1839.] guachos. 59 



countless herds of horses and cattle. The inhabitants, who 

 are principally of mixed Spanish and Indian descent, are 

 employed, for the most part, in herding, and other occupa- 

 tions incident thereto. The costume of the guachos, or 

 herdsmen, is strikingly picturesque ; and it is shown to full 

 advantage, when the wearer is mounted, with the knife in 

 his girdle and the lasso at his saddle bow, pressing forward 

 in hot pursuit after the lusty bullock, flying for dear life, 

 over the broad grassy plain. It usually consists of a red, 

 or party-colored shirt, striped or plaided ; white, Cossack 

 drawers, fringed at the bottom of the leg, which are called 

 calzoons, or calzoncillas ; wide, loose trowsers, of scarlet 

 cloth ; riding boots, fitting tight to the foot and leg, of un- 

 tanned horse hide ; a gay sash ; and a conical cap, fiery red, 

 with a large tassel dangling at the end. Thus arrayed, with 

 his swart countenance, dark mustachios, and keen penetra- 

 ting eyes, the guacho is either formidable, or bizarre, accord- 

 ing to the circumstances under which he makes his first 

 appearance in the presence of a stranger. 



Twenty miles above the mouth of the Rio Negro, on the 

 northern bank of the stream, is El Carmen, a small town 

 containing about five hundred inhabitants. This is a convict 

 settlement, under the authority of a governor general, and 

 there are usually two or three hundred soldiers stationed 

 here. The estancias, or residences, of the better and more 

 prosperous inhabitants, consist of a dwelling house made of 

 adobe bricks,* divided into two or three compartments, with- 

 out floor, ceiling, inner doors, or furniture, except a few 

 rough benches and stools ; outhouses for the horses and 

 slaves, also built of adobes ; and a caral for the cattle — a 

 circular inclosure surrounded by a palisade fence, constructe 1 

 of pules from four to six inches in diameter, and twenty or 

 thirty feet high. The converted Indians, who collect around 

 the white setflements, and are called Indios Mansos, live in 

 rudelv fashioned huts, or toklos. 



Including the population of El Carmen, there are not 



* Bricks baked in the sun. 



