters to the
temperate parts of Europe and Asia than it now is. As the
remains of these genera are found on both sides of Behring's
Straitsf and on the plains of Siberia, we are led to look to the
north-western side of North America as the former point of
communication between the Old and so-called New World. And
as so many species, both living and extinct, of these same genera
inhabit and have inhabited the Old World, it seems most probable
that the North American elephants, mastodons, horse, and hollovv-
liorned ruminants migrated, on land since submerged near Beh-
ring's Straits, from Siberia into North America, and thence, on
land since submerged in the West Indies, into South America,
where for a time they mingled with the forms characteristic of
that southern continent, and have since become extinct.
While travelling through the country, I received several vivid
descriptions of the effects of a late great drought ; and the
account of this may throw some light on the cases where vast
* See Dr. Richardson's Report, p. 157; also L'Institut, 1837, p. 253.
Cuvier gays the kinkajou is found in the larger Antilles, but this is doubtful.
M. Gervais states that the Didelphis crancrivora is found there. It is certain
that the West Indies possess some mammifers peculiar to themselves. A tooth
of a mastodon has been brought from Bahama : Edin. New Phil. Jouru.
1826, p. 395.
t See the admirable Appendix by Dr. Buckland to Beechey's Voyage
also the writings of Chamisso in Kotzebue's Voyage.
1833.] THE GREAT DROUGHT. 133
numbers of animals of all kinds have been embedded together.
The period included between the years 1827 and 1830 is called
tlie"gran seco," or the great drought. During this time so
little rain fell, that the vegetation, even to the thistles, failed ;
the brooks were dried up, and the whole country assumed the
appearance of a dusty high road. This was especially the case
in the northern part of the province of Buenos Ayres and the
southern part of St. Fe. Very great numbers of birds, wild
animals, cattle, and horses perished from the want of food and
water. A man told me that the deer* used to come into his
courtyard to the well, which he had been obliged to dig to supply
nis own family with wafer ; and that the partridges had hardly
strength to fly away when pursued. The lowest estimation of
the loss of cattle in the province of Buenos Ayres alone, was
taken at one million head. A proprietor at San Pedro had pre-
viously to these years 20,000 cattle ; at the end not one re-
mained. San Pedro is situated in the middle of the finest
country ; and even now abounds again with animals ; yet, during
the latter part of the '* gran seco," live cattle were brought in
vessels for the consumption of the inhabitants. The animals
roamed from their estancias, and, wandering far southward, were
mingled together in such multitudes, that a government com-
mission was sent from Buenos Ayres to settle the disputes of the
owners. Sir Woodbine Parish informed me of another and very
curious source of dispute ; the ground being so long dry, such
quantities of dust were blown about, that in this open country
the landmarks became obliterated, and people could not tell the
limits of their estates.
I was informed by an eyewitness that the cattle in herds of
thousands rushed into the Parana, and being exhausted by hunger
they were unable to crawl up the muddy banks, and thus were
* In Capt. Owen's Surveying Voyage (vol. ii. p. 274) there is a curioue
account of the effects of a drought on the elephants, at Benguela (west coast
of Africa). " A number of these animals had some time since entered the
town, in a body, to possess themselves of the wells, not being able to procure
any water in the country. The inhabitants mustered, when a desperate
conflict ensued, which terminated in the ultimate discomfiture of the in-
vaders, but not until they had killed one man, and wounded several others."
The to-wn is said to have a population of nearly three thousand ! Dr. Mal-
colmson informs me, that during a great drought in India the wild animals
entered the tents of some troops at Ellore, and that a hare drank out of a
vessel held by the adjutant of the regiment.
134 ST. Fit [CHAP. vn.
drowned. The arm of the river which runs by San Pedro was
so full of putrid carcasses, that the master of a vessel told me
that the smell rendered it quite impassable. Without doubt
several hundred thousand animals thus perished in the river :
their bodies when putrid were seen floating down the stream ;
and many in all probability were deposited in the estuary of the
Plata. All the small rivers became highly saline, and this caused
the death of vast numbers in particular spots ; for when an animal
drinks of such water it does not recover. Azara describes* the
fury of the wild horses on a similar occasion, rushing into the
marshes, those which arrived first being overwhelmed and
crushed by those which followed. He adds that more than once
he has seen the carcasses of upwards of a thousand wild horses
thus destroyed. I noticed that the smaller streams in the Pampas
were paved with a breccia of bones, but this probably is the
effect of a gradual increase, rather than of the destruction at
any one period. Subsequently to the drought of 1827 to '32,
a very rainy season followed, which caused great floods. Hence
it is almost certain that some thousands of the skeletons were
buried by the deposits of the very next year. What would be
the opinion of a geologist, viewing such an enormous collection
of bones, of all kinds of animals and of all ages, thus embedded
in one thick earthy mass ? Would he not attribute it to a flood
having swept over the surface of the land, rather than to the
common order of things ?j
October \2th. I had intended to push my excursion further,
but not being quite well, I was compelled to return by a
balandra, or one-masted vessel of about a hundred tons' burden,
which was bound to Buenos Ayres. As the weather was not
fair, we moored early in the day to a branch of a tree on one ol
the islands. The Parana is full of islands, which undergo a con-
stant round of decay and renovation. In the memory of the
master several large ones had disappeared, and others again had
been formed and protected by vegetation. They are composed
of muddy sand, without even the smallest pebble, and were then
* Travels, vol. i. p. 374.
t These droughts to a certain degree seem to be almost periodical ; 1
vas told the dates of several others, and the intervals were about fifteen
years.
1833.] HABITS OF THE JAGUAR. 135
about four feet above the level of the river ; but during the
periodical floods they are inundated. They all present one cha-
racter ; numerous willows arid a few other trees are bound to-
gether by a great variety of creeping plants, thus forming a thick
jungle. These thickets afford a retreat for capybaras and
jaguars. The fear of the latter animal quite destroyed all plea-
sure in scrambling through the woods. This evening I had not
proceeded a hundred yards, before finding indubitable signs of
the recent presence of the tiger, I was obliged to come back.
On every island there were tracks ; and as on the former excursion
" el rastro de los Indios" had been the subject of conversation, so
in this was " el rastro del tigre."
The wooded banks of the great rivers appear to be the favourite
haunts of the jaguar ; but south of the Plata, I was told that they
frequented the reeds bordering lakes : wherever they are, they seem
to require water. Their common prey is the capybara, so that
it is generally said, where capybaras are numerous there is little
danger from the jaguar. Falconer states that near the southern
side of the mouth of the Plata there are many jaguars, and that
they chiefly live on fish ; this account I have heard repeated.
On the Parana they have killed many wood-cutters, and have
even entered vessels at night. There is a man now living in the
Bajada, who, coming up from below when it was dark, was seized
on the deck ; he escaped, however, with the loss of the use of
one arm. When the floods drive these animals from the islands,
they are most dangerous. I was told that a few years since a
very large one found its way into a church at St. Fe : two padres
entering one after the other were killed, and a third, who came
to see what was the matter, escaped with difficulty. The beast
was destroyed by being shot from a corner of the building which
was unroofed. They commit also at these times great ravages
among cattle and horses. It is said that they kill their prey by
breaking their necks. If driven from the carcass, they seldom
return to it. The Gauchos say that the jaguar, when wandering
about at night, is much tormented by the foxes yelping as they
follow him. This is a curious coincidence with the fact which is
generally affirmed of the jackals accompanying, in a similarly
officious manner, the East Indian tiger. The jaguar is a noisy
animal, roaring much by night, and especially before bad weather.
10
136 RIO PARANA. [CHAP. vn.
One day, when hunting on the banks of the Uruguay, I was
shown certain trees, to which these animals constantly recur for
the purpose, as it is said, of sharpening their claws. I saw three
well-known trees ; in front, the bark was worn smooth, as if by
the breast of the animal, and on each side there were deep
scratches, or rather grooves, extending in an oblique line, nearly
a yard in length. The scars were of different ages. A common
method of ascertaining whether a jaguar is in the neighbourhood
is to examine these trees. I imagine this habit of the jaguar is
exactly similar to one which may any day be seen in the common
cat, as with outstretched legs and exserted claws it scrapes the
leg of a chair ; and I have heard of young fruit-trees in an
orchard in England having been thus much injured. Some such
habit must also be common to the puma, for on the bare hard soil
of Patagonia I have frequently seen scores so deep that no other
animal could have made them. The object of this practice is, I
believe, to tear off the ragged points of their claws, and not, as
the Gauchos think, to sharpen them. The jaguar is killed,
without much difficulty, by the aid of dogs baying and driving
him up a tree, where he is despatched with bullets.
Owing to bad weather we remained two days at our mcorings.
Our only amusement was catching fish for our dinner: there
were several kinds, and all good eating. A fish called the
" armado" (a Silurus) is remarkable from a harsh grating noise
which it makes when caught by hook and line, and which can be
distinctly heard when the fish is beneath the water. This same fish
has the power of firmly catching hold of any object, such as the
blade of an oar or the fishing-line, with the strong spine both of
its pectoral and dorsal fin. In the evening the weather was quite
tropical, the thermometer standing at 79. Numbers of fireflies
were hovering about, and the musquitoes were very troublesome.
I exposed my hand for five minutes, and it was soon black with
them ; I do not suppose there could have been less than fifty, all
busy sucking.
October 15th. We got under way and passed Punta Gorda,
where there is a colony of tame Indians from the province of
Missiones. We sailed rapidly down the current, but before
sunset, from a silly fear of bad weather, we brought-to in a nar-
row arm of the river. I took the boat and rowed some distance
1833.] THE SCISSOR-BEAK. 137
up this creek. It was very narrow, winding, and deep ; on each
side a wall thirty or forty feet high, formed by trees intwined
with creepers, gave to the canal a singularly, gloomy appearance,
I here saw a very extraordinary bird, called the Scissor-beak
(Rhynchops nigra). It has short legs, web feet, extremely long-
pointed wings, and is of about the size of a tern. The beak is
flattened laterally, that is, in a plane at right angles to that of a
spoonbill or duck. It is as flat and elastic as an ivory paper-
cutter, and the lower mandible, differently from every other bird,
is an inch and a half longer than the upper. In a lake near
Maldonado, from which the water had been nearly drained, and
which, in consequence, swarmed with small fry, I saw several of
these birds, generally in small flocks, flying rapidly backwards
and forwards close to the surface of the lake. They kept their
bills wide open, and the lower mandible half buried in* the
water. Thus skimming the surface, they ploughed it in their
course : the water was quite smooth, and it formed a most curious
spectacle to behold a flock, each bird leaving its narrow wake on
the mirror-like surface. In their flight they frequently twist
about with extreme quickness, and dexterously manage with their
projecting lower mandible to plough up small fish, which are
secured by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-like bills.
This fact I repeatedly saw, as, like swallows, they continued to
fly backwards and forwards close before me. Occasionally when
leaving the surface of the water their flight was wild, irregular,
and rapid ; they then uttered loud harsh cries. When these
birds are fishing, the advantage of the long primary feathers of
their wings, in keeping them dry, is very evident. When thus
employed, their forms resemble the symbol by which many artists
represent marine birds. Their tails are much used in steering
their irregular course.
138 RIO PARANA. [CHAP. vn.
These birds are common far inland along the course of the
Rio Parana ; it is said that they remain here during the whole
year, and breed in the marshes. During the day they rest in
flocks en the grassy plains, at some distance from the water.
Being at anchor, as I have said, in one of the deep creeks be-
tween the islands of the Parana, as the evening drew to a close,
one of these scissor-beaks suddenly appeared. The water was
quite still, and many little fish were rising. The bird continued
for a long time to skim the surface, flying in its wild and irre-
gular manner up and down the narrow canal, now dark with the
growing night and the shadows of the overhanging trees. At
Monte Video, I observed that some large flocks during the day
remained on the mud-banks at the head of the harbour, in the
same manner as on the grassy plains near the Parana ; and every
evening they took flight seaward. From these facts I suspect
that the Rhynchops generally fishes by night, at which time many
of the lower animals come most abundantly to the surface. M.
Lesson states that he has seen these birds opening the shells of
the mactrae buried in the sand-banks on the coast of Chile :
from their weak bills, with the lower mandible so much project-
ing, their short legs and long wings, it is very improbable that
this can be a general habit.
In our course down the Parana, I observed only three other
birds, whose habits are worth mentioning. One is a small king-
fisher (Ceryle Americana) ; it has a longer tail than the European
species, and hence does not sit in so stiff and upright a position.
Its flight also, instead of being direct and rapid, like the course
of an arrow, is weak and undulatory, as among the soft-billed
birds. It utters a low note, like tiie clicking together of two
small stones. A small green parrot (Conurus murinus), with a
grey breast, appears to prefer the tall trees on the islands to any
other situation for its building-place. A number of nests are
placed so close together as to form one great mass of sticks.
These parrots always live in flocks, and commit great ravages on
the corn-Selds. I was told that near Colonia 2500 were killed
in the course of one year. A bird with a forked tail, terminated
by two long feathers (Tyrannus savana), and named by the
Spaniards scissor-tail, is very common near Buenos Ayres : it
commonly sits on a branch of the ombu tree, near a house, and
1833.] RIO PARANA. 139
thence takes a short flight in pursuit of insects, and returns to
the same spot. When on the wing it presents in its manner of
flight and general appearance a caricature-likeness of the com-
mon swallow. It has the power of turning very shortly in the
air, and in so doing opens and shuts its tail, sometimes in a
horizontal or lateral and sometimes in a vertical direction, just
like a pair of scissors.
October IQth. Some leagues below Rozario, the western
shore of the Parana is bounded by perpendicular cliffs, which
extend in a long line to below San Nicolas ; hence it more
resembles a sea-coast than that of a fresh-water river. It is
a great drawback to the scenery of the Parana, that, from the soft
nature of its banks, the water is very muddy. The Uruguay,
flowing through a granitic country, is much clearer; and where
the two channels unite at the head of the Plata, the waters
may for a long distance be distinguished by their black and red
colours. In the evening, the wind being not quite fair, as usual
we immediately moored, and the next day, as it blew rather
freshly, though with a favouring current, the master was much
too indolent to think of starting. At Bajada, he was described
to me as " hombre muy aflicto " a man always miserable to get
on ; but certainly he bore all delays with admirable resignation.
He was an old Spaniard, and had been many years in this
country. He professed a great liking to the English, but stoutly
maintained that the battle of Trafalgar was merely won by the
Spanish captains having been all bought over ; and that the only
really gallant action on either side was performed by the Spanish
admiral. It struck me as rather characteristic, that this man
should prefer his countrymen being thought the worst of traitors,
rather than unskilful or cowardly.
18th and 19th. We continued slowly te sa ; l down the noble
stream : the current helped us but little. We met, during our
descent, very few vessels. One of the best gifts of nature, in so
grand a channel of communication, seems here wilfully thrown
away a river in which ships might navigate from a temperate
country, as surprisingly abundant in certain productions as desti-
tute of others, to another possessing a tropical climate, and a soil
which, according to the best of judges, M. Bonpland, is perhaps
unequalled in fertility in any part of the world. How different
140 REVOLUTION AT BUENOS AYRES. [CHAP. VH.
would have been the aspect of this river if English colonists had
by good fortune first sailed up the Plata ! What noble towns
would now have occupied its shores ! Till the death of Francia, the
Dictator of Paraguay, these two countries must remain distinct, as
if placed on opposite sides of the globe. And when the old
bloody-minded tyrant is gone to his long account, Paraguay will
be torn by revolutions, violent in proportion to the previous un-
natural calm. That country will have to learn, like every other
South American state, that a republic cannot succeed till it con-
tains a certain body of men imbued with the principles of justice
and honour.
October 20th. Being arrived at the mouth of the Parana, and
as I was very anxious to reach Buenos Ayres, I went on shore at
Las Conchas, with the intention of riding there. Upon landing,
I found to my great surprise that I was to a certain degree a
prisoner. A violent revolution having broken out, all the ports
were laid under an embargo. I could not return to my vessel,
and as for going by land to the city, it was out of the question.
After a long conversation with the commandant, I obtained per-
mission to go the next day to General Rolor, who commanded a
division of the rebels on this side the capital. In the morning
I rode to the encampment. The general, officers, and soldiers,
all appeared, and I believe really were, great villains. The
general, the very evening before he left the city, voluntarily went
to the Governor, and with his hand to his heart, pledged his word
of honour that he at least would remain faithful to the last. The
genera] told me that the city was in a state of close blockade, and
that all he could do was to give me a passport to the commander-
in-chief of the rebels at Quilmes. We had therefore to take a
great sweep round the city, and it was with much difficulty that
we procured horses. My reception at the encampment was quite
civil, but I was told it was impossible that I could be allowed to
enter the city. I was veiy anxious about this, as I anticipated
the Beagle's departure from the Rio Plata earlier than it took
place. Having mentioned, however, General Rosas's obliging
kindness to me when at the Colorado, magic itself could not
have altered circumstances quicker than did this conversation. I
was instantly told that though they could not give me a passport,
if I chose to leave my guide and horses, I might pass their sen-
1833.] REVOLUTION AT BUENOS AYRES. 141
tinels. I was too glad to accept of this, and an officer was sent
with me to give directions that I should not be stopped at the
bridge. The road for the space of a league was quite deserted.
I met one party of soldiers, who were satisfied by gravely look-
ing at an old passport: and at length I was not a little pleased to
find myself within the city.
This revolution was supported by scarcely any pretext of
grievances : but in a state which, in the course of nine months
'from February to October, 1820), underwent fifteen changes in
its government each governor, according to the constitution,
being elected for three years it would be very unreasonable to
ask for pretexts. In this case, a party of men who, being at-
tached to Rosas, were disgusted with the governor Balcarce to
the number of seventy left the city, and with the cry of Rosas
the whole country took arms. The city was then blockaded, no
provisions, cattle or horses, were allowed to enter ; besides this,
there was only a little skirmishing, and a few meu daily killed.
The outside party well knew that by stopping the supply of meat
they would certainly be victorious. General Rosas could not have
known of this rising ; but it appears to be quite consonant with
ihe plans of his party. A year ago he was elected governor, but
he refused it, unless the Sala would also confer on him extra-
ordinary powers. This was refused, and since then his party
have shown that no other governor can keep his place. The
warfare on both sides was avowedly protracted till it was possible
to hear from Rosas. A note arrived a few days after I left
Buenos Ayres, which stated that the General disapproved of
peace having been broken, but that he thought the outside party
had justice on their side. On the bare reception of this, the
Governor, ministers, and part of the military, to the number of
some hundreds, fled from the city. The rebels entered, elected a
new governor, and were paid for their services to the number of
5500 men. From these proceedings, it was clear that Rosas
ultimately would become the dictator : to the term king, the
people in this, as in other republics, have a particular dislike.
