OCR Text |
Show PATAGONIA. Dec. 1833. 194 l few small wells contam. m. g but little water, and are on y a . h lf utrid. that rather saline and a p f h Spanish settlement was soon In such a country the fate o ~ e t during the greater part of decided ; the dryness o~ thel ch m;l: attacks of the wandering the year, and the occaswna .ots It desert their half-finished . ll d the coloms s o Indians, compe e . which they were com- . . Th tyle however, m . . h bmldmgs. e s ' d liberal hand of Spam m t e menced, showed the stronllgthan ttempts to colonize this side · The end of a e a A p t old time.. ~ 1 o have been miserable. t or of Amenca south of 4 ' h l' ering and extreme suf- . h xpresses t e mg Fa~me, t e ~arne e ed wretched people, of whom one fermo-s of several hundr . . At St. Joseph's o . d t relate their misfortunes. alone surviVe 0 . mall settlement was made ; bay, on. the coast of Pat;;:~:ili::s made an attack and m~sbut durmg one Sunday . t ·men who were led captive sacred the whole party,exceptl~g wto'b ' At the Rio Negro the wandermg n es. many years a~ong f these men now in extreme old age. I conversed With one o . . li' 't d as its Flora.* On Th l o- of Patagoma IS as mi e . e .zoo ~o.Y f w black beetles (Heteromera) might the and p ams a e. and occasionally a lizard be ~een slowl~ d crawl~~g a~;~irds we have three carrion dartmg from. SI e to s~ e. f finches and insect feeders. hawks, and m the va eys ~ ew . d in central The Ibis malanops (a species said to be foun t In the Africa) is not uncommon on the most desert p~r s. all stomachs of these birds I found grassho?pers, Clhcadre, stmhey lizards and even scorpi.O ns. t At on e time of t e yle ard nd go in ' flocks, at another m. pat. rs : t h e.u cry l.S very ou a singular, and resembles the neighing of the guanaco. '*' I found here a species of cactus, d escn' b e d b y Professor HBe nst low under the name of Opuntia Darwm· n.. (Ma gaz~· n~ of. Z. oologyi faensdte d bo atnhye, 1 · 466) which was remarkable by the urJtabJhty man Y d vo . J., p. ' h . f stick or the en stamens, when I inserted in the flower ei~ er a piece o ' istil but of my finger. The segments of the penant also closed on the p ' more slowly than the stamens. I found one t These insects were not un~ommon beneath stones. cannibal scorpion quietly dcvourmg another. Dec. 1833. GUANACO. 195 I will here give an account of this latter animal, which is very common, and is the characteristic quadruped of the plains of Patagonia. The Guanaco, which by some naturalists is considered as the same animal with the Llama, but in its wild state, is the South American representative. of the camel of the East. In size it may be compared to an ass, mounted on taller legs, and with a very long neck. The guanaco abounds over the whole of the temperate parts of South America, from the wooded islands of Tierra del Fuego, through Patagonia, the hilly parts of La Plata, Chile, even to the Cordillera of Peru. Although preferring an elevated site, it yields in this respect to its near relative the Vicuna. On the plains of Southern Patagonia, we saw them in greater numbers than in any other part. Generally they go in small herds, from half a dozen to thirty together ; but on the banks of the St Cruz we saw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred. On the northern shores of the Strait of Magellan they are also very numerous. Generally the guanacoes are wild and extremely wary. Mr. Stokes told me, that he one day saw through a glass a herd of these beasts, which evidently had been frightened, running away at full speed, although their distance was so great that they could not be distinguished by the naked eye. The sportsman frequently receives the first intimation of their presence, by hearing, from a long distance, the peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. If he then looks attentively, he will perhaps see the herd standing in a line on the side of some distant hill. On approaching them, a few more squeals are given, and then off they set at an apparently slow, but really quick canter, along some narrow beaten track to a neighbouring hill. If, however, by chance he should abruptly meet a single animal, or several together, they will generally stand motionless, and intently gaze at him; then perhaps move on a few yards, turn round, and look again. What is the cause of this difference in their shiness ? Do they mistake a man in the distance for their chief enemy the puma ? Or does curiosity overcome their timidity ? That they are curious is certain; for if a person lies on the ground, and 0 2 |