Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/buenosayresprovi00pari_0 £pcs' mca tn Deo e3t. ErriGIES-S’EDASTI ANI-CABOTI • ij S ANCLIFILIHOHANl S-CABOTI'VEM ETII ! j M ILITIS'AVKATI'PR I M V INVENT-! ! •OKISTKRR/tiMOV^.-SVB HERICO-VII] I AN GLIAL REIVE ! After a picture by Holbein , in the King’s Collection , temp. Henry VI II., lately in possession of Charles Joseph Harford, Esq., and engraved in Beyer's ‘ Memoirs of Bristol 1825. “ £Tf)e gootr olDe anU farnuse titan,” Master jbebasttan ffiabote, Lansdowne MS “ ftoulti me tfjat f)e teas fcont at 13rsstotoe.” Richard Eden. Frontispiece. BUENOS AYRES AND THE PROVINCES OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA: FROM THEIR DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST BY THE SPANIARDS TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THEIR POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE. WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THEltt PRESENT STATE, TRADE, DEBT, ETC. ; AN APPENDIX OF HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL DOCUMENTS ; AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE GEOLOGY AND FOSSIL MONSTERS OF THE PAMPAS. BY SIR WOODBINE PARISH, K.C.H., F.R.S., G.S., VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, AND MANY YEARS CHARGE D’AFFAIRES OF H. B.M. AT BUENOS AYRES. SECOND EDITION, ENLARGED, WITH A NEW MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS, LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1852. London : Printed by W. Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street. THE GETTY Cisf» UBRARY CONTENTS. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER page xxiii PART I. THE CONQUEST AND GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCES OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA BY SPAIN. CHAPTER I. THE DISCOVERY OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA. Page De Solis, the first discoverer, killed by the Natives .... 3 Cabot disappointed in England ........ 4 Invited to Spain by Charles V. ........ 4 Appointed Piloto Mayor ......... 4 Sent on a Voyage to the Spice Islands ...... 4 His Officers mutiny off Brazil ........ 4 Proceeds up the Parand, ......... 5 Builds Fort San Espiritu 5 Explores the River Paraguay ........ 5 -Defeats the Indians near the Vermejo ...... 6 They bring him Silver, and accounts of Peru ..... 6 Blamed for naming the River “ La Plata” ...... 8 The Emperor approves his conduct ....... 8 Pizarro’s arrival in Spain from Peru ....... 9 Delays the sending aid to Cabot ....... 9 He returns in consequence to Europe . . . . . . .10 Resumes his old office of Piloto Mayor ...... 10 News received of the Conquest of Peru . . . . . .11 Spirit of Enterprise in consequence . . . . . . .11 Armaments for Peru and the Rio de la Plata . . . .11 CHAPTER II. THE CONQUEST. Mendoza’s Armament for the Rio de la Plata . . . , .12 His agreement with Charles V. . .... 12 a 2 VI CONTENTS. Page Joined by Persons of Rank . . . . . . . . .13 The Fleet sails for Brazil ......... 14 Osorio the General put to death 14 Disgust of the People in consequence . . . . . . .15 Reach Buenos Ayres and land there . . . . . . .15 Hostile attack upon the Natives 16 The Adelantado’s Brother slain by them 16 Dire Famine among the Spaniards 17 Besieged by the Indians . . . . . . . . .17 Ayolas obtains Food from the Timbus . . . . . . .18 Builds a Fort on the Carcarana . . . . . . . .18 Mendoza proceeds there 18 Terrible mortality amongst his Followers ...... 18 Ayolas, sent up the River, does not return . . . . . .18 The Adelantado sails for Spain and dies . . . . . .18 His secret Instructions to Ayolas . . . . . . .18 Ayolas killed by the Payagua Indians . . . . . .21 Yrala elected Governor . . . . . . . . .*22 The Spaniards established in Paraguay ...... 22 CHAPTER III. THE SPANIARDS IN PARAGUAY — THEY REACH PERU. Yrala : his character and first measures ....... 23 Commencement of the City of Assumption ...... 23 Improved position of the Spaniards in Paraguay ..... 24 Industry of the Guarani Tribes ........ 24 The Spaniards intermarry with them ....... 25 A Guarani Woman saves them from a Conspiracy .... 25 Cabeza de Vaca appointed Adelantado ...... 26 His march from St. Catherine’s ........ 28 Reaches Assumption in safety ........ 30 Chastises the warlike Guaycurus ....... 31 His Ships arrive by the Parana ........ 32 Earthquake on the passage up ........ 32 The Adelantado sets out for Peru ....... 33 Reaches the Xarayes during the Inundation ..... 33 The People attacked by Sickness, Mosquitoes, and Vampires . . 34 Oblige Cabeza de Vaca to return ....... 34 Conspiracy against him 35 He is imprisoned and sent to Spain ....... 35 Yrala again chosen Governor ........ 36 Puts down a Rebellion of the Indians 36 Projects a new Expedition to Peru ....... 36 Crosses the Country of the C’hiquitos ....... 37 Schmidel’s account of the March . . . . . .38 CONTENTS. vii Page Intelligence of Pizarro’s Rebellion ....... 39 Yrala sends Messengers to La Gasca 39 Who orders him back to Paraguay ....... 39 Dissatisfaction of his Followers ........ 40 They take with them the first Sheep and Goats ..... 40 Disturbances in Paraguay ......... 40 Yrala restores Peace . . . . . . . . . .41 CHAPTER IY. YRALA AND DE GARAY — THE LATTER FOUNDS BUENOS AYRES. Yrala’s conquest of La Guayrd .*...... 42 The encroachments of the Paulistas ....... 42 To make Slaves of the Indians ........ 42 The Emperor makes Yrala Captain-General ..... 43 The first Bishop reaches Paraguay 43 Telegraphic Signals used by the Natives ...... 43 Repartimiento of the Indians ........ 44 Regulations regarding their Vassalage ....... 45 Subsequent measures of the Jesuits ....... 47 Nuflo de Chaves sent up the Paraguay ...... 47 Death of Yrala ........... 48 Succeeded by his Sons-in-law ........ 48 Chaves reaches Peru 48 Founds Santa Cruz de la Sierra 49 He returns to Paraguay . . . . . . . . .49 Persuades the Governor to go to Peru ....... 50 The Bishop and a large Retinue accompany him ..... 50 Is deprived of his Government by the Audiencia ..... 50 The Viceroy appoints Zarate in his place . . . . . .51 Caceres returns to Paraguay as his Lieutenant . . . . .51 The Bishop heads a Party against him . . . . . . .51 He is imprisoned and sent to Spain . . . . . . .51 De Garay founds Santa Fe 52 Receives news of Zarate ......... 52 Rescues him from the Charruas ........ 52 Zarate reaches Paraguay and dies ....... 52 De Garay appointed Lieutenant-Governor ...... 52 And made Guardian of his Daughter . . . . . . .52 He founds new Settlements in Paraguay ...... 53 Re-establishes that at Buenos Ayres ....... 54 Signally defeats the Querandis ........ 54 Is slain by the Indians three years after ...... 55 Yrala and De Garay the Heroes of the Conquest ..... 56 Government of the Rio de la Plata founded in 1620 .... 56 VI 11 CONTENTS. CHAPTER Y. COMMERCIAL RESTRICTIONS OF SPAIN — BUENOS AYRES MADE THE SEAT OF A VICEROYALTY. Page Paraguay, Buenos Ayres, and Tucuman ...... 57 Divided into Three Governments ....... 57 Restrictive policy of the Mother Country ...... 58 The Treaty of Utrecht gives the English the Asiento .... 59 A pretext for Contraband Trade ........ 59 The Portuguese obtain Colonia ........ 60 Their Smuggling Trade ......... 60 Monte Video founded in 1726 . . . . . . .62 Treaty between Spain and Portugal of 1750 . . . . .62 Colonia exchanged for the Uruguay Missions ..... 62 VThe Indians resist their occupation ....... 62 The Yiceroyalty of Buenos Ayres established in 1776 . . . . 64 Cevallos sent out w ith 10,000 Men ....... 64 Takes St. Catherine’s and dismantles Colonia 64 Peace restored in 1777, by the Treaty of San Ildefonso ... 65 Which gives Colonia for ever to Spain ...... 65 Spain opens the Colonial Trade ........ 66 The Free Trade Regulations of 1778 66 Founded on Protection to Spanish Industry ...... 67 Consequent complaints of the South Americans ..... 67 Increase and prosperity of Buenos Ayres . . . . .69 CHAPTER YI. INDEPENDENCE ESTABLISHED. Effect of the British Invasions of 1806 and 1807 .... 70 Arrival of the Prince Regent in Brazil ...... 70 Offers to take the Buenos Ayreans under his protection . . .71 Their spirited Reply stops his Pretensions . . . . . .71 Joseph Bonaparte declared King of Spain . . . . . .71 Treatment of his Messenger by the Buenos Ayreans . . . .71 Loyal feeling in favour of Ferdinand VII. ...... 72 Effect of the French occupation of Spain ...... 72 Distrust of the Viceroy Liniers ........ 72 Elio sets up a Junta at Monte Video ....... 72 A similar attempt at Buenos Ayres put down in 1809 .... 73 Cisneros sent from Spain to replace Liniers ...... 73 Is obliged to open the Trade ........ 73 Alarmed by the French successes in Spain . . . . . .74 Convokes a Public Meeting ........ 74 Which establishes a Provisional Junta (1810) ..... 74 CONTENTS. IX Page Anger and violence of the Cortes of Cadiz . . . . . .74 Civil War in consequence . . . . . . . . .75 Subsequent Obstinacy of King Ferdinand . . . . . .75 The Buenos Ayreans appeal to Charles IV. . . . . .75 Propose to set up Don Francisco de Paula . . . . . .75 Finally proclaim their Independence in 1816 . . . . . 76 PART II. THE PROVINCES OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THEIR PO- LITICAL INDEPENDENCE. CHAPTER VII. EXTENT AND GOVERNMENT OF THE NEW REPUBLIC. Page Extent of the New Republic . ....... 79 Population and Political Divisions ....... 80 Government established at Buenos Ayres ...... 80 Geographical Divisions ......... 80 The Riverine Provinces ......... 80 The Upper Provinces 80 The Provinces of Cuyo ......... 80 Greater extent of the old Viceroyalties 81 Necessity of subdividing them . . . . . . . .81 Separation of Paraguay, the Banda Oriental, and Bolivia ... 82 Cry raised for a Federal Government ....... 83 Supremacy of Buenos Ayres from 1810 to 1820 ..... 84 Victories achieved by San Martin 85 Rejection of the Constitution ........ 86 The Congress and National Executive dissolved ..... 86 French Plan for a Monarchy for the Duke of Lucca .... 86 Every Province sets up for itself (1820) ...... 87 The Buenos Ayreans establish a Provincial Administration ... 87 Failure of another Constitution (1827) ...... 87 Decline of the Provinces in a state of isolation ..... 88 Buenos Ayres charged with their Foreign Relations .... 89 Extensive Powers provisionally vested in General Rosas ... 89 Want of a definite League between the Provinces ..... 89 The South Americans under Spain . . . . . . .91 Ignorant of, and unfitted for Self-government . . . . .91 Their first measures and difficulties ....... 92 Slow growth of Constitutional Freedom in all Countries ... 93 X CONTENTS. Page Policy of the Ministers of Great Britain . . . .. .94 Their Warnings unheeded by Spain ....... 94 Mr. Canning’s Treaties with the new States ..... 95 And justification of their necessity ....... 95 France and other Countries follow ....... 96 CHAPTER VIII. THE RIO HE LA PLATA AND BUENOS AYRES. Arrival at Rio de Janeiro ......... 97 Reach the Rio de la Plata 98 Pampero off Monte Video .... ..... 98 Enormous extent of the River ........ 98 Voyage up — Shoals — Wrecks — Currents 99 Anchorage off Buenos Ayres . . . . . . . . . 99 Passengers carted on Shore . . . . . . . .100 Great want of a Landing-place ........ 100 First impressions of the City ........ 101 Public Buildings and private Dwellings ...... 102 Primitive arrangements of the latter . . . . . . .103 Improvements since introduced , . . . . . . .104 Windows protected by iron gratings . . . . . , .105 Water scarce and dear ......... 105 State of the Streets and Pavement . . . . . .106 Country-houses and Gardens . . . . . . , .107 English and Scotch gardeners . . . . . . . .107 Indigenous and other Plants, Maize, &c. ...... 108 The Aloe, its flowers and juice, Pulque ...... 108 v/ Humming Birds capable of being tamed — instances of .... 109 CHAPTER IX. STATISTICS OF THE POPULATION. Estimated Population in 1778, 1800, and 1822-25 . . . .111 Classification in 1778 . . . . . . . . . .113 Diminution of the Coloured Castes . . . . . . .114 Prohibition of the Slave Trade since 1813 ...... 114 Kind treatment of their Slaves by the Spaniards 115 They fight for their Masters . . . . . . . .115 System for their gradual Emancipation . . . . . .116 Has made the Free Blacks industrious . . . . . . .116 Increase of the White Population . . . . . . .117 Great influx of French and English . . . . . . .117 Rights of the latter secured by Treaty . . . . . .117 Rosas gives them ground for a Church . . . .117 Their Marriages with the Natives . , .118 CONTENTS, XI Page The Buenos Ayrean Ladies — their taste for Music . 118 The Men — their education and habits . 119 Decline of the Priests and Lawyers .... . 119 Rise of the Military, and its baneful results . . 120 Employments of the lower Classes .... . 1 20 Work for all, and cheap Food ..... . 121 Fish and Birds caught on Horseback .... . 121 Everybody rides — even Beggars ..... . 122 CHAPTER X. CLIMATE, AND ITS INFLUENCES. Climate of Buenos Ayres influenced by the Winds . . . 123 Effects of a North Wind ......... 124 Case of Garcia, a Murderer . . . . . . . .125 Consequences of a Pampero . . . . . . . .126 Dust-Storms and Showers of Mud ....... 127 Violent Thunder and Lightning ........ 128 Lockjaw and Mai de Siete Dias .129 Mortality amongst Children ........ 129 Ravages of the Small-pox ......... 130 Introduction of Vaccination . . . . . . . .130 Extended to Indians by General Rosas . . . . . .131 Mitigates Hooping-cough also . . . . . . . .131 Cases of Longevity . . . . . . . . . .132 CHAPTER XI. SETTLEMENTS OF THE SPANIARDS ON THE COAST OF PATAGONIA. Falkner’s account of Patagonia . . . . . . . .133 Stimulates the Spaniards to Survey the Coast 133 Piedra’s Expedition in 1778 ........ 134 Settlement formed at San Joseph’s . . . . . . .135 The River Chupat, a better site, unknown to him .... 135 Don Francisco Viedma’s, at the Rio Negro . . . . . .137 Don Antonio’s, at San Julian’s . . . . . . . .137 The Santa Cruz River and its Source examined . . . . .139 Friendly Character of the Indians . . . . . . .141 San Julian’s abandoned ......... 142 Desolate aspect of Patagonia generally ...... 143 Want of Enterprise of the Spaniards ....... 144 They neglect the Fisheries ........ 145 Villarino’s exploration of the Rio Negro .... 146 The Neuquen, erroneously called the Diamante ..... 151 Sufferings of the People . 152 Xll CONTENTS. Page They reach the Cordillera . . . . . . . . .153 Disputes amongst the Indians . . . . . . . .155 Villarino obliged to return . . . . . . . . .156 Is aided by the Rising of the River . . . . . . .156 Results of the Voyage kept secret . . . . . .157 Piedra replaced in command at the Rio Negro . . . . .157 Is killed by the Indians 157 Don Leon Rosas made Prisoner . . . . . . . .157 Obtains an influence over them, and restores Peace . . . .157 The Settlement neglected by Spain ....... 158 Export of Salt from Carmen ........ 158 The Population increased of late years . . . . . .159 CHAPTER XII. EXPLORATIONS OF THE INTERIOR BY THE OLD SPANIARDS. Malaspina’s Scientific Expedition and Surveys 160 Suppression of his Reports . . . . . . . . .161 Plis Manuscripts in the British Museum . . . . . .161 Bauza’s journey from Chile . . . . . . . . .161 Maps the Country across the Pampas . . . . . . .161 Positions of Towns in the Interior fixed . . . . . .162 Cruz crosses the Pampas from Antuco . . . . . . .163 His track to Buenos Ayres . . . . . . . .164 Account of the Diamante and other Rivers ...... 165 His Geological observations . . . . . . . .169 Account of the Customs of the Indians . . . . . .170 Bowlegged from riding, and hardly able to walk . . . . .173 Taken up a Staircase, and on board Ship 174 Their names of persons and places significant . . . . .175 CHAPTER XIII. PROGRESS OF INLAND DISCOVERY SINCE THE INDEPENDENCE OF BUENOS AYRES. Ignorance of the Buenos Ayreans of the Lands to the South . .176 Expeditions to the Salt Lakes . . . . . . . .177 Garcia placed in command of one . . . . . . .177 Fixes the Latitude of points on the Road , . . . . .178 The Laguna del Monte ......... 179 The Sierra de la Ventana . . . . . . . . .179 The Ranqueles and Puelches Indians 180 The Great Salt Lake . . . . . . . . .180 Ruins of old Buildings .181 Garcia’s plan for a Frontier 181 The Buenos Ayreans extend their Estancias 182 Are attacked by the Indians . . . . . . . .183 CONTENTS. Xlll Page Want of protection on the part of the Government .... 183 Garcia again employed . . . . . . . . .183 Sent on a Mission to the Indians . . . . . . . .184 Fixes Latitudes of several points . . . . . . .185 Reception by the Natives . . . . . . . . .186 Their warlike display . . . . . . . . .187 Parlamento with the Caciques . . . . . . . .187 Scene of confusion . . . . . . . . . .188 Distribution of Presents . . . . . . . . .188 Martial air of the Huilliches . . . . . . . .189 The Yentana Mountains . . . . . . . . .190 Filthy habits of the Indians . . . . . . . .191 Influence of their Machis, or Wizards . . . . . . .192 Christian Women in captivity . . . . . . . .192 Attempt to release them fails . . . . . . . .193 Excitement in consequence . . . . . . . . .194 Height of the Yentana and adjoining Hills . . . . . .194 Further Negotiations end unsatisfactorily . . . . . .195 Garcia returns to Buenos Ayres . . . . . . . .195 CHAPTER XIY. EXTENSION OF THE FRONTIERS TO THE SOUTH. Extension of the Frontier resolved upon . . . . . .196 March of the Army assembled for the purpose . . . . .196 Misled by the Guides ......... 197 Swamps and Fire-storm . . . . . . . . .198 The Troops escape from destruction in a Lake ..... 198 Risks of Warfare in the Pampas . . . . . . . .198 Guanacoes — Deer — Armadillos . . . . . . .198 Fort built on the Tandil ......... 199 Treachery of the Indians ......... 200 Hostages carried off by them . . . . . . . .201 The Yuulcan Mountains — Cape Corrientes ..... 202 Old Jesuit Establishment on the Coast ...... 202 Frontier extended to Bahia Blanca ....... 203 Don Manuel Rosas employed ........ 204 His influence with the Indians and its Results ..... 204 Is called off by Lavalle’s Mutiny ....... 204 Assassination of the Governor Dorrego ...... 205 Rosas takes the Field against the Rebels ...... 205 Re-establishes the legal Government ....... 205 Is himself raised to power and elected Governor ..... 205 Makes War on the hostile Indians ....... 206 Prohibition of Sale of Arms to the Indians ...... 206 Contrasted with the Policy of England ...... 206 Results of the War with the Indians ....... 207 Extension of the Buenos Ayrean Territory ...... 208 XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XV. GEOLOGY AND FOSSIL MONSTEES OF THE PAMPAS. The Pampas an alluvial formation ....... The River Plata silting up ........ Red of ancient Ocean beneath ........ Evidences in fossil Marine Remains Beds of Sea Shells — Potamo-Mya Extensive Saline deposits ......... Speculations as to their origin ........ Fossil Monsters of the Pampas ........ The Megatherium — how discovered ....... The Glyptodon a gigantic Armadillo ....... Their Bones — how preserved ........ Now in College of Surgeons ........ Skeleton of the Mylodon ......... Strange Structure of these Monsters ....... Speculations as to their habits and food ...... CHAPTER XVI. THE EIVEES PARAGUAY AND PARANA, AND THEIR AFFLUENTS The River Paraguay rises in Cuyaba Lagunas of Xarayes .......... The Pilcomayo not navigable ........ The Vermejo navigated from Oran ....... Voyages down it by Cornejo and Soria ...... The Parana and its Falls ......... The Paraguay navigable throughout ....... Periodically flooded, like the Nile ....... Rivers lost in the Pampas ......... The Western Affluents saline ........ The Eastern fresh . ......... The Uruguay and its Tributaries ....... Spanish Surveys of the Parana ........ Capt. Sulivan’s Charts ......... The ‘ Alecto ’ passes up it to Corrientes ...... Proves its fitness for Steamers ........ Unsuitableness of Sailing Vessels ....... Impolicy of their attempting it ....... Buenos Ayres should promote Steam Navigation .... Its great importance to the whole Republic ..... Page 209 210 211 212 213 214 214 215 215 217 217 218 219 220 222 224 225 227 228 228 230 230 231 232 233 233 233 234 235 235 235 235 236 237 237 CONTENTS. XV PART III. THE PROVINCES. THE RIVERINE PROVINCES. CHAPTER XVII. SANTA FE— ENTRE RIOS — CORRIENTES — THE MISSIONS — AND PARAGUAY. Page By whom settled ........ . 241 De Garay founds Santa Fe ...... . 242 Meeting with Spaniards from Peru ..... . 243 Santa Fe separates from Buenos Ayres .... . 245 Old Trade of Santa Fe ....... . 245 Population fallen off ....... . 246 Advantageous situation for transit trade .... . 246 Importance of Steam Navigation ..... . 247 ENTRE RIOS. Extent and boundaries ....... . 248 The Bajada the seat of the Government .... . 248 Population — Cattle — Gauchos ...... . 248 CORRIENTES. Population — Government — Productions .... . 250 Must be collected at Buenos Ayres ..... . 251 Not worth fetching in foreign ships . 251 Lake Ybera — Pigmies and Giants ..... . 251 Ants — Locusts — Musquitoes ...... . 252 OLD MISSIONS OF THE JESUITS. Now in ruins ......... False notions of these establishments ..... . 256 The Jesuits beloved by the Indians ..... . 257 Memorial of those of San Luis . .... . 257 Bucareli’s false alarms ....... . 259 Expulsion of the Order, and consequences .... . 259 XVI CONTENTS. PARAGUAY. Page Former trade in Yerba Mate and Tobacco . . . . . .261 Separates from Buenos Ayres ........ 262 Francia made Governor 264 His cruelties and despotism ........ 264 Releases foreigners 265 Excepts M. Bonpland 266 Francia’s death ........... 266 His successor, Lopez, little better ....... 267 Present state of the country . . . . . . . .268 Mr. Graham’s Report ......... 268 Small inducements to Foreigners to go there ..... 269 THE UPPER PROVINCES. CHAPTER XVIII. CORDOVA — RIOJA — SANTIAGO — TUCUMAN — CATAMARCA — SALTA. Discovered by Spaniards from Peru . . . . . . .271 They oppress the Indians 272 Abandon their first Settlements . . . . . . . .273 Found Santiago, Tucuman, Esteco . 273 Cordova, Salta, Jujuy . • . . . . . . .273 Population of these Towns in 1775 and 1825 274 Earthquakes and Inundations ........ 274 Distances between the Provincial Capitals . . . . . .275 Tucuman Waggons, and Cost of Transport by . . . .276 CORDOVA. Population — Boundaries — Rivers . . . . . . .278 End of the Pampas — the Sierra de Cordova 279 Foundation of the City, in 1573 ........ 279 Jesuit Establishments — Library ........ 280 See of a Bishopric . . . . . . . . . .281 Simple manners of the people ........ 282 Bigotry — Miracles .......... 282 Well situated for inland trade ........ 283 Indians — Frontiers — Defences ........ 283 LA RIOJA. Divisions — Population — Productions ...... 284 Mineral range of Famatina . . . . • • • • .285 Remote and inaccessible ..... .... 285 Consequences of isolation ......... 286 Original Provincial Divisions 287 CONTENTS, XVII SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO. Page The Travesia a Sandy Zone ........ 288 Dr. Redhead’s Barometrical Observations ...... 289 Geology on the Road to Peru 289 Situation of Santiago — Productions ....... 290 Cochineal — Honey — Wax ........ 291 The Gran Chaco — Mass of Iron found there ..... 291 How obtained — now in British Museum ...... 293 Similar Iron from Atacama ........ 294 Dr. Turner ’s Analysis of it ........ 294 Opinions as to its origin — Baron Humboldt’s . . . . 296 TTTCUMAN. Situation — Climate — Fertility . . . . . . . 297 Gaucho Life and Independence ........ 298 Productions — Sugar — Tobacco — Tafi Cheeses ..... 298 Independence declared there in 1816 . . . . . . . 299 CATAMARCA. Extent — Population — Productions ....... 300 Wars and Cruelties of the Conquerors . . . . . . .301 Revolt of the Calchaquis ......... 301 They are finally exterminated ........ 302 SALTA. Foundation of the City — View of- — Population ..... 303 Sample of a Provincial Government 304 Town of Jujuy, on the northern frontier ...... 305 Former prosperity, and causes of its decay ...... 305 Hot and cold climates in the same latitudes ...... 306 The Salado and its Affluents 306 El Pasage — how crossed ......... 307 Rivers of Jujuy and Tarija ......... 308 Alpacas — Vicunas — Chinchillas ....... 309 Gold-washings of La Rinconada . . . . . . . .310 Sait plains of Casabindo ......... 310 Trade in Mules — how propagated . . . . . . .311 Follows the Horse in his habits ........ 322 Bravery of the Male Ass ......... 323 Forest Trees — the Carob and its Bean-like Fruit .... 313 The Aloe and its various uses . . . . . . . .314 The Coca — Sugar and Tobacco of Oran . . . . . .315 Native Labourers the best in these climates ...... 316 Foreigners unable to compete with them 317 xvm CONTENTS. THE PROVINCES OF CUYO. CHAPTER XIX. SAN LUIS — MENDOZA — SAN JUAN. First settled by the Conquerors of Chile .... Subject to that Government till 1776 . Then made part of the Viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres Importance of the old Cabildos SAN LUIS. Poor and scattered Inhabitants ...... Effects of Provincial Independence ..... Position of the Town fixed by Bauza ..... Splendid view r of the Andes ...... The Peaks of Tupungato and Aconcagua . . . . Gold-washings at La Carolina Road from Buenos Ayres across the Pampas Pampa Posts and Gaucho Guides ..... Their cruelty to horses ....... Mares never ridden — kept for food ..... Journey to Mendoza in a 4-wheel carriage .... Recent march of Frenchmen over the Pampas They defend themselves against Indians and reach Chile Page 319 319 319 320 321 321 321 322 322 322 323 324 324 324 325 326 327 MENDOZA. Boundaries of the Province Extensive Lakes and Rivers The Desaguadero, the Diamante, and Tunuyan Produce — Quantities exported . Silver Mines of Uspallata .... Native mode of working them No other will repay the expenses Population and Government Progress in the state of the People The Vine introduced by people from the Azores Climate and position of the City . The Inhabitants affected with Goitre . The Chlamyphorus described by Mr. Yarrell 328 328 329 330 331 331 332 332 333 333 333 334 334 SAN JUAN. Extent and Population 337 Exports of Wine and Brandy and Corn ...... 337 Gold Mines of Jachal 338 Fine Climate and healthy People ....... 338 Destructive Inundation in 1833 ........ 338 CONTENTS. XIX CHAPTER XX. THE PASSES OF THE ANDES. To Atacama, Copiapo, and Coquimbo .... From Mendoza by Los Patos and the Cumbre The Dehesa and Portillo Passes ..... De la Cruz de Piedra and Peteroa .... That of Antuco explored by Cruz .... Dr. Gillies’s journey by Las Damas and the Planchon . PART IV. CHAPTER XXI. ON THE TRADE OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA. Countries accessible through the Rio de la Plata .... Buenos Ayres and Monte Video the Ports of Entry Exports from Buenos Ayres — (Tables) ..... Produce of the Riverine Provinces ...... Exports doubled in value ........ Greater increase in quantity ....... Effects of Blockades and enlarged Territory ..... Increased production of Wool ....... Comparative Tables of Imports ....... Articles imported from Great Britain ...... from France and other countries Shipping employed ......... British Exports to all the new States since 1830 . CHAPTER XXII. THE PUBLIC DEBTS OF BUENOS AYRES. Origin of the Funded Debt ....... Revenue and Expenses, 1822 — 1825 ...... English Loan spent in war with Brazil ..... The Bank and Paper Currency Effects of Lavalle’s mutiny ........ Increased debt and depreciation of currency . Present liabilities of Buenos Ayres ...... Financial results for 1849 and 1850 Recent rising against General Rosas, aided by the Brazilians Probable effects on the Finances ....... b Page 339 340 341 342 343 344 349 350 353 356 357 357 358 359 361 362 364 369 369 371 372 373 374 375 376 376 378 379 379 XX CONTENTS. APPENDIX. HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS. 1808. Communication from the Prince Regent of Brazil to the Cabildo of Buenos Ayres upon his arrival at Rio de Janeiro, and their Reply 1815. Memorial addressed to the ex-king Charles IV. by the Buenos Ayreans, inviting him to send to them his son, Don Francisco de Paula ............ 1819. Correspondence on Proposition of the French Government to set up a Monarchy, under their protection, for the Duke of Lucca 1825. Treaty between Great Britain and the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata 1828. Preliminary Convention between Buenos Ayres and Brazil under the mediation of Great Britain 1830. Secret Instructions of the Emperor of Brazil to the Marquis of St. Amaro to promote the establishment of Monarchies throughout South America, and the incorporation of the Banda Oriental with Brazil Note thereon ........... Specimen of the Guarani Language STATISTICAL TABLES. Population of the countries of the Rio de la Plata . of the city of Buenos Ayres in 1770-78 . ditto and of the Province in 1825 Medical Statistics and Foundling Hospital ...... Crime and Public Instruction ........ Meteorological Tables — Buenos Ayres ...... Dr. Redhead’s Barometrical data between Buenos Ayres and Potosi, with heights of all the principal places on the road calculated by Mr. Petermann .......... Points fixed by observation throughout the Provinces .... Professor Owen’s Account of the Fossil Monsters of the Pampas — Mega- therium, Mylodon, Glyptodon . Page 383 386 393 401 406 411 414 415 417 418 419 420 421 422 424 425 429 ILLUSTRATIONS. Map of the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata and adjacent Countries. The Arms of the Republic 1 . Portrait of Sebastian Cabot .... 2. Mendoza’s first Settlement at Buenos Ayres * 3. The great Square at Buenos Ayres, drawn Kretschmar 4. The Landing-place and Alameda, by ditto . 5. Portrait of General San Martin 6. Cart for landing Passengers at Buenos Ayres 7. Calle de la Reconquista, from a Drawing by M. 8. Plan of the City of Buenos Ayres . 9. Beggar on Horseback 10. Indian of the Pampas 11. The Ventana Mountains, from a Drawing by M. 12. Portrait of General Rosas, taken in 1833 13. The Megatherium . 14. The Potamo-Mya of the Parana 15. Tooth of the Glyptodon . 16. Skeleton of the Glyptodon 17. Do. of the Mylodon 18. Gauchos lassoing Cattle . 19. Tucuman Waggons . 20. The Meteoric Iron from Otumpa, now in 21. View of Salta . 22. Mendoza Mules 23. The Chlamyphorus . 24. Tooth of Megatherium, natural size ( On the Title 'page') . ( Frontispiece ) . . Page 22 by M. de 79 97 85 100 Pellegrini 102 113 122 175 Pellegrini 190 205 209 213 217 220 221 249 275 288 303 330 336 429 the British Museum * This view has a particular interest attached to it, inasmuch as it sets at rest two disputed points : the first, as to the precise site of the first settlement of the Spaniards at Buenos Ayres, which, from the position of the vessels, can only be on the Riachuelo ; and, secondly, whether or not bows and arrows were used by the Querandis, which many authors dispute. The plate in question being drawn for Schmidel, who was one of the besieged party, must, I think, be admitted as good evidence on both these questions ; not to mention that in his narrative he specifies bows and arrows amongst their arms. b 2 ERRATA. Page 18, read “ 1537 ” for “ 1557.” Page 80, read “ 800,000” for “ from 600 to 700,000,” Page 94, read “ but to establish ” instead of “ by establishing.” INTRODUCTION. What is the Argentine Republic? What that land of milk and honey, with its Pampas full of cattle, and its Selvas full of bees ? What portion of the map of South America does it occupy ? What are its physical features — its natural productions — its capabilities for maintaining the populations which may in due time inhabit it, and for raising them to any importance amongst the nations of the earth ? Such are the natural inquiries of the geographer, the merchant, and the politician — inquiries which from time to time are still addressed to me in consequence of my having been so many years employed in that part of South America. Upon my return to Europe, I thought the best way of meeting such demands was to give to the public, in whose service it was obtained, a summary of the information which I had myself been able to collect upon these matters ; but whilst engaged in preparing my work, Don Pedro de Angelis at Buenos Ayres, under the auspices of that government, commenced the publication of a collection of historical notices and documents relating to the pro- vinces of the Rio de la Plata, which seemed to supersede any necessity for extending my own task, as I then said, beyond “ a brief and general sketch of the Republic, and of the progress of discovery in that part of the world in the last sixty years.” I had at that time principally in view to endeavour to elucidate the geography of those countries hitherto very XXIV INTRODUCTION. little known and most imperfectly laid down on the then best existing maps, and towards which I had formed at considerable cost, and brought to England, a numerous and important collection of manuscript maps and memoirs, which I placed in the hands of Mr. John Arrowsmith, who undertook to construct from them an entirely new map of /the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata and the adjacent Countries ; and which, so far as regarded the coast lines, the invaluable surveys of Captains King and FitzRoy enabled him to complete upon the best and most recent authority. I thought it was incumbent upon me to give some account of the data upon which a new map of so large a portion of South America was founded, and which I believed to be a great improvement upon those hitherto published of that part of the world. The opinions to that effect which have since been expressed by some of the public authorities in South America, and — with his per- mission, I may add- — by the greatest of modern geo- / graphers, Baron Humboldt, have assured me that I was neither mistaken in that belief, nor in my hope that I had been able to add something to our general stock of geographical knowledge.* * The author received the annexed letter from Baron Humboldt in 1839, upon the appearance of his original work. Had it solely related to his OAvn endea- vours, however gratified by the kind no- tice therein taken of them, he might have hesitated to give it publicity ; but refer- ring, as this valuable letter does, with so much more cause to the scientific labours of Captain FitzRoy and Mr. Darwin, he thinks he ought not to keep to himself such a testimony from so eminent an au- thority to the importance of the works of his countrymen ; still less can he with- hold Baron Humboldt’s opinions with re- gard to the masses of iron from Otumpa and Atacama, after repeating the ideas of others which gave rise to them : “ Mon cher Chevalier, —Si j’ai tarde si long-temps a vous offrir 1’hommage de ma vive reconnaissance pour votre bel et important ouvrage sur Buenos Ayres et les Provinces du Rio de la Plata, ce n’est qu’a cause du desir que j’ai eu d’etudier, pour ainsi dire, la plume a la main, ce grand tableau physique et politique. “ Votre ouvrage, et le Voyage du Capi- taine FitzRoy enrichi par les belles ob- servations de M. Darwin, font epoque dans 1’histoire de la geographie moderne. On est surpris de la masse de materiaux que vous avez pu reunir pour eclaircir la topographic des pays si grossierement ebauchee sur nos cartes de l’Amerique du Sud. “ La carte qui accompagne votre ou- vrage, comme celle qui orne l’Expedition du Beagle, seront les bases solides des cartes qu’on hatera de construire sur une echelle plus grande. “ Comme geologue et comme physicien, je vous dois des remercimens particuliers. A des vues d’economie politique aux- quelles votre position administrative sem- INTRODUCTION. XXV Further, it seemed to me that I was called upon to give some account of the discovery of those fossil monsters of the Pampas, the remains of which I had brought to Europe, and which had excited so much interest amongst geologists and palaeontologists. These, with an account of the trade and public debt of Buenos Ayres and some statistical notices, were the sub- jects to which I principally confined myself in publishing the work in question. It has been out of print some years, and in consequence of a renewed interest in those countries, from recent political events, I have been applied to for a new edition. In responding to this call, I have endeavoured to in- crease the interest of the work by adding to it a brief account of the first discovery and settlement of the coun- tries of the Rio de la Plata by the Spaniards, which appeared to be wanting to complete the history of the early Spanish conquests in the New World, recently given to the public by its most talented and eloquent historian, Mr. Prescott, and with the thread of which it will be found to be more interwoven than may be supposed. The Chronicles of the Conquest of the Rio de la Plata are far from uninteresting, replete as they are with tales of hardship, endurance, and perseverance characteristic of the chivalrous spirit of the age and of the bold adven- blait vous inviter, vous avez ajoute d’ex- cellentes observations sur la formation des Pampas — fond souleve d’un golfe pelagique : sur les ossemens fossiles d’ani- maux si etranges que le megatherium et le glyptodon : sur l'absence d’animaux carnivores : sur le relief general du pays, et les passages des Andes : sur la meteorologie et ces ‘ awful dust storms,’ dont nous avons souffert aussi, mais a un moindre degre, dans les deserts qui entourent la Mer Caspienne. “ En enrichissant le Musee de votre pays de 1’ aerolite la plus gigantesque qu’on possede en Europe, j’observe que vous mettez en danger son existence pla- netaire : je pense que les localites meritent (lorsqu’elles seront rendues plus acces- sibles) un examen plus precis par un naturaliste accoutume a ce genre d’oh- servations geologiques. A un epoque oil les etoiles filantes jouissent d’un si grand credit dans le monde, je n’ose me ranger de votre cote, et regarder les aerolites de Pallas, si identiques avec celles qu’on a vu tomber toutes chaudes, comme sepa- rees de quelque gite de mineral terrestre. Vous excuserez, Monsieur, un doute dont la franchise doit justifier les eloges que j’ai donne a tant d’excellens aper 9 us que renferme votre important ouvrage, fruit de solides et penibles recherches. “ Agreez, &c. (Signe) “ Le Baron de Humboldt. “ Sans-Souci, pres Potsdam, ce 18 Sept., 1839.” XXVI INTRODUCTION. turers who went forth to take possession of the newly discovered regions, although they may be devoid of that which gives such an indescribable charm to the histories of the conquest of Mexico and Peru — the novel and un- : expected state of aboriginal civilization found amongst the native inhabitants of those more gifted countries by the early Conquistadores. In the countries of the Rio de la Plata, the state of things was very different : in the widely extending regions discovered by Cabot and his followers, no monuments or works of art were anywhere found like those of the more civilized nations referred to — nothing to indicate that the aboriginal tribes had yet emerged from the rudest state of human society when they first became known to the Spa- niards ; — naked as the red men of the north, divided into petty and insignificant communities, and thinly scattered over that vast expanse which reaches from the southern boundaries of Peru to Patagonia, they were for the most part either soon dispersed or destroyed in unavailing efforts to resist the invaders, or perished more miserably from the deadly labour in the mines which was imposed upon them by the Conquerors. Even the more fortunate remnants of their race, which for a time were preserved from similar extermination in the celebrated Missions of the Jesuits, soon disappeared when deprived of their spiritual pastors, — leaving nothing but mouldering ruins to attest the exist- ence of the only communities which formed one brighter episode in the annals of the Indians. There is no want of materials for a history of the Rio de la Plata — the difficulty is to make a selection of them, to dis- criminate between conflicting narratives of the same events, and to sift the partial statements of contemporary writers. Of the earlier chronicles which I have principally followed in preference to later works, first in point of date is the personal narrative of Ulrich Schmidel , a Ger- INTRODUCTION. XXV11 man volunteer, who accompanied Mendoza, the first Ade- lantado, to the Rio de la Plata in 1534, where for twenty years he was actively engaged in all the principal events of the Conquest. He was commissioned by Yrala on his return, to give the Emperor an account of the proceedings of the Conquistadores, and of the countries which they had taken possession of for the Crown of Spain — sufficient proof, I think, that he was well informed upon those matters. The work in question was published at Nurem- burg, in 1559.* Of still more interest is u La Argentina Historia de las Provincias del Rio de la Plata ” by Ruy-Diaz de Guz- man, written in Paraguay, and containing an account of the Conquest to the arrival of the Adelantado Zarate, in 1573. The author was the son of a daughter of Yrala, the Hero of the Conquest, by a scion of the Ducal House of Medina Sidonia, who had gone to Paraguay in 1540 with Cabeza de Yaca. He was born and brought up in the midst of the stirring scenes he describes, and wrote avowedly to perpetuate the gallant deeds of the Con- querors, foremost and most distinguished of whom had been his own nearest relatives. An historical poem under the same name, “ La Argen- tina” was written by Martin del Barco Centenera, a priest who went to South America with Zarate about the period with which Ruy-Diaz’s History concludes. During a re- sidence there of twenty-four years, he appears to have collected with great pains a large stock of traditionary lore relating to the Conquest, which he has embodied in this rhyming chronicle. If he has mixed up with it some marvellous tales current at the time, and hardly to be wondered at in a poetical account of a new world, he has * It is given in Spanish in Barcia’s His- French in the interesting collection of toriadores Primitivos de las Indias Occi- early writers on Spanish America, pub- dentales; and has lately appeared in lished by M. Ternaux Compans. XXVI 11 INTRODUCTION. the merit of having preserved some facts not elsewhere recorded, which makes it a valuable addition to the early histories of South America. The narrative embraces the same period as the History of Ruy-Diaz, and concludes with the death of De Garay, about ten years later. The Commentaries of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca , the second Adelantado of the Rio de la Plata, written by his secretary Fernandez, give a full account of his me- morable march to Assumption in 1542 across the southern part of Brazil. On other matters, such as the admini- strative measures of his master, Cabeza de Vaca, and the causes of his expulsion from Paraguay, the author’s im- partiality is perhaps questionable, and his accounts should be well weighed against those given by other parties. Southey, however, has thought it worth while to incorpo- rate nearly the whole of it in his History of Brazil. Whilst the writers above mentioned may be considered as more or less eye-witnesses of the exploits of their coun- trymen in America, Herrera , the Court historian, who had access to the official archives in Spain to compile his grand History of the Indies, furnishes the necessary details respecting the preparation of the several expedi- tions for the Rio de la Plata as they were sent forth from Europe, and the instructions given to those in command of them. That his information with regard to the results is very defective, is not to be wondered at, considering how few were the opportunities up to the close of his History (which ends with the reign of his master, Charles V ) of obtaining any information to be depended upon respecting the proceedings of the Spaniards in Para- guay, beyond the facts of the disastrous issue of Mendoza’s expedition, and the expulsion of Cabeza de Vaca by the colonists — events which seem in no slight degree to have prejudiced him against Yrala and others, who remained in INTRODUCTION. XXIX the country, and were the real founders of the dominion of Spain in that portion of South America. In later times the Jesuits published various accounts of South America in connexion with their missionary labours, which, appearing in almost all the languages of Europe, obtained very general circulation, and were read with the more avidity from the pains taken by the Spanish Govern- ment to suppress information of any kind relating to their colonial possessions. Amongst those deserving particular mention are the accounts of Techo , Charlevoix , Dohrizhoffer , Lozano , and Guevara . The History of Paraguay , Buenos Ayres , and Tucu- man , by Dean Funes , published at Buenos Ayres in 181 6 , is little more than a compendium of these works, con- tinued to the Declaration of Independence in that year. So long as it was the last, it was deemed the most complete history of the countries in question ; but it is singularly deficient in dates , which detracts much from its utility as a work of reference. But of all works of historical interest, connected with the countries once forming the Viceroyalty, and now the Republic of the Rio de la Plata, the collection of docu- ments, to which I have already alluded, published by Don Pedro de Angelis , under the auspices of the Buenos Ayrean Government, must stand pre-eminent. Its pub- lication took place contemporaneously with that of the first edition of this work, and now consists of six large folio volumes : it is by far the most important work that has issued from the press in South America, and comprises a mass of public documents of the greatest value on the history, statistics, geography, &c., of those countries, as new, as regards those subjects, to the Americans them- selves, as they are to the European public ; their value being greatly enhanced by the notes and introductory XXX INTRODUCTION. notices of their talented editor, the fruits of a long and careful study of the history and institutions of his adopted country.* And now, before I enter into any detailed enumeration of my own geographical materials, I cannot forbear mention- ing what greatly stimulated my original inquiries on these matters — Mr. Canning’s last injunction to me upon my departure for South America. “ Send us,” he said, “ all you can get with respect to the countries you are going to ; and maps, if there are any.” He felt, no doubt, as I did still more forcibly as soon as I got to Buenos Ayres, how little was known in Europe of even the geography of the interior of these old Spanish colonies. The greater part of the information which Spain herself had acquired at an enormous cost had never been suffered to transpire, but remained locked up in the archives of the Viceroys and of the Council of the Indies till the revolu- tion, when, upon the deposition of the Spanish authorities, the public offices were ransacked with little ceremony, and many documents of interest disappeared from them, which added greatly to the difficulty afterwards of obtaining even information at the fountain head. I must say, however, that the authorities of Buenos Ayres, as far as they were able, afforded me every facility in my endeavours to collect information tending to make their country better known ; and by their aid, and the kindness of individuals, I was enabled, during my residence in South America, to make a large collection of original documents relating to countries of which the greater part of the world has been till recently, I believe, in complete ignorance ; as I think I may say with regard to that portion of the continent situated to the south of Buenos Ayres, and * Colleccion de Obras y Documentos Plata, ilustrados con Notas y Diserta- relativos a la Historia Antigua y Mo- ciones por Pedro de Angelis. Buenos derna de las Provincias del Itio de la Aires, 1836-39. 6 tomos, folio. INTRODUCTION. XXXI the settlements formed by the Spaniards on the coasts of Patagonia. Amongst the papers in question were the Diaries of Piedra and the Brothers Viedma, who were sent out from Spain in 1780 to explore those coasts and to found settlements upon them ; The Journal of Villarino, who in 1782 explored the great Rio Negro to its source in the Chilian Cordillera. Of Don Luis de la Cruz, who in 1806 crossed the Southern Pampas, through the Indian territory, from Antuco in Chile to Buenos Ayres ; Of Don Pedro Garcia, who commanded the great expe- dition to the Salinas in 1810 ; And a variety of other official reports and information respecting the countries to the south, which had been principally collected by the Government with a view to the extension of their frontiers. General Rosas ordered to be drawn expressly for me in the Topographical Department of the State some maps of the Province of Buenos Ayres upon a large scale, in which all the geographical materials in possession of the Government up to 1834 were embodied, including the marches of the forces under his own orders into the Indian territories, as well as of those detached to co-operate with them from Mendoza, in which much new information was obtained, particularly as regards the course of many of the rivers which descend from the Cordillera to the south of the 34th parallel of latitude, and which constitute one of the most striking though hitherto most imperfectly described features of that part of the continent. The line of road across the continent from Valparaiso in Chile to Buenos Ayres had been carefully surveyed by Don Felipe Bauza and Don Jose Espinosa, two officers detached from the surveying expedition of Don Alesandro Malaspina in 1789; they fixed all the principal points by XXX11 INTRODUCTION. astronomical observation, from the shores of the Pacific to the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, and their map, published in 1810 by the Direccion Hydrografiea at Madrid, forms the groundwork of all others which have since appeared, and is an invaluable document to geographers. In another direction, the Commissioners appointed under the Treaties of 1750 and 1777 to determine the boundaries of the Spanish and Portuguese colonial do- minions, had previously laid down with considerable mi- nuteness a great part of the Countries bordering on either side of the river Parana. The especial qualifications of the officers employed in the last operation, the length of time — more than twenty years — spent upon the service, and the enormous expenses incurred by Spain in the endeavour to complete the survey, led to the accumulation of a great variety of useful general information as well as precise geographical data respecting the regions bordering on the line of demarcation, which extended over a distance of nearly 1500 miles from the River Madeira in lat. 12°, to the commencement of the Spanish boundary upon the sea-coast in lat. 34°. Nor were the labours of the Spanish surveyors confined to the frontiers. They fixed at intervals during their residence in South America many of the principal points in the province of Buenos Ayres, laid down the courses of the great rivers Parana, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and of their most important tributaries, and drew up various memoirs of great interest respecting the countries border- ing upon them, especially the upper parts of the Para- guay, which the pretensions of the Portuguese in that direction made it requisite for them to explore with more than ordinary care and attention. To Don Felix de Azara, one of the Spanish commissioners, we are indebted for by far the most interesting description INTRODUCTION. XXX ii i of these countries which we possessed up to the date of its publication at Paris, in 1809, by M. Walckenaer. Unfor- tunately, from the circumstance of its having been brought out in France whilst we were at war, and men’s minds intently bent upon other matters, it was little known in England till long afterwards.* The difficulty of getting any books at that time from the Continent effectually prevented its obtaining any general circulation in this country ; and we remained almost as ignorant of its valu- able contents as though with other works of a like nature it had been still locked up in the secret archives of the Council of the Indies in Spain. Excepting the portions which were given in Azara’s Atlas, the geographical results of the Great Survey on which he was engaged were not suffered to transpire, and would probably have remained to this day unknown had not the South Americans assumed the management of their own affairs. I became acquainted, during my residence at Buenos Ayres, with an old engineer officer, Colonel Cabrer, who had been employed from the commencement to the close of this great operation. In his possession I saw a complete set of all the maps drawn by the Commissioners, copied upon a large scale from the originals, which he informed me had been sent to Madrid. He was a staunch old loyalist, who would never believe but that the King of Spain would some day re-establish his rule in South Ame- rica, under which persuasion nothing would induce him whilst he lived to give up any part of these valuable docu- ments to the new authorities. He is since dead, and I have understood the Government of Buenos Ayres were in treaty for the purchase of them. They will be invaluable not only to them, but to the governments of the Banda * Extracts from it were given in the British Review for September, 1811. XXXIV INTRODUCTION. Oriental, of Paraguay, and of Bolivia, whenever the time comes for definitively fixing their boundaries with Brazil and with each other. I obtained from him copies of some detached portions of these surveys, and a map drawn by him of the Spanish territories to the east of the Parana for the use of General Alvear when in command of the Buenos- Ayrean army which liberated the Banda Oriental from the Emperor of Brazil, and which the General presented to me at the close of the war, also a large manuscript map taken with the baggage of the Marquis of Barbacena, his opponent, at the battle of Ytuzaingo. These two maps, expressly prepared for the use of the respective Commanders-in-chief, were compiled, as may be supposed, from the best materials to be found in the archives of Buenos Ayres and of Rio de J aneiro. The Brazilian map comprises all the country lying east of the river Uruguay, from the Island of St. Catherine’s to Monte Video, corrected by the Brazilian officers on the line of the army’s march to the day before it fell into the hands of their enemies. With respect to the Provincias Arribenas , or Provinces lying to the westward of the river Parana, the information is less satisfactory ; indeed, of some vast portions of those regions it may be said that nothing but the general course of the principal rivers is as yet known. The immense tract called the Gran Chaco is still in possession of aboriginal tribes, and other extensive districts are inhabited by people who, though of a different race, seem little beyond them in civilization. It was not the policy of Spain to undertake any careful examination of her colonial possessions, except when obliged to do so in furtherance of measures of self-defence, or in the expectation of some profitable return in the precious metals — the great object of her solicitude ; and if the high INTRODUCTION. XXXV road from Potosi to Buenos Ayres had not run through them, I believe we should have hardly known in Europe even the names of the chief towns of some of the inter- mediate provinces. When I first arrived at Buenos Ayres, in hopes of obtaining some statistical information on the provinces in the interior, I addressed myself to their several governors personally, and I have every reason to believe, under the circumstances, that they were desirous to meet my wishes. I received the most civil assurances to that effect, but, ex- cepting from Cordova, La Bioja, and Salta, I found them utterly unable to communicate anything of a definite or satisfactory nature ; and, although they promised to collect what I asked for, I soon found they had not the means of doing so, and that they had most of them other matters on hand which had more urgent calls on their attention. The Governor of Salta sent me a detailed report upon the extent and productions of that province, and, what I less expected, a good map of it, drawn by his son, Colonel Arenales, the author of a work upon the Gran Chaco and Biver Vermejo, in which he has endeavoured to draw attention to the advantages of establishing a company to navigate that river, now proved beyond a doubt to be per- fectly practicable throughout its whole course, from Oran, in the heart of the continent, to the Parana, and thence to the ocean. In the impossibility of obtaining further information from the local authorities, I established a correspondence with two of my more intelligent countrymen resident at opposite extremes of the Bepublic — Dr. Gillies, a Scotch physician, established at Mendoza, and Dr. Bedhead, who had long been a resident at Salta — both able and willing to assist me in my search after knowledge. They collected and sent me a variety of information which I could not have obtained from any other sources, public or private. c XX XVI INTRODUCTION. In treating of the provinces of Cuyo, in Chapter XIX., I have mentioned that for which I am indebted to Dr. Gillies. Dr. Redhead’s chiefly related to the Upper Pro- vinces. He was the first to draw my attention to the fossil bones found at Tarija, and to the meteoric iron of Atacama. To him also I owe an interesting series of barometrical observations, made during repeated journeys between Buenos Ayres and Potosi, which, connected with those of Mr. Pentland, to whom we are indebted for nearly all we know of the physical geography of Alto Peru, have furnished materials for constructing the interesting section annexed to the map compiled by Mr. Petermann for this work — the first attempt at any such graphic delineation of the physical features of South America throughout a line which extends from north-west to south-east more than twelve hundred geographical miles. The similar section from Chile to Buenos Ayres is founded upon the barometrical observations of Bauza, M iers, Gillies, FitzRoy, and Mr. Pentland. Both, I think it will be admitted, are of great interest in illustration of the hypothesis of the gradual and regular deposition of the alluvial detritus from the Andes in the great basin now filled up by the so-called Pampa formation. The map in question by Mr. Petermann, I may mention, is chiefly taken from that constructed by Mr. Arrowsmith in 1839, from the materials to which I have referred, so far as that map extends ; but it has been necessary to re- duce the scale in order to include within the same space a portion of Alto Peru (principally copied from Mr. Pentland’s map of the Peru-Bolivian Andes and the Lake of Titicaca), which seemed necessary for the better illus- tration of the narrative which I have given in the present volume of the first discovery and conquest of the countries to the north of Paraguay, INTRODUCTION. XXXV i i Although we have still, no doubt, a vast deal to learn before anything like a perfect delineation can be expected of so extensive a portion of the new continent, Mr. Arrow- smith’s map, which is now incorporated in his General Atlas, is far the best ever compiled of the portion of South America which it embraces. As I have already mentioned, in the compilation of it he was greatly assisted by the invaluable surveys of the coasts of South America recently brought to this country by Her Majesty’s officers employed on that service, which, in any enumeration of the existing materials for such a map, it is impossible to pass over without special notice. The surveys carried on successively by Captains King, FitzRoy, and Sulivan, and just completed by Captain Kellett, now extend from the mouth of the Rio de la Plata to the Bay of Panama on the opposite side of the continent, embracing the whole sea-board of the Argentine Confederation — the sterile coasts of Patagonia, the Falk- land Islands, the inhospitable group of Tierra del Fuego, the coasts of Chile with its intricate channels and sounds and numerous islands to the south, the shores of Bolivia and Peru, and the hitherto little visited line of coast from the river of Guayaquil to Panama. Thanks to the accurate surveys of Captains King and FitzRoy, the Straits of Magellan have now become the highway for steam navigation between the two great oceans of the southern hemisphere, and the ports and havens of the once so much dreaded coasts of Tierra del Fuego safe places of refuge for the sailing vessels of all nations. The nautical instructions connected with these surveys, which have been published at the same time, and for the circu- lation of which every possible exertion has been made by the Hydrographical Department of the Admiralty under the direction of the distinguished officer who presides over that branch of the service, Sir Francis Beaufort, entitle c 2 XXXV111 INTRODUCTION. him to the thanks of all who are engaged in trade and commerce with the South American States. It is difficult, indeed, to estimate the vast importance of these great hydrographical works, as they may tend to influence the future development of the resources and trade of the new States of America ; but when we add to them the further results in the invaluable contributions to general science of such able and zealous labourers in the cause as Mr. Darwin, and others who, following his ex- ample, have gone out with our more recent expeditions, I think we may well take pride in them as a national work tending to the advancement of science and the circulation of useful knowledge, and, in the countries to which they more especially refer, so strikingly contrasting with that restrictive policy of Old Spain, which, in acquiring information, seemed only anxious to conceal it from the rest of the world. Nor has the French nation been behind-hand in a laud- able desire to rival us in these labours. Their surveys of the coasts of Brazil, forming the “ Pilote de Bresil,” are nearly as important to the hydrography of those portions of the shores of the old Portuguese American possessions which they have laid down, as ours are to those of the old Spaniards. If we can boast of Mr. Darwin’s labours, a work has been lately completed in Paris under the auspices of the Government by M. Alcide d’Orbigny, the well-known zoologist,* originally sent to South America to collect objects of natural history, which contains not only the results of the talented author’s own observations upon those branches of science which have been his own particular study, but, like most works published under the patronage * Voyage dans l’Amerique Meridional 1826, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, et 33. Par (le Bresil, la Republique Orientale de Alcide d’Orbigny. Ouvrage dedie au 1’ Uruguay, la Republique Argentine, la Roi, et publie sous les auspices de M. le Patagonie, la Republique du Chili, la Ministre de l’lnstruction Publique. Paris, Republique de Bolivia, la Republique du commence 1835. 1847. 8 vols. quarto. Perou). Execute pendant les annees INTRODUCTION. XXXIX of the French Government of late years, a resume of almost everything which has been written by others upon the countries described. Little short of an Encyclopaedia in bulk and matter, it is a splendid example of the libe- rality with which the Government of France is always ready to patronize and contribute to works of art and sci- ence ; but it consists of eight large quarto volumes, and costs more than 50 1 . sterling, which is a serious impediment to its circulation and utility to the great mass of readers. Mr. Darwin’s “ Journal of his Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries visited during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the World” may be purchased for a few shillings, and a more instruc- tive and interesting book can hardly be placed within the reach of all classes. In my former volume I gave an account of the dis- covery of the remains of some of the great extinct quadru- peds of the Pampas. Subsequent acquisitions having furnished us with better means of describing them, I have re-written the chapter which treats of them, and have further inserted in the Appendix a particular account of the osteology of the most remarkable of these fossil mon- sters, which Professor Owen has been kind enough to draw up at my request, expressly for this work. His labours, and those of other learned individuals who have described them, unravel the fabulous tradi- tions handed down by the aborigines respecting a race of Titans, whilst they prove indisputably that the vast alluvial plains in that part of the world at some former period were inhabited by herbivorous animals of most gigantic dimensions, and of forms greatly differing from those of all animals now in existence. Whilst on this subject it is perhaps not unworthy of observation that amongst the various remains of extinct animals which we have as yet obtained from the Pampas, xl INTRODUCTION. no instance, I believe, has been satisfactorily proved of the discovery in that formation of any portion of a carnivorous animal. The fourth and last part of this work, which contains some account of the commerce and debt of Buenos Ayres, is founded upon information which I collected whilst in South America, and upon official returns subsequently published in this and other countries on their trade and commerce with the Rio de la Plata. They show the great and grow- ing increase of the trade of that part of the world, and its importance to the manufacturing interests of Europe, and especially to those of Great Britain. The particulars respecting the debt are given upon the best data I have been able to procure — the statements from time to time printed by authority at Buenos Ayres, and the accounts of the English loan kept by Messrs. Baring in this country. In the Appendix I have put together some documents which may be useful to whoever, in due time, may attempt to write the history of these countries from the dawn of their political independence, and to give an account of the various schemes of different parties for their political organization. The most important of them would in all pro- bability never have become known but for party struggles at Buenos Ayres and at Rio de Janeiro, in the course of which they were brought to light, one faction thinking to discredit another by giving them publicity. The secret instructions of the late Emperor of Brazil will perhaps be read with the most interest, as throwing some light upon what may be the objects of the new Bra- zilian intervention in the affairs of the Banda Oriental and the adjoining states. London , February , 1852. INTRODUCTION. xli POSTSCRIPT. The political news received from the Rio de la Plata by the February mail induced me to suspend the publication of this volume in the expectation of intelligence of a new and important crisis in the affairs of that part of the world. Those accounts announced that a Brazilian naval force, without any previous declaration of war, had entered the Parana, and were engaged in assisting the Provinces on the left bank of the river to throw off the authority of General Rosas, against whom Urquiza, the chief of Entre Rios, had risen, backed by the troops which Rosas himself had sent over from Buenos Avres to assist Oribe in the %> Banda Oriental, and which had been left without a leader upon that chief’s giving up all further struggle for the establishment of his own power. It would appear that Rosas has been unable to withstand this new combination against him, and that after a hard fight he has succumbed to a force originally of his own creation, as did his predecessor, General Dorrego, who was deposed and put to death by the Buenos Ayrean troops, upon their return from the Banda Oriental, after the war with Brazil. More fortunate than Dorrego, General Rosas has saved his life by taking refuge on board a British ship of war. Little else is known beyond the fact of the battle in question having been fought in the vicinity of Buenos Ayres on the 3rd of February, and that the city in con- sequence was to be surrendered under articles of capitu- lation to the victorious party. Rosas has fallen ; but who or what is to follow ? Is it to be “ ctpres moi le deluge” or will the experience of the xlii INTRODUCTION. last thirty years have sufficed to satisfy the Provinces that the federation they set up in 1820 has proved altogether a fallacy, containing, as I think I have sufficiently shown in Chapter VII. and other parts of this volume, nothing but the elements of discord and disunion ? Are they prepared now in earnest to join with Buenos Ayres in substituting constitutional for extraordinary powers, and to make their confederation at last something more than a name? In that case we may look for better things in that part of the world. March 20 , 1852 . BUENOS AYRES AND THE PROVINCES OE THE RIO DE LA PLATA. PART I. BUENOS AYRES AND THE PROVINCES OE THE RIO DE LA PLATA. PART I. CHAPTER I. 1515—1534. Discovery of the Rio de la Plata in 1515 by De Solis — Cabot explores it in 1526, ascends the Parana River, and forms the first Spanish Settlement in those parts — He obtains from the Indians the first Silver from Peru, which he sends home to the Emperor Charles V. — Pizarro arrives about the same time in Spain, having reached Peru from Panama — Delay in sending aid to Cabot, who returns in consequence to Europe. In the same search for a western passage to India which had led Columbus to America, Juan Diaz de Solis, while exploring the southern portion of the newly found con- tinent, in 1515, discovered the mouth of the great estuary of the Rio de la Plata, called by the natives the Parana Guazii, or Sea-like River, which he ascended as far as the island of Martin Garcia (so named after his pilot), where, going incautiously on shore, he was surprised and put to death by the savages. It does not appear that he had reached even the mouth of the Parana, the principal stream from which its waters are derived, and which falls into it more than two hundred miles from the sea. The exploration of that wonderful river was reserved for a more distinguished individual, Sebastian Cabot, second to none but Columbus amongst the navigators of his day, an Englishman born and bred, though of Venetian parentage, b 2 4 SEBASTIAN CABOT Part I. and already known to fame from his discovery of North America for Henry VII. of England, and for an attempt, even in those early days, to find a north-west passage to India ; services, however, which seem to have been more appreciated in other countries than in this at the time. Disappointed, it is said, at the small encouragement held out to such enterprises in England, Cabot, in 1512, accepted an invitation from Ferdinand the Catholic to repair to Spain, where he was received with marked con- sideration. In 1518 he was appointed to the honorable and re- sponsible office which Americus Vespuccius and De Solis had previously held, of Piloto Mayor of the kingdom ; and a few years later, when Magellan had solved the problem of a western passage to India by proceeding south through the straits which bear his name, he was charged by the Emperor, Charles V., with the command of an expedition fitted out for the purpose of opening a trade with the Spice Islands in the Indian Ocean by the newly discovered route. The expedition in question con- sisted of three small vessels equipped by the Government, and a caravel fitted out on private account, and sailed from Spain in April, 1526. Off the coast of Brazil one of the vessels was lost ; but what was worse, a spirit of disaffection and jealousy of their commander, the seeds of which appear to have been sown before they left Spain, broke out into open mutiny, headed, too, by his three next officers in command ; and although it was promptly and with great energy put down by Cabot, it seems to have obliged him to give up all idea of proceeding further with the voyage to the Moluccas. But Cabot was not the man to return home empty handed, or without some effort in the service of his Royal master, worthy of his own established reputation, to make amends for the abandonment of the advantages anticipated from the fulfilment of his original orders. He had with him about two hundred men, and many gallant adventurers (among others, three brothers of Vasco Nunez Balboa, the discoverer of the Pacific Ocean) who had embarked with the expedition in the spirit of the day, only anxious to Chap. I. ENTERS THE PARANA. 5 distinguish themselves in any enterprise in the cause of discovery in the newly found world. He had arrived within a short distance of the mouth of that mighty estuary which De Solis had made known, and the further examination of which had been only stopped by his death ; and nothing seems more natural than that, being in its vicinity with sufficient means at his disposal, Cabot should, under the circumstances, have resolved to obtain some further information as to that mighty mass of fresh water which he must have been sure could only be the outpourings of some vast regions yet to be explored. Having once made up his mind to do so, he put the mutineers on shore, and spread his sails for the Rio de la Plata. Running down the coast of Brazil, he rounded Cape Santa Maria, and, entering the river, sailed along its eastern shore as far as the little stream of San Juan, the scene of De Solis’s disaster : there leaving the two larger vessels, on the 8th of May, 1527, he entered the Parana with a brig and the caravel, passing through the delta at its mouth by the passage which he called De las Palmas. As he went up the Indians came down in crowds to the shore, in amazement and admira- tion at the sight of the vessels. Off the mouth of the Carcaraiia, now called the Tercero, in lat. 32° 50', he came to anchor, and, finding the natives disposed to be friendly and the country inviting, he sent back for the remainder of his people and the stores which had been left at San Juan, and commenced building a fort there, to which he gave the name of San Espiritu, the first settlement made by the Spaniards in those parts. This completed, he confided the charge of it to a trusty officer with sixty men, and once more started on his voyage (on the 22nd Dec. 1527), working his way up the Parana for three months with great toil and labour, against the stream, for the enormous distance of 900 miles, when his farther progress was stopped by a succes- sion of cataracts, commencing in lat. 2 7° 27', which render its navigation any higher impracticable. He then (28th March, 1528) returned to the confluence of 6 OBTAINS SILVER FROM THE NATIVES, Part T. the Paraguay, which he had passed in going up, and ascende i it as high as the junction of the river Yermejo, in lat. 26° 54', where he was attacked by a warlike tribe, the Payaguas, or Agaces, as the Spaniards called them, who came down with 300 canoes against him ; and although Cabot bravely put them to flight, with great slaughter, it was not without the loss of his next in com- mand, Miguel Rifos, besides another officer and fifteen of his men, who were slain by the savages. These Indians, who were much the most formidable and warlike people he had yet met with, when once they had experienced the superiority of the white men, seemed only anxious to secure their friendship and alliance. Not only did they then bring them supplies of provisions, but, to their surprise, they produced a quantity of gold and silver ornaments, which they offered to the Spaniards in exchange for the glass beads and other European baubles which they had brought with them. According to their own account, they were spoils of war obtained some years before by their nation in an inroad which they had made into Peru during the government of the Inca Huayna Capac, the father of Atahuallpa, who died at Quito in 1525. So says Herrera, author of the Historia de las Indias, quoting from Cabot’s reports to the Em- peror;* adding that, “besides the gold and silver which they had brought from Peru, from the friendly terms he had established with the Indians, Cabot further ob- tained from them many secrets relative to those lands.” Nor is it difficult to imagine what wonderful accounts those untutored savages would relate of the wealth and power and civilization of an Empire so strikingly con- trasting with their own miserable barbarism, and what intense interest they must have excited in Cabot, whose whole life had been devoted to the cause of discovery, and who, from his previous employment, was, as it happened, the most competent perhaps of all men in existence to appreciate the full value of the information in question. In his office of Piloto Mayor it had been his especial duty to examine and weigh the various reports which, after * Herrera, Decade IV. Jib. 8. cap. 11. Chap. I. AND INFORMATION OF PERU. 7 Balboa’s first discovery of the Pacific, were continually sent to Spain from Mexico, relating to a land abounding in gold ani silver in the far south, precisely in that direc- tion which was now pointed out by the Indians of the Vermejo, and the existence of which seemed to be satis- factorily corroborated by the samples of the precious metals and works of art which they had themselves acquired there. There can, I think, be no doubt that Cabot was himself fully satisfied that he had discovered the way to that long-looked for region by the Parana, although the intervening distance to be traversed through wild regions and savage tribes, which the natives described as equal to 500 leagues, was manifestly more than he could attempt without a much larger force than he had then at command. With a view to obtain the further aid which was requisite, he now, therefore, determined to send home to the Emperor an account of his proceedings and of the all important intelligence he had obtained. An unexpected circum- stance made it the more necessary for him to do so without delay. Another individual had made his appearance in the river, Don Diego Garcia, who, in ignorance of Cabot’s proceedings, had been sent out to the Parana expressly to follow out De Solis’s original discovery ; and although Cabot, with his usual good sense and management, avoided any collision with him as to his authority, his pretensions were such as to render a reference to Spain absolutely necessary. He lost, therefore, no time in returning to San Espiritu, whence he despatched two of his officers to Spain, one of whom was an Englishman, George Barlow by name, with a full report for the information of the Emperor of all that he had heard and seen, and “ of the vast riches which might be looked for from these newly-discovered regions.” He availed himself of the same opportunity to send home some of the Guarani Indians to do homage to his Imperial master, and a selection of the gold and silver ornaments from Peru, which he had obtained as above mentioned.