THE PAMPAS. 



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zarro!'"* ''Aqui sta I'agua, SenoiV said he, in a 

 patient low tone of voice — he knew I hked to have 

 water to wash in the morning, and he used to get 

 it for me, sometimes in a saucer, sometimes hterally 

 in a httle mate cup, which did not hold more than 

 an egg-shell, and in spite of his fatigue he was 

 always up before I awoke, and waiting at the door 

 of the carriage till I should call for him. 



Province of Santa to be described — its wild, 

 desolate appearance — .has been so constantly ra- 

 vaged by the Pampas Indians, that there are now 

 no cattle in the whole province, and people are 

 afraid to live there. On the right and left of the 

 road, and distant thirty and forty miles, one occa- 

 sionally sees the remains of a little hut which has 

 been burnt by the Indians, and as one gallops 

 along, the Gaucho relates how many people were 

 murdered in each — ^how many infants slaughtered 

 — and whether the women were killed or carried 

 away. The old post-huts are also burnt — new ones 

 have been built by the side of the ruins, but the 

 rough plan of their construction shews the insecu- 

 rity of their tenure. These huts are occupied only 

 by men, who are themselves generally robbers, but 



