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Show 400 PASSAGE OF CORDILLERA. March, 1835. created in two different countries, we ought not to ex~ect .any closer S.i mi' la n't y b et we en the organic beings on opposite S.i des of the Andes, than on shores separated by a broad strai~ of the sea. In both cases we must leave out hof bthe .questlwn those kinds which have been able to cross t e arner, w le-ther of salt water or solid rock.* A great number of the plants and animals were absolut~ly h Or most closely allied with those of Patagoma. t e same, · f d'll We here have the agouti, bizcacha, three species o ~rma I o, the ostrich, certain kinds of partridges, and other birds, ~o~e of which are ever seen in Chile, but are the chara~tens~lC animals of the desert plains of Patagonia. We h~ve hkew1se many of the same (to the eyes of a person who IS not abotanist) thorny stunted bushes, withered grass, and dwarf pla nts . Even the black slowly-c.r awling beetle. s a·r e clobs ely similar and some, I believe, on ngorous exammatwn, a so-lutely identical. It had always been a subject o: regret to me, that we were unavoidably compe~ed to give up .the ascent of the St. Cruz river before reaclung .the mountams. I always had a latent hope of meeting w1th some great change in the features of the country ; but I now feel sur~, that it would only have been following the plains of Patagoma up an ascent. . . MARCH 24TH.-Early in the mornmg I chmbed up a mountain on one side of the valley, and enjoyed a far-extended view over the Pampas. This was a spectacle to ~hich ! had always looked forward with interest, but I was d1sappomt~d. At the first glance there was a strong resemblance to a .distant view of the ocean, but in the northern parts many Irregularities in the surface were soon dis~inguishable. . The most striking feature in the scene consisted of the nvers, '* ~This is merely an illustration of the admirable laws first laid down by Mr. Lyell of the geographical distribution of animals as influenced by geological changes. The whole reasoning, of course, . is founded on the assumption of the immutability of species. Otherwise the c~anges might be considered as superinduced by different circumstances m the two regions during a length of time. March, 1835. PASSAGE OF CORDILLERA. 401 which, facing the rising sun, glittered like silver threads, till lost in the immensity of the distance. In the middle of the day, we descended the valley, and reached a hovel, where an officer and three soldiers were posted to examine passports. One of these men was a thorough-bred Pampas Indian. He was kept much for the same purpose as a bloodhound, to track out any person who might pass by secretly, either on foot or horseback. Some years ago, a passenger had endeavoured to escape detection, by making a long circuit over a neighbouring mountain; but this Indian, having by chance crossed his track, followed it for the whole day, over dry and very stony parts, till at last he came on his prey hidden in a gully. We here heard that the silvery clouds, which we had admired from the bright region above, had poured down torrents of rain. The valley from this point gradually opened, and the hills became mere water-worn hillocks compared to the giants behind. It then expanded into a gently-sloping plain of shingle, covered with low trees and bushes. This talus, although it looked of little breadth, must be nearly ten miles wide, before it blends into the apparently dead level Pampas. We had already passed the only house in this neigbourhood, the Estancia of Chaquaio; and at sunset we pu1led up in the first snug corner, and there bivouacked. MARCH 25TH.-! was reminded of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres, by seeing the disk of the rising sun, intersected by an horizon, level as that of the ocean. During the night a heavy dew had fallen, a fact we did not experience within the Cordillera. The road proceeded for some distance due east across a low swamp; then meeting the dry plain, it turned to the north towards Mendoza. 'rhe distance is two very long days' journey. Our first day's journey was called fourteen leagues to Estacado, and the second seventeen to Luxan, near Mendoza. The whole distance is over a level desert plain, with not more than two or three houses. The sun was exceedingly powerful, and the ride devoid of all interest. There is very little water in this " traversia," and in our VOL. liT, 2 D |