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THE CRUISE OF
THE "FALCON"

THE CRUISE OF THE
" FALCON "
A VOYAGE TO SOUTH AMERICA IN A
30-TON YACHT

BY
E. F. KNIGHT

THOMAS NELSON AND SONS, Ltd.
LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK

PREFACE

In this volume I have told the story of the voyage,
extending over a period of twenty months, of my
yawl the Falcon (eighteen tons register, thirty tons
RTM), in South American and West Lndian waters.
We left Southampton on the 20th of August, 1880,
the crew being composed of four amateurs, three of
whom were barristers, and a cabin-boy.
The narrative includes the description of a five
months' cruise in the yacht up the Rivers Parana
and Paraguay, and of a ride across the Pampas to
Tucuman. The number of miles travelled over by land and
sea was roughly 22,000.
THE AUTHOR.

viii CONTENTS.

XVII. Tucuman . . . .228
XVIII. Return to Buenos Ayres . 240
XIX. We sail for Paraguay . 249
XX. Sport on the Parana . . 261
XXI. El Gran Chaco . . .276
XXII. The Province of Corrientes 288
XXIII. Paraguay .... 300
XXIV. Villa Pillar . . .310
XXV. Asuncion . . . -322
XXVI. Our Adventures at Aregua 333
XXVII. Descent of the Rivers . 346
XXVIII. Ship a new Crew . . 358
XXIX. Homeward Bound . , 370
XXX. A Pampero . . . .381
XXXI. Trinidad and Martin Vas
Islands .... 396
XXXII. Exploration of the Desert
Island . 413
XXXIII. Pernambuco . . . 432
XXXIV. A Cruise round the Re-
concavo .... 445
XXXV. Demerara . . . ,461
XXXVI. Barbados and Home. . . 473

THE CRUISE OF THE
"FALCON."

CHAPTER I.

IT was one of those beautiful lazy July days
that even London is occasionally blessed with,
and which tend to inspire busy man with profound
misgivings as to the truth of that trite old lesson, that
unremitting toil is his destiny and sole object here
below. My friend Arthur Jerdein and myself, urged by
the glory of the weather, concluded that a holiday
would be to our moral, physical, and mental advan
tage, and thereupon acting up to our laudable deter
mination, walked away from the narrow city streets,
and took boat at the Temple stairs for the ancient
port of Greenwich — a favourite trip of both of us
this, but one that never wearied and seemed ever
new. To come out of the confined city, and to steam
through the fresh breeze down the grand old river,
among the big ocean-going ships, by the stately store
houses, and quaint water-side wharves and slips, has
a peculiar fascination of its own, with its manifold
suggestions of enterprise in many a strange land and
100 9 i a

io THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
sea. We enjoyed the orthodox fish dinner, had
another stroll through the models of antique_ ships of
war and relics of many victories in the hospital, and
then lingered, lazily smoking, on the sea platform of
the palace, as we waited for the boat to take us back
to the unquiet town.
It was indeed a lovely evening — a Thames-side
evening as Turner loved to paint, with just that
suspicion of haze in the golden atmosphere to tone
down all hardness of outline and crudity of colour,
and glorify all.
We looked over the waters, saw the barges dropping
down with the tide, their tanned sails gleaming like
red gold in the western light.
A big vessel passed us — an Australian clipper,
crowded with emigrants, who raised a farewell cheer
as the last shore-boats left her side. A smart yawl
yacht of some sixty tons lay at anchor, close in front
of us. We looked on all this, silent for a time, but
our thoughts were very similar, the surroundings in
fluenced us in like manner.
In all the restless air moved the spirit of travel and
adventure. Each sound of chain rattling through
hawse-pipe, each smell of tar and odorous foreign
wood, each sight was full of reminiscence of far lands,
warm seas, and islands of spice. All seemed to say,
" Go out on the free seas."
We were both vagabonds, I fear, in disposition,
with nomadic blood in our veins, and our previous
wanderings had not been few. So far, this summer,
various causes had kept me in London, so I was more
than usually thirsting after change from city-life —
and lo ! already there was an autumnal beauty in
the sky ; it would soon be too late — a summer wasted ;
all these months of glorious sunshine and breeze —
winter was near.
The weariness of the city, the sigh of the autumn

