had been suspended. Poor people not having any thing
better, only pulled a thread out of their ponchos, and
fastened it to the tree. The Indians, moreover, were accustomed
to pour spirits and maté into a certain hole, and likewise
to smoke upwards, thinking thus to afford all possible
gratification to Walleechu. To complete the scene, the tree
was surrounded by the bleached bones of the horses ivhich
had been slaughtered as sacrifices. All Indians of every age
and sex, made their offerings; they then thought that their
horses would not tire, and that they themselves should be
prosperous. The Gaucho who told me this, said that in the
time of peace he had witnessed this scene, and that he and
others used to wait till the Indians had passed by, for the
sake of stealing their offerings from Walleechu.
The Gauchos think that the Indians consider the tree as
the god itself; but it seems far more probable that they
regard it as the altar. The only cause which I can imagine
for this choice, is its being a landmark in a dangerous passage.
The SieiTa de la Ventana is visible at an immense
distance; and a Gaucho told me that he was once riding
with an Indian a few miles to the north of the Rio Colorado,
when the latter commenced making the same loud
noise, which is usual at the first sight of the distant tree;
putting his hand to his head, and then pointing it in the
direction of the Sierra. Upon being asked the reason of
this, the Indian said in broken Spanish, “ First see the
Sierra.” This likewise would render it probable that the
utility of a distant landmark is the first cause of its adoration.
About two leagues beyond this curious tree we
halted for the nigh t: at this instant an unfortunate cow was
spied by the lynx-eyed Gauchos. Off they set in chase,
and in a few minutes she was dragged in by the lazo, and
slaughtered. We here had the four necessaries of life “ en
el campo,”—pasture for the horses, water (only a muddy
puddle), meat, and firewood. The Gauchos were in high spirits
at finding all these luxuries ; and we soon set to work at the
poor cow. This was the first night which I had ever passed
under the open sky, with the gear of the recado for my bed.
There is high enjoyment in the independence of the Gaucho
life—to he able at any moment to pull up your horse, and
say, “ Here we will pass the night.” The deathlike stillness
of the plain, the dogs keeping watch, the gipsy-group
of Gauchos making their beds round the fire, have left in
my mind a strongly-marked picture of this first night, which
will not soon be forgotten.
The next day the country continued similar to that above
described. It is inhabited by few birds or animals. Occasionally
a deer, or a Guanaco (wild Llama) may be seen; but
the Agouti [Cavia Patagónica) is the commonest quadruped.
This animal here represents our hares. It differs, however,
from that genus in many essential respects ; for instance, it has
only three toes behind. It is also nearly twice the size,
weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds. The Agouti
is a true friend to the desert; it is a common feature in the
landscape to see two or three hopping quickly one after the
other in a straight line across these wild plains. On the
eastern side of America their northern limit is formed by the
Sierra Tapalguen (lat. 3 7 ° 3 0 ' ) , where the plains rather suddenly
become greener and more humid. The limit certainly
depends on this change, for near Mendoza (lat. 3 3 ° 3 0 ) ,
which is much further north, but where the country is very
sterile, I again met the Agouti. It is not evident by what
circumstances their southern limit is governed; it occurs
between Port Desire and St. Julian (about 48° 3 0 ' ) , where
there is no change in the kind of land, and only a trifling and
gradual one of temperature. It is a singular fact, that
although the Agouti is not now found so far south as Port
St. Julian, yet that Captain Wood, in his voyage in 1G70,
talks of them as being numerous there. What cause can
have altered, in a wide, uninhabited, and rarely-visited
country, the range of an animal like this ? It appears, also,
from the number shot in one day at Port Desire, that they
must have been considerably more abundant there formerly
than at present. Azara states that the Agouti never ex-
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