Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

1834. ' INDIAN pass' SHINGLE BEDS. - 345 tives to select it as a crossing place.* To pass a river running at the rate of six or seven miles an hour, and about two hun- dred yards in width, can be no easy task to women and chil- dren. But as we saw many prints of very small feet on the muddy bank, both women and children must have crossed at this place with the men. How did they get over ? there is no wood, neither are there rushes with which they might make balsas.-f- Perhaps some of the women and children were put into rough, coracle-like boats, made of hides,J and towed across by the horses, holding by whose tails the men swam and perhaps many of the women. This method of holding by the tail, while swimming, is said to be better than resting a hand upon the horse''s neck and holding by the mane. None of the Indians sit upon their horses while swimming. This day (22d) we passed two places which we considered rapids, the stream of the river ran so violently, and we had so much difficulty in passing, even with all hands upon the rope. Besides the strength of the stream we had to contend against high cliffs, over whose upper edges it was difficult to convey the tow-line : yet we made good about twelve miles in the day. The night of the 22d was not so cold as the pre- ceding, but we always found the nights wintry though the days were warm, so much so, indeed, that we were often annoyed by the heat of the sun. So winding was the course of the river that we certainly walked double the distance which was advanced in a direct line : yet very little of inte- rest, as a picturesque subject, had been seen; for no country excepting a desert could wear a more triste and unvarying appearance. Immense accumulations of shingle, rounded stones, imbed- ded, as before mentioned, in diluvial deposition, form the level plain, or valley, through which the river pursues its very winding course. The width of this vale varies from one mile to five miles, and the level of the shingle plain is from * Marked * Indian Pass ' on the plan. + Floats or rafts. X " Me envio tres indios nadadores, provisto de cueros y palos para formar una pelota." (Diario de Viodma, p. 58.)