THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 



161 



the inhabitants were very tall and thin ! They were curious 

 about the price and condition of horses and cattle in Eng- 

 land. 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 new 

 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 sci- 

 entific it would be: it was, "Whether the ladies of Buenos 

 Ayres were not the handsomest in the world." I replied, like 

 a renegade, " 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 that they did 

 not. They were absolutely delighted. The captain ex- 

 claimed, " 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 combs and beauty procured 

 me a most hospitable reception; the captain forced me to 

 take his bed, and he would sleep on his recado. 



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

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

 ince 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 of these plants. 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 neighbourhood of damp valleys, where 

 fortunately neither of these overwhelming plants can exist. 

 As night came on before we arrived at our journey's end, 

 sve slept at a miserable little hovel inhabited by the poorest 



Vol. 29 — p HC 



