vti ST. FE 135 



they had long known of these skeletons, and had often wondered 

 how they had got there : the necessity of a theory being felt, 

 they came to the conclusion that, like the bizcacha, the mastodon 

 was formerly a burrowing animal ! In the evening we rode 

 another stage, and crossed the Monge, another brackish stream, 

 bearing the dregs of the washings of the Pampas. 



October 2nd. — We passed through Corunda, which, from the 

 luxuriance of its gardens, was one of the prettiest villages I saw. 

 From this point to St. F^ the road is not very safe. The 

 western side of the Parana northward ceases to be inhabited ; 

 and bence the Indians sometimes come down thus far, and 

 waylay travellers. The nature of the country also favours this, 

 for instead of a grassy plain, there is an open woodland, com- 

 posed of low prickly mimosas. We passed some houses that 

 had been ransacked and since deserted ; we saw also a spectacle, 

 which my guides viewed with high satisfaction ; it was the 

 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. F6. 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 ombu-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 ■^rd and ^th. — 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 bean 

 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 the matter ? he will answer, " I had a headache the day 

 before yesterday." Many of the remedies used by the people 



