A voyage to South America, with an account of a shipwreck in the river La Plata, in the year 1817

by George Fracker

LA PLATA.

In thirty four degrees south latitude, equi-distant from the equator as New York, is the grand and majestic La Plata. On approaching the river from the sea, the low and level land appears wholly different in appearance from the wild and towering front along the coast of Brazil.

This vast river is a hundred and fifty miles wide at the mouth, and extends, with a gradual contraction and in a winding direction, along the shores of Paraguay, in the heart of South America, a distance of twelve hundred miles. At Monte Video the water is brackish, and cannot be drank, but at a short distance above, though it appears at all times turbid and discolored, as if with the yellow mud at the bottom; the taste is sweet and palatable. A sealing ship was once cast away on the rocks of Faulkland Island, and a few of the hands with difficulty saved themselves in the long boat. Being on a barren land, they resolved, with one barrel of beef, which they had fortunately recovered, and a scanty supply of water, to commit themselves to the mercy of the waves in their frail bark, and pushed for the river of Plate. After a miserable passage and expending their entire stock of provisions, they arrived at last, even to the inner roads of Buenos Ayres, ascended the deck of the first vessel they saw, and implored, ‘in the name of God,’ a draught of water!—having traversed over a surface of one hundred miles of good fresh water, for twenty four hours, not apprehending that it was fresh, and sailed dismally over it, perishing with intolerable thirst.

The tides in the river, as far up as Buenos Ayres, are, in general, regular, except when influenced by strong and constant winds, and the rise and fall is about eight or ten feet. The bed of the river is of hard sand, and when the tides are low no boats can come near the shore, and many persons gain a living by conveying goods and passengers from the boats and craft to the shore, which is sometimes a quarter of a mile. The following fact will illustrate the power of the wind upon the water of this river. Many years ago, during the contest with Spain, a Spanish sloop of war was lying in the outer roads, distant at least seven miles from the city. A succession of strong pamperos,[3] in a few days laid bare the whole ground of the inner harbor, and the vessels and craft were left motionless and dry. The winds still continuing to roll back the waters, even the proud Spaniard, it was discovered, was laid bare to the keel. Preparations were immediately made by the patriots to attack her, in this her stationary and perilous situation. A large body of artillerists, with some pieces of heavy cannon, descended the banks of the river, and were drawn along on the sand by horses, and all the bustle of a march, and preparation for battle, as on the tented field, were seen on ground which the winds had cleared for them, and over which the waves were wont to roar. The astonished Spaniards saw with alarm and consternation, the approach of an enemy on horseback, where a few days before their ship had rode in ten fathoms of water. They, however, prepared for a desperate conflict, being resolved to defend their ship, rather now their castle, to the last. Their fate appeared almost certain; but fortune, for once, favored them, and accomplished more in ten minutes, than their own greatest bravery. The action had commenced, when an unusual shout of triumph from the deck of the Spaniard, caused the assailants to look beyond, when with a dismay like that of Pharaoh’s host, they beheld the surge rolling in and roaring towards them! The battle ceased instantly—the alarm was electric—the traces were cut from the cannons—the guns were abandoned—and they gallopped off in full retreat, with the sea in close pursuit at their heels, and were precipitantly driven up again, by this new enemy, from the invasion of her possessions.

Monte Video is so called from the hill near the entrance of the harbor. It is on the eastern side, or ‘Banda Oriental,’ of the river. It has a good appearance from the water; but on traversing the streets, there is nothing in the buildings to interest or admire. The houses are low, covering a great extent of ground; generally two stories in front, and but one in the rear, forming a square and a court or yard, in the centre. It is strongly fortified, and the citadella or castle well garrisoned. The city is now in possession of the Portuguese. In 1813 it was taken by the Patriots, who invested it by sea and land for a long period, and cut off all supplies. The famine was at last most distressingly severe, and means at which humanity shudders, were employed to gain a pitiful morsel to protract a miserable existence. With true Spanish obduracy, they refused all terms, till they sold for food all they possessed, and parents even bargained their daughters’ honor for a handful of bread. Every thing eatable, and every living animal was devoured—horses, cats and mules—and rats, with the immense numbers of which, the city was once overrun, either alive or dead, sold for a dollar each! The Patriots did not long hold possession of the city, for the Portuguese, who had always laid claim to the lower or eastern side of the river, as the southern bounds of the Brazil dominions, soon took possession of it, and are still its masters. During these occurrences, the Patriot General Artigas, of Buenos Ayres, taking offence at some measures of the government, ambitious and well informed, deserted the common cause, and crossed the river to Colonia, where he soon mustered a formidable body of adherents, whom he urged to assert their independence of all other powers, and form a separate government, though they were before considered as equally concerned in the common cause of the country. Various detachments of troops were sent at different times from Buenos Ayres, to subject them, but without success, and but few returned. Artigas’ army being all mounted, would fly when success was doubtful. Thus affairs remained till a short time since, when this people, now called gente of the ‘Banda Oriental,’ declared war against the encroaching Portuguese, and attacked Monte Video. The other provinces of the La Plata, deeply concerned in the event, and being now on good terms, assisted them, at first secretly, and at last openly, against the common enemy. The Portuguese declared war against the Patriots in toto, and the privateers of the latter will greatly annoy the Brazilian commerce, and probably be gainers by the struggle.