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." n
wind, the surroundings of travel, all combined to
wake a restlessness and a regret in me ; so too was
it with my friend, for when one of us awoke from the
reverie and spoke, the conversation was on that of
which our hearts were full.
We admired the beautiful yacht riding at anchor.
" How well," one said, " to set to work now and fit
out with all stores a vessel like that, and with a few
good friends sail right away from the coming northern
winter — right away for a year or two into summer
seas ! "
In five minutes — though before leaving London
the faintest shadow of such a plan had not fallen
on our minds — we decided to follow this impulse,
and at the very idea of what we were about to do,
all our discontent vanished like a smoke, and a most
joyous enthusiasm succeeded it.
As is the custom under such circumstances we
retired to the " Ship," with solemn ceremony un
corked a bottle and poured out a libation to propiti
ate the sea-god, and iEolus of the winds ; then we
returned to London, light-hearted and full of our
plan, to commence preliminary work that very
evening. Thus it was that the cruise of the Falco'n came
about. My friend Jerdein, I must tell you, has been a
sailor, an ex-officer of the Royal Mail and P. and O.
Companies. I myself am an amateur mariner, hav
ing had many years' experience of fore-and-afters.
As skipper, cook, steward, mate, and crew of my
little yawl, the Ripple of Southampton, in which I
used to make periodical descents on the coast of
France, I had gained a fair knowledge of practical
seamanship. Now what we proposed to do, was to
find two or three friends to join us in a lengthened
cruise in a small yacht, say of twenty tons burden.

12 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
The idea was that we should sail her ourselves, and
dispense altogether with a professional crew — an
advantage in a small vessel.
On our return to town we exposed ourselves to
some chaff when we revealed our grand scheme.
Those who did not doubt our sincerity were dubious
of our sanity, and unhesitatingly expressed their
opinion that both the boat and the crew would be
found at about the Greek Kalends.
But before many days had passed we found the
vessel ; and very lucky we were in her ; had we
searched all round the British Isles we could have
discovered nothing so perfectly adapted for our
purpose. I had written to Mr. Pickett, of Stockham and
Pickett, Southampton, who had built the Ripple for
me, asking him if he knew of any vessel that would
suit us. He wrote back and told me that there was
the very thing for us laid up for sale in his yard,
alongside the Ripple.
So Jerdein and myself took the next train to
Southampton to inspect her.
We found the Falcon to be a yawl of eighteen tons
register ; thirty tons yacht measurement, a boat of
exceptionally strong construction, for she had been
built in Penzance for a fishing-lugger, and the
Penzance luggers have the reputation of being the
strongest and best sea boats of their size.
She had a square stern, which did not perhaps
improve her beauty, but gave her a character of her
own, and pole masts. Her length was forty-two feet,
her beam thirteen, and her draught about seven feet
and a half.
She was a most solid vessel, looking as if she
meant business, perfectly sound and possessing a fair
inventory, so it was not long before I had arranged
matters with her owners, and became the proud

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 13
possessor of the gallant little craft that was to be my
home for nearly two years.
Jerdein and myself left London, and at once com
menced to fit her out, for we were anxious to sail away
into calm seas before the autumnal equinox was on
us with its gales.
There was plenty to do ; we had her coppered
well above the water-line, fitted her with water-
tanks and biscuit-lockers, reduced her canvas, and
ordered spare and storm-sails. Beside her main,
jib-headed mizen, fore-staysail, and jib, she carried
a sliding gunter gaff-topsail, and a spinnaker.
We procured all the necessary charts, directories,
nautical instruments, stored away some nine months'
proAusions, decorated the main cabin walls with arms
for defence and sport — Martini-Henry rifles, cutlasses,
and revolvers, and purchased a small brass swivel gun
with grape and canister.
No one who has not undertaken to fit out even so
small a vessel for a cruise of years over tens of thou
sands of miles of ocean, can conceive how much there
is to think of and provide for.
The report of our proceedings spread in Southamp
ton. Longshore loafers, yachting men, and others "took
an interest in the curious expedition of an amateur
crew in so small a craft, and there was generally a
small crowd watching the preparations that made
Pickett's yard noisy with sound of hammering, sawing,
and caulking. Jerdein and myself were employed for
three days in unpacking and storing away bales of
tinned meats and other stores.
Hearing that we did not intend to take professionals
with us, many affected to disbelieve in us, jeered at
our plans and prophesied we should weary of the trip
before we got out of the chops of the Channel, put into
Cherbourg, stay there a week or so, and then return.

