IV 
ZORILLOS 
83 
them to be the wife and sister-in-law of the major’s son, 
hunting for ostrich’s eggs. 
I have described this man’s conduct, because he acted under 
the full impression that they were Indians. As soon, however, 
as the absurd mistake was found out, he gave me a hundred 
reasons why they could not have been Indians ; but all 
these were forgotten at the time. We then rode on in 
peace and quietness to a low point called Punta Alta, whence 
we could see nearly the whole of the great harbour of Bahia 
Blanca. 
The wide expanse of water is choked up by numerous 
great mudbanks, which the inhabitants call Cangrejales, or 
crabberies , from the number of small crabs. The mud is so 
soft that it is impossible to walk over them, even for the 
shortest distance. Many of the banks have their surfaces 
covered with long rushes, the tops of which alone are visible at 
high water. On one occasion, when in a boat, we were so 
entangled by these shallows that we could hardly find our way. 
Nothing was visible but the flat beds of mud ; the day was not 
very clear, and there was much refraction, or, as the sailors 
expressed it, “ things loomed high.” The only object within 
our view which was not level was the horizon ; rushes looked 
like bushes unsupported in the air, and water like mudbanks, 
and mudbanks like water. 
We passed the night in Punta Alta, and I employed myself 
in searching for fossil bones ; this point being a perfect 
catacomb for monsters of extinct races. The evening was 
perfectly calm and clear ; the extreme monotony of the view 
gave it an interest even in the midst of mudbanks and gulls, 
sand-hillocks and solitary vultures. In riding back in the 
morning we came across a very fresh track of a Puma, but did 
not succeed in finding it. We saw also a couple of Zorillos, 
or skunks,—odious animals, which are far from uncommon. 
In general appearance the Zorillo resembles a polecat, but it is 
rather larger, and much thicker in proportion. Conscious of 
its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears 
neither dog nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its 
courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, 
which brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. 
Whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless. Azara 