Ensenada is a small village, situate on the same side with Buenos Ayres, and about forty miles below. Several vessels generally lay here to take in the jerk beef, which they carry mostly to the West Indies. The manner of preparing this is simply by cutting off the flesh of the slaughtered ox, and hanging it in the air to dry. No salt is used, such is the purity of the atmosphere in this delightful climate. The entrance from the river to the village is, as before related, through narrow, winding creeks, on the sides of which, innumerable varieties of the feathered tribe, twittering from grove to grove and from spray to spray, and expanding their brilliant plumage to the sun, pour out their melodious strains of praise to the great God of nature, whose goodness is over all, and who delights in the happiness of all his creatures. The people are sociable and kind, and fond of the company of strangers, particularly Americans, whom they often amuse by their absurd and ludicrous questions respecting the customs of other countries. The houses are low, and built of earth and cane. The villagers are of a dark complexion, but many of the women are fair and have peculiarly sweet voices.

Buenos Ayres, the capital of the provinces of the Rio de La Plata, has an ancient and gloomy appearance from the water; but the traveller, on landing, finds much to be pleased with. The streets cross each other at right angles, and are mostly paved, with good side-walks. A street runs along the beach, parallel with the river, nearly the whole extent of the city, from which there is nothing to shade the prospect of the pedestrian, who can enjoy, in his early rambles, the pure and balmy breath of the morning, (which are here, in this southern latitude, particularly fine) and behold the great king of day rising in the east, as from the bed of the ocean. At the edge of the water, and below the banks, he may see, too, from the earliest dawn till noon, an immense number of black washer women, who line the whole extent of the shore, for all the washing is performed in this manner. They bring down upon their heads, large trays of clothing to the river, and select a hole or natural excavation in the tuskers of sand, which the ebbing tide has filled with water, and which is covered with grass; and kneeling upon the ground, with their pipes or cigars in their mouths, commence their labor, which is by beating instead of rubbing. They are, however, called excellent in their business, and clean clothing is considered by all ranks as an indispensable requisite.

During the warm months of summer, it is the practice in which all ranks partake, to enjoy, after a sultry and dusty day, the charming refreshment of bathing. From an hour before sunset till dark, may be seen, in the place before occupied by the washers, a mixed multitude of many hundreds of both sexes, and of all classes and ages, old men and children, young men and maidens, promiscuously, and apparently with much pleasure, performing their daily and healthy ablutions.

But start not my fair reader! Though this mixed assemblage, so employed, would appear to the refined citizen of the north to savor of a want of propriety, yet this luxury is enjoyed without any deviation from decency or good breeding. Such is the force of custom. Whole families, even the clergyman, with his household, come down and enter the water together. The females of all ranks generally form separate parties, and are each attended to the water side by a female slave, who carries a change of dress and a bathing habit. Then seated on the grass and enveloped in a sheet, they disrobe beneath their ample covering, slip on the camisa, and trip into the water. There is no appearance of impropriety, but all seem only bent on refreshing themselves, and improving this ready and cheap bath, after the heat and the dust of the day. Let the following anecdote corroborate. I was one afternoon, after my disaster, indulging in my favorite recreation of swimming, at a time when the tide was fast flowing and the waves beating to the shore. I had reached some distance from the beach, and had gained and stood resting upon a small eminence at the bottom, with my head only above water. I was desirous of trying my former feats under water, and partly forgetting my disabled leg, I plunged beneath the surface and swam a great distance farther from the bank. On rising, I perceived the tide was fast conveying me up the river, and it would require my strongest efforts to recover the shore, for the waves ran quick and short. I wanted breath, and on the ability of my lame limb I had placed too much dependence. I attempted in vain to reach the Mole Head, and the lone sentry at the end stood wondering at the motions of an object so far within the stream. Finding my situation extremely hazardous, and wishing no impediment, I stripped off my nankin pantaloons, threw them to the waves behind me, and made a last, anxious and resolute push to the land. I succeeded so far as to reach a tusker or sand bank, at the bottom, and on tiptoe I could keep my chin above water, and balancing myself to the undulating swell of the waves, I sufficiently rested myself, and luckily regained my pantaloons, which came drifting along by me. Taking a leg of this garment in my teeth, I ventured another stretch, which brought me breast high on the sand. I there drew on my covering, and searched along for my dress. Various groups had assembled on the beach during my aquatic excursion, and I was concerned for the loss of my clothes. A black, female slave at last came towards me, whose mistress she said had sent her to inform me that ‘she had removed my articles of dress higher up the banks, to a safe deposite, as the rise of the tide had threatened to sweep them away.’ I sent back for answer, that ‘I felt infinitely obliged to her, and would cheerfully, on a similar occasion, reciprocate the favor.’