Since leaving South America, we have heard that Rosas has been
elected, with powers and for a time altogether opposed to the
constitutional principles of the republic.
142 BANDA ORIENTAL. [CHAP. Tin.
CHAPTER VIII.
Excursion to Colonia del Sacramiento Value of an Estancia Cattle,
how counted Singular Breed of Oxen Perforated Pebbles Shep-
herd Dogs Horses Broken-in, Gauchos Riding Character of In-
habitantsRio Plata Flocks of Butterflies Aeronaut Spiders Phospho-
rescence of the Sea Port Desire Guanaco Port St. Julian Geology
of Patagonia Fossil gigantic' Animal Types of Organization constant
Change in the Zoology of America Causes of Extinction.
BANDA ORIENTAL AND PATAGONIA.
HAVING been delayed for nearly a fortnight in the city, I was
glad to escape on board a packet bound for Monte Video. A
town in a state of blockade must always be a disagreeable place
of residence ; in this case moreover there were constant appre-
hensions from robbers within. The sentinels were the worst of
all ; for, from their office and from having arms in their hands,
they robbed with a degree of authority which other men could
not imitate.
Our passage was a very long and tedious one. The Plata
looks like a noble estuary on the map ; but is in truth a poor
affair. A wide expanse of muddy water has neither grandeur nor
beauty. At one time of the day, the two shores, both of which
are extremely low, could just be distinguished from the deck.
On arriving at Monte Video I found that the Beagle would not sail
for some time, so I prepared for a short excursion in this part of
Banda Oriental. Everything which I have said about the country
near Maldonado is applicable to M. Video ; but the land, with the
one exception of the Green Mount, 450 feet high, from which it
takes its name, is far more level. Very little of the undulating
grassy plain is enclosed ; but near the town there are a few hedge-
banks, covered with agaves, cacti, and fennel.
November 14th. We left Monte Video in the afternoon. I
intended to proceed to Colonia del Sacramiento, situated on the
northern bank of the Plata and opposite to Buenos Ayres, and
thence, following up the Uruguay, to the village of Mercedes on
1833.] BANDA ORIENTAL. 143
the Rio Negro (one of the many rivers of this name in South
America), and from this point to return direct to Monte Video.
We slept at the house of my guide at Canelones. In the morning
we rose early, in the hopes of being able to ride a good distance ;
but it was a vain attempt, for all the rivers were flooded. We
passed in boats the streams of Canelones, St. Lucia, and San Jose,
and thus lost much time. On a former excursion I crossed the
Lucia near its mouth, and I was surprised to observe how easily
our horses, although not used to swim, passed over a width of at
least six hundred yards. On mentioning this at Monte Video, I
was told that a vessel containing some mountebanks and their
horses, being wrecked in the Plata, one horse swam seven miles
to the shore. In the course of the day I was amused by the dex-
terity with which a Gaucho forced a restive horse to swim a
river. He stripped offhis clothes, and jumping on its back, rode
into the water till it was out of its depth ; then slipping off over
the crupper, he caught hold of the tail, and as often as the horse
turned round, the man frightened it back by splashing water in
its face. As soon as the horse touched the bottom on the other
side, the man pulled himself on, and was firmly seated, bridle in
hand, before the horse gained the bank. A naked man on a
naked horse is a fine spectacle ; I had no idea how well the two
animals suited each other. The tail of a horse is a very useful
appendage ; I have passed a river in a boat with four people in
it, which was ferried across in the same way as the Gaucho. If
a man arid horse have to cross a broad river, the best plan is for
the man to catch hold of the pommel or mane, and help himself
with the other arm.
We slept and stayed the following day at the post of Cufre. In
the evening the postman or letter-carrier arrived. He was a day
after his time, owing to the Rio Rozario being flooded. It
would not, however, be of much consequence ; for, although he
had passed through some of the principal towns in Banda
Oriental, his luggage consisted of two letters ! The view from
the house was pleasing ; an undulating green surface, with dis-
tant glimpses of the Plata. I find that I look at this province
with very different eyes from what I did upon my first arrival. I
recollect I then thought it singularly level ; but now, after gal-
loping over the Pampas, my only surprise is, what could havo
144 BAND A ORIENTAL. [CHAP. vm.
induced me ever to have called it level. The country is a series
of undulations, in themselves perhaps not absolutely great, but, as
compared to the plains of St. Fe, real mountains. From these
inequalities there is an abundance of small rivulets, and the turf
is green and luxuriant
November 17th. We crossed the Rozario, which was deep
and rapid, and passing the village of Colla, arrived at mid-day
at Colonia del Sacramiento. The distance is twenty leagues,
through a country covered with fine grass, but poorly stocked
with cattle or inhabitants. I was invited to sleep at Colonia,
and to accompany on the following day a gentleman to his estan-
cia, where there were some limestone rocks. The town is built
on a stony promontory something in the same manner as at
Monte Video. It is strongly fortified, but both fortifications
and town suffered much in the Brazilian war. It is very an-
cient ; and the irregularity of the streets, and the surrounding
groves of old orange and peach trees, gave it a pretty appear-
ance. The church is a curious ruin ; it was used as a powder-
magazine, and was struck by lightning in one of the ten thousand
thunder-storms of the Rio Plata. Two-thirds of the building
were blown away to the very foundation ; and the rest stands a
shattered and curious monument of the united powers of light-
ning and gunpowder. In the evening I wandered about the
half-demolished walls of the town. It was the chief seat of the
Brazilian war; a war most injurious to this country, not so
much in its immediate effects, as in being the origin of a multi-
tude of generals and all other grades of officers. More generals
are numbered (but not paid) in the United Provinces of La
Plata than in the United Kingdom of Great Britain. These
gentlemen have learned to like power, and do not object to a
little skirmishing. Hence there are many always on the watch
to create disturbance and to overturn a government which as
yet has never rested on any stable foundation. I noticed, how-
ever, both here and in other places, a very general interest in
the ensuing election for the President ; and this appears a good
sign for the prosperity of this little country. The inhabitants
do not require much education in their representatives ; I heard
some men discussing the merits of those for Colonia ; and it was
said that, " although they were not men of business, they could
1833.] CURIOUS BREED OF OXEN. 145
nil sign their names:" with this they seemed to think every
reasonable man ought to be satisfied.
18th. Rode with my host to his estancia, at the Arroyo do
San Juan. In the evening we took a ride round the estate : it
contained two square leagues and a half, and was situated in
what is called a rincon ; that is, one side was fronted by the
Plata, and the two others guarded by impassable brooks. There
was an excellent port for little vessels, and an abundance of
small wood, which is valuable as supplying fuel to Buenos Ayres.
I was curious to know the value of so complete an estancia. Of
cattle there were 3000, and it would well support threo or four
times that number; of mares feOO, together with 150 broken- in
horses, and 600 sheep. There was plenty of water and lime-
stone, a rough house, excellent corrals, and a peach orchard.
For all this he had been offered 2000/., and he only wanted 500/.
additional, and probably would sell it for less. The chiel
trouble with an estancia is driving the cattle twice a week to a
central spot, in order to make them tame, and to count them.
This latter operation would be thought difficult, where there are
ten or fifteen thousand head together. It is managed on the
principle that the cattle invariably divide themselves into little
troops of from forty to one hundred. Each troop is recognised
by a few peculiarly marked animals, and its number is known :
so that, one being lost out of ten thousand, it is perceived by its
absence from one of the tropillas. During a stormy night the
cattle all mingle together ; but the next morning the tropillas
separate as before ; so that each animal must know its fellow
out of ten thousand others.
On two occasions I met with in this province some oxen of a
very curious breed, called nata or niata. They appear exter-
nally to hold nearly the same relation to other cattle, which bull
or pug dogs do to other dogs. Their forehead is very short and
broad, with the nasal end turned up, and the upper lip much
drawn back ; their lower jaws project beyond the upper, and
have a corresponding upward curve ; hence their teeth are always
exposed. Their nostrils are seated high up and are very open ;
their eyes project outwards. When walking they carry their
heads low, on a short neck ; and their hinder legs are rather
longer compared with the front legs than is usual. Their bare
146 BANDA ORIENTAL. [CHAP. vin.
teeth, their short heads, and upturned nostrils give them the
most ludicrous self-confident air of defiance imaginable.
Since my return, I have procured a skeleton head, through
the kindness of my friend Captain Sulivan, R.N., which is now
deposited in the College of Surgeons.* Don F. Muniz, of
Luxan, has kindly collected for me all the information which he
could respecting this breed. From his account it seems that
about eighty or ninety years ago, they were rare and kept as
curiosities at Buenos Ayres. The breed is universally believed
to have originated amongst the Indians southward of the Plata ;
and that it was with them the commonest kind. Even to this
day, those reared in the provinces near the Plata show their less
civilized origin, in being fiercer than common cattle, and in the
cow easily deserting her first calf, if visited too often or molested.
It is a singular fact that an almost similar structure to the ab-
normal f one of the niata breed, characterizes, as I am informed
by Dr. Falconer, that great extinct ruminant of India, the Siva-
therium. The breed is very true ; and a niata bull and cow
invariably produce niata calves. A niata bull with a common
cow, or the reverse cross, produces offspring having an interme-
diate character, but with the niata characters strongly displayed :
according to Senor Muniz, there is the clearest evidence, con-
trary to the common belief of agriculturists in analogous cases,
that the niata cow when crossed with a common bull transmits
her peculiarities more strongly than the niata bull when crossed
with a common cow. When the pasture is tolerably long, the
niata cattle feed with the tongue and palate a*; well as common
cattle ; but during the great droughts, when so many animals
perish, the niata breed is under a great disadvantage, and would
be exterminated if not attended to ; for the common cattle, like
horses, are able just to keep alive, by browsing with their lips on
twigs of trees and reeds ; this the niatas cannot so well do, as
their lips do not join, and hence they are found to perish before
the common cattle. This strikes me as a good illustration of
how little we are able to judge from the ordinary habits of life,
* Mr. Waterhouse has drawn up a detailed description of this head,
which I hope he will publish in some Journal.
f A nearly similar abnormal, but I do not know whether hereditary, struc-
ture has been observed in the carp, and likewise in the crocodile of the
Ganges: Histoire des Anomalies, par M. Isid. Geoffrey St. Hilaire, torn. L
p. 244.
1833.] CONVERSATION OF THE INHABITANTS. MY
on what circumstances, occurring only at long intervals, the
rarity or extinction of a species may be determined.
November I9tk. Passing the valley of Las Vacas, we slept
at a house of a North American, who worked a lime-kiln on
the Arroyo de las Vivoras. In the morning we rode to a pro-
jecting headland on the banks of the river, called Punta Gorda.
On the way we tried to find a jaguar. There were plenty of
fresh tracks, and we visited the trees, on which they are said to
sharpen their claws ; but we did not succeed in disturbing one.
From this point the Rio Uruguay presented to our view a noble
volume of water. From the clearness and rapidity of the stream,
its appearance was far superior to that of its neighbour the Pa-
rana. On the opposite coast, several branches from the latter
river entered the Uruguay. As the sun was shining, the two
colours of the waters could be seen quite distinct.
In the evening we proceeded on our road towards Mercedes
on the Rio Negro. At night we asked permission to sleep at an
estancia at which we happened to arrive. It was a very large
estate, being ten leagues square, and the owner is one of the
greatest landowners in the country. His nephew had charge of
it, and with him there was a captain in the army, who the other
day ran away from Buenos Ayres. Considering their station,
their conversation was rather amusing. They expressed, as was
usual, unbounded astonishment at the globe being round, and
could scarcely credit that a hole would, if deep enough, come
out on the other side. They had, however, heard of a country
where there, were six months light and six of darkness, and where
the inhabitants were very tall and thin ! They were curious
about the price and condition of horses and cattle in England.
Upon finding out we did not catch our animals with the lazo,
they cried out, " Ah, then, you use nothing but the bolas :" the
idea of an enclosed country was quite new to them. The cap-
tain at last said, he had one question to ask me, which he should
be very much obliged if I would answer with all truth. I trem-
bled to think how deeply scientific it would be : it was, " Whe-
ther the ladies of Buenos Ayres were not the handsomest in the
world." I replied, like a renegade, " Charmingly so." He
added, " I have one other question : Do ladies in any other
part of the world wear such large combs ?" I solemnly assured
148 BAND A ORIENTAL. [CHAP. vin.
him that they did not. They were absolutely delighted. The
captain exclaimed, " Look there ! a man who has seen half the
world says it is the case ; we always thought so, but now we
know it." My excellent judgment in combs and beauty pro-
cured me a most hospitable reception ; the captain forced me to
take his bed, and he would sleep on his recado.
2lst. Started at sunrise, and rode slowly during the whole
day. The geological nature of this part of the province was
different from the rest, and closely resembled that of the Pam-
pas. Tn consequence, *here were immense beds of the thistle,
as well as of the cardoon : the whole country, indeed, may be
called one great bed of these plants. The two sorts grow sepa-
rate, each plant in company with its own kind. The cardoon is
as high as a horse's back, but the Pampas thistle is often higher
than the crown of the rider's head. To leave the road for a
yard is out of the question ; and the road itself is partly, and in
some cases entirely, closed. Pasture, of course there is none ;
if cattle or horses once enter the bed, they are for the time com-
pletely lost. Hence it is very hazardous to attempt to drive
cattle at this season of the year ; for when jaded enough to face
the thistles, they rush among them, and are seen no more. In
these districts there are very few estancias, and these few are
situated in the neighbourhood of damp valleys, where fortu-
nately neither of these overwhelming plants can exist. As night
came on before we arrived at our journey's end, we slept at a
miserable little hovel inhabited by the poorest people. The ex-
treme though rather formal courtesy of our host and hostess,
considering their grade of life, was quite delightful.
November 22nd. Arrived at an estancia on the Berquelo be-
longing to a very hospitable Englishman, to whom I had a letter
of introduction from my friend Mr. Lumb. I stayed here three
days. One morning I rode with my host to the Sierra del Pedro
Flaco, about twenty miles up the Rio Negro. Nearly the whole
country was covered with good though coarse grass, which was
as high as a horse's belly ; yet there were square leagues without
a single head of cattle. The province of Banda Oriental, if well
stocked, would support an astonishing number of animals ; at
present the annual export of hides from Monte Video amounts
to three hundred thousand ; and the home consumption, from
1833.] HILL OF BEADS. 149
waste, is very considerable. An estanciero told me that he often
had to send large herds of cattle a long journey to a salting esta
blishment, and that the tired beasts were frequently obliged to be
killed and skinned ; but that he could never persuade the Gauchos
to eat of them, and every evening a fresh beast was slaughtered for
their suppers ! The view of the Rio Negro from the Sierra was
more picturesque than any other which I saw in this province.
The river, broad, deep and rapid, wound at the foot of a
rocky precipitous cliff: a belt of wood followed its course,
and the horizon terminated in the distant undulations of the
turf-plain.
When in this neighbourhood, I several times heard of the
Sierra de las Cuentas : a hill distant many miles to the north-
ward. The name signifies hill of beads. I was assured that
vast numbers of little round stones, of various colours, each
with a small cylindrical hole, are found there. Formerly the
Indians used to collect them, for the purpose of making neck-
laces and bracelets a taste, 1 may observe, which is common to
all savage nations, as well as to the most polished. I did not
know what to understand from this story, but upon mentioning
it at the .Cape of Good Hope to Dr. Andrew Smith, he told me
that he recollected finding on the south-eastern coast of Africa,
about one hundred miles to the eastward of St. John's river,
some quartz crystals with their edges blunted from attrition, and
mixed with gravel on the sea-beach. Each crystal was about
five lines in diameter, and from an inch to an inch and a half in
length. Many of them had a small canal extending from one
extremity to the other, perfectly cylindrical, and of a size that
readily admitted a coarse thread or a piece of fine catgut. Their
colour was red or dull white. The natives were acquainted
with this structure in crystals. I have mentioned these circum-
stances because, although no crystallized body is at present
known to assume this form, it may lead some future traveller to
investigate the real nature of such stones.
While staying at this estancia, I was amused with what I saw
and heard of the shepherd-dogs of the country.* When riding,
* M. A. d'Orbigny has given nearly a similar account of these dogs,
lorn. i. p. 1 75.
150 BAND A ORIENTAL. [CHAP. vin.
it is a common thing to meet a large flock of sheep guarded by
one or two dogs, at the distance of some miles from any house
or man. I often wondered how so firm a friendship had been
established. The method of education consists in separating
the'puppy, while very young, from the bitch, and in accustom-
ing it to its future companions. An ewe is held three or four
times a day for the little thing to suck, and a nest of wool is
made for it in the sheep-pen ; at no time is it allowed to associate
with other dogs, or with the children of the family. The puppy
is, moreover, generally castrated ; so that, when grown up, it
can scarcely have any feelings in common with the rest of its
kind. From this education it has no wish to leave the flock, and
just as another dog will defend its master, man, so will these
the sheep. It is amusing to observe, when approaching a flock,
how the dog immediately advances barking, and the sheep all
close in his rear, as if round the oldest ram. These dogs are
also easily taught to bring home the flock, at a certain hour in
the evening. Their most troublesome fault, when young, is
their desire of playing with the sheep ; for in their sport they
sometimes gallop their poor subjects most unmercifully.
The shepherd -dog comes to the house every day for some
moat, and as soon as it is given him, he skulks away as ii
ashamed of himself. On these occasions the house-dogs are
very tyrannical, and the least of them will attack and pursue the
stranger. The minute, however, the latter has reached the
flock, he turns round and begins to bark, and then all the house-
dogs take very quickly to their heels. In a similar manner a
whole pack of the hungry wild dogs will scarcely ever (and I
was told by some never) venture to attack a flock guarded by
even one of these faithful shepherds. The whole account ap-
pears to me a curious instance of the pliability of the affections
in the dog ; and yet, whether wild or however educated, he has a
feeling of respect or fear for those that are fulfilling their in-
stinct of association. For we can understand on no principle
the wild dogs being driven away by the single one with its flock,
except that they consider, from some confused notion, that the
one thus associated gains power, as if in company with its own
kind. F. Cuvier has observed, that all animals that readily
enter into domestication, consider man as a member of their
1833.] BEEAKING-IN WILD HORSES. 151
own society, and thus fulfil their instinct of association. In the
above case the shepherd-dog ranks the sheep as its fellow-
brethren, and thus gains confidence ; and the wild dogs, though
knowing that the individual sheep are not dogs, but are good to
eat, yet partly consent to this view when seeing them in a flock
with a shepherd-dog at their head.