* * Herrera says they were the first spe- the Indies. He must have meant from cimens of gold and silver brought from Peru . 8 NAMES THE RIVER “ LA PLATA.” Part I. Cabot has been rather severely censured by some of the Spanish historians, and others who have followed them, for having given the name of Rio de la Plata , “ The River of Silver,” to the Parana from these discoveries, although the fact that he was the author of that name is by no means clear. Rut, supposing it to be so, when we consider the strong conviction which must have been upon his mind that some of its great tributaries from the west, if not the parent stream itself, were connected with the countries of gold and silver pointed out to him in that direction, and of which he had the samples before him, there seems, I think, quite sufficient to have justified at the time an appellation, the correctness of which has only been im- pugned by the result of information long subsequently obtained. That the accounts of a region abounding in gold and silver were no invention of Cabot’s to give undue importance to his discoveries in the eyes of the Emperor, as has been unjustly alleged against him, is proved by the fact that Ayolas, who after him was the first European to reach the shores of the Paraguay River, received there from the natives precisely the same accounts “ of a people afar off in a land rich in gold and silver,” and “ who,” they added, “ were as civilised as the Christians themselves.” * So says Schmidel, who was with him. The sight of the gold and silver appears to have been sufficient to satisfy the court of Spain of the importance to the crown of Cabot’s discoveries, and to have secured for him a full approval of his having abandoned for them the more mercantile objects of the voyage to the Moluccas. The Emperor, says the Jesuit Guevara, the historian of Paraguay, “ received the messengers of Cabot with great condescension, holding long converse with them relative to the countries they had visited, the interest of the audience being greatly heightened by the presence of the Guarani chiefs with their strange and peculiar Indian physiognomy, of whom the Emperor took particular notice, putting to them many questions respecting the manners and customs * “ De una. nacion quo habitaba lejos cran tan sabios corao losCristianos,” &c. — en una provincia rica de oro y plata,” &c. Schmidel. “ Y por relacion de otros anadian que Chap. I. HIS MESSENGERS REACH SPAIN. 9 and religious rites and observances of their race ; all which,” adds the same author, “ greatly inclined his Im- perial Majesty to favour Cabot and to send him further assistance to enable him to prosecute his discoveries ; but other grave matters which about that time called him to Italy, prevented his then carrying out his intentions.” * There were other circumstances perhaps which contri- buted to the delay. Francisco Pizarro had arrived in Spain shortly before the messengers of Cabot (in May, 1528), to give an account in person of his own marvellous adventures and discoveries. Sailing from Panama south- ward along the shores of the Pacific, he had actually reached the confines of that mighty Empire of the Incas, of the existence of which Cabot could only report the rumours which had been given him by the Indians from afar. Further, Pizarro came to offer, not to ask, assistance to prosecute his discoveries, a point of great importance to Charles in the exhausted state of his treasury, which could ill spare any pecuniary aid at that moment for such extra- ordinary services, whilst the messengers of Cabot were in no position to make similar propositions : they came to seek aid at the expense of the government, and had no chance of obtaining it from any other quarter. Pizarro, in return for his offer to add this region of promised wealth to the Spanish dominions, had already obtained from the Emperor the grant of a government, the boundaries of which were yet to be known ; and, with the imperfect information be- fore him, it may be fairly supposed that Charles may have hesitated ere he took measures to promote the advance of Cabot into Peru from another quarter, lest he should clash with his followers. * “ Llevaban tambien un donativo de Mas que todo admiro su grande entendi- plata para el Emperador, y algunos Indios miento el artificio de los tejidos y delica- que pasaban a dar la obediencia en nom- deza de labor, maniobra de artificio supe- bre de sus naciones. Los agentes de Ga- rior a lo que prometia la torpeza de sus boto fueron admitidos con soberana dig- manos. nacion conferenciando largamente con “ Todo lo cual inclino el Emperador a ellos el Cesar, e inquiriendo varias curi- favorecer a Gaboto y enviarle socorro de osidades concernientes a diferentes mate- gente para la prosecucion de la conquista, rias. Concurrieron al agrado del Recibi- pero como la monarquia se hallaba em- miento los Guaranis, Embajadores carac- barazada con la alianza de Inglaterra y terizados con fisfonoma peregrina y mo- Francia y el ano de 29 gravfsimos nego- dales Indicas, que llamaban la atencion cios sacaron de Espana para Italia cl del Monarca, informandose largamente Cesar, este projecto no llego entonces a sobre sus genios, ritos, y costumbres- • . . ejccucion.” — Historia del P. Guevara. iO CABOT’S RETURN TO EUROPE. Part I. Whatever may have been his first inclinations, the result was, that the Emperor did nothing, and Cabot was left in the Parana in anxious uncertainty as to the fate of his messengers, until, his patience being fairly exhausted, he resolved to return to Europe to submit his discoveries in person to his Imperial master. He reached Spain in 1530, after an absence of nearly five years, a few months after Francisco Pizarro had sailed on his return to Peru with all the powers which the Crown could give him. We are left to imagine the extent of Cabot’s disappoint- ment at finding upon his arrival that the information to which he attached so much importance had been fore- stalled by the realization of the discovery of Peru by the Spaniards from Panama. He seems, however, to have been a singularly disinterested person, wrapt up in the cause of discovery, the great object of his whole life and labours ; and although no man had more distinguished himself in his particular calling, he was apparently but little ambitious of titular honours for himself, or likely to regard with feelings of envy such a man as Pizarro. The good Cabot, “ el buen Gaboto ” of the Argentina, “ that most gentle and courteous person,” as he is elsewhere de- scribed by a contemporary, could have had no wish to wade through scenes of blood and injustice to earn the dubious honour of being called a “ Gran Conquistador,” nor is there anything, considering all we know of the character of the man, to surprise us that he seems to have chosen to re- sume, when it was offered to him, his old office of Piloto Mayor, in preference to any other employment. By doing so, in all probability, he not only consulted what was best suited to his own inclinations and abilities, but placed him- self in the best possible position for furthering the object which, it may be supposed, he had most at heart — that of directing public attention to the new regions he had him- self discovered, and to the Parana, as a way to Peru. With that in view, it is clear he had only to bide his time and wait for further intelligence from Pizarro ; nor was it long in coming. In January, 1534, just four years after the departure of Chap. I. NEWS OF THE CONQUEST OF PEEU. 11 Francisco from Spain, his brother, Hernando Pizarro, re- turned with the astounding intelligence of the conquest of the empire of Peru, of the capture of the Inca, the un- fortunate Atahuallpa, and of the prodigious quantity of gold and silver acquired by the Spaniards, the Royal fifth of which, besides a wonderful display of rare jewels and curious ornaments, Pizarro had sent home to the Emperor, a treasure such as had never before been seen in Europe, thus more than realising all the reports of a land teeming with gold and silver in the interior of the new continent, of which Cabot had obtained perhaps the first and most positive proofs through the Indians of the Parana. The effect produced in Spain by the wonderful accounts of Pizarro and of the Spaniards who returned with him laden with their share of the spoils of Peru, can be better imagined than described. All men were eager to rush there ; it was no longer a question of enlisting a few desperate adventurers to go they knew not whither or for what. Nobles of the highest rank and hidalgos of every grade pressed forward to offer their services to the Crown, and to solicit as a favour to be permitted to embark at their own cost and expense for these newly-discovered regions. Never had so many Cavaliers of noble and gentle lineage embarked for the New World as Hernando Pizarro took with him on his return, in 1534, to join his brother Fran- cisco in Peru ; but hardly had that brilliant armament been despatched, when another expedition was prepared, which in numbers and appointments completely eclipsed it, and, considering the uncertainty of the object in view, was a still more remarkable exemplification of the wild spirit of adventure which pervaded all classes at that time. This was the expedition fitted out by Don Pedro de Mendoza for the conquest and settlement of the Rio de la Plata. ( 12 ) Part I. CHAPTER II. 1534—1538. Brilliant Armament fitted out by Mendoza for the Rio de la Plata — Sails in 1534 — The Spaniards land at Buenos Ayres — Are attacked by the Indians, and suffer great losses — Famine also — They abandon their Settlement at Buenos Ayres and proceed up the River — Mendoza returns to Spain, and dies on the way — Ayolas is cut off in an attempt to reach Peru — Yrala settles in Paraguay, and is elected Governor. Instigated not only by the brilliant accounts of Peru sent home by Pizarro, but by the conviction, as we may infer, which was entertained by the Piloto Mayor* of the possibility of reaching that region of riches by the Rio de la Plata, Don Pedro de Mendoza, a gentleman of the Emperor’s household, and who, like Pizarro, had been a follower of the Great Captain in the Italian wars, obtained permission to equip an armament to take possession of the countries discovered by Cabot, and to found settlements there at his own cost ; in return for which he was to be appointed Governor thereof, with the title of Adelantado, and various privileges of importance set forth in an Asiento, or formal contract, entered into with him by his Imperial master. According to the agreement in question, Mendoza bound himself to take out 1000 men fully armed and equipped, with sufficient supplies to last them for a year, with medical officers to take care of the sick, and a number of missionaries for the conversion of the Indians — an object which, as well as their good treatment, the Emperor wished it to be understood he had much at heart. He was to bear the entire cost of the expedition ; and it was expressly stipulated that the Emperor was not to be called upon to * “ Llegado Sebastian Cabot a Castilla que traia ; y de tal manera supo ponderar dio cuenta a Su Magestad de lo que habia este negocio, que algunos Caballeros de descubierto y visto en aquellas provin- caudal pretendieron esta conquista y cias la buena disposicion calidad y tem- gobernacion.” — La Argentina de Guzman, pie de la tierra, la gran suma de naturales, cap. x. con la noticia, y muestras de oro y plata Chap. II. MENDOZA’S EXPEDITION. 13 pay any part of the expenses ; even the salary of the Adelantado, fixed at 2000 ducats, with as much more for his entertainment, was to be chargeable upon the lands he had yet to conquer. To those who might volunteer to accompany him were conceded all the privileges usually granted to those going to the Indies ; and to sharpen their zeal in the cause, and to remind them perhaps of the enormous booty in the shape of ransom recently obtained from the unfortunate Inca by the followers of Pizarro, it was specifically set forth in the Asiento, that if any Sovereign Prince should fall into their hands, the whole of his ransom, although by law belonging to the Emperor, was to be divided amongst the conquerors, deducting only the Royal fifths. No sooner were the terms of this Asiento made public than men of all degrees came forward to join Mendoza, attracted partly by Ins rank and position about the Court, and not less perhaps by the alluring appellation of the Rio de la Plata. More than fifty individuals of distinc- tion are named as taking part in this enterprise. First upon the list was the Cavalier Don Juan de Osorio, an officer who had gained great repute in Italy, and who was made commander of the troops ; Don Diego de Men- doza, a brother of the Adelantado, was appointed admiral of the fleet, and J uan de Ayolas, Alguazil Mayor ; whilst Don Domingo Martinez de Yrala, better known from his subsequent exploits, Francisco de Mendoza, major duomo of the King of the Romans, and Don Carlos Dubrin, the Emperor’s foster-brother, went out as volunteers, besides many others, some with appointments to special offices on the part of the Crown, connected with the projected settle- ments, and others animated only by the love of adventure and the hope of future wealth. Resides these gentlemen, such was the press of people anxious to embark, that it became necessary to hasten the sailing of the ships before the appointed time. As it was, instead of the 1000 men for which Mendoza had stipu- lated, upon the first muster of the people on the passage out, there were found to be 2500 Spaniards and 150 Germans on board, besides the crews of the fourteen ships 14 EVENTS ON THE VOYAGE. Part I. which composed the fleet, altogether the largest armament that had ever sailed from Spain for the Indies. The fleet left San Lucar in August, 1534, and at that favourable season of the year had a good voyage out, touching at the Canaries, the Cape de Yerds, and Rio de J aneiro for refreshments ; but it was not unchequered with incidents which did but little honour to the Conquistadores. At the Canaries, some of the vessels which had put into Palma became involved in a serious dispute with the inha- bitants, from the misconduct of Don Jorge de Mendoza, a relation of the Adelantado, who, having taken a liking for the daughter of a gentleman of that place, landed during the night with some of his worthless companions, and car- ried her off* by force from her father’s house, with a quan- tity of money and jewels. As soon as it was discovered, the ships were fired into, and would probably have been detained by the exasperated natives, but for the interposi- tion of the captain of one of the King’s ships, who had accidentally put in there on his way to Mexico, and who insisted upon Don Jorge’s being put on shore with the damsel, to make the only reparation in his power by mar- rying her, the ceremony being performed with great pomp in presence of the Governor of the place, and of the prin- cipal officers of the fleet. A more tragical scene occurred at Rio de Janeiro. The popularity amongst the people of the gallant Osorio seems to have excited the jealousy of the Adelantado, who on some frivolous pretext went so far as to order him to be placed under arrest. Being brought into his presence at his own request to justify himself from the unfounded charges which he understood had been made against him, the Adelantado gave way to great violence, and on Oso- rio’s leaving him, made use of some hasty expression, which Ayolas, the Alguazil Mayor, unfortunately inter- preting into an order to despatch him, drew a dagger and stabbed him to the heart. An attempt afterwards made to bring forward an accusation of traitorous inten- tions against him met with no credit ; and such was the general disgust at this atrocious assassination, that many gentlemen refused to proceed further with the expe- Chap. II. THE SPANIARDS LAND AT BUENOS AYRES, 15 dition ; whilst the excitement was so great amongst the soldiers, by whom Osorio was greatly beloved for his kind- ness and gallant bearing on all occasions, that Mendoza, to prevent worse consequences, was obliged to order the ships to put to sea again without delay. They entered the Rio de la Plata in the month of Ja- nuary, 1535, where they found the Admiral Don Diego, who had preceded them, and who, struck with dismay on being informed of Osorio’s death, is said, with an instinctive presentiment of its results, arising perhaps in part from a conviction of his own incapacity for the command, which in consequence devolved upon him, to have predicted the disastrous issue of the expedition,* and to have blamed his brother’s conduct in no unmeasured terms. The ships came to anchor off the Island of San Gabriel, and upon the little stream opposite, on the south side of the river, still called the Riachuelo, Mendoza at once commenced laying out his first settlement, named by him the port of Santa Maria de Buenos Ayres, in honour of the day, being the 2nd of February, and from the delightful climate, which at that season made a great impression upon his followers after their long voyage. But these agreeable sensations were soon dissipated. Upon disembarking the stores from the vessels, it was found that instead of the supplies of provisions for twelve months, which had been stipulated for, so great had been the consumption of them, by the unforeseen numbers on board, and so scanty the stock which remained, that it became necessary to reduce the daily rations to six ounces of biscuit to each individual ; short allowance for men obliged, in addition to their ordinary duties, to labour at the erection of mud walls as a protec- tion against the savages, of whose warlike character they were not long left in ignorance. At first, partly from curiosity, and partly from awe of the numbers and warlike appearance of the Spaniards, the natives brought them supplies of flesh and fish ; but so many hungry strangers were not easily satisfied, and after a time they gradually drew off to a distance. In some * “ Dios quiera que la ruina de todos, no sea un justo pago de la muerte de Osorio 1” — Funes Hist. 16 BATTLE WITH THE INDIANS. Part I. disputes which had arisen between them, they had dis- covered that the white men were mortal beings like them- selves, and they prepared to try their strength if neces- sary against the invaders. The opportunity soon offered : the Adelantado, thinking to terrify them into submission, and to oblige them to supply him with provisions, ordered out a force of 300 men with a small party of cavalry under his brother Don Diego, the Admiral, who marched into the country till he came in view of a vast number of Indians drawn out in martial array, and prepared to give the Spaniards battle upon the opposite side of a morass. It was a position taken up with great tact, as did not escape the notice of some old soldiers, who urged the Admiral to endeavour to draw them out from it before he commenced his attack. Well would it have been for him had he done so ; but the eager old sailor, who had no idea that naked savages could offer any effectual resistance to an armed force of dis- ciplined Europeans, would brook no delay, and ordered his men at once to advance. In doing so the foot-soldiers became almost immediately entangled in a marshy swamp, in which they were exposed to the missiles of their enemies, who attacked them with their formidable slings and bolas, and with such effect, that numbers of them were disabled before they could fire their arquebusses. The cavalry then, with Don Diego at their head, charged the savages ; but they, nothing daunted, immediately rallied, and sur- rounding Manrique, one of the Spanish cavaliers, over- powered and unhorsed him. An Indian in the act of decapitating him was slain by Don Diego, who had hur- ried to his rescue ; but the Admiral himself was imme- diately afterwards struck down by a ball from a sling, which hit him upon the chest and left him almost lifeless : in vain did a gallant gentleman, Don Pedro de Guzman, try to raise him up and place him upon his own horse; both were overwhelmed in the act and slain by the savages. The Indians retreated after nearly 1000 of them had been killed, leaving about 140 Spaniards in possession of the held, not one-half of the number that had gone into Chap. IT. SUFFERINGS OF THE SPANIARDS. 17 the fight. Besides Don Diego de Mendoza, the Adelan- tado’s brother, six gentlemen of distinction lost their lives in this first and disastrous encounter with the warlike Querandis. This was a bad beginning for the Conquistadores, but it was nothing to what was to come. The Indians, after the battle, contented themselves for a time with watching the Spaniards from a distance, and preventing their obtaining any supplies — a course which soon reduced them to ter- rible straits. In vain were vessels sent out to the coast of Brazil and up the river in quest of food ; before they could return the unfortunate settlers had suffered famine in all its most frightful horrors ; many of the horses were eaten, then dogs, cats, and rats ; when they were devoured, the soldiers ate their shoes and leathern accoutrements. Three men were hung for stealing a horse, and the next morning it was found that they had been cut down for food by their comrades ; worse cases are recorded, almost too horrible to believe. To any one who knows how all the vicinity teems with animal life and game of every description, flesh and fowl and fish, it seems almost incredible that more than 2500 well-armed European soldiers should have submitted to be thus pent up and starved alive by the wild savages of the Pampas. Nor was this all they had to suffer from them. Famine led to pestilence; and whilst the Spaniards were dying by hundreds, the half-starved survivors were suddenly assailed by a host of Indians, estimated at no less than 20,000, of various tribes, who had gradually been collecting from the interior to aid the Querandis against their common enemy, and who now, drawing round their fortification, threw into it their bolas with burning matches attached, which, falling upon the thatched roofs of the houses, soon set them on fire and destroyed them. Four small vessels, lying off the shore in the Riachuelo , were burnt in the same manner ; but the others were fortunately able to bring their guns to bear upon the savages, and made such havoc amongst them that they were beaten ofb though not before 30 Spaniards were killed. In this conjuncture Ayolas, who commanded the foraging c 18 BUENOS AYRES ABANDONED. Part I. party sent up the Parana, most opportunely returned with a supply of food (maize), which he had obtained from the Timbu Indians, in the vicinity of the Carcarana, the same people with whom Cabot had before established a friendly intercourse, and with whom Ayolas was so well pleased that he had left 100 of his men amongst them, building a new fort (Corpus Christi), in the neighbourhood of Cabot’s original settlement of San Espiritu, which had been abandoned after his departure for Spain. Thither the Adelantado now determined to remove with the remnant of his followers, and glad enough were they to quit Buenos Ayres, the scene of such terrible sufferings and disasters. Schmidel, one of the party, says, when they were mustered before their departure, there only remained, besides the 100 men up the river, of all that gallant company which had arrived not twelve months before from Spain, 560 individuals, and of those 60 died from exhaustion ere they could join their comrades at Corpus ; nearly 2000 persons had perished. From Corpus the Adelantado again despatched Ayolas with 300 men to explore the higher parts of the river, and to obtain, if possible, some information as to the prac- ticability of passing on to Peru. But Ayolas did not come back ; and Mendoza, after waiting for him nearly a year, disappointed in all his hopes, and worn out by bodily disease, and grief at the loss of his brother and so many gallant gentlemen, determined to return to Spain : he died (1557) broken-hearted on the voyage home, his last in- junction being to send succours to the settlers he had left at Corpus. Well was it perhaps for him that he did not live to reach Spain to have to account for the disastrous consequences of his incapacity and mismanagement. Before his departure he left an appointment for Ayolas to act as his lieutenant in the government, a man who, although brave and enterprising, had rendered himself an object of dislike and fear to his comrades from the part he had taken in the assassination of the gallant Osorio. The secret instructions which Mendoza left for his guidance have been preserved,* and throw some light * Herrera, Decade VI. lib. 3, cap. 1 7. Chap. II. DEATH OF MENDOZA. 19 upon his own views, and what he was still hoping might result from an enterprise which had already cost so dear. Ayolas must have been not a little surprised at their con- tents, unless they had been pre-arranged with him, as seems most probable. “ He was directed to proceed up the river as far as he could get with all the Spaniards under his command, and, after leaving a sufficient garrison in some stronghold there in order to secure his communi- cations with the Rio de la Plata, he was to abandon or sink his ships, and to march, if he could, across the inter- vening continent to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.” Rather a wild scheme, but for the context, which appears to explain what Mendoza was really aiming at. Assuming that, in the execution of these orders, his lieutenant might fall in with Almagro or Pizarro, the Adelantado enjoins him in such case to do his best to keep on good terms with them, taking care, however, to hold his own, and to maintain his ground, if strong enough to do so, unless Almagro should agree to give him 150,000 golden ducats, as he had done under similar circumstances to Alvarado, the Governor of Guatemala, to induce him to retire from the inroad he had made into the Province of Quito, in which case, or even for 100,000 ducats, if he could get no more, Mendoza tells him he might agree to withdraw peaceably from their territories. Of whatever he could so obtain from Almagro, Ayolas was to have a tenth for himself, Mendoza undertaking to obtain the Emperor’s sanction to the proceedings. Of any further plunder in the shape of gold and silver which he might obtain he was to have half, the rest to be divided amongst the other captains and their followers, after setting aside sufficient to repay the expenses incurred by Mendoza, who further begs that any jewels or precious stones which “ God might throw in their way ” should be reserved for him as some special compensation for his own personal exertions in originating the enterprise. Mixed up with instructions upon various other matters, he concludes by enjoining his lieutenant to be mindful in all his doings, first of his duty to God, and next of his obligations to him, Mendoza. c 2 20 INSTRUCTIONS TO AYOLAS. Paht I. The Adelantado’s notion of waylaying Almagro to obtain from him some portion of the spoils of Peru was evidently no new scheme, and appears from his own showing to have been suggested by the example of Alva- rado’s equally unscrupulous invasion of Quito, and his knowledge of the enormous sum which he had obtained from Almagro to secure his peaceable withdrawal from a territory which he had no other right than that of force ever to have entered. The particulars of that singular episode in the history of the conquest of Peru had been brought to Spain just before the sailing of the expedition to the Rio de la Plata, and had created no little sensation, it may be pre- sumed, amongst the reckless men about to embark for America to seek for wealth, regardless from whom or by what means it was obtained. Such were the Conquista- dores, as ready to rob one another as to plunder the wretched Indians, if they could do so with any chance of impunity. Whether brought up in the more civilized usages of the court like Mendoza, or in the rough school of the soldier like the illiterate Pizarro, who could not write his own name, they were all alike rapacious and unscrupulous. Whilst Mendoza was drawing up these instructions in the Rio de la Plata, 1537, Almagro was on his way back from his memorable expedition into Chile, disap- pointed in his own expectations of plunder, and preparing once more to dispute with Pizarro the possession of Cuzco, if not of Peru ; and the probability is that, with nothing himself to give, had he fallen in with the followers of the Adelantado of the Rio de la Plata, both bent solely upon one and the same object, which it was now clear was only to be acquired in Peru, they would have united their forces, and might have placed the Pizarros in great diffi- culties. But the followers of Mendoza were then in no condition to carry out any part of his orders. Juan de Ayolas, for whom, as has been already mentioned, they were espe- cially intended, after fighting his way up the river as high as 21° S. lat., had there disembarked with 200 of his men, Chap. II. FIRST SETTLEMENT IN PARAGUAY. 21 and marched into the interior, never to return. From an Indian who escaped, accounts were subsequently received that the whole party, after obtaining a rich booty from some of the tribes bordering on Peru, had been treacher- ously massacred on their way back by the Payagua Indians. Yrala, who commanded the vessels which had taken them up the river, after waiting for them in vain for nine months, had been forced, from want of provisions and the state of the vessels, which were opening at every seam from exposure to the sun, to proceed down the river again to Paraguay, the people of which, after a signal victory obtained over them by Ayolas in his way up the river the year before, had promised fealty and obedience to the Conquistadores. There, whilst the Spaniards were engaged in strength- ening their position at Assumption, to their great joy the ships arrived from Spain, which had been despatched in consequence of Mendoza’s dying injunctions, with neces- saries of all kinds, besides a reinforcement of 200 men, and supplies enough to last them two years. Nor were the spiritual wants of the settlers on this occasion lost sight of : together with the means of celebrating Divine Service, several Franciscan friars were sent out to them by the Emperor’s particular direction. He also at the same time desired a free pardon to be promulgated in favour of some unhappy wretches who, it was understood, were living as outcasts from their Christian comrades, under ban of punishment for having, during the prevalence of the dire famine at Buenos Ayres, lived like cannibals on human flesh. About the same time Francisco Ruiz, the officer whom Mendoza had left in charge of the shipping at Buenos Ayres, with orders to forward his instructions to Ayolas, had come to the determination to proceed himself in search of him with the people left under his command ; these, about 150 in number, with the garrison of Corpus which he also took up with him, reached Paraguay shortly after the vessels from Spain, and thus were collected together at Assumption the whole of the Spaniards in the Rio de la Plata — in all, about 600 individuals. 22 YRALA CHOSEN GOVERNOR. Part I. The Emperor had given orders that, in the event of the death of Mendoza’s lieutenant, the settlers were to as- semble and elect their own governor, pending his pleasure ; and as there was no longer any doubt as to the fate of Ayolas, they proceeded to do so. Their choice fell almost unanimously upon Don Domingo Martinez de Yrala, who was in all due form proclaimed Captain-General of the Rio de la Plata (August, 1538).* Buenos Ayres was totally abandoned, and Assumption, which was made the seat of government, under his vigorous rule soon became a place of importance. * “ Porque siempre se habia mostrado justo y benevolo, especialmente con los soldados.”— Schmidel, cap. 26. The first Settlement at Buenos Ayres attacked by the Indians in 1535. From a print published by Schmidel (who was there at the time) , Chap. III. ( 23 ) CHAPTER III. 1538—1550. Yrala — The Spaniards in Paraguay intermarry with the Guarani Women — Consequences — Cabeza de Yaca appointed Adelantado — His extraor- dinary March across Brazil — Subdues the Guay cur us — Expedition up the Paraguay River — Reaches the Xarayes, and obliged to return — Conspiracy against him — Is deposed and sent back to Spain — Yrala re-elected Governor — Succeeds in reaching Peru — Is ordered back by the President La G'asca. So far the Conquistadores had little but an empty name to boast of. In the four years they had been in the Rio de la Plata, from the mismanagement and incapacity of the Adelantado and his officers, they had experienced nothing but disasters, defeat, and disappointment. Under such circumstances it was a fortunate provision of the Emperor’s which left to their own choice the selection of the individual best qualified to direct their future proceedings. Yrala, their new Governor, was in many respects well worthy the confidence so unanimously reposed in him. He was a gentleman by birth, from Vergara in Spain, brought up in the military service, and distinguished amongst his comrades by his soldier-like qualities. He had proved himself an enterprising and indefatigable com- mander — kind and considerate to his people, and abound- ing in those daring and generous feelings most likely to endear him to his followers. His personal prowess was something marvellous, and had been signalised on various occasions, but especially in a late encounter with the Payaguas, the most warlike enemies the Spaniards had yet met with, in which he had slain with his own hand no less than twelve of their warriors, who had furiously fallen upon him at once in the hope of overpowering him by main force. His first object was to strengthen and secure the settlement which he (or rather Ayolas) had commenced at Assumption. The lines of a city were laid 24 INTERMARRIAGES WITH THE GUARANIS. Part I. out, a church and other public buildings were erected, a police was established, and the groundwork laid of the first municipal institutions in that part of South America. The position of the Spaniards at Assumption was a great improvement on their late condition at Buenos Ayres. Instead of starving, they found themselves in a land abounding with the necessaries of life. The natives of Paraguay, more civilised than the nomade inhabitants of the Pampas, whose sole subsistence was on fish and the deer which they caught with their slings and bolas, were an industrious race, cultivating their lands, and growing for their own use large quantities of maize, of casava, and of the batate or sweet potato ; they had fish and fowl, and the flesh of a great variety of wild animals, in abundance ; plenty of honey, of which, as well as of the casava, they made a fermented liquor; and cotton, of which their women wove cloth sufficient to provide them with the light and scanty covering required in that hot climate. All these were at the disposal of the Spaniards, whose superiority, after some ineffectual attempts at resistance, being fully established, the submissive natives resigned themselves and all that belonged to them to the mercies of the conquerors. They worked heartily at the fortifications which were to perpetuate their own subjection, and as the walls rose above their own heads, so no doubt did their respect for their new masters. The Spaniards repaid them by parcelling out their lands, and taking their daughters to live with them ; and although at first these unions, as may be supposed, were of a very irregular character, there is no doubt they con- tributed materially to secure the permanent establishment of the dominion of the conquerors. The simple natives, who regarded them as a superior race, were rather eager than averse to cultivate such connexions, believing that any ties which allied them to the white men would add to their own importance. Nor were they mistaken : the irresistible growth of female influence, seconded by a rising generation in whose behalf the voice of nature spoke in every house, soon produced their natural effects upon Chap. III. INDIAN CONSPIRACY FOILED. 25 the relative position of the conquerors and tlieir new vassals, greatly to the advantage of the latter. The Spaniards, anxious to promote the interests of their off- spring, secured for them a participation in their own rights and privileges : they bequeathed to them their names and possessions ; and thus the children of the Guarani women became not only a numerous but a very influential class in the lands of their Indian ancestors. What is still more remarkable, they have perpetuated their own language amongst the descendants of the conquerors, and to this day Guarani, almost to the exclusion of Spanish, is spoken by all classes throughout Paraguay. The Spaniards had been little more than a year esta- blished at Assumption when the whole colony was saved, by the devotion of one of these women, from a conspiracy to massacre them, got up by the caciques of some neigh- bouring tribes. Invited by the Spaniards to witness the ceremonies of the holy week, which they were preparing to celebrate with all the splendour in their power, they introduced some hundreds of their followers into the city, intending to fall upon the Spaniards whilst engaged in their devotions on .Good Friday, when they calculated on their being unarmed and unprepared to resist them. The plot was well laid, and for a short time was kept secret with Indian fidelity, whilst the Spaniards, entirely off their guard, and only thinking of the ceremonies in which they were engaged, were rather gratified than other- wise at the number of their visitors, who they probably regarded as so many converts in prospect to Christianity. But, as the day drew on, the Indian lover of a Guarani girl, who was living with one of the Spanish captains, sought her out and urged her to fly with him from the impending danger, to satisfy her of the extent of which he revealed to her the whole plot, and the hour and manner of its intended execution. Alarmed more for her master’s safety than her own, after extracting from her country- man all he knew, the girl feigned compliance with his wishes, and, hurrying home under pretence of securing her child and some trinkets, gave full warning to the Spaniards of their danger, and then returned to the In- 26 CABEZA DE YACA MADE ADELANTADO. Part I. dian to lull his suspicions, if he had entertained any, at her absence. Yrala lost not a moment upon receiving the informa- tion, and took his measures so well that he managed to secure the persons of the principal caciques in the con- spiracy, and before their followers could attempt to rescue them, the leaders were examined, convicted, and executed at the very hour they had fixed upon for the massacre of the Spaniards. The promptitude with which this plot was put down by Yrala struck terror into all the Indians, who attributed its dis- covery to the supernatural powers inherent in the white man. Whilst Yrala was engaged in settling his people and completing the conquest of Paraguay, Don Alvaro Nunez Cabeza de Yaca, who had returned to Spain after a long captivity amongst the cannibal Indians of Florida, nothing daunted by the disastrous issue of Mendoza’s enterprise, solicited to be appointed his successor in the Adelantasgo of the Rio de la Plata, offering to expend 8000 golden ducats in the equipment of a new armament in aid of the settlers already established there ; and the Emperor accepting his proposals, vessels were purchased, and 400 soldiers with 46 horses embarked, amply provided with everything they were likely to stand in need of.* This expedition sailed on the 2nd November, 1540, from Spain, but from various detentions at the Canaries and the Cape de Yerds did not reach St. Catherine’s till the end of the month of March following (1541). A story is told that off the coast of Brazil the Spaniards were marvellously pre- served from shipwreck by the instinct of a ground-cricket, brought on board by a sick sailor to amuse him, and which, after a silence of more than two months, began one night to chirp so vociferously as to attract the attention of the crew, some of whom going on deck discovered the shore immediately a-head, upon which they were on the point of running, and must inevitably have perished but for the * Amongst other stipulations of the radores, porque la experiencia habia Asiento made with Cabeza de Vaca, the mostrado que en las tierras nuevamente prohibition against taking out lawyers or pobladas se seguian muchas diferencias attorneys to South America is worth no- y pleitos, por su causa.”— Herrera, Dec. tice, as well as the reason for it: — “Man- VII. lib. 2, cap. 8. dose, que no hubiese letrados ni procu- Chap. III. LANDS ON THE COAST OF BRAZIL. 27 warning voice of their little friend, whose more sensitive perception of the vicinity of land saved them from the impending danger. At St. Catherine’s they were joined by some runaways from the Rio de la Plata, who gave them the first account of the death of Ayolas, and of the removal of the whole of the Spaniards up the river to Assumption. This intelli- gence, coupled with such further accounts as he could collect, determined Cabeza de Vaca to make the bold attempt to reach the Spanish settlements in Paraguay by crossing the intervening countries direct from where he was, instead of proceeding by the more circuitous and tedious navigation up the Plata and Parana : an undertak- ing which was accomplished with remarkable success, and which is deservedly considered as one of the most memor- able events in the annals of the Conquest. Sending the vessels, under the command of Don Philip de Caceres, round by the Parana, with orders to meet him at Assumption, he landed 250 of his best men with 20 horses and some brood mares at the river Itabucii, on the main land a little to the north of St. Catherine’s, whence, under the guidance of a number of Indians, who offered to lead the way, he commenced his march into the interior (on the 2nd November, 1541). After nineteen days of incessant toil and labour spent in making their way through dense forests and across the mountains which bound the coast, the Spaniards came in view of a vast expanse of rich plains, stretching as far as they could see, and watered by the great river Igua^i, or Curitiba, running in a westerly direction. These plains were studded with the villages of the Guaranis, who came forth to receive the strangers with wonder not unmixed with fear, soon, however, changed to delight when the Spaniards offered them the presents they had brought with them ; in return the Indians supplied them with maize, casava, and fowls and ducks of their own rearing. The sight of the horses caused them the greatest astonishment and alarm ; they made long harangues to the animals, pro- mising to feed them with fowls and honey, the choicest food they had to offer. 28 HIS EXTRAORDINARY MARCH. Part I. Cabeza de Vaca’s past experience of Indian wants and habits was of the greatest service to him throughout this remarkable journey ; he knew that in their eyes the most precious of all gifts w T ere knives, scissors, hatchets, arrow- heads, and such articles, to supply them with which he carried with him a portable forge, and every man, in addi- tion to his own baggage, was loaded with a small quantity of bar-iron, to be worked up as it was wanted. So eager w T ere the savages to obtain these articles, that they came from far and near to give the Spaniards every assistance they could in exchange for them. Charmed with the country and its docile people, Cabeza de Yaca took for- mal possession of it in right of first discovery for the Crown of Spain, calling it the province of Vera (from his own family name). Proceeding in a north-westerly direction, on the 14th December the party found themselves in S. lat. 24° 30' by an observation taken by one of the pilots who accompanied them ; thereabouts, also, they fell in, to their great joy, with a converted Indian named Miguel, returning to his own country from Paraguay, where he had been living amongst the Spaniards, of whom he was able to give an account, which was of the greatest interest to them. He offered himself to return with them, and so settled all doubt which might have existed as to the possibility of their reaching Assumption. Amongst other food brought them by the natives was a paste made from the pine-nuts, the trees producing which were of so large a girth in some places that four men, with their arms extended, could barely span them ; straight and tall in proportion, they appeared to them the finest timber they had ever seen. The nuts fed vast quantities of mon- keys and wild swine, between whom a continual warfare was carried on, which amused the Spaniards not a little : the pigs gave chase to the monkeys, who, running up the trees, pelted them with the cones, the contents of which they greedily devoured ; in vain the monkeys rushed down to share at least in the repast of their own providing — they were as quickly obliged to take to flight again, to fight the same battle over again from the trees, to the great satisfac- Chap. III. REACHES THE PARANA. 29 tion of the pigs below. No din could be more discordant than the shrill screaming of thousands of these monkeys on the one side, and the hoarse gruntings of their greedy adversaries on the other. For six weeks the Spaniards held their course onwards through the same well watered and abundant country, amply supplied with all they wanted; the rivers abounded with fish, and the plains with game of all kinds — deer, swine, pheasants, and partridges — of which they took as many as they could eat. The aspect of the country then became less inviting, and for some days their progress was impeded by swamps overgrown with gigantic canes, through which they had great difficulty in forcing their way ; what was worse, there being no inhabitants, they found themselves for the first time without provisions — the only food they could find in this desert district being large fat grubs, or maggots, as big as a man’s finger, of which there were plenty in the canes, and which, when fried, were not unpalatable. After crossing the Pequiri river, on the 31st January, 1542, they once more came upon the Igua^i, in S. lat. 25° 30', where finding the natives provided with canoes, Cabeza de Vaca collected enough of them to embark all his men (except those with the horses, who proceeded along the shore), and descended the stream to its con- fluence with the Parana in 24° 5' : there they found a large assemblage of Indians, armed with bows and arrows and gaudily painted and decked out with plumes of parrots’ feathers, who at first seemed inclined to dispute their progress ; but Cabeza de Yaca opened a parley with their caciques, and the sight of some red caps and other presents soon conciliated them, and obtained their assistance in constructing rafts whereon to cross the Parana, which was there deep and rapid, and a good bow- shot across. The Parana passed, all difficulty of any consequence was at an end ; the sick were sent round to Assumption by water, under the charge of Nuflo de Chaves ; and Cabeza de Yaca, marching along the river Monday with the rest of his people, entered Paraguay, where, as he advanced towards Assumption, the natives, many of whom 30 HIS RECEPTION IN PARAGUAY Part I. spoke Spanish, came forth to welcome him, and render him assistance in crossing the swamps and morasses of Paraguay, the only remaining impediments he had to en- counter.* The Spaniards also, apprised of his approach, sent forward a deputation to meet him, and to conduct him to Assumption, where he made his entry on the 11th March, 1542, amidst the rejoicings of the inhabitants. The whole distance marched was calculated by the Adelantado at 400 leagues ; it probably was not much less than 1000 miles, and was accomplished in 130 days; and when it is considered that this march was effected through a country totally unknown, full of inhabitants whom the slightest want of prudence on the part of their commander might have raised against them, to the annihi- lation of all their resources ; and further, that it was ac- complished with the loss of only one man, who was acci- dentally drowned by the oversetting of a canoe in crossing the Parana, it must be acknowledged that it reflected great credit on Cabeza de Yaca, and was a striking evi- dence of what might be done by patience and perseverance, and conciliatory conduct towards the natives. With ten times the numerical force, what a different result had attended Mendoza’s expedition, from want of common prudence in his conduct towards the aborigines ! Unfortunately for himself, Cabeza de Yaca’s administra- tive measures were not equally successful ; the severe trials which he had endured during his ten years’ captivity among the Caribs of Florida had left him imbued with a deep sense of his religious duties, and a strong desire to ameliorate as far as possible the state of the Indians. With such feelings, he was not a little disgusted at the uncontrolled licentiousness in which he found the Spaniards living at Assumption, so much at variance with the better example which he was anxious to inculcate ; but his exer- tions to produce a reformation in their morals met with little success, whilst the pains he took to give importance * “ Salian al camino muchos Indios que se admiro como hubiese tan pacifica- con bastiraento dandole la enhorabuena mente caminado tantas leguas por entre de su llegada en lengua Castellana ; fue Indios.” — Herrera , Dec. VII. lib. 4, cap. recibido con singular contento de los 13. Capitanes, y de toda la gente Castellana, Chap. III. AND FIRST MEASURES. 31 to the priests and friars by consulting with them on mat- ters of temporal as well as spiritual importance to the colony soon caused murmurings and dissatisfaction amongst the Captains of the Conquist adores, and particularly amongst the officers who held special appointments from the Crown, who were little disposed to brook any inter- ference in matters over which they considered that they had sole authority. Yrala had completed the subjugation of the Guarani tribes in Paraguay, but it was still requisite to take measures to protect them against their more warlike neighbours the Agaces and the Guaycuriis, whose pre- datory inroads into their territories kept them in continual alarm and disquietude. The former were called by the Spaniards, the Pirates ; they called themselves the Lords and Masters of the River Paraguay, the passage of which they had bravely disputed against Cabot as well as Ayolas, with great loss of life to the Spaniards on both occasions. The Guaycuriis were acknowledged to be the most warlike of all the Indian nations in those parts ; they lived on the opposite side of the river, in the Gran Chaco, that immense territory lying west of the river Paraguay, watered by the rivers Pilcomayo and Yermejo, where the native Indians took refuge from the conquerors, and where to this day they live in a state of undisturbed inde- pendence. There they subsisted chiefly by hunting and by the plunder of their more industrious neighbours, the Guaranis, whom they robbed of their maize and other fruits of the soil, which they were themselves too proud to cul- tivate. They boasted that they had never been beaten in battle, and defied the Guaranis to bring over their Spanish allies, if they dared, to attack them. It was high time to put a stop to such insolence, and to give their enemies as well as their friends some con- vincing proof of the superiority of their arms, and the Adelantado determined to do so in person. Taking with him 200 foot-soldiers and some horsemen, and a large number of Guaranis, who were eager to witness the slaughter of their enemies, he crossed the Paraguay, and by night- 32 SUBJUGATES THE GUAYCURUS. Part I. marches surprised the Guaycurus in their encampments before they had time to prepare either for flight or defence. Nevertheless they made a desperate resistance, nor did they acknowledge that they were defeated till after a great slaughter had been made amongst them, and some hun- dreds of their women and children were secured as pri- soners. The sight of the horses, rendered more formidable by their war-trappings covered with bells, contributed greatly to the victory of the Spaniards, and, coming una- wares upon a people who had never seen such creatures before, may well be supposed to have created a panic amongst them. Cabeza de Vaca returned with his prisoners to Assump- tion, whither he was soon followed by an embassy from the Guaycurus, to solicit their release, and to tender their humble submission to the white men, whose superiority they fully admitted, promising to do homage to them, and never again to molest either them or the Guaranis under their protection. The Adelantado, having gained his object, that of impressing them with a due sense of the power of the Spaniards, received them kindly, gave them back their wives and children, and dismissed them with presents, which they little expected. His clemency made a lasting impression upon them, and excited no small surprise amongst savages unaccustomed to such treatment from their enemies. The Agaces also, and some other tribes, gave in their submission, seeing that the Guaycurus, the most warlike nation among them, had been so effectually humbled. The Adelantado’s followers who had been sent round by sea from St. Catherine’s did not reach Paraguay till eight months after him : in passing up the Parana it is recorded that they experienced on the eve of All Saints the effects of a terrible earthquake, a very rare occurrence in those regions. The vessels had been brought to anchor for the night, and some of them made fast to the trees under shelter of some projecting heights on the banks of the Parana, when suddenly the land seemed to heave and roll like the waves of the sea, the trees which grew upon Chap. III. PROJECTED EXPEDITION TO PERU. 33 the banks of the river were thrown into the stream, and the banks themselves, becoming loosened and detached, fell down upon the vessels : one was completely overturned, and carried for half a league down the stream ; the rest were all more or less seriously damaged, and, what was worse, fourteen persons lost their lives : the survivors described it as the most awful and terrific scene they had ever witnessed. The Adelantado now prepared in earnest to carry out the great object of his appointment — the opening of a com- munication with Peru. With this view he had already despatched Yrala once more to make a careful exploration of the higher parts of the river, in order to ascertain, if possible, if there might not be some better way of reaching the interior than that followed by Ayolas. He returned about the middle of February (1543), having gone as far north as the commencement of the lagunes of Xarayes, in S. lat. 18°, which it cost him three months’ hard labour to accomplish. The intelligence which he there obtained from the Chanes Indians, and an examination he made himself of the country for some distance, satisfied him that it was the best as well as nearest point from which to start any expedition destined for Peru. The Indians showed a friendly disposition, and readily offered themselves as guides, and their villages seemed to abound with provi- sions : they also exhibited to Yrala some gold and silver ornaments— a still further incitement to exploration in that direction. Upon this information, Cabeza de Vaca, leaving Yrala to command in his absence, left Assumption in September (1543), with a force of 400 Spaniards, accompanied by 1200 Guaranis and a large fleet of their canoes loaded with supplies of every kind. But on this occasion the Adelantado’s good fortune seems to have abandoned him : the expedition not only failed in its main object, but was attended with very dis- astrous and unexpected consequences. He had lost so much time in parleys with the various Indian tribes on the way that, when they reached the Port de los Keyes on the Xarayes, as the place of their debarkation was D 34 IS OBLIGED TO RETURN. Part I. named, the rainy season was just about commencing, durmg which, for months, the lands in those parts, for a vast extent, are covered with water, and rendered totally impassable for man or beast. Cabeza de Vaca made an attempt, with 300 of his people, to penetrate into the interior, but was forced, from want of supplies, to retrace his steps. Other efforts, made by some of his officers, to explore the country in different directions were equally fruitless. In the mean time the periodical inundations commenced, and, covering the country with water and miasma, caused fever and agues and great sickness amongst the people ; myriads of musquitoes tormented them incessantly, and the vampires attacked them by night with terrible effect. The Adelan- tado himself woke one morning bleeding so severely from the bite of one of these creatures that at first he believed he had been stabbed by an assassin. He was very sick with the fever, and the greater part of the soldiers com- pletely prostrated. There were no provisions to be had, and the state of the people became daily more distressing. Nevertheless the Adelantado would have remained where he was till the waters subsided, in order to renew his examination of the country, but the people would not hear of it, and insisted upon being taken back at once to Paraguay, whither he was obliged in very ill-humour to return with them. Before re-embarking, he thought fit to issue an order that about a hundred Indian women should be restored to their families, who on their first arrival had been brought by their parents to take up their abode with the Spaniards ; — an order which so exasperated the men, already dis- gusted with the expedition, that they were with difficulty restrained from at once throwing off their obedience to him. They reached Assumption in April (1544) in high dudgeon, and greatly dissatis*fied with their commander. Unfortunately for him, during his absence other persons, and especially the King’s officers, headed by Caceres, the Contador, had been working at Assumption to discredit his measures and to undermine his authority. They had been irritated by some disputes with him as to their rights and perquisites before his departure, and now, emboldened Chap. III. IS DEPOSED BY A CONSPIRACY. 35 by the disaffection of the soldiery, they broke into open rebellion. Taking advantage of the absence of Yrala, who had gone upon an expedition against the Indians of Acay, a party of 200 of the conspirators had the hardi- hood, in open day, to arrest Cabeza de Yaca in his own house, whilst he was confined to his bed by sickness, and to place him in confinement, and even in irons, till they could send him to Spain for trial upon charges of mal- administration, which, to quiet the people, they gave out they were preparing to send home against him. His followers and partisans, too feeble to make any open resistance, were soon overawed by the brutality of the con- spirators ; whilst the unfortunate Adelantado found to his cost that he had made enemies who were inexorable, and so unscrupulous that he was fortunate perhaps in escaping with his life. Ill as he was, he was thrown into an un- wholesome prison, strictly debarred from all intercourse with his personal friends, and watched by guards who were ordered to put him to death if any attempt should be made to rescue him. Thus he was kept for ten months, ere the vessel sailed which was to convey him to Spain: he was then delivered over to the charge of two of his most inveterate enemies, Cabrera the Veedor and Vanega the Treasurer, deputed by the conspirators to support the accusations against him which they had addressed to the Emperor. These men, in the course of the voyage home, during a violent tempest, are said to have been touched with some remorse for their severity towards the unfortunate prisoner, to have released him from his chains, and even to have solicited his pardon for the part they had taken against him. Both met with an untimely end shortly after their arrival; Cabrera went mad, and his colleague, Yanega, was carried off suddenly in a fit. The Adelantado him- self, after being kept for eight years in suspense as to the decision of the Council of the Indies, to whom his case was referred, was at length released from arrest, and de- clared absolved from the charges brought against him ; but he was not permitted to return to South America, neither was any compensation made to him for the loss of d 2 36 " YRALA AGAIN GOVERNOR. Part I. a considerable amount of property which had been taken from him by the King’s officers at Assumption. In Paraguay, after the deposition of Cabeza de Yaca, the people were assembled to proceed, as on the former occasion, to the election of a Governor pending the Empe- ror’s pleasure, and once more Yrala was chosen, by a large majority of votes, to fill the vacant office. He was so ill at the time that he had already received extreme unction, and when the notification was made to him of his election, he only prayed that he might be excused the honour, on the ground that he was not in a state to think of any further matters connected with this world. The people, however, would take no refusal ; and as he was urged to accept the appointment, not only by his own friends, but by those of the Adelantado, under the circumstances he allowed himself, when sufficiently recovered, to be carried in a chair into the public square, where he took the neces- sary oaths, and was once more proclaimed Governor of the Province (April, 1544). Men’s minds, however, were very unsettled by these events, and Yrala had enough to do for some time to keep peace in the colony. The Indians also, observing the dis- sensions amongst the Spaniards, availed themselves of the opportunity to rise in revolt against their authority, and to put them down effectually Yrala was obliged to take the field with an imposing force. They fought desperately, and would not give in till more than 2000 of them were slain and many more made prisoners by the Spaniards. The slaughter was the greater from the circumstance of the Spaniards having on their side the warlike Yapirus, whose practice in battle was to decapitate their captives, in order to parade their hairy scalps, like the North American Indians, as trophies of victory. The surviving captives were distributed amongst the soldiery by Yrala, whose conduct in this respect, as contrasted with that of his predecessor, gained him their good will, and made them his obedient followers in another attempt which he was now projecting to realize the great problem still to be solved, of the possibility of reaching the Empire of the Incas from the Rio de la Plata. Chap. III. PUTS DOWN AN INDIAN REBELLION. 37 The attempts hitherto made had not been without their fruits, and the soldiers, as well as their captains, were now pretty well familiarised with what they were to expect from such an undertaking. The nature of the difficul- ties to be overcome was no longer unknown. The country to be traversed had been already explored for some distance, the character of the people had been ascer- tained, and all the vicissitudes of the climate and its effects had been experienced. The thirst for gold, the first and principal incitement to action, had been rather increased than lessened by all they had learned ; and it seemed only requisite now that they should be led on by a commander in whom they had full confidence, as they had in Yrala, to insure eventual success, if it was to be obtained by human exertions. Four times had Yrala ascended the river Paraguay nearly throughout its whole navigable extent. For nearly 150 leagues above Assumption he knew every tribe on its shores, and every point which presented either difficulties or facilities for such an undertaking. His determination therefore to prosecute the discovery was felt to be taken on good grounds, and, when publicly announced, the only diffi- culty which arose was as to who were to be left behind. Naming Don Francisco de Mendoza to act for him at Assumption, he started in the month of August, 1548, with 350 followers, 130 of whom were horsemen, and 2000 Guaranis. This time they disembarked in the vicinity of the Sierra San F ernando, opposite to what is called the Pan d’Azucar, or Sugar-loaf Hill, in lat. 21°, whence marching across the country of the Chiquitos in a north-westerly direction for between 300 and 400 miles, they struck the great river Guapey or Grande, upon the frontiers of the Province of Charcas, a branch of the river Madeira, which falls into the Amazons. There some Indians came forth from their village to meet them, bidding them welcome, to their amazement, in the Spanish language. From them they learned that they had at last reached the confines of Peru. These Indians were in the service of Don Pedro Anzures, who ten years before (in 1538) had founded the city of Chuquisaca in the province of Charcas. 38 SUCCEEDS IN REACHING PERU. Part I. Some writers have described this expedition of Yrala as attended with unexampled difficulties and all kinds of hard- ships and privations ; but this is not borne out by Schmidel, who was of the party, and who has given a very parti- cular and circumstantial narrative of it from first to last. According to his account, notwithstanding their numbers, the people were never without a good supply of food, of which they found abundance amongst all the tribes they fell in with. The country was for the most part found to be fertile, and abounding with all kinds of game ; the Indians were located in villages, cultivating maize and casava and other roots and fruits of the soil, and with quantities of domestic poultry — fowls, ducks, geese, &c. — in their houses ; water was in some places scarce, but the Indians showed them a species of agave (?), the leaves of which when tapped afforded enough to quench their thirst the locusts, also, in some parts had laid waste the lands, and as they approached the river Guapey they had to cross some extensive plains covered with salt as white as snow as far as the eye could reach (Salinas), where of course there was nothing to eat or drink ; but in general the Indians were submissive, and voluntarily brought them such supplies as they stood in need of ; and though some tribes, armed with bows and poisoned arrows, attempted to impede their progress, they were easily defeated, and always made to suffer dearly for their resistance. The soldiers in such cases, unrestrained by their commander, took all the licence of war, slaugh- tering and making slaves of the men, carrying off their wives and daughters, and pillaging and destroying their habitations. Schmidel gives an account of one of their forays, in which he was himself personally engaged. The Spaniards had been in chase of some treacherous Imbayas, who had attacked them in the night : he says, “ Three days after- wards we came unexpectedly upon a tribe living in a wood with their wives and children ; they were not the people we were in pursuit of, but allies of theirs, who had not * “ Morian de sed algunos de los nues- tan firme como en un vaso, que no se tros, si en este viage no encontraramos una derramaba, ni facilmente se consumia, y raiz que estaba fuera de la tierra de que tendria cada una medio quartillo.” — salian grandes hojas, en que habia agua, Schmidel, cap. xlvi. Chap. III. SENDS MESSENGERS TO LA GASCA. 39 the least idea of our intention to attack them ; nevertheless we fell upon them, and killed and captured about 3000, and if it had not been nightfall not one would have escaped. I got for my own share nineteen men and some women, not old ones, and other things.” The Indians, in revenge for these cruelties, put to death three unfortunate Spaniards, who had been residing with them ever since the expedition of Ayolas years before, having been left among them sick when he was returning from his inroad into the interior; some prisoners after- wards made by Yrala mentioned the particulars, adding that one of them was a trumpeter, by name Gonzalez : a proof that Ayolas had got so far. The Spaniards in Paraguay had been so long without intelligence from any other part of the world, that they were in total ignorance of the stirring events which had taken place in Peru. They now, for the first time, were apprised of the civil war between Almagro and Pizarro, and its disastrous consequences ; of the execution of the former and the assassination of the latter ; and of the still more astounding news of the subsequent rebellion of Gonzalo Pizarro, which had just been put down by that extraordinary man La Gasca, who was then at Lima, oc- cupied in completing his measures fdr the pacification and settlement of the country. Yrala soon received intimation that he had better not advance further till he had communicated with the Presi- dent; he therefore halted his men, and sent forward a deputation, under Nuflo de Chaves, to apprize La Gasca of his proceedings, and to make him a tender of his own services with those of the men of the Rio de la Plata in aid of the King’s authority. La Gasca received his messengers very kindly at Lima, but seems to have been only anxious to get rid as speedily as possible of such unexpected visitors. With that object he sent a civil answer to Yrala, thanking him for his offer of service, but desiring him on no account to advance further into Peru, apprehensive lest his followers might fall in with some of the discomfited adherents of Gonzalo Pizarro, and cause fresh disturbances; which by all ac- 40 YRALA RETURNS TO ASSUMPTION. Part I. counts they were quite ready to do, especially when informed of the President’s prohibition against their entry into the land they had reached with so much toil and labour, and which had for so many years been the object of all their hopes and wishes. Yrala himself had further cause for dissatisfaction from La Gasca’s assuming, in virtue of the extraordinary powers with which he was invested, to confer the government of Paraguay upon old Diego Centeno, who had been of such service to him in putting down the late rebellion : for- tunately for Yrala he was then on his death-bed at Chu- quisaca, and it seems doubtful if he ever was aware of his appointment ; the President did not think fit to name any one else, and Yrala prepared, in obedience to his orders, to retrace his steps to Assumption, his people most unwil- lingly following him. A year and a half was spent in this expedition, the results of which, Schmidel says, “ instead of gold and silver, were 12,000 Indian women and youths, whom the Spaniards carried off with them as slaves fifty fell to Schmidel’s share as a volunteer. What was of more importance, perhaps, to the people of Paraguay were some European sheep and goats, which they had purchased of their countrymen in Peru* — the first ever seen in that country ; three years afterwards the first horned cattle were carried to them from the coast of Brazil, the origin of that mighty stock which constitutes the present wealth of the people of the Rio de la Plata. Yrala found everything in disorder at Assumption from the belief, occasioned by his long absence, that he had met with the same fate as Ayolas, and had been cut off by the Indians ; in consequence of which there had been a struggle for the government, in which his lieutenant, Mendoza, had been killed by the partisans of Abreu, who had taken his place, and was now driven out in his turn, and shortly after put to death. It was not without diffi- culty that Yrala settled these disputes ; he did so at last * They were very scarce at that time even in Peru, where sheep were sold at from 40 to 50 dollars each. Chap, III. DISPUTES IN HIS ABSENCE. 41 at some personal sacrifice — for he gave two of his own daughters in marriage to the principal chiefs of the party opposed to him, Don Francisco Ortiz de Vergara and Don Alonzo Riquelme de Guzman, the father of Ruy-Diaz, the historian of the Conquest, ( 42 ) Part I. CHAPTER IY. 1550—1620. Conquest of La Guayra — Yrala confirmed in his Government — Divides the Indians amongst the Conquerors, and regulates their Services — His Death — Succeeded by Vergara — Nuflo de Chaves founds Santa Cruz de la Sierra — Persuades Vergara to proceed to Peru — The Vice- roy supersedes him, and appoints Zarate in his place — Caceres, his Lieutenant, is opposed by the Bishop, and sent out «f Paraguay — Zarate reaches Assumption and dies — De Garay made Lieutenant- Governor — Founds the present City of Buenos Ayres in 1580 — Is slain by the Savages — Establishment of the Government of the Bio de la Plata in 1620. Peru being closed against him by La Gasca’s orders, Yrala turned his views to fresh conquests in the opposite direction, on the side of Brazil. Crossing Paraguay, he passed the Parana above the grand falls, and ascended its left bank as far as the Tiete, whence he overran the whole of the province of La Guayra, striking terror into the Tupi Indians, who had been in the habit of making inroads into the lands of the Guaranis to carry them off and sell them as slaves to the Portuguese upon the coast ; as a further check to which he founded a Spanish settle- ment on the eastern shore of the Parana, to which he gave the name of Ontiveros (1554). The encroachments of the Portuguese slave-hunters in that quarter already menaced to interfere with the settle- ments of the Spaniards, and Yrala, upon his return to Assumption, despatched an agent to Spain urging attention to the fact, and at the same time submitting to the Em- peror a full report of his own proceedings, and of the state and prospects of the colonies of Paraguay. The Emperor had appointed, in place of Cabeza de Yaca, another Adelantado for the Rio de la Plata, Don Juan de Sanabria: but as if some fatality attended that Chap. IV. THE EMPEROR MAKES YRALA GOVERNOR. 43 title, after making preparations for his departure he fell sick and died ; and now the long and important services of Yrala could no longer be overlooked : on two occasions he had been chosen Governor by the unanimous voice of the colonists, and although twice he had been superseded when he little expected it, first by Cabeza de Yaca, and afterwards by La Gasca’s appointment of Diego Centeno, he had under all trials and circumstances shown himself an obedient and loyal subject of the Crown : by his vigorous measures he had completed the conquest of all Paraguay, and had extended the influence, if not the authority, of the Spanish arms as far as the confines of Peru on the one side, and the coast of Brazil on the other. The Emperor did but justice to his deserts, however late, in ratifying the choice of the colonists, and in sending him in all due form his appointment as Governor and Captain General over all the countries he had taken possession of for the Crown. Early in 1555 he received his public commission by the hands of Father Pedro de la Torre, who in that year was sent out as the first titular Bishop of Paraguay, with a large retinue of priests and friars, to the great joy of the colonists, who were much in need of such spiritual aid. Their arrival had been for some time expected : reports of the Bishop’s appointment had preceded him, and long before he reached Assumption it was known that the ships had entered the Rio de la Plata, through the Indians, who had forwarded the intelligence from tribe to tribe across the intermediate countries by telegraphic signals known only to themselves, and carried on by means of fires by night and smoke by day.* The Governor himself went forth to meet him upon his landing, and, falling upon his knees, kissed his hands, and humbly solicited his benediction before all the people. * “ Muchos dias habia que se tenia noticia por via de los Indios de abajo como habian llegado de Castilla ciertos navios a la boca del Rio de la Plata; cuya nueva se tenia por cierta, puesto que la distancia del camino era grande, y por la facilidad con que los naturales de aquel rio se dan aviso unos a otros por humaredas y fuegos con que se en- tienden.” — Argentina , cap. xvi., page 106. These telegraphic means of commu- nication in use amongst the Indians of the Parana caused no less wonder amongst the Spaniards of Paraguay than did the establishment of regular posts and run- ning couriers to their countrymen in Peru long before any such rapid means of communication were in use in any part of Europe. 