14 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
By some ill-omened soothsayers we were advised to
paint the vessel's name conspicuously on her keel,
so that she would be easily recognized when found
floating upside down on some sea or other.
West Quay, however, believed in us, and Pickett
was enthusiastic on the subject and sanguine as to
our success ; but he and others too would often in
quire, " Here are you and Mr. Jerdein, but where 's
the rest of the crew ? We have not seen them
yet." With great difficulty we found two gentlemen to
join us, Mr. Andrews and Mr. Arnaud, but unfortu
nately neither of these had the slightest idea of sailing
a boat. They knew nothing whatever of nautical
matters. At last they turned up in Southampton, and
Pickett's yard came out to study them. The yacht
sailors looked on with interest as one of these bold
would-be circumna'vigators in top hat and kid gloves,
with gingerly steps carefully ascended the ladder
which lay against the Falcon's side, reached the deck,
and, looking round, remarked with quite a nautical
air, as he hitched up his trousers, " What a lot of
strings there are about this boat ! I shall never
know the use of them all."
West Quay likewise studied bold circumnavigator
Number Two, smiled, and shrugged its shoulders.
This was certainly not a promising crew to take
across the Atlantic, and no one knew this better than
Jerdein and myself.
Thus were we bound to add another member to our
crew, who was of much more use, though small in
volume. This was a small boy, a very small boy of about
fifteen, homeless and characterless, who was loafing
about West Quay in search of odd jobs, a half -starved,
melancholy, silent little wretch, who had been the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 15
recipient of more kicks than halfpence during his
short existence. On questioning him, we found he
had been two years on board a North Sea fishing
boat — no gentle school.
When we offered him a berth on the Falcon he
gladly accepted it.
He never smiled then, that boy — he does now.
When we first engaged him, Jerdein catechized him
thus : — " What is your name ? " " Arthur." "Can
you steer by compass ? " " Yes." " Can you make
a bowline-knot on this piece of string ? " He satis
factorily accomplished this feat. " Do you ever get
drunk ? " " Ain't often got the chance, sir." " Do
you ever smile ? " " Yes, sir." This response came
out doubtfully, and forthwith he tried to screw some
thing like a smile out of his despondent features.
It was a ghastly failure ; his muscles were unaccus
tomed to the necessarymovements, and worked rustily
and with effort. Perhaps it was well for him that he
could not smile during the early stages of our voyage,
for there were things to smile at ; deeds of eccentric
seamanship on the part of some of the crew, at the
which, were he to have smiled, a box on the ears
might have brought him back to his normal melan
choly. Others now volunteered to jointhe Falcon; stewards
and French cooks, reading of a proposed lengthy
cruise in the papers, came for engagements, beheld
the vessel and her crew, shook their heads, and
vanished. As far as the provisions were concerned, the Falcon
was well supplied. We had stores sufficient for five
men for nine months, consisting, among other things,
of 400 lbs. of biscuits and nearly 1,000 tins of pre
served meats, vegetables, &c. A supply of lime
juice was, of course, not forgotten, and an ample
cask of rum was securely screwed down in the main

