Pampas of Buenos Ay res to Tucuman. 103 



where a little village of Indian Ranches or huts was situated 

 close to the stream^ the assemblages of drivers, passengers, 

 and large quantities of cattle gave the place the appearance 

 for a few days of a Highland fair. Commodities of various 

 kinds were brought for sale, among them excellent bread, made 

 from the flour of Algaroba pods, no way inferior to wheaten 

 flour in taste, being sweet-flavoured, but yellow-coloured and 

 slightly purgative at first to those who are unaccustomed to 

 it. The husks after passing through the mill are steeped in 

 water, which is then fermented and greedily drunk by the 

 natives, though to strangers it is a disagreeable dirty mess. The 

 remaining husks and sediment are afterwards dried and sold 

 in small quantities for chewing, being somewhat sweet-tasted, 

 though hardly so good as pea pods would be. These people 

 thus lose nothing of their favourite Algaroba, which they 

 gather from every tree with the greatest care, and store it up 

 on the tops of posts, that it may be secure from the attacks of 

 mice, &c. On observing to a native that the Algaroba districts 

 of Cordova and San Jago were a most barren plain, he re- 

 plied it w^as true, but as God had given them a dry sterile soil 

 he had blessed them with abundance of Algarobas, In ex- 

 change for beef we obtained boiled sweet batatoes and chocklos 

 or heads of Indian corn, both boiled and roasted ; also some 

 milk of goats, for no cattle are kept here. 



The task of crossing this river was truly extraordinary : the 

 waggons being unloaded, the largest hides with which they 

 were covered were taken off, and each, kept outstretched with 

 branches of trees and its four corners tied together, formed 

 a kind of oblong box, something like a rough canoe, in which 

 were then deposited as many goods as it could hold. An old 

 Indian woman having contracted to take over our cargo at 20 

 reals or §ds of a Spanish dollar, she alone waited upon the 

 loading of each hide, which wt.s done by our drivers, while 

 the dame ordered the mode in which the several articles should 

 be placed, paying particular attention to see that the cargo 

 should be evenly distributed and the hide set fairly on the water. 

 This done, a young girl was employed to swim and drag it be- 

 hind her by means of a small rope fixed to one of the canoes 

 over her right shoulder, while she held and dragged by her 



