126 BAHIA BLANC A TO BUENOS AY RES chap. 



probable that in proportion as that country becomes inhabited, 

 the cardoon will extend its limits. The case is different with 

 the giant thistle (with variegated leaves) of the Pampas, for I 

 met with it in the valley of the Sauce. According to the prin- 

 ciples so well laid down by Mr. Lyell, few countries have under- 

 gone more remarkable changes, since the year 1535, when the 

 first colonist of La Plata landed with seventy-two horses. The 

 countless herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, not only have altered 

 the whole aspect of the vegetation, but they have almost banished 

 the guanaco, deer, and ostrich. Numberless other changes must 

 likewise have taken place ; the wild pig in some parts probably 

 replaces the peccari ; packs of wild dogs may be heard howling 

 on the wooded banks of the less frequented streams ; and the 

 common cat, altered into a large and fierce animal, inhabits 

 rocky hills. As M. d'Orbigny has remarked, the increase in 

 numbers of the carrion-vulture, since the introduction of the 

 domestic animals, must have been infinitely great ; and we 

 have given reasons for believing that they have extended their 

 southern range. No doubt many plants, besides the cardoon 

 and fennel, are naturalised ; thus the islands near the mouth 

 of the Parana are thickly clothed with peach and orange 

 trees, springing from seeds carried there by the waters of the 

 river. 



While changing horses at the Guardia several people ques- 

 tioned us much about the army, — I never saw anything like 

 the enthusiasm for Rosas, and for the success of the " most just 

 of all wars, because against barbarians.'' This expression, it 

 must be confessed, is very natural, for till lately, neither man 

 woman, nor horse was safe from the attacks of the Indians. 

 We had a long day's ride over the same rich green plain, abound- 

 ing with various flocks, and with here and there a solitary 

 estancia, and its one ombu tree. In the evening it rained heavily : 

 on arriving at a post-house we were told by the owner that if we 

 had not a regular passport we must pass on, for there were so 

 many robbers he would trust no one. When he read, however, 

 my passport, which began with " El Naturalista Don Carlos," 

 his respect and civility were as unbounded as his suspicions had 

 been before. What a naturalist might be, neither he nor his 

 countrymen, I suspect, had any idea ; but probably my title lost 

 nothing of its value from that cause. 



