THE SOLITARY PAMPAS. 227 



acter is not less grand or original than that of the Llanos which 

 precede them. " The Pampas," says an American writer, " surpass 

 in majesty all the marvels of the new continent, and yet they astonish 

 the traveller by the air of abandonment and sadness which is 

 impressed upon them, especially in the low country watered by the 

 Plata. Traces of life are there infrequent ; still rarer are the objects 

 which attract attention. Here, at the bottom of a crevasse, a cactus 

 conceals its head bristling with spines ; there, a solitary tree rises 

 majestically toward heaven. Sometimes, upon the plain, the eye 

 discovers the monstrous skeleton of an animal which nourished in 

 those remote times when the Alps still slept in the depths of ocean, 

 and dreamed not of blending^ their snow-burdened peaks with the 

 clouds. The Pampas serve as the burial-place for races of gigantic 

 men, now extinct, who seem to issue from their silent graves in 

 testimony to the former being of vanished generations, and to bear 

 witness to the Creator of all things. Above your head, and far away 

 in the azure of heaven, you perceive a black point ; it is a condor 

 describing slowly its sinister circles. In the 'distance passes and 

 disappears the ungainly figure of an ostrich. The inexpressible 

 charm of these solitudes is their absolute freedom. And while 

 traversing them the wayfarer comprehends the love with which 

 they inspire the Indian, whose hope it is to meet beyond this 

 world with yet vaster horizons for the indulgence of his wandering 

 tastes." 



At the southern extremity of South America spreads a sterile 

 plain, sown with pebbles and blocks of porphyry : it is Patagonia. 

 As we retrace our steps towards the north, the soil rises before us in 

 terrace after terrace, till it reaches the base of the Cordilleras. In the 

 northern districts the pebbly soil gives place to verdant meadows, 

 where the Patagonians breed numerous herds of horses and cattle. 

 Water is wanting in this country. The rains are rare, and the dry 

 seasons very prolonged. The summer heat is overwhelming; in 

 winter violent winds sweep the Savannahs, which are covered with 

 nocturnal frosts. Under such climatic influences the soil produces 



