CHAPTER V. 



IN THE LAND OF THE SACRED TREE. 



The Rio Negro Trips into the Interior The Sacred Tree Super- 

 stition of Natives Salt Lakes Bahia Blanca A Tomb of 

 Giants The Mylodon Darwinii The Armadillo Hibernation 

 Careful Work War General Rosas Brutal Natives Skilled 

 Equestrians. 



ROM Maldonado the Bea- 

 gle sailed south, arriving 

 at the mouth of the Rio 

 Negro in August, 1833. 

 Here Darwin found a 

 newer and more interest- 

 ing field for work, and 

 applied himself assidu- 

 ously to the investigation 

 of the local fauna and 

 flora. Nothing escaped 

 his watchful eye, and he 

 not only collected but made careful observations 

 regarding the habits of the various animals, all of 

 which were recorded in the growing log-book, which 

 was to prove such a treasure-house of zoological facts 

 in the future. 



47 



