148 BAND A ORIENTAL. [CHAP. vin. 



him that they did not. They were absolutely delighted. The 

 captain exclaimed, " Look there ! a man who has seen half the 

 world says it is the case ; we always thought so, but now we 

 know it." My excellent judgment in combs and beauty pro- 

 cured me a most hospitable reception ; the captain forced me to 

 take his bed, and he would sleep on his recado. 



2lst. Started at sunrise, and rode slowly during the whole 

 day. The geological nature of this part of the province was 

 different from the rest, and closely resembled that of the Pam- 

 pas. Tn consequence, *here were immense beds of the thistle, 

 as well as of the cardoon : the whole country, indeed, may be 

 called one great bed of these plants. The two sorts grow sepa- 

 rate, each plant in company with its own kind. The cardoon is 

 as high as a horse's back, but the Pampas thistle is often higher 

 than the crown of the rider's head. To leave the road for a 

 yard is out of the question ; and the road itself is partly, and in 

 some cases entirely, closed. Pasture, of course there is none ; 

 if cattle or horses once enter the bed, they are for the time com- 

 pletely lost. Hence it is very hazardous to attempt to drive 

 cattle at this season of the year ; for when jaded enough to face 

 the thistles, they rush among them, and are seen no more. In 

 these districts there are very few estancias, and these few are 

 situated in the neighbourhood of damp valleys, where fortu- 

 nately neither of these overwhelming plants can exist. As night 

 came on before we arrived at our journey's end, we slept at a 

 miserable little hovel inhabited by the poorest people. The ex- 

 treme though rather formal courtesy of our host and hostess, 

 considering their grade of life, was quite delightful. 



November 22nd. Arrived at an estancia on the Berquelo be- 

 longing to a very hospitable Englishman, to whom I had a letter 

 of introduction from my friend Mr. Lumb. I stayed here three 

 days. One morning I rode with my host to the Sierra del Pedro 

 Flaco, about twenty miles up the Rio Negro. Nearly the whole 

 country was covered with good though coarse grass, which was 

 as high as a horse's belly ; yet there were square leagues without 

 a single head of cattle. The province of Banda Oriental, if well 

 stocked, would support an astonishing number of animals ; at 

 present the annual export of hides from Monte Video amounts 

 to three hundred thousand ; and the home consumption, from 



