o not here see
the white boots, the broad drawers, and scarlet chilipa, the picturesque
costume of the Pampas. Here common trousers are protected by black and
green worsted leggings. The poncho, however, is common to both. The
chief pride of the guaso lies in his spurs, which are absurdly large. I
measured one which was six inches in the _diameter_ of the rowel, and
the rowel itself contained upward of thirty points. The stirrups are on
the same scale, each consisting of a square carved block of wood,
hollowed out, yet weighing three or four pounds. The guaso is perhaps
more expert with the lazo than the gaucho, but, from the nature of the
country, he does not know the use of the bolas.

AN ESCAPE FROM CAPTIVITY.

BENJAMIN F. BOURNE.

[Benjamin Franklin Bourne, mate of a vessel that sailed, _via_
the Straits of Magellan, for California in 1849, during the
intensity of the gold fever, was taken prisoner by the
Patagonians, having landed to bring off some of the sailors. He
remained in their hands for more than three months, and in his
"The Captive in Patagonia" gives a detailed description of the
character and customs of the natives of that country. We
extract from his work a good brief description of the country
and its people.]

Patagonia as it offered itself to my observation more than answered
the descriptions of geographers,--bleak, barren, desolate, beyond
description or conception,--only to be appreciated by being seen.
Viewed from the Straits of Magellan, it rises in gentle undulations or
terraces. Far as the eye can reach, in a westerly direction, it assumes
a more broken and hilly appearance, and long ranges of mountains
extending from north to south divide the eastern from the western shore.
The soil is of a light, sandy character, and bears nothing worthy the
name of a tree. Low bushes, or underwood, are tolerably abundant, and in
the valleys a coarse wiry grass grows luxuriantly. Streams of water are
rare. The natives draw their supplies principally from springs or pools
in the valleys, the water of which is generally brackish and
disagreeable.

The variety of animal is nearly as limited as that of vegetable
productions. The guanaco, a quadruped allied to the lama and with some
resemblance to the camelopard, is found in considerable numbers. It is
larger than the red deer, fleet on the foot, usually found in large
herds, frequenting not only the pla