JULY 24th, 1833. -- The Beagle sailed from Maldonado,and on August the 3rd she arrived off the mouth of theRio Negro. This is the principal river on the whole lineof coast between the Strait of Magellan and the Plata. Itenters the sea about three hundred miles south of the estuaryof the Plata. About fifty years ago, under the old Spanishgovernment, a small colony was established here; and it isstill the most southern position (lat. 41 degs.) on thiseastern coast of America inhabited by civilized man.

The country near the mouth of the river is wretched inthe extreme: on the south side a long line of perpendicularcliffs commences, which exposes a section of the geologicalnature of the country. The strata are of sandstone, andone layer was remarkable from being composed of a firmly-cemented conglomerate of pumice pebbles, which must havetravelled more than four hundred miles, from the Andes.The surface is everywhere covered up by a thick bed ofgravel, which extends far and wide over the open plain.Water is extremely scarce, and, where found, is almostinvariably brackish. The vegetation is scanty; and althoughthere are bushes of many kinds, all are armed with formidablethorns, which seem to warn the stranger not to enter onthese inhospitable regions.

The settlement is situated eighteen miles up the river.The road follows the foot of the sloping cliff, which formsthe northern boundary of the great valley, in which the RioNegro flows. On the way we passed the ruins of some fine"estancias," which a few years since had been destroyed bythe Indians. They withstood several attacks. A man presentat one gave me a very lively description of what took place.The inhabitants had sufficient notice to drive all the cattleand horses into the "corral"

The town is indifferently called El Carmen or Patagones.It is built on the face of a cliff which fronts the river, andmany of the houses are excavated even in the sandstone.The river is about two or three hundred yards wide, and isdeep and rapid. The many islands, with their willow-trees,and the flat headlands, seen one behind the other on thenorthern boundary of the broad green valley, form, by theaid of a bright sun, a view almost picturesque. The numberof inhabitants does not exceed a few hundreds. These Spanishcolonies do not, like our British ones, carry within themselvesthe elements of growth. Many Indians of pure bloodreside here: the tribe of the Cacique Lucanee constantly havetheir Toldos

One day I rode to a large salt-lake, or Salina, which isdistant fifteen miles from the town. During the winter itconsists of a shallow lake of brine, which in summer isconverted into a field of snow-white salt. The layer near themargin is from four to five inches thick, but towards thecentre its thickness increases. This lake was two and a halfmiles long, and one broad. Others occur in the neighbourhoodmany times larger, and with a floor of salt, two andthree feet in thickness, even when under water during thewinter. One of these brilliantly white and level expansesin the midst of the brown and desolate plain, offers anextraordinary spectacle. A large quantity of salt is annuallydrawn from the salina: and great piles, some hundredtons in weight, were lying ready for exportation. The seasonfor working the salinas forms the harvest of Patagones; foron it the prosperity of the place depends. Nearly the wholepopulation encamps on the bank of the river, and the peopleare employed in drawing out the salt in bullock-waggons,This salt is crystallized in great cubes, and is remarkablypure: Mr. Trenham Reeks has kindly analyzed some for me,and he finds in it only 0.26 of gypsum and 0.22 of earthymatter. It is a singular fact, that it does not serve so wellfor preserving meat as sea-salt from the Cape de Verdislands; and a merchant at Buenos Ayres told me that heconsidered it as fifty per cent. less valuable. Hence theCape de Verd salt is constantly imported, and is mixed withthat from these salinas. The purity of the Patagonian salt,or absence from it of those other saline bodies found in allsea-water, is the only assignable cause for this inferiority:a conclusion which no one, I think, would have suspected,but which is supported by the fact lately ascertained,

