148 



WHAT MR. DARWIN SAW. 



LA PLATA. 



would resemble that of a great lake if it were not for the 

 linear- shaped islets, which alone give the idea of running 

 water. The cliffs are the most picturesque part ; sometimes 

 they are absolutely perpendicular, and of a red color; at 

 other times in large broken masses, covered with cacti and 

 mimosa trees. 



For many leagues north and south of San Nicolas and 



OX-CART OF THE PAMPAS. 



Rosario the country is really level. Scarcely anything which 

 travellers have written about its extreme flatness can be con- 

 sidered as exaggeration. Yet I could never find a spot 

 where, by slowly turning round, objects were not seen at 

 greater distances in some directions than in others; and this 