At the extremity of the city, on an elevated plain, is the Plaza de los Toras, in the midst of which appears a vast amphitheatre for exhibiting the barbarous amusement, or rather cruel spectacle, of a Bull Bait. These take place in summer, of the afternoons of Sundays, and sometimes on other holidays. Their description must be shocking to the feelings, but the relation of the revolting scenes certainly may be perused, when many of the softer sex are there the applauding witnesses.

The bulls are taken from the wild herds in the interior, and they capture those of the most fierce and wild character; in other words, those that will give the most sport. These are driven by force and stratagem into the adjoining stables, where their natural ferocity is increased for several days, by starving and goading, and otherwise tormenting them.

These exhibitions are generally fully attended, and by a third part ladies. The circular and rising seats of this amphitheatre, will contain and will afford an equal view of the fight to ten or twelve thousand. On one of these sights, I remember to have seen ten bulls, six horses and one human being killed, and another wounded, in the space of three hours.

Every thing being ready, the bulls remained to be driven across the area from the stables where they were, to a smaller stable behind the amphitheatre, where each was to be kept apart. The first stable was not far from the amphitheatre, and a wall of boards six feet high was put up the whole way the bulls were to pass. At a quarter past four the ten bulls were let into the area, in order to be put into the stables at the opposite door; a man on foot led a tame ox, which had been bred with the bulls, before, to decoy them into these: they followed the ox very quietly; but they do not always do so. The three horsemen placed themselves at some distance, one on each side of, and the other opposite to the door at which the bull was to enter; the tap of a drum was the signal to let a bull in, and the man who opened the door got behind it immediately.

During this last quarter of an hour the bulls had been teazed by pricking them in the backs; this is done by persons placed on the ceiling of the stables, which was low, and consisted only of a plank laid here and there, and between those planks was space enough to use any instrument for that purpose. The bulls were distinguished by a small knot of ribbon fixed to their shoulders, the different colors of which shew where they were bred, which is known by the advertisements.

The bull made at the first horseman, who received him on the point of the spear, held in the middle tight to his side, and passing under his arm pit, which making a wide gash in the bull’s shoulder, occasioned him to draw back, the blood running in torrents; the force with which the bull ran at the man, was so great, that the shock had nearly overset him and his horse. It was then another man’s turn to wound the bull, as only one is to cope with it at a time. They are never allowed to attack the bull, but must wait the animal’s approach. The bull trotted into the middle of the area, and stared about, frighted by the clapping and hallooing of the multitude. The man on horseback always facing the beast, and turning when it turned; it then ran at the horse, and got another wound in the breast, and a third from the next horseman it attacked. It was now become mad with pain, the blood issuing from its mouth in streams, and faintness made it stagger; its eyes ‘flashed fury,’ it pawed up the ground, and lashed its sides with its tail; its breath was impetuously discharged like smoke from its nostrils, so that its head appeared as if in a mist. A drum then sounded, which was a signal for the horsemen to retire; and the men on foot began their attack, sticking barbed darts into every part of its body; the torture they inflicted made the bull leap from the ground, and run furiously at one of the men, who jumped aside; the bull then turned to another man, who had just stuck a dart into his back; the man took to his heels, and leaped over the rails, where he was safe; in this manner all the men continued tormenting the bull, who could hardly stand through loss of blood. The drum then sounded again, upon which the matador appeared, with a cloak extended on a short stick in his left hand, and in his right a two-edged sword, the blade of which was flat, four inches broad, and a yard long; he stood still, and at the moment the bull in the agonies of despair and death, made at him, he plunged the sword into the spine behind the beast’s horns, which instantly made it drop down dead. If the matador misses his aim, and cannot defend himself with the cloak, he loses his life, as the bull exerts all its remaining strength with an almost inconceivable fury. The dead bull was immediately dragged out of the area by three horses on a full gallop, whose traces were fastened to its horns. A quarter of an hour was elapsed, which is the time allowed for the murder of each bull, five minutes to the horsemen, five to the footmen, and five to the slayer.