The border of this lake is formed of mud: and in thisnumerous large crystals of gypsum, some of which are threeinches long, lie embedded; whilst on the surface others ofsulphate of soda lie scattered about. The Gauchos call theformer the "Padre del sal," and the latter the "Madre;"they state that these progenitive salts always occur on theborders of the salinas, when the water begins to evaporate.The mud is black, and has a fetid odour. I could not at firstimagine the cause of this, but I afterwards perceived that thefroth which the wind drifted on shore was coloured green,as if by confervae; I attempted to carry home some of thisgreen matter, but from an accident failed. Parts of the lakeseen from a short distance appeared of a reddish colour, andthis perhaps was owing to some infusorial animalcula. Themud in many places was thrown up by numbers of some kindof worm, or annelidous animal. How surprising it is thatany creatures should be able to exist in brine, and that theyshould be crawling among crystals of sulphate of soda andlime! And what becomes of these worms when, during thelong summer, the surface is hardened into a solid layer ofsalt? Flamingoes in considerable numbers inhabit this lake,and breed here, throughout Patagonia, in Northern Chile,and at the Galapagos Islands, I met with these birds whereverthere were lakes of brine. I saw them here wadingabout in search of food -- probably for the worms which burrowin the mud; and these latter probably feed on infusoria orconfervae. Thus we have a little living world within itselfadapted to these inland lakes of brine. A minute crustaceousanimal (Cancer salinus) is said

To the northward of the Rio Negro, between it and theinhabited country near Buenos Ayres, the Spaniards haveonly one small settlement, recently established at BahiaBlanca. The distance in a straight line to Buenos Ayres isvery nearly five hundred British miles. The wanderingtribes of horse Indians, which have always occupied thegreater part of this country, having of late much harassedthe outlying estancias, the government at Buenos Ayresequipped some time since an army under the command ofGeneral Rosas for the purpose of exterminating them. Thetroops were now encamped on the banks of the Colorado;a river lying about eighty miles northward of the Rio NegroWhen General Rosas left Buenos Ayres he struck in a directline across the unexplored plains: and as the country wasthus pretty well cleared of Indians, he left behind him, atwide intervals, a small party of soldiers with a troop ofhorses (a posta), so as to be enabled to keep up a communicationwith the capital. As the Beagle intended to call atBahia Blanca, I determined to proceed there by land; andultimately I extended my plan to travel the whole way bythe postas to Buenos Ayres.

August 11th. -- Mr. Harris, an Englishman residing atPatagones, a guide, and five Gauchos who were proceedingto the army on business, were my companions on the journey.The Colorado, as I have already said, is nearly eightymiles distant: and as we travelled slowly, we were two daysand a half on the road. The whole line of country deservesscarcely a better name than that of a desert. Water is foundonly in two small wells; it is called fresh; but even at thistime of the year, during the rainy season, it was quite brackish.In the summer this must be a distressing passage; fornow it was sufficiently desolate. The valley of the RioNegro, broad as it is, has merely been excavated out of thesandstone plain; for immediately above the bank on whichthe town stands, a level country commences, which is interruptedonly by a few trifling valleys and depressions. Everywherethe landscape wears the same sterile aspect; a drygravelly soil supports tufts of brown withered grass, andlow scattered bushes, armed with thorns.

Shortly after passing the first spring we came in sight ofa famous tree, which the Indians reverence as the altar ofWalleechu. It is situated on a high part of the plain; andhence is a landmark visible at a great distance. As soon as atribe of Indians come in sight of it, they offer their adorationsby loud shouts. The tree itself is low, much branched,and thorny: just above the root it has a diameter of aboutthree feet. It stands by itself without any neighbour, andwas indeed the first tree we saw; afterwards we met with afew others of the same kind, but they were far from common.Being winter the tree had no leaves, but in their placenumberless threads, by which the various offerings, such ascigars, bread, meat, pieces of cloth, etc., had been suspended.Poor Indians, not having anything better, only pull a threadout of their ponchos, and fasten it to the tree. RicherIndians are accustomed to pour spirits and mate into a certainhole, and likewise to smoke upwards, thinking thus toafford all possible gratification to Walleechu. To completethe scene, the tree was surrounded by the bleached bonesof horses which had been slaughtered as sacrifices. AllIndians of every age and sex make their offerings; they thenthink that their horses will not tire, and that they themselvesshall be prosperous. The Gaucho who told me this, said thatin the time of peace he had witnessed this scene, and thathe and others used to wait till the Indians had passed by, forthe sake of stealing from Walleechu the offerings.

