Sept. 1833. 



BUENOS AYRES. 



139 



few countries have undergone more remarkable changes, since 

 the year 1535, when the first colonist of La Plata landed with 

 seventy- two horses. The countless herds of horses, cattle, 

 and sheep, not only have altered the whole aspect of the 

 vegetation, but they have almost banished the guanaco, deer, 

 and ostrich. Numberless other changes must likewise have 

 taken place ; the wild pig in some parts probably replaces the 

 peccari ; packs of wild dogs may be heard howling on the 

 wooded banks of the less frequented streams ; and the com- 

 mon cat, altered into a large and fierce animal, inhabits rocky 

 hills. I have alluded to the invasion of the cardoon : in a 

 like manner, the islands near the mouth of the Parana, are 

 thickly clothed with peaches and orange-trees, springing from 

 seeds carried there by the waters of the river. 



While changing horses at the Guardia, several people 

 questioned us much about the army, — I never saw any thing 

 like the enthusiasm for Rosas, and for the success of the 

 " most just of all w^ars, because against barbarians. This 

 expression it must be confessed is very natural, for till lately, 

 neither man, woman, nor horse, was safe from the attacks of 

 the Indians. We had a long day^s ride over the same rich 

 green plain abounding with various flocks, and with here and 

 there a solitary estancia, and its one ombu tree. In the even- 

 ing it rained heavily : on arriving at a post-house, we were 

 told by the owner that if we had not a regular passport we 

 must pass on, for there were so many robbers he would trust 

 no one. When he read, however, my passport, which 

 began with El Naturalista Don Carlos, &c.^' his respect 

 and civility were as unbounded, as his suspicions had been 

 before. What a naturalist may be, neither he nor his 

 countrymen, I suspect, had any idea ; but probably my title 

 lost nothing of its value from that cause. 



September 20th. — We arrived by the middle of the day 

 at Buenos Ayres. The outskirts of the city looked quite 

 pretty, with the agave hedges, and groves of olive, peach, 

 and wiUow trees, all just throwing out their fresh green leaves. 

 I rode to the house of Mr. Lumb, an English merchant, to 



