VII 
ST. FE 
135 
they had long known of these skeletons, and had often wondered 
how they had got there : the necessity of a theory being felt, 
they came to the conclusion that, like the bizcacha, the mastodon 
was formerly a burrowing animal! In the evening we rode 
another stage, and crossed the Monge, another brackish stream, 
bearing the dregs of the washings of the Pampas. 
October 2nd .—We passed through Corunda, which, from the 
luxuriance of its gardens, was one of the prettiest villages I saw. 
From this point to St. Fe the road is not very safe. The 
western side of the Parana northward ceases to be inhabited ; 
and hence the Indians sometimes come down thus far, and 
waylay travellers. The nature of the country also favours this, 
for instead of a grassy plain, there is an open woodland, com¬ 
posed of low prickly mimosas. We passed some houses that 
had been ransacked and since deserted ; we saw also a spectacle, 
which my guides viewed with high satisfaction ; it was the 
skeleton of an Indian with the dried skin hanging on the bones, 
suspended to the branch of a tree. 
In the morning we arrived at St. Fe. I was surprised to 
observe how great a change of climate a difference of only three 
degrees of latitude between this place and Buenos Ayres had 
caused. This was evident from the dress and complexion of 
the men—from the increased size of the ombu-trees — the 
number of new cacti and other plants—and especially from the 
birds. In the course of an hour I remarked half a dozen birds, 
which I had never seen at Buenos Ayres. Considering that 
there is no natural boundary between the two places, and that 
the character of the country is nearly similar, the difference was 
much greater than I should have expected. 
October 3 rd and 4th .—I was confined for these two days to 
my bed by a headache. A good-natured old woman, who 
attended me, wished me to try many odd remedies. A common 
practice is, to bind an orange-leaf or a bit of black plaster to 
each temple : and a still more general plan is, to split a bean 
into halves, moisten them, and place one on each temple, where 
they will easily adhere. It is not thought proper ever to 
remove the beans or plaster, but to allow them to drop off; 
and sometimes, if a man, with patches on his head, is asked 
what is the matter ? he will answer, “ I had a headache the day 
before yesterday.” Many of the remedies used by the people 