Another bull was then let in; this was the wildest and most furious of any I ever saw. The horseman missed his aim, and the bull thrust his horns into the horse’s belly, making the bowels hang out; the horse became ungovernable, so that the man was obliged to dismount and abandon it to the bull, who pursued it round the area, till the horse fell and expired. Four other horses were successively killed by this bull, which till then, had only received slight wounds, though one of the horses had kicked its jaw to pieces. One of the horsemen broke his spear in the bull’s neck, and horse and rider fell to the ground; the rider broke his leg, and was carried off. The footmen then fell to work again, and afterwards the matador put an end to the life of this valiant animal, whose strength and courage were unavailing to save it. The third bull killed two horses, goring them under the belly, so that the intestines hung trailing on the ground. The seventh bull likewise killed two horses. In this manner were ten bulls massacred, and the whole concluded in two hours and a half. The bull’s flesh was immediately sold to the populace at ten quartos per pound, which is about three pence.

When the last bull had been sufficiently wounded by the horsemen, the mob were allowed to enter the area; they attacked the bull on all sides, and killed it with their knives and daggers. The bull sometimes tosses some of these fellows over its head.’

It should be remembered that in the interior, around the circle, are double walls of oak, with sally ports to the inner one, and a passage way between them of three feet wide. These apertures are sufficient to admit a man, but the toro cannot enter. Through these, when hotly pursued, the gladiator will escape, and the bull vents his rage on the impregnable walls.

A powerful black bull was now let in, and made instantly and without a stop, at the horseman, who stood ready, twenty feet from the door, with his spear firmly balanced and pointed to receive him. The aim was true, but the point struck a bone, which threw the horse upon his hind legs, and a lance twelve feet long, of an arm’s thickness, was shivered to pieces. The furious animal directly pursued his advantage, and the horse was overthrown, with the rider underneath him, whose case was at this time extremely dangerous. Generally, at the first wound of the spear, the bull will turn off in another direction; but when they push on, as those of a savage nature sometimes will, the horse is thrown to the ground, and the spearsman’s situation is, of course, very perilous. Such was the wonderful strength of the bull in this case, that the struggling horse was lifted free from the ground by the surprising power of his enemy’s horns, apparently with the ease that an apple might be raised by a fork. With difficulty, however, the rider extricated himself, and attempted to fly. The gladiators on foot ran to his rescue, and attempted, with their bright colored mantles, to draw off the beast and divert him from his purpose; but mad with rage, and scorning their efforts, he jumped across the prostrate horse, (drawing out his horns from his body) and quickly pursued his biped foe. The latter strained every nerve to reach the port-hole, and one hand was even within it, but the horns of his pursuer were the next instant in his ribs, and he was impaled against the wall. He was an old man, of a dreadful, cruel and relentless countenance; had committed many unprovoked murders, and was once condemned to be shot; but he chose rather to hazard his life weekly against wild beasts in the ring, and at last, having been twenty years so perilously employed, was thus killed by a brute of a nature nearly akin to his own.

At any feat of dexterity from the gladiator, handfuls of dollars are sometimes thrown by the rich spectators, which he deliberately picks up and pockets, amid the shouts of ‘bravo!’ and the waving of handkerchiefs.

A party will sometimes be seated and regaling themselves at a table opposite the doors in the lists, and a bull will be let out upon them, at which they take to flight, with their bottles; except one bold fellow, who leaps from the table, vaulting over the bull’s horns, and lights straddling upon his back, facing his tail, while chairs, table, &c., are tossed about his head. At other times, a solitary fighter will be stationed on one knee, a few feet from the entrance, with a short thick pike, very sharp, pointed toward the door, with the butt end firmly fixed in the ground, and wait the victim’s approach. This is the most ready way of death; for the bull, driving at the object, makes fiercely for the recumbent and watchful foe, but drops before he reaches him, for the pike head is buried in his brain. But enough has been said of such heart-hardening scenes.

We will now turn to a custom of less savage, and of a wholly different character—to the three holidays, (which they zealously celebrate) called the time of ‘Carnival.’ On these days, all business is suspended, and woe to the landed stranger, of whatever rank, who shall attempt to pass through the streets of the city. The flat and low roofs of the houses, are thronged with the women, whose slaves have provided them with a large supply of water in tubs, and with which they inundate the luckless passenger below. The field officer on horseback, and the poor paysano from the country, share alike the effects of their deluging streams—the horsemen will by speed attempt to escape the shower; but tubs are emptied far in advance, from the watchful throng above, in quick succession.

The men are no less busy in the streets, annoying the other sex, who are frequently pursued even to their inner chambers. No offence can be or must be taken, and no redress may be expected for mischief done.

