350 
The Naturalist in La Plata, 
The gaucho is more or less bow-legged ; and, of 
course^ the more crooked his legs are, the better 
for him in his struggle for existence. Off his 
horse his motions are awkward, like those of certain 
tardigrade mammals of arboreal habits when re- 
moved from their tree. He waddles in his walk ; 
his hands feel for the reins ; his toes turn inwards 
like a duck’s. And here, perhaps, we can see why 
foreign travellers, judging him from their own 
standpoint, invariably bring against him the charge 
of laziness. On horseback he is of all men most 
active. His patient endurance under privations 
