SEPTEMBER 18th. -- I hired a Gaucho to accompany meon my ride to Buenos Ayres, though with some difficulty,as the father of one man was afraid to let himgo, and another, who seemed willing, was described to meas so fearful, that I was afraid to take him, for I was toldthat even if he saw an ostrich at a distance, he would mistakeit for an Indian, and would fly like the wind away.The distance to Buenos Ayres is about four hundred miles,and nearly the whole way through an uninhabited country.We started early in the morning; ascending a few hundredfeet from the basin of green turf on which Bahia Blancastands, we entered on a wide desolate plain. It consists ofa crumbling argillaceo-calcareous rock, which, from the drynature of the climate, supports only scattered tufts of witheredgrass, without a single bush or tree to break the monotonousuniformity. The weather was fine, but the atmosphereremarkably hazy; I thought the appearance forebodeda gale, but the Gauchos said it was owing to the plain, atsome great distance in the interior, being on fire. After along gallop, having changed horses twice, we reached the RioSauce: it is a deep, rapid, little stream, not above twenty-fivefeet wide. The second posta on the road to Buenos Ayresstands on its banks, a little above there is a ford for horses,where the water does not reach to the horses' belly; but fromthat point, in its course to the sea, it is quite impassable,and hence makes a most useful barrier against the Indians.

Insignificant as this stream is, the Jesuit Falconer, whoseinformation is generally so very correct, figures it as aconsiderable river, rising at the foot of the Cordillera. Withrespect to its source, I do not doubt that this is the casefor the Gauchos assured me, that in the middle of the drysummer, this stream, at the same time with the Coloradohas periodical floods; which can only originate in the snowmelting on the Andes. It is extremely improbable that astream so small as the Sauce then was, should traverse theentire width of the continent; and indeed, if it were theresidue of a large river, its waters, as in other ascertainedcases, would be saline. During the winter we must look tothe springs round the Sierra Ventana as the source of itspure and limpid stream. I suspect the plains of Patagonialike those of Australia, are traversed by many water-courseswhich only perform their proper parts at certain periods.Probably this is the case with the water which flows into thehead of Port Desire, and likewise with the Rio Chupat, onthe banks of which masses of highly cellular scoriae werefound by the officers employed in the survey.

As it was early in the afternoon when we arrived, wetook fresh horses, and a soldier for a guide, and started forthe Sierra de la Ventana. This mountain is visible fromthe anchorage at Bahia Blanca; and Capt. Fitz Roy calculatesits height to be 3340 feet -- an altitude very remarkableon this eastern side of the continent. I am not awarethat any foreigner, previous to my visit, had ascended thismountain; and indeed very few of the soldiers at BahiaBlanca knew anything about it. Hence we heard of bedsof coal, of gold and silver, of caves, and of forests, all ofwhich inflamed my curiosity, only to disappoint it. Thedistance from the posta was about six leagues over a levelplain of the same character as before. The ride was, however,interesting, as the mountain began to show its trueform. When we reached the foot of the main ridge, we hadmuch difficulty in finding any water, and we thought weshould have been obliged to have passed the night withoutany. At last we discovered some by looking close to themountain, for at the distance even of a few hundred yardsthe streamlets were buried and entirely lost in the friablecalcareous stone and loose detritus. I do not think Natureever made a more solitary, desolate pile of rock; -- it welldeserves its name of _Hurtado_, or separated. The mountainis steep, extremely rugged, and broken, and so entirely destituteof trees, and even bushes, that we actually could notmake a skewer to stretch out our meat over the fire of thistle-stalks.

