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Show Aug. 1833. RIO COLORADO. 82 B' h th t of the Izcac a. b but uses a .. cavates its own urr~w, 'thout doubt this IS true; . · lis present, Wl . h · Wherever tlus am]m .a f Bahi. a Bla nca, where the Bizc. ac a IS but on the sandy P ams 0 . . that the Agouti is Its own not found, t h e G auch os . mamtam "th the little owls of t h e h thmg occurs Wl d workman. T e sam~ . which have so often been e- Pampas (Noctua cunzcularza), . l t the mouths of the d' like sentme s a scribed as stan mg . l . to the absence of the . B da Onenta ' owmg . burrows ; for m an bli ed to h ol l0 w out their own habita- Bizcacha, they are o 1 th Agouti except when pressed tions. Azara also says t at e.t bur~ow : on this point by danger, d oes not entehr t1 sh ' h authority. At B ah l' a I must again differ from t a Ig three of these animals Blanca I have ~epeatedly s:e~ t~~eormouths of their holes, sitting on theiT haunche Yd. t ce they quietly entered. . I d by at a IS an ' . which, as p~sse d f these spots the Agouti wer.c Daily in the neighbourhoo o t burrowinO' animals, It d. ffi tl from mos b abundant : but I eren y th together to miles or 1 two or ree ' wanders, co~mon y . nor do I know whether it returns at leagues from Its home ' h t by day . is shy and f f eds and roams a ou ' . night. The Agou 1 e ly that I never saw an m-d t quat or so rare . watchful; oes no s ' £ st. and therefore, IS fre-stance of this ; it cannot r~n ~err g: ~ven' of mixed breed. quently caught by a coupe o o bl,es that of a rabbit than f · ng more res em Its manner o runm . lly produces two young ones h The .Agouti genera h of a , . are. . ht forth within the burrow. T e at a buth, whiCh are ~roug h'te. it is however, rather flesh, when cooked, Is very w I ' ' tasteless and dry· hed the Rio Colorado, The next morning, as we ap~roa~d . we soon came on a the. appearance .of t~co~~~~h c fr:~ it~ flowers, tall clover, plam covered w1th t ' ' We assed also a and little owls, resembl~d thhel Pamtpa~. whic: in summer dd amp of cons1dera e ex en ' mu y sw . d . th . ous salts . and hence dries, and becomes mcruste W1 van succclent plants, is called a salitral. It was covere~ by low The of the same kind with those growmg on th~ se~-sho~e. about Colorado, at the pass where we crossed It, IS on y Aug. 1833. RIO COLORADO. 83 sixty yards wide ; generally it must be nearly double that width. Its course is very tortuous, being marked by willowtrees and beds of reeds : in a direct line the distance to the mouth of the river is said to be nine leagues, but by water twenty-five. We were delayed crossing in the canoe by some immense troops of mares, which were swimming the river in order to follow a division of troops into the interior. A more ludicrous spectacle I never beheld, than the hundreds of heads, all directed one way, with pointed ears and distended nostrils, appearing just above the water like a great shoal of some amphibious animals. Mare's flesh is the only food which the soldiers have when on an expedition. This gives them a very great facility of movement; for the distance to which horses can be driven over these plains is quite surprising : I have been assured that an unloaded horse can travel a hundred miles a day for many days successively. The encampment of General Rosas was close to the river. It consisted of a square f~rmed by waggons, artillery, straw huts, &c. The soldiers were nearly all cavalry; and I should think such a villanous, banditti-like army, was never before collected together. The greater number of men were of a mixed breed, between Negro, Indian, and Spaniard. I know not the reason, but men of such origin seldom have a good expression of countenance. I called on the secretary to show my passport. He began to cross-question me in the most dignified and mysterious manner. By good luck I had a letter of recommendation from the government of Buenos Ayres* to the commandant of Patagones. This was taken to General Rosas, who sent me a very obliging message; and the secretary returned all smiles and graciousness. We took up our residence in the rancho, or hovel, of a curious old Spaniard, who had served with Napoleon in the expedition against Russia. We staid two days at the Colorado ; I had little to do, for * I am bound to express, in the strongest terms, my obligation to the Government of Buenos Ayres for the obliging manner in which passports to all parts of the country were given me, as naturalist of the Beagle. G2 |