[11] Annals de Chimie et de Physique, tom. xxxvii. p. 319.

[12] Azara's Voyage, vol. i. p. 36.



CHAPTER IV

RIO NEGRO TO BAHIA BLANCA

Rio Negro -- Estancias attacked by the Indians -- Salt-Lakes --
Flamingoes -- R. Negro to R. Colorado -- Sacred Tree --
Patagonian Hare -- Indian Families -- General Rosas --
Proceed to Bahia Blanca -- Sand Dunes -- Negro Lieutenant --
Bahia Blanca -- Saline Incrustations -- Punta Alta -- Zorillo.


JULY 24th, 1833. -- The Beagle sailed from Maldonado,
and on August the 3rd she arrived off the mouth of the
Rio Negro. This is the principal river on the whole line
of coast between the Strait of Magellan and the Plata. It
enters the sea about three hundred miles south of the estuary
of the Plata. About fifty years ago, under the old Spanish
government, a small colony was established here; and it is
still the most southern position (lat. 41 degs.) on this
eastern coast of America inhabited by civilized man.

The country near the mouth of the river is wretched in
the extreme: on the south side a long line of perpendicular