CORDILLERA LIONS. 243 



I was as well acquainted with as himself. On 

 coming up to the spot, he showed me a simple 

 cross stuck in the wild rocks to his memory ; by 

 the side of it lay his baton or stick. I was 

 astonished not to find any of his bones, when he 

 informed me that he carried them to Uspallata 

 in his handkerchief, and that the lions had de- 

 voured his body. We saw two of these animals 

 to-day, which are called Cordillera Lions ; they 

 are not, strictly speaking, lions, but more a spe- 

 cies of ounce; (felis puma;) the hinder hips are 

 very high, and the hinder legs much longer than the 

 fore ones, the head having more the appearance 

 of a large oat, the colour only being that of a 

 lion; there is no danger to be apprehended from 

 them as I never heard of an accident happening 

 to any one ; they are very destructive to sheep 

 and poultry, and frequently make descents into 

 the valleys in search of prey when hunger pinches 

 them. Shortly after this we arrived at the Rio 

 Santa Maria, which discharges itself into the 

 Orcones, and the Orcones into the Mendoza, or 



R 2 