16 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
cabin. We carried about 250 gallons of water, which
we reckoned would last us three months with proper
precautions. On our long passages, as across the
Atlantic, all washing with fresh water was of course
forbidden. We did not omit to take with us some
tinned plum-puddings wherewith to keep up in
orthodox form the Christmas days which we should
spend on the Falcon.
We shipped yet another hand before we sailed.
Mrs. Pickett presented us with a little kitten to take
with us. Poor little thing ! it purred merrily and
romped about when it first came on board, little
knowing what was before it.
Before starting, the discipline of the ship had to be
arranged, and the duties of each apportioned out.
Jerdein was officer of the port, I of the starboard
watch ; Andrews was on Jerdein 's watch, Arnaud on
mine. The boy, Arthur, was on no watch, as he had a
good deal of lamp-cleaning, &c, in the day. He used
to turn in for the night, only steering now and
then in the daytime, especially at meal-times in
fine weather, when he was left in charge, while we
four sat down to table together.
We used to keep four-hour watches, watch and
watch, in the usual way, with dog-watches from four
p.m. to eight p.m.
The plan of our cruise was as follows : To sail by
easy stages to Buenos Ayres, and then navigate the
great tributaries of the River Plate, the Parana and
Paraguay, as high as we could in the yacht. We had
heard much of the glories of those huge streams, and
of the abundant sport to be found on their wild banks.
No yacht had ever ascended the Paraguay before,
and we anticipated a good deal of novelty and excite
ment in those fair regions, should we, as we little
doubted, effect our purpose.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 17
CHAPTER II.
We appointed four p.m., on the 20th of August, 1880
— a Friday, too — for our departure.
That morning the Falcon, ready from truck to
keel, lay at anchor off West Quay. The Blue Peter
was at the mast-head, indicating to all friends that
we were off at last. West Quay took a holiday, and
a crowd of small boats rowed round us all the morn
ing, filled with many who wished to inspect the
craft. At two p.m. we stretched the awning on deck, and
a lunch was spread out for a few friends — a boisterous
lunch, in which many toasts were drunk, and our
success warmly wished. At 3.30 p.m. the bell was
rung, the main-sail hoisted, and as the last shore-
boat left our side, up came the anchor, and, with
cheers from the spectators, we dropped down the
river on the top of a good ebb.
Almost all the yachts we passed knew us, and their
crews cheered us lustily. We still had a large com
pany on board, who insisted on seeing us safe to the
chops of the Channel — two friends from town, Cap
tain Forbes, who had rubbed up our navigation at
Southampton, and a pilot.
At midnight we were outside the Needles, and
commenced to feel the swell of the Channel. The
weather was very favourable for the voyage, a light
north-east wind was blowing, which continued until
we dropped our anchor in Falmouth Harbour on the
following midnight, that is, thirty-two hours after
leaving Southampton.
We were now enabled to judge more or less of what
stuff our crew were made during our trial trip. The
philosophic calm which distinguished Arnaud com
menced to declare itself. He reclined in his cabin

18 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
smoking and thinking during the greater part of this
voyage ; turning out only at meal-times, and evinc
ing no inclination to undertake his due share of the
work. On the afternoon after leaving Southampton,
while we were passing the Eddystone lighthouse, he
did crawl slowly on to the deck, to our great surprise,
with a blanket over his arm. He rubbed his sleepy
eyes, looked round with a lazy smile at the smooth
sea and cloudless sky, stretched his blanket on the
deck, lay down on it, lit a cigarette, and with a half
yawn, half sigh of extreme content, said, " I could go
round the world like this ! " and resigned himself
once more to his beloved dolce far niente.
Andrews, though more active and willing than Ar-
naud, was equally incapable of mastering the very
elements of fore-and-aft seamanship, and caused
Jerdein, the officer of his watch, as much trouble as
Arnaud did me. There was a good deal of hard
language to be heard occasionally on board the
Falcon, sounding above winds and waves, when such
an incident as the following, for instance, would
occur : — Time, two a.m. Dark and squally night.
Knight steering. Arnaud smoking and pondering
(supposed to be looking out). Knight, observing
squall coming up, loquitur : — " Arnaud, just ran
forward and scandalize the mainsail, will you ; begin
by tricing up the tack."
Arnaud creeps deliberately forward, and disappears
in the darkness. Five minutes elapse. Knight, im
patiently, " Now, then, have not you finished that
yet ? "
Arnaud : " In a minute ; in a minute."
Another five minutes elapse ; we are now in the
middle of the squall, which does not prove so violent
as was anticipated. Knight, very impatient, " You
are a nice, useful fellow on board a yacht ! Ten
minutes, and you have not triced up that tack ; if

