205

Province of B. Ayres

1833

Biscatche (a) 1442 (not spirits) The Viscatche is exceedingly numerous in the neighbourhead, to the South it appears less frequently although it is found at the R. Negro.— Late in the evening they come out to play; but do not seem to wander far from their holes.— they run very awkwardly; from their tail being elevated & shortness of the front legs they resemble rats. In the evening are very tame, you may ride quite close, without disturbing the gravity with which sitting in the mouth of their holes they watch you.— They are abundant even in the great thistle beds where there are no other vegetables: are said to live on roots, which from great size of teeth I think probable.— They inhabit very dry regions.— I have been informed on the best authority, that quasi canes post coitum adnexi sunt.— Their flesh is very white & good eating.—

They have one very singular habit; it is the constant dragging of all hard things to their holes.— around every hole group of holes you will see many bones, thistle stalks, hard pieces of earth, dry dung &c &c collected to the amount sometime of more than a wheel barrow could carry.— The holes enter the ground at a small angle; it is above the mouth, on the that the greater quantity of rubbish is placed.— I cannot even guess for what reason they take this trouble; it cannot be defence, for they are not in front of the mouth.— the trouble must be considerable for not a bone or stone is left uncollected for many yards from the burrow.— I was told (on good authority) that a Gentleman riding at night dropped his watch; the next morning he went & examined all the Biscatche holes in the line of road, & as he expected found the watch

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X (a) May 1834 S. Cruz Guanaco They are numerous near the Sierra Guitro-Leigniè.

(b) Excessively abundant in central Patagonia; banks of rivers; the herds are much larger. I saw one with I should think 500, & many from 50 to 100.— The Southern part of Patagonia, here & at Strs of Magellan, their more favourite haunts.— Measured the foot of one from the Lava country: width of sole 2 6/8 inches: of one claw of fork 1.4 of hind leg: color of hair on upper parts dark "clove B with blueish grey": Saw a heap of dung 8 feet in diameter, it was suggested to me they sleep in same place, & in a circle with their head outwards, to keep watch for the Lions, & hence the heaps of dung.— The Guanaco seem to come to particular places to die; the ground in some low bushy places near the river is white with bones, in circumscribed spaces; the animals have crawled under bushes & bones are not torn by Pumas; I have seen 10 to 20 heads in one spot.— Mr Bynoe has noticed the same thing at R. Gallegos.— A wounded Guanaco immediately walks to the river: The Guanaco often dusts itself in saucer-shaped cavities in the dry plains.—

(a) The habit of collecting hard things round its burrow is seen near Mendoza.— This animal is very different from the mountain species.— the tail in this appears more bushy & the breast reddish — stony inaccessible spots.—

206

B. Ayres

1833

Biscatche near the entrance of one.— The Biscatche is abundant in all parts of the province of B: Ayres & Entre Rios; it is very curious they have not crossed the R. Uruguay. In the Banda Oriental there is not one of these animals; there are plains with thistles exactly like B: Ayres & others equally well suited to the habits of the animal.— It is a puzzle in the geographical distribution of the Biscatche, which I cannot solve, & is no small advantage to B: Oriental.—

Guanaco V (b) 205

These animals occur in the Sierra de la Ventana Lat: 38°.12′ S. I should think on this side of America this was the Northern limit.— They are found in the islands of Tierra del Fuego & particularly abundant on north side of the straits of Magellan.— When at B. Blanca, I saw the track of a herd of 50 or 60; they appeared to have come on an exploring party from the interior.— their line of march was had been in a direct line till they arrived at a muddy salt creek. Here they seemed to have found out that that the sea was near, for they the track wheeled like a body of cavalry, & returned in as straight line as it had arrived.—

(a) Byron says he has seen the Guanacoes drinking salt water:— our officers saw a herd drink out of the brine pits or Salinas at Cape Blanco.— they swim readily, & were seen crossing at Port Valdes from one island to another.— on the mountains of Tierra del I have seen the Guanaco, when disturbed, not only squeak or neigh, but jump & prance in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance as a sort of challenge.—3 It is commonly believed amongst the Gauchos, that where there are Guanaco, there is Gold.

