THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 



169 



at two other places, so that it must formerly have been com- 

 mon. I found here, also, some large portions of the armour 

 of a gigantic armadillo-like animal, and part of the great 

 head of a Mylodon. The bones of this head are so fresh, 

 that they contain, according to the analysis by Mr. T. Reeks, 

 seven per cent of animal matter; and when placed in a 

 spirit-lamp, they burn with a small flame. The number 

 of the remains embedded in the grand estuary deposit which 

 forms the Pampas and covers the granitic rocks of Banda 

 Oriental, must be extraordinarily great. I believe a straight 

 line drawn in any direction through the Pampas would cut 

 through some skeleton or bones. Besides those which . I 

 found during my short excursions, I heard of many others, 

 and the origin of such names as "the stream of the animal," 

 " the. hill of the giant," is obvious. At other times I heard 

 of the marvellous property of certain rivers, which had the 

 power of changing small bones into large ; or, as some main- 

 tained, the bones themselves grew. As far as I am aware, 

 not one of these animals perished, as was formerly supposed, 

 in the marshes or muddy river-beds of the present land, but 

 their bones have been exposed by the streams intersecting the 

 subaqueous deposit in which they were originally embedded. 

 We may conclude that the whole area of the Pampas is one 

 wide sepulchre of these extinct gigantic quadrupeds. . 



By the middle of the day, on the 28th, we arrived at 

 Monte Video, having been two days and a half on the road. 

 The country for the whole way was of a very uniform char- 

 acter, some parts being rather more rocky and hilly than 

 near the Plata. Not far from Monte Video we passed 

 through the village of Las Pietras, so named from some 

 large rounded masses of syenite. Its appearance was rather 

 pretty. In this country a few fig-trees round a group of 

 houses, and a site elevated a hundred feet above the gen- 

 eral level, ought always to be called picturesque. 



During the last six months I have had an opportunity of 

 seeing a little of the character of the inhabitants of these 

 provinces. The Gauchos, or countrymen, are very superior 

 to those who reside in the towns. The Gaucho is invariably 

 most obliging, polite, and hospitable: I did not meet with 



