Bahia Blanca--Geology--Extinct quadrupeds, four Edentata, horse,
Ctenomys--Recent extinction--Longevity of species--Large animals
do not require luxuriant vegetation--Southern Africa--Siberian
fossils--Catalogue of extinct quadrupeds in South America--Two
species of Ostrich, habits of--Tinochorus--Oven-bird--Armadilloes
--Venomous snake, toad, lizard--Hybernation of animals--Habits of
sea-pen--Indian wars and massacres--Arrow-head, antiquarian relic.
BAHIA BLANCA.
The Beagle arrived on the 24th of August, and a week afterwards
sailed for the Plata. With Captain FitzRoy’s consent I was left
behind, to travel by land to Buenos Ayres. I will here add some
observations, which were made during this visit, and on a previous
occasion, when the Beagle was employed in surveying the harbour.
Not much can be made out respecting the geology. At the distance of
some miles inland, an escarpment of a great argillaceo-calcareous
formation of rock extends. The space near the coast consists of
plains of hardened mud, and broad bands of sand-dunes, which present
appearances, that can easily be accounted for by a rise of the land;
and of this phenomenon,[1] although to a trifling amount, we have
other proofs.
At Punta Alta, a low cliff, about twenty feet high, exposes a mass
of partly consolidated shingle, irregularly interstratified with a
reddish muddy clay, and containing numerous recent shells. We may
believe a similar accumulation would now take place, on any point,
where tides and waves were opposed. In the gravel a considerable
number of bones were embedded. Mr. Owen, who has undertaken the
description of these remains, has not yet examined them with care;
but the following list may give some idea of their nature: 1st, a
tolerably perfect head of a megatherium, and a fragment and teeth
of two others; 2d, an animal of the order Edentata, as large as a
pony, and with great scratching claws; 3d and 4th, two great Edentata
related to the megatherium, and both fully as large as an ox or
horse; 5th, another equally large animal, closely allied or perhaps
identical with the Toxodon (hereafter to be described), which had
very flat grinding teeth, somewhat resembling those of a rodent; 6th,
a large piece of the tesselated covering like that of the armadillo,
but of gigantic size; 7th, a tusk which in its prismatic form, and
in the disposition of the enamel, closely resembles that of the
African boar; it is probable that it belonged to the same animal with
the singular flat grinders. Lastly, a tooth in the same state of
decay with the others: its broken condition does not allow Mr. Owen,
without further comparison, to come to any definite conclusion; but
the part that is perfect, resembles in every respect the tooth of the
common horse.[2] All these remains were found embedded in a beach
which is covered at spring tides; and the space in which they were
collected could not have exceeded one hundred and fifty yards square.
It is a remarkable circumstance that so many different species should
be found together; and it proves how numerous in kind the ancient
inhabitants of this country must have been.
At the distance of about thirty miles, in another cliff of red earth,
I found several fragments of bones. Among them were the teeth of a
rodent, much narrower, but even larger than those of the _Hydrochœrus
capybara_; the animal which has been mentioned as exceeding in
dimensions every existing member of its order. There was also part
of the head of a Ctenomys; the species being different from the
Tucutuco, but with a close general resemblance.
The remains at Punta Alta were associated, as before remarked, with
shells of existing species. These have not as yet been examined with
scrupulous care, but it may be safely asserted, that they are most
closely similar to the species now living in the same bay: it is also
very remarkable, that not only the species, but the proportional
numbers of each kind, are nearly the same with those now cast up
on the pebble beaches. There are eleven marine species (some in
an imperfect state), and one terrestrial. If I had not collected
living specimens from the same bay, some of the fossils would have
been thought extinct; for Mr. Sowerby, who was kind enough to look
at my collection, had not previously seen them. We may feel certain
that the bones have not been washed out of an older formation, and
embedded in a more recent one, because the remains of one of the
Edentata were lying in their proper relative position (and partly so
in a second case); which could not have happened, without the carcass
had been washed to the spot where the skeleton is now entombed.
We here have a strong confirmation of the remarkable law so often
insisted on by Mr. Lyell, namely, that the “longevity of the
species in the mammalia, is upon the whole inferior to that of the
testacea.”[3] When we proceed to the southern part of Patagonia, I
shall have occasion to describe the case of an extinct camel, from
which the same result may be deduced.
From the shells being littoral species (including one terrestrial),
and from the character of the deposit, we may feel absolutely certain
that the remains were embedded in a shallow sea, not far from the
coast. From the position of the skeleton being undisturbed, and
likewise from the fact that full-grown serpulæ were attached to some
of the bones, we know that the mass could not have been accumulated
on the beach itself. At the present time, part of the bed is daily
washed by the tide, while another part has been raised a few feet
above the level of the sea. Hence we may infer, that the elevation
has here been trifling, since the period when the mammalia, now
extinct, were living. This conclusion is in harmony with several
other considerations (such as the recent character of the beds
underlying the Pampas deposit), but which I have not space in this
work to enter on.
From the general structure of the coast of this part of South
America, we are compelled to believe, that the changes of level have
all (at least of late) been in one direction, and that they have
been very gradual. If, then, we look back to the period when these
quadrupeds lived, the land probably stood at a level, less elevated
only by a few fathoms than at present. Therefore, its general
configuration since that epoch cannot have been greatly modified; a
conclusion which certainly would be drawn from the close similarity
in every respect, between the shells now living in the bay (as well
as in the case of the one terrestrial species) with those which
formerly lived there.
The surrounding country, as may have been gathered from this journal,
is of a very desert character. Trees nowhere occur, and only a
few bushes, which are chiefly confined to depressions among the
sand-hillocks, or to the borders of the saline marshes. Here, then,
is an apparent difficulty: we have the strongest evidence that there
has occurred no great physical change to modify the features of the
country, yet in former days, numerous large animals were supported on
the plains now covered by a thin and scanty vegetation.
That large animals require a luxuriant vegetation, has been a general
assumption, which has passed from one work to another. I do not
hesitate, however, to say that it is completely false; and that it
has vitiated the reasoning of geologists, on some points of great
interest in the ancient history of the world. The prejudice has
probably been derived from India, and the Indian islands, where
troops of elephants, noble forests, and impenetrable jungles, are
associated together in every account. If, on the other hand, we refer
to any work of travels through the southern parts of Africa, we shall
find allusions in almost every page either to the desert character of
the country, or to the numbers of large animals inhabiting it. The
same thing is rendered evident by the many sketches which have been
published of various parts of the interior. When the Beagle was at
Cape Town, I rode a few leagues into the country, which at least was
sufficient to render that which I had read more fully intelligible.
