52 FROM ROSARIO TO MENDOZA. 



at 94°, and the wet at 70° in the coolest place. Finished work, and set out with a storm brew- 

 ing. In a short time the rain commenced, and continued to fall violently until night. 



Stopiied for the night at La Dormida, formerlj' a post-house, but not so now ; the post being 

 from Acorocorto to Santa Kosa, a distance of twenty leagues. Slept in wet clothes under a 

 shed, the house being full of people, some of whom were ill. 



November 25. — Found that the lazy scoundrel of a postillion had left the horses tied to posts 

 all night, instead of allowing them to graze, so that we were obliged to go more slowly than 

 we wished. Got dinner at Santa Eosa — a very comfortable post-house — and afterwards pro- 

 ceeded to the post-house of Retamo through a drenching rain, and until night overtook us, 

 at a very rapid pace. After dark we were obliged to go slowly. There were ditches on both 

 sides of, and frequently across the road, and as the night Avas very dark — the obscurity rendered 

 more intense by flashes of lightning — it was necessary to proceed with caution. We all arrived 

 at the Retamo in sweet humor : four or five leagues out, the postillion told us that we were one 

 league off, and for three hours it was the same story of " cosa de una legua;" then to increase 

 onr discomfort, we found that we could get nothing dry to .sleep on, and had to pass another 

 night in wet clothes. Fortunatelyj we were able to obtain a bottle of aguardiente from 

 a pulperia about a mile from the post-house, and each of us taking a large dose, we managed 

 to get through the night tolerably well. 



Shortly after leaving Santa Rosa, the Frenchman's horse slipped, and he got another fall. 

 Being in a position to witness this, his frequent falls were fully accounted for. Instead of 

 endeavoring to recover his horse, he let himself drop off like a bag of sand. 



November 26. — Set out at daylight, and arrived at Mendoza about 10 a. m.; having stopped 

 on the way to salute the Aldaos at El Barrial, where I met with a very cordial reception from 

 the Senora, who thought, as did many others, that I had only been as far as Buenos Ayres, and 

 could hardly believe I had passed four months in the United States. 



Having finished my narrative as far as it is connected with the pampa, I will endeavor to give a 

 general idea of the country in as condensed a form as possible ; premising, that as I know nothing 

 of geology, mineralogy, botany, or, indeed, of anj^ of the " ologies," I cannot speak technically 

 on these subjects. 



From Mendoza to a few leagues beyond San Luis, the country is thinly wooded with algarro- 

 bas, chaiiares, retamos, and — where there is an undergrowth — ^jarillas. The portion between 

 San Luis and the river Parana is pampa or prairie land, interrupted only by low rocky ridges 

 near the Rio Quinto, San Jose, and Achiras, which extend some three miles on each side of the 

 river and streamlets watering those two small towns. All of these ranges taper off to the 

 southward, and at the distance of a few leagues from the road appear to blend with the plain. 

 The vegetation of the pampa, with the exception of occasional clumps or isolated trees, is prin- 

 cipally wire-grass, interspersed with thin pasturage and small wild flowers. Around the lagu- 

 nas — of which, owing to the flatness of the country, there are many in rainy weather — there is 

 frequently a rank growth of marsh grass ; and in the province of Buenos Ayres, farther south 

 than my road lay, a rank growth of thistles is said to alternate with the other vegetation. The 

 soilappears to be alluvial, and, wherever it can be irrigated, yields abundantly; but there are 

 two great drawbacks to successful cultivation in that part of the country through which I passed, 

 namely, locusts and hail-storms. The former frequently sweep off whole crops ; and on the 

 pampa the latter are probably quite as destructive, but are not so frequent or violent in the 

 wooded country. Another difficult)^ they complain of on the pampa, is the want of wood for 

 fencing; but they could make mud-walls if they chose; and near Mendoza, where there is M'ood, 

 they prefer walls on account of their durabilit}'- and cheapness. 



In the parts of the country where there are no means of irrigating, and the peoijle are 

 obliged to depend on rains, we passed small patches of corn a foot above the ground; and 

 perhaps a hundred miles farther on, found that they were still waiting for a shower before 

 planting. 