Many of the boys get a few rials, by the carrying about in baskets and vending of egg shells, filled with scented water and closed with wax, which the men buy and pocket, and pelt every female with them, who inconsiderately exposes herself to their attacks. On a time like this, I once saw from my lodgings, a party of a dozen, who assailed a house a short distance below, on the opposite side of the street. The windows have iron gratings from top to bottom, by means of which, a person can ascend and scale the walls and gain the roof. A part of these sporters made this attempt, while the women on the terrace, assisted by their slaves, discharged their torrents and poured a flood on the heads of the besiegers. They at last gained the terrace, and the women fled to their lower apartments, pursued by the enemy. Here they made a stand and beseeched their invaders to proceed no farther, and appealed to the honor and generosity of cavalleros, not to invade the privacy of a lady’s chamber. The appeal was effective, and they instantly desisted and turned to retire; but seeing the enemy’s magazines of water in large, low hogsheads, and the slaves who had so obstinately repulsed them standing near, they could not resist the temptation, and seizing at once the screaming blacks, they deliberately plunged them headlong into the vessels, and made a speedy retreat.

The Theatre is a low and miserable looking edifice, (though a new one was remaining unfinished) and the performers at a par with the building. It is, however, well attended, and the second or upper range of seats is filled wholly with women. The prompter’s head appears from an aperture in the centre of the stage, with a lamp before him, and whose voice is as audible as the players, who repeat after him. I went once to see Shakspeare murdered, and a scene in the afterpiece furnished a circumstance that will afford a finishing picture to this brief outline. The farce was called the ‘Haunted House,’ the possessor of which wished to get rid of his nocturnal and troublesome visiters. He had summoned a procession of the holy order to purify the premises; but the number of players, otherwise fully engaged, being too small for this purpose, they hit upon a very ready though outre expedient to supply the deficiency. The church of San Domingo stood on the opposite corner, and application was there made, upon the pinch, for a supply of its disciples, and a dozen were engaged at a rial a piece. These shortly appeared upon the stage, in propria persona, with belt and hood, and holy water, which they sprinkled profusely around, chaunting ‘Anda te diablo.’

There is a conveyance—a clumsy vehicle, drawn by six horses—which leaves here once a month for Chili, proceeding as far as the foot of the Andes. Here, leaving their horses, the travellers are obliged to mount on mules, as being more sure footed than horses, and the passages over the mountains are, at certain places, narrow and dangerous. The mule only can be here rode with safety, on account of the narrow passages winding along the sides of these stupendous mountains. The astonished traveller, when traversing along this ridge of frightful precipices, beholds with dismay the yawning chasms beneath him, where the least mis-step would infallibly and irrecoverably plunge him in the fearful abyss below. He follows, in breathless silence, the slow and steady motions of his guide, who directs him to slack his reins, to preserve perfect silence, to leave the beast to its own guidance, and even if tottering with dizziness, to close his eyes. These injunctions need no repetition. Sometimes, in the lower places, in thick and misty weather, the guides will lose the track and wander till they regain it several days in the snow. This a Dutch captain once told me was his case, and he was much harrassed by the hard riding, and sick even at the sight of a horse. The passage is generally performed in about twenty days, and the distance from Buenos Ayres to St. Jago or Lima, is about four hundred leagues.

During the war with the royalists in the interior, the Buenos Ayrean troops gained many important victories. On these occasions the public square was splendidly decorated, having arches formed of large trees, and on the branches in the centre of each of these, were suspended lamps, and all the verdant pillars were profusely supplied with large wax candles, of a yard in length and of an arm’s thickness, as well as the monument in the centre, which, when lighted in the evening, produce the brilliancy of a noon-day blaze.

A large platform was erected on one of these occasions, in the midst of the square, and a grand dance performed by a volunteer party of young gentlemen, who were arrayed in the fashion of the native Peruvians, having a flesh colored velvet dress, with a band of large variegated feathers around their heads, and another about the loins. They went through the evolutions with much grace and received great applause. The music was by a superior band, which was placed on an elevated station a short distance from them.

Horses, bullocks, dogs and sheep, in these vast regions, run wild, in immense flocks and herds. The swine are of small size, and always black. The hunters, at certain seasons, form parties to procure the hides and tallow of the wild cattle, and leave the carcases to be devoured by the dogs.

These latter animals abound here in infinite variety and numbers. Here may be seen the bull dog, mastiff, pointer, water dog, terrier, spaniel, butcher, shepherd, and ship dog, and sometimes all in a company together. Some of them are of formidable size, and often dangerous to the traveller, as I once experienced.

