1833.] ZOEILLOS. 75 



were forgotten at the time. We then rode on in peace and quiet- 

 ness to a, low point called Punta Alta, whence we could see nearly 

 the whole of the great harbour of Bahia Blanca. 



The wide expanse of water is choked up by numeroxis great 

 mud-banks, which the inhabitants call Cangrejales, or crabberies, 

 from the number of small crabs. The mud is so soft that it is 

 impossible to walk oyer them, even for the shortest distance. 

 Many of the banks have their surfaces covered with long rushes, 

 the tops of which alone are visible at high water. On one oc- 

 casion, when in a boat, we were so entangled by these shallows 

 that we could hardly find our way. Nothing was visible but the 

 flat beds of mud ; the day was not very clear, and there was much 

 refraction, or as the sailors expressed it, ''things loomed high." 

 The only object within our view which was not level was tho 

 horizon; rushes looked like bushes unsupported in the air, and 

 water like mud-banks, and mud-banks like water. 



We passed the night in Punta Alta, and I employed myself in 

 searching for fossil bones ; this point being a perfect catacomb for 

 monsters of extinct races. The evening was perfectly calm and 

 clear ; the extreme monotony of the view gave it an interest even 

 in the midst of mud-banks and gulls, sand-hillocks and solitary 

 vultures. In riding back in the morning we came across a very 

 fresh track of a Puma, but. did not succeed in finding it. We saw 

 also a couple of Zorillos, or skunks, odious animals, which are far 

 from uncommon. In general appearance the Zorillo resembles a 

 polecat, but it is rather larger, and much thicker in proportion . 

 Conscious of its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and 

 fears neither dog nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its 

 courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which 

 brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. Whatever is 

 once polluted by it, is for ever useless. Azara says the smell can 

 be perceived at a league distant ; more than once, when entering 

 the harbour of Monte Video, the wind being off shore, we have per- 

 ceived the odour on board the Beagle. Certain it is, that every 

 animal most willingly makes room for the Zorillo. 



