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338 BARRENNESS— ANIMALS. April
few shrubby bushes are seen. But over the wide desolation
of the stony bai-ren waste not a tree—not even a solitary
‘ oinbu’ *—can be discerned. Scattered herds of ever-
waiy guanacoes, startled at man’s approach, neighing, stamping,
and tossing their elegant heads ; a few ostriches striding
along in the distant horizon, aud here and there a solitary condor
soaring in the sky, ai-e the only objects which attract the
eye. Certainly, upon looking closely, some withered shrubs
and a yellow kind of herbage may be discerned ; and, in walking,
thorns and prickles assure one painfully that the plain is
not actually a desert : but I am quite sure that the general
impression upon the mind is that of utter hopeless sterility.
Is it not remarkable that water-worn shingle stones, and diluvial
accumulations, compose the greater portion of these
plains ? On how vast a scale, and of what duration must have
been the action of those waters which smoothed the shingle
stones now buried in the deserts of Patagonia.
Presli water is seldom found in these wastes ; salinasf are
numerous. The climate is delightful to the bodily sensations ;
but for productions of the earth, it is almost as bad as any,
except that of the Arabian, or African deserts. Rain is seldom
known during three quarters of the year ; and even in the
three winter months, when it may be expected, but little falls
excepting on rare occasions, when it comes dmvn heavily for
two or three days in succession. Sea winds sometimes bring
«mnll misty rain for a few hours, at any time of year, but not
enough to do good to vegetable productions. The only animals
which abound are guanacoes, and they care little for fresh
water, for they have often been seen drinking at the salinas.
The puma probably quenches its thirst in their blood; of
other animals, supposed to require much liquid, there are none
in these regions.
The climate is healthy and pleasant; generally a bright, sunny
day is succeeded by a cloudless and extremely clear night. In
• A kind of elder, growing here and there in Patagonia and the Pampas.
See page 93.
t Salt depositions or incrustations.