44 HE PARCELS OUT THE INDIANS. Part I. The difficult task now devolved upon Yrala of parcelling out amongst the Spaniards the subjugated Indians, of whom there were from 50,000 to 60,000, with their fami- lies, in Paraguay alone, who were to be apportioned amongst those who had taken part in the conquest of the country, according to their services. They were about 400 in number ; and in proportion as their original hopes of plunder and of gold and silver had failed, so the produce of the conquered lands and the personal services of the natives to cultivate them became of more importance to them. They were, in fact, the only recompense to which they could now look in return for all the toils and hard- ships they had undergone ; for it will be recollected that in the original agreement with Mendoza, when he undertook the conquest and settlement of the country, it was specifi- cally provided that the Crown was not to be called upon for any part of the expenses : those, therefore, who went out did so upon their own account, looking only to share in whatever advantages might eventually result from their own exertions. The personal services of the natives were, from the first discovery of America, considered as the legitimate right of the conquerors ; but the excessive abuse of that right, which had led to the entire depopulation of some of the first discovered countries, had obliged the Government at home to interfere on behalf of the wretched Indians, and by certain humane ordinances so to endeavour to regulate their labour as not only to secure them for the future from such ill treatment, but to ameliorate their social condition, and to bring them within the pale of Christianity. The opposition which those humane regulations encoun- tered is well known. In Peru they caused the rebellion which La Gasca was sent out to quell ; and elsewhere they were received with such dissatisfaction as obliged the Government to rest satisfied for a time with a modification of their first intentions, and to leave the treatment of the unfortunate Indians to be regulated by the ruling autho- rities according to circumstances, although as far as pos- sible conformably to the rules laid down by the Council of the Indies. Chap. IV. HIS HUMANE REGULATIONS. 45 In the mining districts of Peru, where the amount of gold and silver raised depended upon the forced labour of the Indians, little less mercy was shown them than in Hispaniola, which was depopulated by the first conquerors. In Paraguay the case so far differed that, the utility of their labours being limited to the cultivation of the fruits of a highly fertile soil, there was no motive on behalf of their masters to overwork them, whilst there were many which made it their interest to treat them kindly, and to keep up their numbers. The regulations made by Yrala,* with the aid of the Bishop, for their government and treatment, seem to have been planned with every attention to their interests and social improvement, whilst their masters seem to have been satisfied with the limited service they were bound to give them in a country where there was no need to think of anything more than a liberal provision for their daily wants. All beyond was a useless superfluity, where nothing could be sold or bought, in a state of society where the use of money was unknown, and where the wants of men were in fact confined to the necessaries of life. The conquered Indians were congregated in villages under simple municipal regulations, administered by al- caldes, who were generally chosen from their own caciques, subject to the supervision of Spanish officers appointed to see that their religious instruction was attended to, and that they were properly taken care of and not overtasked by their masters. In these communities, or Encomiendas, as they were called, every male from the age of 18 to 50 was required * “ Vencedor Yrala de sus enemigos, amado aun de sus emulos, respetado de todos, condecorado con el Gobierno, con- tinue) manejandose en adelante como magistrado sabio, capitan prudente, padre de su pueblo, y arbitro equitativo de los extranos,” &c. “ Los pueblos sometidos lejos de pro- vocar su ira, recibieron sin murmurar el destino que a bien se tuvo senalarles. Siendo este el de losrepartimientos, nunca convenia raenos exterminarlos : por el contrario, promover aquella tal qual cul- tura de la razon, que permitian las cir- cunstancias, y que conduce a los prin- cipios de la vida social, aficionarlos al trabajo mostrandoles las riquezas que la tierra abriga en sus senos, dar un nuevo ser a la vegetacion, ensenarles todos los medios, no solo de conservar su existencia, sino tambien de labrar el opulento patri- monio de los encomenderos, y en fin ade- lantar los establecimientos con aumento de la felicidad publica y privada ; esta era todo lo que exigia el plan de una politica sensata. El genio vasto del Go- bernador Yrala capaz de abrazar las com- binaciones mas complicadas del mando, desempeno estos objetos, y le hizo digno de vivir en los fastos de estas provincias,” &c. — Furies , Hist. 46 THE ORDINANCES OF ALFARO. Part I. to work for his master one-sixth of his time, or two months out of the twelve ; the rest of the year was his own : and to make even this labour as little onerous to the community as possible, it was to be performed by them in rotation, from which they were called Mitayos, from mitta, an Indian ex- pression for “ by turns” The caciques, women, and eldest sons were exempted from all forced labour whatever. This small amount of service was not complained of by the Indians, who were fully compensated by the improvement which resulted in their social condition from the regulations of the superior government. These Mitayo settlements were constituted into Com- manderies more or less extensive, which were granted to the Conquistadores for two lives — their own and that of their immediate heir: they could not sell nor alienate them ; and when the two lives lapsed, the Indians were promised their absolute freedom from servitude, by which time it was supposed they might be sufficiently prepared and fit for a participation in all the social rights and pri- vileges of their Spanish masters. Till then, under certain limitations, they were considered as the feudal vassals of their appointed lords. This system of reducing the Indians to subjection con- tinued to be acted upon throughout the greater part of the first century of the Spanish rule in those parts, when com- plaints having reached Spain of the cruelties committed by the conquerors of Tucuman and of their ill-treatment of the natives, Don Francisco de Alfaro, then Auditor of the Supreme Court of Peru, was ordered to visit Paraguay, as well as those provinces, with powers, if he deemed it re- quisite for the good of the Indians, to revise any existing regulations affecting them. The result of his visitation was the promulgation of an entirely new code for the treatment of the Indians in 1612, known as the Ordinances of Alfaro, whereby it was entirely prohibited to the go- vernors of any of those countries to attempt to reduce the Indians, as heretofore, by force to subjection ; the right to exact their personal services was abolished, and they were subjected instead to the annual payment of a small capi- tation tax. Chap. IV. CONQUEST OF LA GUAYRA. 47 The arrival of the Jesuits about the same time in the Rio de la Plata, and the particular privileges granted them by the Crown with a view to the reduction of the Indians in a very different manner, was of still more im- portance to them. In 1610 the Fathers commenced their well-known labours in La Guayra and on the upper parts of the Parana, reducing vast numbers of the Guarani tribes to Christianity and to a comparatively civilized state in their celebrated Missions. The extreme docility of those tribes made them ready converts to their views, which held out great inducements to them to place them- selves under their peaceful rule in preference to any other. But the establishment of such a system was not carried without a strong opposition on the part of the lay governors of the country, who complained of being deprived of the useful, if not necessary labour and service of so large a portion of the community ; holding that the regulations of Yrala were much more likely to make useful subjects of the Indians, and give permanent importance to the King’s conquests in those parts, than the exclusive communities formed for their own purposes by the J esuits. The latter, however, had sufficient influence to consolidate their own power to the exclusion of all others, and of any interference whatever with the Indians under their charge. But, to return to Yrala : after settling the natives of Paraguay in the reductions as above mentioned, he extended the same system to La Guayra, whither a force was de- tached to take permanent possession of the country. The site of Ontiveros was removed to a more healthy situation, and the town of Ciudad Real was founded higher up the Parana. The Indians were subjugated, and 40,000 families were parcelled out amongst the conquerors, in the same manner as had been so successfully effected in Paraguay. With a like object Nuflo de Chaves was despatched up the river Paraguay, with a force of 200 Spaniards and 1500 Guaranis, to make a settlement in the lands of the Origones, or Xarayes, Indians, which it was hoped might facilitate the means of future communication between the people of the Rio de la Plata and their countrymen in Peru. 48 DEATH OF YRALA. Part I. After these measures for consolidating and extending .he Spanish rule in those parts, Yrala was able to turn his attention to the enlargement and embellishment of the city of Assumption, now the seat of a bishopric as well as the capital of the colony ; and these were his last labours. Whilst at Yta, an Indian village a little distance down the river, whither he had gone to direct the felling of some timber for the completion of the cathedral, in which he had taken great personal interest, he was suddenly attacked by a malignant fever, which after a few days ter- minated his life, at the age of seventy. He died in 1557, lamented throughout all Paraguay by the Indians as well as his own countrymen. For more than twenty years he had been the leader of a succession of enterprises con- nected with the discovery and settlement of the countries which he had added to the Spanish dominions, fairly en- titling him to be called, before all others, the Hero of the Conquest of the Riq de la Plata.* He left the government of Paraguay to his son-in-law Mendoza, who did not survive him many months, upon which the colonists proceeded again to fill up the vacancy by vote, and elected as his successor Don Francisco Ortiz de Yergara, who had married another of the daughters of Yrala. In the mean time Chaves, who had been sent up the river Paraguay upon the expedition already mentioned, and had reached the mouth of the river Jaurii, in lat. 16° 25', receiving intelligence of the death of Yrala, determined to push forward into the interior of the country in quest of fresh discoveries on his own account ; and although the greater number of his people refused to follow him, and returned to Assumption, he managed, with about sixty men, who volunteered to share his fortunes, to fight his way as far as the confines of Las Charcas, where falling in with one * “ El que sereno estas provincias, los SS. Gobernadores del Paraguay segun aquieto los turbados animos con las consta de los libros capitulares que se pasadas desgracias del tiempo, las con- conservan en el archivo de la Asumpcion, quisto, redujo a policia, establecio por por el P. Bautista. (De Angelis, Collec.) capital y republica de todas ellas la “ El sentimiento universal que dexo su ciudad del Paraguay con titulo de la muerte en todas las clases del estado, es Asumpcion de N. S., e hizo todo, porque el mejor elogio funebre, que pudo dedi- ninguno hizo tanto, es y fue Don Do- carle la Patria.” — Funes , Hist. mingo Martinez de Yrala.” — Vide Serie de Chap. IV. CHAVES POUNDS SANTA CRUZ. 49 Manso, a Spaniard from Peru, in quest like himself of new conquests, a dispute arose between them as to their re- spective rights, which Chaves went on to Lima to lay before the Viceroy, the Marquis of Canete, to whom he was distantly related, and with whom he managed so to ingratiate himself as to obtain not only a confirmation of his own pretensions, but the command of a force with which he was ordered back to take permanent possession of the ter- ritories in question in the Viceroy’s name as part of Peru. There shortly after (in 1560) Chaves founded the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the farthest settlement made by the Conquistadores of the Rio de la Plata. It con- nected their discoveries with the possessions of the Crown in Peru, and thus established the Spanish dominions in South America from the mouth of the Rio de la Plata to Panama, on the Pacific Ocean. Chaves having secured the protection of the Viceroy, after a time obtained leave to return to Assumption for his wife and children, and to remove to Peru 2000 Gua- ranis, who had been allotted to him in the reparti miento, or division, of the Indians made by Yrala amongst the Conquistadores of Paraguay ; and although he little de- served it, he met with a kind reception from the Governor, as did a party of Spaniards from Peru who were in his company. In return he endeavoured to persuade Vergara to follow his example, and undertake a journey to Lima, in order to obtain from the Viceroy the confirmation in due form of his election as Governor of Paraguay. It may easily be supposed that the stories which Chaves and his com- panions had to tell of the riches and luxury in which their countrymen were living in Peru, were not slow to rekindle in the breasts of the Spaniards of Paraguay all their ori- ginal feelings and desire to open by any means a com- munication with that land of promise, to which they had always looked as the ultimate reward of their labours. V ergara himself was, perhaps, as anxious as any of them to find a plausible pretext for visiting a country, the accounts of which had excited the whole world’s wonder. The Bishop, too, who in all matters was his principal adviser, E 50 VERGARA’S JOURNEY TO LIMA. Part I. seems to have been infected with the same feelings, and so were many others, especially those holding offices under the Crown, foremost of whom was one Caceres, the Royal Contador, who begged permission to avail themselves of the opportunity to pay their respects and duty to the Viceroy. In an evil hour the Governor suffered himself to be persuaded to set out upon this ill-advised expedition, taking with him the Bishop and Caceres, and, according to Guzman, no less than 300 Spaniards in his suite, with a retinue of more than 2000 Indians, besides as many more who were carried off from Paraguay by Chaves at the same time. Whether or not the whole was a preconcerted plot between Chaves and Caceres to get rid of Vergara, or whether it was concocted after they left Paraguay, admits of some uncertainty ; but there is no doubt that, long before his journey’s end, the Governor found to his dismay that he was surrounded by traitors, who had inveigled him from Paraguay solely for their own purposes. Once within the jurisdiction of Chaves, his guards were disarmed, and the greater part of his people withdrew from his command to settle in the country, whilst he was him- self detained by Chaves, under various pretexts, and pre- vented from proceeding further on his journey. In the mean time Caceres and those in league with him repaired to Chuquisaca, where the Audiencia was sitting, and laid before that tribunal, the Supreme Court in South America, a list of charges which they had trumped up against him, and which Vergara, to his astonishment, was required to answer. In vain he protested against the competency of any court in Peru to entertain such proceedings against him ; he was held virtually to have admitted it when he placed himself within the limits of their jurisdiction, and was adjudged to have forfeited his government by quitting Paraguay, as he had done, without leave from the Crown, and with so large a number of followers as, according to his accusers, had left the security of the colony in peril. The Viceroy, prejudiced against him, ratified the pro- Chap. IV. THE BISHOP’S QUARREL WITH CACERES. 51 ceedings of the Audiencia, subject to the Emperor’s plea- sure ; and not content with this exercise of his power, filled up the vacancy by appointing to it one of his own followers, Don Juan Ortiz de Zarate, who immediately started for Spain to obtain his confirmation — no very diffi- cult matter when it was found that he was ready to lay out a considerable sum of his own money in aid of the colonists. The treachery of Caceres was repaid by his receiving the appointment, which he had probably expected, to ad- minister the government of Paraguay as Zarate’s deputy till he should arrive there himself from Spain. But it was an ill-gotten honour, which only brought him into sad trouble. The interference with their affairs by the govern- ment of Peru caused great dissatisfaction amongst the people of Paraguay, when the particulars of what had taken place were detailed by Vergara’s friends, and espe- cially by the Bishop, who had been as much deceived as Vergara himself in the result of their journey to Peru, and who at once placed himself avowedly at the head of a party in opposition to Caceres, who had already rendered himself unpopular by previous proceedings amongst his countrymen. Caceres reached Assumption in January, 1569, and for three or four years afterwards the colony, divided by the two contending factions, was kept in a state of continual disturbance. In the violence of party feeling all sense of propriety seems to have been lost sight of by the Bishop as well as by the Deputy-Governor. Extremities were avoided for a time, in expectation of Zarate’s arrival from Spain, but it was only for a time. The Bishop’s adherents, incensed by some insults put upon him by Caceres, had recourse at last to the bold measure of seizing him whilst attending mass in the cathedral ; and acting with the sanction, if not by orders of the Bishop, placed Caceres in irons, and threw him into a dungeon preparatory to sending him to Spain as a state prisoner, precisely in the same manner as he had himself thirty years before served his own master, Cabeza de Vaca, against whom he had been one of the chief conspirators. This was in 1572. Four years had now elapsed since Zarate’s appointment e 2 52 ZARATE’S ARRIVAL FROM SPAIN. Part I. by the Viceroy as Governor, and no tidings had been heard of him in Paraguay, when an Indian messenger arrived at Santa Fe, whither Don Juan de Garay had gone to form a new settlement, in the vicinity of Cabot’s old fort on the Carcarana, with intelligence that he had reached the Rio de la Plata in great distress, and had landed on the coast of the Banda Oriental, opposite to San Gabriel, where he was beset bv a host of the warlike Charruas, and in imminent danger of being cut off by them if not speedily succoured. De Garay, who was a noble fellow, lost no time in starting to the rescue of the unfor- tunate Adelantado, although he knew that to reach him he must cut his way with his little band through hostile tribes who boasted that they had never yet been beaten by the Spaniards. He had a desperate battle to light, but he succeeded in relieving him from his perilous situation. It appeared that Zarate had left Spain in 1572 with between 400 and 500 volunteers, but had suffered such privations and hardships on the voyage, that before he reached the Rio de la Plata half his people had died, whilst the remainder narrowly escaped De Solis’ fate, from landing amongst the same cannibals, by whom eighty of them had already been killed in various encounters before De Garay reached them. Under his escort Zarate was enabled to reach Paraguay, but, broken down by his own sufferings and dismayed by the state of confusion he found there, he lapsed into a state of melancholy and died a few months afterwards, in 1575 — not, however, before he had evinced his gratitude to De Garay by appointing him Lieutenant-Governor and Captain-General over the province and its dependencies, and constituting him sole guardian of his only child, Dona Juana, to whom on his death-bed he bequeathed, according to his right, the Adelantasgo. She had been left in Peru when the Viceroy sent her father to Europe to ask for the government of Paraguay, and in his absence had become betrothed to Don Juan de Torres de Vera y Aragon, one of the members of the Audiencia, a marriage which the Viceroy, anxious to secure the heiress and her government for one of his own followers, interfered to prevent on hearing of Zarate’s death ; but in that he was foiled by Chap. IV. DE GARAY’S SETTLEMENTS. 53 De Garay, who, as her guardian, hastened to her at Chu- quisaca, and notwithstanding the Viceroy’s inhibition, saw her married in all due form to her lover. The Viceroy, disappointed in his own views, managed on various pretexts to detain Torres and his bride in Peru ; but he could not prevent his confirming in right of his wife the authority and full powers already conferred upon De Garay by Zarate, with which he returned to resume the charge of the government of Paraguay, greatly to the satisfaction of all parties there, who were not the less pleased with him for his spirited resistance of the Viceroy’s endeavour again to interfere in the appointment of their Governor. For four years afterwards De Garay was engaged in re- storing peace within the colony, and in carrying out some of Yrala’s original designs for extending the authority of his government over the neighbouring countries. He founded the Spanish townships of Villa Rica in La Guayra, Santiago de Xerez upon the river Emboteby below the Xarayes, and Talavera on the Xexui, besides making several important reductions, as the settlements were called, of the Indians. But the object which he had most at heart was to establish some stronghold near the entrance of the Rio de la Plata, where vessels arriving from Europe might find shelter and refreshment after their long sea voyage pre- paratory to commencing the wearisome passage up the Parana. The necessity for some such port of refuge had been always felt, and the disastrous fate of Zarate’s ex- pedition had strikingly exemplified it. There seemed to be no better situation than the vicinity of Mendoza’s original settlement at Buenos Ayres, which offered the double advantage of a roadstead accessible to ships coming from the seaboard, and what was of perhaps quite as much importance, considering the risks of navi- gating the Rio de la Plata, a safe harbour for the smaller craft coming down the Parana, which might be expected to constitute the principal means of communication between the Spanish settlements up the river and the new city. And there accordingly, after some deliberation, it was decided once more to found a settlement of Spaniards. 54 HIS YICTOEY OYER THE QUERANDIS. Part I. De Garay would trust no one else with the undertaking, and, after making arrangements for the government of Paraguay during his absence, he went down the river him- self with a small but gallant company of volunteers, and effected his landing near the Riachuelo without oppo- sition, the Indians being at the time away. No sooner, however, were the Querandis acquainted with this fresh invasion of their territory than they pre- pared most vigorously to repel it, and, assembling all the tribes in alliance with them from far and near, bore down upon the Spaniards with, to all appearance, an overwhelm- ing force. The savages were led on by one of their most famous caciques, Taboba, and bravely fought for their lands, confiding in the recollection of their past good fortune in defeating every attempt of the Spaniards to subdue them. On this occasion, however, they were to learn a different lesson. De Garay’s soldiers sallied out from their entrench- ments to meet them, and after a desperate conflict, in which marvellous stories of individual valour on both sides are related, the death of Taboba, who was slain in single combat and decapitated on the spot by Don Juan de Enciso, a Spanish cavalier, decided the battle. The savages, seeing him fall, fled in every direction, pursued by the victors till they were weary of killing them. Such was the slaughter that to this day the scene of the engage- ment goes by the name of “ La Matanza,” or the killing ground. But De Garay was determined to strike home, and such a blow as should convince the Indians of the superiority of the Spanish arms. They were indeed most effectually humbled, the proof of it being their submission, without further resistance, to be parcelled out amongst the conquerors by the old process of repartimiento. The registers are still preserved of De Garay’s followers by name, amongst 65 of whom he divided in lots the lands extending along the river side from Buenos Ayres to Baradero on the Parana, as well as the Indian inhabitants of the adjoining territories under their respec- tive caciques. De Garay was not the man, like Mendoza, to shut up Chap. IV. FOUNDS THE CITY OF BUENOS AYRES. 55 his people in mud walls to be starved by the savages ; he knew that to found a settlement without lands to provision it would be of little use, and he took his measures accord- ingly. The lines of the new city were laid out about a league higher up the river than the site of Mendoza’s original settlement on the Riachuelo ; and from the festival of the Holy Trinity, 1580, on which day De Garay had landed, and once more unfurled the Spanish flag to cover his conquest, he gave it the name of the city of the Most Holy Trinity, “ Ciudad de la Santissima Trinidad retaining for the port that of Santa Maria de Buenos Ayres, originally given to it by Mendoza. The position was the most commanding one on the river side, and under De Garay’s active superintendence was soon sufficiently fortified to overawe the Indians, and to ensure protection, not only to the rising capital, but to the settlers in its im- mediate vicinity. During three years De Garay continued to work in- cessantly at the new settlement, nor did he quit it till he had despatched a vessel to Spain with an account of his important conquest and subsequent proceedings. That vessel also took* to Spain the first cargo of the produce of the countries of the Rio de la Plata — hides and sugar from Paraguay ; the former an evidence of the increase which had taken place in the original stock of horned cattle introduced from Europe not 30 years before, the other an indigenous production of that province. De Garay’s settlement at Buenos Ayres completed the conquest of the Rio de la Plata. But although the Spaniards were now nominally masters of the river, and had little to apprehend from any open hostilities on the part of the natives, their settlements were still too few and far between to prevent the savages from waylaying and intercepting straggling or incautious parties, as they passed up and down from one place to another, when- ever they found they could do so with a chance of impunity. Of this the most deplorable instance was De Garay’s own fate. Landing incautiously on his passage back to Assumption, to sleep, near the ruins of the old fort of San Espfritu, he was surprised by a party of the Minuas, one of the most insignificant tribes in those parts, and mur- 56 DE GARAY’S DEATH. Part I. dered in cold blood, in the dead of the night, with all who had gone on shore with him. Over-confident in his own good fortune hitherto, he had become careless, and on this occasion had not taken even the ordinary precaution of setting a single sentry to keep watch.* Great was the grief of all Paraguay at this lamentable and unexpected death of their valiant Governor, who had gained the good will of all parties by his judicious and conciliatory conduct, no less than their respect and ad- miration for the brave deeds by which he had signalised the period of his command, and made it ever memorable in the annals of the Bio de la Plata. If the conquest of Paraguay was the work of Yrala, so that of the province of Buenos Ayres was indisputably due to De Garay. Both were Biscayan Hidalgos of gentle birth, ambitious of fame, and alike favoured by fortune in their undertakings. The remains of Yrala lie entombed and honoured in the Church of his own building at Assumption. In due time, perhaps, some suitable public monument may equally record the good and brave deeds of the founder of Buenos Ayres, Don Juan de Garay. The importance of the cities founded by him soon became apparent; and in 1620 all the settlements south of the confluence of the rivers Parana and Paraguay were formed into a separate government, independent of that of Paraguay, under the name of the Government of the Bio de la Plata, of which Buenos Ayres was declared the capital, as well as the seat of a new bishoprick, created about the same time by Pope Paul V., at the request of King Philip III. * “ Flush’d with good fortune, and too hold From victories so ofttimes told, De Garay must have been possest To think of lying down to rest Midst savages by night and day, Tracking his path, like beasts of prey, Without a guard to sound alarm : So careless of impending harm, What wonder dire mishap befell That gallant crew ?” Barco Centenera's Argentina , Canto xxiv. Chap. Y. ( 57 ) CHAPTER V, 1620—1788. Commercial Policy of Spain in the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata — Contra- band Trade of the English and Portuguese — Disputes and War in conse- quence — Establishment of the Viceregal Government at Buenos Ayres — Promulgation of the Free Trade Regulations of 1778 — And increase of the Trade and Population. About a century had now elapsed since the first discovery of the Rio de la Plata, and out of the vast territories watered by that mighty stream and its tributaries, three extensive governments had been added to the possessions of the crown of Spain : those of Paraguay, Buenos Ayres, and Tucuman, the latter comprising the towns in the inte- rior, which had been founded by the followers of Almagro and other adventurers from Peru — all richly endowed by Nature, and capable of being rendered of the greatest value to the trade and commerce of the mother country, but they did not produce the first and apparently only objects coveted by Spain and Spaniards, gold and silver ; enough to doom them to something worse than neglect on the part of the ruling authorities. Still this perhaps would not have been of vital importance to the colonists had they been but permitted to send their produce, such as it was, to market, and to receive in exchange from Spain such European articles as they required for the supply of their own wants; but this was prohibited, absolutely at first, and subsequently under such miserable conditions as were alone enough to destroy all incitement to industry and all chance of fairly developing the capabilities of the new settlements. The merchants of Seville, who had obtained a monopoly of the supply of Peru, as well as Mexico, by means of the periodical fairs held at Portobello, over which they had the entire command, regulating as they pleased the prices 58 RESTRICTIVE POLICY OF SPAIN Part 1. not only of what they sold, but of what they bought, re- garded the prospect of any new opening by way of the Rio de la Plata with extreme jealousy, and exerted their interest but too successfully to obtain prohibitory and re- strictive enactments against all trade with Buenos Ayres, lest it should become the channel for the introduction of European goods into Peru, and so interfere with the sale of their periodical shipments by the galleons for the Isthmus of Panama. In vain the Buenos Ayreans petitioned and remon- strated against this injustice ; all they could obtain for some years was, leave to export annually to the Portuguese settlements in Brazil, or to the coast of Guinea, 2000 fanegas of wheat, 500 quintals of jerked beef, and 500 more of tallow. In 1618 this was extended to a per- mission to send two vessels yearly to Spain, the burthen of which was limited to 100 tons each ; and lest even this concession should lead to the introduction of goods for Peru, insignificant as the quantity must necessarily have been, a custom house was established at Cordova to levy a duty of 50 per cent, on all goods carried that way, and to stop altogether any extraction of gold or silver from Peru for Buenos Ayres. To any further extension of the trade the Consulados of Seville and Lima made the most strenuous and effectual opposition.* All commercial inter- course with the other colonies of Spain in the same hemisphere was prohibited under the most severe penalties ; and with the exception of an occasional vessel, which for the benefit of some favoured individual obtained a special licence to carry out a cargo thither, the trade of the Rio de la Plata continued to be restricted by the miserable regulations above mentioned for nearly the whole of the first century of the existence of Buenos Ayres, two yearly ships being deemed sufficient to supply the wants of three populous provinces. The wonderful water communications of South America seemed only to have been discovered by the Spaniards to * Memorias Historicas sobre la Legis- Sr. Rafael Antunez y Acevedo, Ministro lacion y Gobierno del Comercio de los del Supremo Consejo de las Indias. Ma- Espanoles con sus Colonias, &c., por el drid, 1797. Chap. Y. PRODUCES CONTRABAND TRADE. 59 be closed by the wretched policy of their government for every useful purpose to which nature appeared to have designed them. In 1715, after the Treaty of Utrecht, the English obtained the Asiento, or contract for supplying the Spanish colonies in America with African slaves ; in virtue of which they had leave to form an establishment, amongst other places, at Buenos Ayres, and to send thither four ships annually with 1200 negroes, the value of which they were permitted to export in produce of the country ; and, although they were strictly forbidden to introduce any goods other than those necessary for their own establishments, under pain of their being confiscated and publicly burnt, the temptation to evade these regu- lations was soon found to be irresistible amongst a people who were absolutely in want of clothing, and ready to pay any price for it ; and the Asiento ships became, as might have been expected, the means of carrying on a con- traband traffic, which, however at variance with the treaty stipulations, was justified by a necessity which recognized no other law. The local authorities appear to have had neither the will nor the power to put down a trade which supplied the most pressing wants of the colony, and the profits of which were shared by the native capitalists. If they did occasionally make a show of exercising their right to visit the ships, it was an empty threat, little heeded by men who were looked upon with almost as much dread as the buccaneers who had so long been the terror of all that part of the world. Funes mentions the case of one Captain King, the com- mander of an English vessel called “ The Duke of Cam- bridge,” belonging to the Company, which had arrived in the river richly laden with European goods, who, when the Spanish officers went off to visit him conformably to the regulations, threatened to fire upon them, and set them openly at defiance. Another of these ships, u The Carteret,” he says, was well known to have left the Bio de la Plata for London, with two millions of dollars in specie and seventy thousand dollars’ worth of hides, in return for European goods which she had clandestinely 60 THE ASIENTO AND THE ENGLISH. Part I. sold in the colony : and so this trade was carried on till 1739, when Spain attempting to stop it by her guarda- costas, and England resisting, the two powers became involved in open hostilities, which put an end to the Asiento. After the capture of Portobello by the English, Register- ships, as they were called, were permitted for the first time to proceed direct round Cape Horn for the supply of the inhabitants of the shores of the Pacific — a great boon to the people of those countries ; but no relief was given to those of the vast provinces of the Rio de la Plata, where the same restrictions on the trade were continued, although the main reason for imposing them originally alleged no longer existed, viz. the maintenance of that monopoly which the fairs of Portobello ensured to the merchants of Seville and Lima.* In the mean time the English were not the worst contrabandists in the river Plate. The Treaty of Utrecht, which had given them the Asiento, secured to the Por- tuguese the important settlement of Colonia del Sacra- mento, on the eastern shore of the river, directly opposite to Buenos Ayres — a position which afforded them every facility of communication with the neighbouring settle- ments of the Spaniards ; and, although by the same treaty the crown of Portugal was solemnly engaged to prohibit all smuggling, not only were the provinces of Buenos Ayres, Paraguay, and Tucuman thenceforward abundantly supplied through this channel with European goods, but they were carried into the heart of Peru, and sold there at lower prices than the same articles sent to Lima by the merchants of Seville, via Panama. Foreign traders and foreign goods superseded those of Spain, and the mother country lost not only a market for her own manufactures, but the duties upon the goods imported. The yearly freight of the galleons, which at * “Es de advertir, que extinguidos los galeones en 1740, y no restablecidos con las fiotas en 1754, subsistio sin embargo la navegacion de Buenos Ayres con las mismas limitaciones que antes, no ob- stante haber faltado los dos poderosos motivos que les causaban, esto es, el fo- mento de las ferias de Portobello para los comerciantes de Espana, y el interes de los del Peru en que no hubiese otra puerta que aquella para la contratacion con sus Provincias.” — Acevedo , fol. 128. Chap. V. THE PORTUGUESE AND COLONIA. 61 the close of the preceding century had been estimated at 15,000 tons, fell to 2000, the returns being little more than the Royal fifths from the silver mines. Such were the consequences of that restrictive system which the Consulados of Seville and Lima had been the foremost to urge upon the Government, and of which they were now amongst the first to complain. The Spanish authorities had still to learn that the tide of Commerce is no more to be restrained than that of its parent Old Ocean by artificial devices : sooner or later, directly or indirectly, it will pass all barriers, and find its natural course, true to established laws. In vain the Viceroy of Lima wrote to Zavala, the Governor of Buenos Ayres, ordering him to punish his officers because it appeared the people of the interior of Peru had ceased to repair to Lima for the supply of their wants, in conse- quence of the quantity of merchandise illicitly sent to them by way of the Rio de la Plata. Zavala, one of the most zealous and intelligent officers ever employed by the Crown in those parts, was obliged to reply that he had found by experience that all the measures he could take to prevent it were vain and useless, whilst such facilities existed for carrying on the traffic, and such enormous gains resulted to the parties engaged in it. He had the boldness, however, to express his own opinion that the only means of stopping a trade so detrimental to Spanish interests, and so demoralizing to the colonists, was either to throw it open altogether to the legal trader, whereby the Government would secure the duties upon all importations, or to drive the Portuguese entirely out of the Banda Oriental. Of the two alternatives the latter happened at the time best to suit the views of the Government of Spain, who had become alarmed, and with good reason, at the manifest encroachments of their neighbours. The Portuguese, not satisfied with their limited pos- sessions at Colonia, had commenced a more important settlement in the vicinity of Monte Video, from which, however, they were promptly dislodged by Zavala, who, upon his Government receiving news of the fact, was fur- 62 MONTE VIDEO FOUNDED. Part I. ther ordered to proceed immediately to make permanent settlements there and at Maldonado for the more effectual maintenance of the rights of the Spanish Crown. It was under these circumstances that the present city of Monte Video was commenced in 1726, under the name of San Felipe, Puerto de Monte Video. Some families were transported thither from the Canaries, and others removed there from Buenos Ayres, in order to secure the privileges offered to the first settlers. The Viceroy sent large sums of money from Potosi to carry on the works, and the walls in due time assumed, with the labour of the Guarani Indians, the appearance of an important fortifica- tion, which the Spanish Government flattered themselves would overawe their neighbours. It seems to have had rather an opposite effect ; the Portuguese increased their own establishments, and fixed themselves permanently on the Rio Grande, from whence they overran the adjoining lands, pillaged the Spanish settlers, and carried on the contraband trade with more impunity than ever. Funes says it was calculated that the trade in question was worth two millions of dollars yearly to the Portuguese nation, and so much of course lost to Spain. Fresh disputes were the natural consequence, which it was vainly hoped would be finally set at rest by a treaty which was entered into between the two nations in 1750, one of the articles of which stipulated that Portugal should cede to Spain all the establishments she had formed on the eastern shores of the Rio de la Plata, including Colonia, in exchange for the seven Missionary Towns upon the Uruguay. But the Indians rose in arms against an arrangement which was to deliver over their peaceful and beautiful abodes to a nation only known to them by their atrocious cruelties to the aborigines, and made a gallant resistance against the joint forces of the two powers, which took the field to enforce their submission to the terms of the treaty. When 2000 of them were slaughtered, and the towns in question were depopulated and reduced to ruins, the Portuguese refused to take possession of them, and made it a pretext for the non-fulfilment of their own engagement to deliver up Colonia in exchange. Chap. V. HOSTILITIES WITH THE POETUGUESE. 63 The Jesuits had to bear the blame of having frustrated the objects of this treaty, and were accused of having instigated the Indians to revolt — an accusation which was not proved, although there can be no doubt how deeply interested they must have been in an arrangement vitally affecting establishments which had so long been the special object of their care. But at that time such charges gained easy credit against their order, the suppression of which was doomed. In 1757 the Marquis of Pombal drove them from Portugal, and in 1767 Charles III., in open defiance of the threats and remonstrances of the Pope, Clement XIII., banished them from all his dominions in America as well as Europe. In 1762, upon the renewal of hostilities, Don Pedro Cevallos, then Governor of Buenos Ayres, besieged Co- lon ia, and succeeded in taking it ; but peace being signed the following year, it was once more restored to the Portuguese, who continued in possession of it till 1777, when it was again taken from them by the Spanish forces under the same distinguished officer, Cevallos, and definitively ceded to Spain, under the circumstances to which I am about to allude. In the Bio de la Plata the continual encroachments of the Portuguese, the impunity with which contraband trade was carried on, and the disputes which were continually arising with foreign nations from the continuance of such a state of things, had long shown the necessity for a change in the nature of the local government of that colony. It was manifest, indeed, that to counteract such evils the superintendence of a Viceroy residing at Lima, 1000 leagues off, was worse than useless, and only hampered the action of the subordinate authorities at Buenos Ayres. There were other considerations which, about the same time, may have contributed to induce the Spanish ministry to assume a more imposing attitude, and to give fresh vigour to their administrative officers in the Bio de la Plata. The defenceless state of their dependencies in that quarter of South America had already attracted notice, and there was good ground to expect that, in the event of hostilities with England, which were more than probable, 64 BUENOS AYRES MADE A VICE-ROYALTY. Part I. they would be amongst the first objects of attack. That alone would have made it requisite to put her defences in order ; but the more immediate pretexts for so doing were fresh insults and provocations of the Portuguese in the Banda Oriental, which it became necessary for Spain, if she valued her honour as well as her interests in those quarters, to put down by some much more effectual means than any she had yet adopted. In 1776 the important resolution was taken to separate the provinces of the Rio de la Plata from their dependence upon the Government of Peru, and to erect them into a new Viceroy alty, the capital of which was fixed at Buenos Ayres. It comprised the province so called, and those of Paraguay, Cordova, Salta, Potosi, La Plata, Santa Cruz de la Sierra or Cochabamba, La Paz, and Puno, besides the subordinate governments of Monte Video, Moxos, and Chiquitos, and the Missions on the rivers Uruguay and Parana. The choice of Don Pedro Cevallos to be the first Vice- roy was in itself an indication to her Portuguese neigh- bours of the determination of Spain to be no longer trifled with. He had been Governor of Buenos Ayres from 1757 to 1766, and was well known to them for the vigour with which he had opposed their encroachments in the Banda Oriental during the war of 1762. The most formidable armament which had ever been sent by Spain to America was placed at his command : it consisted of 10,000 men, embarked in 116 ships, which, convoyed by 12 men-of-war, sailed from Spain in 1776. With this imposing force Cevallos directed his course in the first instance to the island of St. Catherine’s, the most important possession of the Portuguese upon the coast of Brazil, which surrendered to him with hardly a show of resistance. Thence he proceeded to the river Plate, where Colonia capitulated ; the fortifications were razed to the ground, and the Portuguese were driven from all their possessions in the vicinity. Further hostilities were then stopped by the receipt of intelligence of the death of King John, the sovereign of Portugal, and the consequent removal of his minister, the Chap. V. TREATY OF ST. ILDEFONSO. 65 Marquis of Pombal, to whose aggressive policy these un- happy differences between the two Crowns had long been attributed. The Princess Maria, who succeeded to the throne, was personally under deep obligations to her uncle, Charles III. of Spain, and only anxious to terminate as speedily as possible all causes of hostility between the two Crowns. In October, 1777, a treaty was signed at St. Ildefonso for the restoration of peace, and for the final settlement of all questions at issue between the two nations as to their respective rights in America. In virtue of this arrangement Spain restored St. Cathe- rine’s ; and Portugal, withdrawing entirely from the terri- tory of the Banda Oriental of the Rio de la Plata, ceded to her Colonia, and relinquished all pretensions to any parti- cipation in the navigation of the Rio de la Plata and its affluents beyond her own boundary lines. Finally, it was agreed that Commissioners on both sides should be appointed to lay down definitively their re- spective boundaries from the south-eastern limits of Brazil on the coast to the frontiers of Peru. The Spanish minister, Count Florid a-blanca, had good reason to be proud of this arrangement. In a report addressed to his Sovereign, which has been since pub- lished, he says that “he considered it as one of the hap- piest events of his ministry to have secured Colonia for the Crown of Spain, whereby foreign contraband traders were deprived of their stronghold in the very centre of the Rio de la Plata, and the enemies of Spain had no longer the means of disturbing the peace of those provinces, and of appropriating to themselves the riches of South America/’ Under these circumstances, with both sides of the river definitively secured to Spain, and the presence of a large and victorious army under a commander whose name alone was a tower of strength in those parts, the new Viceroyalty was established under the most promising auspices. The important changes which Spain was then projecting in her commercial regulations for the Colonies seemed only wanting to ensure the future prosperity of Buenos Ayres, and they were now no longer deferred. 66 NEW COMMERCIAL CODE Part I. Since the accession of Charles III. in 1759, various relaxations had been made in that old system, so long com- plained of, which had made the entire trade of Spain with America little better than a monopoly in the hands of the merchants of Seville and Cadiz. In 1764 periodical packets were established, vessels of considerable burthen, which took their departure from Co- runna for all the principal ports in the Colonies, with leave, besides their correspondence, to carry out cargoes of Spanish manufactures, and to import in return Colonial produce : a direct intercourse was also allowed for the first time with Cuba and other islands in the West Indies, and in 1774 all the Colonies were permitted to open a trade with each other, which up to that time had been rigorously prohibited. These measures originated with Don Joseph de Galvez, the minister for the department of the Indies, who had himself passed many years in America, and had personally witnessed how greatly Spain was a loser by the system she had hitherto pursued, and how very materially her inte- rests might be advanced by a thorough change in her colonial policy. They were followed in 1778 by the promulgation of an entirely new commercial code for the Indies, which at that time was thought deserving the title of “The Free Trade Regulations and free they certainly were, compared with the old restrictions and tariff of 1720, but only for Spaniards. The trade was still to be exclusively confined to Spaniards and Spanish shipping, and the tariff was based entirely upon the principle of protection to native industry, and of further- ing the sale of the productions of Spain in preference to all others of whatever origin. Nine ports in Spain and twenty- four in the Colonies were declared “ puertos habi- litados,” or ports of entry. For ten years Spanish manufactures of wool, cotton, linen, steel, glass, &c., were allowed to be shipped duty free for the Colonies, as were the principal articles of raw produce from America imported in return, such as cotton, coffee, sugar, cochineal, indigo, bark, and copper. The duty on the import of gold was reduced from 5 to 2 per cent., and that of silver from 10 to 5i per cent. ; whilst, Chap. V. FOUNDED ON PROTECTION. 67 for the encouragement of Spanish shipping, vessels loaded solely with national produce were exempted from one-third of the duties otherwise payable. Generally, on goods not specifically exempted, the duties on shipments for the Co- lonies were estimated to average about 3 per cent, upon Spanish goods, and 7 per cent, on those of foreign manu- facture, over and above the charges levied upon them on their import into Spain previously to re-exportation, which in reality raised them to an ad valorem duty of from 40 to 50 per cent. The shipment of some articles of foreign production, such as cottons, stuffs, hats, and silk stockings, oil, wines, and brandies, which might interfere with those of Spain, was totally prohibited. Unfortunately, with the same main object in view of protecting Spanish interests, some obsolete edicts were renewed, which restricted the cultivation and improvement of several productions of the colonies, such as the vine and the olive in some parts, and hemp and flax in others, lest they should compete with the same articles grown by the mother country. Their domestic manufactures also were dis- couraged wherever they were the same as those of Spain, and in some cases altogether put down. The South Americans were not allowed to make their own cloth, and were arbi- trarily deprived of the use of one of their own most va- luable materials, the wool of the vicuna, which by a special edict the Viceroys were ordered to collect for the King’s account, that it might be sent to Spain to be worked up in the Royal manufactory at Guadalaxara. A greater grievance which marked the administration of Galvez was the partiality with which public employ- ments of every kind were filled up by European Spa- niards in preference to natives. “ Never,” says Funes, u were the civil and military offices in South America so exclusively bestowed upon old Spaniards ; it was enough to be an American born to be shut out from all chance even of a doorkeeper’s appointment.” These measures were bitterly complained of by the Americans, and cited in corroboration of their own per- suasion that in his new commercial regulations Galvez, f 2 68 GRIEVANCES OF THE COLONISTS. Part I like every other minister of Spain, had only had in view the furtherance of the interests of the Mother Country, re- gardless of those of the Colonies. It was certainly a great mistake on the part of the Spanish ministry to perpetuate such causes of grievance against the parent state, especially at a time when ques- tions connected with the relative rights and obligations of European governments and their colonial subjects were brought so forcibly into notice by the struggle then pending between Great Britain and her North American possessions — when too, which made it still more extraor- dinary, Spain herself had determined to join with France and the enemies of England in espousing the cause of the North Americans against the mother country, and in thus countenancing those notions of independence and free go- vernment in the British colonies which she was at the same time more than ever determined to smother in her own. The King of Spain is said to have taken some credit to himself that he did not make at that time, as France did, a treaty with the people of the United States : be that as it may, he contributed, there is no doubt, to establish the principle of the subject’s right to resistance against his sovereign on the plea of wrongs unredressed, of which the South Americans did not fail to remind his successor when they too some years afterwards rose in arms against oppression and misgovermnent. But whatever were the complaints of the Americans with regard to the matters referred to, there can be no doubt that in general the new commercial regulations proved extremely advantageous to the colonies, as well as to the mother country, especially where they were so situated as directly to profit by them, as at Buenos Ayres, which, from being a nest of smugglers, soon rose to be one of the most important of the commercial cities of the New World. This is abundantly shown by the returns of trade which from time to time have been published. To take the staple commodity of the country, hides for example. Before the new regulations of 1778 the exports to Spain Chap. V. INCREASE OF TRADE AND POPULATION. 69 were calculated to average not more than 150,000 yearly. Afterwards they rose to from 700,000 to 800,000 ; in one year, 1783, upon the conclusion of the peace with England, the extraordinary number of 1,400,000 were shipped for Europe. Prices rose in proportion to the increased demand, and instead of two or three ships, there sailed from seventy to eighty annually from the Rio de la Plata for the ports of Spain. The population of the province of Buenos Ayres alone, under these new circumstances, in the first twenty years was nearly doubled. It rose from 37,679 in 1778, to 72,000 in 1800. It would seem, indeed, as if the new prospects of com- mercial enterprise and wealth, for the first time fairly laid before a colony so manifestly destined by nature to be the emporium of the trade with the interior of the South American continent, had absorbed all other ideas. Whilst every nation in Europe was in a state of unparalleled com- motion from the direful consequences of the French Revo- lution, the Spanish Americans remained passive, appa- rently in a state of apathetic indifference to all that was passing.* The authorities no doubt did their best in exe- cution of their orders from Spain to keep them in the dark, and to prevent the spread of those revolutionary doctrines which menaced the peace of every part of the world ; but it is a remarkable proof of the overpowering influence of the Spanish Colonial system, that under such extraordinary and exciting circumstances it was able so effectually to keep down all popular feeling, and notwith- standing her own weakness to preserve them so entirely in a state of servile fidelity. * “ Se libraron providencias las mas prevenir en estas Provincias qualquiera activas para que no prendiese en America agresion del enemigo, como para man- alguna chispa de aquel incendio revolu- tenerlas en la mas estrecha dependencia.” cionario. ... El Virey Aredondo tomo —Funes, Hist., vol. iii. todas las medidas de seguridad, asi para ( 70 ) Part I. CHAPTER VI. 1806—1816. Effect of the British Invasions of Buenos Ayres in 1806 and 1807, and of the subsequent Occupation of Spain by the French Armies — Establish- ment of a Provisional Junta in 1810 — Considered as an act of Kebellion by the Spanish Cortes — Civil War in consequence — Ferdinand on his Restoration obstinate instead of conciliatory — Drives the South Ame- ricans to separate from his Rule — Declaration of Independence by the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata at Tucuman in 1816. Their successful resistance of the British invasions of Buenos Ayres in 1806 and 1807, the issue of which could have surprised no one more than themselves, roused the people from these slumbers, and taught them for the first time their own power, and all the weakness of the mother country, then in fact reduced to little better than a depen- dency of France. In reply to their request for military aid after General Beresford’s first attack, and under the certainty of its being repeated by a more imposing force, they were told they must defend themselves as they could, for Spain could send them no help. In the year following (1808) they were threatened with a fresh invasion by the Prince Begent of Portugal, who, from the moment of his reaching the Brazils, seems to have contemplated the possibility of increasing his do- minions in America by the annexation of the provinces of the Rio de la Plata in right of his wife, the Princess Carlota, a daughter of Charles IY. and sister of King Ferdinand. No sooner had he arrived at Rio de Janeiro than he caused a note to be addressed to the Viceroy and Cabildo of Buenos Ayres, requiring them, on the grounds of the alleged dissolution of the Spanish monarchy, and Chap. VI. LOYALTY OF THE COLONISTS. 71 the rights accruing to the Princess Carlota from the abdi- cation of her father and the captivity of her brothers, to submit themselves to his protection, and to place them- selves under his government ; menacing them in case of refusal with hostilities on the part of the Portuguese, aided by their English allies. A spirited answer from the Cabildo,* expressing their determination to maintain the rights of Spain to the last drop of their blood, and to defend themselves as they had done before against all foreign aggressors, cooled these pretensions of their Portuguese neighbours, whilst it afforded a fresh and undeniable evidence of the unshaken loyalty of the Americans to their lawful Sovereign. They exulted in the fact that they had fought and been victorious under the banner of Spain ; that banner associated with so many deeds of glory in former days, and which indeed the descendants of the Conquistadores could never unfurl without a justifiable pride. If that flag has now ceased to float in the Indies, it was not from any want of loyalty up to that time on the part of the South Americans ; nothing could be more unequi- vocal than the manifestation of feeling in behalf of the Royal family when intelligence was received in America of their detention in France by Buonaparte, of the abdi- cation of the King, and of the appointment by Napoleon of his brother Joseph to fill the vacant throne of Spain in 1808. The French messenger who brought to Buenos Ayres the first tidings of those occurrences, M. Sastenay, an agent despatched by Buonaparte to secure, as he flattered himself, the ready submission of the people of the Rio de la Plata, and to induce them to swear fealty to his brother Joseph, was received in a manner he little expected. The proclamations of the usurper, of which he was the bearer, were committed to the flames, and he himself was placed under arrest, whilst the authorities proceeded without fur- ther delay to proclaim, not Joseph, but Ferdinand VII. as the only lawful successor to Charles IV., and to collect * See Historical Documents in Appendix. 72 LINIERS— AND ELIO. Part I. the voluntary contributions which the people everywhere hastened to raise for the maintenance of his rights. In the midst of these loyal demonstrations, they received the official announcement of the rising of their country- men in Spain against the French, and the commencement of that ever memorable struggle which, happily for the liberties of all Europe, was eventually crowned with such signal success. But the events of the two following years were of a nature sorely to test the constancy of the Spaniards in both hemispheres. An overwhelming French army of more than 300,000 men, commanded by Joseph Buona- parte in person, took possession of all Spain, sweeping every thing before them to the walls of Cadiz, the only place which was enabled to hold out against the invaders at the commencement of 1810. The Supreme Central Junta, till then recognized as the National Government, had been not only dissolved amidst a popular commotion at Seville, upon the approach of the French, but had been accused of treason by the Spaniards themselves ; and although replaced by a Regency, being of their own nomi- nation, it seemed doubtful if that was likely any better to maintain its authority. The Colonies could not but be seriously affected by this state of things, which threw them upon their own resources, and eventually led everywhere to important changes in their condition. At Buenos Ayres (in 1808), when the intelligence of the abdication of the King and the declaration of war against France was received, the Viceregal Government was in the hands of Don Santiago Liniers, who had been appointed to it as a reward for the gallantry he had dis- played in heading the people against the British invasions ; but he was by birth a Frenchman, which, in the altered circumstances of Spain, unfortunately for himself, rendered him immediately an object of distrust and jealousy to the old Spaniards. Elio, the Governor of Monte Video, was the first to give vent publicly to this feeling. He refused to obey his orders, and convoking the inhabitants, established an inde- Chap. VI. THE TRADE OF BUENOS AYRES OPENED. 73 pendent junta of the Monte Videans, after the example of those set up in the Peninsula. Shortly afterwards, in January, 1809, some of the leading Spaniards in the Municipality of Buenos Ayres attempted to do the same ; but that movement was put down by Liniers with the aid of the troops, who were personally attached to him, and the parties implicated in it arrested and sent to Patagonia, pending a reference to the Superior Government in Spain. The Central Junta at Seville, upon being informed of what had taken place, and think- ing perhaps to calm the public mind, which had been greatly agitated by these events, superseded Liniers, and sent out an old naval officer, Cisneros, to take his place. But Cisneros went alone, without troops, without arms, without money, and, what was of still more consequence, without any permission to relax in the smallest degree the stringency of those colonial regulations which Spain in the plenitude of her might had established, but which in her altered condition it was impossible for her officers to enforce. Upon his arrival at Buenos Ayres he found the trea- sury empty, and a total want of the funds necessary to meet the current expenses of the Government, from the paralyzation of the trade with Spain, and the falling off* of the Custom-house Duties in consequence ; whilst the people, in want of everything, and with an enormous accu- mulation of produce on their hands, were clamorous for at least a temporary opening of the ports. Their appeals to that effect were ably advocated by Don Mariano Moreno, one of the most enlightened of their public men, in a memorable memorial in favour of the principles of Free Trade, as opposed to the restrictive commercial policy of Spain, which was irresistible, and there is no doubt very mainly contributed to force upon the Viceroy the all- important measure which he was obliged shortly after to adopt of throwing open the trade of Buenos Ayres to the English and other nations. But the reluctance which Cisneros had manifested to listen to their applications created great disappointment ; and although he was forced at last to give way, the excite- 74 THE FIRST JUNTA ESTABLISHED. Part I. ment caused by his opposition, at such a time and under such circumstances, to concession, upon a point of such manifest importance to the interests of the Americans, had rendered him extremely unpopular, and tended much to accelerate a crisis for some time preparing, and which was brought on at last by the publication, by Cisneros himself, of the disastrous news from Spain of the progress of the French armies, and the dissolution of the Junta at Seville. The Viceroy, who had received his appointment from that body, seems to have been totally at a loss, upon receipt of the intelligence, what course to adopt ; whilst, on the other hand, his manifest incompetency and vacilla- tion satisfied the people that the time was at last arrived when they were called upon to act for themselves. A public meeting, summoned at his own desire, on the 25th May, 1810, to deliberate upon the news above men- tioned, and the measures which it might be necessary, in consequence, to take, came to the determination to esta- blish, without further delay, in place of the Viceroy’s authority, a Provisional Junta to carry on the government in the King’s name, as best they could, till better times. An ill-timed attempt made by the old Spaniards to secure a preponderating influence by naming Cisneros President, only led to a counter movement on the part of the people, and to a determination amongst the Americans to exclude all Spaniards from the new Junta — a very important resolve in its consequences, and which, following upon the angry feelings already excited amongst the mercantile body (at the time all powerful) at Cadiz by the opening of the trade of Buenos Ayres to other nations, constituted perhaps the real gravamen of the extraordinary offence which seems to have been taken upon receipt of the intelligence of these proceedings in Spain. The establishment of an American instead of a Spanish Junta was held to be nothing less than an insurrectionary movement against the mother country ; the authors of it were denounced as traitors, and the King’s officers were commanded to put them down, and to punish them with the utmost severity — orders which unhappily were acted upon but too promptly. They led to a long and bloody struggle, Chap. VI. STRUGGLE WITH SPAIN. 75 between the royal forces supported by the old Spaniards on the one side, and the South Americans on the other, in which the most horrible atrocities were perpetrated — the latter, during its continuance, vainly looking forward to the Kings restoration for the adoption of a different policy, and a redress of their grievances. It is useless now to say that, if they had been met with kindness and conciliatory measures, there is every reason to believe the colonists would have been found abounding in the same loyal and affectionate feelings for the mother country, of which in other times they had repeatedly given such striking proofs. Ferdinand YU. was otherwise advised. His only reply to the representations of the South Americans and their prayers for better government was to call them rebels and insurgents, and to assemble fresh armies to subjugate them again to his arbitrary rule. Mediation was rejected till too late ; and under these circumstances the people, goaded to desperation, rose in arms, not only in self-defence, but declaring their solemn determination never again to submit themselves to the rule either of Ferdinand or of Spain. But, withal, such was the attachment of a strong and influential party in the country still to the dynasty of their old monarchs that, although they declared it to be their irrevocable resolution never to submit themselves to King Ferdinand, the Provisional Government set up at Buenos Ayres sent plenipotentiaries to Europe to present a humble memorial to the ex-King, Charles IV., praying him to repair himself to Buenos Ayres, or, if that were impossible, to send out his second son, Don Francisco de Paula, to take upon himself the sovereignty of the country as an independent prince. This remarkable document is dated London, the 18th of May, 1815, and bears the signatures of Don Manuel Belgrano and Don Bernardino Rivadavia.* It was their last appeal ; which failing, in the course of the following year the people of the provinces of the Rio de la Plata, who had acquired a knowledge of their own real strength and importance, under the conviction forced upon them that they had nothing to hope, and all to fear, from the * See Historical Documents in Appendix. 76 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 1816. Part I. mother country, proclaimed themselves to be the masters of their own destinies. On the 9 th of July, 1816, deputies from all the pro- vinces of the Rio de la Plata, assembled in congress at Tucuman, solemnly declared their separation from Spain, and their determination to constitute a free and inde- pendent State, in the following terms “ We, the Representatives of the United Provinces of South America in General Congress assembled , invoking that supreme Being who presides over the universe , and in the name of and by the authority of the People we represent , asserting before Heaven, and all the nations of the earth , the justice of this our resolution , do hereby solemnly declare it to be the unanimous and indisputable determination of the People of these provinces to break the bonds which have hitherto bound them to the Kings of Spain — to recover those natural rights of which they had been deprived, and to take upon themselves the character of a Free Nation , independent of King Ferdinand the Seventh , of his suc- cessors, and of Spain, with full and ample power in conse- quence de facto and de jure to establish for themselves such form of Government as existing circumstances may render necessary . “ On behalf of all and every one of them we do publish and declare the same , and pledge them to carry into effect this their fixed resolve with their lives, their fortunes, and their fame . “ Wherefore , Be this duly published for the information of all whom it may concern. u Further, considering what is due to other nations , a separate manifesto shall be addressed to them , setting forth in detail the grave and weighty reasons which have led to this our solemn Declaration. “ Given in the Hall of our Meetings , signed by our hands, and sealed with the seal of the Congress, and duly countersigned by the Secretaries thereof, in the city of San Miguel de Tucuman , this the 9 tli day of July, 1816.” BUENOS AYRES AND THE PROVINCES OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA. To face page 79. Chap. YII. ( 79 ) CHAPTER YII. The Argentine Republic — Territorial Extent and Divisions — Separation of Paraguay, the Banda Oriental, and Bolivia — Isolation of the Pro- vinces — Rise of Federalism — Overthrow of the Supreme Government — French Scheme for a Monarchy for the Duke of Lucca - — Rise and Progress of the Provincial Government of Buenos Ayres — Weakness of the Pro- vinces — Delegation of Extraordinary Powers to General Rosas, provi- sionally «— Comparison of the State of the South Americans with that of the People of the United States when emancipated — Slow Progress of the former in their Political Organization — Why — Recognition of their Inde- pendence and Treaties made with them by Great Britain. The United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata, or, as they are sometimes called, the Argentine Republic, comprise the whole of that vast space (with the exception of Para- guay and the Banda Oriental, which are now separate and independent states) lying between Brazil and the Cor- dillera of the Andes, and extending from the 22nd to the 41st degrees of south latitude. The most southern settle- ment of the Buenos Ayreans as yet is the little town of Del Carmen, on the Rio Negro. The native Indians are J in undisturbed possession of all beyond to Cape Horn. Generally speaking, the Republic may be described as bounded on the north by Bolivia, on the west by Chile, 80 GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS. Part IT. on the east by Paraguay, the river Uruguay, which di- vides it from the Banda Oriental, and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south by the Indians of Patagonia. Altogether it contains about 726,000 square miles English, as computed by Mr. Arrowsmith, with a popu- lation of from 600,000 to 700,000 inhabitants,* exclusive of Indians variously estimated at from 50,000 to 100,000, including every tribe from the Gran Chaco to the southern- most parts of Patagonia. Politically, this vast territory is now subdivided into thirteen Provinces, assuming to govern themselves more or less independently of each other, though for all na- tional purposes united in one general Confederation. For want of a more defined national executive, the pro- vincial government of Buenos Ayres, invested with extra- ordinary powers, is temporarily charged with carrying on the business of this Confederation with foreign nations, and with the management of all matters appertaining to the common interests of the Republic. The executive power of that Government, as constituted in 1821, is vested in the Governor or Captain-General, as he is styled, aided by a council of ministers appointed by him- self — responsible to the Sala, or Legislative Assembly of the province, by whom he is elected. The Junta consists of forty-four deputies, one-half of whom are annually renewed by popular election. Geographically, these Provinces may be divided into three principal sections : — 1st. The Riverine Provinces, or those on either side of the Parana, viz., Buenos Ayres and Santa Fe on the right, and Entre Rios and Corrientes on the left bank of that river. 2nd. Those called the Upper Provinces, (Provincias arribenas,) on the high road to Peru, viz., Cordova, San- tiago del Estero, Tucuman, and Salta, with Jujuy, to which may be added Catamarca and La Rioja. 3rd. The Provinces of Cuyo, to the west of Buenos Ayres, and at the foot of the Cordillera of the Andes, See Appendix for Estimates of the Population. Chap. VII. EXTENT OE THE OLD VICEROYALTIES. 81 viz., San Luis, Mendoza, and San Juan, which formerly constituted a separate Intendancy, known by that name, and subject to the Government of Chile. All these together now form the Confederation of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata. Under the Spanish rule the Viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres comprehended further the provinces of Upper Peru, now called Bolivia, as well as Paraguay and the Banda Oriental ; and, immense as this jurisdiction appears for one Government, it was but a portion separated from that of the old Viceroys of Peru, whose nominal authority at one time extended from Guayaquil to Cape Horn, over 55 degrees of latitude, comprising almost every habitable climate under the sun, people of various races, speaking different languages, and every production which can minister to the wants of man. To Spain it was a. convenience and saving of expense to divide her American possessions into as few governments as possible ; and under her colonial system, without a hope of improving their social condition, their native industry discouraged, and the very fruits of the soil forbidden them, lest they should interfere with the sale of those of the mother country, it was of little consequence to the gene- rality of the people by what Viceroy they were ruled, or at what distance from them he resided. It became, however, a very different matter when that colonial system was overthrown, and to be replaced by governments of their own election. Then, as the many and various distinctions of races, of language, of habits, of climate, and productions, burst into notice, and separately put forth their claims to consideration, it became obvious that the necessity would, sooner or later, arise of dividing and subdividing into distinct and separate governments the immense and unwieldy jurisdictions of the old vice- royalties. Unfortunately in most instances these changes have been brought about by violent means, which have tended greatly to retard the social organization and improve- ment of the people ; and in no part of South America has this been more strikingly exemplified than in the G 82 SEPARATION OF THE PROVINCES. Part II. widely-spread provinces of the old Viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres. During the struggle with the mother country, one com- mon object, paramount to all other considerations, the complete establishment of their political independence, bound them together ; but the very circumstances of that struggle, and the vicissitudes of the war, which often for long periods cut off their communications with their old metropolis and with each other, obliging them to provide separately for their own temporary government and se- curity, gave rise, especially in those at a distance, to habits of independence, which, as they acquired strength, loosened more or less the ties which bound them to Buenos Ayres, and in some cases produced an entire separation. Paraguay set the example, and, after asserting her right to manage her own affairs, virtually established at least a provisional independence by defeating a Buenos Ayrean army sent to reduce her to obedience. The Banda Oriental was also separated from the autho- rity of the capital by the notorious Artigas, whose anar- chical proceedings, fraught with the most fatal consequences to the peace of the Republic, afforded a plausible pretext for the occupation of Monte Video by their Portuguese neighbours — the cause eventually of a long and ruinous war between the Republic and Brazil, which was only termi- nated by British mediation, and by the territory in question being erected into a new~ and independent state in 1828.