THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 



87 



the land occur, such speculations can hardly be neglected by 

 any one, although merely considering the physical geography 

 of the country. Having crossed the sandy tract, we arrived 

 in the evening at one of the post-houses; and, as the fresh 

 horses were grazing at a distance we determined to pass 

 the night there. 



The house was situated at the base of a ridge between 

 one and two hundred feet high — a most remarkable feature 

 in this country. This posta was commanded by a negro 

 lieutenant, born in Africa : to his credit be it said, there was 

 not a ranche between the Colorado and Buenos Ayres in 

 nearly such neat order as his. He had a little room for 

 strangers, and a small corral for the horses, all made of 

 sticks and reeds; he had also dug a ditch round his house 

 as a defence in case of being attacked. This would, how- 

 ever, have been of little avail, if the Indians had come; but 

 his chief comfort seemed to rest in the thought of selling 

 his life dearly. A short time before, a body of Indians had 

 travelled past in the night; if they had been aware of the 

 posta, our black friend and his four soldiers would assuredly 

 have been slaughtered. I did not anywhere meet a more 

 civil and obliging man than this negro; it was therefore 

 the more painful to see that he would not sit down and eat 

 with us. 



In the morning we sent for the horses very early, and 

 started for another exhilarating gallop. We passed the 

 Cabeza del Buey, an old name given to the head of a large 

 marsh, which extends from Bahia Blanca. Here we changed 

 horses, and passed through some leagues of swamps and 

 saline marshes. Changing horses for the last time, we again 

 began wading through the mud. My animal fell and I was 

 well soused in black mire — a very disagreeable accident 

 when one does not possess a change of clothes. Some miles 

 from the fort we met a man, who told us that a great gun 

 had been fired, which is a signal that Indians are near. We 

 immediately left the road, and followed the edge of a marsh, 

 which when chased offers the best mode of escape. We 

 were glad to arrive within the walls, when we found all the 

 alarm was about nothing, for the Indians turned out to be 

 friendly ones, who wished to join General Rosas. 