Dr. Andrew Smith, who, at the head of his adventurous party, has so
lately succeeded in passing the Tropic of Capricorn, informs me that,
taking into consideration the whole of the southern part of Africa,
there can be no doubt of its being sterile country. On the southern
and south-eastern coasts there are some fine forests, but with these
exceptions, the traveller may pass, for days together, through open
plains, covered by a poor and scanty vegetation. It is difficult to
convey any accurate idea of degrees of comparative fertility; but
it may be safely said, that the amount of vegetation supported at
any one time[4] by Great Britain, exceeds, perhaps even tenfold, the
quantity on an equal area, in the interior parts of Southern Africa.
The fact that bullock-waggons can travel in any direction, excepting
near the coast, without more than occasionally half an hour’s delay,
gives, perhaps, a more definite notion of its scantiness. Now if
we look to the animals inhabiting these wide plains, we shall find
their numbers extraordinarily great, and their bulk immense. We must
enumerate the elephant, three species of rhinoceros, and as Dr. Smith
is convinced two others also, the hippopotamus, giraffe, the bos
caffer--as large as a full-grown bull, and the elan--but little less,
two zebras, and the quaccha, two gnus, and several antelopes even
larger than these latter animals. It may be supposed that although
the species are numerous, the individuals of each kind are few. By
the kindness of Dr. Smith, I am enabled to show that the case is
very different. He informs me, that in lat. 24°, in one day’s march
with the bullock-waggons, he saw, without wandering to any great
distance on either side, between one hundred and one hundred and
fifty rhinoceroses, which belonged to three species. That the same
day he saw several herds of giraffes, amounting together to nearly a
hundred; and that, although no elephant was observed, yet they are
found in this district. At the distance of a little more than one
hour’s march from their place of encampment on the previous night,
his party actually killed at one spot eight hippopotamoses, and
saw many more. In this same river there were likewise crocodiles.
Of course it was a case quite extraordinary, to see so many great
animals crowded together, but it evidently proves that they must
exist in great numbers. Dr. Smith describes the country passed
through that day, as “being thinly covered with grass, and bushes
about four feet high, and still more thinly with mimosa-trees.” The
waggons were not prevented travelling in a nearly direct line.
Besides these large animals, every one the least acquainted with the
natural history of the Cape, has read of the herds of antelopes,
which can be compared only to flocks of migratory birds. The numbers
indeed of the lion,[5] panther, and hyæna, and the multitude of birds
of prey, plainly tell of the abundance of the smaller quadrupeds. As
Dr. Smith remarked to me, the carnage each day in Southern Africa
must indeed be terrific! I confess it is truly surprising, how such a
number of animals can find support in a country producing so little
food. The larger quadrupeds no doubt roam over wide extents in search
of it; and their food chiefly consists of underwood, which probably
contains much nutriment in a small bulk. Dr. Smith also informs me
that the vegetation has a rapid growth; no sooner is a part consumed,
than its place is supplied by a fresh stock. I apprehend, however,
that our ideas respecting the quantity necessary for the support of
large quadrupeds are exaggerated. It should have been remembered that
the camel, an animal of no mean bulk, has always been considered as
the emblem of the desert.
The belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation must
necessarily be luxuriant, is the more remarkable, because the
converse is far from true. Mr. Burchell observed to me that when
entering Brazil, nothing struck him more forcibly than the splendour
of the South American vegetation, contrasted with that of South
Africa, together with the absence of all large quadrupeds. In his
Travels,[6] he has suggested that the comparison of the respective
weights (if there were sufficient data) of an equal number of the
largest herbivorous quadrupeds of each country would be extremely
curious. If we take on the one side the elephant,[7] hippopotamus,
giraffe, bos caffer, elan, certainly three species of rhinoceros,
and probably five; and on the other side, two tapirs, the guanaco,
three deer, the vicuna, peccari, capybara (after which we must choose
from the monkeys to complete the number), and then place these
two groups alongside each other, it is not easy to conceive ranks
more disproportionate. After the above facts, we are compelled to
conclude, against anterior probability,[8] that among the mammalia
there exists no close relation between the _bulk_ of the species, and
the _quantity_ of the vegetation, in the countries they inhabit.
With regard to the number of large quadrupeds, there certainly exists
no quarter of the globe which will bear comparison with Southern
Africa. After the different statements which have been given, the
extremely desert character of that region will not be disputed. In
the European division of the world, we must look back to the tertiary
epochs, to find a condition of things among the mammalia resembling
that which is now found at the Cape of Good Hope. That tertiary
epoch, which we are apt to consider as abounding to an astonishing
degree with large animals, because we find the remains of many
ages accumulated at certain spots, could boast of but few more of
the large quadrupeds, than Southern Africa does at present. If we
speculate on the condition of the vegetation during that epoch, we
are at least bound so far to consider existing analogies, as not to
urge as absolutely necessary a luxuriant vegetation, when we see a
state of things so totally different in the region to which we refer.
We know[9] that the extreme regions of North America, many degrees
beyond the limit where the ground at the depth of a few feet remains
perpetually congealed, are covered by forests of large and tall
trees. In a like manner, in Siberia, we have woods of birch, fir,
aspen, and larch, growing in a latitude[10] (64°), where the mean
temperature of the air falls below the freezing point, and where
the earth is so completely frozen, that the carcass of an animal
embedded in it is perfectly preserved. With these facts we must
grant, as far as _quantity alone_ of vegetation is concerned, that
the great quadrupeds of the later tertiary epochs might, in most
parts of Northern Europe and Asia, have lived on the spots where
their remains are now found. I do not here speak of the _kind_ of
vegetation necessary for their support; because, as there is evidence
of physical changes, and as the animals have become extinct, so may
we suppose that the species of plants have likewise been changed.
