, Having ridden about twenty-five miles, we came to a broad
belt of sand-dunes, which stretch, as far as the eye can
reach, to the east and west. The sand-hillocks resting
on the clay, allow small pools of water to collect, and thus
afford, in this dry country, an invaluable supply of fresh
water. The great advantage arising from depressions and
elevations of the soil, is not often brought home to the
mind. The two miserable springs in the long passage between
the liio Negro and Colorado were caused by trifling
inequalities in the plain; without them not a drop of water
would have been found. The belt of sand-dunes is about
eight miles wide; at some former period, it probably formed
the margin of a grand estuary, where the Colorado now
flows. In this district, where absolute proofs of the recent
elevation of the land occur, such speculations can hardly be
neglected by any one, although merely considering the physical
geography of the country. Having crossed the sandy
tract, we arrived in the evening at one of the post-houses;
and, as the fresh horses were grazing at a distance, we determined
to pass the night there.
The house was situated at the base of a ridge, between
one and two hundred feet high—a most remarkable feature
in this country. This posta was commanded by a negro
lieutenant, born in Africa: to his credit be it said, there was
not a rancho between the Colorado and Buenos Ayres in
nearly such neat order as his. He had a little room for
strangers, and a small corral for the horses, all made of sticks
and reeds; he had also dug a ditch round his house, as a defence
in case of being attacked. This would, however, have
been of little avail, if the Indians had come; but his chief
comfort seemed to rest in the thought of selling his life
dearly. A short time before, a body of Indians had travelled
past in the night; if they had been aware of the posta, our
black friend and his four soldiers, would assuredly have
been slaughtered. I did not any where meet a more civil
and obliging man, than this negro; it was therefore the more
painful to see that he would not sit down and eat with us.
In the morning we sent for the horses very early, and
started for another exhilarating gallop. We passed the
Cabeza del Buey, an old name given to the head of a
large marsh, which extends from Bahia Blanca. Here we
changed horses, and passed through some leagues of swamps
and saltpetre marshes. Changing horses for the last time,
we again began wading through the mud. My animal fell,
and I was well soused in black mire—a very disagreeable
accident, when one does not possess a change of clothes.
Some miles from the fort we met a man, who told us that a
great gun had been fired, which is a signal that Indians are
near. We immediately left the road, and followed the edge
of a marsh, which when chased offers the best mode of escape.
We were glad to arrive within the walls, when we found aU
the alarm was about nothing, for the Indians turned out to
be friendly ones, who wished to join General Rosas.
Bahia Blanca scarcely deserves the name of a village. A
few houses and the barracks for the troops are enclosed by a
deep ditch and fortified wall. The settlement is only of recent
standing (since 1828); and its growth has been one of trouble.
The government of Buenos Ayres did not follow the
wise example of the Spanish viceroys in purchasing the land
from the Indians, as they did with the Rio Negro, but unjustly
occupied it by force. Hence the need of the fortifications
; hence the few houses and little cultivated land
without the limits of the walls : even the cattle are not safe
from the attacks of the Indians beyond the boundaries of
the plain, on which the fortress stands.
The part of the harbour where the Beagle intended to
anchor being distant twenty-five miles, I obtained from the
Commandant a guide and horses, to take me to see whether
she had arrived. Leaving the plain of green turf, which followed
the course of the little brook, we soon entered on a
wide level waste, consisting either of sand, saline marshes, or
bare mud. Some parts were clothed by low thickets, and
others with those succulent plants, which luxuriate only