One evening a " domidor" (a subduer of horses) came for the
purpose of brea-king-in some colts. I will describe the prepara-
tory steps, for I believe they have not been mentioned by other
travellers. A troop of wild young horses is driven into the
corral, or large enclosure of stakes, and the door is shut. We
will suppose that one man alone has to catch and mount a horse,
which as yet had never felt bridle or saddle. I conceive, except
by a Gaucho, such a feat would be utterly impracticable. The
Gaucho picks out a full-grown colt; and as the beast rushes
round the circus, he throws his lazo so as to catch both the front
legs. Instantly the horse rolls over with a heavy shock, and
whilst struggling on the ground, the Gaucho, holding the lazo
tight, makes a circle, so as to catch one of the hind legs, just
beneath the fetlock, and draws it close to the two front legs :
he then hitches the lazo, so that the three are bound together.
Then sitting on the horse's neck, he fixes a strong bridle, with-
out a bit, to the lower jaw : this he does by passing a narrow
thong through the eye-holes at the end of the reins, and several
times round both jaw and tongue.. The two front legs are now
tied closely together with a strong leathern thong, fastened by
a slip-knot. The lazo, which bound the three together, being
then loosed, the horse rises with difficulty. The Gaucho now
holding fast the bridle fixed to the lower jaw, leads the horse
outside the corral. If a second man is present (otherwise the
trouble is much greater) he holds the animal's head, whilst the
first puts on the horsecloths and saddle, and girths the whole to-
gether. During this operation, the horse, from dread and asto-
nishment at thus being bound round the waist, throws himself
over and over again on the ground, and, till beaten, is unwilling
to rise. At last, when the saddling is finished, the poor animal
can hardly breathe from fear, and is white with foam and sweat.
The man now prepares to mount by pressing heavily on the
stirrup, so that the horse may not lose its balance ; and at the
152 BAND A ORIENTAL. [CHAP. TIII.
moment that he throws his leg over the animal's back, he pulls
the slip-knot binding the front legs, and the beast is free. Some
" domidors" pull the knot while the animal is lying on the
ground, and, standing over the saddle, allow him to rise beneath
them. The horse, wild with dread, gives a few most violent
bounds, and then starts off at full gallop : when quite exhausted,
the man, by patience, brings him back to the corral, where,
reeking hot and scarcely alive, the poor beast is let free. Those
animals which will not gallop away, but obstinately throw them-
selves on the ground, are by far the most troublesome. This
process is tremendously severe, but in two or three trials the
horse is tamed. It is not, however, for some weeks that the
animal is ridden with the iron bit and solid ring, for it must
learn to associate the will of its rider with the feel of the rein,
before the most powerful bridle can be of any service.
Animals are so abundant in these countries, that humanity and
self-interest are not closely united ; therefore I fear it is that the
former is here scarcely known. One day, riding in the Pampas
with a very respectable " Estanciero," my horse, being tired,
lagged behind. The man often shouted to me to spur him.
When I remonstrated that it was a pity, for the horse was quite
exhausted, he cried out, " Why not ? never mind spur him
it is my horse." I had then some difficulty in making him
comprehend that it was for the horse's sake, and not on his ac-
count, that I did not choose to use my spurs. He" exclaimed,
with a look of great surprise, " Ah, Don Carlos, que cosa !" It
was clear that such an idea had never before entered his head.
The Gauchos are well known to be perfect riders. The idea
of being thrown, let the horse do what it likes, never enters their
head. Their criterion of a good rider is, a man who can manage
an untamed colt, or who, if his horse falls, alights on his own
feet, or can perform other such exploits. I have heard of a man
betting that he would throw his horse down twenty times, and
that nineteen times he would not fall himself. I recollect seeing
a Gaucho riding a very stubborn horse, which three times suc-
cessively reared so high as to fall backwards with great violence.
The man judged with uncommon coolness the proper moment
for slipping off, not an instant before or after the right time ;
and as soon as the horse got up, the man jumped on his back, and
HORSEMANSHIP IN CHILE. 153
at last they started at a gallop. The Gaucho never appears to
exert any muscular force. I was one day watching a good rider,
as we were galloping along at a rapid pace, and thought to my-
self, " surely if the horse starts, you appear so careless on your
seat, you must fall." At this moment, a male ostrich sprang
from its nest right beneath the horse's nose : the young colt
bounded on one side like a stag ; but as for the man, all that
could be said was, that he started and took fright with his
horse.
In Chile and Peru more pains are taken with the mouth of the
horse than in La Plata, and this is evidently a consequence of
the more intricate nature of the country. In Chile a horse is
not considered perfectly broken, till he can be brought up stand-
ing, in the midst of his full speed, on any particular spot, for
instance, on a cloak thrown on the ground : or, again, he will
charge a wall, and rearing, scrape the surface with his hoofs.
I have seen an animal bounding with spirit, yet merely reined
by a fore-finger and thumb, taken at full gallop across a court-
yard, and then made to wheel round the post of a veranda with
great speed, but at so equal a distance, that the rider, with out-
stretched arm, all the while kept one finger rubbing the post.
Then making a demi-volte in the air, with the other arm out-
stretched in a like manner, he wheeled round, with astonishing
force, in an opposite direction.
Such a horse is well broken ; and although this at first may
appear useless, it is far otherwise. It is only carrying that
which is daily necessary into perfection. When a bullock is
checked and caught by the lazo, it will sometimes gallop round
and round in a circle, and the horse being alarmed at the great
strain, if not well broken, will not readily turn like the pivot
of a wheel. In consequence many men have been killed ; for
if the lazo once takes a twist round a man's body, it will in-
stantly, from the power of the two opposed animals, almost cut
him in twain. On the same principle the races are managed ;
the course is only two or three hundred yards long, the wish
being to have horses that can make a rapid dash. The race-
horses are trained not only to stand with their hoofs touching a
line, but to draw all four feet together, so as at the first spring
to bring into play the full action of the hind-quarters. In Chile
154 BANDA ORIENTAL. [CHAP. vin.
I was told an anecdote, which I believe was true ; and it offers
a good illustration of the use of a well-broken animal. A re-
spectable man riding one day met two others, one of whom was
mounted on a horse, which he knew to have been stolen from
himself. He challenged them ; they answered him by drawing
their sabres and giving chace. The man, on his good and fleet
beast, kept just ahead : as he passed a thick bush he wheeled
round it, and brought up his horse to a dead check. The pur-
suers were obliged to shoot on one side and ahead. Then in-
stantly dashing on, right behind them, he buried his knife in the
back of one, wounded the other, recovered his horse from the
dying robber, and rode home. For these feats of horseman hip
two things are necessary : a most severe bit, like the Mameluke,
the power of which, though seldom used, the horse knows full
well ; and large blunt spurs, that can be applied either as a mere
touch, or as an instrument of extreme pain. I conceive that
with English spurs, the slightest touch of which pricks the skin,
it would be impossible to break in a horse after the South Ame-
rican fashion.
At an estancia near Las Vacas large numbers of mares are
weekly slaughtered for the sake of their hides, although worth
only five paper dollars, or about half-a-crown apiece. It seems
at first strange that it can answer to kill mares for such a trifle ;
but as it is thought ridiculous in this country ever to break in or
ride a mare, they are of no value except for breeding. The only
thing for which I ever saw mares used, was to tread out wheat
from the ear ; for which purpose they were driven round a cir-
cular enclosure, where the wheat-sheaves were strewed. The
man employed for slaughtering the mares happened to be cele-
brated for his dexterity with the lazo. Standing at the distance of
twelve yards from the mouth of the corral, he has laid a wager
that he would catch by the legs every animal, without missing
one, as it rushed past him. There was another man who said he
would enter the corral on foot, catch a mare, fasten her front legs
together, drive her out, throw her down, kill, skin, and stake the
hide for drying (which latter is a tedious job) ; and he engaged
that he would perform this whole operation on twenty-two ani-
mals in one day. Or he would kill and take the skin off fifty in
the same time. This would have been a prodigious task, for it is
1833.] REMAINS OF THE TOXODON. 155
considered a good day's work to skin and stake the hides of fifteen
or sixteen animals.
November 26th. I set out on my return in a direct line for
Monte Video. Plaving heard of some giant's bones at a neigh-
bouring farm-house on the Sarandis, a small stream entering the
Rio Negro, I rode there accompanied by my host, and purchased
for the value of eighteen pence the head of the Toxodon.* When
found it was quite perfect ; but the boys knocked out some of the
teeth with stones, and then set up the head as a mark to throw at.
By a most fortunate chance I found a perfect tooth, which exactly
fitted one of the sockets in this skull, embedded by itself on the
banks of the Rio Tercero, at the distance of about 180 miles
from this place. I found remains of this extraordinary animal
at two other places, so that it must formerly have been commqn.
I found here, also, some large portions of the armour of a gigantic
armadillo-like animal, and part of the great head of a Mylodon.
The bones of this head are so fresh, that they contain, accord-
ing to the analysis by Mr. T. Reeks, seven per cent, of animal
matter ; and when placed in a spirit-lamp, they burn with a small
fiame. The number of the remains embedded in the grand
estuary deposit which forms the Pampas and covers the granitic
rocks of Banda Oriental, must be extraordinarily great. I believe
a straight line drawn in any direction through the Pampas would
cut through some skeleton or bones. Besides those which I
found during my short excursions, I heard of many others, and
the origin of such names as " the stream of the animal," " the
hill of the giant," is obvious. At other times I heard of the
marvellous property of certain rivers, which had the power of
changing small bones into large ; or, as some maintained, the
bones themselves grew. As far as I am aware, not one of these
animals perished, as was formerly supposed, in the marshes or
muddy river-beds of the present land, but their bones have been
exposed by the streams intersecting the subaqueous deposit in
which they were originally embedded. We may conclude that
the whole area of the Pampas is one wide sepulchre of these
extinct gigantic quadrupeds.
* I must express my obligation to Mr. Keane, at whose house I was staying
on the Berquelo, and to Mr. Lumb at Buenos Ayres, for without their
assistance these valuable remains would never have reached England.
156 BAND A ORIENTAL. [CHAP. Tin.
By the middle of the day, on the 28th, we arrived at Monte
Video, having been two days and a half on the road. The
country for the whole way was of a very uniform character,
some parts being rather more rocky and hilly than near
the Plata. Not far from Monte Video we passed through
the village of Las Pietras. so named from some large rounded
masses of syenite. Its appearance was rather pretty. In this
country a few fig-trees round a group of houses, and a site ele-
vated a hundred feet above the general level, ought always to be
called picturesque.
During the last six months I have had an opportunity of seeing
a little of the character of the inhabitants of these provinces.
Tbe Gauchos, or countrymen, are very superior to those who
reside in the towns. The Gaucho is invariably most obliging,
polite, and hospitable : I did not meet with even one instance of
rudeness or inhospitality. He is modest, both respecting himself
and country, but at the same time a spirited, bold fellow. On
the other hand, many robberies are committed, and there is much
bloodshed : the habit of constantly wearing the knife is the chief
cause of the latter. It is lamentable to hear how many lives are
lost in trifling quarrels. In fighting, each party tries to mark
the face of his adversary by slashing his nose or eyes ; as is often
attested by deep and horrid-looking scars. Robberies are a
natural consequence of universal gambling, much drinking, and
extreme indolence. At Mercedes I asked two men why they
did not work. One gravely said the days were too long ; the
other that he was too poor. The number of horses and the pro-
fusion of food are the destruction of all industry. Moreover,
there are so many feast-days ; and again, nothing can succeed
without it be begun when the moon is on the increase ; so that
half the month is lost from these two causes.
Police and justice are quite inefficient. If a man who is poor
commits murder and is taken, he will be imprisoned, and perhaps
even shot ; but if he is rich and has friends, he may rely on it no
very severe consequence will ensue. It is curious that the most
respectable inhabitants of the country invariably assist a murderer
to escape : they seem to think that the individual sins against the
government, and not against the people. A traveller lias no pro-
1833.] STATE OF SOCIETY. 157
tection besides his fire-arms ; and the constant habit of carrying
thorn is the main check to more frequent robberies.
The character of the higher and more educated classes who
reside in the towns, partakes, but perhaps in a lesser degree, of the
good parts of the Gaucho, but is, I fear, stained by many vices of
which he is free. Sensuality, mockery of all religion, and the
grossest corruption, are far from uncommon. Nearly every
public officer can be bribed. The head man in the post-office
sold forged government franks. The governor and prime minister
openly combined to plunder the state. Justice, where gold came
into play, was hardly expected by any one. I knew an English-
man, who went to the Chief Justice (he told me, that not then
understanding the ways of the place, he trembled as he entered
the room), and said, " Sir, I have come to offer you two hundred
(paper) dollars (value about five pounds sterling) if you will arrest
before a certain time a man who has cheated me. I know it is
against the law, but my lawyer (naming him) recommended me to
take this step." The Chief Justice smiled acquiescence, thanked
him, and the man before night was safe in prison. With this entire
want of principle in many of the leading men, with the country
full of ill-paid turbulent officers, the people yet hope that a de-
mocratic form of government can succeed !
On first entering society in these countries, two or three
features strike one as particularly remarkable. The polite and
dignified manners pervading every rank of life, the excellent
taste displayed by the women in their dresses, and the equality
amongst all ranks. At the Rio Colorado some men who kept
the humblest shops used to dine with General Rosas. A son of a
majpr at Bahia Blanca gained his livelihood by making paper
cigars, and he wished to accompany me, as guide or servant, to
Buenos Ayres, but his father objected on the score of the danger
alone. Many officers in the army can neither read nor write, yet
all meet in society as equals. In Entre Rios, the Sala consisted
of only six representatives. One of them kept a common shop,
and evidently was not degraded by the office. All this is what
would be expected in a new country ; nevertheless the absence of
gentlemen by profession appears to an Englishman something
strange.
When speaking of these countries, the manner in which they
158 EIO PLATA. [CHAP. vm.
have been brought up by their unnatural parent, Spain, should
always be borne in mind. On the whole, perhaps, more credit
is due for what has been done, than blame for that which may be
deficient. It is impossible to doubt but that the extreme liberalism
of these countries must ultimately lead to good results. The very
general toleration of foreign religions, the regard paid to the
means of education, the freedom of the press, the facilities
offered to all foreigners, and especially, as I am bound to add, to
every one professing the humblest pretensions to science, should
be recollected with gratitude by those who have visited Spanish
South America.
December 6th. The Beagle sailed from the Rio Plata,
never again to enter its muddy stream. Our course was directed
to Port Desire, on the coast of Patagonia. Before proceeding
any further, I will here put together a few observations made at
sea.
Several times when the ship has been some miles off the mouth
of the Plata, and at other times when off the shores of Northern
Patagonia, we have been surrounded by insects. One evening,
when we were about ten miles from the Bay of San Bias, vast
numbers of butterflies, in bands or flocks of countless myriads,
extended as far as the eye could range. Even by the aid of a
telescope it was not possible to see a space free from butterflies.
The seamen cried out " it was snowing butterflies," and such in
fact was the appearance. More species than one were present,
but the main part belonged to a kind very similar to, but not
identical with, the common English Colias edusa. Some moths
and hymenoptera accompanied the butterflies ; and a fine beetle
(Calosoma) flew on board. Other instances are known of this
beetle having been caught far out at sea ; and this is the more
remarkable, as the greater number of the Carabidae seldom 01
never take wing. The day had been fine and calm, and the one
previous to it equally so, with light and variable airs. Hence
we cannot suppose that the insects were blown off the land, but
we must conclude that they voluntarily took flight. The great
bands of the Colias seem at first to afford an instance like those
on record of the migrations of another butterfly, Vanessa cardui ;*
* Lyell's Principles of Geology, vol. iii. p. 63.
1833.] FLOCKS OF BUTTERFLIES. 159
but the presence of other insects makes the case distinct, and even
less intelligible. Before sunset a strong breeze sprung up from
the north, and this must have caused tens of thousands of the
butterflies and other insects to have perished.
On another occasion, when seventeen miles off Cape Corrientes,
I had a net overboard to catch pelagic animals. Upon drawing
it up, to my surprise I found a considerable number of beetles in
it, and although in the open sea, they did not appear much in-
jured by the salt water. I lost some of the specimens, but those
which I preserved belonged to the genera Colymbetes, Hydropo-
rus, Hydrobius (two species), Notaphus, Cynucus, Adimonia, and
Scarabaeus. At first I thought that these insects had been blown
from the shore ; but upon reflecting that out of the eight species
four were aquatic, and two others partly so in their habits, it ap-
peared to me most probable that they were floated into the sea
by a small stream which drains a lake near Cape Corrientes. On
any supposition it is an interesting circumstance to find live insects
swimming in the open ocean seventeen miles from the nearest
point of land. There are several accounts of insects having been
blown off the Patagonian shore. Captain Cook observed it, as
did more lately Captain King in the Adventure. The cause
probably is due to the want of shelter, both of trees and hills, so
that an insect on the wing, with an off-shore breeze, would be
very apt to be blown out to sea. The most remarkable instance
I have known of an insect being caught far from the land, was
that of a large grasshopper (Acrydium), which flew on board,
when the Beagle was to windward of the Cape de Verd Islands,
and when the nearest point of land, not directly opposed to the
trade-wind, was Cape Blanco on the coast of Africa, 370 miles
distant.*
On several occasions, when the Beagle has been within the
mouth of the Plata, the rigging has been coated with the web of
the Gossamer Spider. One day (November 1st, 1832) I paid
particular attention to this subject. 1"he weather had been fine
and clear, and in the morning the air was full of patches of the
flocculent web, as on an autumnal day in England. The ship
* The flies which frequently accompany a ship for some days on its
passage from harbour to harbour, wandering from the vessel, are soon lost,
and all disappear.
160 RIO PLATA. [CHAP. Tin.
was sixty miles distant from the land, in the direction of a steady
though light breeze. Vast numbers of a small spider, about one-
tenth of aa inch in length, and of a dusky red colour, were attached
to the webs. There must have been, I should suppose, some
thousands on the ship. The little spider, when first coming in
contact with the rigging, was always seated on a single thread,
and not on the flocculent mass. This latter seems merely to be
produced by the entanglement of the single threads. The spiders
were all of one species, but of both sexes, together with young
ones. These latter were distinguished by their smaller size and
more dusky colour. I will not give the description of this spider,
but merely state that it does not appear to me to be included in
any of Latreille's genera. The little aeronaut as soon as it arrived
on board was very active, running about, sometimes letting itself
fall, and then reascending the same thread ; sometimes employing
itself in making a small and very irregular mesh in the corners
between the ropes. It could run with facility on the surface of
water. When disturbed it lifted up its front legs, in the attitude
of attention. On its first arrival it appeared very thirsty, and
with exserted maxillae drank eagerly of drops of water; this same
circumstance has been observed by Strack : may it not be in con-
sequence of the little insect having passed through a dry and rare-
fied atmosphere ? Its stock of web seemed inexhaustible. While
watching some that were suspended by a single thread, I several
times observed that the slightest breath of air bore them away
out of sight, in a horizontal line. On another occasion (25th)
under similar circumstances, I repeatedly observed the same kind
of small spider, either when placed or having crawled on some
little eminence, elevate its abdomen, send forth a thread, and then
sail away horizontally, but with a rapidity which was quite un-
accountable. I thought I could perceive that the spider, before
performing the above preparatory steps, connected its legs toge-
ther with the most delicate threads, but I am not sure whether
this observation was correct.