THE CRUISE OF THE ** FALCON." 19
that had been a serious squall, we might have gone to
the devil while you were fiddling about there."
Arnaud, very indignant, " I do not care. I will
leave the beastly thing alone. I will not be sworn at.
In the daytime I can find the strings ; in the night I
cannot, and I shall no longer try."
Follows a prolonged and very noisy discussion,
whereon the face of Jerdein appears above the hatch.
" How the blank do you think we can get a wink of
sleep down here when you are kicking up such an
infernal row ? &c, &c, blank, &c."
This little episode occurred months after leaving
England, so the reader will perceive that the educa
tion of my friend progressed but slowly. So, too, was
it when Jerdein and Andrews were on deck. I was
awakened one night by a tremendous row, a banging
about of ropes ; and, far louder than all, the sten
torian exclamations of the wrathful Jerdein. On
coming on deck I found that, on being ordered to let
fly the jib sheet, that the ship might go about, An
drews had got rather mixed up among the " strings,"
and had let go in succession the jib haulyards, the
bowsprit shrouds, and the peak haulyards. A very
nice crew, this, to cross the Atlantic with !
And here is another little adventure of Arnaud's.
On one fine day, the wind being steady, light, and
right aft, and our spinnaker and top-sail set, he was
left alone on deck for a few minutes to steer. Sud
denly I heard a great flapping of canvas, and on
hurrying on deck, perceived that all our sails had been
taken aback. The main-sail, top-sail, and spinnaker
were bellying out the wrong way, and the vessel was
slowly travelling stern first. The booms, being guyed,
had not swung aft. I looked at the compass, and per
ceived that Arnaud had steered the vessel right round,
so that she was heading away from her course ; then
I looked at the culprit. He was sitting, with his legs

20 THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON."
crossed Turkish fashion, on the locker aft — placid,
calm as a Hindoo idol. He was deliberately rolling
himself another cigarette, the while professing to be
steering with his elbow, and evidently unconscious
of having done aught wrong.
** Well, Arnaud ? " I said.
" I think," he remarked in a weary, careless voice,
looking at the burgee at the mast-head ; "I think
the wind has changed."
We passed two days in the quaint old Cornish sea
port. Some yachting men called on us, and were
somewhat surprised to behold our arrangements.
" Where does your crew five ? " they asked after
going all over the vessel, for we were at the time in
our shore-going " togs," and not to be recognized as
the four seamen our friends had perceived in the
morning swabbing decks. " Where do your men five ?
there seems to be only room for yourselves on board."
We pointed to the solemn small boy sitting in the
forecastle, with his perpetual huge quid of tobacco
in his cheek, and his chum the kitten on his lap.
" That is our crew."
" But the others ? "
" There are no others."
I think these gentlemen looked upon the Falcon,
with its amateur crew, as being one of the most
eccentric craft that ever wandered about the oceans.
We lay in a quantity of soft tack, bottled beer, and
vegetables at Falmouth, so that we might enjoy
the wonted luxuries of the shore for some few days
of our first voyage.
On the evening of the 24th of August we bid adieu
to the friends who had accompanied us down from
Southampton. The anchor was weighed and catted.
The last link between us and home was broken, and
under all plain canvas the Falcon glided out of the
bay, bound for Madeira.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 21
Well off at last, we four, the boy, and the kitten ;
and it Avas with a curious mixture of sensations
that we sailed out into the dark cloudy night on the
choppy waters of the Channel. The last we saw of
old England was the Lizard lights gleaming from
the darkness. From these we " took our departure,"
and steered a course straight across the Bay of
Biscay for Finisterre. At eight o'clock we lost sight
of the light, and from that moment the routine of
shipboard commenced. Eight bells was sounded ;
the patent log, one of Walker's taffrail logs, was
dropped overboard ; and the watches set ; for from
now our life was no longer to be divided out into
days and nights, but into spells of four hours up
and four hours down — rather trying, at first.
There was usually a strong contrast between the
expression of the faces of the watch coming down
to turn in and of that about to turn out. To the
latter the jovial and noisy way with which the
former would rouse it from its slumbers was dis
gusting in the extreme. Arnaud's face, for instance,
when he was turned out at midnight wore anything
but a happy expression. He did not seem to see
any fun in Jerdein 's boisterous " Now, then, you
sleepers ! Now, then, starboard watch ; up you
get ! "
We met splendid weather all the way to Madeira ;
too splendid indeed, for we were becalmed for two
days in the Bay of Biscay, rolling helplessly in the
long swell ; the redoubtable gulf treating us kindly,
and sparing us all its terrors. We were also becalmed
for nearly three days in the neighbourhood of Madeira.
Notwithstanding these five days of enforced idleness,
we accomplished the voyage of 1,200 nautical miles
in fourteen days, for the wind was right aft all the
way. It is off the south coast of Portugal that the
mariner may expect to fall in with the north-east

