igiS.] Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ayres. 3G7 



and tlie creeks are cousequently called " cangrejales" (from 

 " cangrejo/' a crab). The rincones are evidently of a very 

 recent formation, and are perceptibly both rising and be- 

 coming firmer *. 



The shore of the Sanbororabon Bay is muddy, and various 

 salt-water Carices fringe it in parts, from the cape upwards. 

 A few rocks of that curious formation, known locally as 

 "tosca" (the loess of the Pampean formation of German 

 geologists), make their first appearance also on rounding the 

 cape and advancing into the bay. But these are rare. 



As I have said, all the cangrejales merge into freshwater 

 swamps. These must resemble the former fens of England, 

 with the differeuce that a drought may dry up the largest 

 and deepest. They are to be traversed pretty well every- 

 where on horseback, especially by the narrowest or best- 

 known passes. But to launch oneself into the heart of a 

 '• caiiadon ^^ (superlative of '' Canada," a swamp) of several 

 hundred acres in extent, and explore it for hours at a 

 time — as I have so often done in the course of my ornitho- 

 logical pursuits, — requires on the part of the rider a thorough 

 development of the bump of locality, and that his horse 

 should be very strong and tame. It is a very serious 

 matter, on a dark winter's night, to make a mistake re- 

 turning home late from a distant sub-station (" puesto ") 

 and, missing one of the passes, get hopelessly lost ; I have 

 known of one or two cases where horse and rider failed to 

 strike any higher ground, and ultimately succumbed to cold 

 and exhaustion. The caiiadas form the great drainage- 

 system of the district, and have an existent though almost 

 imperceptible current. The deepest have only about five 

 feet of water, and then, perhaps, another foot of mud. 

 Their vegetation consists principally of the beautiful dark 

 green rush known as '' Junco " (Scirpus riparius Presl) ; 

 tlie "Espadaiia" or sword-bladed flag, and "Totorra^' of a 

 similar nature; and the " Durasnillo bianco'^ (Solanum 

 glaucuni Dunal), a deciduous-stemmed plant, with bunches 



* The Bay of Baliia Blanca has its " cangrejales." As also that of 

 San Bias, between the Ilivers Colorado and Negro, 