These remarks directly bear on the case of the Siberian animals
preserved in ice. The firm conviction of the necessity of a
vegetation, possessing a character of tropical luxuriance, to support
such large animals, and the impossibility of reconciling this
with the proximity of perpetual congelation, was one chief cause
of the several theories of sudden revolutions of climate, and of
overwhelming catastrophes, which were invented to account for their
entombment. I am far from supposing that the climate has not changed
since the period when those animals lived, which now lie buried in
the ice. At present I only wish to show, that as far as _quantity_ of
food _alone_ is concerned, the ancient rhinoceroses might have roamed
over the _steppes_ of central Siberia (the northern parts probably
being under water) even in their present condition, as well as the
living rhinoceroses and elephants over the _Karros_ of Southern
Africa.
After our long digression, if we return to the case of the fossil
animals at Bahia Blanca, there is a difficulty from our not knowing
on what food the great Edentata probably lived. If on insects and
larvæ, like their nearest representatives the armadilloes and
anteaters, there is an end to all conjecture. But as vegetation is
the first source of life in every part of the world, I think we may
safely conclude that the country around Bahia Blanca, with a very
little increase of fertility, would support large animals. The plains
of the Rio Negro, thickly scattered over with thorny bushes, I do not
doubt would supply sufficient food equally well with the _Karros_ of
Africa. As there is evidence of a physical change to a small amount,
so may we allow it to be probable that the productiveness of the
soil has decreased in an equally small degree. With this concession
I apprehend every difficulty is removed. On the other hand, if we
imagine a luxuriant vegetation to be necessary for the support of
these animals, we become involved in a series of contradictions and
improbabilities.
As the notices of the remains of several quadrupeds, which I
discovered in South America, are scattered in different parts of this
volume, I will here give a catalogue of them. After having enlarged
on the diminutive size of the present races, it may be of interest to
see that formerly a very different order of things prevailed. First,
the megatherium, and the four or five other large edentata, already
alluded to; 6th, an immense mastodon, which must have abounded over
the whole country; 7th; the horse (I do not now refer to the broken
tooth at Bahia Blanca, but to more certain evidence); 8th, the
toxodon, an extraordinary animal as large as a hippopotamus; 9th,
a fragment of the head of an animal larger than a horse, and of a
very singular character; 10th, 11th, and 12th, parts of rodents--one
of considerable size; lastly, a llama or _guanaco_, fully as large
as the camel. All these animals coexisted during an epoch which,
geologically speaking is so recent, that it may be considered as only
just gone by. These remains have been presented to the College of
Surgeons, where they are now in the hands of those best qualified to
appreciate whatever value they may possess.
I will now give an account of the habits of some of the more
interesting birds, which are common on these wild plains; and first
of the _Struthio Rhea_, or South American ostrich. This bird is
well known to abound over the plains of Northern Patagonia; and the
united provinces of La Plata. It has not crossed the Cordillera;
but I have seen it within the first range of mountains on the
Uspallata plain, elevated between six and seven thousand feet. The
ordinary habits of the ostrich are familiar to every one. They feed
on vegetable matter; such as roots and grass; but at Bahia Blanca,
I have repeatedly seen three or four come down at low water to the
extensive mud-banks which are then dry, for the sake, as the Gauchos
say, of catching small fish. Although the ostrich in its habits is so
shy, wary, and solitary, and although so fleet in its pace, it falls
a prey, without much difficulty, to the Indian or Gaucho armed with
the bolas. When several horsemen appear in a semicircle, it becomes
confounded, and does not know which way to escape. They generally
prefer running against the wind; yet at the first start they expand
their wings, and like a vessel make all sail. On one fine hot day I
saw several ostriches enter a bed of tall rushes, where they squatted
concealed, till quite closely approached. It is not generally known
that ostriches readily take to the water. Mr. King informs me that at
the Bay of San Blas, and at Port Valdes in Patagonia, he saw these
birds swimming several times from island to island. They ran into the
water both when driven down to a point, and likewise of their own
accord when not frightened: the distance crossed was about 200 yards.
When swimming, very little of their bodies appear above water, and
their necks are extended a little forward: their progress is slow. On
two occasions, I saw some ostriches swimming across the Santa Cruz
river, where its course was about four hundred yards wide, and the
stream rapid. Captain Sturt, when descending the Murrumbidgee, in
Australia, saw two emus in the act of swimming.
The inhabitants who live in the country readily distinguish, even
at a distance, the cock bird from the hen. The former is larger and
darker-coloured,[11] and has a bigger head. The ostrich, I believe
the cock, emits a singular deep-toned, hissing note. When first I
heard it, standing in the midst of some sand-hillocks, I thought
it was made by some wild beast, for it is a sound that one cannot
tell whence it comes, or from how far distant. When we were at
Bahia Blanca in the months of September and October, the eggs, in
extraordinary numbers, were found all over the country. They either
lie scattered single, in which case they are never hatched, and are
called by the Spaniards, huachos; or they are collected together
into a shallow excavation, which forms the nest. Out of the four
nests which I saw, three contained twenty-two eggs each, and the
fourth twenty-seven. In one day’s hunting on horseback sixty-four
eggs were found; forty-four of these were in two nests, and the
remaining twenty scattered huachos. The Gauchos unanimously affirm,
and there is no reason to doubt their statement, that the male bird
alone hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards accompanies
the young. The cock when on the nest lies very close; I have myself
almost ridden over one. It is asserted that at such times they are
occasionally fierce, and even dangerous, and that they have been
known to attack a man on horseback, trying to kick and leap on him.
My informer pointed out to me an old man, whom he had seen much
terrified by one chasing him. I observe in Burchell’s travels in
South Africa, that he remarks, “having killed a male ostrich, and
the feathers being dirty, it was said by the Hottentots to be a nest
bird.” I understand that the male emu, in the Zoological Garden,
takes charge of the nest: this habit, therefore, is common to the
family.
The Gauchos unanimously affirm that several females lay in one nest.
I have been positively told, that four or five hen birds have been
seen to go, in the middle of the day, one after the other, to the
same nest. I may add, also, that it is believed in Africa, that two
females lay in one nest.[12] Although this habit at first appears
very strange, I think the cause may be explained in a simple manner.