One day, at St. Ft?, I had a better opportunity of observing
borne similar facts. A spider which was about three-tenths of
an inch in length, and which in its general appearance resembled
a Citigrade (therefore quite different from the gossamer), while
standing on the summit of a post, darted forth four or five threads
1833.] AERONAUT SPIDERS. 161
from its spinners. These, glittering in the sunshine, might be
compared to diverging rays of light ; they were not, however,
straight, but in undulations like films of silk blown by the wind.
They were more than a yard in length, and diverged in an ascend-
ing direction from the orifices. The spider then suddenly let go
its hold of the post, and was quickly borne out of sight. The
day was hot and apparently quite calm ; yet under such circum-
stances, the atmosphere can never be so tranquil as not to affect
a vane so delicate as the thread of a spider's web. If during a
warm day we look either at the shadow of any object cast on a
bank, or over a level plain at a distant landmark, the effect of an
ascending current of heated air is almost always evident : such
upward currents, it has been remarked, are also shown by the
ascent of soap-bubbles, which will not rise in an in-doors room.
Hence I think there is not much difficulty in understanding the
ascent of the fine lines projected from a spider's spinners, and
afterwards of the spider itself; the divergence of the lines has
been attempted to be explained, I believe by Mr. Murray, by
their similar electrical condition. The circumstance of spiders
of the same species, but of different sexes and ages, being found
on several occasions at the distance of many leagues from the
land, attached in vast numbers to the lines, renders it probable
that the habit of sailing through the air is as characteristic of
this tribe, as that of diving is of the Argyroneta. We may then
reject Latreille's supposition, that the gossamer owes its origin
indifferently to the young of several genera of spiders : although,
as we have seen, the young of other spiders do possess the power
of performing aerial voyages.*
During our different passages south of the Plata, I often towed
astern a net made of bunting, and thus caught many curious ani-
mals. Of Crustacea there were many strange and undescribed
genera. One, which in some respects is allied to the Notopods
(or those crabs which have their posterior legs placed almost on
their backs, for the purpose of adhering to the under side of
rocks), is very remarkable from the structure of its hind pair of
legs. The penultimate joint, instead of terminating in a simple
claw, ends in three bristle-like appendages of dissimilar lengths
* Mr. Blackball, in his Researches in Zoology, has many excellent ob-
servations on the habits of spiders.
1C2 ATLANTIC OCEAN. [CHAP. TIII.
the longest equalling that of the entire leg. These claws are
very thin, and are serrated with the finest teeth, directed back-
wards : their curved extremities are flattened, and on this part
five most minute cups are placed which seem to act in the same
manner as the suckers on the arms of the cuttle-fish. As the
animal lives in the open sea, and probably wants a place of rest,
I suppose this beautiful and most anomalous structure is adapted
to take hold of floating marine animals.
In deep water, far from the land, the number of living crea-
tures is extremely small : south of the latitude 35, I never suc-
ceeded in catching anything besides some beroe, and a few species
of minute entomostracous Crustacea. In shoaler water, at the
distance of a few miles from the coast, very many kinds of crus-
tacea and some other animals are numerous, but only during the
night. Between latitudes 56 and 57 south of Cape Horn, the
net was put astern several times ; it never, however, brought up
anything besides a few of two extremely minute species of Ento-
mostraca. Yet whales and seals, petrels and albatross, are ex-
ceedingly abundant throughout this part of the ocean. It has
always been a mystery to me on what the albatross, which lives
far from the shore, can subsist ; I presume that, like the condor,
it is able to fast long ; and that one good feast on the carcass
of a putrid whale lasts for a long time. The central and inter-
tropical parts of the Atlantic swarm with Pteropoda, Crustacea,
and Radiata, and with their devourers the flying-fish, and again
with their devourers the bonitos and albicores ; I presume that
the numerous lower pelagic animals feed on the Infusoria, which
are now known, from the researches of Ehrenberg, to abound in
the open ocean : but on what, in the clear blue water, do these
Infusoria subsist ?
While sailing a little south of the Plata on one very dark
night, the sea presented a wonderful and most beautiful spec-
tacle. There was a fresh breeze, and every part of the sur-
face, which during the day is seen as foam, now glowed with
a pale light. The vessel drove before her bows two billows
of liquid phosphorus, and in her wake she was followed by a
milky train. As far as the eye reached, the crest of every
wave was bright, and the sky above the horizon, from the re-
flected glare of these livid flames, was not so utterly obscure
as over the vault of the heavens
PHOSPHORESCENCE OF THE SEA. 163
As we proceed further southward the sea is seldom phospho-
rescent ; and off Cape Horn I do not recollect more than once
having seen it so, and then it was far from being brilliant. This
circumstance probably has a close connexion with the scarcity of
organic beings in that part of the ocean. After the elaborate
paper * by Ehrenberg, on the phosphorescence of the sea, it is
almost superfluous on my part to make any observations on the
subject. I may however add, that the same torn and irregular
particles of gelatinous matter, described by Ehrenberg, seem in
the southern as well as in the northern hemisphere, to be the
common cause of this phenomenon. The particles were so
minute as easily to pass through fine gauze ; yet many were dis-
tinctly visible by the naked eye. The water when placed in a
tumbler and agitated, gave out sparks, but a small portion in a
watch -glass scarcely ever was luminous. Ehrenberg states that
these particles all retain a certain degree of irritability. My
observations, some of which were made directly after taking up
the water, gave a different result. I may also mention, that
having used the net during one night, I allowed it to become
partially dry, and having occasion twelve hours afterwards to
employ it again, I found the whole surface sparkled as brightly
as when first taken out of the water. It does not appear pro-
bable in this case, that the particles could have remained so long
alive. On one occasion having kept a jelly-fish of the genus
Dianeea till it was dead, the water in which it was placed became
luminous. When the waves scintillate with bright green sparks,
I believe it is generally owing to minute Crustacea. But there
can be no doubt that very many other pelagic animals, when
alive, are phosphorescent.
On two occasions I have observed the sea luminous at con-
siderable depths beneath the surface. Near the mouth of the
Plata some circular and oval patches, from two to four yards in
diameter, and with defined outlines, shone with a steady but pale
light ; while the surrounding water only gave out a few sparks.
The appearance resembled the reflection of the moon, or some
luminous body ; for the edges were sinuous from the undulations
of the surface. The ship, which drew thirteen feet water, passed
* An abstract is given in No IV of the Magazine of Zoology and
Botany.
164 PORT DESIRE. [CHAP. TIII.
over, without disturbing these patches. Therefore we must sup-
pose that some animals were congregated together at a greater
depth than the bottom of the vessel.
Near Fernando Noronha the sea gave out light in flashes.
The appearance was very similar to that which might be expected
from a large fish moving rapidly through a luminous fluid.
To this cause the sailors attributed it ; at the time, however, 1
entertained some doubts, on account of the frequency and rapid-
ity of the flashes. I have already remarked that the phenome-
non is very much more common in warm than in cold countries ;
and I have sometimes imagined that a disturbed electrical con-
dition of the atmosphere was most favourable to its production.
Certainly I think the sea is most luminous after a few days of
more calm weather than ordinary, during which time it has
swarmed with various animals. Observing that the water
charged with gelatinous particles is in an impure state, and that
the luminous appearance in all common cases is produced by the
agitation of the fluid in contact with the atmosphere, I am in-
clined to consider that the phosphorescence is the result of the
decomposition of the organic particles, by which process (one is
tempted almost to call it a kind of respiration) the ocean becomes
purified.
December 23rd. "We arrived at Port Desire, situated in lat.
47, on the coast of Patagonia. The creek runs for about twenty
miles inland, with an irregular width. The Beagle anchored a
few miles within the entrance, in front of the ruins of an old
Spanish settlement.
The same evening I went on shore. The first landing in any
new country is very interesting, and especially when, as in this
case, the whole aspect bears the stamp of a marked and individual
character. At the height of between two and three hundred
feet above some masses of porphyry a wide plain extends, which
is truly characteristic of Patagonia. The surface is quite level,
and is composed of well-rounded shingle mixed with a whitish
earth. Here and there scattered tufts of brown wiry grass are
supported, and, still more rarely, some low thorny bushes. The
weather is dry and pleasant, and the fine blue sky is but seldom
obscured. When standing in the middle of one of these desert
1833.] SPANISH SETTLEMENT. 165
plains and looking towards the interior, the view is generally
bounded by the escarpment of another plain, rather higher, but
equally level and desolate ; and in every other direction the hori-
zon is indistinct from the trembling mirage which seems to rise
from the heated surface.
In such a country the fate of the Spanish settlement was soon
decided ; the dryness of the climate during the greater part of
the year, and the occasional hostile attacks of the wandering
Indians, compelled the colonists to desert their half-finished
buildings. The style, however, in which they were commenced
shows the strong and liberal hand of Spain in the old time.
The result of all the attempts to colonize this side of America
south of 41, have been miserable. Port Famine expresses by its
name the lingering and extreme sufferings of several hundred
wretched people, of whom one alone survived to relate their mis-
fortunes. At St. Joseph's Bay, on the coast of Patagonia, a
small settlement was made ; but during one Sunday the Indians
made an attack and massacred the whole party, excepting two
men, who remained captives during many years. At the Rio
Negro I conversed with one of these men, now in extreme old age.
The zoology of Patagonia is as limited as its Flora.* On the
arid plains a few black beetles (Heteromera) might be seen
slowly crawling about, and occasionally a lizard darted from side
to side. Of birds we have three carrion hawks, and in the val-
leys a few finches and insect-feeders. An ibis (Theristicus me-
lanops a species said to be found in central Africa) is not
uncommon on the most desert parts : in their stomachs I found
grasshoppers, cicadae, small lizards, and even scorpions ^ At
one time of the year these birds go in flocks, at another in pairs ;
their cry is very loud and singular, like the neighing of the
guanaco,
* I found here a species of cactus, described by Professor Henslow, under
the name of Opuntia Darwinii (Magazine of Zoology and Botany, vol. i.
p. 406), -which was remarkable by the irritability of the stamens, when I
inserted either a piece of stick or the end of my finger in the flower. The
segments of the perianth also closed on the pistil, but more slowly than the
stamens. Plants of this family, generally considered as tropical, occur in North
America (Lewis and Clarke's Travels, p. 221), in the same high latitude
as here, namely, in both cases, in 47.
t These insects were not uncommon beneath stones. I found one cannibal
scorpion quietly devouring another.
166 PORT DESIRE. [CHAP. vm.
The guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped
of the plains of Patagonia ; it is the South American represent-
ative of the camel of the Eas It is an elegant animal in a
state of nature, with a long slender neck and fine legs. It is
very common over the whole of the temperate parts of the con-
tinent, as far south as the islands near Cape Horn. It generally
lives in small herds of from half a dozen to thirty in each ; but
on the banks of the St. Cruz we saw one herd which must have
contained at least five hundred.
They are generally wild and extremely wary. Mr. Stokes
told me, that he one day saw through a glass a herd of these
animals which evidently had been frightened, and were running
away at full speed, although their distance was so great that he
could not distinguish them with his naked eye. The sportsman
frequently receives the first notice of their presence, by hearing
from a long distance their peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm.
If he then looks attentively, he will probably see the herd stand-
ing in a line on the side of some distant hill. On approaching
nearer, a few more squeals are given, and off they set at an ap-
parently slow, but really quick canter, along some narrow beaten
track to a neighbouring hill. If, however, by chance he abruptly
meets a single animal, or several together, they will generally
stand motionless and intently gaze at him ; then perhaps move
on a few yards, turn round, and look again. What is the cause
of this difference in their shyness ? Do they mistake a man in
the distance for their chief enemy the puma ? Or does curiosity
overcome their timidity ? That they are curious is certain ; for
if a person lies on the ground, and plays strange antics, such as
throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach
by degrees to reconnoitre him. It was an artifice that was
repeatedly practised by our sportsmen with success, and it had
moreover the advantage of allowing several shots to be fired,
which were all taken as parts of the performance. On the moun~
tains of Tierra del Fuego, I have more than once seen a guanaco,
Dn being approached, not only neigh and squeal, but prance and
leap about in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance
as a challenge. These animals are very easily domesticated, and
I have seen some thus kept in northern Patagonia near a house,
though not under any restraint They are in this state very
1833.] HABITS OF THE GUANACO. 167
bold, and readily attack a man by striking him from behind with
both knees. It is asserted that the motive for these attacks is
jealousy on account of their females. The wild guanacos, how-
ever, have no idea of defence ; even a single dog will secure one
of these large animals, till the huntsman can come up. In many
of their habits they are like sheep in a flock. Thus when they
see men approaching in several directions on horseback, they
soon become bewildered, and know not which way to run. This
greatly facilitates the Indian method of hunting, for they are
thus easily driven to a central point, and are encompassed.
The guanacos readily take to the water : several times ai
Port Valdes they were seen swimming from island to island.
Byron, in his voyage, says he saw them drinking salt water.
Some of our officers likewise saw a herd apparently drinking the
briny fluid from a salina near Cape Blanco. I imagine in several
parts of the country, if they do not drink salt water, they drink
none at all. In the middle of the day they frequently roll in the
dust, in saucer-shaped hollows. The males fight together ; two
one day passed quite close to me, squealing and trying to bite
each other ; and several were shot with their hides deeply scored.
Herds sometimes appear to set out on exploring parties: at
Bahia Blanca, where, within thirty miles of the coast, these
animals are extremely unfrequent, I one day saw the tracks of
thirty or forty, which had come in a direct line to a muddy salt-
water creek. They then must have perceived that they were
approaching the sea, for they had wheeled with the regularity of
cavalry, and had returned back in as straight a line as they had
advanced. The guanacos have one singular habit, which is to
me quite inexplicable ; namely, that on successive days they
drop their dung in the same defined heap. I saw one of these
heaps which was eight feet in diameter, and was composed of a
large quantity. This habit, according to M. A. d'Orbigny, is
common to all the species of the genus ; it is very useful to the
Peruvian Indians, who use the dung for fuel, and are thus saved
the trouble of collecting it.
The guanacos appear to have favourite spots for lying down
to die. On the banks of the St. Cruz, in certain circumscribed
spaces, which were generally bushy and all near the river, the
ground was actually white with bones. On one such spot I
12
168 PATAGONIA. [CHAP. vm.
counter! between ten and twenty heads. I particularly examined
the bones ; they did not appear, as some scattered ones which I
had seen, gnawed or broken, as if dragged together by beasts of
prey. The animals in most cases must have crawled, before
dying, beneath and amongst the bushes. Mr. Bynoe informs me
that during a former voyage he observed the same circumstance
on the banks of the Rio Gallegos. I do not at all understand
the reason of this, but I may observe, that the wounded guana-
cos at the St. Cruz invariably walked towards the river. At
St. Jago in the Cape de Verd islands, I remember having seen
in a ravine a retired corner covered with bones of the goat ; we
at the time exclaimed that it was the burial-ground of all the
goats in the island. I mention these trifling circumstances, be-
cause in certain cases they might explain the occurrence of a
number of uninjured bones in a cave, or buried under alluvial
accumulations; and likewise the cause why certain animals are
more commonly embedded than others in sedimentary deposits.
One day the yawl was sent under the command of Mr. Chaffers
with three days' provisions to survey the upper part of the har-
bour. In the morning we searched for some watering-places
mentioned in an old Spanish chart. We found one creek, at the
head of which there was a trickling rill (the first we had seen)
of brackish water. Here the tide compelled us to wait several
hours ; and in the interval I walked some miles into the interior.
The plain as usual consisted of gravel, mingled with soil resem-
bling chalk in appearance, but very different from it in nature.
From the softness of these materials it was worn into many
gulleys. There was not a tree, and, excepting the guanaco, which
stood on the hill-top a watchful sentinel over its herd, scarcely
an animal or a bird. All was stillness and desolation. Yet in
passing over these scenes, without one bright object near, an ill-
defined but strong sense of pleasure is vividly excited. One
asked how many ages the plain had thus lasted, and how many
more it was doomed thus to continue.
None can reply all seems eternal now.
The wilderness has a mysterious tongue,
Which teaches awful doubt.*
* Shelley, Lines on M. Blanc.
1834.] INDIAN GRATE. 169
In the evening we sailed a few miles further up, and then
pitched the tents for the night. By the middle of the next day
the yawl was aground, and from the shoalness of the water could
not proceed any higher. The water being found partly fresh,
Mr. Chaffers took the dingey and went up two or three miles
further, where she also grounded, but in a fresh-water river
The water was muddy, and though the stream was most insigni
ficant in size, it would be difficult to account for its origin,
except from the melting snow on the Cordillera. At the spot
where we bivouacked, we were surrounded by bold cliffs and
steep pinnacles of porphyry. I do not think I ever saw a spot
which appeared more secluded from the rest of the world, than
this rocky crevice in the wide plain.
The second day after our return to the anchorage, a party of
officers and myself went to ransack an old Indian grave, which I
had found on the summit of a neighbouring hill. Two immense
stones, each probably weighing at least a couple of tons, had
been placed in front of a ledge of rock about six feet high. At
the bottom of the grave on the hard rock there was a layer
of earth about a foot deep, which must have been brought up
from the plain below. Above it a pavement of flat stones was
placed, on which others were piled, so as to fill up the space
between the ledge and the two great blocks. To complete the
grave, the Indians had contrived to detach from the ledge a huge
fragment, and to throw it over the pile so as to rest on the two
blocks. We undermined the grave on both sides, but could not
find any relics, or even bones. The latter probably had decayed
long since (in which case the grave must have been of extreme
antiquity), for I found in another place some smaller heaps,
beneatli which a very few crumbling fragments could yet be
distinguished as having belonged to a man. Falconer states,
that where an Indian dies he is buried, but that subsequently his
bones are carefully taken up and carried, let the distance be ever
so great, to be deposited near the sea-coast. This custom, I
think, may be accounted for by recollecting, that before the in-
troduction of horses, these Indians must have led nearly the
same life as the Fuegians now do, and therefore generally have
resided in the neighbourhood of the sea. The common prejudice
of lying where one's ancestors have lain, would make the now
170 PORT ST. JULIAN. [CHAP. Tin.
roaming Indians bring the less perishable part of their dead to
their ancient burial-ground on the coast.