The dew, which in the early part of the night wetted thesaddle-cloths under which we slept, was in the morningfrozen. The plain, though appearing horizontal, had insensiblysloped up to a height of between 800 and 900 feetabove the sea. In the morning (9th of September) the guidetold me to ascend the nearest ridge, which he thought wouldlead me to the four peaks that crown the summit. The climbingup such rough rocks was very fatiguing; the sideswere so indented, that what was gained in one five minuteswas often lost in the next. At last, when I reached the ridge,my disappointment was extreme in finding a precipitousvalley as deep as the plain, which cut the chain transverselyin two, and separated me from the four points. This valleyis very narrow, but flat-bottomed, and it forms a fine horse-pass for the Indians, as it connects the plains on the northernand southern sides of the range. Having descended, andwhile crossing it, I saw two horses grazing: I immediatelyhid myself in the long grass, and began to reconnoitre; butas I could see no signs of Indians I proceeded cautiously onmy second ascent. It was late in the day, and this part ofthe mountain, like the other, was steep and rugged. I wason the top of the second peak by two o'clock, but got therewith extreme difficulty; every twenty yards I had the crampin the upper part of both thighs, so that I was afraid Ishould not have been able to have got down again. It wasalso necessary to return by another road, as it was out ofthe question to pass over the saddle-back. I was thereforeobliged to give up the two higher peaks. Their altitude wasbut little greater, and every purpose of geology had beenanswered; so that the attempt was not worth the hazardof any further exertion. I presume the cause of the crampwas the great change in the kind of muscular action, fromthat of hard riding to that of still harder climbing. It isa lesson worth. remembering, as in some cases it might causemuch difficulty.

I have already said the mountain is composed of whitequartz rock, and with it a little glossy clay-slate isassociated. At the height of a few hundred feet above the plainpatches of conglomerate adhered in several places to thesolid rock. They resembled in hardness, and in the natureof the cement, the masses which may be seen daily formingon some coasts. I do not doubt these pebbles were in a similarmanner aggregated, at a period when the great calcareousformation was depositing beneath the surrounding sea.We may believe that the jagged and battered forms of thehard quartz yet show the effects of the waves of an openocean.

I was, on the whole, disappointed with this ascent. Eventhe view was insignificant; -- a plain like the sea, but withoutits beautiful colour and defined outline. The scene, however,was novel, and a little danger, like salt to meat, gaveit a relish. That the danger was very little was certain, formy two companions made a good fire -- a thing which is neverdone when it is suspected that Indians are near. I reachedthe place of our bivouac by sunset, and drinking much mate,and smoking several cigaritos, soon made up my bed for thenight. The wind was very strong and cold, but I never sleptmore comfortably.

September 10th. -- In the morning, having fairly scuddedbefore the gale, we arrived by the middle of the day at theSauce posta. In the road we saw great numbers of deer,and near the mountain a guanaco. The plain, which abutsagainst the Sierra, is traversed by some curious gullies, ofwhich one was about twenty feet wide, and at least thirtydeep; we were obliged in consequence to make a considerablecircuit before we could find a pass. We stayed the nightat the posta, the conversation, as was generally the case,being about the Indians. The Sierra Ventana was formerlya great place of resort; and three or four years ago therewas much fighting there. My guide had been present whenmany Indians were killed: the women escaped to the top ofthe ridge, and fought most desperately with great stones;many thus saving themselves.

September 11th. -- Proceeded to the third posta in companywith the lieutenant who commanded it. The distanceis called fifteen leagues; but it is only guess-work, and isgenerally overstated. The road was uninteresting, over adry grassy plain; and on our left hand at a greater or lessdistance there were some low hills; a continuation of whichwe crossed close to the posta. Before our arrival we meta large herd of cattle and horses, guarded by fifteen soldiers;but we were told many had been lost. It is very difficult todrive animals across the plains; for if in the night a puma,or even a fox, approaches, nothing can prevent the horsesdispersing in every direction; and a storm will have thesame effect. A short time since, an officer left Buenos Ayreswith five hundred horses, and when he arrived at the armyhe had under twenty.

