42 MALDONADO. [chap. hi. 



of Las Minas ; a superior tradesman closely cross- questioned me 

 about so singular a practice ; and likewise why on board we 

 wore our beards ; for he had heard from my guide that we did 

 so. He eyed me with much suspicion ; perhaps he had heard of 

 ablutions in the Mahomedan religion, and knowing me to be a 

 heretick, probably he came to the conclusion that all hereticks 

 were Turks. It is the general custom in this country to ask for 

 a nio^ht's lod2:inQ[' at the first convenient house. The astonish- 

 ment at the compass, and my other feais in jugglery, was to a 

 certain degree advantageous, as with that, and the long stories 

 my guides told of my breaking stones, knowing venomous from 

 harmless snakes, collecting insects, &c., I repaid them for their 

 hospitality. I am writing as if I had been among the inhabit- 

 ants of central Africa : Banda Oriental would not be flattered 

 by the comparison ; but such were my feelings at the time. 



The next day we rode to the village of Las Minas. The 

 country was rather more hilly, but otherwise continued the same ; 

 an inhabitant of the Pampas no doubt would have considered it 

 as truly Alpine. The country is so thinly inhabited, that 

 during the whole day we scarcely met a single person. Las Minas 

 is much smaller even than Maldonado. It is seated on a little 

 plain, and is surrounded by low rocky mountains. It is of the 

 usual symmetrical form ; and with its whitewashed church 

 standing in the centre, had rather a pretty appearance. The 

 outskirting houses rose out of the plain like isolated beings, 

 without the accompaniment of gardens or courtyards. This is 

 generally the case in the country, and all the houses have, in 

 consequence, an uncomfortable aspect. At night we stopped at 

 a pulperia, or drinking-shop. During the evening a great num- 

 ber of Gauchos came in to drink spirits and smoke cigars : their 

 appearance is very striking ; they are generally tall and hand- 

 some, but with a proud and dissolute expression of countenance. 

 They frequently wear their moustaches, and long black hair 

 curling down their backs. With their brightly-coloured gar- 

 ments, great spurs clanking about their heels, and knives stuck 

 as daggers (and often so used) at their waists, they look a very 

 different race of men from what might be expected from their 

 name of Gauchos, or simple countrymen. Their politeness ia 

 excessive ; they never drink their spirits without expecting you 