* The provinces of Upper Peru, comprising the rich mineral districts of Potosi, in old times the most valued portion of the Viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres, were no sooner completely freed from the Spanish yoke by the victories of Bolivar, than they too set up a government of their own, under one of his generals, Sucre, assuming the name of Bolivia, in honour of their “ Liberator,” in 1 825. Thus was Buenos Ayres dismembered of the most important of her old dependencies, whilst the provinces which remained nominally in connexion with her have * As the Treaty establishing the inde- de la Plata, I have added it to the other pendencc of the Banda Oriental becomes historical documents given in the Ap- of interest from late events in the Rio pendix. Chap. VII. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS. 83 only done so upon terms barely justifying their continu- ing to call themselves the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata. Under the rule of Spain the Yiceroyalty was divided into several Intendancies or provinces, governed by “ Xnten- dentes,” as they were styled, with the assistance of the Cabildos, or municipal corporations, which existed in all the principal cities or townships. Submissive and unpro- ductive under the Spanish rule, the authorities fixed in the capital troubled themselves little about them : there was nothing then to disturb their domestic peace — nothing to make them emulous of fame or improvement — nothing to require interference with the administration of the Colonial laws by their own petty Cabildos and Alcaldes ; and such a state of things was perhaps almost a necessary consequence of the enormous distances which separated them de facto from each other and from the capital, and which under any circumstances must make it a very difficult attempt to govern them in any other manner. Of the Upper Provinces, Cordova, the nearest and most important of these townships, is no less than 500 miles; Salta, the frontier town on the same line, is 1200; and Mendoza, the principal town of the Province of Cuyo, is 900 miles from Buenos Ayres. Santa Fe, the nearest of the towns of the Riverine Provinces, is 300 miles, and Corrientes more than double that distance, up the Parana. After the deposition of the Viceroy the Executive Junta (Junta Gubernativa) appointed to replace his authority, in their desire to secure the cordial co-operation of the Pro- vinces, invited these same Cabildos to send representatives to Buenos Ayres to take part in their first administrative measures — and although this was not unopposed at the time, and was of very short duration, it sufficed to give them a degree of importance to which they had never before aspired, whilst the recognition of Provincialism as apparently a necessary element in the new government, contributed, there is no doubt, naturally enough to the notion of a federal instead of central system of govern- ment, subsequentlv put forward in opposition to the views g 2 84 ORIGIN OF FEDERALISM. Part II. of the dominant party in Buenos Ayres, and which has since been the pretext for so much strife and contention. Nevertheless for the first ten years after the substitution of an American Junta for a Spanish Viceroy in 1810, the supreme government of the provinces in question continued to be exercised by the ruling authorities successively set up at Buenos Ayres. A Constituent Assembly, convoked in 1813, after an ex- periment at a Triumvirate, vested the Executive Power in a Supreme Director ; an arrangement provisionally con- firmed by the General Congress which succeeded it, and which proclaimed the absolute independence of the Republic in 1816. But the governments so set up, in their embryo inde- pendence, uncertain as to the issue, weak and unstable, one day democratic, another despotic, distracted by conflicting parties, and with but small knowledge or experience for the task committed to them, soon found themselves too feeble to make themselves respected, or to enforce their authority whenever it happened to be opposed to the views of the petty chiefs who in the first years of the Revolution obtained an ephemeral importance in some of the distant provinces and towns in the interior. Artigas first, in the Banda Oriental, and then the chiefs of the adjoining provinces of Entre Rios, Corrientes, and Santa Fe, who fell under his baneful influence, took the lead in raising a cry for a federation, in opposition to the central power established at Buenos Ayres. They called out for a government like that of the United States of North America, although apparently in total ignorance that the end and aim of the North American Federation was “ Union and Strength ”- — u E pluribus unum .” The cry, however, was responded to, and led to serious dissensions, fomented, there is no doubt, by influential parties secretly opposed to the independence of the country, who thought to further the views of Spain by involving it in inextricable confusion. There seems indeed but too much reason to believe that, whilst the people were heartily em- barked in the cause, and making extraordinary sacrifices for the establishment of their independence, some even Chap. VII. VICTORIES OF SAN MARTIN. 85 of their own leaders were actuated by very different views. Still, the General Congress had been charged to draw up a Constitution ; and so long as that which was to fix their future political condition was under discussion, the Supreme Director, supported by the majority of the deputies, was able to maintain his position. In spite of intrigues and all other opposition the grand struggle for the liberation of the country from the dominion of Spain was accomplished ; and, by the extraordinary exertions of General San Martin, Chile was freed from the yoke of the mother country, and Lima, the capital of Peru, was taken possession of by his victorious troops. It was whilst the forces of Buenos Ayres were em- (Jose de San Martin, died 1850, aged 72.) Note. — u I have proclaimed the independence of Chile and of Peru ; I have taken the standard with which Pizarro came to enslave the empire of the Incas ; and I have ceased to be a public man. ... I have fulfilled my promises to the countries for which I have fought : I have given them independence.” — Vide Proclamation of General San Martin on quitting Peru in 1822. 86 OVERTHROW OF THE DIRECTORY. Part IE ployed at a distance in preparing these triumphs, and the Government was left without any adequate force to carry it out, that the Congress unfortunately thought fit to pro- duce the result of their labours — a Constitution which the provincial Governors were in no humour to accept or quietly to submit to — based, as it was, not upon the plan of a Federation, which many of them insisted upon, but upon a system of Centralization, perpetuating in a Chief Magistrate resident at Buenos Ayres very extensive civil and military powers over the whole republic, and amongst others that of appointing the Governors of the provinces, they naturally looked upon it as an arrangement to curtail, if not to deprive, them of their own authority ; and, with arms in their hands, it is not surprising, considering what the men were, that they should have determined this should not be without a struggle. The dissident chiefs, not satisfied with repudiating in toto the new Constitution, rose in angry and open hostility against the existing authorities, and the whole country became involved in civil war and confusion. The resignation of Puyerredon, who for nearly four years had held the office of Supreme Director, only gave fresh confidence to the insurgents, and, before measures could be taken to avert it, the city of Buenos Ayres was suddenly invaded and taken possession of by their half savage followers, the Congress was dissolved, and the Government of the Directory broken up. In palliation of their violence, the Federal Chiefs, as they styled themselves, accused the Congress and the Go- vernment of a treasonable design to convert the republic into a monarchy for the young Duke of Lucca, under the protection of France; and the publication of the secret correspondence^ of Don Valentin Gomez, their agent at Paris, containing the particulars of a scheme to that effect which had been proposed to them by the French ministry, had all the effect they intended, of destroying the confidence of the public in the parties who had hitherto ruled the country, and so completed their own triumph. This was in 1820, memorable as the most calamitous * See Historical Documents in Appendix. Chap. VII. ISOLATION OF THE PROVINCES. 87 year in the annals of the new republic. As might have been expected, the party which had thus succeeded in put- ting down the powers established at Buenos Ayres, proved utterly incapable of constructing anything like a Federal Government in their place : and it soon became manifest, so far as the Provincial Chiefs were concerned, that their main object was to maintain their own petty authority free from the interference or control of any superior authority whatever. Amidst the anarchy and confusion that followed the overthrow of the supreme Government, not only the provinces recognised as such, but almost every township which could boast of a cabildo or municipal corporation, asserted its independence of the capital ; and whilst it was more than ever doubtful whether there existed elements for the formation of even one respectable government, no less than thirteen were set up at once, multiplying their diffi- culties enormously. It was under these circumstances that the people of Buenos Ayres and of the province so called, restricted solely to their own concerns, established in 1821 for the first time their separate Sala or representative cham- ber and executive power in the form in which it still subsists. And although, at their invitation in 1824, another General Congress of Deputies from all the provinces was assembled to settle, if possible, something more definite as to the form at least of their national government, and another constitution for the republic was promulgated, being again based on a system of centralization, to which the Provinces were opposed, it proved, after a short-lived experiment, as abortive as the former in its results ; and only led to fresh dissensions from the attempts of the President Rivadavia to force upon them what they were unprepared at the time to submit to. Since that time (1827) the national organization of this republic has been limited to the slender and precarious ties of voluntary confederation which at present constitute the so-called Union of the Provinces of the Bio de la Plata. Although the dissolution of the Supreme Government in 1820 as abovementioned seemed at the time to detract 88 RESULTS OF FEDERALISM. Pakt II. not a little from the importance of Buenos Ayres, it has not perhaps in some respects proved disadvantageous to her interests : the curtailment of their jurisdiction enabled her governors more exclusively and effectually to direct their attention to concerns within their immediate reach, and to the consolidation of the provincial institutions which they had set up. An interval of peace which followed the intestine dissensions above related, was turned to good account, and for a time men of all parties laying aside their differences seemed only desirous to promote the same object, the esta- blishment of the credit and character of their country. Never perhaps did the affairs of the people of Buenos Ayres present so promising an appearance as in the first years of the existence of their provincial administration ; and although this was followed by the hard-fought struggle with Brazil for the liberation of the Banda Oriental, it became manifest from the very results of that struggle that their resources were greatly beyond what had been supposed, and that even single-handed — for they were little assisted by the provinces —the Buenos Ayreans were enabled to resist successfully all the power which the Emperor of Brazil could bring against them. Notwithstanding other lamentable differences with still more powerful nations, and a long and most destructive civil war, they have increased their territorial possessions, their population, and resources of all kinds, the results of a thriving trade with foreign countries which has made their city one of the first commercial emporiums in South America. On the other hand, the people of the interior have gained anything but real importance from their state of isolation : most of the provinces have suffered all the calamitous consequences of party struggles for power, and have fallen under the arbitrary rule of military chiefs, who have in turn, either by fair means or foul, obtained the ascendancy over their competitors ; and if in some the semblance of a representative Junta or Sala has been set up in imitation of that of Buenos Ayres, it will be found, I believe, that such assemblies have in most instances proved little more than Chap. VII. POWER VESTED IN ROSAS. 89 a convocation of the partisans of the Governor for the time being, much more likely to confirm than to control his despotic sway. Without any defined league or general engagement amongst themselves, even to guarantee the integrity of the Republic, or anything like a congress or representative body to watch over their common interests since the disso- lution of that in 1827, they have been obliged to delegate to the executive Government of Buenos Ayres the sole and entire charge of all their national concerns — their defence in war — the maintenance of their foreign relations — the management of the public debt — and of all matters of common interest to the republic at large — a trust which, in virtue of the unlimited powers conferred upon General Rosas, the present Governor of Buenos Ayres, has become, de facto , vested, with all its duties and responsibilities, in one single individual — a strange ending of a struggle for Federalism. The pretext for giving these extraordinary powers to General Rosas has been the civil and foreign wars in which the Republic has been engaged for many years past. That however cannot last for ever ; and for the respectability as well as interests of the Republic it seems to be admitted by aU parties that the sooner their national Government can be placed upon a more constitutional and promising footing the better. Under the present circumstances of the provinces, and after the failure of so many constituent congresses, it has been suggested that this object might perhaps be brought about with the least amount of difficulty or risk of causing the people of the interior any fresh fears for their provincial independence, by their agreeing to the occasional convoca- tion of a Diet , something like that of the Germanic States at Frankfort, under the recognised presidency of the Govern- ment of Buenos Ayres, which might be as limited as they please in its objects, and strictly confined to conferences upon matters affecting the interests of the Confederation in common. Some such arrangement would realize the Form as well as the Name of a Confederation. It is not my purpose to attempt more than a general 90 THE SOUTH AMERICANS UNDER SPAIN. Part II. outline of the events which have led to this state of things in the Argentine Republic, or to enter into the details of the party struggles and domestic troubles which have been so fatal to the progress of their social organiza- tion : it would be a thankless office to attempt to do so in the still excited state of parties in those countries, and would be of little interest, even if it could be made intelligible, to English readers. As one of their own ministers once observed to me, “ Theirs is as yet but the A B C of government, the beginnings of which, like the foundation-stones of a new building, are perhaps better kept out of view.” I may, however, observe that if the people of these provinces have made as yet but small progress compared with what was expected of them, the same difficulty in arriving at any settled political organization is equally manifest in all the new Spanish American States, although under circumstances very dissimilar as regards their locality, climate, wants and physical condition, with hardly one common element, in fact, amongst them, save their having been all brought up in, and habituated to, the same colonial system of the old mother country which seems to have been so effectual, as doubtless it was in- tended to be, in unfitting the people for a state of civil liberty and independence, and rendering them helpless as children when left to themselves and thrown upon their own resources. Our ignorance in England of the real state of the people of South America when they first separated from Spain, naturally led us to look back to what had taken place in our own North American colonies, and, with but little discrimination perhaps, to anticipate the same rapid advance in their social condition, whereas nothing in reality could be more dissimilar than the circumstances of the colonial subjects of Great Britain and Spain when their political emancipation took place. In the British Colonies the foundations of good govern- ment were already laid, the principles of civil administra- tion were perfectly understood, and the transition was almost imperceptible. On the other hand, in the Spanish Chap. VII. UNPREPARED FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT. 91 Colonies the whole policy of the mother country seems to have been based on perpetuating the servile state and ignorance of the natives : branded as an inferior race, they were, with rare exceptions, excluded from all offices of trust and honour in the civil, military, or ecclesiastical departments of the government, from commerce, and every other pursuit which might tend to the development of native talent or industry. The very history of their own country was withheld from them, no doubt lest it should open their eyes to the reality of their condition.* When the struggle came, the question of their indepen- dence was soon settled irrevocably ; but as to the elements for the construction at once ol anything like a good govern- ment of their own, they certainly did not exist. Under these circumstances what was perfectly natural took place ; in the absence of any other real power, that of military command, which had grown out of the war, obtained an ascendancy, the influence of which in all the new States became soon apparent. They fell, in fact, all of them more or less under military despotism ; the people, dazzled with the victories and martial achievements of their leaders, imperceptibly passed from one yoke to another. It is true that National Congresses and Legis- lative Assemblies were everywhere convoked ; but gene- rally aiming at more than was practicable or compatible with their circumstances, they in most instances failed, and by their failure rather confirmed the absolute power of the military chiefs. * The following Decree, prohibiting Robertson’s ‘ History of America,’ by Galvez, the Spanish Minister in 1779, must be seen to be believed : — “ Circular. “ El Exmo. Sr. virey de estas pro- vinces en oficio de 7 del presente me dice lo siguiente. “ El Sr. D. Jose de Galbez, en carta de 22 de Diciembre del ano proximo pasado, me dice lo siguiente : El Dr. Guillermo Robertson, Rector de la Universidad de Edinburgo, y cronista de Escocia, ha escrito y publicado, en idioma Ingles, la historia del descubrimiento de la Ame- rica ; y teniendo el rey justos motivos para que dicha obra no se introduzca en Espana ni sus Indias, ha resuelto su ma- gestad, que con el mayor rigor y vigi- lancia, se impida su embarco psra las Americas, y Eilipinas, ni en el idioma Ingles, ni en ningun otro a que se ha tra- ducido, 6 se traduzca : y que si hubiese algunas partidas, d ejemplares de dicha obra, en los puertos de unos u otros do- minios, 6 introducidos ya tierra a dentro, se detengan y embarguen a disposicion del ministerio de mi cargo. Y de su real orden, se lo participo a V. E. para que tomando las providencias mas estrechas y convenientes en esta jurisdiccion, tenga el debido cumplimiento esta resolucion : cuya real orden traslado a V. S. literal, a fin de que espida las mas eficaces, y conducentes a su cumplimiento, en esta jurisdiccion de su cargo.” 92 THEIR FIRST MEASURES. Part II. The South Americans, however, abolished the slave trade, put an end to the tribute money and the mita, or forced ser- vice of the Indians, — to the Inquisition, and the use of the torture ; passed laws to secure the person from arbitrary arrest ; nominally sanctioned, more or less, the liberty of the press ; and invited foreigners to establish themselves in the country — measures which gained them popularity and support amongst men of liberal principles in Europe, who fancied they saw in them evidences of a fitness amongst the people at large for free institutions ; but this was an error. The people of South America shouted, indeed, with their leaders, “ Independence and Liberty,” and gallantly fought for and established the first ; but as to Liberty, in our sense of the word, they knew very little about it : how could they ? To speak of the people of the provinces of La Plata : up to the period when they assumed the management of their own affairs, throughout the whole of that vast extent of country from Lima to Buenos Ayres, more than a thousand leagues, including many cities and populous towns, with their universities and colleges, and schools, and tribunals of justice, civil and ecclesiastical, there was but one miserable old printing press known to exist, which had formerly belonged to the Jesuits of Cordova.* In the greater part of the provinces there is no such thing to this day. The Code of the Indies, devised for a totally different state of things — for bondsmen, not freemen — the real yoke of the mother country, is still hanging about their necks. They have yet practically to learn that true liberty in a civilised state of society can only really exist where the powers of the ruling authorities are duly defined and counterbalanced, and where the laws — not the colonial laws of Old Spain — are so administered by honest and independent Judges as to ensure to every member of the community entire security of person as well as of property, prompt redress for wrongs, and the right of freely express- ing his political opinions. * See Pazos’ Letters on the United Provinces of South America, addressed to the Hon. Henry Clay. 1819. Chap. VII. SLOW GROWTH OF FREE INSTITUTIONS. 93 It is the working of such laws that makes men really free, and fit for the enjoyment of free institutions ; but such a state of things is not brought about in a day, or in a generation, nor can it be produced by any parchment Constitution, however perfect in theory. To quote the words of one of our own most eminent Constitutional authorities, — 44 There is no such thing as Liberty in the abstract : it cannot result from a single law, nor even from the will of the people ; it must be bound up with, and form part of, the customs and usages which dis- tinguish one nation from another.” 44 The most perfect system of laws in theory, as well as the most perfect forms of government which the philosopher can devise, are of no force unless they have been rendered by usage congenial to the feelings and manners of the people. 4 Quid leges sine moribus? , says the poet, who speaks only the language of truth in saying that laws avail nothing unless founded upon the habits and usages of a nation.”* If the experiment has so often failed in some of the oldest states of Europe, is it reasonable that we should expect it to be more successful in such infant states as these new Republics, where the whole of an ancient system— and that a Spanish one — must be remodelled according to the requirements of an entirely new state of the popu- lation ? Time — and we of all people in the world ought best to know how long a time — is requisite to bring such good fruit to maturity. Education, the Press, a more frequent intercourse with the rest of the world, and experience not the less valuable because dearly bought, are all tending gradually to enlighten the inha- bitants of these new countries, and to prepare them for their future destinies. Spain, knowing as she did the consequences of her own colonial system, and the incapacity for self-government in which it had left the South Americans, might well urge that as an argument against the recognition of their inde- pendence by other countries ; but it was to little purpose she did so when it was manifest to all the world that her * Lord Abinger’s Charge to the Grand Jury of Leicester in 1839. 94 POLICY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Paiit II. own power to reduce them again to subjection was gone for ever, and that the people of South America had not only achieved their complete independence, but were resolved and able to maintain it. The notoriety of those facts, whatever might be the speculative opinions of some parties as to the eventual prospects of the new States, left no alternative to foreign governments, whose subjects had naturally availed them- selves of such a state of things to open an extensive com- mercial intercourse with the people of those countries, and for the due protection of whose interests it became necessary that they should provide, but to establish suitable and recognized relations with the authorities set up in place of those of the mother country. And here I think it is but due to Great Britain to re- mark, that although of all others she was the power most interested in the result, she showed no desire to precipitate a crisis prejudicial to her old ally. It is notorious that the British Government had for years repeatedly urged upon Spain the necessity of her making some amicable arrange- ment with her old Colonies, exhorting her not to lose the opportunity, whilst it was still open to her, of securing such commercial advantages for herself as she had a fair right to expect in any final arrangement with them, and emphatic- ally warning her “ of the dangers of delay, and the rapid progress of events.” But Spain did nothing, thought of nothing, but of being still “Spain and the Indies;” nor did she awake from that dream till the latter had passed away from her dominion, to all appearance for ever. Then it was (in 1822) that the Marquis of London- derry was obliged distinctly to declare the conviction of the British Government, “ that so large a portion of the world could not long continue without some recognized and established relations, and that the State, which neither by its councils nor by its arms could effectually assert its own rights over its dependencies so as to enforce obedience, and thus make itself responsible for main- taining their relations with other powers, must soouer or later be prepared to see those relations established Chap. VII. TREATIES WITH THE NEW STATES. 95 by the overruling necessity of the case in some other form.”* Two years later, his successor, Mr. Canning, finding further appeals to Spain unavailing, and urged on by the progress of events in Europe as well as in America, pro- ceeded to open direct negotiations with the free govern- ments of Buenos Ayres, Mexico, and Columbia, for com- mercial treaties, the conclusion of which was virtually to all intents and purposes a recognition of their political independence by Great Britain. In justification of those measures when complained of by Spain, Mr. Canning thus set forth the exigencies of the case, and the international law which rendered it im- possible in the opinion of the British Government longer to defer them. “To continue,” he said, “to call that a possession of Spain, in which all Spanish occupation and power had been actually extinguished and effaced, could render no practical service to the mother country, but it would have risked the peace of the world ; for all political communities are responsible to other political communities for their conduct ; that is, they are bound to perform the ordinary international duties, and to afford redress for any violation of the rights of others by their citizens or sub- jects : now either the mother country must have continued responsible for acts over which it could no longer exercise the shadow of a control ; or the inhabitants of those coun- tries whose independent political existence was in fact established, but to whom the acknowledgment of that inde- pendence was denied, must have been placed in a situation in which they were either wholly irresponsible for all their actions, or were to be visited for such of those actions as might furnish ground of complaint to other nations, with the punishment due to pirates and outlaws. “ If the former of these alternatives— the total irrespon- sibility of unrecognized States — be too absurd to be main- tained ; and if the latter, the treatment of their inhabitants as pirates and outlaws, be too monstrous to be applied for an indefinite length of time to a large portion of the habit- able globe ; no other choice remained for Great Britain, * See Papers laid before Parliament. 96 FOLLOWED BY OTHER COUNTRIES. Part II. or for any country having intercourse with the Spanish American provinces, but to recognize in due time their political existence as States, and thus to bring them within the pale of those rights and duties which civilised nations are bound mutually to respect, and are entitled recipro- cally to claim for each other.” The United States of North America, taking a similar view, had even preceded us in establishing diplomatic relations with the new republics, and the example was followed by other governments as their subjects became commercially engaged with the people of those countries, and required such protection for their interests. The treaties made by Great Britain with the South Americans in 1824, have now subsisted for upwards of a quarter of a century : stipulating, as Mr. Canning said, for no exclusive privileges, no invidious preferences, but esta- blishing equal freedom of commerce for all, they have be- come the basis of their commercial relations with all other countries, which have thus been uniformly fixed from the first upon sound and liberal principles. I need hardly add that they have proved of great importance to British subjects settled in those countries under very unlooked for circumstances — especially in the case of Buenos Ayres. ■ 9 B WISH (0)i . ATM § Chap. VIII. ( 97 ) CHAPTER VIII. Arrival at Rio de Janeiro — Reach the Rio de la Plata — A Pampero — Enormous width of the River — Anchorage off Buenos Ayres — Landing there — First impressions of the City — Public Buildings — Interior of the Houses — Want of comfort — Since improved by Foreigners — Water how obtained — Pavement of Granite from Martin Garcia — Quintas and Gar- dens — Flowers and Fruits — The Agave and Cactus — Humming Birds # — Case of one domesticated. I arrived at Rio de Janeiro in February, 1824, after a favourable passage of forty days from England in H.M.S. “ Cambridge.” Much as I had beard and read of the beauties of that magnificent harbour, my expectations were more than realized. Nothing in Europe can compare with the splendid and varied scenery, clothed, as I saw it, in all the glories of that dense and wonderful vegetation only to be found in inter- tropical climes. The heat, however, was at that season almost intolerable to one unaccustomed to it, and made me doubly anxious to reach my destination in the cooler regions of the Rio de la Plata ; but our great eighty-gun ship was to go round Cape Horn, and required not only much refitting, but caulking also, which detained us three weeks longer before we could proceed on our voyage. I would fain have embarked in a merchant vessel which sailed a few days after our arrival direct for Buenos Ayres, but every berth was occupied by other passengers, and happily for us it was so, for the first thing we heard on reaching Monte Video was that she had been totally wrecked on one of the islands at the entrance of the river, and many of the passengers lost in attempting to reach the main land upon a raft, H 98 THE RIO DE LA PLATA. Part II. We had hardly cast anchor there ourselves when we were telegraphed by Sir Murray Maxwell, who was lying off the Mount in command of H.M.S. 44 Briton,” to make all fast against a coming storm, of which the barometer, as experience had taught him, was giving timely notice. Dark clouds came flying fast before a strong south- westerly gale, which soon increased to little short of a hurricane, accompanied by the most terrific thunder and lightning. Our big ship drifted before it, and was not brought up till all her enormous chain cable was out, and she became immoveable in a mass of mud. This was a pampero. For nearly 24 hours it raged without intermission ; then the wind changed and all became still, and we were once more cheered by the sight of a bright blue sky; but the river, stirred up by the recent storm, might more properly have been called a yellow sea, from its turbid waters and vast extent. At its entrance, between Cape St. Mary and Cape St. Antonio, its width is 170 miles; further up, from Santa Lucia near Monte Video, where we were lying, to the point of Las Piedras on the southern shore, it is 53 miles across— about double the distance from Dover to Calais ; but for its positive freshness a stranger can hardly credit he is not still at sea. The depth, however, is in no pro- portion to the extent of this mighty mass of waters.* Above Monte Video, except in the channel between the Ortiz and Chico banks, the soundings do not average 20 feet. It was not deemed safe for H.M.S. 44 Cambridge,” from her draught of water, to attempt to go higher, and we were in consequence obliged to embark at Monte Video on board a small schooner, employed as a sort of packet between that place and Buenos Ayres, and commanded by an Englishman, who was considered one of the best pilots for the river. * The depth of the river, generally other hand, with a strong easterly or speaking, may be said very much to de- southerly wind, it will rise from six to pend upon the wind. After any preva- sometimes twelve feet ; then the weather lence of northerly or westerly winds, it is generally cool and pleasant, with a falls considerably, especially in the upper clear sky. Northerly winds bring rain, part of it above the Ortiz bank. On the Chap. YITT. ANCHORAGE OFF BUENOS AYRES. 99 We left in the evening, and at daylight next morning were in sight of the southern shore, though nearly twenty miles out of our reckoning, from the force of the stream. The masts of several wrecked and sunken vessels were pointed out to us, standing above the level of the waters — sad warnings of the dangers of the passage. It appeared that in the past month no less than three English vessels had been lost in that part of the river, the cargoes of which were valued at nearly £100,000. Lighthouses have been since erected, the most dangerous parts of the river are buoyed, and licensed pilots ply off its mouth to take vessels either into the harbour of Monte Video or up to Buenos Ayres. With their help, and the excellent charts and sailing directions which have been published, the navigation is made tolerably safe for the vast number of merchant vessels which are continually on their passage up and down the river. * At daybreak on the second morning from our quitting Monte Video we were off Buenos Ayres. Ships drawing fifteen or sixteen feet must anchor seven or eight miles distant, hardly within sight, from whence, unless the wea- ther is settled, the landing is not unattended with danger, especially in foggy weather, which is very common in the winter time ; but our craft being small we ran at once into what are called the inner roads, abreast of the city, from which it is seen in its full extent ranging along the slightly elevated ridge which there bounds the southern shore of the river — the towers of the churches alone break- ing an outline almost as level as the opposite horizon of the waters. There is no background to the picture- — no mountains, no forests : one vast continuous plain beyond extends for 800 miles unbroken to the Cordillera of the Andes. Nothing can be more inconvenient than the actual landing. A ship’s boat has seldom water enough to run * See particularly Captain Heywood’s rica, by Captains King and Fitz-Roy,” “ Remarks concerning the Winds. Wea- published by the Hydrographic Office, ther, Tides, &c., in the River Plate, 1813; Admiralty, 1850; also the Charts pub- and “Sailing Directions for South Ame- lished by the same office. H 2 100 PASSENGERS CARTED ON SHORE. Part II. fairly on shore, and, on arriving within forty or fifty yards of it, is beset by carts in the water always on the watch for passengers, the whole turn out of which is strikingly characteristic of the country. On the broad, flat axle of a gigantic pair of wheels, seven or eight feet high, a sort of platform is fixed of half a dozen boards, two or three inches apart, letting in the wet at every splash of the water beneath : the ends are open ; a rude hurdle forms the side, and a short, strong pole from the axle completes the vehicle. To this unwieldy machine the horse is simply attached by a ring at the end of the pole, fastened to the girth or surcingle, round which his driver has the power of turning him as on a pivot, and of either drawing or pushing the machine along like a wheelbarrow, as may be momentarily most convenient. In this manner, for the first time in my life, I saw the cart fairly before the horse ; in Europe we laugh at the idea, in South Ame- rica nothing is more common than the reality. (Cart for landing Passengers.) Chap. VIII. FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE CITY. 101 The wild and savage appearance of the tawny drivers of these carts, half naked, shouting and screaming and jostling one another, and flogging their miserable jaded beasts through the water, as if to show the little value attached to the brute creation in these countries, is enough to startle a stranger on his first arrival, and induce him to doubt whether he be really landing in a Christian country. In old times there was a mole which ran some way into the river, and obviated a part of these inconveniences, but it was washed down many years ago, and the people have been too indolent, or too much occupied with other things ever since, to restore it. Nothing is more wanted, or more deserving the primary attention of the authori- ties, whilst I believe no work they could undertake would more certainly repay its expenses ; for the convenience to passengers is a small consideration compared with the value which any commodious landing-place for merchan- dise at Buenos Ayres would be of to the trade. The loss and damage yearly sustained by the present mode of carrying goods on shore — for goods as well as passengers are so landed — in the rude carts I have described is incal- culable, and highly detrimental to the port in a com- mercial point of view. If my first feelings on being carted ashore at Buenos Ayres in the uncouth manner above mentioned were none of the most agreeable, they soon passed off, and gave way to different impressions. As I walked through the town I was struck with the regularity of the streets, the appearance of the public buildings and churches, and the cheerful aspect of the white stuccoed houses, but still more with the independent air of the people, a striking contrast to the slavery and squalid misery with which we had been so disgusted at Rio de Janeiro. Buenos Ayres, like all other cities in Spanish America, is built upon the uniform plan prescribed by the laws of the Indies, consisting of straight streets intersecting each other at right angles every 150 yards, and forming squares (“ quadras” as they are called there) very like those of a chessboard. 102 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. Pakt II. With the exception of the churches, which, though un- finished externally, exhibit in their interior all the attrac- tions of the religion to which they belong, and will be lasting memorials of the Jesuits who built the greater part of them, there is nothing remarkable in the style of the public buildings. (Calle de la Reconquista and Church of San Francisco.) The old Government considered money laid out in beautifying the city as so much thrown away upon the colonists, and the new Government has been as yet too poor to do more than has been absolutely necessary ; what has been done, however, has been well done, and does credit to the republican authorities, especially the com- pletion of the Cathedral. In their private dwellings there was a wretched want Chap. VIII. WANT OF COMFORT INDOORS. 103 of European comforts when I first arrived in the country. With but few exceptions they were limited to a ground- floor, the rooms, all en suite, opening one into another, without intervening passages, and their whole arrange- ment about as primitive and inconvenient as can be imagined. The floors were of bricks or tiles, the rafters of the roof seldom hid by a ceiling, and the walls as cold as whitewash could make them ; the furniture generally of the. most tawdry North American manufacture, and a few highly-coloured French prints serving to mark the extent of the taste for fine arts in South America. In cold weather these cold-looking rooms were heated by braziers, at the risk of choking the inmates with the fumes of charcoal; chimneys were regarded as certain conductors of wet and cold ; and it was not till long after their introduction by the European residents had prac- tically proved their safety and superiority over the old Spanish warming-pans that the natives could be induced to try them. The apprehension that they increased the risk of fire was even without foundation, the floors and roofs being, as I have already said, all of brick, and the few beams which are necessary for supporting them of a wood from Paraguay, as hard as teak and almost as in- combustible as the bricks themselves. I have perhaps rather a sensitive recollection of the prejudices of the natives about chimneys, from finding but one in the rooms which had been engaged for my family as a temporary lodging on my first arrival, and which, just as it was most needed, when it was begin- ning to get wet and cold, the landlord most effectually rendered useless by bricking up at the top, as the most summary mode of terminating a dispute which he had got into with my servant as to the necessity of sweeping it before the winter set in. No entreaty or remonstrance could shake the obstinate determination of the old Don. He had the advantage of us by living in the apartments above us ; and he was determined to make us fully sensible of the de facto superiority of his authority. He required no chimney himself, and he could not be made to under- 104 IRON-BARRED WINDOWS. Part IL stand that a Spanish brazier would not answer all our English wants just as well as it did his. I lived, however, long enough in Buenos Ayres to see great changes in these matters, — I may say a complete revolution in the old habits and fashions of the people, strikingly exemplified in the comparative comfort, if not luxury, which has found its way into the dwellings of the better classes: thanks to English and French upholsterers, the old whitewashed walls have been covered with paper in all the varieties from Paris ; and European furniture of every sort is to be met with in every house. English grates, supplied with coals carried out from Liverpool as ballast, and sold at lower prices than in London, have been brought into very general use, and certainly have contributed to the health and comfort of a city the atmo- sphere of which is so frequently affected by the damps from the river. Nor is the improvement confined to the internal arrangement of the houses; a striking change has taken place in the whole style of building in Buenos Ayres. With the influx of strangers, the value of property, espe- cially in the more central part of the city, has been greatly enhanced, and has led the natives to add upper stories to some of their houses, the obvious advantages of which will no doubt ere many years make the plan general, and change the whole aspect of the city. Some peculiarities will probably be long preserved, such amongst others as the iron gratings, or rather railings, which protect the windows, and which on more than one occasion have proved the best safeguards of the inhabitants : it re- quires some time for an Englishman to become reconciled to their prison-like appearance ; yet, when painted green, they are rather ornamental than otherwise, particularly when hung, as they frequently are, with festoons of the beautiful air-plants of Paraguay, which there live and blossom even on cold iron ; and one does get satisfied with them, I believe, from a conviction of their necessity in the present state of society in those countries, not to speak of the comfort of being able in the hot nights of summer to leave a window open without risk of intrusion. Ciiap. VIII. WATER, HOW OBTAINED. 105 There are, however, clever thieves at Buenos Ayres, as elsewhere, against whom even iron bars are of no avail ; cases have occurred in which they have succeeded in carrying oft' the clothes of the sleeping inmates, by fishing them out of the gratings of windows left open in the night, by means of a hook attached to one of the long canes of the country : in this manner, in one well-known case, an Englishman lost a valuable watch hooked out of its pocket at his bed’s head, which he was just awoke by his frightened wife to catch a last glimpse of as it seemingly danced out of the window for ever. It will hardly be credited that water is an expensive article within fifty yards of the Plata ; but so it is. That obtained from most of the wells is brackish and bad, and there are no public cisterns or reservoirs, although the city is so slightly elevated above the river, that nothing would be easier than to keep it continually provided by the most ordinary artificial means. As it is, those who can afford it, go to a considerable expense in constructing large tanks under the pavement of their court-yards, into which the rain water collected from the flat terraced roofs of their houses is conducted by pipes, and in general a sufficiency may thus be secured for the ordinary purposes of the family ; but the lower orders are obliged to depend for a more scanty supply upon the itinerant water-carriers, who at a certain time of day are to be seen lazily perambulating the streets with huge butts filled at the river, mounted on the monstrous cart- wheels of the country, and drawn by a yoke of oxen : a clumsy and expensive contrivance altogether, which makes even water dear within a stone’s throw of the largest river in the world. Taken at the very edge, it is seldom of the purest, and generally requires to stand twenty-four hours before it deposits its muddy sediment, and becomes sufficiently cleared to be drinkable ; it is then excellent, and will keep so for any time. For my own use I gene- rally kept a lump of alum in the water-jars,* which had the effect of purifying their contents very speedily. * It is in this manner that the Chinese rivers, which, like the Plata, flow through purify the water taken from some of their vast beds of alluvial mud. 106 STATE OF THE PAVEMENT. Part II. The principal streets are now tolerably paved with granite brought from the islands above Buenos Ayres, chiefly from Martin Garcia. How the people got about before they were paved it is difficult to understand, for they must have been at times one continued slough, to judge from the state of those which are still unfinished, and which, after any continuance of wet weather, are nearly, if not entirely impassable, even for people on horseback, much more so for carriages. I have seen in some of them the mire so deep, that the oxen could not drag the country carts through it ; and in such cases it not unfrequently happens that the animals themselves, unable to get out, are left to die and rot in the swamp in the middle of the street. It was a fair sample of the miserable economy of their old Spanish rulers, that a commercial city of such import- ance, and in which the traffic was daily increasing, should have been allowed so long to remain in such a state, with an inexhaustible supply of the best paving materials in the world within twenty or thirty miles of it, and of such easy water-carriage. The people, however, were led to believe that the difficulties and impediments to such an improve- ment as the general paving of the city were next to insur- mountable. The Marquis of Loreto, who was Viceroy when the first notion of such a plan was started, gave officially, amongst other reasons against it, the danger of the houses falling down from the shaking of their foundations by the driving of heavy carts over a stone pavement so near to them ; whilst another and still more weighty objection, in his opinion, was the necessity it would entail upon the people to put iron tires to their cart-wheels, and to shoe their horses, which he observed would cost them more than the animals themselves. Fortunately, his immediate successors, Aredondo and Aviles, were not deterred by such alarms. The former commenced the work in earnest about the year 1795, with the aid of a subscription voluntarily raised by the inhabitants ; and the latter carried it on to a much greater extent, levying a trifling duty upon the city for the purpose, Chap. VIII. QUINTAS AND GARDENS. 107 which was readily submitted to, when, as the work ad- vanced, the improvement became manifest. In later times, especially during the administration of Rivadavia, in 1822-24, much more was done, and there are few of the principal streets which are not now more or less completed. The granite is excellent, and was carefully examined in situ by Mr. Bevans, an English engineer, some years ago, who reported that it was easy to be worked, and the supply inexhaustible. When the working of it is better understood by the natives, it will probably be brought into much more general use. The environs of the city are pleasantly diversified by the quintas or summer-houses of the wealthier classes, in the gardens of which the flowers and fruits of other climes intermixed with those of the country are to be found in great variety. A love of flowers, it should be observed, is carried to an extravagant excess by the Buenos Ayrean ladies ; on the occasion of a ball or any public entertainment, they will give any money for a diamela, a rare geranium, or magni- ficent carnation, with which they know how to set off their splendid tresses with an artistic taste quite their own. English and ’Scotch gardeners* have done good service to the country by the pains they have taken, not only to improve the culture of some of the indigenous plants, but by introducing others from Europe, which have now become of primary necessity. Most of the green vegetables grown in Great Britain and France are found to thrive at Buenos Ayres, especially those of a pulpy or succulent nature, and of quick growth and development. Melons of all kinds, pumpkins, cauliflowers, tomatas, asparagus, beans, and peas, all thrive admirably. The rapid and extraordinary growth of the giant thistle of the Pampas, which in the summer season runs up high enough to hide a man on horseback, and which covers hundreds of miles of those vast plains, is well known. * Mr. Tweedie, amongst others, has into Europe from these regions, and immortalised himself by the number of which are deservedly associated with his beautiful plants which he has introduced name in our botanical collections. 108 INDIGENOUS AND OTHER PLANTS. Pakt II. Of the cereals, maize is the indigenous grain around and northward of Buenos Ayres, where it may be grown to any extent with very little labour. Wheat requires the cooler climate of the more southern part of the pro- vince, where it is grown chiefly along the south bank of the river Salado in sufficient quantities for the consump- tion of the province, and even for exportation whenever there has been a demand for it. Flax and hemp have been tried with success, and might be turned to good account. The vine flourishes of course in such a climate ; so does the fig and the orange tree, the latter of which seems to be the delight of the sweet smelling air plants, which hang about its branches in great luxuriance. The olive-tree is found to yield plenty of fruit, but requires much care and attention to preserve it from the ravages of the ants, which seem to choose its spreading roots in preference to any other locality, under which to make their big nests. But of all the trees introduced from Europe, the peach has proved the most val uable ; its growth is very rapid, and it is planted in large quantities in the vicinity of the city for firewood. The fruit is good, and of course in great abundance ; man eats all he can of it, and then the pigs are turned into the plantations to fatten upon the remainder. The fences of all the gardens in the vicinity of the city are formed of the great aloe (agave) and the eight-sided cactus, and very formidable fences they make when pro- perly planted : both grow splendidly. The aloe seems to have spread all its leaves, and attains its full growth, in three or four years ; then it puts forth its gigantic flowering stalk 15 to 20 feet high, scattering its seed in extraordinary abundance, and giving rise to innumerable offsets which spring up around the parent plant, and take its place as it dies and rots after flowering. In the hedge-rows about my own residence I have counted fifty or sixty and more of these magnificent plants in flower at a time. Whilst the stem is growing it is full of saccharine matter, and the flowers are extremely odori- ferous. The cattle watch their fall with an avidity which Chap. VIII. THE ALOE— HUMMING-BIRDS. 109 it is curious to witness, and if they can get at the stalk will pull it down, and devour its juicy contents till they become apparently quite intoxicated. It is well known what a quantity of liquor may be collected in the sockets of these plants by removing the flower-stalks when they begin to sprout; from which in Mexico the spirit called Pulque is made, the principal drink of the lower orders in that country, and the source of a very large revenue to the government. It is amidst the sweet flowers and orange-trees which abound in the gardens around Buenos Ayres that the humming-birds delight to take up their abode. We had a vast number of them always in ours. One with a brilliant violet-coloured breast was the most common. Many were the attempts we made to rear the young birds, but in vain ; I believe, because we did not know their proper food. All we could do was to keep them in their own nests in cages for some weeks hung up in the trees in which they were taken, where the parent bird would continue to visit and to feed them till they were supposed to be old enough to provide for themselves ; then, nature’s duty done, she invariably abandoned them, and they as surely died. It is not, however, impossible to tame a humming-bird, of which a remarkable case came under my observation, which is deserving record in the history of this class of birds. The lady of General Balcarce, one of the Buenos Ayrean Ministers, with whom I was well acquainted, had one of these little birds so completely tamed and under her command, that she used to carry it about in her bosom when she visited her friends, and would then let it loose to fly about the room, and even out of the window into the garden, as it has done in mine, where it would rush from flower to flower disporting itself till recalled by the well-known voice of its mistress, to be returned to its resting-place and carried home again. Azara relates a similar story of one which belonged to the Governor of Paraguay, Don Pedro de Melo, “qui en conserva un chez lui, deja adulte, pendant quatre mois ; il y voloit en toute liberte, et il connoissoit fort bien son maitre, auquel il donnoit des baisers, et autour duquel il volti- 110 A HUMMING-BIRD TAMED. Part II. geoit pour demander a manger . . alors Don Pedro prenoit un vase de sirop tres clair, et il le penchoit un peu afin que le 4 bec-fleurs ’ put y plonger la langue ; il lui donnoit aussi, de terns en terns, quelques fleurs : avec ces precau- tions ce charmant oiseau vecut aussi bien que dans les campagnes, jusqu’a ce qu’il perit par la negligence des domestiques pendant Fabsence de son maitre.” In each of these cases the bird had sufficient liberty to feed itself which may account for its preservation in a state of domestication. I now understand that thev are «/ supposed to live principally upon minute insects ; but as they appeared to us, as they probably did to those who first gave them the name of pica-flora, or ‘‘bec-fleurs/’ always to take most delight in sucking honey, like bees, from fragrant flowers, we used to supply them chiefly with sugar and sweets which may not have suited them, and perhaps was the real cause of our repeated failures to rear them and to reduce them to a state of contented captivity. I never heard of but one instance of a humming-bird being brought alive to Europe, and that was by the cabin- boy of a vessel from the West Indies, who is said to have succeeded in keeping one alive in a ship’s lantern till he reached the Thames. If that be true, with the passage from all parts of South America now so very much short- ened by the power of steam, we may yet hope to see some of these bright gems of the feathered creation brought to us in a living state, as well as the flowers and fruits with which they are associated in their native climes. Chap. IX. ( Hi ) CHAPTER IX. Comparative Statistics of the Population in 1778, 1800, and 1825 — Decrease of the Coloured, and Increase of the White Classes — Slaves — Their kind treatment and devotion to their Masters — How emancipated, and made useful and industrious — Great influx of Europeans — Religious Toleration — English Church — Manners and habits of the Buenos Ayreans — Influ- ence of the Military Class — Abundance of Work for Mechanics — Cheap Living — Everything done on Horseback by the Gauchos. In 1778 Don Pedro Cevallos, the first Viceroy of Buenos Ayres, ordered a census to be taken of the population, from which it appeared that the inhabitants of the capital, and of its Campana or country jurisdiction, amounted to 37,679 souls, of which 24,205 belonged to the city, 12,925 to the country, and 549 were members of religious com- munities. To these numbers some addition should be made for short returns, particularly from the country dis- tricts, not only from the difficulty of collecting them, but from the disposition of the people to evade any such at- tempt of the authorities to take a particular account of them, lest it should be the prelude to some fresh exaction for the service of the mother country. The military, too, are not included in the numbers above given, although only two years previously no less than 10,000 men were sent from Spain to carry on the war against the Portuguese, in addition to the troops already in the country. Making allowance for these deficiencies in the census of 1778, the total numbers of the population at that time were probably rather above than under 50,000. In 1800 Azara, on official data, calls it 71,668, giving 40,000 for the city and 31,668 for the country towns and 112 POPULATION OF BUENOS AYRES. Part II. villages within its jurisdiction — a great increase since 1788 compared with the past, and attributed to the relaxation by Spain of her old regulations with respect to the trade, and the fresh impulse thereby given to the colony. This, however, was but an indication of the further results to be expected from the removal of those remain- ing restrictions which still hampered the energies of the community, and retarded the development of the com- mercial capabilities of Buenos Ayres. In 1810 the trade was opened to all nations. In 1824-25, from returns given in the Statistical Re- gister, * published by authority (upon the assumption that the annual measure of mortality is 1 in 32 in the city, and 1 in 40 in the country), the population of the city of Buenos Ayres was estimated, from the Tables of Mortality of 1822-23, at 81,136, and that of the country districts at 82,080, making a total of 163,216. The results of 1823 alone give nearly 183,000; but as these calculations are founded upon the supposition that all the deaths which had occurred in those years were duly registered by the authorities, which is not likely to have been possible, especially as regards the country, some addition must be made to the numbers quoted for short registrations; making fair allowance for which I should assume the total population of the province of Buenos Ayres at the time mentioned to have been at least 200,000 souls, or nearly treble what it was twenty-five years before. I am not aware that any census has been taken of the population since 1825, but it must have increased vastly, from the influx of foreigners since that time, added to natural causes. The population of the city alone is now estimated to be 120,000 souls. The annexed plan of the city of Buenos Ayres, as it was in 1835, exemplifies the increase of the population since 1767 ; the black line marking its limited extent in that year. * For the details of these Returns, see Population Tables in Appendix. Chap. IX. CENSUS OF 1778. 113 !□□□ ULJ Ul □□ ■■ nOELDD □□□□□□□= □□□□□□□□ □□□□□□□□□ [□□□□□□□□□lOBD JDDDDDDDn^nDm ]□□□□&□□□ ]□□□□□ li □□□□□□□ □□□□□□ I I I 1 1 I LsJ LsJ I — I I — ! I — 1 1 — II □□□H0RDI □□□I □□□□□□□□□□□□ □□□□□□□□□BCD □□□□□□ □□□□□L □□□□□ □□□□□□ □□□□□□□□□ □□□ □ □.=>□£]□□□□□□□£ DPDDDDD=anDDD” n rnnn nnnnnr? r □□□□□□□□ DB $ □ □□□□ (Plan showing extent of Buenos Ayres in 1767 and in 1835.) From the numbers, if we turn to the changes which have taken place in the general composition of the popu- lation, the results are not less interesting in a statistical point of view. Upon reference to the official returns in the Appendix, it will be seen that in the first census of 1 778 the popu- lation was divided into five castes. 1st. The Spaniards and their descendants born in America, generally known as Creoles. 2nd. The Native Indians. 3rd. The Mestizoes, offspringof the Spaniard and Indian. 4th. The Mulattoes, offspring of the Spaniard and Negro. 5th. The Negroes or Africans born. Of these five castes, however, the Indians and their Mestizo offspring formed a very small and insignificant class, and can only be regarded as accidentally domi- ciliated at Buenos Ayres in consequence of its being at that time the principal channel of communication between Peru, their native soil, and Spain. The original Indians of Buenos Ayres were a hostile race, who withdrew from all intercourse with their conquerors : no mixture, there- fore, of Spanish and native blood took place in that i 114 BUT FEW SLAVES. Part II. quarter of South America, producing a distinct caste, as in Paraguay and the provinces of Peru, where the more peaceable and submissive Indians continue to the present day to constitute the main stock of the population. In those parts we see a marked difference in the people. The farther we advance into the interior the more scarce become the white in proportion to the coloured inha- bitants. The aboriginal Indian blood decidedly predomi- nates in the Mestizo castes, whilst the Negro and his Mulatto descendants, common in the vicinity of the coast, are there almost unknown. The cause of this is easily explained : for a long period very few European women reached the interior of America ; the Spanish settlers therefore intermarried with the natives, from which connexion has sprung that numerous race the Mestizoes, which forms so marked a class of the present population of those countries. The same difficulty in trans- porting their women from Europe did not affect Buenos Ayres ; there the European stock was kept up, though for a long time it increased very slowly ; and but for the adven- titious circumstance of its having been for some years a depot for the slave trade under the Asiento Treaty, the population of Buenos Ayres would have been nearly free from any admixture of colour whatever. As it is, it ap- pears that in 1778 the coloured people of all castes formed about a third of the whole. In the population returns for 1822-25 it will be seen that the Indian and Mestizo no longer appear. The classification made is simply into the white and the coloured races ; and although the latter still constituted nearly a fourth of the whole, it had ceased to increase. In the four years the births of the coloured classes barely exceeded the deaths. The latter were annually in an increasing ratio, whilst there was a striking falling off in the number of their marriages even from 1822 to 1825. The slave trade has been prohibited since 1813, by a decree of the first Constituent Assembly, consequently any further supply of the negro stock has ceased. The traffic never was carried to any great extent in the pro- vinces of the Rio de la Plata. Under the Asiento, when the Chap. IX. THEIR KIND TREATMENT. 115 numbers imported were largest, they were limited to 1200 annually, a great part of which were for Paraguay and Peru. After the expiration of that treaty, the opportunities of introducing them were but few, nor indeed was there any particular want of them till the opening of the port in 1778. Then the increase of the export trade created a demand for labour, which, from the scarcity of hands in the country, became exorbitantly dear ; and the Spanish Government, after a time, thinking to supply the de- ficiency, in 1793 permitted negroes from Africa to be introduced free of duty for the use of the colony ; and as a further encouragement to those Spaniards who would import them direct, the privilege was granted of exporting their value in produce to whatever countries they pleased, and in vessels of foreign as well as Spanish build ; but, although this held out the certainty of very large profits both ways, such was the disinclination of the Spaniards to enter into the trade themselves, that in the first three years after the privilege was granted only one cargo, of between 300 and 400 slaves, was brought to Buenos Ayres direct from Africa. The Viceroy had estimated that a sale might be found for about a thousand yearly at Buenos Ayres, half of which would be wanted for the city and the provinces, and the other half for the people of Peru ; but no such numbers were imported. Those that were introduced were brought there by the Portuguese from the markets of Brazil. In Spanish South America slavery was always more a name than a reality. The negroes were treated with even more consideration than the hired servants of the country. The laws protected them from ill-usage, and religious feeling, in a state of society over which the priests had paramount influence, operated still more in their favour. They were principally employed as household servants, and as such were diligent, faithful, and often devotedly attached to their masters. This was strikingly exhibited in the defence of Buenos Ayres against the English in 1807, and in the subsequent War of Independence, in which about 5000 were enrolled as soldiers in the service of the republic. Capable of i 2 116 EMANCIPATION FACILITATED. Part II. great endurance in intertropical regions, obedient, and courageous, they proved themselves to be amongst the best of the troops in the patriot armies; indeed I have heard it observed by the Buenos Ayreans themselves, that but for the free regiments, the “Libertos,” it might have been at times questionable how the contest in the Upper Provinces with the Spaniards would have ended. They were of course rewarded with their freedom upon the expiration of the service. To those who did not take arms every facility was given by the republican authorities to obtain their manumission by their own exertions. The slave had the important privilege of being able at any time to pay off a part or the whole of his original purchase money — a right of which most of them availed themselves sooner or later, either by buying their freedom with their own savings, or with money lent to them by others for the purpose. The few comparatively who remained as slaves continued so volun- tarily, having in many cases no wish to change their con- dition, and to quit the service of kind masters, who were legally bound to take care of them whether in sickness or in health, for a more precarious existence of their own seeking. Slavery was thus gradually extinguished in the pro- vinces of the Bio de la Plata, without injury or complaint on behalf of the owners, and greatly to the improvement of the general character of the slaves themselves, who, from having been wisely inured to habits of discipline and exertion preparatory to tbeir emancipation, now con- stitute perhaps the most useful and industrious class of the lower orders of the community. Their merry black faces are to be seen wherever there is a call for work, in a climate where they can do more than anybody else. The porters, carters, carriers, drivers, and all the washerwomen of Buenos Ayres, are free negroes or mulattoes. But these coloured castes are, as I have shown, upon the wane, and ere long must be entirely lost in the rapid increase of the white population and the continual immi- gration of fresh settlers from Europe. This is going on to a great extent. In the first edition of this work I mentioned that in 1832 the number of Chap. IX. FOREIGN POPULATION. 117 foreigners established in Buenos Ayres and the province so called were estimated at from 15,000 to 20,000, of which about two-thirds were British and French in equal proportions — the remainder being made up of Italians, Germans, and people of other countries, including a considerable number from the United States, and espe- cially from New York. In 1850 the French alone in Buenos Ayres and its suburbs were estimated at more than 20,000 — the greater part mechanics, artisans, and others employed in industrial occupations in and about the city. Particular circum- stances connected with the question of Monte Video have occasioned this great influx of French settlers into the province of Buenos Ayres. The English have not increased in the same ratio, although they still maintain their superiority in point of capital, and in the number and importance of their com- mercial establishments. Their rights and privileges are defined by the treaty * which I signed with the Govern- ment of Buenos Ayres in 1825, in virtue of which, besides the usual stipulations for personal security and immunity from forced loans and such arbitrary exactions, they have the comfort of enjoying the free exercise of their religion — a great object to so numerous a community. The Buenos Ayrean authorities, having once been in- duced to make that concession, acted upon it with remark- able liberality, in presenting the British community with a valuable plot of ground in the best part of the city for the site of an English church. For this the British residents were indebted to General Rosas and his en- lightened minister and adviser at that time, the late Don Manuel Garcia, the Buenos Ayrean Plenipotentiary for the treaty in question, who, by officially attending on the occasion of laying the first stone, gave countenance on the part of his Government to the work, setting an example of more than toleration to his countrymen, who had been taught a very different lesson in the time of their old Spanish masters. I had the satisfaction myself of witnessing not only the commencement but the opening of the church in question, * See Treaty in Appendix. 118 HABITS OF THE NATIVES. Part II. which was completed very creditably, partly by subscrip- tions raised amongst the British residents, and partly by aid from Her Majesty’s Government, who appoint the chaplain and defray half the annual expenses, under the Act of Parliament for the regulation of such matters. It contains a thousand sittings. Besides this a Presbyterian chapel has been since built by the Scotch portion of the community ; and for those of Her Majesty’s subjects who are Roman Catholics an Irish priest does duty in one of the national churches. In former times, under the Colonial Government, a hatred of heretics, especially English ones, was systemati- cally implanted in the minds of the people of the country by the Spanish priesthood, coupled too with strange tales about us, no less extravagant than Lord Monboddo’s theories, which could only have obtained credit amongst the masses of a community brought up to believe implicitly whatever their spiritual directors chose to impose upon them. The opening of our church excited no little curiosity as to the nature of our devotional exercises, and some surprise was expressed by many who might have been expected to be better informed, that they so much re- sembled their own, and that, as far as they could judge, we really appeared to be Christians like themselves. They now know us better.* Our countrymen have formed many matrimonial con- nexions with the fair Buenos Ayreans, which have con- tributed no doubt to the kind feeling with which the English are so generally regarded by the natives. The Buenos Ayrean ladies are reputed the handsomest women in South America, and, in the unsophisticated state of society in which they move, their frank and obliging manners render them doubly attractive to strangers. If they do not study history and geography, they are de- voted to the cultivation of the more attractive accomplish- ments of their sex. They are passionately fond of dancing, * M. Isabelle, a French writer upon rubios, tan bonitos mozos caer heridos y these countries, relates the following as gritar todavia, hurrah ! pero creiamos de part of a conversation with a lady of buena fe que eran hereges y que tenian Buenos Ayres, relative to the attack of cola” ! — Isabelle , Voyage a Buenos Ayres , the English on the city in 1807 : — “ Me 8fc ., 1835. daba lastima de ver aquellos Tngleses tan Chap. IX. PRIESTS AND LAWYERS. 119 and in their love of music will vie with the young ladies of any country in the world. Amongst the men the same taste in a higher degree appears to be developed in a talent for poetry. A collection of their compositions, printed in 1823, under the title of u La Lira Argentina,” chiefly in commemoration of the events of the War of Independence, is well worth the notice of all lovers of Spanish verse. But the men have more advantages, as respects education, than the fair sex. In their schools and universities they are well grounded in most of the leading branches of general knowledge, and many of the rising generation belonging to the better and more wealthy families have been sent to Europe to complete their studies. The young men are in general very intelligent and observant, and desirous to improve themselves. Their ordinary habits are certainly a good deal influenced by climate. I cannot speak of them as an industrious people, and yet it is rare to meet with anybody who has not some nominal occupation. Their besetting fault is a habit of putting off everything till to-morrow which ought to be done to-day ; a habit inherited from their Spanish predecessors, and confirmed by that colonial system which damped every rising energy. Manana , Manana , is the reply on all matters, from the most trifling to the most important ; it hangs about their necks like a mill-stone, and is a serious impediment to all business. When will they learn that “ to-morrow never comes ? ” In the time of the old Spaniards the priests and the lawyers (or doctor es) carried everything before them ; now their power has much declined, especially that of the priesthood. The Revolution in this, as in other Roman Catholic countries, has put an end to the unconstitutional influence exercised by them in a very different state of things.* The Government has taken possession of the * It is veil known that, with respect to the patronage of the Church, the Sove- reigns of Spain, though glorying in the title of Catholic Majesty, would never tolerate the interference of the Court of Home beyond allowing the Pope to ap- point to vacant sees upon their own pre- sentation. In the infancy and inexperi- ence of the new Governments set up in South America, the Pope has attempted to reassert his rights, and to fill up bish- oprics without reference to the newly constituted powers. This pretension has been uniformly and successfully resisted by the Government of Buenos Ayres, who seem not at all disposed to give up any of the rights and privileges exercised in this respect by the old mother country, and which they claim to have inherited. 