The number of eggs in the nest varies from twenty to forty, and even
to fifty; and according to Azara to seventy or eighty. Now although
it is most probable, from the number of eggs found in one district
being so extraordinarily great, in proportion to that of the parent
birds, and likewise from the state of the ovarium of the hen, that
she may in the course of the season lay a large number, yet the time
required must be very long. Azara states,[13] that a female in a
state of domestication laid seventeen eggs, each at the interval of
three days one from another. If the hen were obliged to hatch her own
eggs, before the last was laid the first probably would be addled;
but if each laid a few eggs at successive periods, in different
nests, and several hens, as is stated to be the case, combined
together, then the eggs in one collection would be nearly of the same
age. If the number of eggs in one of these nests is, as I believe,
not greater on an average than the number laid by one female in the
season, then there must be as many nests as females, and each cock
bird will have its fair share of the labour of incubation; and that
during a period when the females could not sit, on account of not
having finished laying. I have before mentioned the great numbers of
huachos, or scattered eggs; so that in one day’s hunting the third
part were found in this state. It appears odd that so many should
be wasted. Does it not arise from the difficulty of several females
associating together, and persuading an old cock to undertake the
office of incubation? It is evident that there must at first be some
degree of association, between at least two females; otherwise the
eggs would remain scattered over the wide plains, at distances far
too great to allow of the male collecting them into one nest. Some
have believed that the scattered eggs were deposited for the young
birds to feed on. This can hardly be the case in America, because the
huachos, although oftentimes found addled and putrid, are generally
whole.
When at the Rio Negro, in Northern Patagonia, I repeatedly heard
the Gauchos talking of a very rare bird which they called Avestruz
Petise. They described it as being less than the common ostrich
(which is there abundant), but with a very close general resemblance.
They said its colour was dark and mottled, and that its legs were
shorter, and feathered lower down than those of the common ostrich.
It is more easily caught by the bolas than the other species. The few
inhabitants who had seen both kinds, affirmed they could distinguish
them apart from a long distance. The eggs of the small species
appeared, however, more generally known; and it was remarked, with
surprise, that they were very little less than those of the Rhea, but
of a slightly different form, and with a tinge of pale blue. Some
eggs, picked up on the plains of Patagonia, agree pretty well with
this description, and I do not doubt are those of the Petise. This
species occurs most rarely on the plains bordering the Rio Negro; but
about a degree and a half further south they are tolerably abundant.
One Gaucho, however, said he distinctly recollected having seen one,
many years before, near the mouth of the Rio Colorado, which is to
the north of the Rio Negro. They are said to prefer the plains near
the sea. When at Port Desire, in Patagonia (lat. 48°), Mr. Martens
shot an ostrich; and I looked at it, forgetting at the moment, in
the most unaccountable manner, the whole subject of the Petises, and
thought it was a two-third grown one of the common sort. The bird was
cooked and eaten before my memory returned. Fortunately the head,
neck, legs, wings, many of the larger feathers, and a large part
of the skin, had been preserved. From these a very nearly perfect
specimen has been put together, and is now exhibited in the museum of
the Zoological Society. Mr. Gould, who in describing this new species
did me the honour of calling it after my name, states, that besides
the smaller size and different colour of the plumage, the beak is
of considerably less proportional dimensions than in the common
Rhea; that the tarsi are covered with differently-shaped scales, and
that they are feathered six inches beneath the knee. In this latter
respect, and in the broader feathers of the wing, this bird perhaps
shows more affinity to the gallinaceous family than any other of the
Struthionidæ.
Among the Patagonian Indians in the Strait of Magellan, we found a
half Indian, who had lived some years with the tribe, but had been
born in the northern provinces. I asked him if he had ever heard
of the Avestruz Petise? He answered by saying, “Why there are none
others in these southern countries.” He informed me that the number
of eggs in the nest of the petise is considerably less than with
the other kind, namely, not more than fifteen on an average; but he
asserted that more than one female deposited them. At Santa Cruz
we saw several of these birds. They were excessively wary: I think
they could see a person approaching when he was so far off as not to
distinguish the ostrich. In ascending the river few were seen; but in
our quiet and rapid descent, many, in pairs and by fours or fives,
were observed. It was remarked, and I think with truth, that this
bird did not expand its wings, when first starting at full speed,
after the manner of the northern kind. The fact of these ostriches
swimming across the river has been mentioned. In conclusion, I may
repeat that the _Struthio Rhea_ inhabits the country of La Plata as
far as a little south of the Rio Negro, in lat. 41°, and that the
petise takes its place in Southern Patagonia; the part about the Rio
Negro being neutral territory. Wallis saw ostriches at Batchelor’s
river (lat. 53° 54′), in the Strait of Magellan, which must be the
extreme southern possible range of the petise. M. D’Orbigny, when at
the Rio Negro, made great exertions to procure this bird, but never
had the good fortune to succeed. He mentions it in his Travels,[14]
and proposes (in case, I presume, of a specimen being obtained) to
call it _Rhea pennata_: a fuller notice was given long before in
Dobrizhoffer’s Account of the Abipones[15] (A.D. 1749). He says, “You
must know, moreover, that Emus differ in size and habits in different
tracts of land; for those that inhabit the plains of Buenos Ayres
and Tucuman are larger, and have black, white, and gray feathers;
those near to the Strait of Magellan are smaller and more beautiful,
for their white feathers are tipped with black at the extremity, and
their black ones in like manner terminate in white.”
A very singular little bird, lately described by St. Hilaire and
Lesson under the name of _Tinochorus Eschscholtzii_, is here common.
In its habits, general appearance, and structure, it nearly equally
partakes of the character of a quail and a snipe. Yet these two birds
are widely contrasted in the form of their beaks, wings, and legs.
The Tinochorus is found in the whole of southern South America,
wherever there are sterile plains, or open dry pasture-land. We saw
it as far south as the inland plains of Patagonia at Santa Cruz, in
lat. 50°. On the western side of the Cordillera near Concepcion,
where the forest land changes into an open country, this bird is
found: from that point throughout Chile, as far as Copiapó, it
frequents the most desolate places, where scarcely another living
creature can exist. They are found either in pairs or small flocks
of five or six; but near the Sierra Ventana I saw as many as thirty
or forty together. Upon being approached they squat close, and then
are very difficult to be distinguished; so that they often rise quite
unexpectedly. When feeding they walk rather slowly, with their legs
wide apart. They dust themselves in roads and sandy places. They
frequent particular spots, and may be found there day after day.
