148 BAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES. 



putting his head out to see what was the matter, 

 received a severe cut, and now wore a bandage. 

 The storm was said to have been of limited extent : 

 we certainly saw from our last night's bivouac a 

 dense cloud and lightning in this direction. It is 

 marvellous how such strong animals as deer could 

 thus have been killed ; but I have no doubt, from 

 the evidence I have given, that the story is not in 

 the least exaggerated. I am glad, however, to 

 have its credibility supported by the Jesuit Do- 

 brizhofter,* who, speaking of a country much to 

 the northward, says, hail fell of an enormous size, 

 and killed vast numbers of cattle; the Indians hence 

 called the place Lalcgraicavalca, meaning " the lit- 

 tle white things." Dr. Malcolmson also informs me, 

 that he witnessed in 1831, in India, a hail-storm, 

 which killed numbers of large birds, and much in- 

 jured the cattle. These hail-stones were flat, and one 

 was ten inches in circumference, and another weigh- 

 ed two ounces. They ploughed up a gravel-walk 

 like musket-balls, and passed through glass-win- 

 dows, making round holes, but not cracking them. 

 Having finished our dinner of hail-strickeu meat, 

 we crossed the Sierra Tapalguen ; a low range of 

 hills, a few hundred feet in height, which com- 

 mences at Cape Corrientes. The rock in this part 

 is jjure quartz ; further eastward I understand it is 

 granitic. The hills are of a remarkable form ; they 

 consist of flat patches of table-land, surrounded by 

 low perpendicular cliffs, like the outliers of a sed- 

 imentary deposit. The hill which I ascended was 

 very small, not above a couple of hundred yards in 

 diameter ; but I saw others larger. One, which 

 goes by the name of the " Corral," is said to be 

 two or three miles in diameter, and encompassed 

 by perpendicular cliffs between thirty and forty 

 * History of the Abipones, vol. ii., p. 6. 



