172 



BANDA ORIENTAL. 



Nov. 1833. 



country where there were six months light and six of dark- 

 ness^ and where the inhabitants were very tall and thin ! 

 They were curious about the price and condition of horses 

 and cattle in England. Upon finding out we did not catch 

 our animals with the lazo^ they cried out^ " Ah then^ you 

 use nothing but the bolas the idea of an enclosed 

 country was quite novel to them. The captain at last said, 

 he had one question to ask me, which he should be very 

 much obliged if I would answer with all truth. I trembled to 

 think how deeply scientific it would be : it was, " Whether 

 the ladies of Buenos Ayres were not the handsomest in the 

 world.^^ I replied, Charmingly so.^^ He added, I have 

 one other question : " Do ladies in any other part of the 

 world wear such large combs I solemnly assured him 

 they did not. They were absolutely delighted. The cap- 

 tain exclaimed, Look there ! a man who has seen half the 

 world says it is the case ; we always thought so, but now we 

 know it.^^ My excellent judgment in beauty procured me a 

 most hospitable reception ; the captain forced me to take his 

 bed, and he would sleep on his recado. 



2 1st. — Started at sunrise, and rode slowly during the 

 whole day. The geological nature of this part of the pro- 

 vince was different from the rest, and closely resembled that 

 of the Pampas. In consequence, there were immense beds 

 of the thistle, as well as of the cardoon : the whole country, 

 indeed, may be called one great bed. The two sorts grow 

 separate, each plant in company with its own kind. The 

 cardoon is as high as a horse's back, but the Pampas thistle 

 is often higher than the crown of the rider's head. To leave 

 the road for a yard is out of the question; and the road 

 itself is partly, and in some cases entirely, closed. Pasture, 

 of course, there is none ; if cattle or horses once enter the 

 bed, they are for the time completely lost. Hence it is very 

 hazardous to attempt to drive cattle at this season of the 

 year ; for when jaded enough to face the thistles, they rush 

 among them, and are seen no more. In these districts there 

 are very few estancias, and these few are situated in the 