The Gauchos think that the Indians consider the tree asthe god itself, but it seems for more probable that theyregard it as the altar. The only cause which I can imaginefor this choice, is its being a landmark in a dangerous passage.The Sierra de la Ventana is visible at an immensedistance; and a Gaucho told me that he was once riding withan Indian a few miles to the north of the Rio Coloradowhen the Indian commenced making the same loud noisewhich is usual at the first sight of the distant tree, puttinghis hand to his head, and then pointing in the direction of theSierra. Upon being asked the reason of this, the Indian saidin broken Spanish, "First see the Sierra." About twoleagues beyond this curious tree we halted for the night: atthis instant an unfortunate cow was spied by the lynx-eyedGauchos, who set off in full chase, and in a few minutesdragged her in with their lazos, and slaughtered her. Wehere had the four necessaries of life "en el campo," -- pasturefor the horses, water (only a muddy puddle), meat andfirewood. The Gauchos were in high spirits at finding allthese luxuries; and we soon set to work at the poor cow. Thiswas the first night which I passed under the open sky, withthe gear of the recado for my bed. There is high enjoymentin the independence of the Gaucho life -- to be able at anymoment to pull up your horse, and say, "Here we will passthe night." The death-like stillness of the plain, the dogskeeping watch, the gipsy-group of Gauchos making theirbeds round the fire, have left in my mind a strongly-markedpicture of this first night, which will never be forgotten.

The next day the country continued similar to that abovedescribed. It is inhabited by few birds or animals of anykind. Occasionally a deer, or a Guanaco (wild Llama) maybe seen; but the Agouti (Cavia Patagonica) is the commonestquadruped. This animal here represents our hares. Itdiffers, however, from that genus in many essential respects;for instance, it has only three toes behind. It is also nearlytwice the size, weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds.The Agouti is a true friend of the desert; it is a commonfeature of the landscape to see two or three hopping quicklyone after the other in a straight line across these wild plains.They are found as far north as the Sierra Tapalguen (lat.37 degs. 30'), where the plain rather suddenly becomes greenerand more humid; and their southern limit is between PortDesire and St. Julian, where there is no change in the natureof the country. It is a singular fact, that although theAgouti is not now found as far south as Port St. Julian, yetthat Captain Wood, in his voyage in 1670, talks of them asbeing numerous there. What cause can have altered, in awide, uninhabited, and rarely-visited country, the range ofan animal like this? It appears also, from the number shotby Captain Wood in one day at Port Desire, that they musthave been considerably more abundant there formerly thanat present. Where the Bizcacha lives and makes its burrows,the Agouti uses them; but where, as at Bahia Blanca, theBizcacha is not found, the Agouti burrows for itself. Thesame thing occurs with the little owl of the Pampas (Athenecunicularia), which has so often been described as standinglike a sentinel at the mouth of the burrows; for in BandaOriental, owing to the absence of the Bizcacha, it is obligedto hollow out its own habitation.

The next morning, as we approached the Rio Colorado,the appearance of the country changed; we soon came on aplain covered with turf, which, from its flowers, tall clover,and little owls, resembled the Pampas. We passed also amuddy swamp of considerable extent, which in summer dries,and becomes incrusted with various salts; and hence is calleda salitral. It was covered by low succulent plants, of thesame kind with those growing on the sea-shore. The Colorado,at the pass where we crossed it, is only about sixtyyards wide; generally it must be nearly double that width.Its course is very tortuous, being marked by willow-treesand beds of reeds: in a direct line the distance to the mouthof the river is said to be nine leagues, but by watertwenty-five. We were delayed crossing in the canoe by someimmense troops of mares, which were swimming the river inorder to follow a division of troops into the interior. Amore ludicrous spectacle I never beheld than the hundredsand hundreds of heads, all directed one way, with pointedears and distended snorting nostrils, appearing just abovethe water like a great shoal of some amphibious animal.Mare's flesh is the only food which the soldiers have whenon an expedition. This gives them a great facility of movement;for the distance to which horses can be driven overthese plains is quite surprising: I have been assured that anunloaded horse can travel a hundred miles a day for manydays successively.

