CHAPTER V. 



IX THE LAXD OF THE SACRED TREE. 



The Rio Negro — Ti^ into the Intcziar — ^The Saoed Tree— Si^er- 

 stition of Natives — Salt Lakes — ^Bahia Blanca — A Tomb of 

 Giants — Tlie M jlodon Darwinii — ^Tlie ArmadiDo — Hibematian 

 —Careful Wosk— War— Genexal Rosas— Brutal Natives— SldDed 

 E<jaestriaiis. 



ROM Maldonado theBta- 

 gle sailed south, arriving 

 at the mouth of the Rio 

 N^pro in August, 1833. 

 Here Darwin found a 

 newer and more interest- 

 ing field for work, and 

 applied himself assidu- 

 ously to the investigation 

 of the local fauna and 

 flora. Nothing escaped 

 his watchful eye, and he 

 not only collected but made careful observations 

 regarding the habits of the various animals, all of 

 which were recorded in the growing log-book, which 

 was to prove such a treasure-house of zoological facts 

 the future. 



47 



