SANTA CRUZ. 23 



tion of the land. The shingle with which its surface is everywhere covered 

 has been accumulated in the same manner as the bed just mentioned as 

 occurring on the beach. Immediately in front of the beach there is a strip 

 of perfectly bare, clean shingle, averaging some two hundred feet in width, 

 its surface thrown up into a number of parallel undulating ridges or drifts. 

 As one proceeds inland from the beach, these ridges gradually become less 

 perfectly defined, the completely barren, shingle-covered surface becomes, 

 successively covered over more and more with a scanty soil, resulting 

 finally in a surface, which though but poorly clothed with vegetation may 

 be considered as fairly representative of that of the Patagonian plains 

 of this region. During our hurried walk across this narrow valley we 

 became 'acquainted with most of the plants common to the plains of 

 southern Patagonia, which were to be seen at that season of the year. 

 Shooting up from the scanty soil, held between the small rounded stones, 

 were scattered bunches of brown withered grass. On one hand there 

 might be seen dark green patches of the "Mata verde," Lepidophyllum 

 cii/>ressifonne t intermingled perhaps with the taller and coarser stems of 

 the "Mata negra," Verbena caroo, two of the commonest shrubs of Pata- 

 gonia, usually attaining to a height of only two or three feet. Occasional 

 thickets of the "calafate," Berberis cuneata, and "incense bush," Schinus 

 dependens, at times growing to the height of eight or ten feet, were scat- 

 tered over the surface of the valley. Concealed within the shelter of the 

 branches of such thickets were usually to be found one or more skeletons 

 of the guanaco, in varying degrees of disintegration, according to the 

 length of time that had elapsed since, weakened by old age, disease, or 

 the rigors of an unusually long and hard winter, they sought protection 

 from some merciless blizzard, only to find death in the too scanty shelter 

 offered by these bushes. 



The delightful weather we had experienced while en route from Buenos 

 Aires to Port Desire did not continue with us to Santa Cruz. While the 

 wind was not sufficiently strong to render it uncomfortable on board 

 ship, the atmosphere was damp and cold and the wind raw and disagree- 

 able. There was little rain, but the skies were continually overcast with 

 low, thick, leaden-colored clouds which seemed to shut out whatever heat 

 the sun's rays may have had in this latitude at this season of the year. 



On the morning of the second day after arriving at Santa Cruz we 

 steamed out to the mouth of the river and anchored just off Direction 



