1st September 1833

Patagones to Buenos Ayres
Returned in the evening. During the last week the weather has been very hot & dry; in consequence of this all the pools & shallow lakes, which before contained saline water, now presented a level plain of salt-petre, as white as snow. This resemblance was the more complete from the edges of the pools appearing like drift heaps.

31st August 1833

Patagones to Buenos Ayres
My guide or Vacciano not having come, I rode to Punta Alta, in order to superintend the excavation of the bones. It is a quiet retired spot & the weather beautiful; the very quietness is almost sublime, even in the midst of mud banks & gulls, sand hillocks & solitary vultures.

.

Syms Covington’s Journal:
August 31st, left the ship for Johnsons Point, distant about eight miles, collecting los huevos del Megatherium, etc. Lived in a tent.

30th August 1833

Patagones to Buenos Ayres
We the next morning set out for Fort; but did not arrive there till 9 o’clock at night.

29th August 1833

Patagones to Buenos Ayres
After dinner the Yawl started on a surveying cruise. I went in her. We slept at Punta Alta & I commenced a successful bone hunt. Leaving my servant & another man to continue their labours.

27th & 28th August 1833

Patagones to Buenos Ayres
Whole day consumed in telling my travellers tales.

.
Actively employed in arranging things, in order to start to Buenos Ayres by land. — the feeling of excitement quite delightful after the indolence of the week spent at the fort of Bahia Bianca.

26th August 1833

Patagones to Buenos Ayres
A boat with Mr Chaffers arrived from the ship, we waited till the evening for a cow to be killed, to take fresh meat on board. We did not start till late, but the night was beautiful & calm. The ship had moved her berth, & we had a long hunt after her, at last arrived on board at 1/2 after one oclock.

25th August 1833

Patagones to Buenos Ayres
Rode down to the creek: but there was too much wind for a boat to leave the ship. — In the evening Commandante Miranda arrived with 300 men; with orders to accompany Bernantios tribe & examine the "rastro" or track of the murderers. — If the latter was guilty, the whole tribe was to be massacred, if not to follow the rastro even if it led them to Chili. — Many of Mirandas troops were Indians; nothing could be more wild or savage than the scene of their bivouaccing. — Some of them drank the warm, steaming blood of the beasts which were slaughtered for supper.

.
We subsequently heard that the rastro proved Bernantio to be guiltless. The Indians had escaped directly into the great plains or Pampas, & for some reason could not be pursued. — One glance at the Rastro tells to one of these people a whole history. — Supposing they examine the track of about a thousand horses, they will at once know, by the canter, how many men were with them, — by the depth of the impression, how many loaded horses; by the regularity of the footstep how far tired; by the manner in which the food is cooked whether the Indians were travelling very fast; by the general appearance of the rastro how old it is. — They consider one of 10 days or a fortnight old quite recent enough to be hunted out. — We also heard that Miranda started from the West end of the Sierra Ventana in a direct line to the Island of Churichoel; situated 70 leagues up the Rio Negro. — This is a distance of 2 or 300 miles & through a country entirely unknown. What other troops in the world are so independent? With the sun for their guide, mares-flesh for food, & the Recado's for beds, as long as there is water, these men would penetrate to the worlds end.

.

Captain Fitzroy’s Journal:
Lieutenant Sulivan went with a party to explore the furthest extreme of the inlet, while others were occupied, as usual, in the various duties always necessary on board a ship, in addition to those of a survey.

.
Mr. Darwin was at Argentina, and hearing of our arrival, rode to the Wells. He had met General Rosas on the Colorado, who treated him very kindly; and he was enjoying his shore-roving without any annoyance, the old major being no longer afraid of a 'naturalista.'

24th August 1833

Patagones to Buenos Ayres
The Ship was seen; its figure curiously altered by the refraction over the widely extended mud banks.

Captain Fitzroy’s Journal:
On the 24th, we moored off the Wells, in Port Belgrano.

23rd August 1833

Patagones to Buenos Ayres
In the morning the rain did not cease, so we started on our return. In our path we saw a fresh track of a lion & commenced an unsuccessful chase: the dogs seemed to know what we were about & were not eager to find the beast.

.
In these plains a very curious animal, the Zorilla or Skunk, is sufficiently common. — Its habits resemble those of fitchet, but it is larger & the body much thicker in proportion. — Conscious of its power, it roams about the open camp by day & fears neither dogs or men. — if a dog is encouraged to attack one. — the fetid oil, which is ejected makes him instantly very sick & run at the nose. — Clothes once touched are for ever useless. — Every other animal makes room for the Zorilla.

.
On my return found my fellow traveller Harris arrived from the R. Colorado. A few days previously news had come that the Indians had murdered every soul in one of the Postas. — It was suspected that Bernantio's tribe, the same which the other day stopped here on the road to join General Rosas were the perpetrators. — Harris informed us, that a few miles from the Colorado he met these Indians, & that at the same instant an officer arrived bearing the following summary message, "that if Bernantio failed to bring the heads of the murderers, it should be his bitterest day for not one of his tribe should be left in the Pampas".