On a lovely morning—during my lameness—in the month of February, which is, in this latitude, mid-summer, I took my fowling piece, and at day break sauntered along the river side after game. Before the sun rises, ducks are often plenty about the little ponds at the extremity of the city. I wanted to try my gun, and a drove of horses passing slowly along enabled me to approach within shot of a couple of large birds, like cranes, which were stalking about in the water. I fired and killed one and wounded the other, who made off with his broken wing into the water, and the dead one I drew up on the beach and hid him in the grass, resolving to take him on my return. He measured nearly five feet high, his legs being two feet long, of a bright red; his neck was very long, and his body covered with beautiful snow white plumage. Proceeding, I found the ducks were, at this time, unusually shy, and I had got but half a dozen. I then put in a heavier charge and larger shot, in hopes of touching a group of swans which I saw in a small pond far ahead, but could not get near them, and the sun being now up, I resolved to strike across the fields and gain the high road to the city, from which I had wandered nearly two miles. In passing through some olive trees, I was started by a rustling noise on my left, which caused me to turn round, when I saw a large dog cutting through the bushes, open mouthed, towards me! As I knew I must fight, for I could not run, I grounded the breech of my gun, and in an erect and steady attitude, hoping to dismay him, awaited his coming up. He soon did so, making directly towards me, and trying, with great ferocity, to get a bite at my leg behind. This I found he soon would succeed in, and with a quick movement I altered my position, and bending down, presented my piece with the muzzle to his head, and following him round as he endeavored to get behind me, he being within a few inches, I hastily cocked and fired. He received in his shoulder the whole charge of swan shot, yet desisted not. Seizing then the barrel, I gave him a blow with the butt of the gun, and forced him to yield, when he set up a yell, and went howling upon three legs. I instantly began to reload, for I saw a second dog, equally formidable, approaching at full speed, to assist his companion. The latter luckily fell down as the second dog reached him, who smelt for a moment about his prostrate comrade, then turned tail and retreated.

The milk is brought in and cried about the city by country boys, from seven to fourteen years old, on horseback, who have a peculiar song of their own, which I never could interpret, by which they give notice of their approach. The milk is contained in earthen jugs, placed in panniers made of hide, on each side of the horse, holding three jugs each. Notwithstanding the infinity of horses, I never saw a mare in the streets of Buenos Ayres; and a person riding one would be subject to derision and abuse, as much as if he were mounted on a cow, mares being kept only for breeding. Horses may here be bought from one to twenty dollars, but mules are much more valuable—not for being less plenty, but because they are more difficult to tame, and are truly of a most perverse and obstinate nature. They are sometimes exported to the Cape of Good Hope.

A vessel at sea had once a cargo of these beasts on board, when a violent storm arose, in which they broke from their fasts in the hold and ascended upon deck; here they fell to kicking and biting, and drove the mariners aloft, and the man at the helm also fled. The bark carried away her masts, and every thing threatened a wreck. At last, by the help of some spars, they succeeded in pushing a dozen of their mad passengers overboard; and driving the rest below, regained command of the ship, and put back for repairs.

Leopards, lions and wild cats are plenty, but I do not think their natures so savage as those of Africa. The leopards, which they call tigres, are very large, and their beautiful skins are sold very cheap.

The ostriches are very strong birds, and will ride a stout boy on their backs. They eat the most indigestive substances, such as iron, stone and wood. They are a coarse and dirty looking bird, and those bright and tasty feathers they afford, are plucked from their tails, where the long ones only grow.

Fruits of many kinds are plenty, especially melons, grapes and peaches. These, as well as every thing else in this most fertile country, are cultivated with little labor, and the soil, I believe, would produce, in abundance and perfection, every thing desired, if the natives were not too careless and indolent to bestow an effort to cultivate them. This indolence, it has been said, may be attributed to this very fertility of soil and softness of climate, and as the earth here gives her increase without much labor, they have not the necessity for toil as those of a less yielding and more rocky region.

The general character of the people of these vast provinces is mild and peaceable; they are rather indolent, but hospitable in the extreme. They are incessant smokers, and fond of a sip from a gourd shell of the favorite yerba, rather than the stronger liquors. This yerba is an indispensable beverage with all ranks, and is instantly made by merely pouring hot water (which is ever at hand) to the matte, in the shell. They suck this very hot, through a tube. This liquor is always offered to visiters, and passed and repassed from guest to guest.

The women are generally below the usual stature, with expressive black eyes, black hair, flute-like voices, and dress and walk when abroad with much circumspection, and flirt the fan—their constant appendage—with exquisite grace and skill. The complexions of some are tinged; but many, as I before observed, are extremely fair; and some, I have thought, approached, in form and feature, the nearest to the perfection of beauty of any I had ever seen. The country girls smoke cigars, and all the sex are extremely fond of flowers, which they rear in great profusion and in infinite variety. On entering the hospitable and social dwellings of the farmers, the matte cup, the cigar and a bunch of flowers, are always presented. They are remarkably temperate, and I have often seen the teamsters at a pulperia or shop, passing around a single glass of aguadente, or rum, which they would leisurely sip, and which was amply sufficient for half a dozen men.

