1833.1 THE GREAT CORRAL. 121 



September 20th. — We arrived by the middle of the day at 

 Buenos Ayres. The outskirts of the city looked quite pretty, 

 with the agave hedges, and groves of olive, peach, and willow 

 trees, all just throwing out their fresh green leaves. I rode to 

 the house of Mr. Lumb, an English merchant, to whose kind- 

 ness and hospitality, during my stay in the country, I was greatly 

 indebted. 



The city of Buenos Ayres is large ;* and I should think one 

 of the most regular in the world. Every street is at right angles 

 to the one it crosses, and the parallel ones being equidistant, the 

 houses are collected into solid squares of equal dimensions, which 

 are called quadras. On the other hand, the houses themselves 

 are hollow squares ; all the rooms opening into a neat little 

 courtyard. They are generally only one story high, with flat 

 roofs, which are fitted with seats, and are much frequented by 

 the inhabitants in summer. In the centre of the town is the 

 Plaza, where the public offices, fortress, cathedral, &c., stand. 

 Here also, the old viceroys, before the revolution, had their 

 palaces. The general assemblage of buildings possesses consider- 

 able architectural beauty, although none individually can boast 

 of any. 



The great corral, Avhere the animals are kept for slaughter to 

 supply food to this beef-eating population, is one of the spectacles 

 best worth seeing. The strength of the horse as compared to 

 that of the bullock is quite astonishing : a man on horseback 

 having thrown his lazo round the horns of a beast, can drag it 

 any where he cliooses. The animal ploughing up the ground 

 with outstretched legs, in vain efforts to resist the force, generally 

 dashes at full speed to one side ; but the horse immediately turn- 

 ing to receive the shock, stands so firmly that the bullock is 

 almost thrown down, and it is surprising that their necks are not 

 broken. The struggle is not, however, one of fair strength ; 

 the horse's girth being matched against the bullock's extended 

 neck. In a similar manner a man can hold the wildest horse, if 

 caught with the lazo, just behind the ears. When the bullock 

 has been dragged to the spot where it is to be slaughtered, the 

 matador with great caution cuts the hamstrings. Then is given 



* It is said to contain 60,000 inhabitants. Monte Video, the second town 

 of importance on the banks of the Plata, has 15,000. 