The encampment of General Rosas was close to the river.It consisted of a square formed by waggons, artillery, strawhuts, etc. The soldiers were nearly all cavalry; and I shouldthink such a villainous, banditti-like army was never beforecollected together. The greater number of men were of amixed breed, between Negro, Indian, and Spaniard. I knownot the reason, but men of such origin seldom have a goodexpression of countenance. I called on the Secretary to showmy passport. He began to cross-question me in the mostdignified and mysterious manner. By good luck I had aletter of recommendation from the government of BuenosAyres

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 over-flowed by the river. My chief amusement was watching theIndian families as they came to buy little articles at therancho where we stayed. It was supposed that GeneralRosas had about six hundred Indian allies. The men werea tall, fine race, yet it was afterwards easy to see in theFuegian savage the same countenance rendered hideous bycold, want of food, and less civilization. Some authors,in defining the primary races of mankind, have separatedthese Indians into two classes; but this is certainlyincorrect. Among the young women or chinas, some deserve tobe called even beautiful. Their hair was coarse, but brightand black; and they wore it in two plaits hanging downto the waist. They had a high colour, and eyes thatglistened with brilliancy; their legs, feet, and arms weresmall and elegantly formed; their ankles, and sometimestheir wrists, were ornamented by broad bracelets of bluebeads. Nothing could be more interesting than some of thefamily groups. A mother with one or two daughters wouldoften come to our rancho, mounted on the same horse. Theyride 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 thewomen is to load and unload the horses; to make the tentsfor the night; in short to be, like the wives of all savages,useful slaves. The men fight, hunt, take care of the horses,and make the riding gear. One of their chief indoor occupationsis to knock two stones together till they become round,in order to make the bolas. With this important weapon theIndian catches his game, and also his horse, which roamsfree over the plain. In fighting, his first attempt is to throwdown the horse of his adversary with the bolas, and whenentangled by the fall to kill him with the chuzo. If the ballsonly catch the neck or body of an animal, they are oftencarried away and lost. As the making the stones round isthe labour of two days, the manufacture of the balls is avery common employment. Several of the men and womenhad their faces painted red, but I never saw the horizontalbands which are so common among the Fuegians. Theirchief pride consists in having everything made of silver; Ihave seen a cacique with his spurs, stirrups, handle of hisknife, and bridle made of this metal: the head-stall and reinsbeing of wire, were not thicker than whipcord; and to see afiery steed wheeling about under the command of so lighta chain, gave to the horsemanship a remarkable character ofelegance.

General Rosas intimated a wish to see me; a circumstancewhich I was afterwards very glad of. He is a man of anextraordinary character, and has a most predominant influencein the country, which it seems he will use to its prosperityand advancement.

General Rosas is also a perfect horseman -- an accomplishmentof no small consequence In a country where an assembledarmy elected its general by the following trial: A troopof unbroken horses being driven into a corral, were let outthrough a gateway, above which was a cross-bar: it wasagreed whoever should drop from the bar on one of thesewild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able, withoutsaddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it backto the door of the corral, should be their general. The personwho succeeded was accordingly elected; and doubtlessmade a fit general for such an army. This extraordinaryfeat has also been performed by Rosas.

By these means, and by conforming to the dress and habitsof the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity inthe country, and in consequence a despotic power. I wasassured by an English merchant, that a man who had murderedanother, when arrested and questioned concerning hismotive, answered, "He spoke disrespectfully of GeneralRosas, so I killed him." At the end of a week the murdererwas at liberty. This doubtless was the act of the general'sparty, and not of the general himself.

In conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and verygrave. His gravity is carried to a high pitch: I heard oneof his mad buffoons (for he keeps two, like the barons ofold) relate the following anecdote. "I wanted very much tohear a certain piece of music, so I went to the general twoor three times to ask him; he said to me, 'Go about yourbusiness, for I am engaged.' I went a second time; he said,'If you come again I will punish you.' A third time Iasked, and he laughed. I rushed out of the tent, but it wastoo late -- he ordered two soldiers to catch and stake me. Ibegged by all the saints in heaven he would let me off; but itwould not do, -- when the general laughs he spares neithermad man nor sound." The poor flighty gentleman looked quitedolorous, at the very recollection of the staking. This is avery severe punishment; four posts are driven into theground, and the man is extended by his arms and legshorizontally, and there left to stretch for several hours.The idea is evidently taken from the usual method of dryinghides. My interview passed away, without a smile, and Iobtained a passport and order for the government post-horses,and this he gave me in the most obliging and readymanner.

In the morning we started for Bahia Blanca, which wereached in two days. Leaving the regular encampment, wepassed by the toldos of the Indians. These are round likeovens, and covered with hides; by the mouth of each, a taperingchuzo was stuck in the ground. The toldos were dividedinto separate groups, which belong to the different caciques'tribes, and the groups were again divided into smaller ones,according to the relationship of the owners. For severalmiles we travelled along the valley of the Colorado. Thealluvial plains on the side appeared fertile, and it is supposedthat they are well adapted to the growth of corn. Turningnorthward from the river, we soon entered on a country, differingfrom the plains south of the river. The land still continueddry and sterile: but it supported many different kindsof plants, and the grass, though brown and withered, wasmore abundant, as the thorny bushes were less so. Theselatter in a short space entirely disappeared, and the plainswere left without a thicket to cover their nakedness. Thischange in the vegetation marks the commencement of thegrand calcareo argillaceous deposit, which forms the wideextent of the Pampas, and covers the granitic rocks of BandaOriental. From the Strait of Magellan to the Colorado, adistance of about eight hundred miles, the face of the countryis everywhere composed of shingle: the pebbles arechiefly of porphyry, and probably owe their origin to therocks of the Cordillera. North of the Colorado this bedthins out, and the pebbles become exceedingly small, andhere the characteristic vegetation of Patagonia ceases.

Having ridden about twenty-five miles, we came to abroad belt of sand-dunes, which stretches, as far as the eyecan reach, to the east and west. The sand-hillocks restingon the clay, allow small pools of water to collect, and thusafford in this dry country an invaluable supply of freshwater. The great advantage arising from depressions andelevations of the soil, is not often brought home to the mind.The two miserable springs in the long passage between theRio Negro and Colorado were caused by trifling inequalitiesin the plain, without them not a drop of water would havebeen found. The belt of sand-dunes is about eight mileswide; at some former period, it probably formed the marginof a grand estuary, where the Colorado now flows. In thisdistrict, where absolute proofs of the recent elevation ofthe land occur, such speculations can hardly be neglected byany one, although merely considering the physical geographyof the country. Having crossed the sandy tract, we arrivedin the evening at one of the post-houses; and, as the freshhorses were grazing at a distance we determined to passthe night there.

The house was situated at the base of a ridge betweenone and two hundred feet high -- a most remarkable featurein this country. This posta was commanded by a negrolieutenant, born in Africa: to his credit be it said, therewas not a ranche between the Colorado and Buenos Ayres innearly such neat order as his. He had a little room forstrangers, and a small corral for the horses, all made ofsticks and reeds; he had also dug a ditch round his houseas a defence in case of being attacked. This would, however,have been of little avail, if the Indians had come; buthis chief comfort seemed to rest in the thought of sellinghis life dearly. A short time before, a body of Indians hadtravelled past in the night; if they had been aware of theposta, our black friend and his four soldiers would assuredlyhave been slaughtered. I did not anywhere meet a morecivil and obliging man than this negro; it was thereforethe more painful to see that he would not sit down and eatwith us.

