alive, by browsing with their lips on twigs of trees and reeds; this
the niatas cannot so well do, as their lips do not join, and hence they
are found to perish before the common cattle. This strikes me as a
good illustration of how little we are able to judge from the ordinary
habits of life, on what circumstances, occurring only at long
intervals, the rarity or extinction of a species may be determined.
November 19th.--Passing the valley of Las Vacas, we slept at a house of
a North American, who worked a lime-kiln on the Arroyo de las Vivoras.
In the morning we rode to a protecting headland on the banks of the
river, called Punta Gorda. On the way we tried to find a jaguar. There
were plenty of fresh tracks, and we visited the trees, on which they
are said to sharpen their claws; but we did not succeed in disturbing
one. From this point the Rio Uruguay presented to our view a noble
volume of water. From the clearness and rapidity of the stream, its
appearance was far superior to that of its neighbour the Parana. On
the opposite coast, several branches from the latter river entered the
Uruguay. As the sun was shining, the two colours of the waters could
be seen quite distinct.
In the evening we proceeded on our road towards Mercedes on the Rio
Negro. At night we asked permission to sleep at an estancia at which
we happened to arrive. It was a very large estate, being ten leagues
square, and the owner is one of the greatest landowners in the country.
His nephew had charge of it, and with him there was a captain in the
army, who the other day ran away from Buenos Ayres. Considering their
station, their conversation was rather amusing. They expressed, as was
usual, unbounded astonishment at the globe being round, and could
scarcely credit that a hole would, if deep enough, come out on the
other side. They had, however, heard of a country where there were six
months of light and six of darkness, and where the inhabitants were
very tall and thin! They were curious about the price and condition of
horses and cattle in England. Upon finding out we did not catch our
animals with the lazo, they cried out, "Ah, then, you use nothing but
the bolas:" the idea of an enclosed country was quite new to them. The
captain at last said, he had one question to ask me, which he should be
very much obliged if I would answer with all truth. I trembled to
think how deeply scientific it would be: it was, "Whether the ladies of
Buenos Ayres were not the handsomest in the world." I replied, like a
renegade, "Charmingly so." He added, "I have one other question: Do
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