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(a) Guanaco seem particularly liable to have in their stomach Bezoar stones.— The Indians, who come to trade to R. Negro, bring great numbers to sell as remedies, quack medicine.— I saw one man with a [big] box full, of all sizes large & small.—

December 24th Shot at Port Desire a Guanaco; without blood, lower lungs or intestines weighed 170 pounds: From tip of tail to nose 7ft.— circumference of chest, 4ft.8 inch: Tail in length 9inch: from extremity of nail to joint (hind leg) 6 & 1/2 inches: from this joint to extremity of Tarsus, 11 inches.— Most wide part of sole of foot 2.7/8th inch.—The Guanaco at Port Desire & St Julians are excessively numerous. They are very wary when in a flock (generally from 10 to 30) & see very great distances. Mr Stokes saw through a glass a herd of Guanaco evidently running away from us when they were not visible to our naked eyes.— When in pairs or single, not infrequently may be approach or suddenly met with.— If by chance you get within a few yards even of a herd, they will stop some time to graze, but if seen at a couple of hundred yards, the whole herd go off at a canter.— is this from mistaking at a distance a man for the Puma.— the footsteps of which animal are often-times to be seen.— The males seem to fight together. I shot one of two, who came squealing close to me, & another was marked with deep scars.— The Guanacoes have the habit of dunging on different days in the same place, & evidently more than one.— the heaps of dung from this cause are very large. Dung is oval pellets, rather larger than a Sheep. Frezier6 remarks that Guanacoes & Llamas dung in heaps & that the habit is useful to the Indians as it saves them the trouble of collecting fire them for fuel.—

207

Buenos Ayres

1833

Puma (b) Very numerous in some parts of the province; I was told that near Tandeel 100 were killed in three months.— They are by no means a dangerous animal to man, excepting when a female has young, when I believe they will (very rarely) attack a man; of course when wounded they must be avoided. They are easily taken by being balled & then lassoed.— They live in the open plains, either amongst the reeds, or in a hole in a cliff.— It is a very silent animal, never roaring, even when lassoed.— They chiefly live on small quadrupeds, Deer, Biscatche, Ostriches &c.— The former they catch, sometimes in the middle of the day, when the deer is resting from the heat.— They but rarely kill colts or young oxen1. When they do it, it is by springing on their back & pulling the head back so as to break the neck. This latter is what all the Gauchos say.— For some particulars about their flesh see P 376, 482 Chili

Jaguar  no danger This is a far more dangerous animal; kills many young oxen & horses by same method as the puma. If disturbed from their prey will not, unless much pressed, return to it.— The Jaguar seems to require damp places with trees, such as the streams & islands of the Parana.— I have heard of them living amongst the reeds on the borders of a lake.— It is said the foxes plague the Jaguars at night by continually barking: in same manner as Jackall does the Tiger in India.— It is a very noisy animal, roaring much before bad weather.— Is decidedly ∴ very dangerous to mankind.— When hunting for one on the coast of the Uruguay, I was shown certain trees on which they (a) are said to sharpen their claws.— In front the

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(a) trees are worn smooth & on each side deep scratches (or rather grooves) a yard long.— It is clearly done, in same manner as a cat with protruded claws, sometimes scrapes the legs of a chair.— The scars were of different ages.— it is common method of discovering the Jaguar by examining the trees.— In the course of the ride we passed 3 well known trees.— The object I should think was rather to blunt, than to sharpen claws so seldom used.— The Jaguars are killed without much difficulty by dogs baying & driving him up a tree, where he is easily dispatched with bullets.— for anecdotes of these attacks V 387 private Journal.— I heard of Jaguars, though uncommon near the Sierra Guitro-gugo  (N of the Ventana) & believe they certainly (though very rarely are found in the islands of the R. Negro, Lat 41.— Falkner says, the Lake Nahuel-Naupi, from which this river rises, takes its name from the Indian name of Tiger. Its Latitude is 42°.— The same author talking of the many tigers at South entrance of the Plata says they chiefly live on fish.— I was told the same thing in the Parana & it well explains their great abundance in the islands of this river.—

(b) Very abundant banks of S. Cruz: live solely on Guanaco, kill them by breaking their necks; live in the valleys amongst the bushes; do not retire from man, but look at him; the marks of their claws on the hardened clay are very frequent, as if scratching the ground like the Jaguars do the trees:— I have seen the footsteps of a Lion in the Cordilleras of St Jago, not much below the line of Perpetual snow, the height must have been about 10,000 ft.—