120 INFLUENCE OF THE MILITARY. Part II. ecclesiastical property, and the officiating clergy are left to depend upon a stipend barely sufficient for their decent maintenance. Under such circumstances there are no longer the same inducements as formerly to men to devote themselves to a life of celibacy. Another class, that of the military, has grown out of the War of Independence and the civil dissensions of the provinces, the influence of which, unfortunately for the country, is everywhere but too apparent. I say unfor- tunately, for nothing can be more dangerous than a taste for military distinction in a new country, the future prosperity of which must so essentially depend upon the cultivation of the arts of peace. Where every man is armed, the sword will not be long left in its scabbard — there will be either quarrels with foreign powers, or civil contests and broils : force becomes law, and then what follows ? Not to speak of worse consequences, how often has it happened in these countries that the rural populations have been torn from their peaceful pursuits — the crops perhaps abandoned, and the cattle left to wander into the desert, lost to their owners and to the country- — to support the cause of some petty chief, reckless of all but the main- tenance of his own ephemeral power ! The facility with which the mounted Gauchos in the country are turned into cavalry soldiers makes them particularly liable to such requisitions. In the city the occupations and habits of the lower classes do not in the same degree fit them for military service ; besides, in the capital, there are local authorities and public opinion to appeal to in extreme cases of hard- ship, which renders life and property more secure. There the masses of the population are chiefly engaged in carrying on the trade and commerce of the port with foreign coun- tries. Whilst the importing and exporting part of the business is for the most part carried on by foreign merchants, the de- tails are necessarily left to the natives ; they collect and pre- pare for shipment all the produce of the country, and retail the goods imported from abroad. Nor is it thought at all degrading for young men of the best connexions to stand behind a counter, where they gossip with their fair cus- tomers upon a footing of perfect equality. Chap. IX. PLENTY OF WORK— AND CHEAP FOOD. 121 Mechanics and artisans form also a numerous class where everything is wanted, and no man feels inclined to do much : it is in these occupations that the European has so decided an advantage over the native from his more industrious habits ; for he is used to work whilst the natives of all classes, high and low, are asleep. He cannot fail to prosper if he will but avoid the drinking shops ; but he must be resolute on that point, for temp- tation assails him at every corner : it appears by the police returns that no less than 600 “ pulperias” as they are called, are open in the city alone, besides those in the suburbs. For every one who will work there is employment; and as to real want, it can hardly exist in a country where the necessaries of life are so cheap that beef is dear at a penny a pound. Good fish may be had as cheap ; and partridges as big as pheasants may be had for little more than the trouble of catching them. There are few mar- kets in the world more plentifully and cheaply supplied than that of Buenos Ayres. Almost everything is brought in on horseback — I may say is caught on horseback. I need not tell how the mounted Gauchos catch the cattle with their lassoes; but that people can catch fish and partridges on horseback may be new to some of my readers : nearly all that are brought to market for sale at Buenos Ayres are so taken. The fishermen pack their nets upon their horses and ride them into the river, which in calm weather they may do for nearly a mile before the water is as high as their noses ; then, standing upright, they throw out their seine from the animals’ backs, as we should do from a boat, and so haul it on shore. The take is sometimes wonderful, often sufficient to fill one of the bullock-carts of the country, chiefly of a very large grey mullet. The big partridges I have mentioned are caught by the young Gauchos whilst galloping about in the Pampas with a noose attached to the end of a long cane, much as we sniggle eels ; it is curious to see how quietly the birds will stand to be taken, foolishly staring at the horseman as if fascinated, whilst he rides round and round them, gradually 122 EVERYBODY RIDES, EVEN BEGGARS. Part II. narrowing the circle till he gets within arm’s reach, and puts his noose over their neck. But everything in this country is done on horseback : if a bucket of water is to be drawn from a well, there must be a man and horse to haul it up, and I doubt if it would come into the head of a Gaucho that it could possibly be done in any other way. Every man, woman, and child in the country rides. One might fancy oneself in the land of centaurs, amidst a population half men half horses : even beggars ride on horseback. The annexed representation of one with a licence from the police hung about his neck is copied from a set of costumes of the country, published at Buenos Ayres, and is drawn, I am told, from the life. (Beggar on Horseback.) Chap. X. ( 123 ) CHAPTER X. Climate of Buenos Ayres, and its Influence upon the Nervous System — Effects of the North Wind — Case of Garcia — A Pampero — Dust Storms and Showers of Mud — Lockjaw — Eavages of Small-pox — Introduction of Vaccination — Made known to the Indians by General Eosas — Health- iness and Longevity of the People. Azara, the best of all writers upon the country, has with much truth observed that the climate of Buenos Ayres is governed not so much by its latitude as by the wind, a change of which not unfrequently produces an alteration of from 20 to 30 degrees in the thermometer.* I have been often asked whether the heat in summer is not almost intolerable. On some days it is so ; the glass perhaps at 90 in-doors, and all nature gasping for air ; but on those very days the most experienced of the natives will be clothed in warm woollens instead of linen jackets and trousers, for fear of catching cold. During the greater part of the year the prevailing winds are northerly, which, passing over the marshy lands of Entre Bios, and then over the wide expanse of the Plata, imbibe their exhalations, and by the time they reach the southern shores of the river, have a great in- fluence upon the climate. Everything is damp : the mould stands upon the boots cleaned but yesterday ; books become mildewed, and the keys rust in one’s pocket. Good fires are the best preservatives, and I found them, if not absolutely necessary, at least very comfortable, during quite as many months as I should have had them in England ; and yet I never, during nine years, saw snow or ice thicker than a dollar, and the latter only once. Upon the bodily system the effect produced by this pre- Meteorological Tables will be found in the Appendix. 124 GENERAL HUMIDITY. Part II. vailing humidity is a general lassitude and relaxation ; opening the pores of the skin, and inducing great liability to colds, sore throats, consumptive and rheumatic affec- tions, and all the consequences of checked perspiration ; one of the best safeguards against which is doubtless the woollen clothing of the natives, of which I have already spoken ; though they require it, perhaps, the more espe- cially, because they seldom stir out of their houses in the extreme heat of the day ; and it is at the time they do go out, when the sun has lost its power and the damps of evening are setting in, that such precautions are doubly necessary. Europeans, at first, are loth to take the same care of themselves, but sooner or later they discover that the natives are right, and insensibly fall into their ways. The evil effects of all this humidity, so far as they are dangerous, appear to be confined to the immediate vicinity of the river, and to the inhabitants of the city ; for in the Pampas the Gauchos sleep upon the ground during the greater part of the year in the open air without risk. Their skins, however, like those of the cattle they watch, are probably impervious to the wet. Before I went to Buenos Ayres I had suffered much from malaria fever, caught in Greece; and when I saw, for the first time, the low, flat, marshy appearance of the whole country, I expected nothing less than a return of my old ague. Everything around seemed to bespeak it ; but Buenos Ayres is free from such disorders, and cases of intermittent fever, such as that I speak of, are hardly known there. Nevertheless, though free from the malaria of the Me- diterranean and its consequences, the sirocco of the Le- vant does not bring with it more disagreeable affections than the viento norte, or north wind of Buenos Ayres, which in some people produces an irritability and ill- humour, amounting to little less than a temporary derange- ment of their moral faculties : it is no uncommon case for men amongst the better classes to shut themselves up in their houses during its continuance, and lay aside all busi- ness till it has passed ; whilst amongst the lower orders it is a fact well known to the police that cases of quarrelling Chap. X. CASE OF A MURDERER — GARCIA. 125 and bloodshed are much more frequent during the north wind than at any other time. Of this, the following case was given me as an example, amongst others, by one of the most eminent medical men in the country, who had paid particular attention to the subject during a practice of more than thirty years. Some years ago, Juan Antonio Garcia, aged between 35 and 40, was executed for murder at Buenos Ayres. He was a person of some education, rather remarkable than other- wise for the civility and amenity of his manners; his coun- tenance was open and handsome, and his disposition frank and generous ; but when the north wind set in, he appeared to lose all command of himself, and such was his extreme irritability, that during its continuance he could hardly speak to any one in the street without quarrelling: before his execution, he admitted that it was the third man he had killed, besides having been engaged in more than twenty fights with knives, in which he had both given and received many serious wounds ; but, he said, it was the north wind, not he, that shed all this blood. When he rose from his bed in the morning, he told my in- formant he was at once aware of its accursed influence upon him ; — a dull headache first, and then a feeling of impatience at everything about him, would cause him to take um- brage even at the members of his own family on the most trivial occurrence. If he went abroad his headache ge- nerally became worse, a heavy weight seemed to hang over his temples, he saw objects, as it were, through a cloud, and was hardly conscious where he went. He was fond of play, and if in such a mood a gambling-house was in his way he seldom resisted the temptation ; once there, any turn of ill-luck would so irritate him, that the chances were he would insult some of the by-standers. Those who knew him, perhaps, would bear with his ill-humours ; but if unhappily he chanced to meet with a stranger dis- posed to resent his abuse, they seldom parted without bloodshed. Such was the account the wretched man gave of him- self, and it was corroborated afterwards by his relations and friends, who added, that no sooner had the cause of his excitement passed away than he would deplore his 126 INFLUENCE OF THE NORTH WIND. Part II. weakness, and never rested till he had sought out and made his peace with those whom he had hurt or offended. The medical man who gave me this account attended him in his last moments, and expressed great anxiety to save his life, under the persuasion that he was hardly to be accounted a reasonable being. It was obvious, however, that to have admitted such a plea would have led to the necessity of confining half the population of the city whenever the north wind set in. It would be better to disarm the people of their long knives, the habit of using which upon every trivial dispute is the immediate cause of the many cases like Garcias, which are of such constant occurrence. Europeans, though often sensible of its influence, are not generally affected to the same extent as the natives, amongst whom the women appear to be the greatest sufferers, especially from the headache it occasions. Num- bers of them may be seen at times in the streets, walking about with large split beans stuck upon their temples ; a sure sign which way the wind blows. The bean, which is applied raw, appears to act as a slight blister, and to coun- teract the relaxation caused by the state of the atmosphere. But it is not the human constitution alone that is affected ; the discomforts of the day are increased by the derangement of most of the household preparations : — The meat turns putrid, the milk curdles, and even the bread which is baked whilst it lasts is frequently bad. Every one complains, and the only answer returned is — “ Senor , es el viento norte .” All these miseries, however, are not without their remedy : when the sufferings of the natives are at their climax, the mercury will give the sure indication of a coming pampero, as the south-wester is called ; a rustling breeze breaks through the stillness of the stagnant atmo- sphere, and in a few seconds sweeps away the incubus and all else before it: originating in the snows of the Andes, the blast rushes with unbroken violence over the intermediate Pampas, and, ere it reaches Buenos Ayres, becomes often a hurricane. A very different state of things then takes place, and, from the suddenness of such changes, the most ludicrous, Chap. X. DUST-STORMS AND BARENESS. 127 though often serious, accidents occur, particularly in the river, whither, of an evening, a great part of the popula- tion resort to cool themselves during the hot weather. There they may be seen by hundreds, men, women, and children, sitting together up to their necks in the water, just like so many frogs in a marsh : if a pampero breaks, as it often does, unexpectedly upon such an assembly, the scramble and confusion which ensues is better imagined than told ; fortunate are those who may have taken an attendant to watch their clothes, for otherwise, long ere they can get out of the river, every article of dress may be carried off by the gale. Not unfrequently the pampero is accompanied by clouds of dust from the parched Pampas, so dense as to produce total darkness, in which I have known instances of bathers being drowned ere they could find their way to the shore. I recollect on one of these occasions a gang of twenty convicts, who were working at the time in irons upon the beach, making their escape in the dark from their guards, not one of whom, I believe, was retaken. It is difficult to convey any idea of the strange effects of these dust-storms : day is changed to night, and nothing can exceed the temporary darkness produced by them, which I have known to last for nearly a quarter of an hour in the middle of the day ; very frequently they are laid by a heavy fall of rain, which, mingling with the clouds of dust as it pours down, forms literally a shower of mud. The dirty plight in which people appear after being caught in such a storm is indescribable. In the country whole flocks of sheep are sometimes overwhelmed and smothered. The land-marks separating one property from another are obliterated, and the owners are perhaps involved in law-suits to determine once more their respec- tive possessions. The following letter, written to me shortly after I left Buenos Ayres, gives an account of one of these visitations : — “ Yesterday (10th February, 1832) we had another of those awful dust-storms which you have previously wit- nessed : it came on about a quarter past twelve o’clock. The rapidity of its approach, and awful opacity, alarmed 128 THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. Part II. the whole population ; in an instant, as it were, there was a transition from the glaring ray of the meridian to the most intense darkness. Immense flocks, or rather one immense flight of birds, immediately preceded it; and, in fact, however incredible it may appear, commenced the obscurity by their numbers. “ The whole time of its duration was eleven minutes and a half, the total darkness eight minutes and a half, by watch, observed by Dr. S. and myself by candlelight. It was accompanied by loud claps of thunder, but not a ray of lightning was visible, although the thunder was by no means distant. After eleven minutes and a half, the rain began ? to fall in very large black drops, which had the effect upon the white walls of making them appear, when the sun again showed itself, as if they had been stained or sprinkled with ink. I never witnessed a more majestic or awful phenomenon. The consternation was general — every one rushing into the nearest house, and all struggling to shut their doors on their neighbours. I have heard as yet of no accidents, although doubtless there must have been many. The wind, of course, from S.S.W.” The thunder and lightning in the Rio de la Plata is at times such, I believe, as is not to be witnessed in any other part of the world, unless it be the Straits of Sunda. In Azara may be read an account of nineteen persons killed by the lightning which fell in the city during one of these storms. But the atmosphere is effectually cleared ; man breathes once more, and all nature seems to revive under the exhi- larating freshness of the gale: — the natives, good-humoured and thoughtless, laugh over the less serious consequences, and soon forget the worst ; happy in the belief that, at any rate, they are free from the epidemical disorders of other regions. Still such variations from the ordinary courses of nature cannot but be productive of strange consequences ; and, though the transient effects of an overcharged atmosphere may be quickly dispelled by a pampero, and the people be really free from the epidemics of other countries, there is every reason to believe that, in this particular climate, the system is in a high degree susceptible of affections Chap. X. LOCK-JAW— MORTALITY AMONG INFANTS. 129 which elsewhere would not be deemed worth a moment’s consideration. Besides those I have already spoken of as arising from the north wind, old wounds are found to burst out afresh, new ones are very difficult to heal ; an apparently trivial sprain will induce a weakness of the part requiring years perhaps to recover from, as I know from my own experience ; and lock-jaw from the most trifling accidents is so common as to constitute the cause of a very great portion of the deaths from hurts in the public hospitals. A cut thumb, a nail run into the hand or foot, a lacerated muscle, will generally terminate in it ; and our own medical men well know how great a propor- tion of our wounded in the attacks of 1806 and 1807 died from this dreadful cause. The native practitioners attri- bute its frequent occurrence to some peculiarity in the atmosphere acting upon the system in a manner they are as yet unable to explain. Under the name of the “ mal de siete dias ” (the seven days’ sickness) a vast number of children are carried off by it in the first week of their existence ; but as this mortality is principally limited to the lower orders, it may perhaps, in most cases, be traced to mismanagement and neglect. With us the long confinement of the mother ensures the same care of the infant in the first weeks of its life ; but in a country where the mother leaves her bed in two or three days to return to her work, the child must often be neglected. Many a Buenos Ayrean washer- woman may be seen at her usual work at the river-side three or four days after her delivery, with her infant lying for the greater part of the day upon a piece of cold hide, beside her on the damp ground. Can any one wonder that it takes cold and dies ? There was a time, and but few years ago, when it was believed that this mortality amongst infants arose from their being baptized with cold water, and the General Assembly in 1813, upon a formal representation of the medical profession to that effect, issued a decree that none but tepid water should be used for such purposes in the churches. I believe, however, that the deaths were not found to diminish, and that the priests are again permitted K 130 RAVAGES OP THE SMALL-POX. Part IT. to use cold water as before, though I doubt the enactment to the contrary having ever been repealed ; but why should these cases so generally terminate in lock-jaw ?* The dreadful ravages occasioned formerly by the small- pox have been in a great measure arrested among the civilized portion of the inhabitants by the general use of vaccination : the matter was first brought to Buenos Ayres, by the owner of a cargo of slaves, in 1805, and was pre- served by the patriotic zeal of an individual, Dr. Segurola, who voluntarily devoted himself for sixteen years to the task of propagating it by his own exertions amongst his countrymen, especially the poor, whose ignorant preju- dices he had often to combat, and whom he was not un- frequently obliged to bribe to submit to the operation. The Government in 1822 relieved him of his charge, and instituted a proper establishment for the express pur- pose of disseminating this blessing gratis, not only in the city of Buenos Ayres, but throughout the republic ; others were afterwards set up in the country districts, from which the lymph is now distributed to all who apply for it, and has been sent into every province of the interior. The authorities make it compulsory, as far as they can, on parents to carry their children to these establishments ; and the parochial priests are charged to see that they do so. By a report published in 1829, it appeared that in the city alone, in the previous nine months, as many as 4160 children had been vaccinated ; a large proportion to the births, which are estimated at little more than 6000 yearly. I was more than once applied to for the matter from Bio de Janeiro, whither it was always most readily forwarded by the Buenos Ayrean administrators. But the destruction created by the small-pox amongst the Spaniards was nothing when compared to its dreadful consequences amongst the native Indians. Whole tribes have been swept away by it: I believe, nations — whose languages have been lost. The plague is not a more frightful scourge than this disorder when it attacks the miserable inhabitants of the Pampas : they themselves believe it to be incurable — a feeling which adds to its * Horses are liable to the same affection, and never recover from it. Chap. X. INDIANS VACCINATED. 131 lamentable consequences ; for no sooner does it appear than their tents are raised, and the whole tribe takes to flight, abandoning the unfortunate sufferers to the certainty of perishing of hunger and thirst, if the virulence of the disorder itself does not first carry them off. An opportunity, however, offered during the time I was at Buenos Ayres of making known to these poor people also the effects of vaccination, under circum- stances which it is to be hoped may eventually lead to its diffusion amongst them, as well as their more civilized neighbours. A large party of them, with their wives and children, having repaired to the city on a visit of duty to the Go- vernor, General Rosas, some of them were attacked with v small-pox, and amongst the rest one of their principal Caciques. As usual, the sufferers were immediately aban- doned by their own relatives, and might have died like dogs, had not their more civilised friends taken charge of them, for which the poor wretches were abundantly grateful ; but their surprise was without bounds when the Governor, who had a regard for the old Chief, went in person to visit him. General Rosas, with his usual tact, saw at once the advantage to which the impression created by his unexpected visit might be turned. Showing the mark upon his own arm to the Indians, he desired the interpreter to explain to them the secret which had enabled him to ap- proach their dying Cacique with impunity : the result was that nearly 150 of them, including some of their Caciques, Catrieu, Cachul, Tetrue, Quindule, Callinao, Toriano, and Venancio, with their wives and children, were immediately vaccinated at their own earnest solicitation ; and great was their childish delight on finding, in due time, the appearance of the disorder upon their arms, which they were fully satisfied would prove an infallible charm against the worst powers of the Evil one.* The impression created by this interesting occurrence * The medical officers at Buenos Ayres severe cases of hooping-cough. By the in charge of the vaccinating department desire of the authorities, a special Report upon its first introduction, found, to their was published of this result in a variety surprise, that vaccination not only stopped of cases, well worth notice by the faculty, the progress of small-pox, but had also There is no doubt of the success which at- the effect of modifying very materially tended various trials of it at Buenos Ayres. K 2 132 CASES OF LONGEVITY. Part II. will not be easily effaced, and, although subsequent events may have delayed for a time the further propagation of this inestimable blessing among the Indians, I have little doubt that it will again be sought for ; and who can say that, with good management, it may not be converted into a means of domiciliating and reducing to Christianity the remnants of a race, who, in their turn, might repay with productive labour their benefactors a hundred-fold ? I must not close this chapter without adding that, gene- rally speaking, the climate of Buenos Ayres is perhaps one of the healthiest in the world, and notwithstanding what I have said as to its peculiar effects upon some constitutions, the people in general live to a good old age in perfect enjoyment of their mental as well as bodily faculties. That instances of longevity are common, the following extracts from the several population returns will suffi- ciently prove : — In the census of 1778, 33 cases are quoted of indivi- duals then living in the city, aged from 90 to 100; and 17 of from 100 to 112. In the tables of mortality for 1823 and 1824, 58 persons are stated to have died between the ages of 90 and 100; 6 between 100 and 110; 3 between 112 and 116 ; 1 of 128, and another of 130. The two last were females. Chap. XI. ( 133 ) CHAPTER XI. Falkner’s book on Patagonia, in 1774, stimulates the Spaniards to survey that Coast, and to make new Settlements upon it, which are subsequently abandoned, except that on the Negro — Villarino’s exploration of that great River — l?e reaches the foot of the Cordillera, and is forced to return in consequence of a dispute with the Indians — Piedra, the Governor of the new Settlement, quarrels with the Natives, and is slain by them — Don Leon Rosas made Prisoner, obtains an influence over them, and re-esta- blishes Peace — Present State of the Colonists at Carmen. Before they became independent of Spain, and whilst the people of Buenos Ayres possessed in the Banda Oriental more waste lands than they wanted, safe from any incur- sions of the Indians, and better adapted perhaps than any other in South America for the rearing of cattle, at that time their only object, they had no particular inducement to extend their possessions further than the river Salado ; all beyond was left to the Indians, and little or nothing was known of their country, except what they chose to communicate, until Father Falkner published his account v' of Patagonia in a country town in England in 1774. The appearance of that book produced results which the author perhaps little anticipated, for it stimulated the Spanish Government to make a general survey of the coast of Patagonia, and to form settlements upon it, the history of which to this day has never been made public. It is of those measures, and the information derived from them, that I purpose to give some account in this chapter. Father Falkner, the author above alluded to, was an Englishman, who, from an early age, seems to have had a passion for travelling. Brought up to the medical pro- fession, he went in the capacity of a surgeon on board a trading vessel to Cadiz, where he embarked in one of 134 SUE YE Y OF PATAGONIA. Part II. the Asiento ships, bound on a slaving voyage, eventually to Buenos Ayres : there he was induced to enter the order of Jesuits, in which, as a missionary, he afterwards made himself conspicuous for the zeal with which he devoted /himself to the conversion of the Indian inhabitants of the unexplored regions of that part of the world. Forty years he passed amongst them, and, but for the expulsion of his order from South America, would probably have ended his days there. On his return to England he wrote his book, to this day the only authentic account we have of the manners and customs of the /Indians of the Pampas, whilst the map it- contains, com- piled partly from his own observations and partly from Indian accounts, has furnished the principal, if not the sole data for all those which have hitherto been published of the interior of their country. One of his principal objects was to point out how vul- nerable by any hostile naval power were the Spanish pos- sessions in those parts ; and hardly had the book appeared when the Spanish Government, taking alarm lest his sug- gestions should be listened to in England, sent secret orders to the Viceroy of Buenos Ayres to have the whole coast of Patagonia carefully surveyed, with a view “ to the formation of such new settlements upon it as might secure the King of Spain s rights, and forestall the English in their supposed intention of appropriating to themselves the /Valuable fisheries on the southern part of the coast.” Competent officers were sent out from Spain for the purpose, and no expense was spared to execute the survey as completely as possible. The command was intrusted to Don Juan de la Piedra, who sailed from Monte Video on this service on the 15th December, 1778. Punning down the coast, on the 7th January he entered the great bay, then called Bahia Sin-fondo or San Mat- thias’ Bay, but now more generally known under the name of San Antonio, at the bottom of which, in latitude 42° 13 , he discovered the entrance of a noble harbour, which he named San Joseph’s. Piedra passed three months in examining the shores of this great gulf and the peninsula which bounds it, and so Chap. XL SETTLEMENT AT SAN JOSEPH’S. 135 impressed was he with its capabilities that, without pro- ceeding further, he left an officer and part of his men to build a fort there, and returned himself to the river Plate to give an account of his discovery. According to his report, indeed, it appeared on many grounds to offer a most eligible site for a new settlement The port itself was said to be deep and commodious, affording anchorage for ships of any size, whilst its situation seemed particularly convenient not only for facilitating the further exploration of the great rivers Negro and Colorado, which empty themselves a little to the northward of it, but for securing more or less the entrance of those rivers against any sudden surprise by the enemies of Spain, a point to which great importance was attached in the in- structions of the surveying officers, in consequence of the statements made by Falkner as to the possibility of passing up them into the very heart of the Spanish possessions. The vast number of whales and seals which were seen in its neighbourhood, moreover, held out the promise of its becoming a station whence to carry on those fisheries which the Spanish Government of the day were so anxious to establish ;* whilst the extensive salt-deposits which were met with promised an inexhaustible supply of an article of the first necessity in Buenos Ayres in curing the hides and beef. The main drawback to the situation was a scarcity of fresh water, which, in the first instance, the Spaniards had great difficulty in finding, though subsequently a suffi- ciency was obtained at some distance from the coast ; it was always, however, more or less brackish, and eventually caused much sickness and suffering to the settlers. Bahia Nueva, on the other side of the peninsula, would have been a much better situation for the settlement, there being plenty of small wood fit for fuel, and perma- nent ponds of fresh water in the vicinity, to which wild cattle are in the habit of resorting. A still more favour- able locality is the Biver Chupat, which falls into the sea * In a subsequent Report of Viedma’s, Francisco de Medina, fitted out a vessel he says that, when the first accounts of to go whaling there, the crew of which, San Joseph’s were brought to Monte in the first month, harpooned no less than Video, a merchant of that place, Don fifty fish within the port. 136 THE RIVER CHUPAT. Part II. about 40 miles further south, and which has been recently described by our own surveying officers. After stating the river to be free from obstacles, the banks firm and level, and that boats may be tracked up it by men or horses to a great distance, they say “about 18 miles up (by the very serpentine course of the stream) is a place admirably adapted for a settlement. It is a rising ground from 20 to 30 feet high close to the banks of the river, command- ing a view of five leagues to the north and west, and an uninterrupted prospect to the eastward: throughout this extent the country is fertile in the extreme ; the soil is of a dark colour and very rich ; excellent grass covers it in every direction; numerous herds of wild, cattle graze in the plains. There are several lakes on the south side literally covered with wild fowl ; a sort of willow (the red sauce) grows on the banks of the river in great abundance, some of the trees 3 feet round and 20 feet high.” How such a situation could have escaped the notice of the Spanish officers seems very surprising. It appears to have been totally unknown to them. The name of the Chupat does not even appear in any of their maps, although reports of it may probably have given rise to the idea of the Rio Camerones, which has no real existence, but which in the old maps figures as a considerable river running into the sea about a degree further south. The course of the Chupat is as yet unexplored, but it is probable that it resembles that of the supposed Camerones, and originates in the eastern slopes of the Andes. The quantity of drift wood and light volcanic scoriae found about its mouth induced our surveying officers to infer that they had been brought down by the stream from the Cordillera.* The Viceroy was dissatisfied with Piedra for returning, and superseded him, when it devolved upon Don Fran- cisco and Antonio Viedma (the officers next in command of those sent out from Spain) to carry into execution the intentions of their Government. These brothers were long employed upon various parts of the coast of Pata- * See Sailing Instructions published by the Admiralty, 1850. Chap. XI. PORT SAN JULIAN’S. 137 gonia, and collected much valuable information respecting that terra incognita . In April, 1779, Don Francisco sailed from San Jo- seph’s, to form a settlement on the river Negro, in favour of which he was fortunate enough to propitiate the Viceroy, who supplied him with men and stores, and all things necessary for the purpose. Don Antonio was left in charge at San Joseph’s ; but, the scurvy breaking out amongst the people to a great extent, they became so dissatisfied that he was under the necessity in the course of the summer of returning with the greater part of them to Monte Video. He was not, however, permitted to be long idle; and in the January following (1780) was again despatched to carry out the original plan, and to survey the whole of the southern part of the coast of Patagonia. In furtherance of these orders he examined the several ports of St. Helena, San Gregorio, the northern shores of the great Bay of San George, Port Desire, and San Julian’s ; which occupied him till the end of May, when, the cold weather setting in, he hutted his people for the winter at Port Desire, and despatched one of his vessels to Buenos Ayres with an account of his proceedings. Of all the places he had visited, San Julian’s appeared to offer the best, if not the only suitable, site for any per- manent establishment. Everywhere else the coast pre- sented the aspect of sandy, sterile dunes, intermixed with stones and gravel, fit only, to all appearance, for the occu- pation of the wild guanacoes and ostriches, which wan- dered over them in quest of the scanty coarse grass which constituted their only herbage. No wood was to be seen bigger than a small species of thorny shrub, fit only for the purposes of fuel ; and as to water, it was everywhere scarce, and the little to be found was generally brackish and bad. The ports, too, were most of them difficult and dangerous of access, affording little or no security for vessels above the size of a brig. San Julian’s was so far an exception, that at high tide the largest ships might enter and anchor in safety within the bar off its mouth. A constant supply of water, too, 138 FBIENDLY INDIANS. Paet II. was found three or four miles inland, proceeding from some springs in the hills, about which there was good pas- turage, and enough of it to have induced a numerous tribe of Indians to fix upon it as their ordinary dwelling-place. There, also, Viedma proposed to plant a Spanish colony ; and, the Viceroy approving the plan, the people were removed from Port Desire in the month of No- vember, and commenced building their habitations in the vicinity of the springs above-mentioned, about a league from the coast. They received the materials, and a variety of necessary supplies, from Buenos Ayres, not the least useful of which were some carts and draught-horses, which enabled them afterwards to keep up a constant com- munication between the shore and their little settlement. They found the Indians located in the vicinity ex- tremely well disposed, and ready to render them every assistance in their power, in return for the trifling presents they made them. Altogether there might be about 400 of them, and about half as many more were encamped upon the Santa Cruz River further south. These were apparently the only inhabitants of those regions. They said that in their journeys northward they fell in with no other toldos or encampments till they came to a river twenty-five days off ; there were some more two days beyond again upon a second river, whence it was twenty days further to the toldos of the Indians of Tuca- malal, on the river called by Villarino the Encarnacion, which falls into the great River Negro; according to their computation, something less than fifty days’ travel from San Julian’s.* To those parts they were in the habit of occasionally repairing in order to buy fresh horses from the tribes there resident, who, they said, had plenty of them, and exchanged them for the skins of the guanacoes, which they caught with their bolas and lassoes, and with which they often supplied the colonists with fresh meat when they had no means of their own of obtaining it. This assistance was of the greater value to the Spa- niards as the winter set in with a severity against which they were very indifferently prepared. The months of * Their day’s journey is usually about four leagues when on a long march. Chap. XI. JOURNEY TO THE GREAT LAKE. 139 June, July, and August were piercingly cold; much snow fell, and the people, unused to such a climate, became very sickly, and many of them died. Viedma himself was so ill as to be some time confined to his bed ; nor was it till the return of spring that the survivors began to recover their strength, and were able to go on with the works. They got through the subsequent winter better, after their houses were completed, and they were able to collect some necessary comforts about them. The vegetables they planted throve well, and in the second February they gathered in their first harvest, which yielded a fair crop in proportion to the corn sown. The brushwood in the surrounding country was sufficient to supply them with fuel, but there was no timber fit for building, of which they were in great want; and in quest of this Viedma was induced to make an excursion into the in- terior by the Indians, who asserted that an abundance was to be had near the source of the Santa Cruz river, which they said was a great lake at the foot of the Cordillera, whither they offered to guide him. On this expedition he left San Julian’s early in No- vember, 1782, with some of his own people, and a party of the Indians under their cacique. Proceeding in a south-westerly direction over hills and dales, at a distance of about twenty-five leagues they reached the Rio Chico, or “ little river” which the Indians said fell into the harbour of Santa Cruz. There was at that time no diffi- culty in fording it, the water not being much above their saddle-girths, and its width not above fifty yards, though, from the appearance of its steep and water-worn banks, it was evidently a much more considerable stream during the season of the floods. The Indians said it was the drain of a lake far in the north-west, formed by the melt- ing of the snows in the Cordillera. So far, wherever they halted, they had found no lack of pasturage for their horses, or water, or brushwood for fuel ; but after crossing the Chico the country became rocky and barren. About 14 leagues beyond the Chico they came to a much more considerable river, called the Chalia 140 SOURCE OF THE SANTA CRUZ RIVER. Part II. or Fish River by the Indians, described as issuing from another lake in the mountains, between the sources of the Rio Chico and those of the great river of Santa Cruz, which it joined, they said, further on. They found it too deep to cross where they first reached it, and were obliged in consequence to follow its course upwards for eight leagues, over a stony, rugged country, which lamed all their horses, and the desolate appearance of which was increased by the visitation of a flight of locusts which had devoured all the vegetation for three leagues. They crossed it, at last, at a place called by their Indian guides Quesanexes, from a remarkable rock standing out like a tower from the rocky, rugged cliffs which there bounded the bed of the river (some basaltic formation perhaps ?) On looking at the sketch, in the seventh volume of the ‘ Journal of the Geographical Society,’ of Captain FitzRoy’s Survey of the river Santa Cruz, it appears probable that the Chalia is the stream which runs into it from Basalt Glen , and which, though a very inconsiderable one at the season he passed by it, was manifestly one of much more importance at other times. Eight leagues after crossing the Chalia they came to the great lake under the Cordillera, which the Indians had talked of as the origin of the Santa Cruz River. Viedma describes it as of great extent, situated in a sort of bay, or amphitheatre of the mountains, from the steep ravines of which ran down the many streams which filled it, chiefly derived from the melting of the snows in the north-west : he skirted it for twelve leagues to its extremity in that direction, and estimated its ex- treme length at about fourteen ; its width, he says, might be from four to five leagues. Some dark patches amongst the snow on the distant heights indicated the clumps of trees of which the Indians had spoken ; but the few which Viedma was able to examine were not what he had been led to expect: he speaks of them as resembling a wild cherry, with a fruit in appearance not unlike it, though of a more orange colour, and without a stone and very tasteless ; the wood Chap. XI. APPEARANCE OF THE CORDILLERA. 141 stunted, and so crooked as to be entirely unfit for any- thing but burning. May it not have been the crab- apple ? We know there are plenty of apples further north in the same range. Or is it the evergreen beech of Patagonia, described by Captain FitzRoy as bearing the yellow-looking fungi which the Fuegian Indians eat? Describing the appearance of the Cordillera from the head of the lake, he says : towards the north it looked like a vast table-land stretching from east to west ; but it had a different appearance in the south, breaking into steep and broken peaks, for the most part covered with snow. The Indians said that neither to the north nor south was the main chain passable by man or beast for a very long distance. They all concurred in stating that a large river issued from the south-east angle of the lake, which they be- lieved to be the great river of Santa Cruz.* Viedma, unfortunately, was not able to examine it as he wished, in consequence of the apparent swelling of the mountain- torrents, which alarmed the Indians lest they should so increase the rivers as to prevent their recrossing them on their return ; nor were they very wrong, for, by the time they got back to the Chico, they found it a wide and rapid stream, no longer fordable. It was proposed that some of the Indians who could swim should tow Viedma across on a balsa, which they set to work to construct of hides and sticks ; but when completed, it looked so frail and dangerous a ferry, that the Spaniards preferred running the risk of swimming their horses over. This they accomplished without acci- dent, and reached San Julian’s in safety again on the 3rd of December, after nearly a month’s absence, during which they were much indebted to the Indians for their friendly aid, and knowledge of the country through which they passed. The people of this tribe, who had never seen a Spaniard before, Viedma describes as of large stature, generally * Captain FitzRoy went up it, with the accounts he received. He must have three whale-boats, for 245 miles, and been very near the lake when he found found it a very considerable river the himself obliged to turn back from his whole way — never fordable, according to provisions failing. 142 BAN JULIAN’S ABANDONED. Part II. above six feet high, and very stout and fleshy ; their faces broad, but of good expression, and their complexion rather sunburnt than naturally dark. Their skin cloaks, worn very long, and reaching when on foot to their heels, gave them an appearance of greater height than the reality. Their habits and customs, according to his account, seem to differ little from those of the Pampa tribes, of which I shall elsewhere have to speak. The men employed themselves in hunting guanacoes and other animals for their skins, and for meat to eat, whilst the women per- formed all the domestic offices and drudgery of the house- hold, such as it was. The good disposition uniformly shown by them im- pressed Yiedma with a very favourable opinion of them, forming, as it did, a striking contrast with the character of the tribes further north. Shortly after this excursion (in April, 1783) Don An- tonio, considering his little colony as fairly planted, pro- ceeded to Buenos Ayres for the recovery of his health, where the mortification awaited him of learning that all his labour had been thrown away, and that the Govern- ment of Spain had resolved to break up the Patagonian settlements. It appeared that the great trouble and expense in- curred, from the necessity of supplying all their first wants from Buenos Ayres ; the grumbling and complaints of the settlers themselves, of the hardships they had to go through, and of the inclemency of a climate to which they were unaccustomed (which, joined to the bad quality of their salt provisions, produced scurvy amongst them to a frightful extent), had all tended to create so unfa- vourable an impression upon the Viceroy, that he had been led to express a strong opinion to his Government as to their worse than uselessness. The consequence was, that, after three or four years, in which upwards of a million of hard dollars was spent upon them, orders were sent out to abandon them all, ex- cept the settlement upon the Bio Negro, after setting up at San Joseph’s, Port Desire, and San Julian’s, signals of possession, as the English had done at Port Egmont, Chap. XL WANT OF ENTERPRISE OF THE SPANIARDS. 143 for evidence, in case of need, of his Catholic Majesty’s rights.* Don Antonio Viedma, who took a lively interest in the settlement he had formed at San Julian’s, in vain raised his voice against this determination, and endea- voured to show that the grievances of the settlers were hut the natural difficulties to be expected in the infancy of all new colonies ; that they knew the worst of them, and many of their remedies ; that a further experience of the seasons had shown that the lands, so far from being unfit for cultivation, as amongst other things was alleged, were quite sufficiently productive to support them in after years without further aid from Buenos Ayres ; and as to the expenses, the heaviest were already incurred ; whilst the fisheries alone promised sources of wealth and revenue to the mother country, as well as to the neighbouring viceroyalty. But these arguments met with little atten- tion, and came too late to alter the determination of the higher powers. The same jealous policy which led the Spanish Govern- ment to cause the coast of Patagonia to be surveyed, equally influenced them in withholding from publication the results, which remained carefully hid from all inspec- tion in the archives of the Viceroyalty, though I cannot but think, had the reports even of Viedma himself been given to the world, they would have been the best pos- sible security to his Catholic Majesty against the curiosity or encroachments of foreign nations. Not only did they all tend to show that the coast itself was full of dangers, but they also proved that the interior of the land was, throughout, a sterile and desolate waste, scarce of water * In 1670 Sir John Narborough passed miles over the hills, &c. On the tops of six months at San Julian’s. He also the hills and in the ground are very large visited Port Desire, and took possession oyster-shells. They lie in veins in the of it, with all due form, for his master, earth and in the firm rocks, and on the Charles II. Anson was also at both places sides of the hills in the country. They in 1741 ; and the account of his voyage are the biggest oyster-shells that ever I contains views of that part of the coast, saw, some six, some seven inches broad, and of the harbour of San Julian’s. yet not one oyster is to be found in the Narborough, who is very precise in his harbour.” description of the country, mentions a Mr. Darwin found these gigantic oysters fact of some interest to geologists. He at the same place, and describes them as says, “ Going on shore on the north-west one of the most striking characteristics side of the harbour of San Julian’s with of the geology of the Patagonian forma- thirty men, I travelled seven or eight tions. 144 THEY NEGLECT THE FISHERIES. Part II. and vegetation — a region fit enough for the wild beasts which had possession of it, but very little adapted for the supply of any of the wants of man. Such possessions could have offered no temptations to any European power whatever, nor can it, I think, create surprise that Spain herself abandoned them. With respect to the fisheries, had there been any real spirit of enterprise in the people of Monte Video and Buenos Ayres, they might have monopolized them ; but no such spirit existed, and they were suffered to fall into the hands of the more adventurous sailors of England, North America, and France. They equally neglected the importation of salt, though a more necessary article to them, perhaps, could hardly have been placed within their reach ; and after Viedma’s voyage it was well known that any quantity of it, of an excellent quality, could be obtained either at San Joseph’s, Port Desire,* or San Julian’s. All that was necessary was to collect it at the proper season, in the months of January, February, and March, when it is hard and dry, and consequently in the fittest state for shipping. Dean Funes, the historian of Buenos Ayres, writing on this subject, cannot suppress his indignation at the apathy of his countrymen, though he attempts, at the same time, to find an excuse for it in an observation of Humboldt’s. “Who doubts,” he says, “that the Spaniards of South America might have carried on these fisheries at infinitely less cost than the English and North Americans, when their own coasts of Patagonia and round Cape Horn are known to abound in whales, even in the harbours, by all accounts? But it was not the cost, neither was it the want of hands, which caused this important object to re- main neglected. It was the natural indolence of the people and indifference of the Government. How, in- deed, was it possible,” he adds, “to find men to follow the hard profession of the sea, amongst a people who prefer a hunch of beef to all the comforts of life ? 4 The hope of gain,’ Baron Humboldt adds, 4 is too weak a * A little to the north of Port Desire, been latterly brought to this country ; in about lat. 47° 30', deposits of guano but it is not, I believe, so much esteemed exist, from which some shiploads have as that from the West Coast. Chap. XL IMPORTANCE OF THE RIO NEGRO. 145 stimulus in a climate where bounteous nature offers man a thousand ways of obtaining a comfortable subsistence without the necessity of leaving his native home to go to fight with the monsters of the deep.’ ” The Dean’s criticisms are not confined to the Spaniards of South America. Speaking of the ill success of a company in Spain to which the king, in 1790, had con- ceded extraordinary privileges, as an encouragement to carry on these fisheries, he says: “Its continual losses, up to the period of its final failure, lead us to the conclu- sion that projects depending upon intelligence, economy, and activity, are not made for a people notoriously be- hindhand in information, and habitually extravagant and lazy.” Whilst Don Antonio was occupied at San Julian’s, his brother, Don Francisco, was with no less zeal laying the foundations of the settlement upon the Rio Negro, the only one, as it appeared, of these new establishments which was destined to be maintained. It certainly possessed many advantages over the more southern parts of the coast which had been explored. It was not, like San Julian’s, a thousand miles distant from the governing authorities. Succours in case of need could be sent to it by land as well as by sea from Buenos Ayres ; and this consideration alone obviated the strongest objec- tions made by the poorer classes to settling themselves permanently on other parts of the coast. The river itself was not only a safeguard against the Indians, but fertilized the adjoining lands, and insured to the colonists a never- failing supply of fresh water, the want of which had caused perhaps the greatest part of their sufferings at the other places. There were also other motives which operated more powerfully than these in determining the Spanish Govern- ment to maintain a settlement upon the River Negro. It was by proceeding up this river that Falkner sup' posed a hostile naval power might surprise the Spanish territories in the interior and in Chile, a notion founded upon the concurrent accounts given him by the Indians of the possibility of ascending it as far as the Cordillera, and L 146 VILLARINO’S EXPEDITION. Part II. even to Mendoza. If these accounts were to be depended upon, and such a communication were really practicable between the shores of the Atlantic and the provinces of Chile, and Cuyo, it was impossible to foresee to what im- portant consequences it might lead, and how valuable (independently of its advantages as a military position) any settlement might become which would necessarily be the key of that communication. To determine a question of so much interest, in a geo- graphical as well as political point of view, was therefore one of the first objects after the settlers were fairly esta- blished ; and an expedition was prepared to explore the river to its sources, and to examine its principal affluents. The command was intrusted to Don Basilio Villarino, a master-pilot in the Spanish navy, who had sailed with Piedra in 1778; and had since been the chief practical officer engaged in the survey originally undertaken by that commander. In the four years which had elapsed since the commencement of that service, he had himself examined and laid down the Bays of Anegada and of Todos Santos, the bar of the River Negro, and the ports of San Antonio, of San Joseph, and that to the south called Porto Nuevo. He had also surveyed the River Colorado for about seven leagues from its mouth. No man, then, in those parts could be better qualified for the task, and no expense or supply was spared, that he might be furnished with everything likely to ensure his success. Four large launches (chalupas) were fitted out, to which masters, carpenters, caulkers, and ample crews were ap- pointed, besides a number of peons with horses, who were to attend them along the banks of the river to assist in reconnoitring the country, and in towing the boats against the stream, when contrary winds might prevent their sailing. On the 28th September, 1782, they started from the settlement of Carmen, and were absent till the 25th of May following, nearly eight months ; and, although on some points they did not perhaps realize all the expecta- tions of those who sent them, yet they obtained much new Chap. XI. THE CHOLEECHEL ISLAND. 147 and valuable information, and for the first time determined correctly the course of the great river they ascended, and proved the possibility of navigating it to the very foot of the Andes. The heavy Spanish launches unfortunately proved ill- calculated for the service, and could make but little way with the fairest wind against the force of the stream. The men were obliged in consequence continually to have recourse to the towing-rope, a tedious and laborious ope- ration, which occupied them a whole month before they reached the great island of Choleechel, about seventy leagues, according to their daily reckoning, from Carmen. This island * (the eastern extremity of which was found to be in latitude 39°) is a point of great importance con- nected with the inroads of the Aucazes Indians into the Province of Buenos Ayres. It is here that, in their journeys from the Cordillera, they leave the course of the Negro and strike across to the River Colorado, whence their beaten track runs straight to the mountain ranges of the Veil tana and Vuulean, where they pitch their tents, recruit their horses, and watch for a favourable opportu- nity to scour the Pampas, and carry off the cattle from the defenceless estancia on the frontiers of Buenos Ayres. Being at all times greatly encumbered with their women, children, and cattle, and having no notion of any- thing like a raft or canoe to facilitate the passage of the rivers they have to cross, they are obliged to resort to those points where they are fordable, and afterwards to follow such routes as will lead them by places affording sufficient pasture for the daily maintenance of their horses and cattle. Now, in their descent from the Cordillera, their only pass across the great River Neuquen is just above its junction with the Negro, the course of which they are forced afterwards to follow as far as the Cho- leechel, from the impracticability of the country to the north of it, and the scarcity of fresh water for their animals. * The Choleechel is not now a single it. These channels may have been formed island, but is divided into two or three since Villarino’s voyage, by branches of the river which intersect L 2 148 ANNOYANCES FKOM THE INDIANS. Part II. The great importance, therefore, of any military post at this point, will be at once evident; and Villarino did not hesitate to give his strong opinion to his superiors, that a fort built here, with a small Spanish garrison, would be one of the most effectual checks upon these savages, and the best defence for the cattle owners of Buenos Ayres. After fifty years of further experience, this suggestion (in 1832) has been followed up by General Rosas, the present Governor, and the Choleechel, now called Isla de Rosas, has been occupied as a military station. After reaching their tracks, it was not long before the Spaniards fell in with a party of the Indians themselves, travelling by the rivers side towards the Cordillera. Villarino, anxious to conciliate them in order to obtain their aid as he proceeded, was at first lavish in his pre- sents, particularly of spirits and tobacco, which appeared to be the objects most in request among them. The more, however, they got, the more they wanted ; and upon the first hesitation to comply with their unreasonable demands, they became as insolent as they were importunate. They conceived suspicions, too, of the real designs of the Spa- niards in exploring those parts, and shrewdly enough guessed that some more permanent occupation of their country was projected — an idea in which they were con- firmed by the lies of a vagabond who deserted to them from the boats, and whose first object, of course, was to sow the seeds of dissension between them and his country- men, in order to facilitate his own escape. Although they dared not openly attack the Spaniards, they soon gave manifest proof of their determination to thwart the progress of the expedition by every means in their power. Riding on in advance of the boats, they destroyed the pasturage along shore, and, hovering just out of the reach of danger to themselves, annoyed the party by all kinds of petty hostilities, and kept Villa- rino in continual alarm for the safety of his peons and cattle. This conduct on the part of the natives, added to the certainty now acquired that the service would be of much Chap. XI. SUFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE. 149 longer duration than had been contemplated, induced Vil- larino, before proceeding further, to send hack to Carmen for fresh instructions, and such supplies as might render him independent for the rest of the voyage. In passing the Choleechel, he had been much struck with a little peninsula, covered with rich pasturage, and easily made defensible against the Indians; and thither he now returned to await the assistance” he had applied for. By running a sort of palisade across the narrow isthmus which separated their position from the main, and landing their swivels from the boats, the Spaniards soon formed a little fortification,* perfectly secure from any sudden attack on the part of the Indians, but of them they saw nothing more so long as they remained there. Six weeks elapsed before Villarino received answers to his letters, conveying to him the orders of Don Francisco Viedma to proceed with the expedition ; hut in the in- terval the river fell so considerably that Villarino became alarmed (and not, as it appeared, without good cause) lest he should be driven into the season when the waters were at their lowest, which would greatly add to his difficulties as he advanced: nor was this the worst. Though Don Francisco had sent him an ample supply of provisions and other necessaries for the prosecution of the enterprise, he had at the same time peremptorily ordered him to send back all the peons with their horses, under the idea that this would be the surest means of obviating any future disputes or collision with the Indians. Villarino, without time to remonstrate, had no option but to obey this order, though he saw at once that it deprived him of his main-stay, and would necessarily very much retard his future progress. Under these circumstances, on the 20th of December, the boats once more got under sail to proceed up the river. Its winding course rendered the sails of little use, and it was hard work without the horses to make way against the force of the stream, the rapidity of which, as well as the difficulty of getting along, was much increased by innumerable small islands, which stud the river above * Fort Villarino in the map. 150 INDIAN CATTLE STEALERS. Part II. Choleechel ; indeed, the men were nearly worn out, as might have been expected, with the toil of working at the towing-rope almost continually. In ten days they only advanced twenty-four leagues ; they were not then sorry to fall in again with some of their fellow-creatures, albeit they were Indians, from whom they procured some horses, which relieved them from this part of their labour at least. They, too, were journeying westward, and much information was obtained from them respecting the upper parts of the river which greatly encouraged them to proceed, for there seemed little doubt from their accounts that it was navigable to the foot of the Cordillera, from whence they might easily communicate with Valdivia. These Indians were returning to their ordinary haunts on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera, over against that city, and they readily offered their assistance to the Spa- niards to show them the way over, when they arrived at their lands, which they described as being near the Huechum-lavquen, or lake of the boundary mentioned by Falkner. They said it was not more than three days’ journey from thence to Valdivia, with the people of which it appeared they were in the habits of intercourse, and among whom they found ready purchasers for all the cattle they could carry off from the Pampas. Thus it appeared that the people of Buenos Ayres might thank their countrymen on the shores of the Pacific for a great part of the depredations they were continually complaining of from the hostile incursions of these savages. This party was a fair exemplification of the consequences of such a system. It consisted altogether of about 300 people under their caciques, who had left their country more than a year before for the sole purpose of collecting cattle for the Valdivians; and they were now on their way home with about 800 head, every animal of which bore a Buenos Ayrean mark, and had been stolen from some estancia in that province. They were less shy than the Indians whom the Spa- niards had before fallen in with, and so long as they got plenty to eat and drink they journeyed on by the side of Chap. XI. JUNCTION OF THE NEUQUEN. 15 1 the boats in apparent good humour, giving such assistance as was in their power, and such information as they could with respect to the country they passed through. But this did not last long ; and when after about a fortnight they found that Villarino could not afford to make the caciques and their wives drunk every day, they changed their tone, and even went so far as to lay a plot for getting the boats’ crews on shore on pretence of a feast, in order to rob and murder them. Frustrated in this by a timely discovery of their treachery, they suddenly galloped off’, carrying with them, however, two of the men, whom it was supposed, by means of their women, they had contrived to inveigle from the boats. Cunning and treachery, Villarino observes, seem the special characteristics of these people ; thieves by habit, plunder is the object of their lives, and to obtain it fair means or foul are alike justifiable in their eyes. Kind- ness is thrown away upon them, and fear alone seems to have any influence over them which can be calculated upon. In thirty days from their leaving the Choleechel, the boats arrived at the confluence of the River Neuquen, or Sanquel-leubu, as it is sometimes called by the Indians, from the huge canes or reeds which overgrow its banks. This river was erroneously supposed by Villarino to be the Diamante, and he did not hesitate to lay it down as that river, and to express his belief that had he gone up it, in twenty-five days he should have found himself in the province of Mendoza. Subsequent information has cor- rected this error, and shown it to be the river Neuquen , which here joins the Negro, and which, rising a little above Antuco, is increased by many other streams from the Cor- dillera, which subsequently fall into it. Villarino was blamed for not exploring this river, cer- tainly by far the most considerable affluent of the Negro. He seems to have satisfied himself with merely ascending it in a little boat for about a couple of leagues, which brought him to the place where the Indians are in the habit of crossing it, and where he doubted whether there was sufficient water at the time to allow the launches to 152 COURSE OF THfe RIVER NEGRO. Part IL go up, though, from the vestiges of the floods along shore, it was evidently navigable at times for much larger craft. His best excuse for not doing more was his anxiety to reach the Cordillera before the state of the snow should prevent his communicating with Valdivia. To make the best of his way onward in that direction was now his main object ; but the difficulties he had as yet experienced were nothing to those which awaited him in his further progress. The horses obtained from the Indians were completely worn out, and after passing the Neuquen, the whole labour of towing the boats again devolved upon the men. About a league above the junction of the two rivers, the latitude was found to be 38° 44'. The course of the Negro shortly afterwards was found to incline more to the south-west, apparently turned off* by the prolongation of a chain of hills from the north, which equally determines the course of the Neuquen higher up, and as far as could be seen from the point of its junction with the Negro. Through these hills the Negro has found or forced a passage, which on either side is bounded by steep, rocky escarpments, rising 500 or 600 feet above it, and where the stream ran with such violence, that it was with the greatest difficulty the launches were dragged on, one by one ; a difficulty further increased by the shallowness of the water, which made it necessary in many places to deepen the channel with spades and pick- axes, and to un- load the boats and carry their cargoes considerable distances, before they could proceed.* All this caused incredible fatigue to the men, unaccus- tomed to such service, and supported only on the dry and salt provisions they had with them. Their legs became swelled with working for days together in the water, and they were covered with sores from the bites of the flies and musquitoes which hovered in clouds above its sur- face. The scurvy broke out, and some of them became seriously ill : fortunately they fell in with some apple-trees, * The river was probably unusually it was nearly five months since they had low even for the season; for Villarino had a rainy day. observes in this part of his journal, that Chap. XI. REACH THE FOOT OF THE CORDILLERA. 153 the fruit of which was a great comfort to the sick ; but the snow-capped peak of the Cerro Imperial, as well as the whole range of the Cordillera, was now in full view before them ; and the hope of being soon in communication with Valdivia gave them fresh courage, and redoubled their exertions to reach their journey’s end. Two whole months were spent in making a distance of forty-one leagues from the Neuquen. This brought them, on the 25th of March, to the foot of the great range of the Cordillera, and to an island about a mile and a half long, where the main stream was found to be formed by two distinct rivers, there uniting from opposite di- rections ; the one coming from the south, the other from the north. As they knew by their latitude, which a little before reaching this point they had found to be 40° 2' S., that they were already to the south of Valdivia, Villarino had no hesitation as to which of these rivers he should attempt to ascend. Before going on, however, he determined on giving the men a day or two’s rest, of which he availed himself to make a short excursion in his little boat up the southern fork, which turned out to be a river of some magnitude. At its mouth, he says, even at that time, when the waters were at their lowest, it was about 200 yards across, and about five feet in depth ; its course from the S.S.W. running with much velocity through a deeply- cut channel over a bed of large rounded stones : the country, as far as could be seen, was a desolate mass of gravel. Some little way up they found the grave of an Indian cacique, over which two stuffed horses were stuck upon stakes, according to their custom ; further on, the shore was strewed with the trunks of many large trees, brought down by the floods ; they were of various Sorts, but principally pine and cedar, probably the same as is shipped in large quantities from the opposite side of the Cordillera and from Chiloe, for other parts of Chile and Peru. From the Indians they subsequently learned that dense forests of these trees were to be met with higher up the river. How valuable they would be to the settlers on 154 LIME-LEUBfr RIVER. Part II. the Rio Negro, and how easily they might be floated down to them! Villarino named this river the Rio de la Encarnacion. By the Indians it is called Lime-leubii, or the river of leeches : indeed they call the main stream so, during its whole course to the junction of the Neuquen ; after which they give it the appellation of Curi-leubu, the River Negro. They described it as proceeding from the great lake of Nahuel-huapi, where, in the year 1704, the Jesuits established a mission, which was afterwards de- stroyed by some hostile savages, and the Fathers mur- dered. The vestiges of their habitations and chapels still remain, and that part of the country is called by the Indians Tuca-malal, probably from some allusion to the ruins ; the inhabitants call themselves Huilliches, or the southern people. Through them, to Villarino’s surprise, the Pehuenches Indians, whom he shortly afterwards fell in with, had already received accounts of the establishment of the Spaniards at San Julian’s ; the news of which had doubtless been carried to them by the friendly Indians, with whom Viedma had been in communication at that place, and whom he speaks of in his diary as having gone northward on an expedition which lasted four months, to buy horses from the Indians in that direction. But if the Spaniards were surprised to hear these people speak of their countrymen at San Julian’s, 600 miles oft*, they were much more so to be asked by them if the war between Spain and England was over. In this, however, it turned out that they had a more direct interest than might have been expected ; certain articles of European manufacture which they had been in the habit of pur- chasing from the Valdivians having become scarce and dear, from the interruption of the trade of that place with Spain in consequence of the war. Who would have sup- posed that the Indians of Araucania could have known or cared whether England and Spain were at war or not ? Having taken this cursory view of the Encarnacion, Villarino returned to continue his voyage up the northern branch of the Negro, which is called the Catapuliche by the Indians. It would perhaps be more correct to con- Chap. XI. ASCENT OF THE CATAPUL1CHE. 155 sider, as they do, the Encaraacion as the upper part of the Negro, and the Catapuliche as an affluent joining it from the opposite direction. Its shallowness prevented their making much way up it; after great labour and difficulty, in twenty days they only advanced ten leagues, and then all hope of getting further was abandoned. This was on the 17th of April, when they were in latitude 39° 40', over against Valdivia. The Catapuliche runs along the base of the Cordillera, distant live or six miles ; it is joined by several streams from the mountains, which irrigate the intervening slopes and plains, and form good pasture-grounds for the Indians ; and here they found their old acquaintances who had run away from them lower down the river, and who, nothing abashed by what had passed, came at once to the boats to beg for spirits and tobacco. Villarino, restraining his indignation at their effrontery, renewed his intercourse with them in the hope of obtaining their assistance in reaching Valdivia, which, by their accounts, was not more than two or three days’ journey distant across the mountains. Deputations arrived also from the Pehuenches and Aucazes, Araucanian tribes in the neighbourhood, with offers of aid and presents of fruit and other necessaries, and everything promised a speedy realization of their wishes to be placed in communication in a few days with their countrymen on the shores of the Pacific. At the moment, however, when they were looking forward to the speedy accomplishment of this object, their hopes were blasted by an unlucky quarrel amongst the Indians them- selves, in which one of their principal caciques, Guchum- pilqui, was killed. His followers rose to avenge his death, and Chulilaquini, the chief who killed him, fled with his tribe to the Spaniards, earnestly soliciting their protection ; to obtain which the more readily, he told a plausible story of a general league being formed amongst the Indians to attack them on the first favourable opportunity, and that it was in consequence of his refusal to join in this coalition that the dispute had arisen which cost Guchumpilqui, the principal in the plot, his life. 156 VILLARINO’S RETURN. Part II. As this Guchumpilqui was the leader of the tribe they had met with on the Rio Negro, whose manoeuvres had already impressed Villarino with the belief that he medi- tated some such treachery, he was quite prepared to credit Chulilaquini’s tale ; and thinking it at any rate advisable to secure the aid of some of the savages, he too readily pro- mised him the protection he asked for. This brought the expedition to an end. As soon as it was known that the Spaniards were dis- posed to take the part of Chulilaquini, they were regarded as declared enemies, and preparations were made to attack them. The Indians were bent on avenging the death of their chief, and it was soon evident that, as to communi- cating with the Valdivians under the circumstances, it was out of the question. After some fruitless efforts, at any rate, to get a letter conveyed across the mountains, Villarino was reluctantly obliged to make up his mind to return. Since entering the Catapuliche, much snow and rain had fallen, which had increased its depth by three or four feet: it had become, in fact, a navigable river, instead of a shallow stream. Their Indian allies helped them to lay in a stock of apples, of which there are great quantities in all those parts, and of pinones, the fruit of the pine-tree, which, taken out of the husk, is not unlike a Barbary date in taste as well as appearance ; and with these sup- plies they once more got under weigh, the swollen stream carrying them down rapidly and safely over all the shoals and dangers which had cost them so much toil and diffi- culty to surmount as they went up ; the land, too, had put on a new appearance after the rain, and many places which appeared arid and sterile wastes before, were now covered with green herbage. With little more than an occasional oar to keep them in the mid-stream, they went the whole way down to Carmen without the smallest obstruction, and arrived there in just three weeks from the time of leaving the Catapuliche, after an absence altogether of eight months. Thus it was proved to be perfectly practicable to pass by this river from the shores of the Atlantic to within fifty or sixty Chap. XI. PIEDRA DEFEATED BY THE INDIANS. 