68 Charles Darwin. 



which he purchased for twenty-five cents, and ulti- 

 mately conveyed safely to England. He judged 

 from the specimens found here that the huge animal 

 was common at one time. With it he discovered 

 more specimens of the gigantic armadillo-like animal, 

 and the massive skull of a mylodon ; and, more re- 

 markable still, he found that the bones of the latter 

 were so fresh that they retained seven per cent, of 

 animal matter. 



Darwin was impressed by the vastness of the 

 deposit here, and he estimated that it would be 

 impossible to draw a line through the pampas in 

 any direction without striking a skeleton of some 

 kind. The natives were familiar with the remains, 

 and often named places for them : thus an elevation 

 was called " the hill of the giant," and a river " the 

 stream of the animal." The investigations of the 

 naturalist were not confined to the inanimate and 

 the lower animals alone ; while constantly at work 

 in the departments of his choice, he made extensive 

 studies of the social life of the people, giving a 

 graphic description of their life and habits. 



He found the Gauchos obliging and polite to 

 strangers, but among themselves belligerent, and 

 with little or no regard for life. Every man carried 

 a knife, and murders and affrays were common 

 occurrences. At one town he asked two men why 

 they did not work ; one replied that he was too 

 poor, while the other gave as an excuse that the 

 days were too long. This was characteristic of a 

 country, where justice was a mockery and the grossest 

 crimes went unpunished if the offender was rich. 



