THE PAMPAS. 



S43 



that the first time I came to San Luis, I actually 

 asked a man how far I was from El Pueblo ; to 

 which he replied, that I was in it. From twelve 

 till four or five every day, the whole population of 

 the town is asleep, and when the people awake, 

 they have no other idea than that of satisfying their 

 hunger, by eating the old dish, carne de vacca. 

 Far from having any luxuries, they have not even 

 what we term common necessaries ; and it seems 

 incredible that there should be no individual in the 

 whole town, or indeed the province, who even pro- 

 fesses to know any thing of medicine or surgery ; 

 and that there is no shop at which one can purchase 

 the simplest medicines. If a person is ill, he dies or 

 recovers as it may happen, but he has no assistance. 

 If he dislocates or breaks a bone, his friends may 

 regret the accident, but he has no help. The 

 Gaucljo, who lives in his little hut on the Pampas, 

 must necessarily be without medical assistance, and 

 it is interesting to see his young family living so 

 completely under the sole protection of Providence ; 

 but for the capital of a province to continue in such 

 a state, shows an indolence, which its peculiar situ- 

 ation can only excuse, 



^ R 2 