157 miles of Yaldivia on the Pacific, the mountain range alone intervening. To what beneficial account this discovery of an inland water communication across the continent might have been turned by an enterprising people it is difficult to calculate. The Spaniards seemed rather desirous to con- ceal than to publish the fact of its existence. Till the expedition of General Rosas in 1833 against the Indians, no boat ever again went up the Negro higher than Cho- leechel. Chulilaquini followed the boats, and settled his people within reach of his Spanish friends, in the neighbourhood of Carmen ; but the Indians, in general, looked upon the new settlement with the greatest jealousy, and became extremely troublesome. In this state of things, Don Juan de la Piedra, who it has already been stated was originally sent from Spain to take command of the establishments in Patagonia, and who had never ceased to remonstrate against the act of the Viceroy which deprived him of that command, was reinstated by orders from the government at home ; and proceeded in consequence to the Rio Negro, to resume his functions as principal Superintendent (1785) : over- anxious, perhaps, after what had passed, to distinguish himself, instead of making any attempt to conciliate the Indians, he boastingly took the field, and advanced into their lands to attack them, with a force totally inadequate to the purpose : the consequence was, that he was sur- rounded and totally defeated. He himself perished miserably, and several officers fell into the hands of the savages: happily for them some relations of the victors were at the same time in the power of the Viceroy, and the hope of recovering them by exchange induced the savages for once to save the lives of their prisoners. Amongst them was Don Leon Rosas, father of the present Governor of Buenos Ayres, then a Captain in the King’s service, who turned his captivity to such good account, that he not only succeeded in an extra- ordinary degree in conciliating the respect and good will of the principal caciques, but finally brought about a peace 158 TRADE OF CARMEN. Part II. between them and the Viceroy, which lasted many years, and deservedly established the celebrity of the name of Rosas throughout the Pampas. The Spanish Government for a short time took some interest in the establishment on the Negro : — upwards of 700 settlers were sent there from Gallicia, and large sums were spent upon it ; but the expectations formed of its importance were not realised. The colonists remained satisfied to carry on a petty traffic with the Indians for skins, instead of launching out upon the more adventurous speculation of the fisheries on the coast ; and the authori- ties at Buenos Ayres, finding them more expensive than useful, became indifferent about them, and allowed them to sink into the insignificance of a remote and unprofitable colony. In 1825, when the war between Buenos Ayres and Brazil broke out, there were hardly 800 inhabitants. The blockade of the river Plate made it then a resort for the privateers of the Republic, and once more brought it into notice. A thriving coasting trade is now carried on with it,* and many seal -skins are collected there to be sent to Buenos Ayres, as well as those of the guanaco, hare, skunk, and other animals, brought in by the Indians from the deserts further south : it has of late years also fur- nished the Salad eros of Buenos Ayres with supplies of salt, which is collected in considerable quantities from the Salinas, about fifteen miles from the town, described by Darwin as in winter shallow lakes of brine, converted in summer into fields of snow-white salt, in some places two or three feet in thickness. He saw some hundreds of tons of the salt lying there ready for exportation : it is crystallised in large cubes and very pure, but for curing hides it is not found to answer so well as the sea-salt from * The officers of the Beagle surveyed get to sea than to enter, because wind many miles of the river Negro, as well as which is fair for approaching raises the the bar at its entrance. According to water, and the reverse. Although ships them, no vessel drawing more than eleven drawing fourteen feet have passed the feet water can enter without risk. If at bar at unusually favourable times, others a favourable time any person should be of only ten feet draught have been de- induced to risk crossing the bar with a tained forty days in the river. — Voyage of ship of greater draught, he should bear the Beagle , vol. ii., p. 302-3. in mind that it is much more difficult to Chap. XI. POPULATION OF CARMEN. 159 the Cape de Verds, with which it is generally mixed when used. Had the Government of Buenos Ayres been able to exercise any efficient superintendence over the adjoining coast, the fishery of seals, and seal elephants, might have become of importance ; but in the absence of all control, the unrestrained and indiscriminate slaughter of the young as well as of the old animals has driven them from their former haunts further south, where they are still found by the English and North American fishermen, who know their rookeries , as they are called, and in the proper sea- son take them in great numbers. The Governor of Carmen is an officer appointed from Buenos Ayres, to the Junta of which Province the inha- bitants name a representative. In 1832 their number was supposed to be about 2000, of which nearly 500 were blacks. ( 160 ) Part II. CHAPTER XII. Malaspina’s important Scientific Expedition in 1789 — Suppression of its Results — His MSS. in the British Museum — His officers Espinosa and Bauza map the Road from Chile — De Souillac that to Cordova — Azara and others fix the Positions of all the Forts and Towns of the Province of Buenos Ayres — Cruz’s remarkable Journey across the Southern Pampas from Antuco — His account of the Pehuenches Indians — Anecdotes of some Caciques brought to Buenos Ayres — Significance of their Names. Piedra’s orders confined him to the east coast of Pata- gonia, as has been shown in the preceding chapter; but in 1789 Spain sent forth an expedition of much more importance in a scientific point of view. The ships employed were the “ Atrevida 99 and u Des- cubierta,” under the command of the well-known Mala- spina, who not only revised Piedra’s and Viedma’s survey of the harbours of Patagonia, but, rounding Cape Horn, explored the whole coast of the Pacific, from its southern extreme to the Russian settlements in the north-west, Malaspina, upon his return, was imprisoned; nor was it till several years afterwards that his admirable charts were published by order of Langara, the Spanish Minister of Marine, which have been so useful to modern navigators in the South American Seas, and will long be an honour to the Spanish navy. Malaspina’s name, however, was not permitted to be affixed to them, neither has the journal of his voyage ever been published. It is only recently that the details have been discovered at Buenos Ayres of the first portion of' his work, viz., the survey, in 1789, of the whole of the northern and southern shores of the Plate, as high up as the Parana, in which nearly 150 points were fixed by him. It was this survey, with the soundings afterwards taken by the pilot Oyarvide, that furnished the materials for the chart of the river Chap. XII. MALASPINA’S VOYAGE. 161 Plate, officially published at Madrid in 1810. Nor was this all that Buenos Ayres owed to Malaspina : upon his return to Valparaiso from the north-west coast, he de- tached two of his most intelligent officers, Don Jose Espinosa, afterwards Chief of the Hydrographic Depart- ment at Madrid, and Don Felipe Bauza,* since well known to men of science in this country, to map the road across the Pampas ; and by them the true positions of Santiago in Chile, of Mendoza, San Luis, the post of Gutierres on the river Tercero, and other points along the line, were, for the first time, determined. Their map, so far as it extends, is the best, and the only one of that line of country, I believe, ever drawn by any one capable of taking an observation. Whilst they were thus engaged in fixing one part of the geography of the interior, the Viceroy turned to ac- count the temporary sojourn at Buenos Ayres of some of the officers attached to the commission for laying down the boundaries under the treaty of 1777 with Portugal, * Bauza died in England not long ago, when the British Museum purchased a large collection of MS. papers which he had accumulated relating to the geography and hydrography of South America. Upon examining these at the Museum, I dis- covered amongst them not only the ori- ginal notes of his journey with Espinosa across the Pampas to Buenos Ayres, hut a Report prepared by Malaspina himself for the Spanish Government, upon the physical geography and political state of the provinces of the Rio de la Plata, Patagonia, and Chile, divided under the following heads, viz. : — 1. Terrenos y Producciones del Rio de la Plata, 6 descripcion fisica. 2. Descripcion poMtica. 3. Descripcion fisica de la Costa Pata- gonica y Islas Malvinas, con noticias de los Patagones, y con un vocabulario de estos Indios ; y continuacion por la parte del O de este Continente hasta Chiloe. 4. Reflexiones politicas sobre dominios de S. M. desde Buenos Ayres hasta Chiloe por el Cabo de Hornos. 5. Descripcion fisica del Terreno y Habitantes de las Costas comprendidas entre Chiloe y Coquimbo. 6. Examen politico de los mismos Ter- renos. (MS. No. 17,603, Brit. 3Ius.) These perhaps are not the least inte- resting or important results of an expedi- tion which, in imitation of those of Cook and La Perouse, was fitted out by Spain without regard to expense, in order to obtain the best possible information re- specting the vast territories under her dominion in South America, and the non- publication of which, after Malaspina’s return, occasioned so much disappoint- ment in Spain. Time was when these papers would have been read with the greatest possible interest, not only in Spain, but throughout Europe. “ The public looked anxiously for the results of this enterprise, and truly it was most desirable that such important labours should not remain hidden or forgotten. Their value to all navigators, the additions they offered to the science of hydrography, the honour of the Spanish nation itself, all called for their publication. Never- theless, notwithstanding so many power- ful reasons for it, and contrary to every hope and expectation, the history of this voyage has suffered the same fate as have unhappily so many works of the same kind in Spain, the names even of whose authors have been suppressed.” — Vide 1 Memorias sobre las Observaciones Astronomicas hechas por los Navigantes Esparloles,’ &c. Madrid, 1809. Vol. i. Such were the observations put forth on this subject in an official publication printed at Madrid under the authority of a Spanish Ministry in 1809. M 162 SURVEYS OF THE INTERIOR. Part IT. and employed them in mapping other portions of the terri- tory under his immediate jurisdiction. In 1794 M. Sourreyere de Souillac, the astronomer of the third division of that commission, laid down the line of road from Buenos Ayres to Cordova, and fixed the latitude of that city in 31° 26' 14". In 1796 Azara, with Cervino and other officers em- ployed on the same service, made a detailed survey of the frontiers of the province of Buenos Ayres, in the course of which they fixed the positions of all the towns and forts of any importance between Melinque, its north- western extremity, and the most southern bend of the river Salado, beyond Chascomus. That river they found to have its origin in a lake in latitude 34° 4' 45", longitude from Buenos Ayres 3° 36' 32" ; it is an insignificant stream, of trivial importance till joined by the Flores. Thus materials were collected for laying down a con- siderable portion of country upon the very best authorities; but, like the surveys of the coast, many years were suffered to elapse ere they were made available to the public. Bauza’s map* was not published till 1810, and it was only in 1822 that the positions fixed by Azara in 1796 appeared for the first time as his in the u Statistical Register,” pub- lished that year at Buenos Ayres. De Souillac’s might have remained unknown for ever, had not Senor de Angelis lately brought them to light; as well as Malaspina’s “Fixed Points on the Shores of the River Plate.” But, after all, however valuable were these data in perfecting a knowledge of the country already occupied, they led to no new discoveries, and by far the greater part of the interior of the continent, to the south of the Plate, remained unexplored, till Spain becoming involved in the general war carried on between the great powers in Europe, her colonial subjects on the shores of the Pacific began to experience more or less inconvenience from the stoppage of their ordinary trade. They found * Carta esferica de la parte interior de partes en 1794 Don Jose de Espinosa y la America Meridional para manifestar el Don Felipe Bauza, Oficiales de la, Real camino que conduce desde Valparaiso a Armada,— en la direccion hidrografica, Buenos Ayres, construida por las observa- ano 1810. ciones astronomicas que hicieron en estas Chap. XII. CRUZ’S JOURNEY FROM ANTUCO. 163 that the ships which used to visit them direct from Europe for the most part ran into the river Plate, rather than encounter the increased risk of capture in the longer voyage round Cape Horn ; and it became therefore to them an object of considerable importance to shorten, if possible, the overland journey from thence to the opposite side of the continent, and particularly to the southern parts of Chile. This led to explorations being set on foot by the public authorities, in the years 1803, 1804, and 1805, the result of which was the discovery of several new passes over the Cordillera, south of Mendoza, one of which, the pass de las Damas, was examined by the same M. de Souillac already spoken of, who reported that at a very small expense it might be made practicable for the passage of wheel-carriages. It only remained to be shown whether or not it was possible to travel in a direct line across the Pampas from any of those passes to Buenos Ayres. In this state of things, Don Luis de la Cruz, an enter- prising officer who had seen much of the Indians, offered to start from Antuco, in the province of Conception, the most southern of the passes yet known, to endeavour to reach Buenos Ayres by a straight course across the Pampas. This proposal was accepted by the Governor of Chile, and in order to secure as far as possible the co- operation of the native tribes, which indeed was absolutely necessary to the success of the undertaking, the Caciques of the Pehuenches, who inhabited the country on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera, were summoned to hold a grand parlamento, or parley, to consider it. There had been long a friendly intercourse between them and the Spaniards, who, moreover, had at times afforded them protection from the attacks of their enemies; they there fore did not hesitate on this occasion to intimate to them that they expected in return all the good offices and aid which they could give to Cruz and his party. They attended at the time appointed, and after a grave discussion in their fashion, which lasted several days, they agreed to take the expedition under their particular protection, and see it safe to Buenos Ayres ; Cruz, on his m 2 164 HIS TRACK TO BUENOS AYRES. Part II. part, engaging that the Indians who accompanied him should be presented to the Viceroy, rewarded with suit- able presents, and sent back in safety to their friends at the conclusion of the service. Whilst the expedition was preparing, Cruz spent a couple of days in an unsuccessful attempt to get to the summit of the volcano in the vicinity of Antuco,* which he describes as being then in continual action, and at times burning so strongly as to be visible from a very considerable distance : but he was stopped, and obliged to turn back, by a heavy fall of rain and snow, considered by the Indians as an interposition of the Deity to prevent the examination of a region which they held it to be for- bidden to mortals to approach. On the 7th of April (1806), all being ready, the party left the fort of Ballenar, near Antuco, to commence their journey. It consisted of twenty persons, viz., Cruz and four officers, a surveyor to measure the daily distances, and fifteen attendants, besides their Indian escort ; having with them carts and horses and all things they might want on the way. Striking across the Pampas in as direct a course for Buenos Ayres as the nature of the country would permit, in forty-seven days they arrived at Me- linque, *j* the north-western frontier fort of that province, having travelled, according to their measured daily journeys, rather more than 166 leagues; — adding 68 more for the distance between Melinque and Buenos Ayres, made the total distance from Antuco to that city, by this route, 234 leagues;- — being 75 less than the ordi- nary post-road from Buenos Ayres to Mendoza. The narrative which Cruz subsequently drew up of this expedition is extremely diffuse, and would be tiresome to most readers from the minuteness with which he has thought it necessary to detail the daily discussions and parleys which, upon every trivial occurrence, took place with the Indians. * A very particular description of this f Position of Melinque fixed by Azara, volcano, with several views of it, will be lat. 33° 42' 24", long, from Buenos Ayres found in the 14th volume of the ‘ Annales 3° 30' 38". des Mines,’ given by M. Domeyko, who ascended it in 18-15. Chap. XII. THE NEUQUEN AND THE DIAMANTE. 165 In a geographical point of view, the most interesting part of it is that in which he describes the rivers which he crossed after descending the Cordillera ; from which I have attempted in the map to give an idea of them, differ- ing, as will be seen, from that hitherto adopted. In this I have been also much guided by the observations, in my possession, of the late Dr. Gillies, my correspondent for many years at Mendoza, who had himself been as far south as the river Diamante, and had taken great pains to collect information respecting the geography of that part of the country. The old notion was, that nearly all the rivers south of Mendoza uniting in one wide stream, to which the Dia- mante, as one of the principal affluents, gave its name, ran direct south into the Bio Negro ; and this, as I have men- tioned in the preceding chapter, was Villarino’s idea, and led him, without hesitation, to believe that the great river, whose mouth he explored, and which, he says, he does not doubt would have led him to Mendoza, was the Diamante. From a careful examination of Cruz’s journal, and other data in my possession, it is manifest that this was an error, and that the great river which flows into the Negro is the Neuquen, which Cruz crossed on the sixth day after he left Antuco, at the place called Butacura, and about eighteen leagues on his journey. The Neuquen* is formed by many streams from that part of the Cordillera, all which Cruz names, and the principal of which appear to be the Binqui-leubu, which descends from the mountain of Pichachen, and further north the Cudi-leubii, the drain of many small rivers. No one, he says, doubts that the Neuquen, from the junction of the Cudi-leubii, is navigable as far as the Bio Negro, and thence to the ocean. Proceeding in a north-easterly direction, Cruz fell in with another considerable river, as large, he says, as the Neuquen, called by the Indians the Cobu-leubii, I whose * Neuquen or Nehuen signifies the rapid leubu, which signifies the great river ; the river, according to Angelis. rather, as I find that people who have t Although in the copy of Cruz’s MS. journeyed south from Mendoza speak of in my possession, as well as in Senor de it (at least of what I suppose to be the Angelis’s collection, the name of this upper part of the same river) as the Rio river is written CWm-leubu, I suspect it Grande. to be an erroneous writing for Colu- 166 THE DESAGUADERO OF MENDOZA. Pakt II, sources they reported to be in the Cordillera of Curriliquin, over against the province of Maule, in Chile ; and they spoke of seven rivers which fell into it in its course from the north to the place where the expedition crossed it. Cruz says distinctly it does not fall into the Neuquen , but, changing its southerly course about where they passed it, it ran eastward, in which direction the travellers kept it in view, at times coasting it, for several days, till at a place called Puelec it again turned towards the south, taking thence, as the Indians affirmed, its course to the sea. This river, there can be no doubt, is the Colorado, which falls into the sea a little to the north of the Rio Negro. The lower ranges of the Cordillera were found to extend about ten leagues beyond the pass of the Cobu- leubii, above spoken of, after which the Pampas commence, which continue unbroken to Buenos Ayres. Two days after passing Puelec, whence the river Cobu- leubii takes a southerly course, and having gone about seventy-four leagues by their daily computation from Antuco, the travellers reached the river called by the Indians Chadi- leubii, or the Salt River (probably a con- tinuation of the Atuel), which, uniting with the Desagua- dero, or Drain of the Diamante, about five leagues below where they crossed it, discharges itself into a vast lake about ten leagues further south, called by the Indians the Urre-lauquen, or the bitter lake. In old times, according to Dr. Gillies, the Diamante, which he says rises from the eastern base of Cauquenes Peak in the Cordillera, fell into the Atuel a little below Fort San Rafael, where it will be seen on reference to the map that the two rivers very nearly approximate ; but some years ago it took another course, forming for itself a separate channel, by which it discharges itself into the Desaguadero, which carries to the south the waters of the rivers Tunuyan and Mendoza, and is finally lost with the Chadi-leubii in the great salt lake above men- tioned.* '* The track laid down on the map from Desaguadero, and thence southward into Fort San Rafael, along the northern bank the Indian territory, was fixed by com- of the Diamante, to its junction with the pass, and given me by Dr. Gillies. Chap. XII. ARRIVES AT MELINQUE. 167 The Chadi-leubii, according to Cruz, was one of the most considerable of the rivers he had yet passed. The people and horses crossed it swimming, and the baggage was carried over in a balsa, a sort of hide-raft. It formed the boundary of the lands of the Pehuenches, and many were the debates which ensued amongst Cruz’s Indian companions as to the probable view which the tribes in the Pampas beyond would take of the expedition. One day it was somebody’s dream, another, the augury of one of their wizards or diviners, that excited their doubts and alarms, and made them hesitate as to the pro- priety or not of going on with the Spaniards. They, however, made a notable discovery, which was no other than that Cruz held constant communication with a spirit which directed him in all his proceedings : — he was observed continually to refer to it, and the spirit, which was his watch, was heard to give out certain mysterious sounds whenever consulted, Cruz had no desire to deceive them, but the impression was not to be got rid of, and it was so far of use that it inspired them with fresh courage to go on. It was determined, after much consultation, to send forward an embassy to the Caciques of the Eanqueles tribes, who lived in the Pampas beyond, and especially to Carripilum, the most influential amongst them, to announce the approach of the expedition, and its peaceable objects, and to endeavour to propitiate them beforehand in its favour. Fortunately, Carripilum was in good humour, and, in the belief that he should get presents in proportion to the importance of the expedition, not only received them with honour, but resolved to accompany them himself to Buenos Ayres, where Cruz assured him the Viceroy would welcome his arrival, and be glad to enter into treaties with him for opening a new road through his territories for the Spaniards trading between Buenos Ayres and Chile. In twenty-nine days after passing the Chadi-leubii, and in forty-seven after their departure from Antuco, the travellers arrived at the fort of Melinque, on the north- west frontier of the province of Buenos Ayres ; where, whilst halting to refresh themselves, and to allow the 168 NEWS OF THE CAPTURE OF BUENOS AYRES. Part II. Indians to celebrate their safe arrival, according to their custom, in beastly drunkenness, some straggling soldiers, flying from the rout, brought in the disastrous intelligence of the landing of the British troops under General Beres- ford, and the fall of Buenos Ayres. The dismay of poor Cruz at this unexpected intelligence may be easily imagined. Encumbered with a numerous party of Indians who had accompanied him across the continent, far from their homes, in the expectation of the rich presents they were to have upon their arrival at Buenos Ayres, and relying upon promises which it was now totally out of his power to fulfil, he was in the greatest embarrassment. To proceed was out of the question ; and as to going to Cordova, whither it was reported the Viceroy had fled, it was evident that at such a time matters of much more pressing importance would prevent his attending to the objects of the expedition. His resources too were utterly exhausted. The Indians, however, who soon heard reports of what had happened, evinced a degree of good feeling which could hardly have been expected from them under the sore disappointment of their own expectations. Having heard from Cruz a confirmation of the bad news, and seeing that it was impossible for him to fulfil his engage- ments towards them, they announced their resolution to relieve him from any difficulty on their account by re- turning at once. All they desired was, that he would duly report to the Viceroy that they had faithfully, and as far as they could, fulfilled their engagements, so that they might claim their due reward in better times. The Pehuenches did not part without much lamentation from their Christian friends, and they repeated again and again their readiness to obey any orders the Viceroy might be pleased to send them. Carripilum made the same pro- testations, and left one of his relations to proceed with Cruz in search of the Viceroy, expressly to make an offer of any aid which the Spaniards might desire from the Indians against the common enemy. Cruz found the Viceroy at Cordova, who received him with kindness, and paid every attention to the Cacique Chap. XII. CRUZ’S GEOLOGICAL NOTES. 169 who accompanied him. He was equipped in a new suit of Spanish clothes, and after a time dismissed with pre- sents and every demonstration of the high estimation in which the Viceroy held the services of Carripilum and his companions. Don Luis himself, upon the recovery of Buenos Ayres, repaired thither, and drew up the diary of his interesting journey, with a plan and estimate for making the track he had passed by perfectly practicable for carriages the whole way, and which he calculated might be done for an outlay of about 46,000 Spanish dollars; but Cruz’s papers, like those of Villarino and Viedma, and others of the same nature, were only honoured by being deposited in safety in the secret archives. The various important political events which shortly afterwards began and rapidly succeeded each other were, however, perhaps some excuse for its remaining unnoticed. In describing the eastern parts of the Cordillera, Cruz says, that at the time he was there, only the volcanoes of Antuco and Villarica were in activity, though the traces of others extinct might be seen in every direction : — the evidences of their ancient eruptions, he says, might be followed for thirty leagues continuously : — he speaks, amongst other volcanic appearances, of hot springs re- sorted to by the Indians for their medicinal qualities, and says so abundant is the sulphur in all those parts, that several rivers are strongly impregnated with it ; vast quantities also of bituminous substances are everywhere to be seen, and beyond the Neuquen, he says, there is an abundance of coal. On the opposite side of the Cordil- lera, at Talcahuano, in about the same latitude, coal has long been known to exist, and has been occasionally used by the foreign vessels trading with that part of Chile. If it really exist at the sources of the Neuquen, which Cruz says is navigable to the sea, it is impossible to calculate on the extent of its future influence upon the prosperity of the neighbouring provinces whenever the people shall open their eyes to the powers of steam navigation. As yet, it would appear as if the people of Mendoza and San Luis had as little idea of the use even of a canoe as the Indians 170 HIS ACCOUNT OF THE PEHUENCHES. Part II, themselves, otherwise it seems hardly credible that the Spaniards should never have made the slightest attempt to send a boat down any one of these rivers. Near the sources of the Neuquen are mines of rock-salt: in the level lands, also, between that river and the Chadi-leubu, salt may at all times be collected from the surface of the ground, and the intermediate streams are all more or less brackish from its influence. Fossil marine remains appear to abound amongst the lower ranges of the Cordillera which Cruz passed, not only strewed over the surface at considerable elevations, but deeply imbedded in the soil, as might be seen wherever sections were laid open by the courses of the mountain- torrents. In addition to his description of their country, Cruz has given in his journal some account of the manners and customs of the Pehuenches :* those Indians, who take their name from the abundance of pine-trees in the lands they occupy, derive their origin from the Araucanian race inha- biting the southern parts of Chile ; as indeed do all the wandering tribes found in the Pampas from the frontiers of Mendoza and Cordova to the Rio Negro in the south : — they all speak a common language, and, if their customs in any degree vary, it will only be found to arise from the greater or less distance they are removed from their ori- ginal stock, or as they are brought into occasional contact with their Christian neighbours. Divided and subdivided into innumerable petty tribes, or rather family groups, they wander from place to place in quest of pasturage for the sheep and cattle, which constitute their sole posses- sions ; continually quarrelling and fighting with each other, and rarely united by any common object save to make some occasional plundering expedition against the defence- less properties of the Spaniards on the frontiers. Such at least are the habits of those generally known as the Au- cazes and Ranqueles tribes; but of them I shall speak more particularly in the next chapter. The Pehuenches, whose customs Cruz describes, appear to be a somewhat better race. They are not so far re- * Pehuen, a pine-tree. Chap. XII. LIFE AMONGST THE INDIANS. 171 moved from their original stock in Araucania ; and their vicinity to the Spaniards of Chile, and friendly intercourse with them, have had a manifest influence in modifying their original habits. In person they are described as fine men, stouter and taller than the inhabitants of the plains ; but like all the Indians of the same stock, in the habit of frightfully be- daubing and disfiguring their faces with paint. They wear a sort of cloak over the neck and shoulders, with an- other square cloth fastened round the loins, and those who can get them, little conical hats bought from the Spa- niards, and the same sort of boots as are made by the gauchos of Buenos Ayres from the dried skin of a horse’s leg fitted to the foot. The bridles of their horses are beautifully plaited, and often ornamented with silver : spurs of the same material are in great request amongst them, and are eagerly purchased of the Spaniards. The women as well as the men paint themselves : their chief ornaments consist of as many gold or silver rings as they can collect upon the fingers, and large ear-rings, resembling both in size and shape a common English brass habitations consist of tents made of hides sewn together, which are easily set up and moved from place to place. Their principal food is the flesh of mares and colts, which they prefer to any other ; if they add any- thing in the shape of cakes or bread, it is made from maize and corn obtained from the Spaniards in exchange for salt and cattle, and blankets of the manufacture of their women, for it is rarely they remain long enough in the same place to sow and reap themselves. Their Caciques or Ulmenes, as they call them, are generally chosen either for their superior valour or wisdom in speech — occasionally, but not always, the honour de- scends from father to son : they have but little authority in the tribe, except in time of war, when all submit im- plicitly to their direction. They are not, however, entirely without laws and punishments for certain crimes, such as murder, adultery, theft, and witchcraft. Thus he who kills another is con- padlock. Their 172 THEIR IDEAS OF RELIGION. Part II. demned to be put to death by the relations of the de- ceased, or to pay them a suitable compensation. The woman taken in adultery is also punishable with death by her husband, unless her relations can otherwise satisfy him. The thief is obliged to pay for what he is convicted of stealing: and, if he has not the means, his relations must pay for him. As to those accused of witchcraft, they are sacrificed with very little ceremony ; and such executions are of frequent occurrence, inasmuch as a man rarely dies a natural death but it is ascribed to the ma- chinations of some one in communication with the evil spirit. The relatives of the deceased, in their lamenta- tions, generally denounce some personal enemy as having brought about his end, and little more is necessary to ensure his condemnation by the whole tribe. As to their religion, though they have no form of wor- ship, they believe in a supreme creator and ruler of all things ; also in the influence of an evil spirit, to whom they attribute any ill that befals them. When the body perishes they believe that the soul becomes immortal, and flies to a place beyond the seas, where there is an abun- dance of all things, and where husbands and wives meet, and live in happiness. On the occasion of their funerals, that they may want for nothing in the other world to which they have been used in this, their clothing and accoutrements and arms are buried with them ; sometimes a stock of provisions is added ; and when a Cacique is buried, his horses are also slain and stuffed with straw, and set upright over his grave. The interment is conducted with more or less ceremony, according to the rank of the deceased : if he be a man of weight amongst them, not only his relations, but all the principal persons of the tribe, assemble and hold a great drinking-bout over his grave, at which the more drink the more honour. They have great faith in dreams, especially in those of their ancients and Caciques, to whom they believe they are sent as revelations for the guidance of the tribe on important occasions ; and they seldom undertake any affair, either of personal or general importance, without Chap. XII. INDIANS BOW-LEGGED FROM RIDING. 173 much consultation with their diviners and old women as to the omens which may have been observed. Marriage is an expensive ceremony to the bridegroom, who is obliged to make rich presents, sometimes all he is worth, to the parents of his love, before he obtains their consent. Thus daughters are a source of sure wealth to their parents, whilst those who have only sons are often ruined by the assistance which is required from them on these occasions. Such as can afford it take more wives than one, but the first has always precedence in the house- hold arrangements, and so on in succession. When a child is born it is taken with the mother im- mediately to the nearest stream, in which after both are bathed, the mother returns to her household duties, and takes part in preparing for the feast that follows. In almost all these habits the Pehuenches appear to follow the Araucanians, from whom they no doubt derive their origin. The mother of one of my servants lived seven years amongst these savages, and confirmed Cruz’s account on all the points I have here stated. In general, she said, she was as kindly treated by them as was possible under the circumstances: she had been taken by the Pampas Indians, and by them sold to the Pehuenches, that she might have less chance of escaping and ever reaching her own home again. Men, women, and children, she said, lived much more on horseback than on foot. I have seen some of these Indians who, from being so constantly on horseback, had become bow-legged to such an extent of deformity that the soles of their feet were turned inwards, so as to make walking no easy matter to them, their gait being more like the waddling of ducks than the walk of human beings. One of the most ludicrous scenes I think I ever wit- nessed was on the reception of some Caciques at the Government House, who had been brought to Buenos Ayres with their families to pay their respects to their u great father,” as they called General Rosas. To reach the public room in which they were to be received it was requisite to ascend a great staircase ; but this led to a 174 INDIAN SIMPLICITY. Part II. difficulty quite unforeseen, inasmuch as it had not occurred to any one till they got there that the Indians had never seen a flight of stairs in their lives. When they looked up them, their air of stupid dismay was something beyond description. The officers in attendance did their best to encourage and assist them, but it was of no avail. After a variety of fruitless attempts, which caused no little merriment to the spectators, though evidently great mor- tification to the poor Indians, it was found quite impos- sible to get them up like other people, and they were carried up in chairs. To descend appeared to them a still more fearful undertaking, and it became necessary to bandage their eyes before they would consent to be carried down again in the same manner. I took the same party, a few days afterwards, on board one of H.M. ships of war, with General Rosas, who had been invited by the Commander to visit him. This was a harder trial than the staircase ; none of them had ever been in a boat, and their alarm was so great when they found the dry land gradually receding from them, that but for Rosas’ being in the same boat with them, I believe they would have all jumped overboard to make for the shore. When, however, we were once on the ship’s deck, and the great guns began to fire the customary salute for the Governor, I thought they would have died of fright. They fell down as if they had been shot ; nor was it an easy matter to reassure them and satisfy them that they and the Governor were not in peril of their lives from their new acquaintances. What afterwards very mainly contributed to restore them to good humour was the sight of the sailors at dinner, and the circumstance of their espying by chance one with a sun or moon tattooed upon his skin, which produced great delight amongst them. They huddled round to ex- amine him with all the curiosity of children, and when they found others amongst the men similarly marked, they broke out in boisterous shouts, insisting upon drink ing with them, calling them brothers, and evidently look- ing upon them as co-religionists and half Indians. The effect of the grog soon told ; they became very uproarious Chap. XII. SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIAN NAMES. 175 and troublesome, and would have got very drunk if we had not interfered to prevent it. They were the biggest babies I ever saw, and the ugliest. There is a grammar of the language of these Indians in Falkner’s book, and a MS. vocabulary amongst Malas- pina’s papers in the British Museum, the study of which might help to make us better acquainted with their coun- try as well as the people themselves, for their nomenclature of places as well as of persons is rarely insignificant. I have already stated that the Pehuenches derive their name from pehuen, the pine-tree, which abounds on the slopes of the Cordillera where they dwell. The Bam queles are so called from ranquel, the thistle, which covers the plains which they inhabit. The Picunches take their name from picun, the north. The Puelches signify the people to the east, and the Huilliches those to the west : che means people. The following will serve as examples of some of the appellations of their Caciques : — Culucalquin, the Eagle ; Maripil, the Viper; Ancapichui, the Partridge; Quil- quil, the Little Bird; Guaiquiante, the Sun; Cari- mangue, the Condor ; Antu-mangue, the Ostrich ; Pichi- mangue, the Vulture; Paine-mangue, the Old Condor ; Llampico, the Black ; Lincon, the Locust ; Cadupani, the Black Lion; Alcaluan, the Guanaco ; Naguel, the Tiger. (Indian, on Horseback.) ( J 76 ) Part IT. CHAPTER XIII. Progress of Inland Discovery since the Independence of Buenos Ayres — Annual Expeditions, to the Salt Lakes in the South — Colonel Garcia, in command of one in 1810, reconnoitres the Country south of the Salado, and fixes the latitudes of several points — Treachery and Habits of the Pampas Indians —The Great Salt Lake — An attempt, in 1822, to treat with the Indians for the purchase of their lands, and for the release of Christian women in captivity amongst them, totally fails. Having given some account of the explorations of the Old Spaniards south of Buenos Ayres, I shall now proceed to state what has been done by their successors since their independence. It is hardly credible how ignorant, up to a very recent period, were even the higher classes of the people of Buenos Ayres respecting the Indian territories which immediately bounded their own lands to the south- ward. It is only by a study of the history of their frontiers, and of the steps taken from time to time to advance them, that any notion whatever of the physical features of that part of the continent can be obtained. This, however, is worth the trouble, as it furnishes some authentic data for laying down a considerable portion of country hitherto most imperfectly and erroneously described in all existing maps. One of the first attempts made by the Buenos Ayreans to acquire any accurate information respecting the country to the south of the Salado appears to have been in 1810, on the occasion of one of the periodical expeditions to the great salt lakes in the south. Those expeditions formed a singular exception to the ordinary supineness and indisposi- tion of the Spaniards to cross their own frontiers. They consisted of large convoys of waggons despatched under direction of the municipal authorities to collect salt for Chap. XIIL GARCIA’S EXPEDITION. 177 the yearly supply of the city, escorted by a military force. The Indians had become habituated to them ; and instead of regarding them with jealousy, in general rather looked forward with eagerness for the annual tribute in the shape of presents which the Spaniards were ready to pay them for an unmolested passage across their territories. They even lent the people their assistance at the salt-lakes to load their waggons in exchange for beads and baubles from Buenos Ayres. The Viceroy occasionally attached some pieces of artil- lery to the troops, and availed himself of the opportunity to make a salutary display amongst the savages of the military discipline and power of the Spanish soldiers, which no doubt had its due effect ; but no one thought of turning these expeditions to any further account: — they never departed from the same direct and beaten track across the Pampas, and not the slightest pains were taken to collect any further information respecting the country beyond, at least in the time of the Old Spanish rule. The members of the New Government, set up in 1810, were animated by a different spirit : they foresaw with the dawn of their new destinies the prospect of their becoming a commercial people, and the consequent necessity of giving such encouragement to the extension of their pas- toral establishments as would tend to the multiplication of the staple commodities of the country. The extension of their frontiers, and their due protection by military posts, were consequently among the first objects of their atten- tion ; and when the annual expedition to the Salinas was about to set out, they took care to select an officer for the command of it qualified to reconnoitre the country and to collect such information as might assist them in determin- ing upon their future plans for an extension of their terri- torial jurisdiction. Colonel Garcia, the officer in question, had previously seen much of the Indians on the coast of Patagonia, and was on many accounts eminently qualified for the task committed to him. From the diary of his expedition, which is in my possession, it appears that the caravan or convoy placed under his charge on this occasion, consisted of N 178 FIXES LATITUDE OF POINTS ON THE ROAD. Part II. 234 carts, with 2927 bullocks and 520 horses attached to them, with 407 people including soldiers, who were fur- nished with two field-pieces. Nor was this considered a large party, compared with former expeditions with the same object ; indeed Garcia soon found to his cost that his force was hardly sufficient to secure him common respect from some of the many Indian Caciques, who, from the time of his leaving the frontier fort of Cruz de Guerra to his arrival at the Salinas, successively besieged him with their importunities for presents, especially of tobacco and spirits, and kept him in continual alarm lest they should attempt to carry off by force what they could not obtain by other means. Each called himself master of the lands they were journeying through, and expected corresponding presents to purchase his permission to pass forward. Nor was this the worst: it appeared that something had given rise amongst the Indians to a suspicion of the ulterior objects of the Buenos Ayreans; and, under an impression that they projected a forcible settlement in their lands, the Ranqueles tribes from the plains south of San Luis and Cordova, under their principal Cacique Carripilum (the same spoken of in the foregoing chapter), had collected their forces with the secret determination to endeavour to cut off the whole party. Fortunately the fidelity of some of the Puelches, or Eastern tribes, who are con- tinually at variance with the Ranqueles, enabled Garcia to discover and disconcert their hostile plans, and finally, though with considerable difficulty and danger, to accom- plish his object, and return with his convoy of salt-carts in safety to Buenos Ayres. Amongst the results of this expedition was the determi- nation by observation of seventeen points along the line of road from the Guardia de Luxan, in lat. 34° 39', long, west of Buenos Ayres 1° 2', to the Great Salt Lake in lat. 37° 13', long, west of Buenos Ayres 4° 51';* the * The latitude of the Great Salt Lake east angle of the lake in lat. 37° 10', and was taken from about the centre of the 4° 36' west of the meridian of Luxan north side of it, where the party were en- (Guardia). According to him, the lake camped. of Cabeza del Buey is in lat. 36° 8', and In 1786 Don Pablo Zizur, a lieutenant the Guardia de Luxan in 34° 36'. Azara in the Spanish navy, had fixed the north- fixed it in 34° 38' 36". Chap. XIII. TREACHERY OF THE RANQUELES. 179 whole distance travelled being 97 leagues from Luxan, or 121 from Buenos Ayres. The journey out occupied 23 days, and the return 25 ; altogether the party was absent just two months, viz., from the 21st of October to the 21st of December. The features which seem most worthy of remark along the road are the numerous lakes, which appear to be the collections of the streams from the western ramifications of the Sierra V entana ; the most considerable of which is the Laguna del Monte, in lat. 36° 53', long, from Buenos Ayres 3° 5 7': its name, the Lake of the Wood, is taken from a large island upon it covered with trees; it is formed by the river Guamini, and other streams from the mountain group so called ; its width was estimated to be three or four leagues, and in the rainy season it forms one with the lakes of Paraguay os, extending more than seven leagues to the south-west. Although the Laguna del Monte was salt, the waters of some of the smaller lakes in its immediate vicinity were found to be perfectly sweet. The same observation was made at the Salinas ; the sweetest water was to be had close to the Great Salt Lake. Shortly before reaching the lake of Paraguayos, the Sierra de la Ventana and its ramification, the Guamini, were particularly observed : the Sierra Guamini bearing south 15° east, and the Ventana south-east a quarter east. There they were met by several of the best disposed of the caciques and their followers, who supplied them with cattle in exchange for the articles they had with them. They accompanied them to the Salinas, which they reached two days afterwards ; and to them they owed their pro- tection from the hostile Kanqueles and Carripilum, whose treachery they discovered and exposed. Speaking of the character of these Indians, who are probably of the same race originally as the Querandis, who attacked the Spaniards on their first landing at Buenos Ayres, Garcia says they are as remarkable for their cowardice as for their ferocity : their warfare is a system of continual deceit and treachery, and their stolen victories are alwavs signalized by savage cruelties. Nothing could N 2 180 THE GREAT SALT LAKE. Part II. exceed their submissive obsequiousness to the Spaniards from the moment they knew they had an intimation of their hostile intentions, and were upon their guard against them. The prevailing vice amongst them all, even the best of them, is drunkenness. The caciques set the example upon every occasion ; and it is seldom that their orgies end without the loss of lives, for in their cups they are always quarrelsome : -—then the slightest offence is remembered, and they draw their knives, wounding and killing one another, and falling upon all, even their nearest relations, who would attempt to restrain them. Of all the Indians the Ranqueles, he says, are the worst — they may be called the bush-rangers of the Pampas; if they cannot rob the Spaniards, they will make war upon the other tribes, to carry off their horses and cattle. The Puelches, on the contrary, or eastern people, at that time settled about the Salinas and the mountains towards the coast, were found to be more peaceably disposed: they were the possessors of large herds and flocks of their own, and the manufacturers of many articles in demand amongst the Spaniards, such as ponchos, skin-cloaks, bridles, and feather-brooms, which they used to sell to them at Buenos Ayres and on the frontiers. The extent of the Great Salt Lake is not given, and Garcia says it was impossible to ride round it, from the thick woods which lined its banks ; but, from an eminence a little to the south, he got a general view of it, as well as of the country for a considerable distance. Looking towards the south, as far as he could see, was one immense level plain covered with pasturage : to the eastward, in the distance, some woods were visible, which he was told extended to the hilly ranges of Guamini and La Ventana. On the opposite side, to the westward of the lake, was a vast forest of chanar, algaroba, and an infinite variety of other trees, which the Indians told him extended with little interruption for three days’ journey in that direction ; and they added the singular circumstance that, about a day and a half off in the midst of it, upon a hilly range of some extent, were to be seen the ruins of the brick Chap. XIII. GARCIA PROPOSES A NEW FRONTIER. 181 buildings of some former inhabitants (antigua poblacion), though, as to who they might have been, or when they ceased to exist, they had not the smallest notion, neither had they any tradition which could throw light upon it. The fruit-trees, they said, which had been planted there had multiplied exceedingly, so that it was a great resort of the Indians, in their journeys across the Pampas, to gather figs, peaches, walnuts, apples, and other fruits, of which there was an abundance for all that went there. Wild cattle also, they said, were in the surrounding forest, but they were not so accessible, and were difficult to follow up through the woods. Colonel Garcia hazards no conjecture as to who could have been the settlers in this secluded and remote spot, nor has any one else obtained since any further account of them. The age of the trees might perhaps throw some light upon the date of the buildings : the names of those mentioned seem to indicate that they must have been of European introduction, and consequently that those who planted them must have done so subsequently to the discovery of that part of the world by the Spaniards. Nothing, I was told, existed at Buenos Ayres which could throw any light whatever upon the subject. Had the practice continued of carrying on these expe- ditions, it is probable that the Buenos Ayreans would have become better acquainted with the southern part of the Pampas ; but, upon the opening of an unrestricted trade, the importation of salt from the Cape de Yerd Islands and other countries rendered it unnecessary for the govern- ment to put itself to any expense about them ; and, as in- dividuals without the protection of the troops would not run the risk of encountering the Indians, the Salinas ceased to be resorted to, and the people of Buenos Ayres became reconciled to purchasing of foreigners an article of which they have an inexhaustible supply within their own ter- ritory. It was proposed to the government to form a military settlement at the Salinas, to be the central point of a line of frontier to be drawn from the river Colorado across the Pampas to Fort San Bafael on the river Diamante, south of 182 INDIAN FORAYS ON THE FRONTIERS, Part II. Mendoza, which Garcia conceived would effectually check the depredations of the Ranqueles and their thievish asso- ciates, whilst the more friendly and well-disposed Puelches Indians to the south, he was tolerably assured, would at that period have been glad to have been brought under the immediate protection of the government of Buenos Ayres. But this plan embraced more than could be done at once by the rulers of Buenos Ayres ; and partly, perhaps, on that account, and partly because all their disposable forces and means were shortly afterwards required to carry on the struggle for their independence, it was, with various other projects, laid aside, and many years elapsed ere any further step was taken. Nevertheless the results of their new political condition developed themselves, as was anticipated, and the increase of their trade led to the extension of their pastoral estab- lishments. Although the government took no measures for their protection, the people of the country began to occupy the lands to the south of the Salado, which soon brought them into contact and collision with the Indians, who, on their part, looked with a very natural jealousy upon settlements planted without their concurrence on lands which from time immemorial they had been accus- tomed to consider as exclusively their own. The more peaceable tribes retired to the fastnesses in the mountains to the south, but the Ranqueles and other migratory hordes retaliated by carrying off the cattle and plunder- ing those who had thus intruded themselves within their territories. In these marauding expeditions they were often joined by some of the vagabond gauchos, deserters from the army, and such wretches flying from the pursuit of justice as, in times of civil commotion especially, are to be found in all countries. By those unprincipled associates they were taught to look with less dread upon the fire-arms of the Buenos Ayrean militia, and even to use them, whenever, either by the murder or robbery of some defenceless estan- ciero, they fell into their hands. During the unhappy civil dissensions also which broke out between Buenos Chap. XIII. GARCIA SENT TO TREAT WITH THEM. 183 Ayres and the Provinces, some of the unprincipled leaders of the reckless factions which divided the Republic sought alliances with the Indians,* the fatal consequences of which they only too late discovered. Like bloodhounds, it was impossible to restrain them. When once the weakest points were shown them, they burst in upon the frontier villages, murdering in cold blood the defenceless and unprepared inhabitants, and carrying off the women and children into a slavery of the most horrible description. It was manifest that the impunity with which these outrages were committed arose mainly from the total absence of any protection on the part of the government for those settlers who had advanced their estancias beyond the old forts within the line of the Salado, and the public voice called loudly for some prompt remedies for the evil, the most efficacious of which appeared to be the adoption of some one of the many plans from time to time proposed for a new line of military posts to cover the rural popula- tion south of that river. The hilly ranges of the Vuulcan, especially, seemed to present a natural frontier which it appeared only necessary to occupy to secure the object ; but the information respecting all those parts was still so exceedingly imperfect, that it was obviously necessary, in the first instance, to send out an exploratory expedition to examine them; and this led, in 1822, to Colonel Garcia being again called upon to proceed to the south, with the double object of endeavouring to induce the Indians to enter into an arrangement with the government of Buenos Ayres for a new boundary as the basis of a general pacifi- cation, and of acquiring precise information as to the most eligible positions for the establishment of military posts in the hilly ranges in that direction. The communications he had had twelve years before with the leading Caciques of the tribes inhabiting the country eastward of the Salinas led him vainly to hope that those tribes at least might be brought to acquiesce * In the life of the Carreras , given in prisal of the town of Salto, and the carry- the Appendix to Mrs. Graham’s work ing off from thence of 250 women and on Chile, there is an account of some of children, after butchering all the men, in these Indian forays in conjunction with spite of every effort of their unnatural Carrera’s troops, particularly of their sur- allies to prevent it. 184 PASSAGE OF THE SALADO. Part II, peaceably in the views of the government, and, provided they were left in possession of the lands they occupied in the vicinity of the Sierra Ventana, that they would not oppose the occupation by the Buenos Ayreans of the more northern line of the Vuulcan and Tandil ; but Garcia was not aware of the great change which had taken place in the feelings and policy of the Indians, from a variety of circumstances, since his journey to the Salinas in 1810. The messengers, however, sent forward to announce his mission were well received, and a respectable deputation, headed by Antiguan, one of their principal chiefs, was sent forward to meet and to conduct the ambassador and his suite to their toldos at the foot of the Sierra Yen tana, where the Caciques of the Puelches proposed the negotia- tions should be opened, promising to invite thither at the same time representatives from all the tribes of the Pampas* not excepting the Ranqueles, and the Huilliches or inha- bitants of the lands as far south as the rivers Colorado and Negro. Under this escort, and accompanied by Colonel Reyes* an engineer officer, and about thirty persons, soldiers and peons, Colonel Garcia set out from the fort of Lobos, in the province of Buenos Ayres, for the Indian territory on the 10th of April, 1822. On the 12th they crossed the Salado at a place where its depth allowed of the safe passage of carts, and where its width was not above thirty or forty feet ; this was some way above the junction of the Flores, after which it becomes a river of more consequence, its breadth extending to 300 yards in the winter season, when it is impassable except in canoes. The next day they crossed the Saladillo at the pass of Las Toscas, a stream which falls into the Salado a little above the river Flores, towards which they proceeded through a country much intersected by swamps, which obliged them to deviate continually from their direct course. When near the Lake de las Polvaderas, Colonel Reyes, being desirous to take an observation, produced his sextant, which led to an unexpected but serious manifestation of alarm and suspicion on the part of the Indians. Some foolish person, it appeared, when they were setting out Chap. XIII. THE TAPALQUEN AND FLORES. 185 had told them that the commissioners had with them instruments through which they could see all the world at once ; and nothing would satisfy them, when they saw them brought out, that the Spaniards were not in direct consultation with the gualichu, or devil himself. It was impossible to do away with this notion of theirs, which led to the inconvenience of obliging the officers afterwards to take their observations by the stars at night instead of by the sun in the day-time. About two leagues beyond where they crossed the Flores they verified its junction with the Tapalquen in a vast marsh. The Flores is in fact but the drain of the waters of that river; it was found to be more brackish than even the Salado. In the thick jungles along its banks many jaguars w T ere seen, which, however, excited little apprehension compared with the horseflies and mos- quitos, from whose venomous attacks there was no escape. They followed the Tapalquen till they came in sight of the Sierra, distant ten or twelve leagues, the Amarilla Hills bearing south-south-east, and those of Curaco south- south-west; between these two groups runs one of the passes frequented by the Indians in their journeys to the Veil tana, where the travellers halted, and in the night, whilst their Indian guides were asleep, by an observation of Mars, determined the latitude to be 36° 45' 10" ; the longitude they fixed at 54° 13' from Cadiz; variation 17 ° 10 '. The following morning, making a pretext for lagging behind out of sight of their Indian friends, they recon- noitred the pass, and fixed the height of some of the hills in its immediate vicinity ; the highest point of the Amarilla, or Tinta group, called Lima-huida, south-east of the pass, did not exceed 200 feet, and the two peaks of Curaco, which they had seen at a distance the day before, measured, the one 270, and the other about 200 feet. A small guard-house or fort seemed all that was necessary effectually to close this pass against the Indians. To the south of this part of the chain, the country is a succession of hills and dales, watered by many streams 186 MEETING OF THE CACIQUES. Fart II. from the Sierra, and apparently well adapted for agri- cultural settlements. Taking a course about south-south- west, on the third day after leaving the pass of Curaco they came in sight of the second range of mountains, called the Sierra de la Ventana, and arrived at the toldos of Antiguan their conductor, whose people, apprized of their approach, came out in great numbers, men, women, and children, to receive them. Antiguan lost no time in despatching messengers in every direction to summon the general meeting of the Caciques, whilst Colonel Garcia encamped with his little party on the borders of a lake, where it was determined that the grand parlamento, or parley, was to be held. Thither they were attended by a friendly old Cacique, Lincon (the Locust), whom Garcia had known on his former expedition, and to whose advice and assistance they were in the sequel very essentially indebted. From him they learnt that the chiefs of the Ran- queles were far from peaceably disposed, or inclined to take part in any treaties with the government of Buenos Ayres for their lands ; and that there existed generally amongst the Indians much jealousy and distrust of the Spaniards, in consequence of the measures they had of late been taking with respect to them. He warned them, also, not to be surprised at any warlike display which might be made at the approaching meeting, as it was pro- bable the Caciques would avail themselves of the oppor- tunity to show the number of fighting men they could command. It was fortunate they had some such notice of what they were to expect ; for when, two or three days after- wards, the Indians assembled, they certainly made an appearance much more like a general gathering of armed forces for war than of negotiators for peace. On the day appointed for the general conference, a body of about 200 men made their appearance at an early hour, formed in battle array, and slowly advancing towards the commissioners’ tents to the sound of horns (cornetas). On arriving within a short distance, they broke into small parties, uttering loud shouts, and charging over the plain, Chap. XIII. THEIR WARLIKE DEMONSTRATIONS. 187 making cuts and thrusts in the air right and left with their swords and lances, and then wheeling about and riding round and round their leader, who apparently directed these manoeuvrings. The principal object of all this, the commissioners were told, was to drive away the gualichii, or evil spirit, whose secret presence they appre- hended might otherwise maliciously influence the ap- proaching negotiations. The trappings of some of the horses of these warriors were curiously ornamented with beads, and hung about with little bells. Several of them wore a sort of helmet, and a buff coating of hide, so well prepared as to be per- fectly soft and flexible, though several times double ; the helmets made of it are so tough as to resist the cut of a sword, and sometimes are bullet-proof. This was but the advanced guard of a numerous host which afterwards came in view, covering the plain, and making really a very imposing appearance. Altogether there might be something more than 3000 fighting men regularly marshalled under their respective Caciques in nine divisions. Though these Indians belonged to the soi-disant friendly tribes, the commissioners could not fail to be struck at once with the quantity of arms and accou- trements amongst them, which were manifestly the spoils of war and of their own countrymen murdered on the •) frontiers. Their whole demeanour, too, was insolent and arrogant in the extreme, partaking infinitely more of de- fiance than any real desire for a permanent peace, which caused many misgivings to Garcia and his officers as to the result of their mission. After a variety of martial manoeuvrings, on a given signal a great circle was formed, in the midst of which the Ulmenes or principal Caciques, taking their places, com- menced the parlamento by a preliminary discussion amongst themselves as to whether or not they should enter into any negotiations whatever with the government of Buenos Ayres without the Banqueles. On this point there were great differences of opinion, the most sagacious of the speakers shrewdly prognosticating, that unless the peace was to be a general one, it was useless to enter into it, in- 188 UNSATISFACTORY NEGOTIATION. Part II. asmuch as, if hostilities continued between the Spaniards and any of the tribes, the rest could hardly fail, sooner or later, to be involved in them. The majority, however, only anxious to share at once the presents which they understood the Spaniards to have brought with them, and of which they probably feared that any co-operation of the Ranqueles tribes would deprive them of a portion, called aloud for an immediate treaty, and the commissioners were conducted, almost by force, to the place of deliberation, where a scene of great confusion took place, every one desirous to speak at once, and calling for the presents. The circle was broken, and, the Indians rushing in upon them, the officers with difficulty extricated themselves from the press. After a time the authority of the Caciques was restored, and the conference resumed ; the sole result of which was, that the majority present insisted upon treating at once with the Buenos Ayreans on their own account, after which they said the commissioners might proceed to nego- tiate, as they could, separately with the Huilliches and Ranqueles. All this was rather a dictation, on the part of the Indians, than any mutual agreement ; but it was evident there was to be no alternative, and the commis- sioners, putting the best face upon it, proceeded to distri- bute the greater part of the presents they had brought for the occasion, — the possession of which, it was perfectly clear, was the main, if not the sole object of the savages in entering at all into discussions with them. These Indians all called themselves Pampas and Aucazes. The latter term, signifying warriors , seems to be assumed by all the tribes of Araucanian origin. In the course of their parleys with them, so far from finding them disposed, as Garcia had flattered himself, to treat for a new and more advanced boundary-line, they vehemently complained of the encroachments already made by the Buenos Ayreans, and insisted upon their withdrawing the establishments already formed to the south of the Salado. Garcia found it useless to argue with them ; and, as his personal safety would probably have been endangered by a positive refusal, he thought Chap. XIII. THE HUILLICHES. 189 it better to temporize, and to promise to lay their repre- sentations before the government of Buenos Ayres on his return, contenting himself to stipulate that there should be peace in the mean time. Having obtained all they could get, the Caciques took their leave, leading off their followers to their respective toldos. The next day they were succeeded by another and distinct party of the Huilliches from the south, who, though summoned to the general conference, had not been able to arrive in time to take part in it. This tribe pre- sented even a more martial appearance than the others, and Colonel Garcia, describing them, says, no regiment of cavalry could have made a more regular or better figure than these strikingly fine men. They were naked from the waist upwards, and wore a sort of helmet surmounted by feathers (a distinguishing feature in the dress of this tribe), which added to their extraordinary stature. Their Cacique Llampilco, or the black , was upwards of seven feet high, and many others were equal to him, and even taller. Most of them were armed with very long lances, and, like the Pampas tribes, had their faces bedaubed with red and black paint ; but their language was different, and Garcia says, the same as that of the people of the southern parts of Patagonia, from whose race he imagines them to have sprung, and to the old accounts of whose height he refers. He speaks of them as a superior and finer race of men in every respect than the others ; admirable horse- men, and brave in war, without the cruelty of the Pampas tribes. They had come from the lands south of the Yen- tana, about the rivers Colorado and Negro, where they had located themselves, according to their own account, to avoid collision with the Spaniards, with whom they professed their great desire to establish a solid peace. They spoke with contempt and detestation of the maraud- ing habits of the Pampas tribes and of the Banqueles, and offered at any time to assist in chastising them. This party consisted of 420 fighting men. They conducted themselves very differently from the others, receiving thankfully whatever was given to them. After their departure, the commissioners removed to the 190 THE VENT AN A RANGE. Part II. lake where the Cacique Lincon’s people were located, and which bore his name. Its situation was about five leagues from the mountain range beyond. From this place, looking to the north-west, one boundless plain presented itself to the eye. The Ventana mountain bore south-west, extending its lesser ramifications to the west-south-west, as far as the Curumuala, a small group of hills which may be seen run- ning west to the more elevated range of Guamini, with an extensive plain between them. The highest part of the Guamini bore west 10° north, and was lost in the bound- less Pampas beyond. (View of the Range of La Ventana.) A stay here for a few days gave them a tolerable insight into the manners and customs of the natives. Nothing could exceed the laziness and brutality, in general, of the men, who, looking upon the women as inferior beings, treated them as the most abject slaves. Not only were they obliged to attend to all the ordinary duties of the family, but upon them also devolved the care of their hus- bands’ horses, and even the tending of the sheep and cattle. Chap. XIII. HABITS OF THE PAMPA INDIANS. 191 Polygamy was permitted, and, according to his means, it appeared that a man kept more or less wives, which, so far from causing jealousy, seemed generally a source of satis- faction to the ladies themselves, inasmuch as it led to the lightening by subdivision of their domestic labours. Unless engaged in some predatory excursion, or in hunting deer and guanacoes, and other smaller animals, for their skins, the men seemed to pass their whole time in sleeping, drinking, and gambling, the habitual vices of all the tribes : — they are passionately fond of cards, which they obtain from the Spaniards, and will play for ever at dice, which they make themselves ingeniously enough, and, like gamesters in other parts of the world, will stake their all upon a throw, reckless of reducing their families to utter destitution. In each toldo, or tent, which is made of hides stretched upon canes, and easily removeable from one place to another, five or six families, perhaps twenty or thirty per- sons in all, were closely huddled together in the most horrible state of filth imaginable; indeed, in many re- spects, they were but little removed in their habits from the brute creation. If fuel was scarce, as is constantly the case in the Pampas, they cared not to cook their meat, but ate it raw, and always drank the warm blood of every animal they killed : — like beasts of prey, there was no part, even to the contents of the stomach and intes- tines, which they would not greedily devour. They were superstitious in the extreme, and the credu- lous dupes and tools of a few artful men, who direct all their proceedings by pretending to foretell the future, and to divine the cause of every evil. They are the machis , or wizards, and there is no tribe without them, and which does not implicitly submit to their decisions and advice. Their word is law, and the Cacique submits to it equally with the rest. The commissioners themselves were nearly made the victims of the malice of some of these wretches, who probably anticipated a share of the plunder, if they could have induced their countrymen to destroy them. An old Cacique, named Pichiloncoy, living near the toldos of Lincon, and whose life was of great consequence 192 CHRISTIAN FEMALE CAPTIVES. Part II. to his tribe, fell seriously ill, and, according to custom, the machis were assembled to pronounce on the nature of his complaint, and to denounce those whose evil machina- tions or influence could have reduced him to such a state, for in all such cases some one must be responsible, and, once denounced, his life is seldom spared if the patient dies. In this case the machis unanimously ascribed the old Cacique’s illness to the presence of the Christians, who, they declared, had brought the Gualichii, or evil spirit, with them, probably deriving the notion from the report spread by their guides respecting the supernatural powers of the instruments they were known occasionally to consult. If the old man had not fortunately recovered, it might have gone hard with them, for their lives would certainly have been in great peril. As Garcia observes, it would have been a pretty ending of their embassy to have been sacrificed to the manes of old Pichiloncoy by the mad machis. Notwithstanding the excessive nastiness and filth of their general habits, the women seldom failed to perform their daily ablutions, repairing the first thing in the morn- ing to the neighbouring lake to bathe with their children, although the cold was so intense that the snow nightly beat through their tents during the whole time the com- missioners were there. Amongst these females were some Christian girls, cap- tives, whose fairer skin was but too strong evidence of their origin, and who seemed from habit to suffer as little from the severity of the cold as their dusky mistresses. Their unfortunate lot excited the strongest feelings on the part of the commissioners, whose interposition to obtain their liberation they pleaded for, as well they might, with tears and the most earnest entreaties. Nor were the officers backward in urging upon the Caciques every argu- ment to induce them to give them up ; but it was the greatest of their disappointments to find all their efforts on this point unavailing. The Caciques declared they had no power in a case touching the spoils of war, which, according to their laws, were the sole property of the individual captors, to whom Chap. XIII. FAILURE TO OBTAIN THEIR RELEASE. 