When a pair are together, if one is shot the other seldom rises; for
these birds, like partridges, only take wing in a flock. In all these
respects, in the muscular gizzard adapted for vegetable food, in the
arched beak and fleshy nostrils, short legs and form of foot, the
Tinochorus has a close affinity with quails. But directly the bird is
seen flying, one’s opinion is changed; the long, pointed wings, so
different from those in the gallinaceous order, the irregular manner
of flight, and plaintive cry uttered at the moment of rising, recall
the idea of a snipe. The sportsmen of the Beagle unanimously called
it the shortbilled snipe. To this genus, or rather to that of the
sandpiper, it approaches, as Mr. Gould informs me, in the shape of
its wing, the length of the scapulars, the form of the tail, which
closely resembles that of _Tringa hypoleucos_, and in the general
colour of the plumage. The male bird, however, has a black mark on
its breast, in the form of a yoke, which may be compared to the
horseshoe on the breast of the English partridge. The nest is said
to be placed on the borders of lakes, although the bird itself is an
inhabitant of the parched desert.
The Tinochorus is closely related to some other South American
birds. Two species of the genus Attagis, are in almost every respect
ptarmigans in their habits; one in Tierra del Fuego, above the
limits of forest land; the other just beneath the snow-line on the
Cordillera of Central Chile. A bird of another closely-allied genus,
_Chionis alba_, which solitary species was long thought to form a
family by itself, is an inhabitant of the antarctic regions; it feeds
on sea-weed and shells on the tidal rocks. Although not web-footed,
from some unaccountable taste it is frequently met with far out at
sea. This small family of birds is one of those which, from its
varied relations, although at present offering only difficulties to
the systematic naturalist, ultimately may assist in revealing the
grand scheme, common to the present and past ages, on which organized
beings have been created.
I may also briefly notice the genus Furnarius. It contains several
species, all small birds, living on the ground, and inhabiting
open, dry countries. In structure they cannot be compared to any
European form. Ornithologists have generally included them among
the creepers, although opposed to that family in every habit. The
best known species is the common oven-bird of La Plata, the Casara
or house-maker of the Spaniards, and _Furnarius rufus_ of Viell.
The nest, whence it takes its name, is placed in the most exposed
situations, as on the top of a post, a bare rock, or on a cactus. It
is composed of mud and bits of straw, and has strong thick walls:
in shape it precisely resembles an oven, or depressed beehive. The
opening is large and arched, and directly in front, within the nest,
there is a partition, which reaches nearly to the roof, thus forming
a passage or antechamber to the true nest.
Another and smaller species of Furnarius, something like a lark in
appearance, resembles the oven-bird in many points, as in the general
reddish tint of its plumage, a peculiar shrill reiterated cry, an odd
manner of running by starts, &c. From its affinity, the Spaniards
call it Casarita (or little housebuilder), although its nidification
is quite different. The Casarita builds its nest at the bottom of
a narrow cylindrical hole, which is said to extend horizontally to
nearly six feet under ground. Several of the country people told
me, that when boys they had attempted to dig out the nest, but had
scarcely ever succeeded in getting to the end. The bird chooses any
low bank of firm sandy soil by the side of a road or stream. Here
(at Bahia Blanca) the walls are built of hardened mud; and I noticed
that one, which enclosed a courtyard where I lodged, was penetrated
by round holes in a score of places. On asking the owner the cause
of this, he bitterly complained of the little casarita, several of
which I afterwards observed at work. It is rather curious, that
although they were constantly flitting over the low wall, they must
be quite incapable of gaining an idea of thickness even after the
shortest circuitous route, for otherwise they would not have made so
many vain attempts. I do not doubt that each bird, as often as it
came to daylight on the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the
marvellous fact.
I have already mentioned nearly all the mammalia common in this
country. Of armadilloes three species occur, namely, the Dasypus
minutus or _pichy_, the Villosus or _peludo_, and the _apar_. The
first extends as far south as lat. 50°, which is about ten degrees
further than any other kind. A fourth species, the _Mulita_, only
extends as far south as the Sierra Tapalguen, lat. 37° 30′, which is
north of Bahia Blanca. The four species have nearly similar habits;
the _peludo_, however, is nocturnal, while the others wander by day
over the open plains, feeding on beetles, larvæ, roots, and even
small snakes. The _apar_, commonly called _mataco_, is remarkable by
having only three moveable bands; the rest of its tesselated covering
being nearly inflexible. It has the power of rolling itself into a
perfect sphere, like one kind of English woodlouse. In this state
it is safe from the attack of dogs; for the dog not being able to
take the whole in its mouth, tries to bite one side, and the ball
slips away. The smooth hard covering of the _mataco_ offers a better
defence than the sharp spines of the hedgehog. The _pichy_ prefers
a very dry soil, and the sand-dunes near the coast, where for many
months it can never taste water, is its favourite resort. In the
course of a day’s ride, near Bahia Blanca, several were generally met
with. The instant one was perceived, it was necessary in order to
catch it, almost to tumble off one’s horse; for if the soil was soft,
the animal burrowed so quickly, that its hinder quarters had almost
disappeared before one could alight. The _pichy_ likewise often tries
to escape notice, by squatting close to the ground. It appears almost
a pity to kill such nice little animals, for as a Gaucho said, while
sharpening his knife on the back of one, “Son tan mansos” (they are
so quiet).
Of reptiles there are many kinds: one snake (a Trigonocephalus,
or more properly a Cophias), from the size of the poison channel
in its fangs, must be very deadly. Cuvier, in opposition to some
other naturalists, makes this a sub-genus of the rattlesnake, and
intermediate between it and the viper. In confirmation of this
opinion, I observed a fact, which appears to me very curious and
instructive, as showing how every character, even though it may be
in some degree independent of structure, has a tendency to vary by
slow degrees. The extremity of the tail of this snake is terminated
by a point, which is very slightly enlarged; and as the animal glided
along, it constantly vibrated the last inch; and this part striking
against the dry grass and brushwood, produced a rattling noise, which
could be distinctly heard at the distance of six feet. As often as
the animal was irritated or surprised, its tail was shaken; and the
vibrations were extremely rapid. Even as long as the body retained
its irritability, a tendency to this habitual movement was evident.
This Trigonocephalus has, therefore, in some respects the structure
of Vipera, with the habits of a Crotalus; the noise, however, being
produced by a simpler device. The expression of this snake’s face
was hideous and fierce; the pupil consisted of a vertical slit in a
mottled and coppery iris; the jaws were broad at the base, and the
nose terminated in a triangular projection. I do not think I ever
saw any thing more ugly, excepting, perhaps, in some of the vampire
bats. I imagine this repulsive aspect originates from the features
being placed in positions, with respect to each other, somewhat
proportional to those of the human face; and thus we obtain a scale
of beauty.
