148 



ST. FE. 



Oct. 1833. 



lialf-a-dozen of the latter^ which I had never seen at Buenos 

 Ayres. Considering that there is no natural boundary be- 

 tween the two places, and that the character of the country 

 is nearly similar, the difference was much greater than I 

 should have expected. 



October 3d and 4th. — I was confined to my bed by 

 a headach for these two days. A goodnatured 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." 



St, Fe is a quiet Httle town, and is kept clean, and in good 

 order. The governor, Lopez, was a common soldier at the 

 time of the revolution ; but has now been seventeen years in 

 power. This stability of government is owing to his tyran- 

 nical habits ; for tyranny seems as yet better adapted to these 

 countries, than republicanism. The governor's favourite 

 occupation is hunting Indians : a short time since he slaugh- 

 tered forty-eight, and sold the children at the rate of three 

 or four pounds apiece. 



October 5th. — We crossed the Parana to St. Fe Bajada, 

 a town on the opposite shore. The passage took some 

 hours, as the river here consisted of a labyrinth of small 

 streams, separated by low wooded islands. I had a letter of 

 introduction to an old Catalonian Spaniard, who treated me 

 with the most uncommon hospitality. The Bajada is the 

 capital of Entre Rios. In 1825 the town contained 6000 

 inhabitants, and the province 30,000 ; yet, few as they are, 

 none have suffered more from bloody and desperate revolu- 

 tions. They boast here of representatives, ministers, a stand- 

 ing army, and governors : so it is no wonder that they have 



