The only other animal which
we saw in any number was a small fox: I suppose this animal preys
on the mice and other small rodents which, as long as there is the
least vegetation, subsist in considerable numbers in very desert
places. In Patagonia, even on the borders of the salinas, where a
drop of fresh water can never be found, excepting dew, these little
animals swarm. Next to lizards, mice appear to be able to support
existence on the smallest and driest portions of the earth--even on
islets in the midst of great oceans.
The scene on all sides showed desolation, brightened and made
palpable by a clear, unclouded sky. For a time such scenery is
sublime, but this feeling cannot last, and then it becomes
uninteresting. We bivouacked at the foot of the "primera linea," or
the first line of the partition of the waters. The streams,
however, on the east side do not flow to the Atlantic, but into an
elevated district, in the middle of which there is a large salina,
or salt lake;--thus forming a little Caspian Sea at the height,
perhaps, of ten thousand feet. Where we slept, there were some
considerable patches of snow, but they do not remain throughout the
year.
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