1833.] ST. Ffi. 121 



we saw also a spectacle, which my guides viewed with high satis- 

 faction ; it was tho skeleton 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. Fe. 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 onabu-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 3rd and 4th. 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 beau 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 tho 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 disgust- 

 ing 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. Fe 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 5th. We crossed the Parana to St. Fe 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 introduction to an old Catalonian 



