Life in La Plata 243 



similar bodies of soldiery in other parts of the 

 world. 



In the parks and about the public buildings we often 

 observed prisoners, dressed in striped clothing and 

 strongly guarded by soldiers, employed in doing work 

 upon the grounds. A number of new walks and 

 driveways were in process of construction around the 

 Museum. In front of the building, as I went to and 

 fro, I daily saw the convicts at work. A number of 

 them appeared to be half-breeds, with a strong infusion 

 of Indian blood. One of these was a singularly tall, 

 handsome, and even intelligent-looking young man, 

 I had passed him so often, that I almost felt as if he 

 were an acquaintance; and one day, as I went by while 

 he was hard at work, I ventured in a pleasant way to 

 say to him "Buenos dias! 1 I shall never forget the 

 wicked, angry scowl, which met my salutation. I never 

 repeated the experiment. The look he gave me con- 

 vinced me that he probably was where he was for good 

 cause. It was as if I had spoken to some wild animal 

 held in captivity, a caged leopard, or a wolf behind the 

 bars. Oh ! the pitiful sadness of it ! I inquired of one 

 who knew, what were the offenses for which these men 

 were paying the penalty. I was informed that their 

 crimes were principally theft and homicide. Whatever 

 may have been their offenses, it seemed to me to be 

 good that they should be laboring in the sunlight, and 

 doing something to make the world more beautiful, 

 rather than that they should be languishing and pining 

 away behind the blank walls of a dungeon. There is 

 little to be said in favor of the policy, which under 

 the plea of protecting "honest labor,' lays the bur- 

 den of endless idleness upon those who have fallen 

 into criminal ways. The policy is cruel to the indi- 



