74 RIO COLORADO. [cHar. Iv 
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, 
“ He spoke disrespectfully of General Rosas, so I killed him.” 
At the end of a week the murderer was at liberty. This doubt- 
less was the act of the general’s party, and not of the general 
himself. 
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 anecdote: “‘ 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 en- 
gaged.’ 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 mad man nor sound.” The 
poor flighty gentleman looked quite dolorous, at the very recol- 
lection 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 horizontally, and there left to stretch for several 
hours. The idea is evidently taken from the usual method of 
drying hides. My interview passed away without a smile, and 
I obtained a passport and order for the government post-horses, 
and this he gave me in the most obliging and ready manner. 
In the morning we started for Bahia Blanca, which we 
reached in two days. Leaving the regular encampment, we 
passed by the toldos of the Indians. These are round like ovens, 
and covered with hides; by the mouth of each, a tapering chuzo 
was stuck in the ground. The toldos were divided into separate 
groups, which belonged to the different caciques’ tribes, and the 
groups were again divided into smaller ones, according to the 
relationship of the owners. For several miles we travelled 
along the valley of the Colorado. The alluvial plains on 
the side appeared fertile, and it is supposed that they are well 
adapted tothe growth of corn. Turning northward from the 