Soon afterwards we perceived by the cloud of dust, thata party of horsemen were coming towards us; when far distantmy companions knew them to be Indians, by their longhair streaming behind their backs. The Indians generallyhave a fillet round their heads, but never any covering; andtheir black hair blowing across their swarthy faces, heightensto an uncommon degree the wildness of their appearance.They turned out to be a party of Bernantio's friendly tribe,going to a salina for salt. The Indians eat much salt, theirchildren sucking it like sugar. This habit is very differentfrom that of the Spanish Gauchos, who, leading the samekind of life, eat scarcely any; according to Mungo Park,

September 12th and 13th. -- I stayed at this posta two days,waiting for a troop of soldiers, which General Rosas hadthe kindness to send to inform me, would shortly travel toBuenos Ayres; and he advised me to take the opportunityof the escort. In the morning we rode to some neighbouringhills to view the country, and to examine the geology. Afterdinner the soldiers divided themselves into two parties fora trial of skill with the bolas. Two spears were stuck inthe ground twenty-five yards apart, but they were struckand entangled only once in four or five times. The balls canbe thrown fifty or sixty yards, but with little certainty.This, however, does not apply to a man on horseback; for whenthe speed of the horse is added to the force of the arm, itis said, that they can be whirled with effect to the distanceof eighty yards. As a proof of their force, I may mention,that at the Falkland Islands, when the Spaniards murderedsome of their own countrymen and all the Englishmen, ayoung friendly Spaniard was running away, when a greattall man, by name Luciano, came at full gallop after him,shouting to him to stop, and saying that he only wanted tospeak to him. Just as the Spaniard was on the point ofreaching the boat, Luciano threw the balls: they struck himon the legs with such a jerk, as to throw him down andto render him for some time insensible. The man, afterLuciano had had his talk, was allowed to escape. He toldus that his legs were marked by great weals, where the thonghad wound round, as if he had been flogged with a whip.In the middle of the day two men arrived, who brought aparcel from the next posta to be forwarded to the general:so that besides these two, our party consisted this eveningof my guide and self, the lieutenant, and his four soldiers.The latter were strange beings; the first a fine young negro;the second half Indian and negro; and the two others non-descripts; namely, an old Chilian miner, the colour of mahogany,and another partly a mulatto; but two such mongrelswith such detestable expressions, I never saw before.At night, when they were sitting round the fire, and playingat cards, I retired to view such a Salvator Rosa scene. Theywere seated under a low cliff, so that I could look downupon them; around the party were lying dogs, arms, remnantsof deer and ostriches; and their long spears were stuckin the turf. Further in the dark background, their horseswere tied up, ready for any sudden danger. If the stillnessof the desolate plain was broken by one of the dogs barking,a soldier, leaving the fire, would place his head close to theground, and thus slowly scan the horizon. Even if the noisyteru-tero uttered its scream, there would be a pause in theconversation, and every head, for a moment, a little inclined.

What a life of misery these men appear to us to lead!They were at least ten leagues from the Sauce posta, andsince the murder committed by the Indians, twenty fromanother. The Indians are supposed to have made their attackin the middle of the night; for very early in the morningafter the murder, they were luckily seen approachingthis posta. The whole party here, however, escaped, togetherwith the troop of horses; each one taking a line for himself,and driving with him as many animals as he was able tomanage.

The little hovel, built of thistle-stalks, in which they slept,neither kept out the wind nor rain; indeed in the latter casethe only effect the roof had, was to condense it into largerdrops. They had nothing to eat excepting what they couldcatch, such as ostriches, deer, armadilloes, etc., and theironly fuel was the dry stalks of a small plant, somewhatresembling an aloe. The sole luxury which these men enjoyedwas smoking the little paper cigars, and sucking mate. Iused to think that the carrion vultures, man's constantattendants on these dreary plains, while seated on the littleneighbouring cliffs seemed by their very patience to say,"Ah! when the Indians come we shall have a feast."

