66 
RIO NEGRO 
CHAP. 
The country near the mouth of the river is wretched in the 
extreme : on the south side a long line of perpendicular cliffs 
commences, which exposes a section of the geological nature of 
the country. The strata are of sandstone, and one layer was 
remarkable from being composed of a firmly-cemented con¬ 
glomerate of pumice pebbles, which must have travelled more 
than four hundred miles, from the Andes. The surface is every¬ 
where covered up by a thick bed of gravel, which extends far 
and wide over the open plain. Water is extremely scarce, and, 
where found, is almost invariably brackish. The vegetation is 
scanty ; and although there are bushes of many kinds, all are 
armed with formidable thorns, which seem to warn the stranger 
not to enter on these inhospitable regions. 
The settlement is situated eighteen miles up the river. 
The road follows the foot of the sloping cliff, which forms the 
northern boundary of the great valley in which the Rio Negro 
flows. On the way we passed the ruins of some fine “ estancias,’’ 
which a few years since had been destroyed by the Indians. 
They withstood several attacks. A man present at one gave 
me a very lively description of what took place. The inhabit¬ 
ants had sufficient notice to drive all the cattle and horses into 
the “ corral ” 1 which surrounded the house, and likewise to 
mount some small cannon. 
The Indians were Araucanians from the south of Chile ; 
several hundreds in number, and highly disciplined. They 
first appeared in two bodies on a neighbouring hill; having 
there dismounted, and taken off their fur mantles, they 
advanced naked to the charge. The only weapon of an 
Indian is a very long bamboo or chuzo, ornamented with 
ostrich feathers, and pointed by a sharp spear-head. My 
informer seemed to remember with the greatest horror the 
quivering of these chuzos as they approached near. When 
close, the cacique Pincheira hailed the besieged to give up their 
arms, or he would cut all their throats. As this would prob¬ 
ably have been the result of their entrance under any circum¬ 
stances, the answer was given by a volley of musketry. The 
Indians, with great steadiness, came to the very fence of the 
corral : but to their surprise they found the posts fastened 
1 The corral is an enclosure made of tall and strong stakes. Every estancia, or 
farming estate, has one attached to it. 
