I333-] HILL Of 1 BEADS. x<# 



the captain forced me to take his bed, and he would sleep on his 

 recado. 



November 2isf. 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 Pampas. In conse- 

 quence, there were immense beds of the thistle, as well as of the 

 cardoon : the whole country, indeed, may be called one great bed ol 

 these plants. The two sorts grow separate, 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 itseli 

 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 

 completely 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 fortunately 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 extreme 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 belonging 

 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 

 waste, is very considerable. An estanciero told me that he often had 

 to send large herds of cattle a long journey to a salting establishment, 

 and that the tired beasts were frequently obliged to be killed and 

 skinned ; but that he could never persuade the Gauchos to eat of them, 

 and every evening a fresh beast was slaughtered for their suppers! 

 The view of the Rio Negro from the Sierra was more picturesque than 

 any other which I saw in this province. The river, broad, deep and 

 rapid, wound at the foot of a rocky precipitous cliff: a belt of wood 

 followed its course, and the horizon terminated in the distant undula- 

 tions of the turf-plain. 



When in this neighbourhood, I several times heard of the Sierra de 

 las Cuentas : a hill distant many miles to the northward. The name 

 signifies hill of beads. I was assured that vast numbers of little round 

 etones, of various colours, each with a small cylindrical hole, are found 

 there. Formerly the Indians used to collect them, for the purpose of 

 making necklaces and bracelets a taste, I may observe, which is 

 common to all savage nations, as well as to the most polished. I did 



