114 BAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYKES. [CHAP. vi. 



were told by the owner that if we had not a regular passport we 

 must pass on, for there were so many robbers he would trust no 

 one. When he read, however, my passport, which began with 

 "El Naturalista Don Carlos/' his respect and civility were as 

 unbounded as his suspicions had been before. What a naturalist 

 might be, neither he nor his countrymen, I suspect, had any idea; 

 but probably my title lost nothing of its value from that cause. 



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

 Ay res. 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 kindness 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 equi-distant, 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, etc., stand. Here also, the old viceroys, 

 before the revolution, had their palaces. The general assemblage 

 of buildings possesses considerable architectural beauty, although 

 none individually can boast of any. 



The great corral, where 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 anywhere 

 he chooses. 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 turning 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 



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

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



