THE PAMPAS. 710 



kept open by the constant trampling of feet ; while certain 

 tracks, intricate as those of a labyrinth, which exist in some 

 directions, are the abodes of bands of robbers, to whom alone 

 they are known. From their recesses they sally forth to 

 attack the solitary rancho, or to murder the traveller who 

 may be passing through, knowing well that they can secure 

 a safe retreat, without the risk of being pursued. 



Beyond this region of thistles is a second wide district, 

 which produces long grass, changing only, according to the 

 season, from green to brown ; while beyond it, again, is a 

 third region, reaching to the base of the Cordilleras, and 

 mostly covered with thick groves of low trees and evergreen 

 shrubs, with here and there streams passing amid them. 



Descending from the Andes, the first view of the Pampas 

 resembles somewhat the wide-spreading ocean seen from afar ; 

 but as the sun rises, irregularities can be distinguished in the 

 northern portion, — while the streams which run through it 

 from the mountain-sides glitter like silver threads, till lost 

 in the immensity of the distance. 



But to return to the previous region. For several months 

 the tall thistles hold possession of the plain, but at length 

 the heats of summer tell upon them. They lose their sap 

 and verdure, their heads droop, the leaves shrink and fade, 

 the stems become black and dead, though still they stand 

 rattling one against the other with the breeze. Then dark 

 clouds are seen in the west; the fierce pampero bursts forth 

 with irresistible force ; they bend before it, and in a few 

 seconds the whole forest is levelled with the ground. Here, 

 under the influence of the heat and moisture, they rapidly de- 

 compose and disappear, fertilizing the soil. Once more the 

 clover rushes up, and the plain again smiles with a verdant 



