«
Such actions as these delighted the Gauchos, who all possess
high notions of their own equality and dignity.
General Rosas is also a perfect horseman—an aoomplish-
ment of no small consequence in a country where an assembled
army elected its general by the following trial: A
troop of unbroken horses being driven into a corral, were
let out through a gateway, above which was a cross-bar : it
was agreed, whoever should drop from the bar on one of
these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able
without saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to
bring it back to the door of the corral, should be their
general. The person who succeeded was accordingly elected;
and doubtless made a fit general for such an army. This
extraordinary feat has also been performed by Rosas.
By these means, and by conforming to the dress and
habits of the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity
in the country, and in consequence a despotic power.
I was assured by an English merchant, that a man who had
murdered another, when arrested and questioned concerning
his motive, answered, “ He spoke disrespectfully of General
Rosas, so I kiUed him.” At the end of a week the murderer
was at liberty. This doubtless was the act of the
general’s party, and not of the general himself.
In conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave.
His gravity is carried to a high pitch: I heard one of his mad
buffoons (for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the
follomng anecdote: “ I wanted very much to hear a certain
piece of music, so I went to the general two or three
times to ask h im ; he said to me, ‘ Go about your business,
for I am engaged.’ I went a second time ; he said, ‘ If you
come again I will punish you.’ A third time I asked, and
he laughed. I rushed out of the tent, but it was too late;
he ordered two soldiers to catch and stake me. I begged
by all the Saints in heaven, he would let me off; but it
would not d o ;—when the general laughs he spares neither
mad man or sound.” The poor flighty gentleman looked
quite dolorous, at the very recollcetion of the staking. This
lI is a very severe punishment; four posts arc driven into the
ground, and the man is extended by Ins arms and legs
horizontally, and there left to stretch for several hours.
The idea is evidently taken from the usual method of drying
hides. My interview passed away without a smile, and I
obtained a passport and order for the government post-
horses, and this he gave me in the most obliging and ready
manner.
In the morning we started for Bahia Blanca, which we
reached in two days. Leaving the regular encampment, we
passed by the toldos of the Indians. These are round like
ovens, and covered with hides ; by the mouth of each a
tapering chuzo was stuck in the ground. The toldos were
divided into separate groups, which belonged to the different
caciques’ tribes, and the groups were again divided
into smaller ones, according to the relationship of the
owners. For several miles we travelled along the valley
of the Colorado. The alluHal plains on the side appeared
fertile, and it is supposed that they are well adapted to the
growth of corn. Turning northward from the river, we soon
entered on a country, differing from those plains that extend
south of the river. The land still continued dry and sterile;
but it supported many different kinds of plants, and the grass,
though brown and withered, was more abundant, as the thorny
bushes were less so. These latter in a short space entirely
disappeared, and the plains were left without a thicket to
cover their nakedness. This change in the vegetation marks
the commencement of the grand calcareo-argillaceous deposit,
which I have already noticed as forming the wide
extent of the Pampas, and as covering the granitic rocks of
Banda Oriental. From the Strait of Magellan to the Colorado,
a distance of about eight hundred miles, the face of the
country is every where composed of shingle : the pebbles are
chiefly of porphyry, and probably owe their origin to the
rocks of the Cordillera. North of the Colorado the bed
thins out, and the pebbles become exceedingly small, and
here the characteristic vegetation of Patagonia ceases.
Ill