Amongst the Batrachian reptiles, I found only one little toad, which
was most singular from its colour. If we imagine, first, that it had
been steeped in the blackest ink, and then when dry, allowed to crawl
over a board, freshly painted with the brightest vermilion, so as to
colour the soles of its feet and parts of its stomach, a good idea of
its appearance will be gained. If it is an unnamed species, surely it
ought to be called _diabolicus_, for it is a fit toad to preach in
the ear of Eve. Instead of being nocturnal in its habits, as other
toads are, and living in damp obscure recesses, it crawls during the
heat of the day about the dry sand-hillocks and arid plains, where
not a single drop of water can be found. It must necessarily depend
on the dew for its moisture; and this probably is absorbed by the
skin, for it is known, that these reptiles possess great powers of
cutaneous absorption. At Maldonado, I found one in a situation nearly
as dry as at Bahia Blanca, and thinking to give it a great treat,
carried it to a pool of water; not only was the little animal unable
to swim, but, I think, without help would soon have been drowned.
Of lizards there were many kinds, but only one remarkable, from
its habits. It lives on the bare sand near the sea-coast, and from
its mottled colour, the brownish scales being speckled with white,
yellowish red, and dirty blue, can hardly be distinguished from the
surrounding surface. When frightened it attempts to avoid discovery
by feigning death, with outstretched legs, depressed body, and closed
eyes: if further molested, it buries itself with great quickness in
the loose sand. This lizard, from its flattened body and short legs,
cannot run quickly. It belongs to the genus Ophryessa.
I will here add a few remarks on the hybernation of animals in
this part of South America. When we first arrived at Bahia Blanca,
September 7th, 1832, we thought nature had granted scarcely a living
creature to this sandy and dry country. By digging, however, in the
ground, several insects, large spiders, and lizards were found in a
half torpid state. On the 15th, a few animals began to appear, and
by the 18th (three days from the equinox), every thing announced the
commencement of spring. The plains were ornamented by the flowers
of a pink wood sorrel, wild peas, œnotheræ, and geraniums; and the
birds began to lay their eggs. Numerous Lamellicorn and Heteromerous
insects, the latter remarkable for their deeply sculptured bodies,
were slowly crawling about; while the Saurian tribe, the constant
inhabitants of a sandy soil, darted in every direction. During the
first eleven days, whilst nature was dormant, the mean temperature
taken from observations made every two hours on board the Beagle,
was 51°; and in the middle of the day the thermometer seldom ranged
above 55°. On the eleven succeeding days, in which all living things
became so animated, the mean was 58°, and the range in the middle of
the day between sixty and seventy. Here then an increase of seven
degrees in mean temperature, but a greater one of extreme heat, was
sufficient to awake the functions of life. At Monte Video, from which
we had just before sailed, in the twenty-three days included between
the 26th of July and the 19th of August, the mean temperature from
276 observations was 58°.4; the mean hottest day being 65°.5, and
the coldest 46°. The lowest point to which the thermometer fell was
41°.5, and occasionally in the middle of the day it rose to 69° or
70°. Yet with this elevated temperature, almost every beetle, several
genera of spiders, snails, and land-shells, toads, and lizards were
all lying torpid beneath stones. But we have seen that at Bahia
Blanca, which is four degrees to the southward, and therefore with
a climate only a very little colder, this same temperature with
a rather less extreme heat, was sufficient to awake all orders
of animated beings. This shows how nicely the required degree of
stimulus is adapted to the general climate of the place, and how
little it depends on absolute temperature. It is well known that
within the tropics, the hybernation, or more properly estivation, of
animals is governed by the times of drought. Near Rio de Janeiro, I
was at first surprised to observe, that, a few days after some little
depressions had been changed into pools of water by the rain, they
were peopled by numerous full-grown shells and beetles. Humboldt has
related the strange accident of a hovel having been erected over a
spot, where a young crocodile lay buried in the hardened mud. He
adds “The Indians often find enormous boas; which they call Uji, or
water serpents, in the same lethargic state. To reanimate them, they
must be irritated or wetted with water.”
I will only mention one other animal, a zoophyte allied to
Virgularia,[16] a kind of sea-pen. It consists of a thin, straight,
fleshy stem, with alternate rows of polypi on each side, and
surrounding an elastic stony axis. It varies in length from eight
inches to two feet. The stem at one extremity is truncate, but at
the other is terminated by a vermiform fleshy appendage, which
is separated into two compartments; and in these, small, yellow,
spherical ova are contained. The stony axis which gives strength to
the stem, may be traced at this extremity into a mere vessel filled
with granular matter. This undeveloped portion is enclosed in a
transparent, elastic, irritable bag, containing a fluid in which
a very distinct circulation of particles could be seen. This bag
floats in one of the compartments of the fleshy terminal appendage.
At low water hundreds of these zoophytes might be seen, projecting
like stubble, with the truncate end upwards, a few inches above
the surface of the muddy sand. When touched or pulled, they drew
themselves in, suddenly and with force, so as nearly or quite to
disappear. By this action, the highly elastic axis must be bent at
the lower extremity, where it is naturally slightly curved; and I
imagine it is by this elasticity that the zoophyte is enabled to
rise again through the mud. Each polypus, though closely united to
its brethren, has a distinct mouth, body, and tentacula. Of these
polypi, in a large specimen, there must be many thousands; yet we
see that they act by one movement; that they have one central axis
connected with a system of obscure circulation; and that the ova
are produced in an organ distinct from the separate individuals.
Well may one be allowed to ask, what is an individual? I will add
only one other observation on this zoophyte. The cavities leading
from the fleshy compartments of the extremity, were filled with a
yellow pulpy matter, which, examined under a microscope, presented
an extraordinary appearance. The mass consisted of rounded,
semi-transparent, irregular grains, aggregated together into
particles of various sizes. All such particles, and the separate
grains, possessed the power of rapid movement; generally revolving
around different axes, but sometimes progressive. The movement was
visible with a very weak power, but with the highest its cause could
not be perceived. It was very different from the circulation of the
fluid in the elastic bag, containing the thin extremity of the axis.