January 9th, 1834. Before it was dark the Beagle anchored
in the fine spacious harbour of Port St. Julian, situated about
one hundred and ten miles to the south of Port Desire. We
remained here eight days. The country is nearly similar to that
of Port Desire, but perhaps rather more sterile. One day a
party accompanied Captain Fitz Roy on a long walk round the
head of the harbour. We were eleven hours without tasting
any water, and some of the party were quite exhausted. From
the summit of a hill (since well named Thirsty Hill) a fine lake
was spied, and two of the party proceeded with concerted signals to
show whether it was fresh water. What was our disappointment
to find a snow-white expanse of salt, crystallized in great cubes !
We attributed our extreme thirst to the dryness of the atmos-
phere ; but whatever the cause might be, we were exceedingly
glad late in the evening to get back to the boats. Although
we could nowhere find, during our whole visit, a single drop of
fresh water, yet some must exist ; for by an odd chance I found
on the surface of the salt water, near the head of the bay, a Co-
lymbetes not quite dead, which must have lived in some not far
distant pool. Three other insects (a Cincindela, like hybrida,
a Cymindis, and a Harpalus, which all live on muddy flats occa-
sionally overflowed by the sea), and one other found dead on the
plain, complete the list of the beetles. A good-sized fly (Ta-
banus) was extremely numerous, and tormented us by its painful
bite. The common horsefly, which is so troublesome in the
shady lanes of England, belongs to this same genus. We here
have the puzzle that so frequently occurs in the case of mus-
quitoes on the blood of what animals do these insects commonly
feed ? The guanaco is nearly the only warm-blooded quadruped,
and it is found in quite inconsiderable numbers compared with
the multitude of flies.
The geology of Patagonia is interesting. Differently from
Europe, where the tertiary formations appear to have accu-
mulated in bays, here along hundreds of miles of coast we have
one great deposit, including many tertiary shells, all apparently
cxtiuct The most common shell is a massive gigantic oyster,
1834.] GEOLOGY OF PATAGONIA. 171
sometimes even a foot in diameter. These beds are covered by
others of a peculiar soft white stone, including much gypsum,
and resembling chalk, but really of a pumiceous nature. It in
highly remarkable, from being composed, to at least one-
tenth part of its bulk, of Infusoria : Professor Ehrenberg hap
already ascertained in it thirty oceanic forms. This bed extends
for 500 miles along the coast, and probably for a considerably
greater distance. At Port St. Julian its thickness is more than
800 feet ! These white beds are everywhere capped by a mass
of gravel, forming probably one of the largest beds of shingle in
the world : it certainly extends from near the Rio Colorado to be-
tween 600 and 700 nautical miles southward ; at Sunta Cruz (a
river a little south of St. Julian), it reaches to the foot, of the
Cordillera ; half way up the river, its thickness is more than 200
feet ; it probably everywhere extends to this great chain, whence
the well-rounded pebbles of porphyry have been derived : we
may consider its average breadth as 200 miles, and its average
thickness as about 50 feet. If this great bed of pebbles, with-
out including the mud necessarily derived from their attrition,
was piled into a mound, it would form a great mountain chain !
When we consider that all these pebbles, countless as the grains
of sand in the desert, have been derived from the slow falling of
masses of rock on the old coast-lines and banks of rivers ; and
that these fragments have been dashed into smaller pieces, and
that each of them has since been slowly rolled, rounded, and
far transported, the mind is stupified in thinking over the long,
absolutely necessary, lapse of years. Yet all this gravel has
been transported, and probably rounded, subsequently to the
deposition of the white beds, and long subsequently to the under-
lying beds with the tertiary shells.
Everything in this southern continent has been effected on a
grand scale: the land, from the Rio Plata to Tierra del Fuego,
a distance of 1200 miles, has been raised in mass (and in Pata-
gonia to a height of between 300 and 400 feet), within the period
of the now existing sea-shells. The old and weathered shells
left on the surface of the upraised plain still partially retain
tht'ir colours. The uprising movement has been interrupted by
at least eight long periods of rest, during which the sea ate deeply
back into the land, forming at successive levels the long lines of
172 GEOLOGY OF PATAGONIA. [CHAP. vin.
cliffs or escarpments, which separate the different plains as they
rise like steps one behind the other. The elevatory movement,
and the eating-back power of the sea during the periods of rest,
have been equable over long lines of coast ; for I was astonished
to find that the step-like plains stand at nearly corresponding
heights at far distant points. The lowest plain is 90 feet high ;
and the highest, which I ascended near the coast, is 950 feet ;
and of this, only relics are left in the form of flat gravel-
capped hills. The upper plain of S. Cruz slopes up to a height
of 3000 feet at the foot of the Cordillera. I have said that
within the period of existing sea-shells Patagonia has been up-
raised 300 to 400 feet: I may add, that within the period
when icebergs transported boulders over the upper plain of
Santa Cruz, the elevation has been at least 1500 feet. Nor
has Patagonia been affected only by upward movements : the
extinct tertiary shells from Port St. Julian and Santa Cruz cannot
have lived, according to Professor E. Forbes, in a greater depth
of water than from 40 to 250 feet ; but they are now covered
with sea-deposited strata from 800 to 1000 feet in thickness :
hence the bed of the sea, on which these shells once lived, must
have sunk downwards several hundred feet, to allow of the accu-
mulation of the superincumbent strata. What a history of geo-
logical changes does the simply -constructed coast of Patagonia
reveal !
At Port St. Julian *, in some red mud capping the gravel
on the 90-feet plain, I found half the skeleton of the Macrau-
chenia Patachonica, a remarkable quadruped, full as large as a
camel. It belongs to the same division of the Pachydermata with
the rhinoceros, tapir, and palaeotherium; but in the structure of the
bones of its long neck it shows a clear relation to the camel, or
rather to the guanaco and llama. From recent sea-shells being
found on two of the higher step-formed plains, which must have
been modelled and upraised before the mud was deposited in
which the Macrauchenia was intombed, it is certain that this
curious quadruped lived long after the sea was inhabited by its
* I have lately heard that Capt. Sulivan, R.N., has found numerous fossil
bones, embedded in regular strata, on the banks of the K. Gallegos, in lat.
51 4'. Some of the bones are large ; others are small, and appear to have
belonged to an armadillo. This is a most interesting and important di&
covery.
1834.] TYPES OF ORGANIZATION CONSTANT. . 173
present shells. I was at first much surprised how a large quad-
ruped could so lately have subsisted, in lat. 49 15', on these
wretched gravel plains with their stunted vegetation ; but the
relationship of the Macrauchenia to the guanaco, now an inha-
bitant of the most sterile parts, partly explains this difficulty.
The relationship, though distant, between the Macrauchenia
and the Guanaco, between the Toxodon and the Capybara,
the closer relationship between the many extinct Edentata and
the living sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos, now so eminently
characteristic of South American zoology, and the still closer
relationship between the fossil and living species of Ctenomys and
Plydrochaerus, are most interesting facts. This relationship is
shown wonderfully as wonderfully as between the fossil and
extinct Marsupial animals of Australia by the great collection
lately brought to Europe from the caves of Brazil by MM. Lund
and Clausen. In this collection there are extinct species of all
the thirty-two genera, excepting four, of the terrestrial quadru-
peds now inhabiting the provinces in which the caves occur ;
and the extinct species are much more numerous than those now
living : there are fossil ant-eaters, armadillos, tapirs, peccaries y
guanacos, opossums, and numerous South American gnawers and
monkeys, and other animals. This wonderful relationship in the
same continent between the dead and the living, will, I do not
doubt, hereafter throw more light on the appearance of organic
beings on our earth, and their disappearance from it, than any
other class of facts.
It is impossible to reflect on the changed state of the American
continent without the deepest astonishment. Formerly it must
have swarmed with great monsters : now we find mere pigmies,
compared with the antecedent, allied races. If BufFon had known
of the gigantic sloth and armadillo-like animals, and of the lost
Pachydermata, he might have said with a greater semblance of
truth that the creative force in America had lost its power,
rather than that it had never possessed great vigour. The
greater number, if not all, of these extinct quadrupeds lived at
a late period, and were the contemporaries of most of the exist-
ing sea-shells. Since they lived, no very great change in the form
of the land can have taken place. What, then, has exterminated
so many species and whole genera ? The mind at first is irre-
174 CAUSES OF EXTINCTION. [CHAP. Tin.
sistibly hurried into the belief of some great catastrophe ; but
thus to destroy animals, both large and small, in Southern Pata-
gonia, in Brazil, on the Cordillera of Peru, in North America
up to Behring's Straits, we must shake the entire framework of
the globe, An examination, moreover, of the geology of La
Plata and Patagonia, leads to the belief that all the features of
the land result from slow and gradual changes. It appears from
the character of the fossils in Europe, Asia, Australia, and in
North and South America, that those conditions which favour
the life of the larger quadrupeds were lately co-extensive with
the world : what those conditions were, no one has yet even
conjectured. It could hardly have been a change of tempera-
ture, which at about the same time destroyed the inhabitants of
tropical, temperate, and arctic latitudes on both sides of the
globe. In North America we positively know from Mr. Lyell,
that the large quadrupeds lived subsequently to that period, when
boulders were brought into latitudes at which icebergs now never
arrive : from conclusive but indirect reasons we may feel sure,
that in the southern hemisphere the Macrauchenia, also, lived
long subsequently to the ice-transporting boulder-period. Did
man, after his first inroad into South America, destroy, as has
been suggested, the unwieldy Megatherium and the other Eden-
tata ? "We must at least look to some other cause for the destruc-
tion of the little tucutuco at Bahia Blanca, and of the many
fossil mice and other small quadrupeds in Brazil. No one
will imagine that a drought, even far severer than those which
cause such losses in the provinces of La Plata, could destroy
every individual of every species from Southern Patagonia to
Behring's Straits. What shall we say of the extinction of the
horse ? Did those plains fail of pasture, which have since been
overrun by thousands and hundreds of thousands of the descend-
ants of the stock introduced by the Spaniards ? Have the subse-
quently introduced species consumed the food of the great ante-
cedent races ? Can we believe that the Capybara has taken the
food of the Toxodon, the Guanaco of the Macrauchenia, the ex-
isting small Edentata of their numerous gigantic prototypes?
Certainly, no fact in the long histoiy of the world is so startling
as the wide and repeated exterminations of its inhabitants.
Nevertheless, if we consider the subject under another point ol
1834.] CAUSES OF EXTINCTION. 175
view, it will appear less perplexing. We do not steadily bear in
mind, how profoundly ignorant we are of the conditions of exist-
ence of every animal ; nor do we always remember, that some
check is constantly preventing the too rapid increase of every
organized being left in a state of nature. The supply of food, on
an average, remains constant ; yet the tendency in every animal to
increase by propagation is geometrical ; and its surprising effects
have nowhere been more astonishingly shown, than in the case
of the European animals run wild during the last few centuries
in America. Every animal in a state of nature regularly breeds ;
yet in a species long established, any great increase in numbers is
obviously impossible, and must be checked by some means. We
are, nevertheless, seldom able with certainty to tell in any given
species, at what period of life, or at what period of the year, or
whether only at long intervals, the check falls ; or, again, what
is the precise nature of the check. Hence probably it is, that
we feel so little surprise at one, of two species closely allied in
habits, being rare and the other abundant in the same district ;
or, again, that one should be abundant in one district, and
another, filling the same place in the economy of nature, should
be abundant in a neighbouring district, differing very little in its
conditions. If asked how this is, one immediately replies that
it is determined by some slight difference in climate, food, or the
number of enemies : yet how rarely, if ever, we can point out
the precise cause and manner of action of the check I We are,
therefore, driven to the conclusion, that causes generally quite
inappreciable by us, determine whether a given species shall be
abundant or scanty in numbers.
In the cases where we can trace the extinction of a species
through man, either wholly or in one limited district, we know
that it becomes rarer and rarer, and is then lost : it would be
difficult to point out any just distinction * between a species
destroyed by man or by the increase of its natural enemies. The
evidence of rarity preceding extinction, is more striking in the
successive tertiary strata, as remarked by several able observers ;
it has often been found that a shell very common in a tertiary
stratum is now most rare, and has even long been thought to be
* See the excellent remarks on this subject by Mr. Lyell, in his Pria
ciples of Geology.
176 CAUSES OF EXTIXCTIOX. [CHAP. Tin.
extinct. If then, as appears probable, species first become rare
and then extinct if the too rapid increase of every species, even
the most favoured, is steadily checked, as we must admit, though
how and when it is hard to say and if we see, without the smallest
surprise, though unable to assign the precise reason, one species
abundant and another closely-allied species rare in the same dis-
trict why should we feel such great astonishment at the rarity
being carried a step further to extinction ? An action going on,
on every side of us, and yet barely appreciable, might surely be
carried a little further, without exciting our observation. Who
would feel any great surprise at hearing that the Megalonyx was
formerly rare compared with the Megatherium, or that one of
the fossil monkeys was few in number compared with one of the
now living monkeys? and yet in this comparative rarity, we
should have the plainest evidence of less favourable conditions
for their existence. To admit that species generally become
rare before they become extinct to feel no surprise at the com-
parative rarity of one species with another, and yet to call in
some extraordinary agent and to marvel greatly when a species
ceases to exist, appears to me much the same as to admit that
sickness in the individual is the prelude to death to feel no sur-
prise at sickness but when the sick man dies to wonder, and
to believe that he died through violence.
1834.] EXPLORING THE SANTA CKUZ. 177
CHAPTER IX.
Santa Cruz Expedition up the River Indians Immense streams of
basaltic lava Fragments not transported by the River Excavation of
the valley Condor, habits of Cordillera Erratic boulders of great size
Indian relics Return to the ship Falkland Islands Wild horses,
cattle, rabbits Wolf-like fox Fire made of bones Manner of hunting
wild cattle Geology Streams of stones Scenes of violence Penguin
Geese Eggs of Doris Compound animals.
SANTA CRUZ, PATAGONIA, AND THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.
April 13th, 1834. The Beagle anchored within the mouth of
the Santa Cruz. This river is situated about sixty miles south of
Port St. Julian. During the last voyage Captain Stokes pro-
ceeded thirty miles up it, but then, from the want of provisions,
was obliged to return. Excepting what was discovered at that
time, scarcely anything was known about this large river. Cap-
tain Fitz Roy now determined to follow its course as far as time
would allow. On the 18th three whale-boats started, carrying
three weeks' provisions ; and the party consisted of twenty-five
souls a force which would have been sufficient to have defied a
host of Indians. With a strong flood-tide and a fine day we
made a good run, soon drank some of the fresh water, and were
at night nearly above the tidal influence.
The river here assumed a size and appearance which, even at
the highest point we ultimately reached, was scarcely diminished.
It was generally from three to four hundred yards broad, and in
the middle about seventeen feet deep. The rapidity of the cur-
rent, which in its whole course runs at the rate of from four to
six knots an hour, is perhaps its most remarkable feature. The
water is of a fine blue colour, but with a slight milky tinge, and
not so transparent as at first sight would have been expected.
It flows over a bed of pebbles, like those which compose the
beach and the surrounding plains. It runs in a winding course
through a valley, which extends in a direct line westward. This
178 S. CRUZ, PATAGONIA. [CHAP. rx.
valley varies from five to ten miles in breadth ; it is bounded by
step-formed terraces, which rise in most parts, one above the
other, to the height of five hundred feet, and have on the oppo-
site sides a remarkable correspondence.
April 19th. Against so strong a current it was, of course,
quite impossible to row or sail : consequently the three boats
were fastened together head and stern, two hands left in each,
and the rest came on shore to track. As the general arrange-
ments made by Captain Fitz Roy were very good for facilitating
the work of all, and as all had a share in it, I will describe the
system. The party, including every one, was divided into two
spells, each of which hauled at the tracking line alternately for
an hour and a half. The officers of each boat lived with, ate the
same food, and slept in the same tent with their crew, so that
each boat was quite independent of the others. After sunset the
first level spot where any bushes were growing, was chosen for
our night's lodging. Each of the crew took it in turns to be
cook. Immediately the boat was hauled up, the cook made his
fire ; two others pitched the tent ; the coxswain handed the
things out of the boat ; the rest carried them up to the tents and
collected firewood. By this order, in half an hour everything
was ready for the night. A watch of two men and an officer
was always kept, whose duty it was to look after the boats, keep
up the fire, and guard against Indians. Each in the party had
his one hour every night.
During this day we tracked but a short distance, for there
were many islets, covered by thorny bushes, and the channels
between them were shallow.
April 20th. We passed the islands and set to work. Oui
regular day's march, although it was hard enough, carried us on
an average only ten miles in a straight line, and perhaps fifteen
or twenty altogether. Beyond the place where we slept last
night, the country is completely terra incognita, for it was there
that Captain Stokes turned back. We saw in the distance a
great smoke, and found the skeleton of a horse, so we knew that
Indians were in the neighbourhood. On the next morning (21st)
tracks of a party of horse, and marks left by the trailing of the
chuzos, or long spears, were observed on the ground. It was
generally thought that the Indians had reconnoitred us during
1834.] ZOOLOGY. 179
the night. Shortly afterwards we came to a spot where, from
the fresh footsteps of men, children, and horses, it was evident
that the party had crossed the river.
April 22d. The country remained the same, and was ex-
tremely uninteresting. The complete similarity of the produc-
tions throughout Patagonia is one of its most striking characters.
The level plains of arid shingle support the same stunted and
dwarf plants ; and in the valleys the same thorn-bearing bushes
grow. Everywhere we see the same birds and insects. Even
the very banks of the river and of the clear streamlets which
entered it, were scarcely enlivened by a brighter tint of green.
The curse of sterility is on the land, and the water flowing over
a bed of pebbles partakes of the same curse. Hence the number
of waterfowl is very scanty ; for there is nothing to support
life in the stream of this barren river.
Patagonia, poor as she is in some respects, can however boast
of a greater stock of small rodents * than perhaps any other
country in the world. Several species of mice are externally
characterized by large thin ears and a very tine fur. These
little animals swarm amongst the thickets in the valleys, where
they cannot for months together taste a drop of water excepting
the dew. They all seem to be cannibals ; for no sooner was a
mouse caught in one of my traps than it was devoured by others.
A small and delicately-shaped fox, which is likewise very abun-
Jant, probably derives its entire support from these small animals.
The guanaco is also in his proper district ; herds of fifty or a
hundred were common ; and, as I have stated, we saw one which
must have contained at least five hundred. The puma, with the
condor and other carrion-hawks in its train, follows and preys
upon these animals. The footsteps of the puma were to be seen
almost everywhere on the banks of the river ; and the remains
of several guanacos, with their necks dislocated and bones broken,
showed how they had met their death.
