Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading
Team.
Author of "Idle Days In Patagonia," "The Purple Land,"
"A Crystal Age," "Adventures Among Birds," Etc.
Preamble—The house where I was born—The singular ombu tree—A treewithout a name—The plain—The ghost of a murdered slave—Ourplaymate, the old sheep-dog—A first riding-lesson—The cattle: anevening scene—My mother—Captain Scott—The hermit and his awfulpenance
We quit our old home—A winter day journey—Aspect of the country—Ournew home—A prisoner in the barn—The plantation—A paradise of rats—An evening scene—The people of the house—A beggar on horseback—Mr.Trigg our schoolmaster—His double nature—Impersonates an old woman—Reading Dickens—Mr. Trigg degenerates—Once more a homeless wandereron the great plain
The old dog Caesar—His powerful personality—Last days and end—Theold dog's burial—The fact of death is brought home to me—A child'smental anguish—My mother comforts me—Limitations of the child'smind—Fear of death—Witnessing the slaughter of cattle—A man in themoat—Margarita, the nursery-maid—Her beauty and lovableness—Herdeath—I refuse to see her dead
Living with trees—Winter violets—The house is made habitable—Redwillow—Scizzor-tail and carrion-hawk—Lombardy poplars—Black acacia—Other trees—The fosse or moat—Rats—A trial of strength with anarmadillo—Opossums living with a snake—Alfalfa field andbutterflies—Cane brake—Weeds and fennel—Peach trees in blossom—Paroquets—Singing of a field finch—Concert-singing in birds—OldJohn—Cow-birds' singing—Arrival of summer migrants
Appearance of a green level land—Cardoon and giant thistles—Villagesof the vizcacha, a large burrowing rodent—Groves and plantationsseen like islands on the wide level plains—Trees planted by the earlycolonists—Decline of the colonists from an agricultural to a pastoralpeople—Houses as part of the landscape—Flesh diet of the gauchos—Summer change in the aspect of the plain—The water-like mirage—Thegiant thistle and a "thistle year"—Fear of fires—An incident at afire—The pampero, or south-west wind, and the fall of the thistles—Thistle-down and thistle-seed as food for animals—A great pamperostorm—Big hailstones—Damage caused by hail—Zango, an old horse,killed—Zango and his master
Visit to a river on the pampas—A first long walk—Water-fowl—Myfirst sight of flamingoes—A great dove visitation—Strange tamenessof the birds—Vain attempts at putting salt on their tails—An ethicalquestion: When is a lie not a lie?—The carancho, a vulture-eagle—Our pair of caranchos—Their nest in a peach tree—I am ambitious totake their eggs—The birds' crimes—I am driven off by the birds—Thenest pulled down
Happiest time—First visit to the capital—Old and New Buenos Ayres—Vivid impressions—Solitary walk—How I learnt to go alone—Lost—Thehouse we stayed at and the sea-like river—Rough