Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
has been taken from the bottom and with great care, he will at once find it out, and then he
often smashes all the others by trampling on them and kicking them in every direction. I do
not believe nor suggest that the birds are able to count, but I am convinced that they possess
some instinct which enables them to know when eggs are missing. I have known an ostrich to
breakalltheeggsinhisnestafterIhadobservedhimforawhilefromaconsiderabledistance.
The large grey lizards or iguanas which are very common in the northern provinces of the
Argentinearegreateggeaters.However,theeggsofostrichesaretoobigfortheirmouths,and
their tails too weak to break the thick shells by striking them. Although a good-sized iguana
measures two feet or more from head to the tip of the tail, and in spite of his formidable teeth,
he will not venture near an ostrich nest whilst the male is anywhere near. If he happens to be
away eating, the lizard will then go to the nest and push out an egg a foot or so, and then roll
it rapidly against the others so as to crack the hard shell. Once this has been done the rest is
easy. I have often eaten ostrich eggs and found them to taste much like ordinary hens' eggs,
and I am inclined to think that the average man would not know the difference.
Althoughostrichesaboundedinthepampasuntilrecentyearstheyarerapidlydisappearing
now. On some estates they are allowed to live, but on most
estancias
where fat stock is raised
the owners object to their presence owing to their bad habit of running about flapping their
wings when they are in a playful mood. When the cattle see this they become curious and be-
gin to follow them, and finally they will stampede. If the weather happens to be hot this ruins
the cattle, and often many animals die. Only a young ostrich can be overtaken by a man on
horseback, and this only after a considerable amount of chasing. A full-grown bird is much
too fast for a man and horse, but by hunting in groups one can often take them by surprise.
The sporting way of catching them is with the
bolas
,
*
but there are not many men who know
how to use them properly these days.
Pumas, as the South American lions are called, give a great deal of trouble to the sheep
and goat-raisers, but they are not dangerous to men, excepting when they have cubs and one
should happen to pass near their caves. Wild cats also are often seen in these forests, but un-
less they are disturbed they will not attack a human being. Occasionally some tiger which has
strayedtothesepartsfromtheChacoregionstothenorth-easthasbeenkilled,butsuchathing
is rare.
Cattle roam about in the forests or among the thorny shrubbery, and it was in this district
thatIsawsomeofthecleveresthorsemen.Itisamazingtoseethemchasingananimalthrough
thethickbush,thefleetponiestwistingthroughtheshrubberylikeeels,gallopingatfullspeed
whilst the riders are dodging thorny branches and twigs by bending from side to side, all
the while swinging their rawhide lassos and waiting for the opportunity to make a successful
throw if the chased animal happens to pass through an open gap in the bush. Lassoing in the
openischild'splaywhencomparedwiththis,and,toaddtotheobstaclesthecountrypresents,
one has to consider that the cattle are small, very agile and wild, and therefore able to dodge
like wild goats. In these forest regions in the north of Argentina both rider and horse are pro-
