148 BANDA ORIENTAL. [cuar. vimr- 
him that they did not. They were absolutely delighted. The 
captain exclaimed, ‘‘ Look there! a man who has seen half the 
world says it is the case; we always thought so, but now we 
know it.” My excellent judgment in combs and beauty pro- 
cured me a most hospitable reception ; the captain forced me to 
take his bed, and he would sleep on his recado. 
21st.—Started at sunrise, and rode slowly during the whole 
day. The geological nature of this part of the province was 
different from the rest, and closely resembled that of the Pam- 
pas. In consequence, there were immense beds of the thistle, 
as well as of the cardoon: the whole country, indeed, may be 
called one great bed of these plants. The two sorts grow sepa- 
rate, each plant incompany with its own kind. The cardoon is 
as high as a horse’s back, but the Pampas thistle is often higher 
than the crown of the rider’s head. To leave the road for a 
yard is out of the question; and the road itself is partly, and in 
some cases entirely, closed. Pasture, of course there is none; 
if cattle or horses once enter the bed, they are for the time com- 
pletely lost. Hence it is very hazardous to attempt to drive 
cattle at this season of the year ; for when jaded enough to face 
the thistles, they rush among them, and are seenno more. In 
these districts there are very few estancias, and these few are 
situated in the neighbourhood of damp valleys, where fortu- 
nately neither of these overwhelming plants can exist. As night 
came on before we arrived at our journey’s end, we slept ata 
miserable little hovel inhabited by the poorest people. The ex- 
treme though rather formal courtesy of our host and _ hostess, 
considering their grade of life, was quite delightful. 
November 22nd.—Arrived at an estancia on the Berquelo be- 
longing to a very hospitable Englishman, to whom I had a letter 
of introduction from my friend Mr. Lumb. I stayed here three 
days. One morning I rode with my host to the Sierra del Pedro 
Flaco, about twenty miles up the Rio Negro. Nearly the whole 
country was covered with good though coarse grass, which was 
as high as a horse’s belly ; yet there were square leagues without 
a single head of cattle. The province of Banda Oriental, if well 
stocked, would support an astonishing number of animals; at 
present the annual export of hides from Monte Video amounts 
to three hundred thousand; and the home consumption, -from 