22nd August 1833

Patagones to Buenos Ayres

So tired of doing nothing, I hired the same guide & started for Punta Alta, which is not so distant & commands a good view of the harbor. I went this time better provided with bread & meat & horns with water & made up my mind to sleep there so as not to fatigue the horses. When not very far from our destination, the Gaucho spied 3 people on horse-back hunting. He immediately dismounted & watched them intently. He said they dont ride like Christians & nobody can leave the Fort. The three hunters joined company, & dismounted also from their horses, at last one mounted again & rode over the hill out of sight. The Gaucho said, "We must now get on our horses, load your pistol" & he looked to his sword. I asked are they Indians. Quien Sabe? (who knows?), if they are no more than three it does not signify. It then struck me that the one man had gone over the hill to fetch the rest of his tribe; I suggested this; but all the answer I could extort was, Quien sabe? His head & eye never for a minute ceased scanning slowly the whole horizon. I thought his uncommon coolness rather too good a joke; & asked him why he did not return home. I was startled when he answered: "We are returning, only near to a swamp, into which we can gallop the horses as far as they can go & then trust to our own legs. So that there is no danger". I did not feel quite so confident of this & wanted to increase our pace. He said, no, not until until they do. When any little inequality concealed us, we galloped, then but when in sight, continued walking. At last we reached a valley, & when turning to the left galloped quickly to the foot of a hill, he gave me his horse to hold, made the dogs lie down, & crawled on his hands & knees to reconnoitre. He remained in this position for some time & at last, bursting out in laughter, exclaimed: "Mugares" (women). He knew them to be the wife & sister in law of the Majors son, hunting for Ostriches eggs.

I have described the mans conduct because he acted under the full impression they were Indians. As soon however as the absurd mistake was found out, he gave me a hundred reasons why they could not have been Indians; but all these were forgotten at the time.

After this we proceeded on to Punta Alta and ate our dinner in peace & quietness. Punta Alta is the place where I found so many bones last year. I employed the evening in seeking for more & marking the places. There was a beautiful sunset & everything was deliriously quiet & still. But the appearances were false; an hour after being in bed, very heavy rain began, but I slept through it & was very little wet.

21st August 1833

Patagonas to Buenos Ayres
Bought a fine powerful young horse for £4-10s & rode about the neighbouring plains.

20th August 1833

Patagonas to Buenos Ayres
The next morning with nothing to eat or drink we started; the horses could hardly walk; at last that of the Gaucho was quite tired, & as a Gaucho cannot walk, I gave up my horse & took to my feet. The sun was very hot & about noon the dogs killed a kid which we roasted & I eat some, which made me intolerably thirsty. The road was full of little puddles from some recent rain, yet every drop quite undrinkable. At last I could walk no more, & was obliged to mount my horse, which was dreadful inhumanity as his back was quite raw. I had scarcely been 20 hours without water & only part of the time with a hot sun; yet my thirst rendered me very weak. How travellers manage to live in Africa I do not understand. Although I must confess my guide did not suffer at all & was astonished that one days deprivation should be so troublesome to me. I do not know whether the poor horse or myself were most glad to arrive at the Fort.

19th August 1833

Patagonas to Buenos Ayres
I was anxious to see if the Beagle was in the mouth of the Bay. The Commandante lent me a soldier as guide & two horses; on the road we picked up two more; yet they were all such miserable horses, that one was left behind & the three others could hardly reach Anchor Stock hill, a distance of about 25 miles, where the Ship waters. My guide two months ago had a wonderful escape, he was out hunting with two companions, only a few leagues from the fort, when a party of Indians appeared, they balled the other two men & killed them. They then balled his horse, he jumped off & with his knife liberated the horses legs. Whilst doing this he was obliged to dodge behind his horse & thus received two bad Chusa wounds. Seizing an opportunity, he sprung on his horse, & could just manage to keep ahead of the Chusas till within sight of the Fort, when the Indians gave up the chase. From that time, there was an order against any individual leaving the fort. I did not know all this till near the coast, & had been surprised to see how earnestly my guide watched a deer which appeared to have been frightened from some other quarter.

After two hours rest, & not seeing the Beagle, we made an attempt to return; but only could manage two or three leagues & even then left a horse behind. In the morning we had caught an Armadillo, which was but a poor breakfast & dinner for two men. Where we slept at night the whole ground was thickly encrusted with saltpetre & of course no water.

Captain Fitzroy’s Journal:
On the 19th of August, we anchored near the bar of the Negro, to meet the Paz and Liebre, take our officers and men on board, and pay Mr. Harris the money to which he was entitled, not only by contract, but by the uniform attention, activity, and thorough kindness, which he and his partner had shown to their temporary companions; by their knowledge as pilots, and by the useful information which they had readily given, to the full extent of their abilities. The complete success of that enterprise was greatly owing to the conduct of those two worthy men. Before dark all was settled, our party was safely on board; we quitted Harris and Roberts, with their useful little craft, mutually satisfied; and made sail for Blanco Bay, where there was still work to be done; intending to add to our already numerous soundings, while following the seaward edges of the banks.

18th August 1833

Patagonas to B. Ayres
The Beagle had not arrived. I had nothing to do, no clean clothes, no books, nobody to talk with. I envied the very kittens playing on the floor. I was however lucky in a hospitable reception by Don Pablo, a friend of Harris.