270 



CLIMATE. 



has quite a different atmosphere from the 

 buoyant air of the province of Mendoza, — where 

 I have slept in the open air., on the ground, 

 and found no symptoms of damp on the 

 poncho, under which I had taken shelter ; and 

 I have often observed dead animals by the 

 wayside, dried up in their skins, indicating that 

 the temperature did not tend to dissolution. 



The Pampas are quite free from that malaria 

 so prevalent in Greece and Italy. I saw only 

 one sick person all the way from Buenos Ayres 

 to Mendoza. The Pampero, which blows with 

 the violence of a hurricane, and which scarcely 

 any thing can withstand, greatly contributes to 

 the salubrity of the country. 



The gaucho habitations are thatched huts, 

 composed of wicker-work and mud, or only 

 mud, thatched so imperfectly as to afford little 

 defence against the storm. Frequently they 