193 they referred them to make the best bargain they could. These brutes, on being applied to, demanded in general so extravagant a ransom as to destroy at once every hope on the part of the poor women themselves of its ever being raised, their relatives in general being of the labouring classes employed in the estancias on the frontier ; in many cases they, too, were no longer in existence, having perished in the same inroads of the savages which had deprived them of their liberty. In expectation that the treaties to be made with the Indians would have led to the immediate liberation of all prisoners, some poor people had obtained leave to follow in the train of the commissioners, in the hope of finding their wives and daughters, and carrying them back with them ; and a most affecting sight it was, as may well be imagined, to witness their meeting again, after so cruel a separation ; but it was much more piteous to behold their subsequent despair on finding that the interference of the commissioners was unavailing, and that the purchase- money demanded for the prisoners was totally beyond what they could ever hope to raise. The parting again of these poor people was perhaps one of the hardest trials to which human nature could be sub- jected. Husbands and fathers forced to leave their wives and daughters to the defilement of brutal savages, with scarce a hope of ever being able to obtain their release ; it need hardly be said that under such circumstances it was difficult to restrain them from acts of violence which might have compromised the safety of the whole party. If slavery as carried on by Christian nations appears so revolting to all our better feelings, and excites our strongest sympathies on behalf of the negro, whose condition, after all, is often perhaps ameliorated by being brought under the protection of humane laws, and within the pale of Christianity, what must it be when the case is reversed — when the Christian woman, brought up in at least the decent and domestic habits of civilized society, falls into the power of a savage, whose home is the desert, and who, though little removed in his own habits from a beast of prey, looks down upon the weaker sex as an in- 194 QUETRO-EIQUE RIVER. Part II. ferior race, only made to be subject to his brutal will and caprice ? Though the unhappy condition of these poor women excited the sensibility of the commissioners for an instant, it roused also their more manly feelings, and satisfied them that the government of Buenos Ayres owed it to its own honour and to humanity to act with energy, and to make some vigorous effort to rescue these poor victims from the consequences of their own supine and too lenient policy. It was, indeed, evident that any attempt to secure a per- manent and satisfactory state of peace would be futile without such a demonstration as would act upon the fears of the Indians, and oblige them to submit to such terms as the government might determine to impose upon them. Under this conviction the officers would have returned at once to Buenos Ayres, had they not been earnestly solicited by the inhabitants of some other toldos about the Sierra Ventana to visit them before their departure; a request they acceded to in the hope of its enabling them to acquire some geographical information with regard to that range. On the 2nd they set out with old Lincon, who insisted upon escorting them as far as the place of rendezvous. Their course lay W.S.W., through an undulating country, rich in pasturage, and studded with small lakes, about which were generally found small groups of Indians with their cattle. These lakes in the summer season are for the most part dry, and then the Indians remove within reach of the mountain-streams. Towards evening they pitched their tents on the banks of a stream called the Quetro-eique, the Ventana about two and a half leagues distant, where they found a large encampment of Indians, who received them with rejoicings. As far as the eye could reach, the plains were covered with their cattle and sheep. Whilst waiting for the assembling of the caciques, the officers devoted two or three days to surveying ; following up the Quetro-eique about three and a half leagues, they traced it to its sources on the side of the Ventana. The height of the principal mountain, so called, they deter- Chap. XIII. RETURN OF THE COMMISSIONERS. 195 mined by measurement to be 2500 feet above the level of the plain from which it rises. - * To the north-west a chain of low hills extends as far as a break by which they are separated from the minor group called the Curumuala. Through this break run two small streams, the one called Ingles-malhuida, from the circumstance of an Englishman having been put to death by the Indians there, the other MaQoleubu, or the White River ; the course of both is from south-west to north-east, running nearly parallel with the Quetro-eique, and all, according to the Indian ac- counts, losing themselves in extensive marshes beyond. The rivers Sauce-grande and Sauce chico, which fall into Bahia Blanca, rise from the southern declivities of this range, according to the same authority. When the Caciques and their followers were all as- sembled there might be about 1500 men, who were paraded by their chiefs much in the same manner as before de- scribed — the same ceremonies to drive away the gualichii, and the same preliminary discussions amongst them- selves, before they commenced their parleys with the officers ; and these terminating precisely in the same unsatisfactory and indefinite manner. The presents, it was evident, were the only objects contemplated by the savages, and when these were not produced quite so quickly as they expected, an attempt was made to seize them by force, and the officers themselves would have been stripped, if not sacrificed, had not Lincon, their host, bravely protected them, and killed upon the spot with his own hand two of the most forward of the assailants: cowed by his intrepidity, and the preparations of their escort to defend themselves, the wretches slunk away, and so ended in blood and confusion the labours of the commis- sioners. To old Lincon they owed their lives and subse- quent safety on their road back to Buenos Ayres, whither they were glad to return as fast as they could, under an escort furnished by him and some of the more friendly tribes of the Huilliches. * Captain FitzRoy determined it to he 33 ">0 feet above the level of the sea , from which it is distant 45 miles. ( 196 ) Paiit II. CHAPTEK XIV. The Buenos Ayreans march south into the Indian territories — Dangers of military operations in the Pampas — Erection of a fortification at the Tandil — The boundary as laid down in 1828 • — Lavalle’s mutiny and assassination of Dorrego — Rosas employed in civilizing the Indians — Raises the country against Lavalle — Restores the legal government — Is chosen Governor for these services — Makes war on the savages — Rescues from them 1500 Christian women and children — Drives them beyond the Rio Negro, and greatly extends the territories of Buenos Ayres in that direction. The result of Garcia’s negotiations roused the government of Buenos Ayres at last to the conviction that some vigorous demonstration of their physical force was required in order to re-establish that salutary fear of the superior military power and discipline of the Christians, which in old times had to a certain degree restrained and kept the savages in order ; and they determined to adopt the group of the Vuulcan mountains at once as the boundary of the province in that direction, and to establish a chain of military posts from the sea coast as far west as the Laguna Blanca, with a sufficient force to overawe the Indians, and to afford efficient protection to such settlements as might be made within that line. The construction of a fort on the Tandil was determined upon, and the Governor himself, General Rodriguez, pre- pared to superintend the work in person, and to take the field against the savages. The little army assembled for this purpose was ready to march about the close of Fe- bruary, 1823; it consisted of no less than 2500 men, seven pieces of artillery, and a numerous train of carts and waggons, with everything requisite for the formation of a permanent settlement. The diary of its proceedings,* subsequently printed, * * Diario del Ejercito en la Expedicion al Establccimiento de la nueva Frontera al Sud,’ publicado en Buenos Aires, 1823. Chap. XIY. EXTENSION OF FRONTIERS. 197 offers a curious illustration of some of the many difficulties attending military operations in the Pampas. Instead of following the track of Garcia and his com- panions by the Tapalquen, after consulting with some guides, who professed to be well acquainted with the inter- vening country, General Rodriguez determined upon marching direct across it to the Tandil ; an attempt, as it proved, more adventurous than prudent. On the 10th of March the troops left the Guardia del Monte, and had hardly crossed the Salado when they found themselves in the midst of apparently interminable swamps, thickly set with canes and reeds higher than their horses’ heads. It was with great difficulty that the wag- gons and artillery were dragged through ; nevertheless, they floundered onwards as far as a lake, to which, from the clearness of its waters, they gave the name of Laguna Limpia ; but there it became absolutely necessary to halt in order to reconnoitre the country before proceeding further. So far they had been grossly misled by their guides, whose only knowledge of the country it appeared had been acquired in excursions in quest of nutrias, which little animals are found in vast numbers in these swamps ; but nutria catching and the march of an army accompanied by heavy waggons and artillery are very different things, and the wonder is that all the guns and baggage were not left behind in the bogs. The marshes themselves are formed by the streams which run into them from the hilly ranges further south, and which seem not to have sufficient power to force their way through the low lands either to the Salado or to the sea-coast. Beginning from the morass in which the Tapalquen joins the Flores, they extend far eastward, and render useless a considerable tract of country south of the Salado. The scouts returning brought accounts that they had found the river Chapeleofu, the course of which it was determined to follow to the Tandil, where it was known to rise ; but the troops had hardly left the Laguna Limpia when they were beset by a new danger, which, for a short time, threatened a frightful termination to the expedition. 198 THE ARMY IN A FIRE-STORM. Part II. A sweeping wind blew towards them clouds of dense smoke, followed by one vast lurid blaze, extending across the horizon, and indicating but too clearly the approach of one of those dreadful conflagrations, not uncommon in the Pampas after dry weather, when the long dry grass, and canes and thistles, readily igniting, cause the flames to extend rapidly over the whole face of the country, involving all in one common and horrible destruction. The Gauchos, on the first indication of danger, have sometimes sufficient presence of mind to set fire imme- diately to the grass to leeward, by which they clear a space on which to take refuge before the general confla- gration reaches them ; but there is not always time to do this, much less to save the cattle and sheep, numbers of which often perish in the devouring element. Upon the present occasion the guides seem to have lost their wits as well as their way ; and, but for the fortunate discovery of a small lake near them, into which men and beasts alike rushed, dragging the carts with them, the whole army would have been involved in the same tragical end. There, up to their necks in the water, they remained for three hours, during which the fire-storm raged frightfully round them, and then, for want of further fuel, subsiding, left a desolated waste as far as the eye could reach, covered with a black stratum of cinders and ashes. Such is war in the Pampas ! The best troops in the world, if not lost in the bogs, may be roasted alive, without the possibility of escape. After these dangers the army continued its march along the western bank of the Chapeleofii, through a country which improved every step they advanced towards the sierras beyond. Picturesque and fertile, the lands seemed only to require to be taken possession of to form a most valuable addition to the territory of Buenos Ayres. The wandering tribes of Indians usually dwelling there had, to all appearance, abandoned them, and withdrawn further south, no doubt in alarm at the preparations made by the Spaniards to occupy them The wild guanacoes, and the deer, and the ostriches ranged in thousands over the pastures of their native Chap. XIY. FORT ON THE TANDIL. 199 regions, and, with hares, partridges, and armadilloes, afforded abundant sport to those sent out to take them. For some days the army was almost entirely subsisted upon them. Vast quantities of armadilloes, especially, were caught by the soldiers. One memorable afternoon’s chase is recorded, in which upwards of 400 were taken ; and a more delicate dish than one of these little animals, roasted in his own shell, I will venture, from my own experience, to say, is not to be had in any part of the world. The rivers and lakes swarmed with wild and water-fowl of every sort, named and nameless, from the snipe to the beautiful black-necked swan peculiar to that part of the world. An observation was taken on the Chapeleofu in lati- tude 37° 17' 34"; shortly after which the army left its course, and marching eastward, encamped at the Tandil, where the surveying officers having reconnoitred the sur- rounding country, determined upon a site for the new fortification. The position of the fort constructed there has been fixed by repeated observations in latitude 37° 21' 43"; longitude, west of Buenos Ayres, 39' 4" ; variation 15° east. It stands upon a small eminence, one of a lower group of hills which skirts the more elevated range beyond, from which it is divided by a streamlet, which, passing the works about a quarter of a league to the east- ward, after being joined by another from the west, forms the river Tandil, which runs north till lost in the marshes in that direction already spoken of. It is screened to the west and north-west by a range of hills rising 300 or 400 feet above it, the summits of which are strewed with large masses of quartzose rock, having a very remarkable ap- pearance when seen from a distance. The highest part of the range of the Tandil, five or six miles to the south-east of the fort, was ascertained to be nearly 1000 feet above the level of a small stream which runs along its base. It is visible from a distance of forty miles. The height of this part of the range gradually falls oft' till lost in a wide plain or vale, about twelve miles eastward of the fortification. 200 HOSTILITY OF THE INDIANS. Part II. The climate in winter was found to be very cold ; the prevailing winds from the south and south-west. In the month of April the thermometer was twice 1J° below freezing-point ; but variations of 20° and even 30° in the course of the day were of common occurrence. In that month (April) the highest of the thermometer was 68°, the lowest 28i° ; in May the highest was 61°, the lowest 31°; in June the highest was 72°, the lowest 39°; in July the highest was 79°, the lowest 41°. In the summer the heat was almost insufferable, particularly in the low lands; but in. the spring and autumn, which are the best seasons, the weather was found temperate and very agreeable. Whilst the fort was building on the Tandil, communi- cations were opened with the Pampas Indians residing near the Yen tana, proposing to them to join in active operations against the Ranqueles tribes — the Spaniards thinking, as on other occasions, to involve the tribes in war with each other, and to profit by the weakening of both parties ; but the Indians were this time upon their guard. They saw clearly enough that the march of such an army into their territory could have only one object, — the forcible occupation of their lands, — and they took their measures accordingly with their usual astuteness and cunning. Assenting, apparently, to the general proposi- tions made to them, they invited the Buenos Ayrean General to repair with his principal officers to the neigh- bourhood of the Y entana, there to enter into the definitive treaties. They probably hoped by some ruse to get the Governor himself into their hands, and were greatly dis- appointed at his only sending his second in command, General Rondeau, to treat with them. Rondeau marched into their territory with a force of 1000 men, passing to the west of the Tinta mountains, and, after going some distance, was met by the principal Caciques, with a large assemblage of their fighting men ; and here commenced a negotiation, in which the Buenos Ayrean General was fairly outwitted. The Indians, affect- ing distrust, proposed that some officers of consequence should be sent to them as hostages during the conferences, Chap. XIV. RANGE OF THE VUULCAN. 201 offering, on their part, to place some of their principal Caciques in the power of the General. Rondeau fell into the snare, and took his measures so badly, that, before the exchange was made, six of his officers, two trumpeters, and the interpreter were suddenly made prisoners, and carried off at a gallop, enveloped by a cloud of Indians, who were soon out of sight. His cavalry was in no con- dition to follow the savages into the Pampas, and he re- turned to the Tandil with the conviction that the Puelches tribes, as well as the Ranqueles, were combined in one and the same determination to have no more friendly inter- course with the Christians. The Governor returned to Buenos Ayres with the greater part of the troops, satisfied with having laid the foundations of a new settlement, which from its local ad- vantages he was persuaded was to become a future source of new wealth and importance to Buenos Ayres. * After his departure, nothing further was attempted, ex- cept to send out a party to explore the continuation of the range of the Tandil to the coast, of which the following was the result. It has been already said that the range of the Tandil gradually declines to the eastward till broken by a wide vale, which commences about twelve miles from the new fortification ; the vale in question extends for a distance of forty-two miles : — many streams run through it, some few of which, inclining towards the coast, fall into the sea, though the greater part of them are lost in swamps in the low lands which intervene. It is the greatest break in the chain, and, from its rich pastures, a favourite resort of the Indians. They call it the Vuulcan, which signifies, in their language, an opening ; and thence the sierra, which bounds it to the eastward, also takes its name. In many * The Governor’s official account of the establishment thus formed on the Tandil is as follows : — “ Este establecimiento, sostenido y cuidadosamente conservado, formara en adelante la primera y principal riqueza de la provincia de Buenos Ayres : campos hermosos, extendidos y quebrados, pastos fuertes y abundantes, aguadas de un gusto exquisito, y permanentes por todas partes, lugares privilegiados por la natu- raleza para todo ramo de agricultura y frutos, sitios aparentes para establecer pueblos, defcndidos de los vientos mas incomodos, y a poca costa de las irrup- ciones de los barbaros, y la facilidad del comercio con estos, son los elementos que presenta reunidos la nueva fortaleza y frontera,” &c. 202 RUINS OP THE JESUIT SETTLEMENT. Part II. maps it is written Volcan, which has led to the erroneous idea of there being a volcano in those parts. From the Yuulcan the range runs in a continuous line for thirty-six miles towards the sea, presenting, for the most part, towards the north the appearance of a steep dyke or wall. On the summits are extensive ranges of table land, well watered, and with good pasturage, to which the Indians, who are well acquainted with the craggy ravines which alone lead to them, are in the habit of driving their horses and cattle, knowing that the nature of the ground requires but little care to prevent their straying. At a short distance from the coast the hills break off in stony ridges, running down to the sea, and forming the headland of Cape Corrientes, in latitude 38° 6', and further south a line of rocky cliffs, which bounds the shore as far as Cape Andres. Upon the borders of a lake a short distance from Cape Corrientes were discovered the remains of the settlement formed by the Jesuits in the year 1747, — a site chosen with all their characteristic carefulness, well suited for an agricultural establishment, of easy access to the sea, and with great capability of being rendered defensible. It is a striking proof of the indomitable nature of the Pampas tribes, that all the efforts of the missionary fathers to reduce them to habits of order and industry only ended in disappointment; and, after ten years * of fruitless endea- vours, to their being obliged to ffy from an establishment where their lives were no longer safe. The Indians of the Pampas, like the Arabs of the desert, inseparable from their horses, and wild as the animals they ride, were not, like the more docile people of Paraguay, to be sub- jected to the strict rules and discipline which it was the object of the fathers to introduce amongst them. The vestiges of their buildings, and the fruit trees planted by them, are the only evidences remaining of their pious but unavailing labours. Although this spot was in many respects a very inviting one for an agricultural settlement, it wanted the principal requisite of some tolerable roadstead or harbour to facili- * It was given up in 1753. Chap. XIV. THE BOUNDARY OF 1828. 203 tate any direct communication from Buenos Ayres by sea with the new line of frontier, an object of great importance if possible to secure. The coast was vainly explored in search of one from Cape Corrientes some way to the south, and to the north as far as the great lake called the Mar-chiquita, which empties itself into the sea by a narrow channel, capable perhaps of being deepened by artificial means, so as to form a harbour for small vessels ; but even this seemed extremely doubtful, and depending on a fur- ther examination and survey, which the officers were not at the time prepared to undertake. Under these circumstances it was thought advisable to postpone the construction of any further works till a more accurate survey of the coast should be made. This was subsequently commenced, and carried as far as Bahia Blanca, which was reported to be the only situation from the Salado on all the line of coast intervening which com- bined a tolerable harbour for shipping with the capability of being made a good defensible posi tion. Although this was far beyond the line of frontier at first contemplated, which only reached to the range of the Yuulcan and Tandil, other considerations eventually de- termined the government of Buenos Ayres to extend their boundary to that point. Not only did it appear that Bahia Blanca was the only place capable of being made a harbour on the coast, but the want of some such harbour to the south became more than ever apparent when the war broke out with Brazil, and the Biver Plate was placed under blockade by the Emperor’s fleet ; and although that war at first necessarily diverted the attention of the go- vernment of Buenos Ayres from the completion of their original plan, it forced upon them a more enlarged view of their position, and led to the final adoption of an infinitely better boundary-line than that which was first thought of merely as a check upon the Indians. The line in question, called the boundary of 1828, will be found on the map drawn about N.N.E. from the fort built upon the River Naposta (which falls into Bahia Blanca) to the Laguna Blanca, another point occupied as a military position at the western extreme of the hilly ranges 204 GOVERNMENT OVERTHROWN BY LA VALLE. Part II. of the Tapalquen ; thence it runs north by the fort of Cruz de Guerra to Melinque, the N.W. point of the province of Buenos Ayres. It will be obvious that whilst this line embraced within it a much greater extent of ter- ritory than that at first projected, it was in reality, being straight, a shorter one, requiring less defences than the ranges of the Tandil and Vuulcan, supposing all the passes to be fortified. Moreover, the lands it enclosed between the two ranges of the Vuulcan and the Ventana beyond, are believed to be the best suited of all those to the south of Buenos Ayres for agricultural settlements ; and Bahia Blanca not only offered a good harbour, so much needed upon that coast, but is the nearest point from which a direct communication may be established between the province of Buenos Ayres and that of Con- ception in Chile, upon the shores of the Pacific. Don Manuel Rosas was employed on the commission appointed to carry out these arrangements. He was well known to the Indians, and the influence of his name went far to induce the more peaceably disposed tribes of the Pampas to enter into treaties for their lands, and to engage to co-operate in defending them against the hostile Ran- queles and their associates. Several hundreds of them with their wives and families were located in the rural establishments under his imme- diate charge, where they were employed in a variety of agricultural, pastoral, and other industrial pursuits, with every promise of their being weaned from their vagabond and predatory habits, and made useful members of society, when, unfortunately for that experiment, as well as for the peace of the whole Republic, whilst all were rejoicing at the honourable conclusion of the war with Brazil for the Banda Oriental, the victorious army returning to Buenos Ayres, headed by their commander General Lavalle, mutinied against the governor, General Dorrego, took pos- session of the capital, dissolved the Sala, and set up a military despotism. The only forces which could be immediately assembled to oppose the insurgents were the country militia under Rosas, and with them Dorrego took the field in defence Chap. XIV. ROSAS RAISED TO POWER. 205 of his own authority and the legal institutions of the Re- public : hastily collected and but indifferently armed, they were defeated in the first encounter, and Dorrego falling into the hands of Lavalle, was by his order most inhu- manly and barbarously put to death ; but this brutal act, instead of terminating the contest as he expected, roused all who were free to act against him, and they flocked by thousands to range themselves under the orders of Rosas, who declared his determination never to sheath his sword till he had put down General Lavalle and his mutinous troops. A long and most disastrous struggle ensued, in which finally the cause of order was everywhere tri- umphant, the army was broken up, and their leaders obliged to fly for their lives. The people, grateful for the result and for the re-esta- blishment of their legitimate institutions elected Rosas to be their Governor in place of the unfortunate Dor- rego ; and thus was that extraordinary man — for such he has certainly shown himself — first raised to that power and (Juan Manuel Rosas, 1833.) 20G WAB WITH THE INDIANS. Part II. position in which from a variety of unforeseen circum- stances he has ever since been continued. But to return to the Indians — amongst other lamentable consequences which arose out of these civil dissensions, not only were the friendly Indians again diverted from their peaceful and useful occupations, but the hostile tribes who had never submitted to the Buenos Ayreans, disco- vering that the garrisons of the new forts were drawn off, and that the frontiers were left without sufficient forces to protect them, burst in upon the new settlement and com- mitted the most frightful ravages. The havoc and devas- tation they made was dreadful ; but it was signally avenged in 1832 and 1833 by General Rosas, who took the field against them in person at the head of the largest force that ever entered their lands : marching southward as far as the Rivers Colorado and Negro, he cleared all the in- tervening country, putting hundreds of them to death. Some tribes were exterminated, and others fled to the Cor- dillera of Chile, in the fastnesses of which alone they were safe from the pursuit of the exasperated and victorious soldiers. The Spaniards and their descendants, more provident in that respect than the English in their colonies, have, ever since their first settlement in South America, taken good care to prevent the introduction of fire-arms amongst the aborigines, to whom the sale of them was prohibited under the most severe penalties. This has enabled them effectually, and with comparatively little loss, to keep the upper hand, and to maintain the de facto superiority of regular soldiers over the savages whenever they have come in conflict with them. What waste of valuable life, what an expenditure of money might we have been saved, had we enforced a similar prohibition in North America, Caffreland, and elsewhere ! Is it even now too late ? That the Buenos Ayreans had on this occasion ample justification for hostilities, may be judged from the number of Christian slaves whom they succeeded in rescuing from the hands of the savages: upwards of 1500 women and children were retaken by General Rosas’ troops, who had Chap. XIV, THEY ARE DRIVEN OUT OF THEIR LANDS. 20 7 all been carried off in some or other of their marauding incursions, their husbands, sons, and brothers having been in most instances barbarously butchered before them. Many of these poor women had been in their hands for years : some, taken in infancy, could give little or no ac- count to whom they belonged ; others had become the wretched mothers of children brought up to follow the brutal mode of life of these barbarians. General Rosas fixed his head-quarters on the river Colorado, midway between Bahia Blanca and the settle- ment of Carmen, on the river Negro. Thence he detached a division of his forces, under General Pacheco, to the south, which established a military position on the Cho- leechel, now called Isla de Rosas, on the Negro, which river was followed to the junction of the Neuquen. An- other detachment marched under the orders of General Ramos along the banks of the Colorado as far as latitude 36° and 10° longitude west of Buenos Ayres, according to his computation, from whence he saw the Cordillera of the Andes, and believed he was not more than thirty leagues from Fort Rafael on the Diamante. Unfortunately no attempt was made to lay down the course of this river, respecting which, therefore, we have no new data beyond a corroboration of the accounts ob- tained by Cruz, in 1806, of its being a great river, which runs without interruption direct from the Cordillera to the sea ; and a vague opinion expressed by General Ramos, that it is not navigable for more than forty leagues from its mouth. Of the Negro, General Pacheco has sent me a sketch, which strikingly confirms the course of the river as laid down by Mr. Arrowsmith, from Villarino’s diary. The result of this expedition against the Indians was very important. The savages received a lesson which they are not likely to forget, and were made to feel the full force of the superiority of the white men ; whilst the Buenos Ayreans were left in possession of a vast extent of new lands only wanting population to make them the most valuable part of their possessions. Assuming as its nominal boundaries the parallel of the Arroyo del Medio to the north- — the River Negro in lat. 208 EXTENT OF PROVINCE OF BUENOS AYRES. Part II. 41° to the south — and the River Diamante to the west, the province of Buenos Ayres may now be said to contain up- wards of 200,000 square miles — very little less than the whole of the kingdom of Spain, or of France ; a territory, it might be supposed, sufficient to satisfy the ambition and to occupy the sole and undivided attention of any government. fiVLEGATK ER1 LTM Chap. XY. ( 209 ) CHAPTER XV. Geology of the Northern and Southern Shores of the Plata — The River silting up — The Pampa Formation alluvial — Marine Remains — Evi- dences of the extensive bed of an Ocean beneath — Saline Lakes and Rivers — Speculations as to the origin of so much Salt — Fossil Mon- sters found in the Pampas — Account of the Discovery of the Megathe- rium — Mylodon and Glyptodon — Their anatomical Structure and supposed Habits and Food. The geological features of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres, and the remains of the extraordinary fossil monsters which have been discovered in them, have appeared to me to be worthy of a separate chapter. The geological structure of the Pampas contrasts very remarkably with that of the opposite side of the great estuary of La Plata, called the Banda Oriental. There the rocks consist of clay-slate, gneiss, and granite, which also form the islands of Sola, Las Hermanas, and Martin Garcia, in the river above Buenos Ayres, where the gra- nite is quarried for the pavement of the city, whilst on the Buenos Ayrean side not a trace of solid rock is to be met with, and for hundreds of miles inland not the smallest pebble is to be discovered. As far as we yet know of it, the whole of that vast plain or level called the Pampas,* extending from the eastern slopes of the Andes to the shores of the Parana and Uruguay, appears to be one immense bed of alluvial matter, consisting almost throughout of the same red- coloured argillaceous earth containing calcareous concre- tions more or less indurated, the deposition of detritus Pampa signifies in the Quichua language a level country. 210 THE PAMPA FORMATION. Part II. brought down by innumerable rivers from the Andes, * which in the long lapse of ages has been poured out, perhaps over the shallow bottom of an ancient sea, subsequently up- heaved with this its superincumbent stratum. Some such x process of formation appears still to be going on in many parts of the Pampas, where muddy streams and streamlets, descending from the mountains in the rainy seasons, and too sluggish to force a way through the level country, in- undate the plains, and gradually deposit the alluvial sedi- ment in the swamps and morasses, until accumulations of fresh soil take place in sufficient quantity to throw off the waters again in some other direction. The estuary of the Plata, itself the reservoir of a ^ hundred rivers, is, from all I could learn, gradually silting up : wide as it is at the present day, the evidences of the waters having once occupied an area of infinitely greater extent may be distinctly traced along its shores far above Buenos Ayres. Every observation tends to the inference that this now mighty estuary may, centuries hence, be filled up, and then form one great delta like those of the Nile, the Indus, or the Ganges. Nor may this re- quire perhaps so long a period as might at first be imagined.! If we except the narrow channel between the Chico and Ortiz banks, below Buenos Ayres, the average depth of the river between that city and Monte Video does not exceed twenty feet. The prodigious quantity of * In corroboration of this theory, I beg to refer the reader to the sections annexed to the map, which so strikingly exhibit the gradual fall of this formation throughout its whole extent, from the Cordillera of the Andes to the mouth of the Rio de la Plata. f For a long time after the first dis- covery, although all vessels from Spain held their course along the northern shore of the river, cases of shipwreck or disaster below San Gabriel’s were of very rare occurrence, leading any one who knows the risks of the navigation of that channel now, to infer that in former times it must have been much more free and safe than at the present day. Barco Cente- nera, the author of the ‘Argentina,’ who went out in 1572 with the Adelantado Zarate, makes special mention of th 30° 50' . . 15,575 Juan ' z 2 340 PASS OF THE CUMBRE— INCA’S BRIDGE. Part III. Fifth. — The pass of the Cumbre by Uspallata, the road most usually taken by travellers proceeding from Mendoza to Santiago de Chile, and which has been very parti- cularly described by several Englishmen who have gone that way. Of the published accounts that of Mr. Miers is perhaps the best, as he had the most opportunities of making it so, having crossed it no less than four times, once with his wife, who was taken in labour upon the road. Lieutenant Brands is also interesting, from his having crossed at the season when the Cordillera was covered with snow, which obliged him to proceed on foot a great part of the way, and to encounter fearful risks, which he has very graphically described. The whole distance from Mendoza to Santiago is 107 post leagues ; and the highest part of the Andes crossed is (by barometrical measurement), according to Dr. Gillies, 12,530 feet above the sea : Mr. Miers says about 600 feet less. From the commencement of November to the end of May, occasionally a few weeks sooner or later, this road is passable the whole distance on mules ; for the rest of the year it is generally closed to all but foot-passengers, and the crossing is then attended with considerable danger ; many lives have been lost in attempting it. A striking object on this road is the splendid arch called the Inca’s Bridge, seventy-five feet over, which nature has thrown across a ravine one hundred and fifty feet deep, through which runs the river of Las Cuevas, sometimes called the Colorado, from the colour of its waters, which are brick red. This natural arch is formed of a recent tufaceous limestone, deposited from the cal- careous springs which abound in the neighbourhood, in the same manner as the celebrated natural bridge of St. Alleyre, near Clermont, in Auvergne. These springs issue from a calcareous formation, which contains beds of fossil shells at an elevation of 8,650 feet above the sea, and which the celebrated geologist Yon Buch has referred to the lowest period of the chalk formations. Sixth. — About half way over, near the station called the Punta de las Vacas, a road branches off to the valley Chap. XX. PASS OF THE PORTILLO. 341 of Tupungato, and afterwards crosses the Cordillera to the north of the peak so called, descending on the oppo- site side into Chile by the valley of the little river Dehesa, from which it is called the Dehesa Pass : it is seldom used. Seventh. — South of the mountain of Tupungato, in S. lat. 32° 24' (33° 24', according to Gillies), is the Portillo Pass, which falls into the valley of the river Maypii in Chile, with the Rio del Yeso. By many travellers it is preferred to the high road by Uspallata, being the shorter way of the two by twenty leagues ; it is, however, seldom open longer than from the beginning of January to the end of April, the greater elevation of that part of the Cordillera causing it to be longer blocked up by the snow. Of this pass a very interesting description will be found in Mr. Darwin's work. The way to it from Mendoza runs southward, parallel to the mountains as far as the estancia of Totoral, upon the north bank of the river Tunuyan, distant about sixty- five miles from that city, and some twenty from the base of the Cordillera ; thence the pass bears west-south-west, distant about thirty-six miles ; the breach in the mountains through which the Tunuyan runs being plainly visible to the south of it. This part of the Andes seems to consist of two great parallel ridges running nearly north and south, and sepa- rated from each other by the valley of the Tunuyan, the width of which is about twenty miles, and its elevation above the sea, where crossed by the road, about 7500 feet. Of the two ranges the eastern one is the highest, being, where the road crosses it, 14,365 feet above the sea: — this chain extends with little interruption from the river of Mendoza, southwards, to the Diamante, a distance of about 140 miles : — the western, or Chilian range, where crossed by the road, is not above 13,200 feet high.* In this part of the Cordillera is situated the volcano of Peuquenes, or Maypii, eruptions from which have been frequent since the great earthquake which produced such disturbance in 1822 : — they generally consist of ashes * These heights are given on the authority of Dr. Gillies. 342 LAS DAMAS— EL PLANCHON. Part III. and clouds of pumice-dust, which are carried by the winds occasionally as far as Mendoza, a distance little short of 100 miles. In crossing from the eastern to the western side of the valley of the Tunuyan, travellers have, at first, the summit of the volcano concealed from them, but about half way between that river and the pass of Peuquenes there is a good view of it eight or nine miles distant to the south : — the summit is generally covered wdth snow, and cannot be much less than 15,000 feet above the sea. It is from the pumice-rock found in this neighbourhood that the people of Mendoza make basins for filtering the muddy water of their river. Eighth. — To the south of this volcano is situated a pass called De la Cruz de Piedra, which enters the Cor- dillera where a small stream, the Aguanda, issues from it, about two leagues to the north of the fort of San Juan : — it unites with the road by the Portillo pass on the opposite side of the Andes in the valley of the Maypii. Ninth.— Further south one little frequented unites the valleys of the rivers Diamante and Cachapoal : this is previous to reaching the volcano of Peteroa, beyond which are situated the passes of Las Damas and of the Planchon. Tenths — Of these, the Las Damas, or ladies’ pass, en- ters the Cordillera from Manantial in the valley of the river Atuel, and descends by that of the Tinguiririca, which issues from the mountain of San Fernando: — this was the pass which M. de Souillac, in 1805, reported might, at a very small expense, be rendered passable for wheel-carriages.* The highest points traversed by this road are El Llano de los Morros at an elevation of 11,600 feet, and El Llano de los Choicos 10,170 (according to Gillies). Eleventh. — The road by the Planchon leads to Curico and Talca, following the courses of the rivers Claro and Teno : — on neither of these roads does the elevation ex- ceed 11,600 feet, or the vegetation ever cease. % Zamudio, an officer in the service of actually passed it with a two-wheel cart. Buenos Ayres, who examined it the year Dr. Gillies does not give so favourable an before M. de Souillac, is said to have account of its present state. Chap. XX. ANTUCO— DR. GILLIES’ JOUKNEY. 343 The twelfth pass is that of Antuco, from which Cruz started in 1806 to cross the Pampas to Buenos Ayres : — the road by it to Concepcion in Chile follows the valleys of the rivers Laxa and Biobio. A short distance beyond the volcano in the vicinity of this pass, which Cruz could not get up, but which has since been ascended by M. Fcep- pig, a German naturalist, and more recently in 1845 by M. Domeyko, lies a ridge called the Silla Velluda , rising, according to Pceppig’s estimation, to the height of 17,000 feet, on the rugged sides of which, below the snow and glaciers, are to be traced ranges of basaltic columns. Sections of this group have been published by M. Domeyko in the 4 Annales des Mines’ for 1848. He says, the columns are not basaltic, but porphyritic, resembling by their pris- matic forms basalt at a distance. He fixes the elevation of the highest part of the cone of Antuco at 2800 metres. Of the most frequented of these passes, viz., those by Uspallata and the Portillo, there are, as I have already said, several accounts in print ; but as I know of no Englishman except the late Dr. Gillies who has examined those of Las Damas and the Planchon with any attention, I shall here quote part of a letter which he wrote to me in 1827, describing a short excursion he made by them in that year ; and I do so the rather because it also gives some account of the intervening country, which has never, as far as I know, been described by any one else : — “ About the middle of May I returned from an excur- sion of ten weeks to the south, which I had long meditated. After reaching the river Diamante, the southern boundary of the province of Mendoza, I crossed that river and ascended the Cerro del Diamante, and at every step found ample evidence of its volcanic origin : the ascent was covered with masses of lava, and near the summit with loose pumice. “ The upper part of the mountain consists of a ridge elevated a little at each of the extremities into a rounded form, on the north side of which, a little below the summit, is a plateau about 400 yards in diameter, which undoubtedly has been formerly the crater of a volcano. It appears to rest on an immense bed of pumice- 344 DR. GILLIES’ JOURNEY Part III. stone. On the steep banks of the Diamante opposite strata of it are laid open on both sides : — on the south bank I traced one great mass of pumice-rock, 100 feet long and 145 wide, the whole forming distinct basaltic pillars. “From this interesting spot we proceeded towards the mountains of the Andes, and amongst the first low hills examined several springs of petroleum, about which it is curious to observe the remains of a variety of insects, birds, and animals, which, having got entangled there, have been unable to extricate themselves : — so tenacious is this substance that (as I was assured by an eye-witness) some years ago a lion was found in the same situation, which had made fruitless attempts to escape. “ Following the base of this lower range southward, after a few leagues we reached the banks of the river Atuel, a copious stream much larger than either the river of Mendoza or the Tunuyan : — its bed, very unlike that of the Diamante, is very little lower than the surrounding plains, which gradually slope off to the eastward for twelve or fourteen leagues, as I had an opportunity afterwards of observing. The north bank, where we crossed it, seems admirably adapted for an agricultural settlement ; it is there that the several roads diverge across the Cordillera to San Fernando, Curico, and Talca, in Chile ; and to the south into the country of the Indians. “We proceeded from thence towards the Planchon, along a succession of valleys rich in pasturage, but very bare of shrubbery : in several places we saw immense masses of gypsum, and passed a mountain from which is obtained an aluminous earth, much used in Chile as a pigment for dyeing. “ The pass of the Planchon is along the north shoulder of a lofty mountain, apparently composed of sonorous slaty strata. My barometer unfortunately got out of order before I reached the highest elevation ; but, as vegetation e xtends to the top of the pass, it must be considerably lower than the passes of the Portillo and of UspalJata, on both of which all vegetation ceases long before reaching the higher points of the road. The descent from the Planchon is very rough, and in many places steep : at a Chap. XX. OYER THE PLANCHON AND LAS DAMAS. 345 distance of three leagues from the top we reached our resting-place, surrounded by luxuriant vegetation, and thence descended to Curico, along a valley with steep mountains on either side, and through a continuous thicket of lofty trees and shrubs, amongst which I may enumerate the Chilian cypress, the quillay, the canelo or cinnamon-tree, the caustic laurel, a variety of myrtles, a beautiful fuchsia, and others no less interesting. “From Curico we went to Talca, a considerable town, and thence explored the river Maule, with a view to its capabilities for navigation. We returned by Curico to San Fernando, where we re-entered the Cordillera by the valley of the Tinguiririca to ascend the pass of Las Damas : the road was very similar to that we had pre- viously descended from the Planchon to Curico ; but, being much less frequented, it was in many places difficult and dangerous. “ In the upper part of this valley we examined some hot springs, the temperature of which reached 170° of Fahrenheit. Thence we were induced to devote two days to visit a volcano, — which was described to us as being in an active state, — about ten leagues distant : thither we proceeded by a most rugged and dangerous path, and reached within half a league of the summit, when so serious a snow-storm came on, that we had the mortification of being forced to return without accomplish- ing our object ; nor had we any time to lose, for the snow had so obliterated all traces of the way, that our guide was completely lost, and, but for the observations I had taken with my compass, I know not how we should have got back at all. “ On reaching our mules again, the weather was so un- promising that we made all haste to recross the mountains, lest they should be closed against us by the heavy snow which was falling ; this we happily accomplished, and three days brought us back again to the place where we had first crossed the Atuel river. After visiting the extensive saline lakes in that vicinity, from which the province is supplied with salt, we bent our way back to Mendoza. “In this journey I had an opportunity I had long de- 346 DR. GILLIES. Part III. sired of examining on the Cordillera the plant from the root of which the natives of Chile obtain their admirable red dye.” The late Dr. Gillies, the writer of this letter, was a young Scotch physician, who passed many years at Men- doza, where he recovered from a severe pulmonary affec- tion, and was himself a striking instance of the beneficial effects of the climate under such circumstances. Botany was his favourite pursuit ; but he did not confine him- self to that, and never lost an opportunity of collecting useful information on every other point which fell under his notice. His botanical discoveries were, I believe, chiefly com- municated to Sir William Hooker, through whom they were occasionally made known to the public. His col- lections of the ores of Uspallata and other parts of the Cordillera were given to the College Museum at Edin- burgh. BUENOS AYRES AND THE PROVINCES OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA. PART IV. ■ ■ . Chap. XXI. ( 349 ) CHAPTER XXL TRADE OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA. Advantageous situation of the Rio de la Plata for Commerce, external and internal — Buenos Ayres and Monte Video the ports of entry for the supply of the people of the interior — Tables showing the Exports of Produce from Buenos Ayres at various periods from 1822 to 1851, and whence derived — Great increase in their value and quantity of late years, from Increase of Territory and Foreign Blockades — Hides — Tallow — Wool Details of the trade from Great Britain, France, the North of Europe, Italy, Spain, the United States, and Brazil — Shipping employed — Comparative Table of Exportations of British Pro- duce and Manufactures to all the New States of Spanish South America and to Spain in the last twenty years. It is impossible to look at a map of South America with- out being struck with the manifest importance of the Rio de la Plata in a commercial point of view. From the river Amazon along a line of coast extending 2000 miles it affords the only means of communication with all those vast regions in the interior of the continent which are bounded by Brazil on the east and by the moun- tain chains of the Andes to the west. Not only all the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata, including Paraguay, but the State of Bolivia and a considerable portion of Peru are as yet only accessible, by way of the Rio de la Plata, from the side of the Atlantic. If at present there is but little intercourse between these States, it is attributable to political causes alone, and to those limited notions on matters of trade which are perhaps to be expected from Governments in their in- fancy, and amongst a people who have known nothing but the restrictive policy of old Spain. The people of Bolivia, and of all those portions of Peru lying to the east of the Cordillera of the Andes, whose wants from Europe were formerly supplied through Buenos 350 TRADE. Part IY. Ayres, are now under separate Governments of their own, which seem anxious to make a display of their commercial as well as political independence of their old connexions by endeavouring to supply themselves through other chan- nels more immediately under their own control on the coasts of the Pacific; but however that may answer, as no doubt it will to the people who inhabit the Provinces situated on the western slopes of the Andes, it must be evident that, so far as regards those to the eastward of the Cordillera, they must eventually be much more easily supplied with what they want from Europe by way of the Rio de la Plata, especially when its great affluents are navigated by steam vessels, for which they are so admirably adapted, than by the present circuitous route round Cape Horn, and the subsequent very difficult and expensive conveyance by mule-carriage across the sandy deserts of Atacama and the precipitous passages of the Andes. As these young States acquire more practical know- ledge of their real interests, it may be expected that they will make arrangements amongst themselves for an ex- change of commercial advantages for their mutual benefit; and turn to better account the means of internal commu- nication which nature seems expressly to have provided for them. In the mean time, however, the trade of the Rio de la Plata is limited to the people of the Provinces so called and of the State of the Banda Oriental del Uruguay. I need not say that Buenos Ayres is the capital of the Argentine Provinces, and Monte Video that of the Banda Oriental, and that these two places are the chief ports of entry through which the trade of these countries is carried on with foreign nations. In treating generally of the trade with the Rio de la Plata it does not appear to me to be necessary to enter into any discussion as to the more or less amount of it which, under special circumstances, may be carried on through either Buenos Ayres on the one side or Monte Video on the other. At whichever of these ports the largest amount of foreign goods is landed, it will be found Chap. XXL TRADE. 351 that they are for the most part destined for the consump- tion of the inhabitants of the countries watered by the Rio de la Plata and its tributaries, of which the people of Monte Video and of the Banda Oriental, taken sepa- rately, at present form a very insignificant element. The amount of foreign goods, so totally out of all pro- portion to its population, which a few years back was landed at Monte Video, is solely to be ascribed to the blockades of Buenos Ayres, which temporarily diverted the trade from its ordinary course. Whenever Buenos Ayres has the misfortune to be so attacked, the advan- tageous situation of Monte Video as a neutral port will always give it importance as an entrepot for goods eventually destined for the Provinces in the interior. There is no doubt also that its situation offers facilities for the supply at all times by indirect means of the adjoining Provinces of Brazil and of the Argentine Confederation, of which the Monte Videans will probably avail themselves to the detriment of their neighbours’ interests, unless in self-defence they so regulate their customs duties as to coun- tervail all temptations to avoid them ; and this observation applies especially to the duties levied by the Government of Buenos Ayres on goods intended for re-export either by land or water for the consumption of the people of the interior, and particularly those of the Riverine Provinces, subject as they must be afterwards to such heavy addi- tional charges for transport, &c., ere they reach their final destination. I have shown in Chapters V. and VI. of this volume the very limited nature of the trade of these countries under the colonial rule of Spain, as well as the circum- stances which led to its being first thrown open to the English and other nations by the last Viceroy, Cisneros, in 1809. In my former work I traced its rise and pro- gress up to 1837 — it is now only necessary to show its subsequent development. In order best to do so, and beginning with the Exports, I have prepared the following four tables : — 352 EXPORTS. Part IV. EXPORTS. No. 1, showing their amount from 1822 to 1837. No. 2, a similar return from the middle of 1848 to the close of 1851. No. 3, a return showing the several foreign countries for which the leading articles were shipped, and the amount of shipping of each, in 1850 and 1851. No. 4 shows the proportion of these exports which are supplied from the Riverine Provinces. These are independent of the produce exported from Monte Video, which, however limited in amount in the last period — 1850-1 — may be assumed to have been at least equal in value to any apparent excess in the general imports into the Rio de la Plata over and above the amount of exports from Buenos Ayres alone. Table I. — Quantities and Estimated Valuation of the principal Articles Exported from Buenos Ayres in the years 1822, 1825, 1829, and 1837. Chap. XXL EXPOETS, 353 2 A £ In 1842 they were valued at £ 1 , 440 , 440 , and in 1843 at £ 1 , 668 , 020 . From September 1845 to June 1848 , the port was blockaded. Table II. — Quantities and Estimated Valuation of the principal Articles exported from Buenos Ayres, from July 1, 1848, to December 31, 1851. 354 EXPORTS Part Table III. — Principal Articles of Exports from Buenos Ayres in 1850 and 1851, showing to what Countries and the amount of Shipping of each. Chap. XXI EXPORTS, 355 No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 8 Brazil. 1851 160,959 i •• 1,446 60 "■ 28 166 64 10,437 1850 136,720 2 7,746 48 9,002 7 United States. 1851 47 1,062 696,580 34,400 1,158,648 1,371 9 18,293 80 22,485 1850 8,000 15 2,126 741,113 21,050 1,165,012 2,020 199 15,215 87 22,983 6 Havannah. 1851 270,915 4,069 3,670 20 2,079 66 13,344 1850 254,011 3,522 2,500 1,757 67 13,691 5 Spain. 1851 12 53 214,327 19,841 4 229 19 3,626 1850 42 164,680 12,904 27,165 402 1 15 2,930 4 Italy. 1851 43 304 193,304 2,710 34,942 54 2 249 768 25 5,297 1850 337 197,771 35,018 163,187 44 37 1,987 501 29 6,268 3 Germany. 1851 34 485 615,184 2,158 229,188 13 105 773 54 11,682 1850 63,000 5 366 602,550 1,165 55,549 10 395 975 1,738 57 12,546 2 France. 00 905,900 144 62 1,176 279,704 19,741 261,552 2,432 360 755 871 41 8,759 o o 00 142,300 206 20 555 322,940 10,445 90,200 1,162 395 2,745 2,098 46 9,686 1 Great Britain. o 00 2,632,467 1,087 3 1,525 596,526 61,767 677,720 444 19,265 4,071 1,269 111 24,405 1850 2,897,230 583 1,633 383,831 103,520 413,537 332 11,055 17,264 1,647 91 19,576 Articles. Jerked Beef . quintals Bones . . No. , , . . tons Feathers . . bales Hair . . Hides . ox and cow , , . . horse Horns . per 1000 Sheep-skins . bales Tallow . . pipes „ . . boxes Wool . . bales Shipping. No. of Vessels . . Tonnage No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 . I 2 a 2 356 IMPORTS. Part IY. Table IY. — Return of the principal Articles of Country Produce imported into the Port of Buenos Ayres in Coasting Yessels, from the Riverine Provinces and from the Banda Oriental, from July 1, 1850, to June 30, 1851. From whence Imported. Total. Shipping. Santa Fe. Entre Rios. Corrientes. Banda Oriental. No. of coasting vessels with) 601 545 312 706 2,164 cargoes / Tonnage « .... 16,129 21 ,603 13,031 21,752 72,515 Articles. Bones No. . . 141,480 . . 13,000 154,480 Flour (wheat) . . arrobas . . 75 . . 2,200 2,275 Charcoal . . . fanegas 67,826 1,367 150 . . 69,343 Fire-wood . . . cart-loads 622 4,350 338 11,127 16,437 /Ox and cow hides, dry . No. 69,948 262,682 109,078 201,536 643,244) \ ,, ,, salted „ / Horse and Mare, ditto . „ 5,939 59,216 15,276 36,264 116,695/ 2,030 44,759 18,567 32,325 97,681) l ,, >> dry . „ 724 1,488 2,749 429 5,390/ Horns „ 55,761 509,910 132,086 192,317 890,074 Horse-hair .... arrobas 1,027 6,589 1,801 4,896 14,313 , , .... serons 251 721 1,870 355 3,197 Honey casks . . . . . . 9 9 Bees-wax .... arrobas . . . . 110 . . 110 , , .... hhds. Lime fanegas . . . . 17 . . 17 281 51,352 . . 4,265 55,898 Oil of olives . . . pipes 6 186 32 89 313 Beef, jerked . . . quintals 2,650 3,497 9,013 23,667 39,027 Ox tongues . . . dozens 131 50 . . 182 363 Bacon arrobas . . 270 232 63 565 Cheeses No. 3,320 70 44,908 612 48,910 Calf-skins . . . . . „ 963 512 2,053 6,334 9,862 Carpincho skins . . . „ . . 74 2,663 . . 2,737 Deer skins „ 65 65 293 . . 423 Guanaco skins . ... „ 800 . . . . . . 800 Nutria skins . . . . „ 65 . . 6,815 . . 6,880 Sheep skins . . . . „ 64,225 47,955 389 487 113,056 Bizcacha skins ....,, 588 8 . . . . 596 Soap arrobas 514 33 5 . . 552 Tallow , , hhds. 158 2,940 73 6,053 9,224 245 18 179 277 719 pipes 103 47 41 288 479 , , . ... . serons 18 53 1 208 280 Tobacco .* . , , , , cigars . . . hhds. 47 . . 404 4 455 • . 1 156 . . 157 No. • . . . 27,000 „ . . 27,000 Wool arrobas 3,024 14,386 2,269 1,260 20,939 serons 2,075 605 572 19 3,271 N.B. — The arroba is 25 lbs., and the fanega of Buenos Ayres about 4 Eng. imp. bushels. Besides the above-mentioned articles an immense quantity of fruit of all kinds was in the same period brought down — nearly 3,000,000 oranges and lemons, upwards of 300,000 water melons, 1,200 boxes of dried fruits, almonds, raisins, figs, tamarinds, &c., for the market of Buenos Ayres. The coasting trade which these importations give rise to is daily assuming more importance ; in the course of the past year, as will be seen, there were upwards of 2,000 entries of the small craft employed in it, exceeding 72,000 tons in burthen, and giving active employment to a large number of industrious foreigners, chiefly French and Italians, who under the flag of Buenos Ayres are allowed almost to monopolise it. Chap. XXL TRADE. 357 These Tables exhibit some very interesting results: they show that in little more than twelve years the exports of produce from these Provinces have doubled in value, whilst in quantity they have increased in a very much greater ratio. From 1822 to 1837 they had gradually risen in value from about 700,000/. to 1,000,000/. per annum. Taking the average of the two last years, 1850 and 1851, it appears that they may now be estimated at twice that amount, or 2,000,000/. sterling a-year ; and if it had not been for the great fall in the price of the principal articles of produce, this valuation would have been very much larger : but in the article of hides alone the cost price is not two-thirds of what it was a few years ago. An examination of the quantities of the leading articles of produce exported gives the following results. The average number of hides exported in the years 1850 and 1851 was about . 2,400,000 In 1837 it had only reached . . . 800,000 Increase . . . 1,600,000 The value of the quantity of tallow now ex- ported is about £200,000 In 1837 it was only .... 30,000 Increase in value . . £170,000 The wool now exported is estimated to be not less than .... In 1837 it was about . 16,000,000 lbs. 4,000,000 Increase . . . 12,000,000 lbs. To account for the quantity of hides now brought forward we must assume the stock of cattle in the country to be from ten to twelve millions. In 1837 it was estimated upon the best authorities to be from three to four millions. An increase so far beyond what might have been ex- pected in the ordinary course of things naturally suggests inquiries as to the causes which may have led to it. 358 TRADE. Part IV. First of which, no doubt, is the extension of the fron- tiers of the Province of Buenos Ayres to the south, since General Rosas’ campaign against the Indians in 1833 : vast tracts of country abounding in rich pastures are now covered with herds of cattle, which before that were exposed to the forays of the savages, and consequently unsafe for the occupation of either man or beast. The Province of Buenos Ayres, including the new territories taken pos- session of to the south of the River Salado, now produces about two-thirds of the whole number of hides sold in that market ; the remainder are chiefly brought down to Buenos Ayres from the Riverine Provinces, as will be seen on reference to Table IV. : very few, comparatively, are introduced from the Upper Provinces. Strange to say, another of the principal causes of the great increase which has taken place in the capital stock of this country is one from which a totally different result might have been anticipated — the maritime blockades of the port by foreign powers, which, in this part of the world, instead of impoverishing the nation, have in reality tended indirectly to a vast increase of its principal means of production — those mighty herds of cattle which constitute the chief source of the wealth and commercial importance of these countries. In the last twenty -four years Buenos Ayres has been subjected to no less than three blockades, each lasting nearly three years, altogether more than eight years, or about one-third of the whole period.'* Now the consequence being that during the blockades in question all shipments of hides were of course for the time put a stop to, the cattle were left to multiply in the Pampas ; and as the fact is now established that if none are killed off they double their numbers in three years, the ratio of increase in the capital stock for reproduction under such circumstances may be easily imagined. The Brazilian blockade commenced in January, 1826, lasted . . 1,004 days. The French blockade commenced in March, 1838, lasted . . . 949 ,, The joint English and French commenced in Sept. 1845, laSted together The French alone ,000 Tn all . 2,953 days. Chap. XXI. TRADE. 359 It will also be obvious (as the result has shown in every case) how entirely inefficacious as a war measure must be any attempt to reduce the people of Buenos Ayres to dis- tress and submission by a mere blockade of the port, with- out a simultaneous investment of the place by a land force sufficient to deprive the inhabitants of their daily supplies. The increase in the quantity of tallow may be partly ascribed to the same cause. The demand for hides and jerk-beef, previous to the last blockades, was such as to induce the cattle-owners to kill their animals as soon as the skins became saleable, which is some time before the animals are old enough to yield any quantity of tallow, but a three years’ longer lease of their lives led to a very different result. By an economical process, also introduced of late years, carcasses which were formerly left to be de- voured by the wild dogs and vultures are now boiled down, or rather steamed , from which a considerable residue of tallow (sebo y grasa) is obtained, which, put into old wine- casks, is shipped for Europe in large quantities. Its value is now known, and it is probable that with the demand for it in Europe, it will continue to be one of the most important articles in the list of exports from the Bio de la Plata. The extraordinary increase which has taken place in the article of wool produced in these countries of late years deserves particular notice. When I first arrived in Buenos Ayres in 1823 the wool of the Buenos Ayrean sheep was not worth the expense of cleaning it, and as to the meat, with plenty of beef, it is not to be wondered that no native of the country would touch it. It is well known that their carcasses, dried in the sun, were used for little else than fuel for brick-kilns. Under such circumstances the breeding of sheep was totally neglected till some enterprising country- men of our own, after the close of the war with Brazil in 1828, instigated by the almost total abolition of the pre- viously existing import duty upon the article in England, and struck with the possibility of increasing the available returns of the country by adding wool to its staple com- modities, introduced the improved breeds of Merino and Saxon sheep, which are now permanently fixed in these provinces. 360 TRADE. Part IV. To the late Mr. Peter Sheridan and Mr. Harratt Buenos Ayres is indebted for this new source of wealth, which bids fair to rival in importance the most valuable of her old staple productions. Although the greater part of the wool produced for some years did not exceed in quality perhaps that of the low Scotch wools used for carpeting and other strong descriptions of goods, of late they have been greatly improved, and some parcels are nearly as good as almost any wools in our markets. This is only one of the many beneficial results which have accrued to Buenos Ayres from a liberal protection to foreigners, which has led so many thousands of them to settle in the city and province, greatly to the augmen- tation of its resources and commercial prosperity by their intelligence and industrious habits. Whenever any real union shall take place between Buencs Ayres and the Provinces of the interior, which shall once more reestablish the moral influence and supe- riority of the capital over their still benighted populations, we may expect, as one of the most important results, an extension of a like policy with regard to foreigners, and such efficient guarantees for the safety of their persons and property as may induce them to settle in the interior, where they will assuredly repay the natives a hundred fold by teaching them how to turn to account the vast resources which Nature has placed within their reach. Then we may expect the cotton and tobacco of the northern Provinces to vie with those of North America and Brazil in the markets of Europe, and a greatly in- creasing importation of the many other valuable produc- tions of these countries which I have more particularly described in my account of the Provinces of the interior. To turn now to the Chap. XXI. IMPOSTS. 361 IMPORTS. To show the amount of increase which has taken place in the imports as well as exports, I shall again for comparison revert to the results of the year 1825 as an epoch of peace and commercial prosperity in the Rio de la Plata, generally referred to. At that time the imports into Buenos Ayres from foreign countries were estimated as follows (after deducting charges) : — 1. From Great Britain . . . £ 800,000 2. „ France ..... 110,000 3. „ Northern Europe . . 85,000 4. „ Gibraltar, Spain, and Mediterranean 115,000 5. „ United States .... 180,000 6. „ Brazil ..... 190,000 7. „ Havannah and other countries . 85,000 £ 1,575,000 say about one million and a half sterling, net valuation. These results were taken from returns furnished at the time by the custom-house of Buenos Ayres. I have en- deavoured but in vain to obtain from the same quarter a cor- responding return for any later period ; but although with more trouble, perhaps still more correct data may be ob- tained from the statistical accounts of trade and commerce which are now annually published by the principal export- ing countries ; and most of which are collected in the office of our Board of Trade, where every facility is given to refer to them. From these sources, as far as I can ascertain, the following may, I believe, be a fair approximate calculation, according to their own showing, of the present average value of the exports of each country to the Rio de la Plata 1. From Great Britain . . £ 900,000 2. „ France ..... 500,000 3. „ Northern Europe . . 170,000 4. „ Gibraltar, Spain, and Mediterranean 120,000 5. ,, United States .... 200,000 6. „ Brazil and other countries . . 220,000 £ 2,110,000 362 TRADE. Part IV. being an increase of about 25 per cent, in nominal value since 1825, although if we take quantities , from the dimi- nished cost of manufactured goods in Europe in the same period, we may fairly assume that they have been doubled. In examining these returns, the preponderance of the British trade in the Rio de la Plata is very manifest. The low prices of British goods, especially those suited to the consumption of the masses of the population of these countries, ensured a demand for them from the first opening of the trade. They are now become articles of the first necessity to the lower orders in South America. The gaucho is everywhere clothed in them. Take his whole equipment, examine everything about him — and what is there not of hide that is not British ? If his wife has a gown, ten to one it is from Manchester. The camp- kettle in which he cooks his food — the common earthen- ware he eats from — his knife, spurs, bit, and the poncho which covers him — all are imported from England. The cheaper we can produce these articles the more they will take, and thus it is that every improvement in our machinery at home which lowers the price of these manufactures, tends to contribute (we hardly perhaps know how much) to the comforts of the poorer classes in these remote countries, and to perpetuate our hold over their markets ; for in the sale of these goods no other foreign country can compete with Great Britain in the low cost of their production ; and as to any native manu- factures, it would be idle to think of them in a country as yet so thinly peopled, where every hand is wanted, and may be turned to a tenfold better account, in augmenting its natural resources and means of production, as yet so im- perfectly developed. Besides our cotton goods, we also send to Buenos Ayres considerable quantities of woollen, linen, and silk manu- facture, ironmongery and cutlery, hardwares of all kinds, coarse and fine earthenware, glass, coals, &c., &c., &c. The value of our exports to the Rio de la Plata, taking the average of years of peace, from 1822 to 1825 was annually between 700,000/. and 800,000/. ; in the next twenty years it fell to about an average of 600,000/. a Chap. XXI. IMPORTS. 363 year. Since the middle of 1848, when the last French blockade of Buenos Ayres ceased, to the end of 1850, the declared value of exports from Great Britain is — For the last six months of 1848 . . £ 605,953 In all 1849 . . 1,399,575 , , 1850 . . 909,280 of which perhaps the last year would give the fairest notion of what may be the present annual requirements of these countries. It may seem strange that with so large an increase in the general trade of these countries, the value of that from Great Britain has to all appearance varied so little in the last twenty-five years. But it must be borne in mind, that when first the trade of the Bio de la Plata was opened, Great Britain had almost a monopoly of it, which she maintained not only till the general peace of 1815, but for some time afterwards. The continuance of peace throughout Europe led, as might have been expected, to a different state of things ; and as other countries began once more to embark in com- merce, they found their advantage in sending their own goods to the markets of South America, which in propor- tion interfered with the importations by British shipping. Nevertheless, up to about 1837, the value of the British trade with the Bio de la Plata exceeded in amount that of all other foreign countries put together ; it is very little short of that now : but if we examine the quantities, we shall find an enormous increase in the goods we now send thither, from the greatly diminished cost of our manufac- turing processes; which, in the article of cottons alone, constitutes more than one-half of all our exports to the Bio de la Plata, and enables us now to sell nearly four yards of these goods for the same price which one cost before 1825. The annexed return exhibits the quantities of the prin- cipal articles of British manufactures and products an- nually exported up to 1825, and in 1849 and 1850, Their total value will be seen on reference to the table at the end of this chapter. 364 TRADE. Part IV. Quantities of the principal Articles of British Manufacture imported into the Rio de la Plata in 1849 and 1850, compared with those imported formerly. - — Average from 1822 to 1825, inclusive. 1849. 1850. Average of 1849-1850. Cotton goods (in about] equal proportions, > yards plain and printed) . . ] 10 , 811,762 46 , 678,912 23 , 309,096 34 , 994,004 Woollens pieces 40,705 84,598 54,744 69,671 , , (including Carpets) yards 139,037 615,970 383,763 499,866 Linens , , 996,467 1 , 592,627 719,582 1 , 156,104 Silks (quantities not given) value £ 16,612 £ 46,297 £ 13,992 £ 30,144 Hardware & Cutlery ( 1832 ) cwts. 5,397 25.823 21,227 23,525 Earthenware . . , , pieces 354,684 1 , 740,819 780,595 1 , 260,707 Next in importance to the British trade with these countries is that of France , which has wonderfully in- creased of late years, being more than four times the value of what it was in 1825. At that period the French imports into the Bio de la Plata were estimated at about 1 10,000/. sterling, they are now worth upwards of 500,000/. In 1849 they were valued at upwards of 17,000,000 frs., or nearly 700,000/., but that was a year of extraordinary excess, attributable to the raising of the blockade in the middle of 1848, from which a third at least may be de- ducted, as in the case of the British and other exports in the same year, in order to arrive at any fair average of the ordinary demand. In that year the principal articles of export from France to the Bio de la Plata are given as follows in the French official accounts : — Silk goods Woollen do. Cotton do. Linen do. Wines . Haberdashery Perfumery Quantities. 36,964 kilog. 117,266 „ 105,741 „ 15,073 „ 30,178 hectol. 76,756 kilog. 85,144 „ Values (actuelles). 4,221,873 francs. 3,300,752 „ 1,299,718 „ 779,633 „ 1,181,879 „ 788,473 „ 596,008 „ The remainder consisting of various fancy articles and made up goods chiefly of Parisian manufacture. Chap. XXI. IMPORTS. 