The country carts, in which they transport their produce from the interior, deserve notice. They are the most awkward, heavy and singular vehicles ever seen; and one of them passing through our streets, would attract as much notice as a moving menagerie. The cart is, in fact, about the height of a two story house, the sides and roof formed of flags and cane, but the bottom of hard and solid wood, which, with the wheels, are monstrously clumsy. On the front part of the wagon, under the arched roof, in an elevated station, sits the driver. Over his head is suspended and poised, a stout pole, of great length, which extends from the cart to the foremost of the six yoke of oxen; the end of this is spear-pointed, and by moving the inner end, he can touch and guide the leading yoke. In his hand he holds a shorter pole, also pointed, with which he governs the nearer cattle. Lashed on with hide strings, at the tail of the cart, is a large earthen jar, of twenty gallons, to contain water. Thus furnished, the machine moves at a slow pace, and as they never grease the axles, the creak of the wheels may be heard a mile distant.

When the caravan halts to encamp, they choose a vacant and convenient place, and making a fire, prepare for supper. They drive stakes into the ground, on which, against the fire, they stretch a piece of beef to roast, and then squatting in a circle around, and with a kettle of matte only, thus eat their simple but plentiful meal, with great relish, without bread or salt, the remnants of which last them through the next day.

At the vesper hour in the city, at sun set, the stranger who walks the streets is amazed at the sudden and simultaneous stop of the passing multitude at the solemn toll of the bell. Looking around him, he sees each uncovered passenger standing like a statue, and every sound is hushed to silence.

In passing a church, all ranks lift the hat; even the milk boy, and the abovementioned wagoner, will simultaneously raise his sombrero.

Another equally superstitious and universal custom deserves a passing notice. I was once, on a fine afternoon, about sun set, seated at an extensive table, in the spacious court yard of a coffee house, amidst a vast number of officers, priests, and citizens, partaking of a cup of their excellent cafe solo, when suddenly was heard, at a distance, the tinkling of a small bell, of a well known and peculiar sound. Every one present, even to the waiters, hastily left their seats, and thronging to the doors and windows, fell upon their knees and awaited the approach of the sacred host. A heavy, old fashioned coach, profusely gilt, drawn by four mules, soon slowly appeared, surrounded with a guard of four soldiers. When abreast of the prostrate devotees, they all fell to crossing themselves and repeating the pater noster. This venerable carriage contains a holy father, who goes to administer the sacrament of extreme unction to some departing catholic. Frequently in passing the street, I have been obliged, at the sound of this reverenced bell, to step over the heads of the kneeling group at the door, and retreat from the indignity of kneeling to an old coach and half starved mules. Obedience to this rite, even from strangers, is rigidly enforced; and an English naval captain, in full dress for a ball, was once compelled to get upon his knees, and arose vowing vengeance and leaving his scented cambric handkerchief in the mud.

There is a nunnery of a very strict order in the lower part of the city, and I once had lodgings within the sound of its midnight bell, whose solemn toll, at the dead hour of twelve, summoned the inmates to their nightly devotions.

The ceremony of taking the veil is extremely impressive and affecting. The individual, I believe, has her own unbiassed choice, in thus retreating from the world, and the motives probably are loss of friends, unhappy attachments, or, perhaps, a melancholy disposition. The parent or guardian pays a large sum to the institution, and the applicant is admitted on trial. At the expiration of this term, if she still resolves to embrace this solitary life, she confirms her purpose in the assembled church, by taking the veil.

In one case, a modest young creature, about the age of sixteen, interesting, beautiful, and just blooming into womanhood, was presented to the gaze of the spectators, and appeared to attest to this mournful resolution. As her attendants unbound her hair, and the ample tresses fell upon her shoulders, and the profusion of jetty ringlets were severed from her reclining and finely formed head, there arose in the mind a throb of painful feeling, from the contemplation that this fair being was about taking a last look at the bright scenes around her; and that such youth and beauty should be immured for life within the cold walls of a convent, and the ends of creation be thus perverted by the iron sway of tyrant custom.

These absurd ceremonies are derived from the all pervading influence of the priests, who blind the eyes of the people, and strive to keep them in ignorance and error. Even the blessing and privilege of possessing and reading the bible is denied them; indeed, but few of the lower class can read at all.

To keep up their power, the priests use every means to prevent the spread of knowledge; for full well they know, that should the minds of the people be enlightened, common sense would prevail, and they would awake to their impositions, and throw off the debasing yoke of superstition; and priestcraft would expire.

