1821.J 



Recent Letter from Buenos Ay res. 



is commandaut, every luiin, whatever 

 his condition or colour, is obliged to 

 take off his hat to the commou soldiers, 

 blacks, mulattoes, and Iiidiaus. This 

 o^icer having heard, uot long since, 

 that the genllu/ol/c i-idiculed his Indian 

 warriors and gauchos (« hich might be 

 interpreted centaurs) for eating horse- 

 flesh, sent out invilalioiis to a grand ball 

 and supper. The entire least consisted 

 of horse-flesh, which all were forced to 

 swallow, under the inspection of In- 

 dian soldiers. 



Paraguay, under tlie government of 

 one Fraucia, continues v.ith blind and 

 barbai"ous ix)licy, to reject all commu- 

 nication with the rest of tlie world, 

 though inflicting by its perseverance 

 severe privations on itself. Its pro- 

 duce is rotting at h.ime, wiiile in the 

 greatest demanl in the surrounding 

 provinces. Yerba or Matti, hitherto 

 of as extensive, or greater consumption 

 throughout all this portion of South 

 America, as tea in England, and tor 

 a similar purpose, is now selling at 

 Buenos Ayres at 2-5 dollars the arroba 

 of 251bs, and in Ciiili at 42 dollars. 

 Its usual price at Buenos Ayres was 2. 

 The Tobacco of Paraguay, of which 

 the consumption has always been im- 

 mense from its sup>.M-ior quality, is not 

 to be had for money. Of timber, su- 

 gar, and many other articles of %alue, 

 none has come down the rivers for 

 years. • 



Tucuman has just established a re- 

 publican government, of which Araos 

 is the present head. 



Between San Jiiau and Cuyo, there 

 has been lately a desperate war. The 

 former sent no less t!ian 2000 men 

 against the latter, who were repulsed 

 after an obstinate struggle. The cause 

 of all the misery tlius created, v,as, 

 that the man who governs San Juan, 

 being a partizan of Carrera, the dis- 

 turber of Ciiiii, who has lately raised,, 

 or endeavoured lo raise a force, where- 

 with to attempt an invasion of that 

 country, and the overthrow of the 

 government established by O'Higgins, 

 was desirous of compelling (he pco|de 

 of Mendoza, who are friendly to tiie 

 better cause, lo espouse that of Carrera, 

 an object of great consequence to the 

 interests of that adventurer, as the 

 road to tlie most commodious puss of 

 the Cordillera runs through that city. 

 Another version of the tale reverses 

 tlie interests espoused by tlie parties, 

 and informal ion liere is scshloni (ixact 

 enougli to determinejudgmentbetween 

 opposite stories. 



19 



Chili has continued undisturbed. 

 The Carrera party attempted a move- 

 ment upon the discovery of the king- 

 plot at Buenos Ayres, to which they 

 charged O'Higgias with being a party, 

 but their design wiis frustrated and they 

 are kepf quiet by iiitimidation. Tlie 

 expedition iindci San Martin against 

 Peru, has sailed, and will probably 

 land at Arica or thereabouts. This has 

 induced the viceroy, Pezuela, to with- 

 draw the Sjiauish troops from Salta and 

 Upper Peru, in consequence of which 

 tbe provinces of Cordova, Sunt Yago del 

 Estero, Tucuman and Salta have sent 

 a joint force into Upper Peru. 



We have liad heavy rains here of late 

 witli cold. You cannot imagine what 

 misery the country people endure in 

 such weather ; too idle to make their 

 ranchos (huts) water-proof, they lie in 

 tlie wet, in miid-floor«. without beds 

 or covering other than the Poncho, (a 

 species of cloak) bare-footed, half 

 naked, (liey live entirely on beef, M'ith- 

 out bread, or vegetables, or salt ; mount 

 a wretched animal without saddle or 

 bridle, a bit of string tied round the 

 under-javv' for bit, to whicii is often 

 attached the fi-e.h bleeding wind-pipe 

 of an ox for reins. If such a man sells 

 a horse, he gambles away the amount 

 at the next pulperia (public-house); his 

 ferocious apjvearance is rendered more 

 grim by a six months' beard, for be 

 seldom resorts to a place which pos- 

 sesses the accommodation of a barber's 

 shop, and as to shaving himself, it is 

 an operation too elaborate for even the 

 scientific in this country, or indeed in 

 Old Spain. This is the picture of a 

 gaucho, to whose life, however. I can 

 easily imagine habit gives manycharms: 

 he eadures with sullen patience the 

 cold blasts of the Pampero winds, in 

 hopes of tiio return of the summer 

 sun ; when he roves at pleasure, with- 

 out care or labour beyontl throwing his 

 lazo on an ox, out of whose carcase he 

 cuts food for t'.ie day. 



Tlie winter is over, and the season 

 changed to charmingly fine weather. 

 I think the climate better tiian any I 

 have been .in, there is something de- 

 lightfully soft in the air. Three months 

 of the summer are, I am toid, very hot ; 

 though the climate is so fine, many 

 complain of disorders of the liver ; 

 foreigners from drinking; the natives 

 from over-eating and little exercise, 

 heavy dinners and hot suppers, damp 

 and comfortless houses. Y(ui cannot 

 imagine any thing so cheerless as the 

 house of e\cn aa opulent Porteno, (in- 

 habitant 



