104 



THE PAMPAS. 



* * * * * 



The fear which all wild animals in America have 

 of man is very singularly seen in the Pampas. I 

 often rode towards the ostriches and gamas, crouch- 

 ing under the opposite side of my horse^s neck ; 

 but I alvv'ays found that, although they would allow 

 any loose horse to approach them, they, even when 

 young, ran fiom me, though little of my figure 

 was visible ; and when one saw them all enjoy- 

 ing themselves in such full liberty, it was at first 

 not pleasing to observe that one's appearance was 

 everywhere a signal to them that they should fly 

 from their enemy. Yet it is by this fear that 

 ''man hath dominion over the beasts of the field," 

 and there is no animal in South America that does 

 not acknowledge this instinctive feeling. 



As a singular proof of the above, and of the dif- 

 ference between the wild beasts of America and of the 

 Old World, I will venture to relate a circumstance 



