The Desert Pampas. 1 5 



is a larger and more beautiful animal, coloured like 

 a leopard ; it is called wood-cat, and, as tlae name 

 would seem to indicate, is an intruder from wooded 

 districts north of the pampas. 



There are two canines : one is Azara's beautiful 

 grey fox-like dog, purely a fox in habits, and 

 common everywhere. The other is far more 

 interesting and extremely rare ; it is called aguard, 

 its nearest ally being the aguard-guazu, the Canis 

 jubatus or maned wolf of naturalists, found 

 north of the pampean district. The aguara is 

 smaller and has no mane ; it is like the dingo in 

 size, but slimmer and with a sharper nose, and has 

 a much brighter red colour. At night when camp- 

 ing out I have heard its dismal screams, but the 

 screamer was sought in vain; while from the 

 gauchos of the frontier I could only learn that it is 

 a harmless, shy, solitary animal, that ever flies to 

 remoter wilds from its destroyer, man. They offered 

 me a skin what more could I want ? Simple 

 souls ! it was no more to me than the skin of a 

 dead dog, with long, bright red hair. Those who 

 love dead animals may have them in any number by 

 digging with a spade in that vast sepulchre of the 

 pampas, where perished the hosts of antiquity. I 

 love the living that are above the earth ; and how 

 small a remnant they are in South America we 

 know, and now yearly becoming more precious as 

 it dwindles away. 



The pestiferous skunk is universal; and there 

 are two quaint-looking weasels, intensely black in 

 colour, and grey on the back and flat crown. One, 

 the Galictis barbara, is a large bold animal that 



