216 NAMES OF PERSONS MENTIONED. 



elected its general by the following trial : a troop of unbroken horses 

 being driven into a corral, were let out through a gate -way above 

 which was a crossbar; it was agreed whoever should drop from the 

 bar on one of these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able, 

 without saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it back 

 to the door of the corral, should be their general. The person who 

 succeeded was accordingly elected, and doubtless made a fit general 

 for such an army. This extraordinary feat has also been performed 

 by Rosas. 



"By these means, and by conforming to the dress and habits of the 

 Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country, 

 and, in consequence, a despotic power. I was assured by an English 

 merchant that a man who had murdered another, when arrested and 

 questioned concerning his motive, answered, c He spoke disrespectfully 

 of General Rosas, so I killed him.' At the end of a week the mur- 

 derer was at liberty. This, doubtless, was the act of the general's 

 party, and not of the general himself. [But subsequent events 

 showed that it might well have been the general's act.] 



"In conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. His 

 gravity is carried to a high pitch. I heard one of his mad buffoons 

 (for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the following anec- 

 dote : ' I wanted very much to hear a certain piece of music, so I 

 went to the general two or three times to ask him; he said to me, 

 " Go about your business, for I am engaged." I went a second time. 

 He said, " If you come again I will punish you." A third time I 

 asked, and he laughed. I rushed out of the tent, but it was too late. 

 He ordered two soldiers to catch and stake me. I begged by all the 

 saints in heaven he would let me off but it would not do; when 

 the general laughs he spares neither madman nor sound.' The poor 

 flighty gentleman looked quite dolorous at the very recollection of 

 the staking. This is a very severe punishment : four posts are driven 

 into the ground, and the man is extended by his arms and legs hori- 

 zontally, and then left to stretch for several hours. The idea is evi- 



