1833.] A WRETCHED PARTY. 119 



such mongrels, with such detestable expressions, I never saw 

 before. .At night, when they were sitting round the fire, 

 and playing at cards, I retired to view such a Salvator Rosa 

 scene. They were seated under a low cliff, so that I could 

 look down upon them ; around the party were lying dogs, 

 arms, remnants of deer and ostriches ; and their long spears 

 were stuck in the turf. Further in the dark background, 

 their horses were tied up, ready for any sudden danger. If 

 the stillness of the desolate plain was broken by one of the 

 dogs barking, a soldier, leaving the fire, would place his 

 head close to the ground, and thus slowly scan the horizon. 

 Even if the noisy teru-tero uttered its scream, there would 

 be a pause in the conversation, and every head, for a 

 moment, a little inclined. 



What a life of misery these men appear to us to lead ! 

 They were at least ten leagues from the Sauce posta, and 

 since the murder committed by the Indians, twenty from 

 another. The Indians are supposed to have made their 

 attack in the middle of the night ; for very early in the 

 morning after the murder, they were luckily seen approach- 

 ing this posta. The whole party here, however, escaped, 

 together with the troop of horses ; each one taking a line 

 for himself, and driving with him as many animals as he 

 was able to manage. 



The little hovel, built of thistle-stalks, in which they slept, 

 neither kept out the wind or rain ; indeed in the latter case; 

 the only effect the roof had was to condense it into larger 

 drops. They had nothing to eat excepting what they could 

 catch, such as ostriches, deer, armadillos, etc., and their 

 only fuel was the dry stalks of a small plant, somewhat 

 resembling an aloe. The sole luxury which these men 

 enjoyed was smoking the little paper cigars, and sucking 

 mat6. I used to think that the carrion vultures, man's 

 constant attendants on these dreary plains, while seated on 

 the little neighbouring cliffs, seemed by their very patience 

 to say, "Ah! when the Indians come we shall have a 

 feast. '^' 



In the morning we all sallied forth to hunt, and although 

 we had not much success, there were some animated chases. 

 Soon after starting the party separated, and so arranged 

 their plans, that at a certain time of the day (in guessing 

 which they show much skill) they should all meet from 

 different points of the compass on a plain piece of ground. 



id thus drive together the wild animals. One day I went 