In the morning we all sallied forth to hunt, and althoughwe had not much success, there were some animated chases.Soon after starting the party separated, and so arrangedtheir plans, that at a certain time of the day (in guessingwhich they show much skill) they should all meet from differentpoints of the compass on a plain piece of ground,and thus drive together the wild animals. One day I wentout hunting at Bahia Blanca, but the men there merely rodein a crescent, each being about a quarter of a mile apartfrom the other. A fine male ostrich being turned by theheadmost riders, tried to escape on one side. The Gauchospursued at a reckless pace, twisting their horses about withthe most admirable command, and each man whirling theballs round his head. At length the foremost threw them,revolving through the air: in an instant the ostrich rolledover and over, its legs fairly lashed together by the thong.The plains abound with three kinds of partridge,

September 14th. -- As the soldiers belonging to the nextposta meant to return, and we should together make a partyof five, and all armed, I determined not to wait for the expectedtroops. My host, the lieutenant, pressed me muchto stop. As he had been very obliging -- not only providingme with food, but lending me his private horses -- I wantedto make him some remuneration. I asked my guide whetherI might do so, but he told me certainly not; that the onlyanswer I should receive, probably would be, "We have meatfor the dogs in our country, and therefore do not grudge itto a Christian." It must not be supposed that the rank oflieutenant in such an army would at all prevent the acceptanceof payment: it was only the high sense of hospitality,which every traveller is bound to acknowledge as nearly universalthroughout these provinces. After galloping someleagues, we came to a low swampy country, which extendsfor nearly eighty miles northward, as far as the SierraTapalguen. In some parts there were fine damp plains, coveredwith grass, while others had a soft, black, and peaty soil.There were also many extensive but shallow lakes, and largebeds of reeds. The country on the whole resembled the betterparts of the Cambridgeshire fens. At night we had somedifficulty in finding amidst the swamps, a dry place for ourbivouac.

September 15th. -- Rose very early in the morning andshortly after passed the posta where the Indians had murderedthe five soldiers. The officer had eighteen chuzowounds in his body. By the middle of the day, after a hardgallop, we reached the fifth posta: on account of some difficultyin procuring horses we stayed there the night. As thispoint was the most exposed on the whole line, twenty-onesoldiers were stationed here; at sunset they returned fromhunting, bringing with them seven deer, three ostriches, andmany armadilloes and partridges. When riding through thecountry, it is a common practice to set fire to the plain;and hence at night, as on this occasion, the horizon wasilluminated in several places by brilliant conflagrations.This is done partly for the sake of puzzling any stray Indians,but chiefly for improving the pasture. In grassyplains unoccupied by the larger ruminating quadrupeds, itseems necessary to remove the superfluous vegetation by fire,so as to render the new year's growth serviceable.

The rancho at this place did not boast even of a roof,but merely consisted of a ring of thistle-stalks, to breakthe force of the wind. It was situated on the borders of anextensive but shallow lake, swarming with wild fowl, amongwhich the black-necked swan was conspicuous.

The kind of plover, which appears as if mounted onstilts (Himantopus nigricollis), is here common in flocks ofconsiderable size. It has been wrongfully accused of inelegance;when wading about in shallow water, which is itsfavourite resort, its gait is far from awkward. These birdsin a flock utter a noise, that singularly resembles the cry ofa pack of small dogs in full chase: waking in the night, Ihave more than once been for a moment startled at the distantsound. The teru-tero (Vanellus cayanus) is anotherbird, which often disturbs the stillness of the night. Inappearance and habits it resembles in many respects our peewits;its wings, however, are armed with sharp spurs, likethose on the legs of the common cock. As our peewit takesits name from the sound of its voice, so does the teru-tero.While riding over the grassy plains, one is constantly pursuedby these birds, which appear to hate mankind, and Iam sure deserve to be hated for their never-ceasing, unvaried,harsh screams. To the sportsman they are most annoying,by telling every other bird and animal of his approach: tothe traveller in the country, they may possibly, as Molinasays, do good, by warning him of the midnight robber. Duringthe breeding season, they attempt, like our peewits, byfeigning to be wounded, to draw away from their nests dogsand other enemies. The eggs of this bird are esteemed agreat delicacy.

