It Was Generally Thought
That The Indians Had Reconnoitred Us During The Night.
Shortly Afterwards We Came To A Spot Where, From The Fresh
Footsteps Of Men, Children, And Horses, It Was Evident That
The Party Had Crossed The River.
April 22nd.
- The country remained the same, and was
extremely uninteresting. The complete similarity of the
productions throughout Patagonia is one of its most striking
characters. The level plains of arid shingle support
the same stunted and dwarf plants; and in the valleys the
same thorn-bearing bushes grow. Everywhere we see the
same birds and insects. Even the very banks of the river
and of the clear streamlets which entered it, were scarcely
enlivened by a brighter tint of green. The curse of sterility
is on the land, and the water flowing over a bed of pebbles
partakes of the same curse. Hence the number of water-fowls
is very scanty; for there is nothing to support life in
the stream of this barren river.
Patagonia, poor as she is in some respects, can however
boast of a greater stock of small rodents [1] than perhaps any
other country in the world. Several species of mice are
externally characterized by large thin ears and a very fine
fur. These little animals swarm amongst the thickets in the
valleys, where they cannot for months together taste a drop
of water excepting the dew. They all seem to be cannibals
for no sooner was a mouse caught in one of my traps that
it was devoured by others.
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