On other occasions, when dissecting small marine animals beneath the
microscope, I have seen particles of pulpy matter, some of large
size, immediately they were disengaged, commence revolving. I have
imagined, I know not with how much truth, that this granulo-pulpy
matter was in process of being converted into ova. Certainly in this
zoophyte such appeared to be the case.
* * * * *
During my stay at Bahia Blanca, while waiting for the Beagle, the
place was in a constant state of excitement, from rumours of wars
and victories, between the troops of Rosas and the wild Indians. One
day an account came, that a small party forming one of the postas
on the line to Buenos Ayres, had been found all murdered. The next
day, three hundred men arrived from the Colorado, under the command
of Commandant Miranda. A large portion of these men were Indians
(_mansos_, or tame), belonging to the tribe of the Cacique Bernantio.
They passed the night here; and it was impossible to conceive any
thing more wild and savage than the scene of their bivouac. Some
drank till they were intoxicated; others swallowed the steaming blood
of the cattle slaughtered for their suppers, and then, being sick
from drunkenness, they cast it up again, and were besmeared with
filth and gore.
Nam simul expletus dapibus, vinoque sepultus
Cervicem inflexam posuit, jacuitque per antrum
Immensus, saniem eructans, ac frusta cruenta
Per somnum commixta mero.
In the morning they started for the scene of the murder, with orders
to follow the “rastro,” or track, even if it led them to Chile. We
subsequently heard that the wild Indians had escaped into the great
Pampas, and from some cause the track had been missed. One glance at
the rastro tells these people a whole history. Supposing they examine
the track of a thousand horses, they will soon guess by seeing how
many have cantered the number of men; by the depth of the other
impressions, whether any horses were loaded with cargoes; by the
irregularity of the footsteps, how far tired; by the manner in which
the food has been cooked, whether the pursued travelled in haste; by
the general appearance, how long it has been since they passed. They
consider a rastro of ten days or a fortnight, quite recent enough to
be hunted out. We also heard that Miranda struck from the west end
of the Sierra Ventana, in a direct line to the island of Cholechel,
situated seventy leagues up the Rio Negro. This is a distance of
between two and three hundred miles, through a country completely
unknown. What other troops in the world are so independent? With the
sun for their guide, mares’ flesh for food, their saddle-cloths for
beds,--as long as there is a little water, these men would penetrate
to the land’s end.
A few days afterwards I saw another troop of these banditti-like
soldiers start on an expedition against a tribe of Indians at the
small salinas, who had been betrayed by a prisoner cacique. The
Spaniard who brought the orders for this expedition was a very
intelligent man. He gave me an account of the last engagement at
which he was present. Some Indians, who had been taken prisoners,
gave information of a tribe living north of the Colorado. Two hundred
soldiers were sent; and they first discovered the Indians by a cloud
of dust from their horses’ feet, as they chanced to be travelling.
The country was mountainous and wild, and it must have been far in
the interior, for the Cordillera was in sight. The Indians, men,
women, and children, were about one hundred and ten in number, and
they were nearly all taken or killed, for the soldiers sabre every
man. The Indians are now so terrified, that they offer no resistance
in a body, but each flies, neglecting even his wife and children; but
when overtaken, like wild animals, they fight against any number to
the last moment. One dying Indian seized with his teeth the thumb of
his adversary, and allowed his own eye to be forced out, sooner than
relinquish his hold. Another, who was wounded, feigned death, keeping
a knife ready to strike one more fatal blow. My informer said, when
he was pursuing an Indian, the man cried out for mercy, at the same
time that he was covertly loosing the bolas from his waist, meaning
to whirl it round his head and so strike his pursuer. “I however
struck him with my sabre to the ground, and then got off my horse,
and cut his throat with my knife.” This is a dark picture; but how
much more shocking is the unquestionable fact, that all the women who
appear above twenty years old, are massacred in cold blood. When I
exclaimed that this appeared rather inhuman, he answered, “Why, what
can be done? they breed so!”
Every one here is fully convinced that this is the most just war
because it is against barbarians. Who would believe in this age, in
a Christian civilized country, that such atrocities were committed?
The children of the Indians are saved, to be sold or given away
as servants, or rather slaves, for as long a time as the owners
can deceive them; but I believe in this respect there is little to
complain of.
In the battle four men ran away together. They were pursued, and one
was killed, but the other three were taken alive. They turned out to
be messengers or ambassadors from a large body of Indians, united
in the common cause of defence, near the Cordillera. The tribe to
which they had been sent was on the point of holding a grand council;
the feast of mare’s flesh was ready, and the dance prepared: in the
morning the ambassadors were to have returned to the Cordillera. They
were remarkably fine men, very fair, above six feet high, and all
under thirty years of age. The three survivors of course possessed
very valuable information; and to extort this they were placed in
a line. The two first being questioned, answered, “No se” (I do
not know), and were one after the other shot. The third also said
“No se;” adding, “Fire, I am a man, and can die!” Not one syllable
would they breathe to injure the united cause of their country! The
conduct of the cacique was very different: he saved his life by
betraying the intended plan of warfare, and the point of union in the
Andes. It was believed that there were already six or seven hundred
Indians together, and that in summer their numbers would be doubled.
Ambassadors were to have been sent to the Indians at the small
salinas, near Bahia Blanca, whom I mentioned that a cacique, this
same man, had betrayed. The communication, therefore, extends from
the Cordillera to the east coast.
General Rosas’s plan is to kill all stragglers, and having driven
the remainder to a common point, in the summer, with the assistance
of the Chilenos, to attack them in a body. This operation is to be
repeated for three successive years. I imagine the summer is chosen
as the time for the main attack, because the plains are then without
water, and the Indians can only travel in particular directions. The
escape of the Indians to the south of the Rio Negro, where in such
a vast unknown country they would be safe, is prevented by a treaty
with the Tehuelches to this effect;--that Rosas pays them so much to
slaughter every Indian who passes to the south of the river, but if
they fail in so doing, they themselves are to be exterminated. The
war is waged chiefly against the Indians near the Cordillera; for
many of the tribes on this eastern side are fighting with Rosas. The
general, however, like Lord Chesterfield, thinking that his friends
may in a future day become his enemies, always places them in the
front ranks, so that their numbers may be thinned. Since leaving
South America we have heard that this war of extermination completely
failed.