September 16th. -- To the seventh posta at the foot of theSierra Tapalguen. The country was quite level, with acoarse herbage and a soft peaty soil. The hovel was hereremarkably neat, the posts and rafters being made of abouta dozen dry thistle-stalks bound together with thongs ofhide; and by the support of these Ionic-like columns, theroof and sides were thatched with reeds. We were here tolda fact, which I would not have credited, if I had not hadpartly ocular proof of it; namely, that, during the previousnight hail as large as small apples, and extremely hard, hadfallen with such violence, as to kill the greater number of thewild animals. One of the men had already found thirteendeer (Cervus campestris) lying dead, and I saw their _fresh_hides; another of the party, a few minutes after my arrivalbrought in seven more. Now I well know, that one manwithout dogs could hardly have killed seven deer in a week.The men believed they had seen about fifteen ostriches (partof one of which we had for dinner); and they said thatseveral were running about evidently blind in one eye.Numbers of smaller birds, as ducks, hawks, and partridges,were killed. I saw one of the latter with a black mark onits back, as if it had been struck with a paving-stone. Afence of thistle-stalks round the hovel was nearly brokendown, and my informer, putting his head out to see what wasthe matter, received a severe cut, and now wore a bandage.The storm was said to have been of limited extent: wecertainly saw from our last night's bivouac a dense cloudand lightning in this direction. It is marvellous how suchstrong animals as deer could thus have been killed; but Ihave no doubt, from the evidence I have given, that thestory is not in the least exaggerated. I am glad, however,to have its credibility supported by the Jesuit Dobrizhoffen,

Having finished our dinner, of hail-stricken meat, wecrossed the Sierra Tapalguen; a low range of hills, a fewhundred feet in height, which commences at Cape Corrientes.The rock in this part is pure quartz; further eastward Iunderstand it is granitic. The hills are of a remarkableform; they consist of flat patches of table-land, surroundedby low perpendicular cliffs, like the outliers of a sedimentarydeposit. The hill which I ascended was very small, notabove a couple of hundred yards in diameter; but I sawothers larger. One which goes by the name of the "Corral,"is said to be two or three miles in diameter, and encompassedby perpendicular cliffs, between thirty and forty feet high,excepting at one spot, where the entrance lies. Falconer

We did not reach the posta on the Rio Tapalguen tillafter it was dark. At supper, from something which wassaid, I was suddenly struck with horror at thinking that Iwas eating one of the favourite dishes of the countrynamely, a half-formed calf, long before its proper time ofbirth. It turned out to be Puma; the meat is very whiteand remarkably like veal in taste. Dr. Shaw was laughedat for stating that "the flesh of the lion is in great esteemhaving no small affinity with veal, both in colour, taste,and flavour." Such certainly is the case with the Puma.The Gauchos differ in their opinion, whether the Jaguar isgood eating, but are unanimous in saying that cat is excellent.

September 17th. -- We followed the course of the RioTapalguen, through a very fertile country, to the ninthposta. Tapalguen, itself, or the town of Tapalguen, if itmay be so called, consists of a perfectly level plain, studdedover, as far as the eye can reach, with the toldos oroven-shaped huts of the Indians. The families of the friendlyIndians, who were fighting on the side of Rosas, residedhere. We met and passed many young Indian women, ridingby two or three together on the same horse: they, aswell as many of the young men, were strikingly handsome, --their fine ruddy complexions being the picture of health.Besides the toldos, there were three ranchos; one inhabitedby the Commandant, and the two others by Spaniards withsmall shops.

We were here able to buy some biscuit. I had now beenseveral days without tasting anything besides meat: I didnot at all dislike this new regimen; but I felt as if it wouldonly have agreed with me with hard exercise. I have heardthat patients in England, when desired to confine themselvesexclusively to an animal diet, even with the hope of lifebefore their eyes, have hardly been able to endure it. Yetthe Gaucho in the Pampas, for months together, touchesnothing but beef. But they eat, I observe, a very largeproportion of fat, which is of a less animalized nature; andthey particularly dislike dry meat, such as that of the Agouti.Dr. Richardson

We saw in the shops many articles, such as horsecloths,belts, and garters, woven by the Indian women. The patternswere very pretty, and the colours brilliant; the workmanshipof the garters was so good that an English merchantat Buenos Ayres maintained they must have beenmanufactured in England, till he found the tassels had beenfastened by split sinew.

