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Show 94 BAHIA BLANCA. Aug. 1833. . ther dog nor man. If a dog the open plain, and fea~s nei . s instantly checked by h tt ck Its courage I . k is urged to t e a a .' . hich brings on violent sic~- a few drops of the fetid ml, w Wh tever is once polluted · t the nose a b ness a~d runnmg a Azara says the smell can e by it, IS for ever usele~s. re than once, when en- P . d t 1 gue distant ; mo . ff erceive a a ea V'd the wind bemg o b f Monte I eo, tering the har our o· d t h e od o ur on board the Beagle. shore, we have perceive . l ost willinO'ly makes room Certain it is, that every amma m o for the Zorillo. 95 CHAPTER V. Bahia Blanca- Geology- Extinct quadrupeds, four Edentata, horse, ctenomys-Recent extinction- Longevity of species-Large animals do not require luxuriant vegetation-Southern Africa-Siberian fossilsCatalogue of extinct quadrupeds in South America-Two species of Ostrich, habits of-Tinochorus-Oven-bird-Armadilloes-Venomous snake, toad, lizard-Hybernation of animals-Habits of sea-pen-Indian wars and massacres-Arrow-head, antiquarian relic. BAHIA BLANCA. THE Beagle arrived on the 24th of August, and a week afterwards sailed for the Plata. With Captain Fitzroy's consent I was left behind, to travel by land to Buenos Ayres. I will here add some observations, which were made during this visit, and on a previous occasion, when the Beagle was employed in surveying the harbour. Not much can be made out respecting the geology. At the distance of some miles inland, an escarpment of a great argillaceo-calcareous formation of rock extends. The sp~ce near the coast consists of • plains of hardened mud, and broad bands of sand-dunes, which present appearances, that can easily be accounted for by a rise of the land; and of this phenomenon,* although to a trifling amount, we have other proofs. At Punta Alta, a low cliff, about twenty feet high, exposes a mass of partly consolidated shingle, irregularly interstratified with a reddish muddy clay, and containing numerous recent shells. We may believe a similar accumulation would now take place, on any point, where tides and waves were opposed. In the gravel a considerable number of bones were embedded. Mr. Owen, who has undertaken the description of these remains, has not yet examined them • A few leagues further south, near the Bay of San Bias, M. D'Orbigny found great beds of recent shells elevated between 25 and 30 feet above the level of the sea.-Vol. ii., p. 43. |