April 24th. Like the navigators of old when approaching an
unknown land, we examined and watched for the most trivial
* The deserts of Syria are characterized, according to Volney (torn, i.,
p. 351), by woody bushes, numerous rats, gazelles, and hares. In the land-
scape of Patagonia, the guanaco replaces the gazelle, and the agouti thf
fiare.
180 S. CRUZ, PATAGONIA. [CHAP. ix.
sign of a change. The drifted trunk of a tree, or a boulder of
primitive rock, was hailed with joy, as if we had seen a forest
growing on the flanks of the Cordillera. The top, however, of a
heavy bank of clouds, which remained almost constantly in one
position, was the most promising sign, and eventually turned out
a true harbinger. At first the clouds were mistaken for the moun-
tains themselves, instead of the masses of vapour condensed by
their icy summits.
April 26th. We this day met with a marked change in the
geological structure of the plains. From the first starting I had
carefully examined the gravel in the river, and for the two last days
had noticed the presence of a few small pebbles of a very cellular
basalt. These gradually increased in number and in size, but
none were as large as a man's head. This morning, however,
pebbles of the same rock, but more compact, suddenly became
abundant, and in the course of half an hour we saw, at the dis-
tance of five or six miles, the angular edge of a great basaltic
platform. When we arrived at its base we found the stream
bubbling among the fallen blocks. For the next twenty-eight
miles the river-course was encumbered with these basaltic masses.
Above that limit immense fragments of primitive rocks, derived
from the surrounding boulder-formation, were equally numerous.
None of the fragments of any considerable size had been washed
more than three or four miles down the river below their parent-
source : considering the singular rapidity of the great body of
water in the Santa Cruz, and that no still reaches occur in any
part, this example is a most striking one, of the inefficiency of
rivers in transporting even moderately-sized fragments.
The basalt is only lava, which has flowed beneath the sea ; but
the eruptions must have been on the grandest scale. At the
point where we first met this formation it was 120 feet in thick-
ness ; following up the river course, the surface imperceptibly
rose and the mass became thicker, so that at forty miles above
the first station it was 320 feet thick. What the thickness may
be close to the Cordillera, I have no means of knowing, but the
platform there attains a height of about three thousand feet
above the level of the sea : we must therefore look to the moun-
tains of that great chain for its source ; and worthy of such a source
are streams, that have flowed over the gently inclined bed of thr
1834.] EXCAVATION OF THE VALLEY. 181
sea to a distance of one hundred miles. At the first glance of
the basaltic cliffs on the opposite sides of the valley, it was evi-
dent that the strata once were united. What power, then, has
removed along a whole line of country, a solid mass of very
hard rock, which had an average thickness of nearly three hun-
dred feet, and a breadth varying from rather less than two miles
to four miles ? The river, though it has so little power in trans-
porting even inconsiderable fragments, yet in the lapse of ages
might produce by its gradual erosion an effect, of which it is
difficult to judge the amount. But in this case, independently
of the insignificance of such an agency, good reasons can be
assigned for believing that this valley was formerly occupied by
an arm of the sea. It is needless in this work to detail the argu-
ments leading to this conclusion, derived from the form and the
nature of the step-formed terraces on both sides of the valley,
from the manner in which the bottom of the valley near the
Andes expands into a great estuary-like plain with sand-hillocks
on it, and from the occurrence of a few sea-shells lying in the
bed of the river. If I had space I could prove that South Ame-
rica was formerly here cut off by a strait, joining the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans, like that of Magellan. But it may yet be
asked, how has the solid basalt been removed? Geologists
formerly would have brought into play, the violent action of
some overwhelming debacle ; but in this case such a supposition
would have been quite inadmissible ; because, the same step-like
plains with existing sea-shells lying on their surface, which front
the long line of the Patagonian coast, sweep up on each side of
the valley of Santa Cruz. No possible action of any flood
could thus have modelled the land, either within the valley
or along the open coast ; and by the formation of such step-
like plains or terraces the valley itself has been hollowed out.
Although we know that there are tides, which run within the
Narrows of the Strait of Magellan at the rate of eight knots an
hour, yet we must confess that it makes the head almost giddy
to reflect on the number of years, century after century, which the
tides, unaided by a heavy surf, must have required to have cor-
roded so vast an area and thickness of solid basaltic lava. Ne-
vertheless, we must believe that the strafa undermined by the
waters of this ancient strait. wc"-e broken up into huge frag-
182 S. CRUZ, PATAGONIA. [CHAP. ix.
ments, and these lying scattered on the beach, were reduced first
to smaller blocks, then to pebbles, and lastly to the most impal-
pable mud, which the tides drifted far into the Eastern or
Western Ocean.
With the change in the geological structure of the plains the
character of the landscape likewise altered. While rambling
up some of the narrow and rocky defiles, I could almost have
fancied myself transported back again to the barren valleys 01
the island of St. Jago. Among the basaltic cliffs, I found some
plants which I had seen nowhere else, but others I recognised as
being wanderers from Tierra del Fuego. These porous rocks
serve as a reservoir for the scanty rain-water ; and consequently
on the line where the igneous and sedimentary formations unite,
some small springs (most rare occurrences in Patagonia) burst
forth ; and they could be distinguished at a distance by the cir-
cumscribed patches of bright green herbage.
April 21th. The bed of the river became rather narrower,
and hence the stream more rapid. It here ran at the rate of six
knots an hour. From this cause, and from the many great
angular fragments, tracking the boats became both dangerous
and laborious.
This day I shot a condor. It measured from tip to tip of the
wings, eight and a half feet, and from beak to tail, four feet.
This bird is known to have a wide geographical range, being
found on the west coast of South America, from the Strait of
Magellan along the Cordillera as far as eight degrees N. of the
equator. The steep cliff near the mouth of the Rio Negro is its
northern limit on the Patagonian coast ; and they have there
wandered about four hundred miles from the great central line
of their habitation in the Andes. Further south, among the
bold precipices at the head of Port Desire, the condor is not
uncommon ; yet only a few stragglers occasionally visit the sea-
coast. A line of cliff near the mouth of the Santa Cruz is fre-
quented by these birds, and about eighty miles up the river,
where the sides of the valley are formed by steep basaltic pre-
cipices, the condor reappears. From these facts, it seems that
the condors require perpendicular cliffs. In Chile, they haunt,
during the greater part of the year, the lower country near tlif
1834.] THE CONDOR.
shores of the Pacific, and at night several roost together in one
tree ; but in the early part of summer, they retire to the most in-
accessible parts of the inner Cordillera, there to breed in peace.
With respect to their propagation, I was told by the country
people in Chile, that the condor makes no sort, of nest, but in
the months of November and December lays two large white
eggs on a shelf of bare rock. It is said that the young condors
cannot fly for an entire year ; and long after they are able, they
continue to roost by night, and hunt by day with their parents.
The old birds generally live in pairs ; but among the inland ba-
saltic cliffs of the Santa Cruz, I found a spot, where scores must
usually haunt. On coming suddenly to the brow of the preci-
pice, it was a grand spectacle to see between twenty and thirty
of these great birds start heavily from their resting-place, and
wheel away in majestic circles. From the quantity of dung on
the rocks, they must long have frequented this cliff for roosting
and breeding. Having gorged themselves with carrion on the
plains below, they retire to these favourite ledges to digest their
food. From these facts, the condor, like the gallinazo, must to
a certain degree be considered as a gregarious bird. In this
part of the country they live altogether on the guanacos which
have died a natural death, or, as more commonly happens, have
been killed by the pumas. I believe, from what I saw in Patagonia,
that they do not on ordinary occasions extend their daily excur-
sions to any great distance from their regular sleeping-places.
The condors may oftentimes be seen at a great height, soaring
over a certain spot in the most graceful circles. On some occa-
sions I am sure that they do this only for pleasure, but on others,
the Chileno countryman tells you that they are watching a dying
animal, or the puma devouring its prey. If the condors glide
down, and then suddenly all rise together, the Chileno knows
that it is the puma which, watching the carcass, has sprung out
to drive away the robbers. Besides feeding on carrion, the con-
dors frequently attack young goats and lambs ; and the shep-
nerd dogs are trained, whenever they pass over, to run out, and
looking upwards to bark violently. The Chilenos destroy and
catch numbers. Two methods are used ; one is to place a car-
cass on a level piece of ground within an enclosure of sticks with
an opening, and when the condors are gorged, to gallop up OD
13
184 S. CRUZ, PATAGOXIA. [CHAP. ix.
horseback to the entrance, and thus enclose them : for when this
bird has not space to run, it cannot give its body sufficient mo-
mentum to rise from the ground. The second method is to mark
the trees in which, frequently to the number of five or six toge-
ther, they roost, and then at night to climb up and noose them.
They are such heavy sleepers, as I have myself witnessed, that
this is not a difficult task. At Valparaiso, I have seen a living
condor sold for sixpence, but the common price is eight or ten
shillings. One which I saw brought in, had been tied with
rope, and was much injured ; yet, the moment the line was cut
by which its bill was secured, although surrounded by people,
it began ravenously to tear a piece of carrion. In a garden at
the same place, between twenty and thirty were kept alive. They
were fed only once a week, but they appeared in pretty good
health.* The Chileno countrymen assert that the condor will
live, and retain its vigour, between five and six weeks without
eating : I cannot answer for the truth of this, but it is a cruel ex-
periment, which very likely has been tried.
When an animal is killed in the country, it is well known that
the condors, like other carrion-vultures, soon gain intelligence of
it, and congregate in an inexplicable manner. In most cases it
must not be overlooked, that the birds have discovered their
prey, and have picked the skeleton clean, before the flesh is in
the least degree tainted. Remembering the experiments of M.
Audubon, on the little smelling powers of carrion-hawks, I tried
in the above-mentioned garden the following experiment : the
condors were tied, each by a rope, in a long row at the bottom
of a wall ; and having folded up a piece of meat in white paper,
I walked backwards and forwards, carrying it in my hand at the
distance of about three yards from them, but no notice whatever
was taken. I then threw it on the ground, within one yard of
an old male bird ; he looked at it for a moment with attention,
but then regarded it no more. With a stick I pushed it closer
and closer, until at last he touched it with his beak ; the paper
was then instantly torn off with fury, and at the same moment,
every bird in the long row began struggling and flapping its
* I noticed that several hours before any one of the condors died, all the
lice, with which it was infested, crawled tc the outside feathers. I was
issnreil that this alwavs happened.
1834.] CARRION-VULTURES. 185
wings. Under the same circumstances, it would have been quite
impossible to have deceived a dog. The evidence in favour of and
against the acute smelling powers of carrion- vultures is singu-
larly balanced. Professor Owen lias demonstrated that the olfac-
tory nerves of the turkey -buzzaid (Cathartes aura) are highly
developed ; and on the evening when Mr. Owen's paper was read
at the Zoological Society, it was mentioned by a gentleman that
he had seen the carrion-hawks in the West Indies on two occa-
sions collect on the roof of a house, when a corpse had become
offensive from not having been buried : in this case, the intelli-
gence could hardly have been acquired by sight. On the other
hand, besides the experiments of Audubon and that one by my-
self, Mr. Bachman has tried in the United States many varied
plans, showing that neither the turkey-buzzard (the species dis-
sected by Professor Owen) nor the gallinazo find their food by
smell. He covered portions of highly offensive offal with a thin
canvass cloth, and strewed pieces of meat on it ; these the carrion-
vultures ate up, and then remained quietly standing, with their
beaks within the eighth of an inch of the putrid mass, without dis-
covering it. A small rent was made in the canvass, and the offal
was immediately discovered ; the canvass was replaced by a fresh
piece, and meat again put on it, and was again devoured by the
vultures without their discovering the hidden mass on which they
were trampling. These facts are attested by the signatures of
six gentlemen, besides that of MY. Bachman.*
Often when lying down to rest on the open plains, on looking
upwards, I have seen carrion-hawks sailing through the air at a
great height. Where the country is level I do not believe a
space of the heavens, of more than fifteen degrees above the ho-
rizon, is commonly viewed with any attention by a person either
walking or on horseback. If such be the case, and the vulture
is on the wing at a height of between three and four thousand
feet, before it could come within the range of vision, its distance
in a straight line from the beholder's eye, would be rather more
than two British miles. Might it not thus readily be over-
looked? When an animal is killed by the sportsman in a lonely
valley, may he not all the while be watched from above by the
sharp-sighted bird ? And will not the manner of its descen!
* London's Magazine of Nat. Hist., vol. vii.
186 S. CRUZ, PATAGONIA. [CHAP. ix.
proclaim throughout the district to the whole family of carrion-
feeders, that their prey is ak hand ?
When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and round
any spot, their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the
ground, I do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds
flap its wings. Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an
hour, without once taking off my eyes : they moved in large
curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending without
giving a single flap. As they glided close over my head, I in-
tently watched from an oblique position, the outlines of the sepa-
rate and great terminal feathers of each wing ; and these separate
feathers, if there had been the least vibratory movement, would
have appeared as if blended together ; but they were seen dis-
tinct against the blue sky. The head and neck were moved fre-
quently, and apparently with force ; and the extended wings
seemed to form the fulcrum on which the movements of the
neck, body, and tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, the
wings were for a moment collapsed ; and when again expanded
with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid
descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and
steady movement of a paper kite. In the case of any bird soar-
ing, its motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that the action of
the inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may counter-
balance its gravity. Tho force to keep up the momentum of a
body moving in a horizontal plane in the air (in which there is
so little friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is
vanted. The movement of the neck and body of the condor, we
must suppose, is sufficient for this. However this may be, it is
truly wonderful and beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after
hour, without any apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over
mountain and river.
April 29th. From some high land we hailed with joy the
white summits of the Cordillera, as they were seen occasionally
peeping through their dusky envelope of clouds. During the
few succeeding days we continued to get on slowly, for we found
the river-course very tortuous, and strewed with immense frag-
ments of various ancient slaty rocks, and of granite. The plain
bordering the valley had here attained an elevation of about
1831.] TRACES OF INDIANS. 187
1100 feet above the river, and its character was much altered.
The well-rounded pebbles of porphyry were mingled with. many
immense angular fragments of basalt and of primary rocks. The
first of these erratic boulders which I noticed, was sixty-seven miles
distant from the nearest mountain ; another which I measured
was five yards square, and projected five feet above the gravel.
Its edges were so angular, and its size so great, that I at first
mistook it for a rock in situ, and took out my compass to observe
the direction of its cleavage. The plain here was not quite so
level as that nearer the coast, but yet it betrayed no signs of
any great violence. Under these circumstances it is, I believe,
quite impossible to explain the transportal of these gigantic
masses of rock so many miles from their parent-source, on any
theory except by that of floating icebergs.
During the two last days we met with signs of horses, and with
several small articles which had belonged to the Indians such as
parts of a mantle and a bunch of ostrich feathers but they ap-
peared to have been lying long on the ground. Between the place
where the Indians had so lately crossed the river and this neigh-
bourhood, though so many miles apart, the country appears to be
quite unfrequented. At first, considering the abundance of the
guanacos, I was surprised at this ; but it is explained by the
stony nature of the plains, which would soon disable an unshod
horse from taking part in the chace. Nevertheless, in two places
in this very central region, I fouud small heaps of stones, which
I do not think could have been accidentally thrown together.
They were placed on points, projecting over the edge of the
highest lava cliff, and they resembled, but on a small scale, those
near Port Desire.
May 4th. Captain Fitz Roy determined to take the boats no
higher. The river had a winding course, and was very rapid ;
and the appearance of the country offered no temptation to pro-
ceed any further. Everywhere we met with the same produc-
tions, and the same dreary landscape. We were now one hun-
dred and forty miles distant from the Atlantic, and about sixty
from the nearest arm of the Pacific. The valley in this upper
part expanded into a wide basin, bounded on the north and south
by the basaltic platforms, and fronted by the long range of the
snow-clad Cordillera. But we viewed these grand mountaiaf
188 FALKLAND ISLANDS. [CHAP, ix
with regret, for we were obliged to imagine their nature and pro-
ductions, instead of standing, as we had hoped, on their summits.
Besides the useless loss of time which an attempt to ascend the
river any higher would have cost us, we had already been for
some days on half allowance of bread. This, although really
enough for reasonable men, was, after a hard day's march, rather
scanty food : a light stomach and an easy digestion are good
things to talk about, but very unpleasant in practice.
5th. Before sunrise we commenced our descent. We shot
down the stream with great rapidity, generally at the rate often
knots an hour. In this one day we effected what had cost us
five-and-a-half hard days' labour in ascending. On the 8th, we
reached the Beagle after our twenty-one days' expedition. Every
one, excepting myself, had cause to be dissatisfied ; but to rne
the ascent afforded a most interesting section of the great tertiary
formation of Patagonia.
On March 1st, 1833, and again on March 16th, 1834, the Beagle
anchored in Berkeley Sound, in East Falkland Island. This archi-
pelago is situated in nearly the same latitude with the mouth of
the Strait of Magellan ; it covers a space of one hundred and
twenty by sixty geographical miles, and is a little more than half
the size of Ireland. After the possession of these miserable
islands had been contested by France, Spain, and England, they
were left uninhabited. The government of Buenos Ayres then
sold them to a private individual, but likewise used them, as old
Spain had done before, for a penal settlement. England claimed
her right and seized them. The Englishman who was left in
charge of the flag was consequently murdered. A British officer
was next sent, unsupported by any power : and when we ar-
rived, we found him in charge of a population, of which rather
more than half were runaway rebels and murderers.
The theatre is worthy of the scenes acted on it. An undulat-
ing land, with a desolate and wretched aspect, is everywhere
covered by a peaty soil and wiry grass, of one monotonous brown
colour. Here and there a peak or ridge of grey quartz rock
breaks through the smooth surface. Every one has heard of the
climate of these regions ; it may be compared to that which is
CHAP, ix.] HUNTING WILD CATTLE. 189
experienced at the height of between one and two thousand feet,
on the mountains of North Wales; having however less sunshine
and less frost, but more wind and rain.*
16th. I will now describe a short excursion which I made
round a part of this island. In the morning I started with six
horses and two Gauchos: the latter were capital men for the
purpose, and well accustomed to living on their own resources.
The weather was very boisterous and cold, with heavy hail-storms.
We got on, however, pretty well, but, except the geology, nothing
could be less interesting than our day's ride. The country is
uniformly the same undulating moorland ; the surface being co-
vered by light brown withered grass and a few very small shrubs,
all springing out of an elastic peaty soil. In the valleys here
and there might be seen a small flock of wild geese, and every-
where the ground was so soft that the snipe were able to feed.
