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Show 84 RIO COLORADO. Aug. 1833. . try was a swa mp ' which in su. mmer, the surroundmg coun the Cordillera, IS over-( December) when t l1 e sn ow mhe' ltfs omn usement was watchm· g . My c Ie a h flowed by the nver. t buy little articles at t e the Indian fami' l'I es as they came o d that General R osas . d It was suppose rancho where we stai . . u· The men were a tall, ' . d d Indmn a Ies. . . had about SIX hun re d to see in the Fuegian . · fterwar s easy fine race, yet It was a d red hideous by cold, want savaO'e the same co untenance reSn e e authors in defim. ng the o . T t' om ' of food, and less CIVI Iza wn. ted these Indians into k' nd have separa primary races of man I ' think this is correct. Among the two classes ; but I cannot d e to be called even h' some eserv Young women or c mas, but bright and black ; Th · h · was coarse, . beautiful. e~ . air laits hanging down to the waist. and they wore It m two p d that glistened with bril- They had a high colour, an eyes e small and elegantly . 1 f et and arms wer liancy ; their egs, e ' t' their waists were orna- . kl nd some tmes ' formed; their an es, a f blue beads. Nothing could be mented by broad bracelets o f h £ 'ly groups. A mother . th some o t e ami more interestmg an ld ften come to our rancho, with one or two daughters wouTho 'de like men but with h horse ey n ' mounted on t e same 1. h' h This habit, perhaps, . k d p muc 1 IO' er. . their knees tuc e u o d hen travelling, to nde . h · being accustome , w anses from t eir d t f the women is to load and the loaded horses. The k u yl ot ts for the niO'ht ; in short h h . to rna e t 1e en o unload t e orses ' f 1 slaves The men to be, like the wives of all s~vages, :~e ~ake the. riding gear. fight, hunt, take care of the orse~, a . to knock two stones One of their chief indoor occup;twn;~s bolas is a very imtogether till they become ro~n .' for ;th it he catches his ortant weapon to the lndmn ' 1 . In p d also his horse which roams free over the ~ amd. game, an . h the horse of his a verfighting, his first attempt IS to t ro~ db the fall to kill him sar with the bolas, and when entang e y d of w.i tyh t h e ch uzo. If the balls only catch the neck or bo y 1 t As the an animal they are often carried away and os . d the l . 0' th'e stones round is the labour of two ays, t rna ono ploymen . manufacture of the balls is a very common em Aug. 1833. RIO COLORADO. 85 Several of the men and women had their faces painted red, but I never saw the horizontal bands which are so common among the Fuegians. Their chief pride consists in having every thing made of silver; I have seen a cacique with his spurs, stirrups, handle of his knife, and bridle made of this metal : the head - stall and reins being of wire, were not thicker than whipcord; and to see a fiery steed, wheeliug about under the command of so light a chain, gave to the horsemanship a remarkable character of elegance. General Rosas intimated a wish to see me; a circumstance which I was afterwards very glad of. He is a man of an extraordinary character, and has a most predominant influence in the country, which it seems probable he will use to its prosperity and advancement. He is said to be the owner of seventy-four square leagues of land, and to have about three hundred thousand head of cattle. His estates are admirably managed, and are far more productive of . corn than any others. He first gained his celebrity by his laws for his own estancias, and by disciplining several hundred men, so as to resist with success the attacks of the Indians. There are many stories current about the rigid manner in which his laws were enforced. One of these was, that no man, on penalty of being put into the stocks, should carry his knife on a Sunday : this day being the principal one for gambling and drinking, many quarrels arose, which from the general manner of fighting with the knife often proved fatal. One Sunday the Governor came in great form to pay the Estancia a visit, and General Rosas, in his hurry, walked out to receive him with his knife, as usual, stuck in his belt. The steward touched his arm, and reminded him of the law; upon which turning to the Governor, he said he was extremely sorry, but that he must go into the stocks, and that till let out, he possessed no power even in his own house. After a little time the steward was persuaded to open the stocks, and to let him out, but no sooner was this done, than he turned to the steward and said, " You now l1ave broken the laws, so you must take my place in the stocks!' |
