134 CURES FOR HEADACHE. [chap. 



of an Indian with the dried skin hanging on the bones, 

 suspended to the branch of a tree. 



In the morning we arrived at St. F6. I was surprised 

 to observe how great a change of climate a difference of 

 only three degrees of latitude between this place and Buenos 

 Ayres had caused. This was evident from the dress and 

 complexion of the men — from the increased size of the ombu 

 trees — the number of new cacti and other plants — and 

 especially from the birds. In the course of an hour I 

 remarked half a dozen birds which I had never seen at 

 Buenos Ayres. Considering that there is no natural 

 boundary between the two places, and that the character 

 of the country is nearly similar, the difference was much 

 greater than I should have expected. 



October yd and ^th. — I was confined for these two days 

 to my bed by a headache. A good-natured old woman, 

 who attended me, wished me to try many odd remedies. 

 A common practice is, to bind an orange-leaf or a bit of 

 black plaster to each temple ; and a still more general plan 

 is, to split a bean into halves, moisten them, and place 

 one on each temple, where they will easily adhere. It is 

 not thought proper ever to remove the beans or plaster, 

 but to allow them to drop off; and sometimes, if a man, 

 with patches on his head, is asked what is the matter, he 

 will answer, " I had a headache the day before yesterday." 

 Many of the remedies used by the people of the country are 

 ludicrously strange, but too disgusting to be mentioned. 

 One of the least nasty is to kill and cut open two puppies 

 and bind them on each side of a broken limb. Little 

 hairless dogs are in great request to sleep at the feet 

 of invalids. 



St. Ffe is a quiet little town, and is kept clean and in 

 good order. The governor, Lopez, was a common soldier 

 at the time of the revolution ; but has now been seventeen 

 years in power. This stability of government is owing to 

 his tyrannical habits ; for tyranny seems as yet better 

 adapted to these countries than republicanism. The 

 governor's favourite occupation is hunting Indians ; a short 

 time since he slaughtered forty-eight, and sold the children 

 at the rate of three or four pounds apiece. 



October <,ih. — We crossed the Parana to St. F6 Bajada, a 

 town on the opposite shore. The passage took some hours, 

 as the river here consisted of a labyrinth of small streams, 

 separated by low wooded islands. I had a letter of 



