394 
day). A snow-storm is now on the 
mountains. The vineyards here are quite 
intoxicating ; and the grapes now beau- 
tiful. One, in the bed of an old moun- 
tain torrent, has a perpendicular bank 
of even soil of sand and clay, of thirty 
feet deep, and still a good bottom, and 
is a pretty sight. They have got the 
poplar in one walk sixty-six feet high, in 
Jess than ten years; and the willow— 
both which suit them; and the peach- 
tree for fuel, and the fig-tree; but no 
timber. The vegetation very strong, 
wherever they can haye the water of 
irrigation, with which this town and 
district abounds. 
The town is now, both men and 
women, divided into parties, for power, 
influence, politics, religion, reform, go- 
vernment, alliance, and improvement ; 
which injures their quiet society: for 
they are naturally placid, easily con- 
tent, and fond of society; having but 
little to do but to eat, drink, sleep, and 
game. 
The Indians south of the river Dia- 
mante, which is south of the Tunuyan, 
are now in the town on good terms. 
I shall see them to-morrow morning. 
By treaty, when a party comes here, 
they are allowed three days provision 
for themselves and their horses, They 
like the fruits and productions of Men- 
doza; but will not take the trouble to 
plant them. They will differ but little 
in manner and appearance from the 
Spanish Creole. 
Colonists, fit to be useful in labour 
and agriculture, could be transported 
from Buenos Ayres to this place for the 
small sum of five dollars each, by the 
muleteers, on their returning unloaded 
mules and horses ; and be fed all the way, 
900 miles, making the way in about 
sixteen days. 
I was fourteen days on the road, going 
seventy miles about, and being detained 
two half days, and one four hours, work- 
ing very hard all the way, and sleeping 
on the moor two nights; which is better 
than the accommodation any post house 
(hut) on the whole road can afford : and 
there are no others. Milk, eggs, bread, 
and even beef, are seldom to be had on 
the road; and Ihave not beens able to 
swallow two ounces of this beef since 
I landed. Mutton is a curiosity, for 
which I am looking to-day to carry into 
the mountains. 
The people I find gentle, honest, 
proud, polite; and all courteous, and 
well-mannered in speech and address. 
Their condition very destitute of all 
Mr. Rowcroft's Account of his Journey to Valparaiso. 
[Dec. 1, 
accommodation, and much overloaded 
with dirt, and disfigured by rags and 
half-nakedness in their every day ap- 
pearance; but I think they must, on the 
whole, be better off than our poor 
Welch and Irish; and that they have 
more means than they shew; as they 
have much more leisure and indolence 
than is good for them. 
Every variety of pasture, common, 
moor, fen, sand, stony and _plashing 
land, is met with; all wild with rank 
tufty grapes, thistles, brambles, mimosas, 
and acacias—indeed a land of thorns, 
of which a prickly pear, in all its varie- 
ties, including iis gigantic forms, is the 
emperor. The whole was baked to a 
brick in the dry fine weather in which 1 
passed it, which added to my torture in 
a carriage without springs. The horses 
are a sadly ill-used and degraded set of 
beings: what we call galloways. Our 
Whitechapel butchers would soon de- 
spise them. The oxen are better; but 
their beef is tougher, as they cure it, 
than hide leather. 
This is the country to teach tem- 
perance, abstinence, plain living, and 
coarse feeding. All seem to use these, of 
all classes. Figs, fruits dried, wine, &c. 
&e. are carried on droves of hundreds 
of horses and mules 900 miles across to 
Buenos Ayres. 
We must not attach a false impor- 
tance to the present state of the lands 
south of the river Plate, and east of the 
Andes. They would be fitter spots for 
the Chinese and the Irish, Scotch, 
Welch, Germans, Swiss, and Piedmon- 
tese, to colonize, than either New Hol- 
land or Van Diemen’s Land; but they 
cannot get them: and under Spanish 
prejudices and reglementos are perhaps 
best away; though the sky and soil in- 
vites much. Heaven seems to be con- 
nected with this earth, and the moun- 
tains the step to it; they have, however, 
slight shocks of earthquakes here. 
The city of San Luis, the central 
spot of this line, contains 500 inhabi- 
tants, and the district round about 
1,500 more, on a large breadth. The 
houses every where of thick mud walls, 
and no windows whatever—none seem 
wanted. Palaces and fine houses are 
white-washed; which is deemed a high 
finish enough. But all that the Spaniards 
do is spacious—has room. They are not 
cribbed so close as we are. 
Seeing and being known at Buenos 
Ayres have been useful. It is the con- 
necting point for Chili, Lima, Mendoza, 
and Paraguay, on which much turns 
ee just 