The multitude of padres, priests, friars, clericos and church dependents, is incredible, and compose a large portion of the population. They may be seen in all places, with full, contented faces, under their broad brimmed hats, reverenced and bowed to by all; living upon the fat of the land, and one may enter without ceremony all parts of any house at any hour, without fear of interruption, on leaving his hat and cane in the passage—‘he is confessing the females, and must not be disturbed.’

There is one of the canine species here, as also in Brazil, of a mouse color and without hair! At Ensenada, I saw one of this kind; he was full grown, though not larger than a rat. His body was of a jet black, with a shining, smooth skin, without hair or even down, excepting at the tip of his tail and on the crown of his head. He was of a perfect and handsome form, nimble in his motions, and would bark and play with the manners of a lady’s lap dog. I regretted that I could not obtain him, for I considered him a very curious animal.

Fish in great plenty swarm in the river, and are some of them of a beautiful appearance. In the market, some may be seen for sale, four feet long, with gold colored scales, some of a silvery hue, and a great variety of other kinds, of which, a species of fresh water cat fish are the most numerous, and the cheapest.

Beef is sold without weighing, often at seventy five cents per quarter; and a whole sheep, ready dressed, for twenty five cents!

The slaves are always well used and fed, and the majority appear to be as much at leisure, and full as happy as their masters.

In the warm months of summer, between the hours of two and four, a person may walk through the city and not meet any moving object, a deathlike stillness pervading the once bustling and crowded streets. From the scorching rays of a verticle sun, they retire to the recesses and shades, to enjoy, in the arms of Morpheus, their favorite siesta, or afternoon nap. At this time, none but dogs and Englishmen, they say, (by which term they mean all foreigners) are to be seen in the streets. The shutters of the shops and houses are closed; the muleteers and peones are snoring under the piazzas, and the dogs are stretched out under cover; while the shopkeeper is sleeping on his counter, and the drayman under the shadow of his cart. I have said they are enjoying their siesta, but there is one drawback upon their comfort—fleas!—which here abound in numbers without number. The habitations having all brick floors, afford ample retreats for these formidable disturbers of dreams.

The paysanos are wonderfully expert on horseback; yet having for a saddle, only a few pieces of square cloth and leather, and triangular wooden stirrups, with green hide straps, into which they hook the great toe. Their method of catching the wild cattle is very dexterous and singular. They are provided with lassos, which is a strip of hide line thirty feet long, with an iron ring and noose at one end, and the other secured to the saddle, at the side of which the coil is suspended. Having selected an animal from the herd, the guacha takes the coil in his hand, and swinging it fairly around his head a few times, still in chase, throws out the noose with surprising good aim, the distance of twenty feet, which falls over the bullock’s head, and turning his horse, draws tight and secures him by his horns; another hunter in the rear then throws a second noose, which entraps his hind legs, and by pulling in opposite directions, the bull is easily overthrown.

The estancias, or large farms, in the interior, are very productive and profitable, and the fertility of the soil and the salubrity of the climate, in these provinces, render the profession of the physician little room for active service.

To conclude—the people, by which I mean the middling and higher classes, are of amiable dispositions, strong natural sense, eager for information, and ardent lovers of liberty; highly honoring their military chieftains, and often speaking with enthusiastic pride of the heroic and beloved Bolivar. The march of mind, in these vast territories, must keep pace with the rapid strides of liberty, and truth and knowledge will ultimately prevail over despotism and superstition. Living in this delightful clime, and possessing this fruitful soil, with their devoted love of country, and their ardent thirst for knowledge, the speculative and contemplative mind of the philosopher and philanthropist may look forward—piercing the veil of futurity—and behold the native of Paraguay and the rough Patagonian, enjoying with the Chilian and the Peruvian, the invaluable blessing of an enlightened government; and tribes yet unknown, filling, at the sound of the Sabbath bell, the consecrated temples of the Most High.

Far in the west, beneath auspicious skies,

In fertile vales, see mighty nations rise!

Where the stain’d savage chas’d the bounding deer,

See crowded marts and towering spires appear.

In eastern climes, though freedom’s torch expires,

Here it shall flame, and still increase its fires.

On fam’d Parnassus, tho’ extinct her light,

It proudly burns on Chimborazo’s height.

Sad Greece! with foes in fearful odds at bay,

While christian nations doubt to join the fray,

And friends forsake, nor prayers nor valor heed—

(Shame to their souls!)—in this thy utmost need.

Yet courage, Greece! thy cherish’d name shall live,

And in its ancient glory shall revive;

Yes! freedom’s car o’er every realm shall roll,

And spread her choicest gifts from pole to pole;

Oppression’s chains to endless night be hurl’d,

And Independence crown a smiling world!