ft BAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES. (CHAP. vx. 



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 whitish-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 fragments. 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 circum- 

 stances 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 this 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 (gth 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 transversely 

 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 second ascent. It was late in the day, and this part 

 of the mountain, like the other, was steep and rugged. I was on the 

 top of the second peak by two o'clock, but got there with extreme 

 difficulty ; 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 higher 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 call these thistle-stalks for the want of a more correct name. I believ? 

 k is a species of Eryngiunx - 



