Near  La  Paz,  Lieutenant  Amen  brought  down  a  fine  swan ;  it
was  our  first,  and  secured  as  a  specimen.  The  Perdiz  grande — large
partridge,  Pavo  del  Monte — wild  turkey,  or  turkey  of  the  woods,
and  the  Gallina  del  Monte — wild  hen,  were  found  in  quantities,
and  would  be  esteemed  as  delicacies  on  a  Lucullian  table;  but,
forced  to  live  upon  them  for  some  weeks,  we  would  gladly  have
exchanged  them  for  a  good  butcher's  joint.'

From  latitude  30°  44'  8",  four  miles  beyond  La  Paz,  the  general
course  of  the  river  is  north  up  to  29°  11'  south,  ninety-three  miles
by  difference  of  latitude,  and  ninety-eight  by  the  sinuosities  of  the
channel ;  a  remarkable  directness,  its  windings,  differing  from  a
right  line  only  five  miles.  At  this  point,  Vuelta  del  Norte — "  Bend
of  the  North,"  the  river,  as  if  wearied  of  a  direct  course,  winds
about  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner,  now  north,  here  south,
through  sixteen  points  of  the  compass.  Among  the  islands  which
cause  the  shallow  channels  of  San  Juan,  numerous  changes  are
constantly  taking  place.  This  may  be  discovered  by  comparing
the  charts  of  Captain  Sullivan,  E.  N.,  who  made,  in  1847,  a  running
survey  of  the  Parana  to  Corrientes,  with  the  charts  of  our  expedi-
tion, the  surveys  for  which  were  made  in  1853  and  1854.  Not
only  the  channels,  but  the  -appearance  of  the  river  were  in  some
places  materially  changed.  Islands  have  been  enlarged,  others
reduced  in  size;  some  have  disappeared  altogether,  and  their  po-
sitions, as  marked  upon  his  chart,  are  now,  in  some  instances,  the
channel  of  the  river.  The  track  of  the  Water  Witch  at  the  lower
pass  of  San  Juan  passes  directly  over  the  position  of  an  island
marked  on  Sullivan's  charts.  This  proves  nothing  wrong  in  his
surveys ;  but  it  is  an  interesting  fact,  showing  the  remarkable  phys-
ical changes  constantly  produced  by  the  action  of  the  currents,
which,  if  watched  and  studied  with  care,  would  doubtless  develop
some  interesting  law  of  nature  governing  and  controlling  the  move-
ment of  these  waters.
