Continuing with our previous post on the possibility that Native American horses survived extinction and later mated with European horses in Patagonia, I have some additional information on this subject.
English Admiral Byron, in 1771 wrote about the gigantic Patagons he had met while sailing along the Patagonian coast. He noted that “so much were their horses disproportioned, that all the people that were with me in the boats, […] swore that they were all mounted upon deer”.[1]
Interestingly, a Spanish Government report written in 1601 about the natives at the Strait of Magellan, it stated that “the Indians ride on horses. But not horses, they appear to be donkeys”.[2]
Donkeys - or Hippidion? at the Strait of Magellan. From [2].
Hippidion horses which were sturdier than modern horses, had shorter and wider legs and resembled donkeys.
I have researched on this subject and found more information on Patagonian donkeys or onagers.
Bibliography.
[1] FitzRoy, R., Op. Cit. Appendix v. ii. pp. 109-110. Citing: Extract from Pennant's Literary Life, pp. 47 – 69.
[2] Gandía, E., (1929). Historia Crítica de los Mitos de la Conquista Americana. B.Aires: J. Roldán. pp.265.
Copyright 2009 by Austin Whittall ©
Patagonian Monsters
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