In the morning we sent for the horses very early, andstarted for another exhilarating gallop. We passed theCabeza del Buey, an old name given to the head of a largemarsh, which extends from Bahia Blanca. Here we changedhorses, and passed through some leagues of swamps andsaline marshes. Changing horses for the last time, we againbegan wading through the mud. My animal fell and I waswell soused in black mire -- a very disagreeable accidentwhen one does not possess a change of clothes. Some milesfrom the fort we met a man, who told us that a great gunhad been fired, which is a signal that Indians are near. Weimmediately left the road, and followed the edge of a marsh,which when chased offers the best mode of escape. Wewere glad to arrive within the walls, when we found all thealarm was about nothing, for the Indians turned out to befriendly ones, who wished to join General Rosas.

Bahia Blanca scarcely deserves the name of a village. Afew houses and the barracks for the troops are enclosed bya deep ditch and fortified wall. The settlement is only ofrecent standing (since 1828); and its growth has been one oftrouble. The government of Buenos Ayres unjustly occupiedit by force, instead of following the wise example of theSpanish Viceroys, who purchased the land near the oldersettlement of the Rio Negro, from the Indians. Hence theneed of the fortifications; hence the few houses and littlecultivated land without the limits of the walls; even thecattle are not safe from the attacks of the Indians beyondthe boundaries of the plain, on which the fortress stands.

The part of the harbour where the Beagle intended toanchor being distant twenty-five miles, I obtained from theCommandant a guide and horses, to take me to see whethershe had arrived. Leaving the plain of green turf, whichextended along the course of a little brook, we soon enteredon a wide level waste consisting either of sand, salinemarshes, or bare mud. Some parts were clothed by lowthickets, and others with those succulent plants, whichluxuriate only where salt abounds. Bad as the country was,ostriches, deer, agoutis, and armadilloes, were abundant. Myguide told me, that two months before he had a most narrowescape of his life: he was out hunting with two other men,at no great distance from this part of the country, when theywere suddenly met by a party of Indians, who giving chase,soon overtook and killed his two friends. His own horse'slegs were also caught by the bolas, but he jumped off, andwith his knife cut them free: while doing this he was obligedto dodge round his horse, and received two severe woundsfrom their chuzos. Springing on the saddle, he managed, bya most wonderful exertion, just to keep ahead of the longspears of his pursuers, who followed him to within sight ofthe fort. From that time there was an order that no oneshould stray far from the settlement. I did not know of thiswhen I started, and was surprised to observe how earnestlymy guide watched a deer, which appeared to have beenfrightened from a distant quarter.

We found the Beagle had not arrived, and consequentlyset out on our return, but the horses soon tiring, we wereobliged to bivouac on the plain. In the morning we hadcaught an armadillo, which although a most excellent dishwhen roasted in its shell, did not make a very substantialbreakfast and dinner for two hungry men. The ground atthe place where we stopped for the night, was incrusted witha layer of sulphate of soda, and hence, of course, was withoutwater. Yet many of the smaller rodents managed toexist even here, and the tucutuco was making its odd littlegrunt beneath my head, during half the night. Our horseswere very poor ones, and in the morning they were soonexhausted from not having had anything to drink, so thatwe were obliged to walk. About noon the dogs killed a kid,which we roasted. I ate some of it, but it made me intolerablythirsty. This was the more distressing as the road,from some recent rain, was full of little puddles of clearwater, yet not a drop was drinkable. I had scarcely beentwenty hours without water, and only part of the time undera hot sun, yet the thirst rendered me very weak. How peoplesurvive two or three days under such circumstances, I cannotimagine: at the same time, I must confess that my guide didnot suffer at all, and was astonished that one day'sdeprivation should be so troublesome to me.