Among the captive girls taken in the same engagement, there were two
very pretty Spanish ones, who had been carried away by the Indians
when young, and could now only speak the Indian tongue. From their
account, they must have come from Salta, a distance in a straight
line of nearly one thousand miles. This gives one a grand idea of
the immense territory over which the Indians roam: yet, great as
it is, I think there will not, in another half-century, be a wild
Indian northward of the Rio Negro. The warfare is too bloody to last;
the Christians killing every Indian, and the Indians doing the same
by the Christians. It is melancholy to trace how the Indians have
given way before the Spanish invaders. Schirdel[17] says, that in
1535, when Buenos Ayres was founded, there were villages containing
two and three thousand inhabitants. Even in Falconer’s time (1750)
the Indians made inroads as far as Lucan, Areco, and Arrecife, but
now they are driven beyond the Salado. Not only have whole tribes
been wholly exterminated, but the remaining Indians have become more
barbarous: instead of living in large villages, and being employed in
the arts of fishing, as well as of the chase, they now wander about
the open plains, without home or fixed occupation.
I heard also some account of an engagement which took place, a few
weeks previously to the one mentioned, at Cholechel. This is a very
important station, on account of being a pass for horses; and it was,
in consequence, for some time the head-quarters of a division of the
army. When the troops first arrived there, they found a tribe of
Indians, of whom they killed twenty or thirty. The cacique escaped
in a manner which astonished every one. The chief Indians always
have one or two picked horses, which they keep ready for any urgent
occasion. On one of these, an old white horse, the cacique sprung,
taking with him his little son. The horse had neither saddle nor
bridle. To avoid the shots, the Indian rode in the peculiar method of
his nation; namely, with an arm round the horse’s neck, and one leg
only on its back. Thus hanging on one side, he was seen patting the
horse’s head, and talking to him. The pursuers urged every effort in
the chase; the Commandant three times changed his horse, but all in
vain. The old Indian father and his son escaped, and were free. What
a fine picture one can form in one’s mind,--the naked bronze-like
figure of the old man with his little boy, riding like a Mazeppa on
the white horse, thus leaving far behind him the host of his pursuers!
I saw one day a soldier striking fire with a piece of flint, which I
immediately recognised as having been a part of the head of an arrow.
He told me it was found near the island of Cholechel, and that they
are frequently picked up there. It was between two and three inches
long, and therefore twice as large as those now used in Tierra del
Fuego: it was made of opake cream-coloured flint, but the point and
barbs had been intentionally broken off. It is well known that no
Pampas Indians now use bows and arrows. I believe a small tribe in
Banda Oriental must be excepted; but they are widely separated from
the Pampas Indians, and border close on those tribes that inhabit
the forest, and live on foot. It appears, therefore, that these
arrow-heads are antiquarian[18] relics of the Indians, before the
great change in habits consequent on the introduction of the horse
into South America.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A few leagues further south, near the Bay of San Blas, M.
D’Orbigny found great beds of recent shells elevated between 25 and
30 feet above the level of the sea.--Vol. ii., p. 43.
[2] With respect to the remains of the last animal, as some doubt may
be entertained by others, respecting its origin; it must be remarked,
that it was fairly embedded in the gravel with the other bones;
and that its state of decay was equal. To this circumstance it may
be added, that the surrounding country is without fresh water, and
is uninhabited, and that the settlement, itself only of five years
standing, is twenty-five miles distant.
[3] Principles of Geology, vol. iv., p. 40.
[4] I mean by this to exclude the total amount, which may have been
successively produced and consumed during a given period.
[5] Dr. Smith mentioned to me, that one evening seven lions were
counted at one time walking on the plain, round the encampment.
[6] Travels in the interior of South Africa, vol. ii., p. 207.
[7] The elephant which was killed at Exeter Change, was estimated
(being partly weighed) at five tons and a half. The elephant actress,
as I was informed, weighed one ton less; so that we may take five
as the average of a full-grown elephant. I was told at the Surrey
Gardens, that a hippopotamus which was sent to England cut up into
pieces, was estimated at three tons and a half; we will call it
three. From these premises we may give three tons and a half to each
of the five rhinoceroses; perhaps a ton to the giraffe, and half to
the bos caffer as well as the elan, (a large ox weighs from 1200 to
1500 pounds). This will give an average (from the above conjectures)
of 2.7 of a ton for the ten largest herbivorous animals of Southern
Africa. In South America, allowing 1200 pounds for the two tapirs
together, 550 for the guanaco and vicuna, 500 for three deer, 300
for capybara, peccari, and a monkey, we shall have an average of 250
pounds, which I believe is overstating the result. The ratio will
therefore be, as 6048 to 250; for the ten largest animals from the
two countries.
[8] If we suppose the case of the discovery of a skeleton of a
Greenland whale in a fossil state, not a single cetaceous animal
being known to exist, what naturalist would even conjecture on the
possibility of a carcass so gigantic, being supported on the minute
crustacea and mollusca, living in the frozen seas of the extreme
North?
[9] See Zoological Remarks to Capt. Back’s Expedition, by Dr.
Richardson. He says, “The subsoil north of latitude 56° is
perpetually frozen, the thaw on the coast not penetrating above three
feet, and at Bear Lake, in latitude 64°, not more than twenty inches.
The frozen substratum does not of itself destroy vegetation, for
forests flourish on the surface, at a distance from the coast.”
[10] See Humboldt Fragmens Asiatiques, p. 386: Barton’s Geography of
Plants: and Malte Brun. In the latter work it is said, that the limit
of the growth of trees in Siberia may be drawn under the parallel of
70°.
[11] A Gaucho assured me, that he had once seen a snow-white, or
Albino variety, and that it was a most beautiful bird.
[12] Burchell’s Travels, vol. i., p. 280.
[13] Azara, vol. iv., p. 173.
[14] Vol. ii., p. 76.--When at the Rio Negro, we heard much of the
indefatigable labours of this naturalist. M. D’Alcide D’Orbigny,
during the years 1826 to 1833, traversed several large portions of
South America, and has made a collection, and is now publishing the
results on a scale of magnificence, which at once places him in the
list of American travellers second only to Humboldt.
[15] Vol. i. (English translation), p. 314.
[16] I believe _Virgularia Patagonica_ of D’Orbigny.
[17] Purchas’s Collection of Voyages.
[18] Azara has even doubted whether the Pampas Indians ever used bows.