fc &AtttA BLANCA fO BtfSffiS AYRES. 



I determined not to wait for the expected troops. My host, the lieu- 

 tenant, pressed me much to stop. As he had been very obliging not 

 only providing me with food, but lending me his private horses I 

 wanted to make him some remuneration. I asked my guide whether 

 I might do so, but he told me certainly not ; that the only answer I 

 should receive, probably would be, " We have meat for the dogs in our 

 country, and therefore do not grudge it to a Christian." It must not be 

 supposed that the rank of lieutenant in such an army would at all 

 prevent the acceptance of payment ; it was only the high sense of hos- 

 pitality, which every traveller is bound to acknowledge as nearly 

 universal throughout these provinces. After galloping some leagues, 

 we came to a low swampy country, which extends for nearly eighty 

 miles northward, as far as the Sierra Tapalguen. In some parts there 

 were fine damp plains, covered with grass, while others had a soft, 

 black, and peaty soil. There were also many extensive but shallow 

 lakes, and large beds of reeds. The country on the whole resembled 

 the better parts of the Cambridgeshire fens. At night we had some 

 difficulty in finding, amidst the swamps, a dry place for our bivouac. 



September I ^th. Rose very early in the morning, and shortly after 

 passed the posta where the Indians had murdered the five soldiers. 

 The officer had eighteen chuzo wounds in his body. By the middle of 

 the day, after a hard gallop, we reached the fifth posta : on account ot 

 some difficulty in procuring horses we stayed there the night. As this 

 point was the most exposed on the whole line, twenty-one soldiers 

 were stationed here ; at sunset they returned from hunting, bringing 

 with them seven deer, three ostriches, and many armadilloes and 

 partridges. When riding through the country, it is a common practice 

 to set fire to the plain ; and hence at night, as on this occasion, the 

 horizon was illuminated in several places by brilliant conflagrations. 

 This is done partly for the sake of puzzling any stray Indians, but 

 chiefly for improving the pasture. In grassy plains unoccupied by the 

 larger ruminating quadrupeds, it seems necessary to remove the supei- 

 fluous vegetation by fire, so as to render the new year's growth 

 serviceable. 



The rancho at this place did not boast even of a roof, but merely con- 

 sisted of a ring of thistle-stalks, to break the force of the wind. It was 

 situated on the borders of an extensive but shallow lake, swarming 

 with wild fowl, among which the black-necked swan was conspicuous. 



The kind of plover, which appears as if mounted on stilts (Himan- 

 topus nigricollis), is here common in flocks of considerable size. It has 

 been wrongfully accused of inelegance ; when wading about in shallow 

 water, which is its favourite resort, its gait is far from awkward. These 

 birds in a flock utter a noise, that singularly resembles the cry of a 

 pack of small dogs in full chase : waking in the night. I have more than 

 once been for a moment startled at the distant sound. The teru-tero 

 (Vanellus cayanus) is another bird, which often disturbs the stillness of 

 the night. In appearance and habits it resembles in many respects our 

 peewits ; its wings, however, are armed with sharp spurs, line those on 

 the legs of the common cock. As our peewit takes its name from the 