365 In 1850, the total exports from France to Buenos Ayres were still valued at about 13,500,000 ffs. ; but that amount was still considered to be beyond the ordi- nary demand of the market, and to have left a loss to the importers. The silks of Lyons, and the light cloths and cashmeres of Louviers, Sedan, and Elboeuf, cambrics, and all kinds of articles de mode from Paris, find a ready sale amongst the better classes at Buenos Ayres ; they are shipped from Havre, which is the port of France with which the trade with Buenos Ayres is chiefly carried on. A new and very important item in the exports from France is the quantity of wine sent to Buenos Ayres. Before 1 840 four or five cargoes from Bordeaux, Provence, or Languedoc, was the utmost required; in 1849, nearly 40 were easily sold : the consumption is now estimated at 1000 barrels a month, for the use of the lower orders. This great increase in the demand for the wines of France is attributable to the vast influx of French, chiefly from the Basque provinces, who of late years have emi- grated in very considerable numbers to the Rio de la Plata. They have formed a numerous settlement of their own in the suburbs of Buenos Ayres, where they are actively employed to their own great advantage in a variety of industrial occupations connected with the ship- ping trade, and preparation of hides for foreign markets. They have carried with them their national habits and wants, and have introduced a large and daily increasing demand for many of the productions of their own country. The only goods which vie with those of France in the Buenos Ayrean market, are the plain silks of Zurich, the ribands of Bale, and the muslins of St. Gall, for all which there is a constant and increasing demand. The annual imports from the north of Europe, estimated at about 170,000/., are in the ratio of about £ 85,000 from Hamburgh and Bremen. 30,000 ,, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. 30.000 „ Belgium. 25.000 „ Holland. From Germany and the Netherlands, the articles in 366 TRADE. Part IV. greatest demand are linen and woollen cloths, Rhenish cotton goods, ironmongery, hardware, cutlery, glass, muskets and sabres, Flanders lace and veils, cotton stock- ings, furniture, &c., in all which articles they rival the English goods in price and taste. Holland sends Dutch cheese, butter, gin in pipes and case bottles ; and hams from Westphalia, of which there is a very large consumption. The importations from the Baltic consist of iron, cord- age, canvas, pitch, tar, and deals. The Mediterranean imports consist principally of Spa- nish and Sicilian produce. Spain supplies large quantities of the low red wines of Catalonia, which are the chief beverage of the lower classes of the natives ; oil in jars and casks, olives and dried fruits, the black serges of Malaga, fancy handkerchiefs and ribands of Granada, and salt from Cadiz, which is esteemed above all other for the use of the hide salters (saladeros) ; a larger quantity of it, however, is introduced from the Cape de Yerd Islands. Sicily sends wines, and Genoa maccaroni and vermi- celli, and all kinds of condiments, sausages, &c. These importations are principally made by Sardinian vessels. Had Spain recognized in time the independence of the new states, she instead of foreigners would undoubtedly have reaped the greatest advantages from this trade ; the habits of the people, the customs they had been brought up in, not to speak of international ties and connexions — all would have most forcibly tended to an active com- mercial intercourse between her ci-devant colonies and Spain, which would have been of vast importance to the latter ; but she delayed till it was too late, and until those habits and customs and ties had passed away, and a new race had grown up, destitute of those kindred feelings which naturally animated the previous generation, if not hostile to her from her long and obstinate struggles to put them down by force, and to reduce them once more to her old colonial rule. The United States send to Buenos Ayres large quan- Chap. XXI. IMPORTS. 367 tities of the coarse unbleached cloths of their own manu- facture, known as “domestics,” — furniture and lumber of all kinds, soap and sperm candles, dried and salted pro- visions, tobacco and deals, and a variety of other articles ; but their amount is in no proportion to the quantity of the raw produce which they take from the Rio de la Plata, and which of late years has been as great, if not greater than any other country. According to the official accounts published in the United States, the account of exports and imports with the River Plate was as follows : — - Value of Exports and Imports to and from the Rio de la Plata. Exports. 1849 . . $767,594 1850 . . 1,064,642 1,832,236 Average . . $ 916,118 Imports. 1849 . . $1,709,827 1850 . . 2,653,877 4,363,704 Average . $2,181,852 In former times one of the principal articles of import into Buenos Ayres from the United States was flour , of which the average importation for many years amounted to 50,000 barrels. It is not to be wondered at that the larger profits of cattle breeding should for a time have superseded the pursuits of agriculture ; but the incon- venience and evils of an habitual dependence upon any foreign country, particularly upon one at such a distance as North America, for the daily bread of a whole popu- lation, became at last so manifest, that the legislature interposed to put an end to it, and to pass enactments for fostering and protecting the agricultural interests of the native proprietors. The consequence has been, that the province of Buenos Ayres, the southern districts of which are as capable of producing good wheat as any country in the world, now grows not only a sufficiency for the con- sumption of its own population, but sometimes a surplus, which is generally exported to Brazil. In 1850 a cargo of 3800 quarters was shipped for England, but arriving when prices were very low, the result was a loss to the 368 TRADE. Part IY. shipper, which will probably prevent a repetition of the speculation. Brazil supplies Buenos Ayres with large quantities of sugar, coffee, rice, tobacco, and cacao; in return for the jerked beef which she takes from the Rio de la Plata, and which is a principal article of food for her slave popu- lation. To both parties the trade is at present of great import- ance, if not of necessity ; it gives employment to Brazilian shipping, and tends to promote a friendly intercourse be- tween people of neighbouring nations : any interruption to it, however, might lead Buenos Ayres to look to her own u PP er Provinces for supplies of the same articles, which may be produced there in any quantity as well as in Brazil. With regard to the importance of this trade to Great Britain, I think I cannot better exemplify it than by giving the annexed return of the value of the British pro- duce and manufactures sent to the Rio de la Plata in the last twenty years, to which for comparison I have added that of our exports during the same period to all the other new states of Spanish America and to Spain. The total of our exports to the new states in that time has been nearly 59,000,000/. sterling, of which those taken by the populations of the Rio de la Plata amount to upwards of 14,000,000/., or nearly a fourth of the whole — half as much again as Spain has taken from us in the same time. The Rio de la Plata may be fairly esteemed the most valuable of all the markets which have been opened to us by the emancipation of the Spanish colonies, considering not only the amount of our goods which the people of those countries consume, but the large quantities of raw produce with which they repay us, thereby furnishing our manufacturers with fresh means of reproduction and profit. To our shipping interests also it has been particularly advantageous, inasmuch as the natives having as yet no vessels of their own, we have had the carrying trade both ways under our own flag. Chap. XXL IMPORTS. 369 The number of foreign vessels employed in this trade has increased much in the same proportion as the imports and exports. Comparing the periods already referred to, viz. 1825, and the last two or three years, it appears that up to 1825 about 250 vessels, of from 50,000 to 60,000 tons, of all nations, entered the port of Buenos Ayres. In 1849, 1850, and 1851, the number was as follows: — 1849 Vessels. 526 Tons. 112,255 1850 • . • 440 • • c 96,673 1851 • 460 • • • 100,035 Declared Value of British Produce and Manufactures exported from Great Britain to the River Plate, Mexico, Columbia, Chile, Peru, and Spain, in the 20 years ending 1850. Year. To River Plate. To Mexico. To Columbia. To Chile. To Peru. To Spain. 1831 £ 339,870 £ 728,858 £ 248,250 £ 651,617 £ 409,003 £ 597,848 1832 660,152 199,821 283,568 708,193 275,610 442,926 1833 515,362 421,487 121,826 816,817 287,524 442,837 1834 831,564 459,610 199,996 896,221 299,235 325,907 1835 658,525 402,820 132,242 606,176 441,324 405,065 1836 697,334 254,822 185,172 861,903 606,332 437,076 1837 696,104 520,200 170,451 625,545 476,374 286,636 1838 680,345 439,776 174,338 413,647 412,195 243,839 1839 710,524 660,170 267,112 1,103,073 635,058 262,231 1840 614,047 465,330 359,743 1,334,873 799,991 404,252 1841 989,362 434,901 158,972 438,089 536,046 413,849 1842 969,791 374,969 231,711 950,466 684,213 322,614 1843 700,416 597,937 378,521 938,959 659,961 376,013 1S44 784,564 494,095 264,688 807,633 658,380 509,207 1845 592,279 547,130 390,149 1 ,077,615 878,708 676,636 1846 187,481 303,685 471,652 959,322 820,535 769,793 1847 490,504 100,688 327,885 866,325 600,814 770,729 1848 605,953 945,937 310,076 967,303 853,129 616,878 1849 1,399,575 779,059 519,799 1,089,914 878,251 623,136 1850 909,280 450,820 665,193 1,156,266 845,639 864,997 14,033,032 9,582,115 5,861 ,344 17,269,957 12,058,322 9,792,469 Total to the New States £58,804,770 Total to Spain 9,792,469 2 B ( 370 ) Part IV. CHAPTER XXII. THE PUBLIC DEBTS OF BUENOS AYRES. Origin of tlie Funded Debt — Revenue and Expenses in 1825 — English Loan spent in War with Brazil for the Banda Oriental — The Provincial Bank — Its credit destroyed by the interference of the Government — Obliged to increase its Issues — The paper money declared a legal tender — Its subsequent depreciation — The Funded Debt increased, but re- deemed by the Sinking Fund — Present liabilities of the Government of Buenos Ayres — The Funded Debt — Paper money in circulation — English Loan, and dividends in arrear — Revenue at the close of 1850 — Available surplus — Commencement of war in the Riverine Provinces, aided by the Brazilians, against General Rosas — Its probable effect in delaying any settlement with the bondholders. In any attempt to convey an idea of the finance accounts of Buenos Ayres, it should in the first instance be ob- served that, although those accounts are, primd facie , na- tional, they exhibit in reality the receipts and expenditure of the government of the province of Buenos Ayres alone : — the other provinces, containing two-thirds of the population of the whole republic, contribute nothing to- wards the general expenses, though most of them manage to support their petty provincial administrations. Buenos Ayres alone found all the pecuniary means both for the war with Spain for the establishment of the independence of the republic, and subsequently for liberating the Banda Oriental from the domination of the Emperor of Brazil, which latter state, though gaining everything by the result, has never repaid her a single dollar. Chile owes her as much for the armies sent across the Andes, which freed that country also from the yoke of the King of Spain. It is only astonishing how this little State contrived, as she did, to raise the ways and means for these efforts, and Chap. XXII. ORIGIN OF THE FUNDED DEBT. 371 that she did not altogether succumb to the difficulties and embarrassments they gave rise to. When the struggle with Spain was over, and her mili- tary establishments reduced, the arrangement of her pecu- niary affairs became one of the first objects of her provincial administration. In 1821 commissioners were appointed to call in and liquidate all outstanding claims against the government, of whatever description, not excepting even those left un- settled by the authorities of the mother-country previous to the deposition of the Viceroy in IS 10. The greater part of these debts were due for actual services, or for loans to the government in times of necessity, during the war for their emancipation. These were paid off by the creation of funds bearing interest at six per cent. The others, incurred under the Spanish rule, were provided for by a four per cent, stock created at the same time. This was the first instance of the establishment of anything like a public funded debt in any of the new states of South America. Commissioners were appointed to manage it, and to pay the dividends quarterly to the stockholders, transfer-books were opened, and a sinking-fund was esta- blished for its gradual redemption. 'The first quarter’s interest became due on the 1st of January, 1822, and, for the credit of Buenos Ayres, it should be stated that, notwithstanding the great subsequent increase of the debt, under the circumstances to which I shall presently refer, the quarterly dividends have, from that time to this, been as regularly paid as those at the Bank of England. The amount of stock created up to the close of 1825 was — Of 6 per cents. . $ 5,360,000 4 per cents. . . . 2,000,000 which was sufficient to provide for every outstanding claim against the government up to that period, whilst the charge for the annual interest was hardly felt in the general expenditure, which, after the reductions conse- quent upon a state of peace, the revenue was more than sufficient to meet, — as will be seen by the following return 2 b 2 372 REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE, 1822-25. Part IV. of the yearly receipts and payments from 1822 to 1825, inclusive. Receipts and Expenditure for the Years 1822 to 1825 inclusive. Total Receipts Expenditure. Public Debt andi Dividends . . / Home Department F inance Department War Department . Total Expenditure 1822 1823 1824 1825 Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. 2,519,095 2,869,266 2,648,845 3,196,430 643,791 3 452,038 3j 547,107 446,140 513,993 7i 679,585 2i 264,187 2£ 323,663 34 290,696 4± 843,935 6 1,249,258 2± 1,111,976 3£ 2,198,054 6 2,538,954 i 2,629,365 2± 2,698,231 5£ The total of the receipts in the four years was, Spanish dollars, 11,233,635, which, at the exchange of 45t/. per dollar, was equal, in sterling money, to about 2, 106,306/., or, on an average, 526,576/. per annum. Three-fourths of this revenue was derived from the custom-house duties, which amounted in — 1822 1823 1824 1825 to Span, dolls. 1,987,199 1,629,149 2,032,945 2,267,709 In the four years . $7,917,002, or about £1,488,604. The remainder was made up by duties on stamps, the con- tribucion directa, a sort of property-tax; the post-office revenue, the port dues, rents of government buildings and lands, and other items of little consequence. Never had the financial concerns of the republic borne so creditable and promising an appearance. In this pros- perity nothing was thought of but schemes for improve- ment of every kind; and projects were submitted to the government for a variety of public works, piers, docks, custom-houses, &£., some of which were of manifest utility. It was under these circumstances, and with a view to Chap. XXII, LOAN SPENT IN WAR WITH BRAZIL. 373 carry into effect some of the projected improvements, that the government of Buenos Ayres were induced to raise a loan in England, which there was no difficulty in obtain- ing upon the terms they stipulated for, viz., seventy per cent. At that price parties in London contracted with them for a loan, nominally, of a million sterling, to be raised upon bonds bearing interest at six per cent, per annum, payable half-yearly. A sinking-fund of 5000/. per annum was to be applied to their redemption, and the contractors were further allowed to keep back the amount of the dividends for the first two years. This, with charges, &c., reduced the sum to be paid over to the government of Buenos Ayres to about 600,000/. The first half-yearly dividend became due on the third or fourth quarter of 1824. Whilst the government were deliberating, amongst the many projects before them, how to lay out this money to the best advantage, war broke out with the Emperor of Brazil for the possession of the Banda Oriental, which soon settled all difficulty on that point, and absorbed every dollar of the loan in preparations for the ruinous war which followed. From the commencement of that struggle, not only were the expenses of the state enormously increased, but when resources were most wanted, nearly the whole of its ordinary revenues (depending upon the duties on foreign trade) were suddenly cut off by the blockade of the river Plate instituted by the Brazilians, which lasted during the whole continuance of the war, viz., from December 1825, to September 1828, — nearly three years. In their emergencies the government determined to avail themselves of the Provincial Bank, an establishment which had been set up by the leading capitalists of Buenos Ayres in 1822, upon the grant of an exclusive privilege of issuing notes in that province for twenty years. It was at that time entirely independent of the government, and was managed by directors annually chosen by the share- holders. To the mercantile body it was of great utility, and its notes, payable in specie on demand, in default of any national coinage, had become the ordinary currency 374 THE PROVINCIAL BANK. Part IV. of Buenos Ayres, and were as readily taken as gold or silver : — its capital was a million of dollars. But, as this could not be done compatibly with its independence and existing constitution, it was further, in an evil hour, re- solved to alter entirely its original character. Under pretence of extending the circulation of its notes throughout the republic, application was made to the General Congress then sitting* to sanction its conversion into a national bank, with a nominal capital of ten millions of dollars, towards which the government subscribed for shares to the amount of three millions, and very soon assumed the right to exact from it almost any accommo- dation they required. The consequences were soon appa- rent. The wants of the government increasing, the bank was obliged, in order to provide for them, to increase its issues, which very soon reached an amount obviously out of all proportion to its real capital, f The aid of the legis- lature was again called in : — the notes were declared a legal tender for their nominal value, and the bank was relieved by law from the obligation of paying them in specie on demand : — its credit fell to the lowest ebb, and its notes became proportionably depreciated. The government, however, had then no alternative but to go on with the system it had commenced : the precious metals having wholly disappeared as a medium of circula- tion, it was in this depreciated currency that it found itself obliged to continue borrowing such sums as it required, until, as may easily be imagined, the nominal amount of the public debt became fearfully increased. At the close of the war with Brazil in 1828, the value of the paper dollar of the bank had fallen from 45 d. to below 12c/. * The Congress in question had been at the moment when all their joint efforts convoked principally for the purpose of were required against their common drawing up a constitution for the re- enemy. The president, Rivadavia, after public, and was properly only a constituent a vain struggle to establish his authority, one after a time, however, it proceeded found himself forced to resign amidst a to appoint a president, and to pass a complication of difficulties, variety of laws founded on the like scheme f It never exceeded five millions of of nationalising the republic, which, though dollars, viz., one the amount of the acquiesced in, per force, by the people of capital of the Provincial Bank, incorpo- Buenos Ayres, were resisted by most of rated with it ; three subscribed by the the provinces at a distance, and led to Government ; and about one more by much ill-will and disunion amongst them, individuals. Chap. XXII. INCREASE OF FUNDED DEBT. 375 sterling ; and 6,000,000 dollars had been added to the amount of the funded debt; the deficit on the general account of receipts and expenditure was 13,412,075 dol- lars, the whole of which was due to the bank ; and this was independently of the English loan. Nevertheless, when peace was signed, upon terms highly honourable to the republic, the public confidence imme- diately rallied. The value of the current dollar rose at once to 24 c/., and amidst the general rejoicings even the pecuniary prospects of the country put on a flattering appearance. Nor were the hopes entertained by the Buenos Ayreans of a speedy improvement in their finances without foundation. It was soon manifest that although the war with Brazil had led to enormous expenses, the sudden suspension of trade in consequence of the blockade of the port had locked up a large amount of foreign as well as native capital within the country, the investment of which, in a variety of ways, had greatly increased its means of production and sources of wealth. The mutiny of the army, however, shortly afterwards, upon their return from the Banda Oriental, under General Lavalle, and his barbarous murder of General Dorrego, the Governor, blasted all these flattering prospects, and involved the whole republic in confusion and ruin. The consequences of the civil warfare which followed to the finances of the country were deplorable, and infinitely worse than those occasioned by the war with Brazil. The currency suffered, as it always must do when its amount is regulated solely by the wants of the government, and the paper dollar, after great fluctuations, fell to about 7cL, at which rate it remained stationary for several years, till new complica- tions led to fresh demands for the military defences of the country, and to fresh issues of paper money to meet them, which reduced its value to 4c/., and latterly even to 3c/., apparently beyond all hope of recovery. To meet the exigencies of the State, the funded debt was also largely increased from time to time as the Govern- ment wanted money. The last issue of funds was in 1840. Fortunately the principle of a sinking fund for the re- 376 PRESENT LIABILITIES. Part IV. demption of the funded portion of the debt was rigorously maintained ; and although, from the creations to which I have alluded, its nominal amount was raised to nearly 54,000,000 dollars (the last amount officially stated is 53,693,334 dollars), the operation of the sinking fund of 1 per cent, has been sufficient in twenty-five years to redeem nearly the whole of it: there is indeed now no longer any of this stock in the market for sale, although the commissioners have funds in hand to buy up any that may be offered to them at par. The amount unredeemed is understood to consist chiefly of investments made when the stock was originally created in 1825, and when the dollar was worth 45 d. instead of Sd ., as at present; and is supposed to belong chiefly to foreigners, who were induced at that time to invest their money in the Buenos Ayrean funds in the expectation of receiving a sterling interest of 6 per cent, for it, little dreaming of such a new way of pay- ing off old debts. A portion of it also consists of the pro- perties of certain religious and corporate establishments in Buenos Ayres, invested under the authority of the legis- lature in the public funds when they were first created. These parties seem fairly entitled to some special con- sideration, and the Government of Buenos Ayres will probably find itself obliged to make some equitable adjust- ment with them before their account is finally closed. The present several liabilities of the Government of Buenos Ayres may be classed as follows : — 1st. The remaining portion of the funded debt above alluded to which is in progress of liquidation by the sinking fund. 2nd. The amount of the paper issues which form the circu- lating medium, and for which the Government is responsible. 3rd. The English loan; and 4th. The arrears of dividends due thereon to the bond- holders. In order to explain the nature and extent of these several liabilities, I shall quote the last accounts of them which I have been able to obtain from Buenos Ayres and in this country. Chap. XXII. PRESENT LIABILITIES. 3 77 1. With regard to the funded debt, the following is an account of it up to the beginning of 1850, published by authority of the Government : — Total amount of Stock created • . $ 53,693,334 Of which the Sinking Fund had redeemed to the end of 1 849 . . . 39,178,724 Leaving . . 14,514,610 Of this amount j& 966,994 belonged to religious and corporate bodies ; 14,370 is unclaimed Stock ; and 13,533,246 in the hands of private parties — towards the redemption of which the commissioners had then in hand 5,323,252 dollars, which, with the ordinary sinking fund and accumulating interest, it was expected would liquidate the whole of this outstanding debt by the end of the present year (1852). 2 . The amount of the paper currency issued up to the 30th of September, 1851, and then remaining in circulation, was 107,858,540 dollars: calculating this at 3d. per paper dollar, which was then about the rate of exchange, the value of these issues in English sterling would be about 1,349,240/. 3. The English loan. This loan for 1,000,000/. sterling was issued to the public in July, 1824, at the price of 85 per cent., payable in successive instalments. The six first dividends were paid, say to July, 1827, inclusive : — The Loan was at 6 per cent, for . . £1,000,000 Redeemed by Sinking Fund . . 23,000 Leaving amount of Bonds now in circulation 977,000 With an Annual Interest due thereon of £ 58,620 378 ENGLISH LOAN. Part IV. 4. Arrears of dividends. The Dividends unpaid from 1st July, 1827, to January, 1851, amount to . £1,436,190 Less three quarterly payments made by Messrs. Baring in 1846, 1850, and 1851 43,965 Leaves due . . £4, 392, 225 The last payments being the result of the exertions of Mr. Falconnet, who in 1842 was sent by Messrs. Baring to Buenos Ayres, to urge the claims of the bondholders, and who succeeded in obtaining from General Rosas an engagement to remit the sum of 5000 Spanish dollars by every monthly packet to England, as a preliminary step towards a final settlement of this debt. Those payments were suspended during the English blockade ; but upon its being taken off, were again resumed, and from January 1, 1849, have been regularly continued. Although the Government of Buenos Ayres have on various occasions expressed their intention of settling with their English creditors, nothing has been done as yet beyond the monthly remittances on account, abovementioned. Nevertheless, from the statement of their finances, which has been published for 1849 and 1850, it appears that in both those years they had a revenue far exceeding their own calculation : being derived chiefly, as I have before said, from the custom-house duties, it has increased pari •passu with the trade, and appears now to be, as that is, nearly double what it was twenty-five years ago. The Receipts in 1850, in- 1 eluding a balance from > g 62,266,510 = £ 1,037,770 sterl. 1849, were j The Expenditure was . 56,046,352 922,736 Leaving a Surplus for 1851 of $6,220,159 at id. =£115,000 but say 100,000/ , the exchange being at that time some- what under id. Of the revenue for 1851 we have no account, the annual Message of the Governor of Buenos Ayres, in Chap. XXII. RISING AGAINST GENERAL ROSAS. 379 which it has been usual to give full details of the financial state of the country, having been for the first time sus- pended, in consequence of the breaking out of civil war in the province of Entre Rios, which has obliged the Exe- cutive Government to devote its entire attention to mea- sures of defence. It is probable that those measures will also once more absorb all the available resources of the country, and be made an excuse for still further delaying any final settlement with their English creditors. The decided part which Brazil has taken in openly aiding the rising of the Governors of Entre Rios and Corrientes against the authority of General Rosas, seems to have been very little expected, the rather because it is an express stipulation in the Treaty of Peace, concluded between Brazil and Buenos Ayres in 1828 under the me- diation of Great Britain, that in the event of any intention to renew hostilities on the part of either of the contending parties, six months’ previous notice of it should be given to the mediating power — a provision expressly designed to give her time to interpose her good offices to avert the consequences of war, which had proved so disastrous to both the contending parties, and so injurious to the commercial interests of neutral nations, on the last occasion. One of the worst consequences of war in these new states is, that every recurrence of it, foreign or civil, tends more and more to establish military violence and des- potism, in place of those civil institutions which the people are anxious for, but which they can never realize without peace and tranquillity. APPENDIX » % . ( 333 ) APPENDIX. I. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE MINISTER OF BRAZIL AND THE CAB1LDO OF BUENOS AYRES. 1 - 808 . (Translation.) £so. 1. Confidential Note from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of H. R. H. the Prince Regent of Brazil , addressed to the Cabildo of Buenos Ayres , upon His Royal Highness's arrival at Rio de Janeiro in 1808. Most Illustrious Cabildo of Buenos Ayres, The undersigned, Don Rodrigo de Souza Coutinho, Minister and Secretary of State for War and Foreign Affairs, is ordered by his august master H. R. H. the Prince Regent of Brazil to communicate to your Excellencies the fact, now beyond a doubt, of the entire subjection of the Spanish monarchy to France, and to her worst and most perfidious enemy, whereby the Spanish Americans are totally abandoned and exposed to fresh disasters, after all their late sacrifices in their successful defence of Buenos Ayres against the English ; and feeling satisfied that your Excel- lencies will duly appreciate the advantages of a course whereby your trade may be saved from utter ruin, by availing yourselves of the means of conciliation which his Royal Highness is desirous to propose to you, instead of joining his allies against you, which would not fail to be attended with such fatal consequences to your interests, Wherefore, his Royal Highness has commanded the undersigned, in making known to your Excellencies his arrival in this his capital of Rio de Janeiro, which he trusts will give you satisfac- tion, at the same time to offer to take the Cabildo, and the people of Buenos Ayres, and the whole of the Viceroyalty under his royal protection, preserving to them all their rights and privi- 384 APPENDIX.— I. leges, and engaging his royal word not only not to impose upon them any fresh burthens, but moreover to secure to them entire freedom of trade and an oblivion on the part of his allies of the past, so as to ensure them from the consequences of any further hostilities against them which may arise out of late events. At the same time his Royal Highness has ordered the under- signed frankly to declare to your Excellencies that should these friendly propositions (only made to you to prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood) not be listened to, then and in such case his Royal Highness will feel himself under the necessity of making common cause against you with his powerful ally, and all the vast resources which Providence has placed at his disposal, the result of which could not be doubtful, however grievous it might be to his Royal Highness to witness it, and to think that nations united by the bonds of the same * religion, by similar habits and customs, and by a language almost identical, should become in- volved in hostilities to the sacrifice of their dearest interests. Your Excellencies who constitute the Cabildo of Buenos Ayres, the fathers of your country, must take these propositions into your most earnest consideration, and in the event of your desiring to submit yourselves to the protection and vassalage of his Royal Highness will be pleased officially to propose on your part the conditions and mode which the Cabildo judges convenient for your reunion under the dominion of so great a prince, the result of which cannot but ensure the happiness of the people, who will then with still more reason have to call your Excellencies the fathers of your country. Awaiting your Excellencies’ reply to submit it to H. R. H. the Prince Regent our master, and trusting to have the satisfaction of contributing to the union and glory of two nations formed to be brothers, not enemies, under the same most pious, benevolent, and powerful of sovereigns, the undersigned has the honour to be, &c., Don Rodrigo de Souza Coutiniio. No. 2. Reply of the Cabildo of Buenos Ayres to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of H, R. H. the Prince Regent of Brazil . Most Excellent Senor, On all occasions and under all circumstances “ the very noble and very loyal” city of Buenos Ayres has known how to maintain and do honour to that glorious title conferred upon her by the gratitude and consideration of her august sovereigns. APPENDIX.— I. 385 The recent proofs of her loyalty and fidelity to her sovereign in resisting the attacks of the powerful ally of his Royal Highness are notorious. Her honour, her fame, her privileges, her happiness, are all founded on the maintenance of the rule of her King and natural master, the best and most amiable of monarchs. The smallest insinuation against the reality of these her fixed principles is an imputation upon her loyalty and an intolerable offence to her. Wherefore the Cabildo have had very much to endure in read- ing the contents of the confidential note from your Excellency of the 13th of March last, whereby they are invited by flattering and seductive propositions to separate from a dominion which they prefer before all others in the world. Your Excellency will be pleased to believe, and to give H.R.H. the Prince Regent to understand, that the Cabildo of Buenos Ayres will never forget such an affront ; and above all, your Ex- cellency may be assured, as well as H. R. H. the Prince Regent, that if these seductive overtures are incapable of shaking the fidelity of the people of South America, neither are threats and menaces likely to move them, accustomed as they are to brave all dangers and to make every sacrifice in defence of the sacred rights of the most just, most pious, and most benign of monarchs ; and if in other times and on other occasions, and so recently, they have given to all the world such undoubted proofs of what may be effected by valour excited by loyalty and enthusiasm in the cause, so they are ready again to shed the last drop of their blood ere they will suffer the smallest fraction of these vast territories to be torn from the crown of Spain. Of this the Cabildo of Buenos Ayres, headed by their distinguished General (Don Santiago Liniers), will be foremost in setting the example, in order to prove at all costs its loyalty and determination to continue faithful to the King their lord and master. God preserve your Excellency many years. Buenos Ayres , 29 th April , 1808. 386 APPENDIX. — If, n. MEMORIAL ADDRESSED TO THE EX-KING OF SPAIN, CHARLES IV., BY THE DEPUTIES OF THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCES OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA, PRAYING HIM EITHER TO REPAIR IN PERSON TO BUENOS AYRES, OR TO PERMIT HIS SON, DON FRANCISCO DE PAULA, TO PROCEED THITHER TO TAKE UPON HIMSELF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SAID PROVINCES AS AN INDEPENDENT SOVEREIGNTY. 1815. (Abridged from the original.) This document commences with a narrative of the events which led to the overthrow of the Viceroy’s authority in 1810, and the establishment of the first provisional junta at Buenos Ayres, the first object of the memorialists being to demonstrate that the movement in question did not originate with the Americans, but with an interested party of European Spaniards in Buenos Ayres intimately connected with the monopolists and trading politicians of Cadiz, who had been long looking forward to it as a means of getting the Government of the country into their own hands for their own selfish purposes, circulating exaggerated reports from the Peninsula, and preparing the public mind for the downfal of the monarchy. The intrigues of this party and the disastrous accounts of the state of public affairs in Spain, of the disputes of the Council with the central Junta, of those of the latter with the Juntas of Seville, Valencia, Corunna, and the Asturias, and their various decrees and proclamations, had produced the greatest perplexity and ex- citement amongst the people of Buenos Ayres with regard to their own future fate, when the Viceroy, Cisneros himself, brought about a crisis by issuing a proclamation announcing the almost entire conquest of Spain by the French, and his own resolution to resign his authority into the hands of the representatives of the people. With his own concurrence a meeting was convoked of the leading personages in Buenos Ayres on the 22nd May, 1810, at which it was resolved that the continuance of his authority was no longer compatible under the existing circumstances with the interests of the country, and empowering in consequence the APPENDIX.— It. 387 Cabildo of Buenos Ayres to form a junta in accordance with the popular feeling, in which should be vested the supreme authority until a general congress should be assembled of deputies from all the cities and towns of the viceroyalty. In these proceedings, as the document sets forth, your Majesty’s memorialists took part with the majority of those who voted for them ; but they declare that the objects which the leaders of the American party had in view at the time have been little under- stood and grossly misrepresented. They were confined to securing the largest possible amount of advantages and ameliorations for their country under the circumstances. Any views short of those — which are notoriously the end and aim of all nations — would have deprived them of the confidence and respect of their com- patriots. Whatever may be said to the contrary, your memorialists assert that all those who have had the management of the public affairs of Buenos Ayres have never had any other views than the fol- lowing with regard to a future settlement: — 1st. That no other than a monarchical form of Government is suited to the habits of the people. 2nd. That no foreign Prince can so well ensure their welfare and prosperity as one of your Majesty’s family. 3rd. That if that, which has been alw r ays deemed of all others the most advantageous arrangement, cannot be realized, the in- tegrity of the monarchy may still be maintained simultaneously with an independent administration of the internal affairs of these provinces, more or less extensive, as may be arranged by nego- tiation in any final treaty of settlement. With respect to the accusations and reproaches raised by the enemies of America against her leaders, it must be admitted that on many occasions great mistakes have been committed and serious disorders have taken place in the provinces of the Rio de la Plata. Every day, indeed, renders it more and more necessary to put a stop to them by some satisfactory and efficacious adjustment. But it is due to the Government of the provinces of Buenos Ayres to declare that they have never lost any opportunity to propose, and even to solicit, peace upon reasonable terms. With this object they have repeatedly addressed themselves to the Government and Ministers of England, to the Prince Regent of Portugal, and to his august consort Doha Carlota, the daughter of your Majesty — and to the Governors of Monte Video and Lima — but mediation has been uniformly rejected with contempt by the Spanish party both in Europe and America. The Government of the Peninsula has deemed it degrading even to listen to the voice of the Americans. The victories gained by the forces of Buenos Ayres are quite 2 c 2 388 APPENDIX— II. sufficient to show that these pacific overtures were not prompted hy weakness, still less by fear. The Government of Buenos Ayres, after obtaining possession of the Spanish squadron and of the fortress of Monte Video, had already detached a large force to augment the ranks of their army in Peru, when they received from their envoy in London, Don Manuel Sarratea, the news of your Majesty’s eldest son having entered Spain and taken possession of the kingdom ; at the same time M. Sarratea forwarded the copy of a representation which he had thought proper immediately to address to him, through his first minister, on the part of these provinces. They lost no time in making known this important intelligence to the representatives of the people, proposing with their con- currence to the royalist generals in Lima and Chile an imme- diate suspension of hostilities, pending the result of a deputation which they determined forthwith to send to the court at Madrid. Of this pacific overture the Spanish commander in Peru availed himself only to gain time to reinforce his army, and then to fall upon the advanced guard of our forces suddenly and without notice, and to sack and destroy a defenceless city. The com- mander of the Spanish forces in Chile was more open in his con- duct : he answered our overtures at once by a torrent of insults and invectives. Our deputation had already embarked for Spain with directions to touch on the way at Rio de Janeiro, when intelligence arrived that not only had the reigning Prince, Ferdinand, refused even to listen to the representation already addressed to him by Don M. Sarratea, our envoy, but, regardless of our intention, of which he was informed, to send a formal deputation to Spain, had ordered an expedition of 10,000 men to be immediately prepared to subjugate by force the provinces of the Rio de la Plata, in direct opposition to the tenor of his own Address of the 27th of May, 1814, to the Americans. This news, together with the manifestoes published against us, could leave no doubt as to the hostile policy which the Prince had resolved to adopt with regard to the people of these coun- tries ; further, our deputies, upon their arrival at Rio de Janeiro, announced to us the little hope they entertained of u any success resulting from their mission from the tone of the Spanish Charge d’Affaires at that court. Already it appeared an agent from Spain had arrived there charged to induce the Government of Brazil to violate the treaties they had made with us, and to co- operate with the expedition about to be despatched from Cadiz to attack us, whilst the appointment of a host of individuals to important offices in the provinces — all Europeans and persons detested by the people for the active part they had taken against APPENDIX.— II. 389 tlie American cause — contributed to satisfy us that the Prince who occupied the throne of Spain had no desire whatever for a pacification. These events, Sire, threw these Provinces into the state in which they now are. The army of Pern, dissatisfied by the moderation we had evinced with regard to the enemy, and with a suspension of hostilities which deprived them of victories in prospect, determined not to be parties to any adjustment with Spain whatever. Their chiefs redoubled their exertions to increase their forces, and the capital of Buenos Ayres was agitated by the greatest enthusiasm. The Supreme Director, deeming himself from his age and pacific character unfit to command under such circumstances, resigned, and was succeeded by a spirited young officer full of energy and talent, who, following the popular feeling, prepared for the most vigorous defence. The result is, that Buenos Ayres now possesses an army of 11,000 veteran troops, 8000 volunteers of infantry, 14,000 of cavalry, and more than 200 pieces of artillery, completely equipped and ready for service. In Monte Video and its country districts there is a force of from 10,000 to 12,000 men ; the troops of the line of Peru number 8000 men, exclusive of the volunteer cavalry and native infantry ; the forces in active service in the p/ovinces of Peru, Arequipa, Cuzco, La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, and Chuquisaca are considerable, besides which there are 3000 more in the province of Cuyo. The whole of these forces and the populations of these vast countries have sworn not only to defend themselves against Prince Ferdinand, but also that they will never acknowledge his Govern- ment or treat with him on any terms ; and your memorialists, as their deputies, must in their name declare to your Majesty, with all that truth which the importance of the subject demands, that their aforesaid determination, with regard both to Spain and the Prince who now rules over her, is as irrevocable as it is justifiable. It is under these circumstances, Sire, that the people of these provinces appeal to your Majesty, and that we as their represen- tatives in the face of all nations declare — “ That the people of the provinces of the Rio de la Plata had no part in the movement at Aranjuez which led to your Majesty’s renunciation of your Majesty’s rights, much less have they ever shared in any degree in the alleged feeling of the Spanish people against your Majesty’s royal person ; on the contrary, they grate- fully acknowledge the progress they made under your Majesty’s reign and the improvements introduced into their laws and ad- ministration. “That the nullity of your Majesty’s abdication in 1808 being 390 APPENDIX.— II. notorious, as well as your Majesty’s protest against it, and that by no subsequent act has any validity been given to it, as appears by the circular of Don Ferdinand of the 4th of May, 1814, wherein he founds his own rights to the occupation of the throne upon the aforesaid renunciation alone, designating it as a voluntary and solemn act, in opposition to the conviction of the whole world, your memorialists protest and swear that they do not and will not recognize any other as their legitimate Sovereign and as King of the Spanish Monarchy than your Majesty Don Carlos IV., whom God protect.” This, Sire, is the resolution of the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata, which their deputies declare and guarantee in their name in the most solemn manner. But considering the pressing wants of the country, the feelings of the people with good cause alienated from their European brethren by their severity and hostile spirit, the advanced age and state of health of your Majesty and of your royal lady our Queen, and the enormous distance of more than 2000 leagues of sea voyage between us, we are induced with all due humility to submit to your Majesty the only possible means whereby such difficulties can be overcome and the first steps taken towards the restoration of peace, honour, and prosperity to your Majesty’s subjects. Nothing assuredly could give more satisfaction to the people of these Provinces than to be able to rejoice in the presence of their beloved Sovereign and of those who surround him, and who have adhered to him with a loyal devotion which they cannot but admire ; but if insuperable obstacles interfere to prevent this, which is the first object of their wishes, as well as that best suited to their interests, is it a reason why they are to be given up to a war of extermination, or driven to throw themselves into the arms of some foreign Prince ? Such an alternative can never be sup- posed to be your Majesty’s wish, neither could it take place with- out entailing upon these countries the most fatal results. It is to avert such consequences that your memorialists are instructed to appeal to your Majesty to grant them the remedy they earnestly pray for at your Majesty’s hands. That remedy, Sire, is no other than that your Majesty he pleased to cede in favour of your worthy son, Don Francisco de Paula, the dominion and sovereignty over these Provinces, consti- tuting him their independent King upon the basis which your memorialists on the part of their constituents are respectfully prepared to propose. That this is the most effectual means of restoring peace and quiet to the people in question is proved not only by their spon- taneously and unanimously calling for it, but by the circumstance APPENDIX.— II. 391 of the Prince in question being in no manner compromised in the events which unfortunately have caused so much excitement in the Peninsula. That it will also be the means of raising a vast and rich continent to the prosperity which pertains to it , there is every ground to hope from the talents of a young Prince capable of estimating the progress of the present age and to profit by it. Lastly, that this is the most feasible, legitimate, and just means which your Majesty can adopt in a case of such exigency can be fully demonstrated. Any other plan which does not separate the people of these countries from the influence of the Peninsula will be found either impracticable or at least be of very short duration. Neither will the people of Spain on their part abate their ran- corous pretensions, nor is it possible for the Americans to trust them after they have violated every agreement they have ever made with them ; they can no longer be deceived or give up those rights which they have gained with so many sacrifices and are de- termined to maintain. With regard to the Prince in question, no one can be more worthy the favour of your Majesty ; he is the only one in whom the Provinces could place confidence ; he is the only one who can meet our requirements, as he is the only one of your Majesty’s family who is free from other engagements. The full powers vested in your Majesty to take this step ensure its legality. The people of Spain have no contract with, no rights over those of America. The Monarch is the only party with whom the settlers in America formed contracts ; on him alone they are dependent, and he alone it is who connects them with Spain. The celebrated law of the Indies (cap. 1, tit. 1, lib. 3), which, contrary to its letter and the uniform evidence of history, the enemies of America would interpret into a bond of union be- tween the people of these countries and Spain, indissoluble even by the Sovereign himself, furnishes in reality the best proof of the right of the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata to insist upon their independence as well as of your Majesty’s legitimate powers to grant it. The law in question is the contract which the Emperor Charles V. originally signed at Barcelona on the 14th September, 1519, in favour of the Conquistadores and settlers in the Americas, in re- turn for all the expenses they had been put to, and for their ser- vices in adding those possessions to the Crown. It is indisputable that this law is only binding on the Monarch personally, and has no reference to Spain ; but the fact of the alienation of many territories and cities in America, although in opposition to the declared wishes of the people, is alone sufficient to prove that the Spanish Monarchs and Spain herself never con- sidered the law referred to as of any validity when opposed to 392 APPENDIX.— II. their real interests ; and it is of this principle that the Americans now demand the benefit. The favour, Sire, which we pray for at the hands of your Ma- jesty is not only the greatest benefit your Majesty can confer upon the Provinces aforesaid, but may be productive of immense advantage to Spain also. The people of the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata are ready solemnly to engage that in all future relations they may contract they will ever give a preference to their European brethren. This is the most they can desire, and all they can possibly have any interest in obtaining from those countries. Your memorialists conclude by referring to the documents an- nexed as fully proving the truth of all they have here set forth ; and casting themselves at your Majesty’s feet, in their own name and on behalf of their constituents implore your Majesty as their Sovereign to grant the object of this their earnest request, and that your Majesty will graciously be pleased to extend your paternal and powerful protection to three millions of your most loyal vassals, and thereby ensure the happiness of generations to come. May God prosper and protect your Majesty. (Signed) Manuel Belgrano. Bernardino Rivadavia, London , 16^ May, 1815. Note. — This document has been necessarily very much curtailed in tran- scribing it, the greater part of it being no longer of any public interest. The portions given are sufficient to prove how earnest were the Americans in their endeavours to bring about some honourable arrangement with their old Sovereigns. That this attempt proved as fruitless as the many others which had preceded it can hardly he wondered at, considering the position of the ex-King to whom it was addressed. It was in the year following (1816) that the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata finally proclaimed their independence by the Declaration of Tucuman, as set forth at page 76 of this volume. APPENDIX.— III. 393 III. EXTRAIT DE D1YERSES PIECES RELATIVES AUX NEGO- CIATIONS DU GOUVERNEMENT FRANCA1S AVEC LA Rlt- PUBLIQUE DES PROVINCES-UNIES DE SUD-AMER1QUE.* 1819. Lettre de M. Gomez , Plenipotentiaire des Provinces- Unies de Sud- Amerique , a Paris. Paris, le 18 Juin, 1819. Dans ma lettre du 15 du mois dernier j’informai votre Seigneurie que j’avais ete invite a une conference par S. Excellence le Ministre des Affaires Etrangeres. Differentes circonstances la retarderent jusqu’au l er du courant. Quoique j’eusse reflechi profondement sur l’objet qu’elle pouvait avoir, je n’aurais jamais pu prevoir ce dont il s’agissait, et je me borne a le soumettre a votre Seigneurie. Apres m’avoir fait un long expose des dispositions de son Gou- vernement en faveur de la glorieuse entreprise commencee par les Provinces- Unies, et en meme temps des difficultes qui empechaient la Cour de France d’y prendre une part active et manifeste, le Ministre me dit qu’occupes de nos veritable interets, ses collegues et lui s’etaient convaincus que ces interets devaient dependre en- tierement de la forme que nous donnerions a notre Gouvernement ; que celle d’une Monarchic Constitutionnelle paraissait nous con- venir plus que toute autre, parcequ’elle serait la plus propre a nous faire jouir promptement des bienfaits de la paix, si nous choissis- sions un Prince de TEurope, qui put, par ses relations, donner une attitude respectable a l’etat qui l’aurait adopte, et faciliter la re- connaissance de son independance. S. Excellence ajouta que, penetre de cette idee, le Ministere Franqais avait conqu un projet qui paraissait avantageux a tous egards, et qu’elle allait Fexposer avec la plus grande sincerite, en me proposant un Prince qui se trouvait dans la position la plus propre a applanir tous les obstacles que pourrait rencontrer un pared projet a raison des differens interets des principales Puissances de F Europe, et de la variete des vues politiques des divers cabinets. Que ce Prince etait le Due de Lucques, ancien heritier du royaume d’Etrurie, appartenant * These papers are copied from a brochure printed at Paris in 1820, entitled ‘ Aper ° «; 2 s a ■§ ^ i 1 ^2 00 S 13 T* §•« So.2 J- o a; 0 co 0 0 d 0 • a 2 a a c* a O 00 00 0 00 co 03 CO 03 a a ^ 50 CM 51 (N O (30 feD.S .3 CO a rd 03 t3 i" 3 o 13 ^ ” I 3 I ►.3 £2 < § co sd o a a « 03 j_, a 03 03 a o ?-* C3 PQ 05 i-H GO bo S3 <1 a d § o ScT« <*" s &a a <5 g d ®* a co cm O rd o <3 i tt> iO s . §« w a 03 a ^ 03 ^ a £-e°* *1 s .S§3f §2 © 3. O ej > I CM ^ a On'H.a d O H o pS s 2 03 Ph B Ct-t O 2 a $ g rC ^ C)0H .2 co O O 5G O ;a as ^ a «*-p .a o p. p<“ co ■a 03 CCS ^ -a o 1/3 a* Q >» *3 a a a ;* 03 a a pd 60 ^•1 bo Table II. Meteorological Observations in Buenos Ayres during 1822 and 1823 (from the Registro Estadistico). APPENDIX.— IX. 423 In the eighteen months the highest of the thermometer was 94, in the month of January ; the lowest 36, in August. It has been known to rise to 96, as in January, 1824, when it was at that point some days. On the other hand, it has been known to fall as low as 28 and 29, as in 1817 ; but these extremes are very rare. 424 APPENDIX.— X. X. Barometrical Observations made by Dr. Redhead on road from Buenos Ayres to Potosi, with Altitudes as computed by Mr. Petermann after comparison with other data. Place of Observation. Barometer. Thermometer. Date. Hour. Estimated Altitude above the Sea. o o Ft. Buenos Ayres . . • • • 50 Rio Tercero .... 28*915 86 Feb. 11 11 A. M. 990 Cordova 28*400 86 , , 20 4 P. M. 1,558 Sinsacate 27*990 75 Mar. 12 11 A. M. 2,033 San Pedro .... 26*990 60 ,, 17 6 ,, 2,900 Durasno 27-300 73 17 9 P. M. 2,656 Piedritas 27*500 72 ,, 17 Psoon 2,450 Pozo del Tigre . 27-550 71 >> 17 5 p. M. 2,392 Portezuela .... 27*860 69 ,, 18 Noon | 2,070 Ambargasta .... 28-875 67 >> 19 9 A. M, 1,050 Punte del Monte 29*260 82 ,, 19 4 P. M. 735 Salinas 29-000 68 ,, 20 6 A. M. 358 Noria 29*400 76 ,, 20 2 P. M. 595 Tucuman .... 27*563 75 Feb. 10 2,490 Salta * 26*113 75 . . 3,973 Huamaguaea 21*415 57 June 2 4 P. M. 9,642 Cueba 21*200 54 > } 2 8,973 Colorados .... 19-350 50 May 31 8 A. M. 12,406 Cangrejos .... 19-625 32 ,, 30 6 P. M. 11,723 Abra de Cortaderas 13,000 Quiaca 19*300 50 May 29 4 P. M. 12,462 Cerro de Berque 19-100 60 ,, 28 11 A. M. 1 12,943 Berque 19-975 54 >> 27 4 P. M. 11,579 Talina 20*800 56 m 26 9 A. M. 10,465 Tupiza 26*260 60 ,, 25 9 ,, 3,900 * Observation of M. Paroisien. APPENDIX.— XI. 425 XI. Some Fixed Points in the Provinces of the Rio de ea Peata. PLACE. S. Latitude. Longitude. Where from. Observations. O 1 fl o I n Province of Buenos Ayres. Centre of the City of 1 Buenos Ayres . . . J 34 36 29 58 23 34 Greenwich 1 Anchorage of H.M. S. Ne- j reus in the Outer Roads > in 1813 . . . . .J 34 34 30 58 2 0 3 > f Variation J2^° t E.— 1813 Luxan 34 38 36 1 1 10 ( W. of Buenos ( Ayres Guardia del Salto . £4 18 57 2 14 49 >» j Variation 1 39' E.— 1 14° 796 Fort Roxas 34 11 48 2 41 39 ,, Fort Mercedes .... 33 55 18 3 4 14 3 3 Fort Melinque .... 33 42 24 3 30 38 3 3 Corzo, near the Lake (source 1 of the Salado) . . . J 34 4 55 3 36 32 3 3 Lake Roxas 34 19 7 3 2 56 3 3 Lake Carpincho 34 35 31 2 52 44 3 3 Lake Toro-Moro . . . 34 49 1 2 38 30 3 3 Lake Palentalen 35 10 15 2 6 34 3 J Lake de los Huesos . 35 14 30 1 34 44 3 3 Lake del Trigo .... 35 14 3 1 14 54 3 3 Cisne 35 46 0 0 20 5 E. of ditto Manantiales de Porongos . 35 54 50 0 1 55 3 3 Lake Camerones Grandes . 36 0 59 0 9 19 33 Altos de Troncoso . 36 5 30 0 10 55 3 3 Fort Chascomus 35 33 5 0 22 20 3 3 Fort Ranchos .... 35 30 46 0 3 20 3 3 Lake Ceajo 35 29 49 0 16 40 W. of ditto Guardia del Monte . 35 26 7 0 31 10 , , Guardia de Lobos . 35 16 7 0 52 10 3 3 Fort Navarro .... 35 0 13 1 3 25 3 3 1 N.B. — The above positions from Luxan to Navarro were determined in the course of a survey of the frontiers, made in 179G by Don Felix Azara, aided by Cervino and Inciarte, all officers attached to the Commission for laying down the boundaries under the treaty, between Spain and Portugal, of 1777. The Statistical Register of Buenos Ayres for 1822 has added to them the fol- lowing — San Pedro 33 40 51 1 32 0 j W. of Buenos ( Ayres. Barradero 33 43 50 1 25 4 9 9 Conchas 34 25 15 0 10 31 ,3 Pergamino 33 53 16 2 24 25 3 , Areco 34 11 57 1 26 47 9 9 Arecife (Fort) .... 34 3 8 2 6 13 Pilar 34 26 4 0 52 54 Canada de Moron . 34 40 45 0 23 49 9 9 Magdalena 5 29 0 44 0 E. of ditto 1 | 1 426 APPENDIX. — XI. Fixed Points— continued. PLACE. S. Latitude. Longitude. Where from. Observations. O f II O'" Observations taken on the Journey of Don Pedro Garcia , in 1810, to the Salinas. Pass of the Salado . 35 2 0 1 56 0 Buenos Ayres Palantalen 35 12 0 2 7 0 9 9 Lakes Tres Hermanas . 35 23 0 2 16 0 9 9 Cruz de Guerra .... 35 41 0 2 24 0 9 9 Cabeza del Buey 36 10 0 2 52 0 9 9 First Lake of the Canada) Larga j 36 38 0 3 24 0 Lake del Monte .... 36 53 0 3 57 0 9 9 Lake de los Paraguayos 36 58 0 4 12 0 9 9 Lake of the Salinas (centre) 37 13 0 4 51 0 9 9 Positions fixed on the Expedition in 1 823 to extend the Frontiers. Fort on the Tandil . 37 21 43 0 39 4 Buenos Ayres j Variation 14° \ 59' E 1823. Lake beyond the Tintal Hills J 37 40 3 1 27 0 9 9 Another further on . 37 44 7 2 0 7 9 9 Var. 15° 18' E. Ruins of the Jesuit Mission 37 59 48 • • 9 9 By the Officers of His Majesty's Ship Beagle , in 1832. Cape Corrientes Sierra Ventana, highest! summit / Fort Argentino, near Bahia) Blanca J 38 5 30 57 29 15 Greenwich 38 11 45 61 56 18 9 9 38 43 50 62 14 41 9 9 On the River Negro . Pilot’s house at the entrance! of the River Negro . . j Town of Carmen on ditto . East end of the Islands of! Choleechel . . . . j Junction of the River Neu-! quen j J unction of the River En- 1 carnacion J Villarinos, furthest up thel Catapuliclie . . . .j 41 0 42 62 46 15 Greenwich 40 48 18 62 58 0 9 9 39 0 0 ,, 38 44 0 9 9 40 6 0 9 9 39 33 0 9 9 1 Var. 17° 42' E. 1832. By Villarino, in 1782. APPENDIX.— XI. 427 Fixed Points — continued. PLACE. S. Latitude. Longitude. Where from. Observations. o ' " O 1 // Positions on the road from Buenos Ayres to Chile, fixed in 1794 by Bauza and Espinosa , officers attached to Malaspina s Surveying Expedition. Post of Portezuelas . 33 53 0 .. Greenwich , , Desmochados . 33 10 0 . . , , , Sanjon, on the River 1 Tercero j 32 40 0 61 45 0 9 9 Pass on the Tercero 32 23 30 • • 9 9 San Luis de la Punta . 33 18 0 65 47 0 9 y Pass of the Desaguadero 33 26 0 • • 9 9 Mendoza 32 52 0 69 6 0 , , Uspallata .... 32 33 20 • • 9 9 St. Jago de Chile . 33 26 0 70 46 0 9 9 Provincial Towns. Cordova 31 26 14 314 36 45 Ferro JM. de Souillac, 1 1784 Santiago del Estero . Tucuman .... 27 47 0 . . 9 9 Azara 26 52 27 • • 9 9 Salta 24 51 7 . . 9 9 Corrientes .... 27 27 0 319 55 0 9 9 Azara Assumption .... 25 16 40 320 12 0 9 9 9 9 Affluents of the River Paraguay. Mouth of the Vermejo . 26 54 0 \ , , Tebicuari 26 35 0 1 By Azara in Fort Angostura . 25 32 0 f 1785. Mouth of the Pilcomayo 25 21 9 ] , , Piray . . 25 2 0 \ , , Salado 25 1 0 , , Peribibuy 24 58 0 , , Mboicay . 24 56 0 , Tobati 24 50 0 ,, Ibobi . . 24 29 0 , , Quarepoti 24 23 0 , , Xexui 24 7 0 , , Ipane-mini 24 2 0 \ Quiroga, in , , Fogones . 23 51 0 / 1750. , , Ipane-guazu 23 28 0 , , Guarambare 23 8 0 , , Corrientes 22 2 0 , , Tepoti 21 45 0 • • , , Inboteti . . 19 20 0 • . , , Tacuari . • 19 0 0 1 , , Porrudos . . 17 52 0 • • , , Jauru . 16 25 0 320 10 0 Ferro ) 428 APPENDIX.— XI. Fixed Points — continued. PLACE. S. Latitude. Longitude. Where from. Observations. o t n o / n Towns in Paraguay . Yaguaron Itapd Cazapa Yuti Point of embarkation onl the Tebicuari . . . f 25 41 15 25 51 14 26 9 53 26 36 4 26 35 21 f Azara, in 1785. The Jesuit Missions of the Uruguay and Parana , as fixed by the Boundary Commissioners , under the Treaty of 1777. San Ignacio-guazu 26 55 12 321 5 9 Ferro Santa Maria de Fe 26 48 10 321 11 9 9 9 Santa liosa . 26 53 12 321 14 28 9 9 Santiago 27 8 40 321 20 14 9 9 San Cosmo . 27 18 55 321 47 53 9 9 d » Itapua . 27 20 16 322 14 2 9 9 * Candelaria . 27 27 14 322 19 30 9 9 Jh f. oj ST; Santa Ana . 27 23 40 322 31 23 9 9 z, O S a Loreto . 27 19 44 322 35 19 9 9 a> .-h San Ignacio-mini . 27 14 55 322 43 11 9 9 >5 .<£ Corpus . 27 7 36 322 36 27 9 9 S3 S a! S Trinidad 27 7 35 322 19 20 9 9 £ © Jesus 27 2 36 322 17 2 9 9 03 San Jose 27 45 47 322 19 30 9 9 X3 03 San Nicolas 28 11 23 322 44 21 9 9 § i San Luis 28 25 4l 323 1 23 9 9 San Lorenzo San Miguel . 28 28 27 33 51 13 323 323 14 22 29 24 9 9 9 9 Hpi, co San Juan 28 27 51 323 37 22 9 9 W 'Si San Angel . 28 18 13 323 47 15 9 5 £ San Tomas . 28 32 49 322 1 39 San Borja . 28 39 51 322 4 49 La Cruz 29 11 0 321 30 0 9 9 Yapeyu . 29 28 0 321 17 2 9 9 The Gran Salto, or Great) Fall on the Parana . . f 24 4 58 . . 9 9 |By the Bound- < ary Commis- ( sioners, 1788. T©©TM m MECMTHlEmWM. T\Ta.turaJ size . APPENDIX.— XII. 429 XII. ON THE FOSSIL REMAINS OF THE MEGATHERIUM, MYLO- DON, AND GLYPTODON, FOUND IN THE PAMPAS OF BUENOS AYRES. By PROFESSOR OWEN, F.R.S., &c. Megatherium. The megatherium was a large quadruped, in some dimensions surpassing the elephant, especially in the breadth of the hinder parts of the body, from which the trunk tapered forwards to the head, which was small. The length of the body was from 12 to 14 feet, exclusive of the tail, which was thick, strong, and about 5 feet in length : the trunk was supported on four short but massive limbs, termi- nated by large feet, provided not only with claws, but with hoofs, or callosities like hoofs. The outermost toes in both fore and hind feet were those so encased, and the foot was inclined inwards so as to rest upon those hoofs or callosities, which probably extended backwards along the outer margin of the sole, upon which the animal rested when it stood or walked. Three of the toes on the fore foot and one toe on the hind foot were armed with large and powerful claws, which, being bent upon, the inwardly-directed palm or sole during progression on the ground, were prevented from being blunted or worn away. The teeth of the megatherium were few in number, of relatively small size in the extent of the grinding surface, but of great length and deeply implanted in the jaw : there were five on each side of the upper and four on each side of the lower jaw, not differing much from each other in size or shape, presenting a quadrate transverse section and a grinding surface composed of two transverse ridges ; the summit of each ridge is formed by the edge of a plate of hard dentinal material, which extends through the length of the tooth ; the plates are parallel and united together by a less dense intermediate substance, thickly inclosed by a similar substance, and the outer and inner sub- stances wearing faster away than the intermediate harder plate, the ridged, grinding surface was thus always maintained in an effective state. The teeth terminate at the bottom of the socket, not by dividing into roots, but by a cavity which progressively widens as it descends, the base of the tooth forming a mere thin 430 APPENDIX.— XII. shell about this cavity. The matrix or formative organ of the tooth was there lodged, as in the perpetually -growing front teeth of the rat and rabbit, whence it is inferred that the grinding teeth of the megatherium were endowed with a similar power of providing for the wearing down of the crown by equivalent growth at the base. Thus the triturating and masticating ma- chinery of this huge herbivore was maintained in an effective state, and necessarily so, but by a different modification from that in the elephant. The large and complex grinders of that great proboscidian quadruped have a limited period of growth, but pro- vision is made for an unusual number of successive teeth, which are of larger size as they follow one another from behind for- wards in the jaw. Nature, ever fertile in her resources, attained the same end by different means in the megatherium, the same teeth being made to serve their purposes throughout life by the retained power of individual growth. In order to lodge the persistent pulps of the teeth the jaws were made unusually deep, and their configuration, especially at the dentigerous part of the under jaw T , gave its chief characteristic form to the skull of the megatherium. The muscles destined to work that massive jaw required corresponding modifications of the parts of the skull to which they were attached, and hence the ex- traordinary prolongation downwards of the masseteric part of the malar bone. The neck vertebrae were seven in number ; those of the back, to which the ribs articulated, were sixteen in number ; those of the loins did not exceed three ; the sacrum consisted of five large anchylosed vertebrae, and the tail included not fewer than eighteen vertebrae, making a total of forty-nine vertebrae. The parts of the ribs articulating with the sternum were bony, not gristly as in the elephant. The fore limbs were very powerful aud endowed with the rotatory movements of the fore foot, called pronation and supination ; and, in their application to burrowing or grasping, their action was perfected by the presence of strong and complete clavicles, strengthening and steadying the shoulder- joint. The arm bone (humerus) is much expanded at its lower end to afford the required extent of attachment to the pronator and supinator muscles of the fore foot. The bony sheath formed by the ungual phalanx of the middle digit indicates a powerful claw of about 1 foot in length and 8 inches in breadth at its base. The pelvis and hinder limbs are still more remarkable for their colossal proportions ; the breadth of the haunch-bones (ilia) with the intervening sacrum is 6 feet, that of the great male elephant in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons being 3 feet. The femur is three times as thick as in the largest elephant, but is shorter; it resembled that of the elephant in the absence of the pit on the hemispheric head for the attachment of the round APPENDIX.— XII. 431 ligament. The two bones of the leg (tibia and fibula) had similar robust proportions, and were soldered together or anchylosed at both their extremities. The heel-bone is enormous, six times the size of that of the largest elephant, and the other bones of the foot present scarcely smaller proportions, but the toes are reduced in number ; those answering to the innermost ( hallux ) and second toes in the elephant and other pentadactyle mammals were want- ing ; the third toe ( medius ) was enormously developed and armed with a powerful claw : the two outer toes, answering to the fourth and fifth, had obtuse, rough, stunted ends, evidently imbedded in a thick callous hoof. In the number, shape, structure, and mode of growth of the teeth ; in the peculiarities of the skull, blade-bone, wrist-bones, and ankle-bones ; in the absence of medullary cavities in the long bones of the limbs ; in the reduction of the number of the digits and the arming of some of these with long and powerful claws — the megatherium manifests the closest affinities, amongst existing quadrupeds, to the diminutive arboreal sloths, which are now peculiar to the forests of that continent in which the remains of the megatherium are almost exclusively found. The construction of the dorsal and lumbar vertebrae negatives the idea entertained by Cuvier and De Blainville that the portions of a fossil bony carapace, found in the same formations as the remains of the megatherium, belonged to that animal. Indeed the fossil bones actually found associated with bony tesselated armour at the Rio Matanza have the nearest resemblance to those of the small existing armadillos, although generically distinct by the modifications in the form of the teeth (see Glyptodon ). From the foregoing outline of the osseous structure of the megatherium it is evident that that low* built, broad, and massive quadruped was endowed with prodigious muscular strength ; that its fore limbs were organized for application to other purposes than those of mere locomotion, and that the tail must have served as a kind of fifth limb, especially in supporting or propping up the enormous hinder parts of the body. With regard to its habits, food, and mode of life, different hypotheses have been proposed by the different anatomists and naturalists who have studied and described its skeleton. The German authors Pander and D’Alton, who have given the best figures of the famous skeleton of the megatherium at Madrid, conceived that it must have been a burrowing animal, and com- pared it with those fossorial rodent quadrupeds which live in burrows and subsist on the roots of plants. Dr. Lund, who has described some animals allied to the megatherium, together with many other fossils which he discovered in the caves of Brazil, conjectures that the megatherium climbed trees, in order to 432 APPENDIX.— XII. browse, like the sloths, on the leaves, and that it was aided by a prehensile tail. Cuvier concluded that the megatherium made use of its claws to dig up the roots of plants on which it fed. The colossal size of the megatherium renders the fossorial hypothesis improbable : the animal was too powerful, and pos- sessed in its long claws too formidable weapons, to need to con- ceal itself in the earth from its foes. The same huge bulk com- pels the supporters of the scansorial hypothesis to assume a corresponding magnitude of the trees to support the weight of such a climbing giant ; and the idea derives no support from the structure of the tail, which is organized to aid in supporting the massive hinder parts of the animal, and not for prehension. On the hypothesis that the megatherium subsisted on roots and used its claws to extract them from the soil, much of its peculiar organization remains unexplained, especially the remarkable ex- panse of the sacrum and the powerful development of the hind limbs. The close conformity of the teeth in their composition and structure with those of the sloths indicates a similarity in the nature of their food, whilst the difference in the form of the body and in the proportions and structure of the limbs determines a difference in the mode of obtaining that food. The superadded digits buried in callosities for walking on the ground show plainly that the megatherium did not pass its time in trees; but whilst its enormous claws would serve to expose and detach the roots, the organization of the fore limbs well adapted them for grappling with the trunk, and the prodigious power of the pelvis and hind limbs was fully equal to work the fore parts of the body with a force required for the prostration of the tree. On the supposition that the megatherium subsisted on the leaves and smaller branches of trees, and obtained its food either by wrenching off the branches or fronds within its reach, or by prostrating the entire tree, all the peculiarities of its organization are intelligible, and are seen to be well adapted to the operations requisite for obtaining such kind of food. Genus Mylodon. The species of this genus, which like the megatherium are now extinct, resembled that animal in their massive proportions, in the expansion of the pelvic region of the body, in the length and strength of the feet, which were provided with both hoofs and claws, and in the number, kinds, disposition, and structure of the teeth ; but the form of the teeth, and especially of their grinding surface, was different, and there was an additional toe on both the APPENDIX.— XII. 433 fore and hind feet, giving rise to the generic distinction indicated by the name. Three species of Mylodon have now been recog- nized ; that which has been discovered in Buenos Ayres, called the Mylodon robustus , is represented by the almost entire skeleton in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. This skeleton measures 9 feet in length ; the head is small in proportion to the trunk, and resembles that of the Megatherium in having a strong process descending from the zygomatic arch. The trunk, shorter than that of the hippopotamus, is terminated behind by a pelvis, equalling in breadth and exceeding in depth that of the elephant, and supported by two massive hinder extremities and by a tail of corresponding length and thickness. The lumbar ver- tebrae are anchylosed to the sacrum. A long and capacious thorax is defended by sixteen pairs of ribs, most of which equal in breadth those of the elephant, and are clamped by ossified car- tilages to a strong and complex sternum. The scapula, of unusual breadth, and with the acromial and coronoid processes united by a bony arch, are attached to the sternum by strong and complete clavicles. The humeri, short and thick, have their pro- cesses and condyles strongly developed. Both bones of the fore- arm are distinct, with the mechanism for pronation and supination complete. The fore-foot is pentadactyle, with the two outer digits obtuse, stunted, for being encased in a callous hoof ; the hind foot is tetradactyle, with the two outer toes similarly modified ; the remaining toes on both feet are armed with long and strong claws. Both the fore and hind feet are so articulated as to have the sole inclined inwards, the outer edge of the foot and the two outer ungulate digits being the parts which must have principally sus- tained the superincumbent weight when the animal stood or walked along the ground. A second species, called Mylodon Darwinii , appears to have in- habited the southern parts of South America, where its remains were discovered by Charles Darwin, Esq. A third species, the Mylodon Harlani , has left its remains in a cavern in Kentucky. Genus Glyptodon. This generic name has been proposed for some gigantic extinct species of armadillo, tbe remains of which have been found in the newer tertiary deposits and caverns of South America. The actual representatives of the race are of small size, and are chiefly remarkable for their coat of armour, which is composed of numerous small bony pieces united by suture, and with certain portions arranged in jointed bands to facilitate the movements of the armour. The gigantic glyptodons had their coat of mail in 2 F 434 APPENDIX. — XII. one piece, without bands ; their teeth were of a more complex form and structure than in the existing armadillos (. Dasypus ), and they resembled the great terrestrial sloths in having a long process descending from the zygomatic arch. The feet were re- markably short in proportion to their breadth and thickness, and the digits appear to have been terminated by hoofs rather than claws. The almost entire carapace of the Glyptodon clavipes , in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, is composed of thick pentagonal ossicles united together at their margins by sutures ; smooth on the inner surface, where the sutures are most con- spicuous, rough and sculptured on the outer surface, where each ossicle supports a central, large, flattened eminence surrounded by five or six smaller ones, the whole forming a rosette. The length of this carapace, following the curve of the back, is 5 feet 7 inches ; the breadth, following the curve of the middle of the back, is 7 feet 4 inches ; the breadth in a straight line across is 3 feet 3 inches. The total number of ossicles in the carapace of the Glyptodon clavipes may be estimated at above two thousand. THE END. LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET. 2 THE PROVINCES OF , THEBJ0 BE LAP LAI A Ip^j Z : O | ZZfy^~. v 1 A | i l & C3v~ ^ • -W i 1 f ZZz. 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