142 BANDA CRIENTAL. chap, vm 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Excursion to Colouia del Sacramiento — Value of an Estancia — Cattle, 

 how counted — Singular Breed of Oxen — Perforated Pebbles — Shep- 

 herd Dogs — Horses Broken-in, Gauchos Riding — Character of In- 

 habitants — Rio Plata— Flocks of Butterflies— Aeronaut Spiders — Phospho- 

 rescence of the Sea — Port Desire— Guanaco — Port St. Julian — Geology 

 of Patagonia — Fossil gigantic Animal — Types of Organization constant 

 — Change in the Zoology of America — Causes of Extinction. 



BANDA ORIENTAL AND PATAGONIA. 



Having been delayed for nearly a fortnight in the city, I was 

 glad to escape on board a packet bound for Monte Video. A 

 town in a state of blockade must always be a disagreeable place 

 of residence ; in this case moreover there were constant appre- 

 hensions from robbers within. The sentinels were the worst of 

 all ; for, from their office and from having arms in their hands, 

 they robbed with a degree of authority which other men could 

 not imitate. 



Our passage was a very long and tedious one. The Plata 

 looks like a noble estuary on the map ; but is in truth a poor 

 affair. A wide expanse of muddy water has neither grandeur nor 

 beauty. At one time of the day, the two shores, both of which 

 are extremely low, could just be distinguished from the deck. 

 On arriving at Monte Video I found that the Beagle would not sail 

 for some time, so I prepared for a short excursion in this part of 

 Banda Oriental. Everything which I have said about the country 

 near Maldonado is applicable to M. Video ; but the land, with the 

 one exception of the Green Mount, 450 feet high, from which it 

 takes its name, is far more level. Very little of the undulating 

 grassy plain is enclosed ; but near the town there are a few hedge- 

 banks, covered with agaves, cacti, and fennel. 



November \Ath. — We left Monte Video in the afternoon. I 

 intended to proceed to Colonia del Sacramiento, situated on the 

 northern bank of the Plata and opposite to Buenos Ayres, and 

 thence, following up the Uruguay, to the village of Mercedes on 



