VI 
THE GEE AT CO EE AT 
127 
September 20th .—We arrived by the middle of the day at 
Buenos Ayres. The outskirts of the city looked quite pretty, 
with the agave hedges, and groves of olive, peach, and willow 
trees, all just throwing out their fresh green leaves. I rode to 
the house of Mr. Lumb, an English merchant, to whose kind¬ 
ness and hospitality, during my stay in the country, I was 
greatly indebted. 
The city of Buenos Ayres is large ; 1 and I should think 
one of the most regular in the world. Every street is at right 
angles to the one it crosses, and the parallel ones being 
equidistant, the houses are collected into solid squares of 
equal dimensions, which are called quadras. On the other 
hand, the houses themselves are hollow squares ; all the rooms 
opening into a neat little courtyard. They are generally only 
one story high, with flat roofs, which are fitted with seats, and 
are much frequented by the inhabitants in summer. In the 
centre of the town is the Plaza, where the public offices, fortress, 
cathedral, etc., stand. Here also, the old viceroys, before the 
revolution, had their palaces. The general assemblage of 
buildings possesses considerable architectural beauty, although 
none individually can boast of any. 
The great corral , where the animals are kept for slaughter 
to supply food to this beef-eating population, is one of the 
spectacles best worth seeing. The strength of the horse as 
compared to that of the bullock is quite astonishing : a 
man on horseback having thrown his lazo round the horns of 
a beast, can drag it anywhere he chooses. The animal, 
ploughing up the ground with outstretched legs, in vain efforts 
to resist the force, generally dashes at full speed to one side ; 
but the horse, immediately turning to receive the shock, stands 
so firmly that the bullock is almost thrown down, and it is 
surprising that their necks are not broken. The struggle is 
not, however, one of fair strength ; the horse’s girth being 
matched against the bullock’s extended neck. In a similar 
manner a man can hold the wildest horse, if caught with the 
lazo, just behind the ears. When the bullock has been dragged 
to the spot where it is to be slaughtered,-the matador with 
great caution cuts the hamstrings. Then is given the death 
1 It is said to contain 60,000 inhabitants. Monte Video, the second town of 
importance on the banks of the Plata, has 15,000. 