September 18th. -- We had a very long ride this day. Atthe twelfth posta, which is seven leagues south of the RioSalado, we came to the first estancia with cattle and whitewomen. Afterwards we had to ride for many miles througha country flooded with water above our horses' knees. Bycrossing the stirrups, and riding Arab-like with our legsbent up, we contrived to keep tolerably dry. It was nearlydark when we arrived at the Salado; the stream was deep,and about forty yards wide; in summer, however, its bedbecomes almost dry, and the little remaining water nearlyas salt as that of the sea. We slept at one of the greatestancias of General Rosas. It was fortified, and of such anextent, that arriving in the dark I thought it was a townand fortress. In the morning we saw immense herds ofcattle, the general here having seventy-four square leaguesof land. Formerly nearly three hundred men were employedabout this estate, and they defied all the attacks ofthe Indians.

September 19th. -- Passed the Guardia del Monte. Thisis a nice scattered little town, with many gardens, full ofpeach and quince trees. The plain here looked like thataround Buenos Ayres; the turf being short and bright green,with beds of clover and thistles, and with bizcacha holes.I was very much struck with the marked change in theaspect of the country after having crossed the Salado. Froma coarse herbage we passed on to a carpet of fine green verdure.I at first attributed this to some change in the natureof the soil, but the inhabitants assured me that here, aswell as in Banda Oriental, where there is as great a differencebetween the country round Monte Video and thethinly-inhabited savannahs of Colonia, the whole was to beattributed to the manuring and grazing of the cattle. Exactlythe same fact has been observed in the prairies

Near the Guardia we find the southern limit of two Europeanplants, now become extraordinarily common. Thefennel in great profusion covers the ditch-banks in theneighbourhood of Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, and other towns.But the cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) has a far widerrange:

While changing horses at the Guardia several people questionedus much about the army, -- I never saw anything likethe enthusiasm for Rosas, and for the success of the "mostjust of all wars, because against barbarians." This expression,it must be confessed, is very natural, for till lately,neither man, woman nor horse, was safe from the attacksof the Indians. We had a long day's ride over the samerich green plain, abounding with various flocks, and withhere and there a solitary estancia, and its one _ombu_ tree.In the evening it rained heavily: on arriving at a posthousewe were told by the owner, that if we had not aregular passport we must pass on, for there were somany robbers he would trust no one. When he read, however,my passport, which began with "El Naturalista DonCarlos," his respect and civility were as unbounded as hissuspicions had been before. What a naturalist might be,neither he nor his countrymen, I suspect, had any idea;but probably my title lost nothing of its value from thatcause.

September 20th. -- We arrived by the middle of the day atBuenos Ayres. The outskirts of the city looked quite pretty,with the agave hedges, and groves of olive, peach and willowtrees, all just throwing out their fresh green leaves. I rodeto the house of Mr. Lumb, an English merchant, to whosekindness and hospitality, during my stay in the country, Iwas greatly indebted.

The city of Buenos Ayres is large;

The great _corral_, where the animals are kept for slaughterto supply food to this beef-eating population, is one ofthe spectacles best worth seeing. The strength of the horseas compared to that of the bullock is quite astonishing: aman on horseback having thrown his lazo round the hornsof a beast, can drag it anywhere he chooses. The animalploughing up the ground with outstretched legs, in vainefforts to resist the force, generally dashes at full speed toone side; but the horse immediately turning to receive theshock, stands so firmly that the bullock is almost throwndown, and it is surprising that their necks are not broken.The struggle is not, however, one of fair strength; thehorse's girth being matched against the bullock's extendedneck. In a similar manner a man can hold the wildest horse,if caught with the lazo, just behind the ears. When thebullock has been dragged to the spot where it is to beslaughtered, the matador with great caution cuts the hamstrings.Then is given the death bellow; a noise more expressiveof fierce agony than any I know. I have often distinguishedit from a long distance, and have always knownthat the struggle was then drawing to a close. The wholesight is horrible and revolting: the ground is almost made ofbones; and the horses and riders are drenched with gore.