Besides these two birds there were few others. There is one
main range of hills, nearly two thousand feet in height, and com-
posed of quartz rock, the rugged and barren crests of which gave
us some trouble to cross. On the south side we came to the best
country for wild cattle ; we met, however, no great number, foi
they had been lately much harassed.
In the evening we came across a small herd. One of my com-
panions, St. Jago by name, soon separated a fat cow ; he threw
the bolas, and it struck her legs, but failed in becoming entan-
gled. Then dropping his hat to mark the spot where the balls
were left, while at full gallop, he uncoiled his lazo, and after a
most severe chace, again came up to the cow, and caught her
round the horns. The other Gaucho had gone on ahead with the
spare horses, so that St. Jago had some difficulty in killing the
furious beast. He managed to get her on a level piece of ground,
by taking advantage of her as often as she rushed at him ; and
when she would not move, my horse, from having been trained,
would canter up, and with his chest give her a violent push. But
* From accounts published since our voyage, and more especially from
several interesting letters from Capt. Sulivan, K.N., employed on the survey,
it appears that we took an exaggerated view of the badness of the climate
of these islands. But when 1 reflect on the almost universal covering of
peat, and on the fact of wheat seldom ripening here, I can hardly believe
that the climate in summer is so fine aud dry as it has lately been repre-
sented
190 FALKLAND ISLANDS. [CHAP. rx.
when on level ground it does not appear an easy job for one man
to kill a beast mad with terror. Nor would it be so, if the horse, ,
when left to itself without its rider, did not soon learn, for its
own safety, to keep the lazo tight ; so that, if the cow or ox
moves forward, the horse moves just as quickly forward ; other-
wise, it stands motionless leaning on one side. This horse, how-
ever, was a young one, and would not stand still, but ga^ e in to
the cow as she struggled. It was admirable to see with what
dexterity St. Jago dodged behind the beast, till at last he con-
trived to give the fatal touch to the main tendon of the hind leg ;
after which, without much difficulty, he drove his knife into the
head of the spinal marrow, and the cow dropped as if struck by
lightning. He cut off pieces of flesh with the skin to it, but
without any bones, sufficient for our expedition. We then rode
on to our sleeping- place, and had for supper ' carne con cuero,'
or meat roasted with the skin on it. This is as superior to com-
mon beef as venison is to mutton. A large circular piece taken
from the back is roasted on the embers with the hide downwards
and in the form of a saucer, so that none of the gravy is lost. If
any worthy alderman had supped with us that evening, ' carne con
cuero,' without doubt, would soon have been celebrated in London.
During the night it rained, and the next day (17th) was very
stormy, with much hail and snow. We rode across the island to
the neck of land which joins the Eincon del Toro (the great
peninsula at the S. W. extremity) to the rest of the island. From
the great number of cows which have been killed, there is a
large proportion of bulls. These wander about single, or two
and three together, and are very savage. I never saw such mag-
nificent beasts ; they equalled in the size of their huge heads and
necks the Grecian marble sculptures. Capt. Sulivan informs
me that the hide of an average-sized bull weighs forty-seven
pounds, whereas a hide of this weight, less thoroughly dried, is
k considered as a very heavy one at Monte Video. The young
bulls generally run away for a short distance ; but the old ones
do not stir a step, except to rush at man and horse ; and many
Worses have been thus killed. An old bull crossed a boggy
stream, and took his stand on the opposite side to us ; we in vain
tried to drive him away, and failing, were obliged to make a
large circuit. The Gauchos in revenge determined to emasculate
CHAP, ix.] WILD HORSES. 191
him and render him for the future harmless. It was very inter-
esting to see how art completely mastered force. One lazo was
thrown over his horns as he rushed at the horse, and another
round his hind legs : in a minute the monster was stretched
powerless on the ground. After the lazo has once been drawn
tightly round the horns of a furious animal, it does not at fir.it
appear an easy thing to disengage it again without killing the
beast ; nor, I apprehend, would it be so if the man was by him-
aclf. By the aid, however, of a second person throwing his lazo
so as to catch both hind legs, it is quickly managed : for the
animal, as long as its hind legs are kept outstretched, is quite
helpless, and the first man can with his hands loosen his lazo from
the horns, and then quietly mount his horse ; but the moment
the second man, by backing ever so little, relaxes the strain, the
lazo slips off the legs of the struggling beast, which then rises
free, shakes himself, and vainly rushes at his antagonist.
During our whole ride we saw only one troop of wild horses.
These animals, as well as the cattle, were introduced by the
French in 1764, since which time both have greatly increased.
It is a curious fact, that the horses have never left the eastern
end of the island, although there is no natural boundary to pre-
vent them from roaming, and that part of the island is not more
tempting than the rest. The Gauchos whom I asked, though
asserting this to be the case, were unable to account for it, ex-
cept from the strong attachment which horses have to any loca-
lity to which they are accustomed. Considering that the island
does not appear fully stocked, and that there are no beasts of
prey, I was particularly curious to know what has checked their
originally rapid increase. That in a limited island some check
would sooner or later supervene, is inevitable ; but why has
the increase of the horse been checked sooner than that of the
cattle? Capt. S^livan has taken much pains for me in this
inquiry. The Gauchos employed here attribute it chiefly to
the stallions constantly roaming from place to place, and com-
pelling the mares to accompany them, whether or not the young
foals are able to follow. One Gaucho told Capt. Sulivan that
he had watched a stallion for a whole hour, violently kicking
Rnd biting a mare till he forced her to leave her foal to its late.
Capt. Sulivan can so far corroborate this curious account, that
192 FALKLAND ISLANDS. [CHAP. ix.
he has several times found young foals dead, whereas he has
never found a dead calf. Moreover, the dead bodies of full-
grown horses are more frequently found, as if more subject to
disease or accidents, than those of the cattle. From the softness oi
the ground their hoofs often grow irregularly to a great length,
and this causes lameness. The predominant colours are roan and
iron-grey. All the horses bred here, both tame and wild, are
rather small-sized, though generally in good condition ; and they
have lost so much strength, that they are unfit to be used in taking
wild cattle with the lazo : in consequence, it is necessary to go to
the great expense of importing fresh horses from the Plata. At
some future period the southern hemisphere probably will have its
breed of Falkland ponies, as the northern has its Shetland breed.
The cattle, instead of having degenerated like the horses,
seem, as before remarked, to have increased in size ; and they
are much more numerous than the horses. Capt. Sulivan in-
forms me that they vary much less in the general form of their
bodies and in the shape of their horns than English cattle. In
colour they differ much ; and it is a remarkable circumstance,
that in different parts of this one small island, different colours
predominate. Round Mount Usborne, at a height of from 1000
to 1500 feet above the sea, about half of some of the herds are
mouse or lead-coloured, a tint which is not common in other
parts of the island. Near Port Pleasant dark brown prevails,
whereas south of Choiseul Sound (which almost divides the island
into two parts), white beasts with black heads and feet are the
most common : in all parts black, and some spotted animals may
be observed. Capt. Sulivan remarks, that the difference in the
prevailing colours was so obvious, that in looking for the herds
near Port Pleasant, they appeared from a long distance like black
spots, whilst south of Choiseul Sound they appeared like white
spots on the hill-sides. Capt. Sulivan thinks that the herds do
not mingle ; and it is a singular fact, that the mouse-coloured
cattle, though living on the high land, calve about a month
earlier in the season than the other coloured beasts on the lower
land. It is interesting thus to find the once domesticated cattle
breaking into three colours, of which some one colour would in
ill probability ultimately prevail over the others, if the herds
were left undisturbed for the next several centuries.
CHAP, ix.] WILD RABBITS. 193
The rabbit is another animal which has been introduced, and
has succeeded very well ; so that they abound over large parts
of the island. Yet, like the horses, they are confined within
certain limits ; for ihey have not crossed the central chain of
hills, nor would they have extended even so far as its base, if, as
the Gauchos informed me, small colonies had not been carried
there. I should not have supposed that these animals, natives of
northern Africa, could have existed in a climate so humid ao
this, and which enjoys so little sunshine that even wheat ripens
only occasionally. It is asserted that in Sweden, which any one
would have thought a more favourable climate, the rabbit cannot
live out of doors. The first few pair, moreover, had here tc
contend against pre-existing enemies, in the fox and some large
hawks. The French naturalists have considered the black va-
riety a distinct species, and called it Lepus Magellanicus.* They
imagined that Magellan, when talking of an animal under the
name of ' conejos' in the Strait of Magellan, referred to this
species; but he was alluding to a small cavy, which to this day
is thus called by the Spaniards. The Gauchos laughed at the
idea of the black kind being different from the grey, and they
said that at all events it had not extended its range any further
than the grey kind ; that the two were never found separate ;
and that they readily bred together, and produced piebald off-
spring. Of the latter I now possess a specimen, and it is marked
about the head differently from the French specific description.
This circumstance shows how cautious naturalists should be in
making species; for even Cuvier, on looking at the skull of one
of these rabbits, thought it was probably distinct !
The only quadruped native to the island f is a large wolf-like
fox (Canis antarcticus), which is common to both East and
* Lesson's Zoology of the Voyage of the Coquille, torn. i. p. 168. All
the early voyagers, and especially Bougainville, distinctly state that the
wolf-like fox was the only native animal on the island. The distinction of
the rabbit as a species, is taken from peculiarities in the fur, from the shape
of the head, and from the shortness of the ears. I may here observe that
the difference between the Irish and English hare rests upon nearly similar
characters, only more strongly marked.
t I have reason, however, to suspect that there is a field-mouse. The
common European rat and mouse have roamed far from the habitations of
the settlers. The common hog has also run wild on one islet : all are of a
black colour : the boars are very fierce, aud have great tusks.
194 FALKLAND ISLANDS. [CHAP. ix.
West Falkland. I have no doubt it is a peculiar species, and
confined to this archipelago ; because many sealers, Gauchos,
and Indians, who have visited these islands, all maintain that no
such animal is found in any part of South America. Molina,
from a similarity in habits, thought that this was the same with
his " culpeu ;" * but I have seen both, and they are quite distinct.
These wolves are well known, from Byron's account of their
lameness and curiosity, which the sailors, who ran into the
water to avoid them, mistook for fierceness. To this day their
manners remain the same. They have been observed to enter a
tent, and actually pull some meat from beneath the head of a
sleeping seaman. The Gauchos also have frequently in the
evening killed them, by holding out a piece of meat in one hand,
and in the other a knife ready to stick them. As far as I am
aware, there is no other instance in any part of the world, of so
small a mass of broken land, distant from a continent, possessing
so large an aboriginal quadruped peculiar to itself. Their num-
bers have rapidly decreased ; they are already banished from that
half of the island which lies to the eastward of the neck of land
between St. Salvador Bay and Berkeley Sound. Within a very
few years after these islands shall have become regularly settled,
in all probability this fox will be classed with the dodo, as an
animal which has perished from the face of the earth.
At night (17th) we slept on the neck of land at the head of
Choiseul Sound, which forms the south-west peninsula. The
valley was pretty well sheltered from the cold wind ; but there
was very little brushwood for fuel. The Gauchos, however, soon
found what, to my great surprise, made nearly as hot a fire as
coals ; this was the skeleton of a bullock lately killed, from which
the flesh had been picked by the carrion-hawks. They told me
that in winter they often killed a beast, cleaned the flesh from the
bones with theii knives, and then with these same bones roasted
the meat for their suppers.
18th. It rained during nearly the whole day. At night we
managed, however, with our saddle-cloths to keep ourselves
pretty well dry and warm ; but the ground on which we slept
was on each occasion nearly in the state of a bog, and there was
* The "culpeu" is the Cauls Magellanicus brought home by Captain
King from the Strait of Magellan, it is common in Chile.
CHAP, ix.] ART IN MAKING A FIRE. 195
not a dry spot to sit down on after our day's ride. I have in
another part stated how singular it is that there should be abso-
lutely no trees on these* islands, although Tierra del Fuego is
covered by one large forest. The largest bush in the island
(belonging to the family of Composite) is scarcely so tall as our
gorse. The best fuel is afforded by a green little bush about
the size of common heath, which has the useful property of
burning while fresh and green. It was very surprising to see
the Gauchos, in the midst of rain and everything soaking wet,
with nothing more than a tinder-box and piece of rag, immedi-
ately make a fire. They sought beneath the tufts of grass and
bushes for a few dry twigs, and these they rubbed into fibres ;
then surrounding them with coarser twigs, something like a
bird's nest, they put the rag with its spark of fire in the middle
and covered it up. The nest being then held up to the wind, by
degrees it smoked more and more, and at last burst out in flames.
I do not think any other method would have had a chance of
succeeding with such damp materials.
19th. Each morning, from not having ridden for some time
previously, I was very stiff. I was surprised to hear the Gauchos,
who have from infancy almost lived on horseback, say that,
under similar circumstances, they always suffer. St. Jago told
me, that having been confined for three months by illness, he
went out hunting wild cattle, and in consequence, for the next
two days, his thighs were so stiff' that he was obliged to lie in
bed. This shows that the Gauchos, although they do not appear
to do so, yet really must exert much muscular effort in riding.
The hunting wild cattle, in a country so difficult to pass as this
is on account of the swampy ground, must be very hard work.
The Gauchos say they often pass at full speed over ground which
would be impassable at a slower pace ; in the same manner as a
man is able to skate over thin ice. When hunting, the party
endeavours to get as close as possible to the herd without being
discovered. Each man carries four or five pair of the bolas ;
these he throws one after the other at as many cattle, which,
when once entangled, are left for some days, till they become a
little exhausted by hunger and struggling. They are then let
free and driven towards a small herd of tame animals, which
have been brought to the spot on purpose. From their previous
196 FALKLAND ISLANDS. [CHAP. ix.
treatment, being too much terrified to leave the herd, they ar
easily driven, if their strength last out, to the settlement.
The weather continued so very bad that we determined to
make a push, and try to reach the vessel before night. From
the quantity of rain which had fallen, the surface of the whole
country was swampy. I suppose my horse fell at least a dozen
times, and sometimes the whole six horses were floundering in the
mud together. All the little streams are bordered by soft peat,
which makes it very difficult for the horses to leap them without
falling. To complete our discomforts we were obliged to cross
the head of a creek of the sea, in which the water was as high
as our horses' backs ; and the little waves, owing to the violence
of the wind, broke over us, and made us very wet and cold.
Even the iron-framed Gauchos professed themselves glad when
they reached the settlement, after our little excursion.
The geological structure of these islands is in most respects
simple. The lower country consists of clay-slate and sandstone,
containing fossils, very closely related to, but not identical with,
those found in the Silurian formations of Europe ; the hills are
formed of white granular quartz rock. The strata of the latter
are frequently arched with perfect symmetry, and the appearance
of some of the masses is in consequence most singular. Pernety*
has devoted several pages to the description of a Hill of Ruins,
the successive strata of which he has justly compared to the seats
of an amphitheatre. The quartz rock must have been quite pasty
when it underwent such remarkable flexures without being
shattered into fragments. As the quartz insensibly passes into
the sandstone, it seems probable that the former owes its origin
to the sandstone having been heated to such a degree that it
became viscid, and upon cooling crystallized. While in the soft
state it must have been pushed up through the overlying
beds.
In many parts of the island the bottoms of the valleys are
covered in an extraordinary manner by myriads of great locse an-
gular fragments of the quartz rock, forming " streams of stones."
These have been mentioned with surprise by every voyager since
the time of Pernety. The blocks are not waterworn, theii
* Pernety, Voyage aux Isles Malouines, p. 526
CHAP, ix.] STREAMS OF STONES. 197
angles being only a little blunted ; they vary in size from one or
two feet in diameter to ten, or even more than twenty times as
much. They are not thrown together into irregular piles, but
are spread out into level sheets or great streams. It is not pos-
sible to ascertain their thickness, but the water of small stream-
lets can be heard trickling through the stones many feet below
the surface. The actual depth is probably great, because the
crevices between the lower fragments must long ago have been
filled up with sand. The width of these sheets of stones varies
from a few hundred feet to a mile ; but the peaty soil daily en-
croaches on the borders, and even forms islets wherever a few
fragments happen to lie close together. In a valley south of
Berkeley Sound, which some of our party called the " great
valley of fragments," it was necessary to cross an uninterrupted
band half a mile wide, by jumping from one pointed stone to
another. So large were the fragments, that being overtaken
by a shower of rain, I readily found shelter beneath one of
them.
Their little inclination is the most remarkable circumstance
in these " streams of stones." On the hill-sides I have seen
them sloping at an angle of ten degrees with the horizon ; but in
some of the level, broad-bottomed valleys, the inclination is only
just sufficient to be clearly perceived. On so rugged a surface
there was no means of measuring the angle ; but to give a common
illustration, I may say that the slope would not have checked
the speed of an English mail-coach. In some places, a con-
tinuous stream of these fragments followed up the course of a
valley, and even extended 1o the very crest of the hill. On these
crests huge masses, exceeding in dimensions any .small building,
seemed to stand arrested in their headlong course : there, also,
the curved strata of the archways lay piled on each other, like
the ruins of some vast and ancient cathedral. In endeavouring
to describe these scenes of violence one is tempted to pass from
one simile to another. We may imagine that streams of white
lava had flowed from many parts of the mountains into the lower
country, and that when solidified they had been rent by some
enormous convulsion into myriads of fragments. The expression
" streams of stones," which immediately occurred to every one,
conveys the same idea. These scenes are on the spot rendered
198 FALKLAND ISLANDS. [CHAP. ix.
more striking by the contrast of the low, rounded forms of the
neighbouring hills.
I was interested by finding on the highest peak of one range
(about 700 feet above the sea) a great arched fragment, lying
on its convex side, or back downwards. Must we believe that it
was fairly pitched up in the air, and thus turned ? Or, with
more probability, that there existed formerly a part of the same
range more elevated than the point on which this monument of
a great convulsion of nature now lies. As the fragments in the
valleys are neither rounded nor the crevices filled up with sand,
we must infer that the period of violence was subsequent to the
land having been raised above the waters of the sea. In a trans-
verse section within these valleys, the bottom is nearly level, or
rises but very little towards either side. Hence the fragments
appear to have travelled from the head of the valley ; but in
reality it seems more probable that they have been hurled down
from the nearest slopes ; and that since, by a vibratory move-
ment of overwhelming force,* the fragments have been levelled
into one continuous sheet. If during the earthquake"]" which in
1835 overthrew Concepcion, in Chile, it was thought wonderful
that small bodies should have been pitched a few inches from
the ground, what must we say to a movement which has caused
fragments many tons in weight, to move onwards like so much
sand on a vibrating board, and find their level ? I have seen, in
the Cordillera of the Andes, the evident marks where stupen-
dous mountains have been broken into pieces like so much thin
crust, and the strata thrown on their vertical edges ; but never
did any scene, like these " streams of stones," so forcibly convey
to my mind the idea of a convulsion, of which in historical
records we might in vain seek for any counterpart: yet the
progress of knowledge will probably some day give a simple
explanation of this phenomenon, as it already has of the so long-
* " Nous n'avons pas te moins saisis d'etonnement a la vue de 1'innom-
brable quantite de pierres de toutes grandeurs, bouleverse'es les unes sur les
autres, et cependant rangees, comme si elles avoient e^e" amoncele'es ngli-
gemment pour rernplir des ravins. On ne se lassoit pas d'admirer les effets
prodigieux de la nature." Pernety, p. 526.
f An inhabitant of Mendoza, and hence well capable of judging, assured
me that, during the several years he had resided on these islands, he had
uevcr felt the slightest shock of an earthquake
CHAP, ix.] HABITS OF SOME BIRDS. 199
thought inexplicable transportal of the erratic boulders, which
are strewed over the plains of Europe.
