BUENOS A Y R E S. 



it in the Philosophical Transactions, supposes it to 

 IK- of Volcanic origin. But M. Azara r.ji-cts this 

 supposition as altogether improbable, both from 

 thr nalute and the situation or the iron ; instead of 

 beinj* brittle, it is both flexible and ductile; there is 

 not the least appearance of volcanic matter in the 

 neighbourhood ; the nearest volcanoes of the Cordil- 

 leras is at iiOO leagues distance; and had it been 

 thrown from any of these, it must have sunk deep in- 

 to the earth, beyond the inspection of man. " I 

 am, however, unable," says Azara, " to explain the 

 origin of this iron ; but I am inclined to believe that 

 it is as ancient as the world, and that it came out of 

 the hands of the Creator in the same state in which 

 it now exists." -j- 



After this brief description of the mineral contents 

 of Buenos Ayres, we may now proceed to give some 

 account of the animal and vegetable productions 

 which are peculiar to this region of the world. A- 

 i tapir, mong the former we may mention the 1apir, or mho- 

 iborebi. rebi, which is one of the largest class of animals in 

 South America. It is about 6 feet long, and 3^ 

 high, with a short tail of 3j- inches in length. \ The 

 legs are short, and the body round and heavy ; yet 

 it runs very swiftly, and swims with great rapidity. 

 It has a long neck, surmounted by a coarse mane, 

 which descends over the forehead as far as the eyes ; 

 and at the extremity of the muzzle is a projection of 

 about 2' inches long, which it can dilate and con- 

 tract at pleasure, and which serves the same purposes 

 as the trunk of the elephant. Its skin is of a firm 

 texture, and of a dark leaden colour, except the un- 

 der part of the head, the throat, and the tips of the 

 ears, which are whitish. This animal delights in 

 the water, and lives chiefly in the marshes, and along 

 the banks of rivers and lakes. It is of a dull and 

 timid nature, never stirring out but at night. . It 

 is, however, very easily tamed, and its flesh is eaten 

 by the Indians. But though it lives entirely upon 

 vegetables when in a state of liberty, yet, when do- 

 mesticated, it devours every thing that comes in its 

 way. Tapirs frequent the banks of the Paraguay 

 and Parana, and generally wander in large compa- 

 nies. 



.The u- T ne tamandiia, or nurumi, or ant-eater, is a very 



mandua,or singular animal, both with respect to its form and dis- 

 uurumi. positions. Its body, which is very thick, is 53i inches 

 in length, and its tail 28 , independent of a bunch of 

 hair at its extremity. The head is long and woolly, some- 

 what resembling the form of a trumpet, and scarcely 

 thicker than its tail ; the ears short and round ; the 

 eyes small ; the mouth narrow, and without any kind 

 of teeth, but furnished with a long tongue, not exactly 

 round, fleshy, and flexible, and which it sometimes 



stretches out a foot in length. Iu feet are ill formed, 

 and are nv-rely stump , ;uri,cd with claws; of which, 

 however, it makes very little use, unless for defence. 

 It is a most stupid and sluggish animal ; never flies 

 from an enemy, but waitb for his approach, seat- 

 ed on its haunches, and, grasping him in its arms, 

 destroys him with its claws, which are ita only wea- 

 pons. This animal feeds upon ants, which it ga- 

 thers with its long tongue ; but the smaller species, 

 which climb the trees, and support themselves by the 

 tail, eat honey and bees. This smaller species, which 

 is the tamandua of Buffon, is called cagttare by Aza- 

 ra. It differs from the nttrumi both in size and co- 

 lour. It is also covered with wool instead of hair ; 

 and about a third of its tail, towards the extremity, 

 is perfectly bare. 



The sarigiie, or the ftcundo, according to Azara, |j, e ,.;. 

 is an animal peculiar to America. There are several guc, or fe- 

 species of them, but the common characters of all cundo. 

 are, a triangular face, very sharp and long ; eyes 

 oblique, and jutting out ; a wide mouth, and better 

 furnished with teeth than that of any other ani- 

 mal ; long whiskers ; round ears, which are naked 

 and transparent ; a short neck ; and long tail, which 

 is thick and vigorous, and almost entirely covered with 

 scales, and v;hich it uses in climbing trees, perform- 

 ing this operation with great facility, and even walls, 

 if the surface be at all rough. The dugs of the fe- 

 male are placed in the form of an ellipse, with one 

 in the centre ; and, as soon as she has brought forth 

 her young, she applies each of them to a dug, which 

 it never leaves until it is able to walk and eat alone. 

 The largest of these animals is about 1 foot long in 

 the body, and 13 inches in the tail. They inhabit 

 the plains in preference to the woods, and hide them- 

 selves in bushes or tufts of long grass, or in holes 

 which they dig in the ground. They live upon in- 

 sects, eggs, small lizards, and mice. They also eat 

 fruit, and are very destructive to poultry ; but, when 



they kill a fowl, they in general merely lick the 

 i * 



blood. 



The tatoo, or armadillo, is very common over all The tatoo 

 the continent of South America, which is their na- or arnu- 

 tive and exclusive clime. The body and legs of this 

 animal are very thick, the neck very short, and the 

 claws strong, crooked, and of a great length. Its 

 head is pointed at the snout, the eyes small, and the 

 tongue very long and flexible. A testaceous crust, 

 resembling a coat of mail, extends over the head, 

 back, and tail ; and its belly and breast are covered 

 with scaly tubercles, from which spring long bristles. 

 The scales of the forehead, as well as those upon the 

 shoulders and the buttocks, are not susceptible of 

 flexibility, or motion ; but those of the body and the 



j- M. Proust, who examined some fragments of this substance, found that nickel was mixed with the iron ; but he we* 

 unable to conclude whether this alloy was the work of nature or of art. That this muss of iron is a production of nature, 

 can now scarcely be disputed ; and though such a phenomenon be very rare, yet there are two other example*, which it 

 would be equally difficult to account for upon any other supposition, vie. the immense mass of malleable iron which Pro- 

 1'csRor Pallas found on the top of a mountain in Siberia, near the river Yenisei, and which weighed 10'80 Russian pounds; 



d, in order to explain the formation of these three masses of native iron; and concludes with classing them among th 

 bodies which have lately exercised the ingenuity of the learned, under the name of meteoric stones, &c. Sec MCTKOIUI ST> 

 . These dimensions are given in French fet, which are to the English as 3250 to 3<U7. 



