72 RIO COLORADO 



About two leagues beyond this curious tree we halted for 

 the night : at this instant an unfortunate cow was spied by the 

 lynx-eyed Gauchos, who set off in full chase, and in a few 

 minutes dragged her in with their lazos, and slaughtered heri 

 We here had the four necessaries of life "en el campo," — 

 pasture for the horses, water (only a muddy puddle), meat 

 and firewood. The Gauchos were in high spirits at finding 

 all these luxuries ; and we soon set to work at the poor 

 cow. This was the first night which I passed under the open 

 sky, with the gear of the recado for my bed. There is high 

 enjoyment in the independence of the Gaucho life — to be able 

 at any moment to pull up your horse, and say, " Here we will 

 pass the night." The deathlike stillness of the plain, the dogs 

 keeping watch, the gipsy-group of Gauchos making their beds 

 round the fire, have left in my mind a strongly-marked picture 

 of this first night, which will never be forgotten. 



The next day the country continued similar to that above 

 described. It is inhabited by few birds or animals of any 

 kind. Occasionally a deer, or a Guanaco (wild Llama) may be 

 seen; but the Agouti (Cavia Patagonica) is the commonest 

 quadruped. This animal here represents our hares. It differs, 

 however, from that genus in many essential respects ; for 

 instance, it has only three toes behind. It is also nearly twice 

 the size, weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds. The 

 Agouti is a true friend of the desert ; it is a common feature 

 in the landscape to see two or three hopping quickly one after 

 the other in a straight line across these wild plains. They are 

 found as far north as the Sierra Tapalguen (lat. 37° 30'), where 

 the plain rather suddenly becomes greener and more humid ; 

 and their southern limit is between Port Desire and St. Julian, 

 where there is no change in the nature of the country. 



It is a singular fact, that although the Agouti is not now 

 found as far south as Port St Julian, yet that Captain Wood, 

 in his voyage in 1670, talks of them as being numerous 

 there. What cause can have altered, in a wide, uninhabited, 

 and rarely visited country, the range of an animal like this ? 

 It appears also from the number shot by Captain Wood in 

 one day at Port Desire, that they must have been considerably 

 more abundant there formerly than at present. Where the 

 J3izcacha lives and makes its burrows, the Agouti uses them; 



