stretched hide to He upon. The principal if not the sole cooking- 

 utensil is a rod or spit of iron stuck in the ground in an ob- 

 lique position, so as to incline over the fire. The beef when 

 spitted on this instrument is left to roast until the part next the fire 

 is supposed to be done enough, then a twist is given to the rod, 

 which is occasionally repeated, until the whole is cooked. The 

 juices of the meat, bj this mode of roasting, help to mend the fire, 

 and indeed the people seem to think that they are fit for nothing 

 else. The meat, which is naturally poor and coarse, being thus 

 dried to a cake, bears little aflfinity to the boasted roast beef of 

 England. Fuel, in some parts, is so extremely scarce that the fol- 

 lowing strange expedient is resorted to for a supply. As the mares 

 in this country are kept solely for breeding, and are never trained to 

 labour, they generally exceed the due proportion ; a flock of them 

 IS frequently killed, and their carcases, with the exception of the 

 hides and tails, are used as firing. ' i :h '■'^ ff^ - 



The Peons are chie^ emigrants from Paraguay, and it is a sin- 

 gular fact that, among the numbers that are here settled, very few 

 women are to be found. A person may travel in these parts for 

 days together without seeing or hearing of a single female in the 

 course of his journey. To this circumstance may be attributed the 

 total absence of domestic comfort in the dwellings of these wretched 

 men, and the gloomy apathy observable in their dispositions and 

 habits. It is true that the mistress of an estate may occasionally 

 visit it for a few months, but she is obliged during her stay to live 

 in great seclusion, on account of the dreadful consequences to be 

 apprehended from being so exposed. 



The dexterous mode in which the Peons catch their cattle, by 

 throwing a noose over them has been frequently detailed, but cer- 

 tainly no description can do full justice to their agility. They throw 

 with equal precision and effect, whether at full gallop or at rest. 

 Their method of catching horses by means of . balls attached to 