I have little to remark on the zoology of these islands. I have
before described the carrion-vulture or Polyborus. There are
some other hawks, owls, and a few small land-birds. The water-
fowl are particularly numerous, and they must formerly, from
the accounts of the old navigators, have been much more so.
One day I observed a cormorant playing with a fish which it had
caught. Eight times successively the bird let its prey go, then
dived after it, and although in deep water, brought it each time
to the surface. In the Zoological Gardens I have seen the otter
treat a fish in the same manner, much as a cat does a mouse : I
do not know of any other instance where dame Nature appears
so wilfully cruel. Another day, having placed myself between
a penguin (Aptenodytes demersa) and the water, I was much
amused by watching its habits. It was a brave bird ; and till
reaching the sea, it regularly fought and drove me backwards.
Nothing less than heavy blows would have stopped him ; every
inch he gained he firmly kept, standing close before me erect
and determined. When thus opposed he continually rolled his
head from side to side, in a very odd manner, as if the power of
distinct vision lay only in the anterior and basal part of each
eye. This bird is commonly called the jackass penguin, from its
habit, while on shore, of throwing its head backwards, and
making a loud strange noise, very like the braying of an ass ;
but while at sea, and undisturbed, its note is very deep and
solemn, and is often heard in the night-time. In diving, its
little wings are used as fins; but on the land, as front legs.
Wh^n crawling, it may be said on four legs, through the tus-
sucks or on the side of a grassy cliff, it moves so very quickly
that it might easily be mistaken for a quadruped. When at sea
and fishing, it comes to the surface for the purpose of breathing
with such a spring, and dives again so instantaneously, that I
defy any one at first sight to be sure that it was not a fish leaping
for sport.
Two kinds of geese frequent the Falklarids. The upland
species (Anas Magellanica) is common, in pairs and in small
tlocks, throughout the island. They do not migrate, but build
14
200 FALKLAND ISLANDS. [CHAP. ix.
on the small ourlying islets. This is supposed to be from fear
of the foxes : and it is perhaps from the same cause that these
birds, though very tame by day, are shy and wild in the dusk of
the evening. They live entirely on vegetable matter. The
rock- goose, so called from living exclusively on the sea-beach
(Anas antarctica), is common both here and on the west coast oi
America, as far north as Chile. In the deep and retired channels
of Tierra del Fuego, the snow-white gander, invariably accom-
panied by his darker consort, and standing close by each other on
some distant rocky point, is a common feature in the landscape.
In these islands a great loggerheaded duck or goose (Anas
brachyptera), which sometimes weighs twenty-two pounds, is
very abundant. These birds were in former days called, from
their extraordinary manner of paddling and splashing upon the
water, race-horses ; but now they are named, much more appro-
priately, steamers. Their wings are too small and weak to allow
of flight, but by their aid, partly swimming and partly flapping
the surface of the water, they move very quickly. The manner is
something like that by which the common house-duck escapes when
pursued by a dog ; but I am nearly sure that the steamer moves
its wings alternately, instead of both together, as in other birds.
These clumsy, loggerheaded ducks make such a noise and
splashing, that the effect is exceedingly curious.
Thus we find in South America three birds which use their
wings for other purposes besides flight ; the penguin as fins, the
steamer as paddles, and the ostrich as sails : and the Apteryx of
New Zealand, as well as its gigantic extinct prototype the
Deinornis, possess only rudimentary representatives of wings.
The steamer is able to dive only to a very short distance. It
feeds entirely on shell-fish from the kelp and tidal rocks ; hence
the beak and head, for the purpose of breaking them, are sur-
prisingly heavy and strong : the head is so strong that I have
scarcely been able to fracture it with my geological hammer ;
and all our pportsmen soon discovered how tenacious these birds-
were of life. When in the evening pluming themselves in a
flock, they make the same odd mixture of sounds which bull-
frogs do within the tropics.
In Tierra del Fuego, as well as at the Falkland Islands, I made
CHAP, ix.] ZOOPHYTES. 201
many observations on the lower marine animals,* but they are
of little general interest. I will mention only one class of tacts,
relating to certain zoophytes in the more highly organized divi-
sion of that class. Several genera (Flustra, Eschara, Cellaria,
Crisia, and others) agree in having singular moveable organs
(like those of Flustra avicularia, found in the European seas)
attached to their cells. The organ, in the greater number of
cases, very closely resembles the head of a vulture ; but the
lower mandible can be opened much wider than in a real bird's
beak. The head itself possesses considerable powers of move-
ment, by means of a short neck. In one zoophyte the head itself
was fixed, but the lower jaw free : in another it was replaced by
a triangular hood, with a beautifully-fitted trap-door, which evi-
dently answered to the lower mandible. In the greater number
of species, each cell was provided with one head, but in others
each cell had two.
The young cells at the end of the branches of these corallines
contain quite immature polypi, yet the vulture-heads attached to
them, though small, are in every respect perfect. When the
polypus was removed by a needle from any of the cells, these
organs did not appear in the least affected. When one of the
vulture-like heads was cut off from a cell, the lower mandible
retained its power of opening and closing. Perhaps the most
singular part of their structure is, that when there were more
than two rows of cells on a branch, the central cells were fur-
nished with these appendages, of only one-fourth the size of the
outside ones. Their movements varied according to the species ;
but in some I never saw the least motion ; while others, with the
lower mandible generally wide open, oscillated backwards and
* I was surprised to find, on counting the eggs of a large white Doris
(this sea slug was three and a half inches long), how extraordinarily
numerous they were. From two to five eggs (each three-thousandths of an
inch in diameter) were contained in a spherical little case. These were
arranged two deep in transverse rows forming a ribbon. The ribbon ad-
hered by its edge to the rock in an oval spire. One which I found, mea-
sured nearly twenty inches in length and half in breadth. By counting how
many balls were contained in a tenth of an inch in the row, and how many
rows in an equal length of the ribbon, on the most moderate computation
there were six hundred thousand eggs. Yet this Doris was certainly not
very common : although I was often searching under the stones, I saw only
seven individuals. No fallacy is more common with naturalists, than that the
rutmbers of an individual species depend on its powers of propagation.
202 FALKLAND ISLANDS. [CHAP. ix.
forwards at the rate of about five seconds each turn ; others
moved rapidly and by starts. When touched with a needle, the
beak generally seized the point so firmly, that the whole branch
might be shaken.
These bodies have no relation whatever with the production of
the eggs or gemmules, as they are formed before the young polypi
appear in the cells at the end of the growing branches ; as they
move independently of the polypi, and do not appear to be in any
way connected with them ; and as they differ in size on the outer
and inner rows of cells, I have little doubt, that in their functions,
they are related rather to the horny axis of the branches than to the
polypi in the cells. The fleshy appendage at the lower extremity
of the sea-pen (described at Bahia Blanca) also forms part of the
zoophyte, as a whole, in the same manner as the roots of a tree
form part of the. whole tree, and not of the individual leaf 01
flower-buds.
In another elegant little coralline (Crisia?), eac'h cell was fur-
nished with a long-toothed bristle, which had the power of moving
quickly. Each of these bristles and each of the vulture-like
heads generally moved quite independently of the others, but
sometimes all on both sides of a branch, sometimes only those on
one side, moved together coinstantaneously ; sometimes each
moved in regular order one after another. In these actions we
apparently behold as perfect a transmission of will in the zoo-
phyte, though composed of thousands of distinct polypi, as in
any single animal. The case, indeed, is not different from that
of the sea-pens, which, when touched, drew themselves into the
sand on the coast of Baliia Blanca. I will state one other in-
stance of uniform action, though of a very different nature, in a
zoophyte closely allied to Clytia, and therefore very simply or-
ganized. Having kept a large tuft of it in a basin of salt-water,
when it was dark I found that as often as I rubbed any part of a
branch, the whole became strongly phosphorescent with a green
light: I do not think I ever saw any object more beautifully so.
But the remarkable circumstance was, that the flashes of light
always proceeded up the branches, from the base towards the
extremities.
The examination of these compound animals was always very
interesting to me. What can be more remarkable than to see a
CHAP, ix.] COMPOUND ANIMALS. 203
plant-like body producing an egg, capable of swimming about
and of choosing a proper place to adhere to, which then sprouts
into branches, each crowded with innumerable distinct animals,
often of complicated organizations? The branches, moreover,
as we have just seen, sometimes possess organs capable of move-
ment and independent of the polypi. Surprising as this union
of separate individuals in a common stock must always appear,
every tree displays the same fact, for buds must be considered
as individual plants. It is, however, natural to consider a
polypus, furnished with a mouth, intestines, and other organs,
as a distinct individual, whereas the individuality of a leaf-bud is
not easily realised ; so that the union of separate individuals in
a common body is more striking in a coralline than in a tree.
Our conception of a compound animal, where in some respects
the individuality of each is not completed, may be aided, by re-
flecting on the production of two distinct creatures by bisecting
a single one with a knife, or where Nature herself performs the
task of bisection. We may consider the polypi in a zoophyte, or
the buds in a tree, as cases where the division of the individual has
not been completely effected. Certainly in the case of trees, and
judging from analogy in that of corallines, the individuals pro-
pagated by buds seem more intimately related to each other, than
eggs or seeds are to their parents. It seems now pretty well esta-
blished that plants propagated by buds all partake of a common
duration of life ; and it is familiar to every one, what singular
and numerous peculiarities are transmitted with certainty, by
buds, layers, and grafts, which by seminal propagation never or
only casually reappear.
204 TIERRA DEt FUEGO. [CHAP. x.
CHAPTER X.
Tierra del Ftiego, first arrival Good Success Bay An account of the
Fuegians on board Interview with the savages Scenery of the forests
Cape Horn Wigwam Cove Miserable condition of the savages Famines
Cannibals Matricide Religious feelings Great gale Beagle Channel
Ponsouby Sound Build wigwams and settle the Fuegians Bifurcation
of the Beagle Channel Glaciers Return to the ship Second visit in
the Ship to the Settlement Equality of condition amongst the natives.
TIERRA DEL FUEGO.
December 17th, 1832. Having now finished with Patagonia
and the Falkland Islands, I will describe our first arrival in
Tierra del Fuego. A little after noon we doubled Cape St.
Diego, and entered the famous strait of Le Maire. We kept
close to the Fuegian shore, but the outline of the rugged, inhos-
pitable Staten-land was visible amidst the clouds. In the after-
noon we anchored in the Bay of Good Success. While entering
we were saluted in a manner becoming the inhabitants of this
savage land. A group of Fuegians partly concealed by the en-
tangled forest, were perched on a wild point overhanging the
sea; and as we passed by, they sprang up and waving their
tattered cloaks sent forth a loud and sonorous shout. The
savages followed the ship, and just before dark we saw their fire,
and again heard their wild cry. The harbour consists of a fine
piece of water half surrounded by low rounded mountains of
clay-slate, which are covered to the water's edge by one dense
gloomy forest. A single glance at the landscape was sufficient
to show me how widely different it was from any thing I had
ever beheld. At night it blew a gale of wind, and heavy squalls
from the mountains swept past us. It would have been a bad
time out at sea, and we, as well as others, may call this Good
Success Bay.
In the morning the Captain sent a party to communicate with
the Fuegians. When we came within hail, one of the four
natives who were present advanced to receive us, and began to
CHAP, x.] INTERVIEW WITH THE NATIVES. 205
shout most vehemently, wishing to direct us where to land.
When we were on shore the party looked rather alarmed; but
continued talking and making gestures with great rapidity. It
was without exception the most curious and interesting spectacle
I ever beheld : I could not have believed how wide was the dif-
ference between savage and civilized man: it is greater than
between a wild and domesticated animal, inasmuch as in man
there is a greater power of improvement. The chief spokesman
was old, and appeared to be the head of the family ; the three
others were powerful young men, about six feet high. The
women and children had been sent away. These Fuegians are a
very different race from the stunted, miserable wretches farther
westward ; and they seem closely allied to the famous Patago-
nians of the Strait of Magellan. Their only garment consists of
a mantle made of guanaco skin, with the wool outside ; this they
wear just thrown over their shoulders, leaving their persons as
often exposed as covered. Their skin is of a dirty coppery red
colour.
The old man had a fillet of white feathers tied round his head,
which partly confined his black, coarse, and entangled hair.
His face was crossed by two broad transverse bars; one, painted
bright red, reached from ear to ear and included the upper lip ;
the other, white like chalk, extended above and parallel to the
first, so that even his eyelids were thus coloured. The other
two men were ornamented by streaks of black powder, made of
charcoal. The party altogether closely resembled the devils
which come on the stage in plays like Der Freischutz.
Their very attitudes were abject, and the expression of their
countenances distrustful, surprised, and startled. After we had
presented them with some scarlet cloth, which they immediately
tied round their necks, they became good friends. This was
shown by the old man patting our breasts, and making a chuck-
ling kind of noise, as people do when feeding chickens. I
walked with the old man, and this demonstration of friendship
was repeated several times ; it was concluded by three hard slaps,
which were given me on the breast and back at the same time.
He then bared his bosom for me to return the compliment, which
being done, he seemed highly pleased. The language of these
people, according to our notions, scarcely deserves to be called
206 TIERRA DEL FUEGO. [CHAP. x.
articulate. Captain Cook has compared it to a man clearing his
throat, but certainly no European ever cleared his throat with so
many hoarse, guttural, and clicking sounds.
They are excellent mimics: as often as we coughed or yawned,
or made any odd motion, they immediately imitated us. Some
of our party began to squint and look awry ; but one of the
young Fuegians (whose whole face was painted black, excepting
a white band across his eyes) succeeded in making far more
hideous grimaces. They could repeat with perfect correctness
each word in any sentence we addressed them, and they remem-
bered such words for some time. Yet we Europeans all know
how difficult it is to distinguish apart the sounds in a foreign
language. Which of us, for instance, could follow an American
Indian through a sentence of more than three words? All
savages appear to possess, to an uncommon degree, this power ol
mimicry. I was told, almost in the same words, of the same
ludicrous habit among the Caffres : the Australians, likewise,
have long been notorious for being able to imitate and describe
the gait of any man, so that he may be recognised. How can
this faculty be explained ? is it a consequence of the more prac-
tised habits of perception and keener senses, common to all men
in a savage state, as compared with those long civilized ?
"When a song was struck up by our party, I thought the
Fuegians would have fallen do\vn with astonishment. With
equal surprise they viewed our dancing ; but one of the young
men, when asked, had no objection to a little waltzing. Little
accustomed to Europeans as they appeared to be, yet they knew
and dreaded our fire-arms ; nothing would tempt them to take a
gun in their hands. They begged for knives, calling them by
the Spanish word " cuchilla.'' They explained also what they
wanted, by acting as if they had a piece of blubber in their
mouth, and then pretending to cut instead of tear it.
I have not as yet noticed the Fuegians whom we had on
board. During the former voyage of the Adventure and Beagle
in 1826 to 1830, Captain Fitz Roy seized on a party of natives,
as hostages for the loss of a boat, which had been stolen, to the
great jeopardy of a party employed on the survey ; and some of
these natives, as well as a child whom he bought for a pearl-button,
he took with him to England, determining to educate thorn and
CHAP, x.] FUEGIANS OX BOARD. 207
instruct them in religion at his own expense. To settle these
natives in their own country, was one chief inducement to Cap-
tain Fitz Roy to undertake our present voyage ; and before the
Admiralty had resolved to send out this expedition, Captain
Fitz Roy had generously chartered a vessel, and would himself
have taken them back. The natives were accompanied by a mis-
sionary, R. Matthews ; of whom and of the natives, Captain Fitz
Roy has published a full and excellent account. Two men, ono
of whom died in England of the small-pox, a boy and a little
girl, were originally taken ; and we had now on board, York
Minster, Jemmy Button (whose name expresses his purchase-
money), and Fuegia Basket. York Minster was a full-grown,
short, thick, powerful man : his disposition was reserved, taci-
turn, morose, and when excited violently passionate ; his aftec-
tions were very strong towards a few friends on board ; his intel-
lect good. Jemmy Button was a universal favourite, but likewise
passionate; the expression of his face at once showed his nice
disposition. He was merry and often laughed, and was remark-
ably sympathetic with any one in pain : when the water was
rough, 1 was often a little sea-sick, and he used to come to me
and say in a plaintive voice, " Poor, poor fellow !" but the notion,
after his aquatic life, of a man being sea-sick, was too ludicrous,
and he was generally obliged to turn on one side to hide a smile
or laugh, and then he would repeat his " Poor, poor fellow !" He
was of a patriotic disposition ; and he liked to praise his own tribe
and country, in which he truly said there were " plenty of trees,"
and he abused all the other tribes : he stoutly declared that there
was no Devil in his land. Jemmy was short, thick, and fat, but
vain of his personal appearance ; he used always to wear gloves,
his hair was neatly cut, and he was distressed if his well-polished
shoes were dirtied. He was fond of admiring himself in a look-
ing-glass; and a merry-faced little Indian boy from the Rio Negro,
whom we had for some months on board, soon perceived this, and
used to mock him : Jemmy, who was always rather jealous of
the attention paid to this little boy, did not at all like this, and
used to say, with rather a contemptuous twist of his head, " Too
much skylark." It seems yet wonderful to me, when I think over
all his many good qualities, that he should have been of the same
race, and doubtless partaken of the same character, with the mi-
208 TIERRA DEL FUEGO. [CHAP. x.
arable, degraded savages whom we first met here. Lastly, Fuegia
Basket was a nice, modest, reserved young girl, with a rather
pleasing but sometimes sullen expression, and very quick in
'earning anything, especially languages. This she showed in
picking up some Portuguese and Spanish, when left on shore for
only a short time at Rio de Janeiro and Monte Video, and in
her knowledge of English. York Minster was very jealous of
any attention paid to her ; for it was clear he determined to
marry her as soon as they were settled on shore.
Althou
