FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 55 



arriving at a convenient distance, takes one of the balls in liis hand, swinging the others 

 swiftly round his head until they have acfquired sufficient momentum to throw them. If they 

 strike their ohject, the balls wind around its legs, and trip it. Balls used for catching deer 

 or ostriches are about the size of a hen's egg — those for horses as large as the fist; and I have 

 seen them thrown about a hundred yards from a horse at full speed — the speed of the horse 

 being, of course, an advantage, when the balls are thrown in the direction of his motion. 



In the wooded country between Mendoza and San Luis, an animal called the liebre* is very 

 common. It stands about eight inches high, and has a body two feet long. It is nearly the 

 color of the biscacha, except that the lower part of its rump is white and the upper almost black. 

 Its tail is a very small affair without hair, and resembles the stump of a rat's tail. In its wild 

 state the liebre is very timid and difficult of approach ; but when taken young, is easily domes- 

 ticated and becomes very familiar, readily approaching the hand for offered food. One that I 

 saw in Mendoza had a vile habit of turning round suddenly, when annoyed, and ejecting its 

 urine. This, however, not being odoriferous, was not offensive, except as a mark of contempt. 



Lions and tigers are said to be common among the marshes, but I saw none of them. 



We saw one polecat and two or three iguanas, but whether they are common or not I do not 

 know. 



Lastly, there are found armadillos, and a small animal called pichiciego, something between 

 the armadillo and the mole. There are at least three species of the armadillo; the most 

 common of which are the peludo, or hairy, and the pelado, or bald — from the fact that one 

 kind is covered with thin hair, and the other is without it. The third species I only saw near 

 Mendoza ; it is smaller, and is covered completely, except on its belly, with a flexible shell 

 which the others have not. All of these, although common, are seldom seen, as they live in 

 burrows. 



The pichiciego — so called from the Indian word j)icM, meaning small, and the Spanish word 

 ciego, blind — has a coat of armor similar to that of the smaller spiecies of armadillo over its 

 back and on the top of its head, and on its sides and belly very fine white fur. As y.ou have 

 one of them in your possession, it is unnecessary to say anything more about it, except that 

 even in Mendoza it is considered a great curiosity, and is not found, I believe, except in the 

 wooded country near the base of the Andes. 



Of birds, the ostrich is found throughout the country, but principally on the open pampa. It 

 is very shy, but its young are easily tamed. 



The large partridge is also found entirely across the continent, but is most common in the 

 wooded country between Mendoza and San Luis ; while the small partridge is more common to 

 the pampa. Parrots and paroquets are also common to the wooded country. 



The mocking-bird (or calandria) and the scissor-bird (tijeras) are found wherever there are 

 trees. There are several kinds of small birds in the prairie grass, but they generally keep out 

 of sight. The principal of these is a black-bird and a kind of bastard canary. 



Around some of the lagunas swans, flamingoes, ducks, waders from the largest to the smallest 

 size, and beach plover, are common. There are also very large birds of the buzzard kind, with 

 a good deal of white and black about them, but I never was near enough to examine them ; and 

 over all the plain the carrancha (or traro, as it is called in Chile) and the horn-plover are 

 common. 



* Liebre literally meaDS hare, but the animal is the Agouti of Patagonia. 



