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Show 170 BANDA ORIENTAL. Nov. 1833. Britain. These gentlemen have learned to like power, and do not object to a little skirmishing. Hence there are many, always on the watch to create disturbance and to overturn a government, which as yet has never rested on a~y stable foundation. I noticed however, both here and m other places, a very general interest in the .ensuing election f~r the President· and this appears a good sign for the prospenty of this little ~ountry. The inhabitants do not require m~ch e~ucation in their representatives ; I heard some men d1scussmg the merits of those for Colonia; and it was said that, " although they were not men of business, they could all sign their names :" with this every reasonable man was satisfied. 18TH.- Rode with my host to his estancia, at the Arroyo de San Juan. In the evening we took a ride round the estate. It contained two square leagues and a half; and was situated in what is called a rincon; that is, one side was fronted by the Plata, and the two others guarded by impassable brooks. There was an excellent port for little vessels, and an abundance of small wood, which is valuable as supplying fuel to Buenos Ayres. I was curious to know the value of so complete an estancia. Of cattle there were 3000, and it would well support three or four times that number; of mares 800, together with 150 broken horses, and 600 sheep. There was plenty of water and limestone, a rough house, excellent corrals, and a peach orchard. For all this he had been offered 2000Z., and only wanted 500l. additional, and probably would sell it for less. The chief trouble with an estancia, is driving the cattle twice a week to a central spot, in order to make them tame, and to count them. This latter operation would be thought difficult, where there are ten or fifteen thousand head together. It is managed on the principle that the cattle invariably divide themselves into little troops of from forty to one hundred. Each troop is recognised by a few peculiarly marked animals, and its number is known: so that, one being lost out of ten thousand, it is perceived by its absence from one of the tropillas. L \ \ Nov. 1833. RIO URUGUAY. 171 During a stormy night the cattle all mingle together; but the next morning the tropillas separate as before. NovEMBER 19TH.-Passing the village of Las Vacas, we slept at a house of a North American, who worked a limekiln on the Arroyo de las Vivoras. In the morning we rode to a projecting headland on the banks of the river, called Punta Gorda. On the way we tried to find a jaguar. There were plenty of fresh tracks, and we visited the trees, on which they are said to sharpen their claws; but we did not succeed in disturbing one. From this point the Rio Uruguay presented to our view a noble volume of water. From the clearness and rapidity of the stream, its appearance was far superior to that of its neighbour the Parana. On the opposite coast, · several branches from the latter river entered the Uruguay. As the sun was shining, the two colours of the waters could be seen quite distinct. The geological section presented by the cliffs was interesting. At St. Fe, a stratum with marine remains was seen gradually passing into an estuary deposit. Here we have an alternation of action ;-a circumstance no ways improbable in a great bay. A formation of red earthy clay, with nodules of marl, and in every respect identical with that of the Pampas, is covered by a white limestone, containing large extinct oysters, and other marine shells ; and over this again, is placed the reddish earthy matter, as in the rest of Banda Oriental. In the evening we proceeded on our road towards Mercedes on the Rio Negro. At night we asked permission to sleep at an estancia, at which we happened to arrive. It was a very large estate, being ten leagues square, and the owner is one of the greatest landowners in the country. His nephew had charge of it, and with him there was a captain in the army, who the other day ran away from Buenos Ayres. Considering their station, their conversation was rather amusing. They expressed, as was usual, unbounded astonishment at the globe being round, and could scarcely credit that a hole would, if deep enough, come out on the other side. They had, however, heard of a |