I have several times alluded to the surface of the groundbeing incrusted with salt. This phenomenon is quitedifferent from that of the salinas, and more extraordinary.In many parts of South America, wherever the climate ismoderately dry, these incrustations occur; but I have nowhereseen them so abundant as near Bahia Blanca. The salt here,and in other parts of Patagonia, consists chiefly of sulphateof soda with some common salt. As long as the groundremains moist in the salitrales (as the Spaniards improperlycall them, mistaking this substance for saltpeter), nothing isto be seen but an extensive plain composed of a black, muddysoil, supporting scattered tufts of succulent plants. On returningthrough one of these tracts, after a week's hot weather,one is surprised to see square miles of the plain white, as iffrom a slight fall of snow, here and there heaped up by thewind into little drifts. This latter appearance is chieflycaused by the salts being drawn up, during the slow evaporationof the moisture, round blades of dead grass, stumps ofwood, and pieces of broken earth, instead of being crystallizedat the bottoms of the puddles of water. The salitralesoccur either on level tracts elevated only a few feet abovethe level of the sea, or on alluvial land bordering rivers.M. Parchappe

Two days afterwards I again rode to the harbour: whennot far from our destination, my companion, the same manas before, spied three people hunting on horseback. Heimmediately dismounted, and watching them intently, said,"They don't ride like Christians, and nobody can leave thefort." The three hunters joined company, and likewisedismounted from their horses. At last one mounted againand rode over the hill out of sight. My companion said,"We must now get on our horses: load your pistol;" and helooked 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 manhad gone over the hill to fetch the rest of his tribe. Isuggested this; but all the answer I could extort was, "Quiensabe?" His head and eye never for a minute ceased scanningslowly the distant horizon. I thought his uncommoncoolness too good a joke, and asked him why he did notreturn home. I was startled when he answered, "We arereturning, but in a line so as to pass near a swamp, intowhich we can gallop the horses as far as they can go, andthen trust to our own legs; so that there is no danger." I didnot feel quite so confident of this, and wanted to increaseour pace. He said, "No, not until they do." When anylittle inequality concealed us, we galloped; but when in sight,continued walking. At last we reached a valley, and turningto the left, galloped quickly to the foot of a hill; he gave mehis horse to hold, made the dogs lie down, and then crawledon his hands and knees to reconnoitre. He remained in thisposition for some time, and at last, bursting out in laughter,exclaimed, "Mugeres!" (women!). He knew them to bethe wife and sister-in-law of the major's son, hunting forostrich's eggs. I have described this man's conduct, becausehe acted under the full impression that they were Indians.As soon, however, as the absurd mistake was found out, hegave me a hundred reasons why they could not have beenIndians; but all these were forgotten at the time. We thenrode on in peace and quietness to a low point called PuntaAlta, whence we could see nearly the whole of the great harbourof Bahia Blanca.

The wide expanse of water is choked up by numerousgreat mud-banks, which the inhabitants call Cangrejales, or_crabberies_, from the number of small crabs. The mud is sosoft that it is impossible to walk over them, even for theshortest distance. Many of the banks have their surfacescovered with long rushes, the tops of which alone are visibleat high water. On one occasion, when in a boat, we wereso entangled by these shallows that we could hardly findour way. Nothing was visible but the flat beds of mud; theday was not very clear, and there was much refraction, oras the sailors expressed it, "things loomed high." The onlyobject within our view which was not level was the horizon;rushes looked like bushes unsupported in the air, and waterlike mud-banks, and mud-banks like water.

We passed the night in Punta Alta, and I employed myselfin searching for fossil bones; this point being a perfectcatacomb for monsters of extinct races. The evening wasperfectly calm and clear; the extreme monotony of the viewgave it an interest even in the midst of mud-banks and gullssand-hillocks and solitary vultures. In riding back in themorning we came across a very fresh track of a Puma, butdid not succeed in finding it. We saw also a couple ofZorillos, or skunks, -- odious animals, which are far fromuncommon. In general appearance, the Zorillo resembles apolecat, but it is rather larger, and much thicker in proportion.Conscious of its power, it roams by day about the openplain, and fears neither dog nor man. If a dog is urged tothe attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few dropsof the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and runningat the nose. Whatever is once polluted by it, is forever useless. Azara says the smell can be perceived at aleague distant; more than once, when entering the harbourof Monte Video, the wind being off shore, we have perceivedthe odour on board the Beagle. Certain it is, thatevery animal most willingly makes room for the Zorillo.