22 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
trade-wind ; but we carried the wind from that
quarter all the way from Southampton, a great
piece of luck.
It would be tedious, I think, for my readers were
I to give the narrative of these voyages in log form ;
I will therefore but briefly jot down the particular
events of each, especially such as may prove of in
terest or of service to yachting men. The Httle
Falcon gave great satisfaction on this her trial trip,
and we got a much higher speed out of her than we
anticipated — on some occasions she has logged as
much as nine and a half knots an hour, running before
a heavy sea. We were enabled to carry our spinnaker
and gaff-topsail throughout this voyage, two days
excepted. On approaching Finisterre we got into a confused
and nasty sea, in which the vessel rolled heavily — and
these lively Penzance luggers do know how to roll.
Jerdein and myself had now to take all the steer
ing through our watches, as Arnaud and Andrews
could as yet only be trusted at the helm in fine
weather. On the evening of the 29th of August we sighted the
lofty cliffs of the Spanish coast ; and at dusk made out
the light on Cape Finisterre.
This day we spoke the Maria, a Spanish barque
bound for Coruna. In the night we lost a hand
overboard ; we could not recover him, as it was very
dark, and there was a heavy sea running.
The sad event occurred in the middle watch. I
was steering, with Arnaud standing by my side,
when we perceived the kitten crawl out of his lodging
under the dinghy, which lay upturned on the deck.
The poor thing had been pining ever since we sailed.
The terrible liveliness of the little craft had made
him very sea-sick — and perhaps tinned, meat and
preserved milk did not agree with him ; anyhow,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 23
he was a melancholy object, becoming thinner and
sadder every day, as his chum the boy grew fatter
and more contented-looking.
This particular afternoon the kitten had sighted
the smiling downs of Spain, had smelt the land ;
so he plucked up a bit, tried to purr, and evidently
entertained hopes of soon setting foot on terra firma
again. But now that he saw us bearing away once
more, and the Finisterre light fading away behind us,
despair seized him. He climbed on to the bulwarks,
and stretching out his neck, looked yearningly out
towards the receding land. Now he gazed down
shrinkingly at the black water, now back at the
deck, evidently in doubt ; and just as the fight be
came quite invisible, with a piteous mew and one
last reproachful look at the cruel Falcon, and her
crueller crew, resolutely leapt overboard — a de
liberate suicide ; death, he thought, was to be pre
ferred to this life of misery on the ever-heaving seas.
On the 1st of September, being in about latitude
380 N., and longitude 140 12' W., off the mouth of
the Mediterranean Sea, we encountered our strongest
breeze — a moderate gale from the N.E., before
which we ran nearly 100 miles in twelve hours. On
the 29th of August, we ran 142 miles ; on the 30th
of August, 118 ; on the 31st of August, 108 ; on the
1st of September, 180; on the 2nd of September, 150 — ¦
dead before the wind, so we had no reason to complain.
We were, on the 2nd of September, only 168 miles
from the Madeira islands, but we did not drop our
anchor in Funchal roads until the 7th of September ;
for we now encountered calm'and light baffling winds,
progressing but slowly under a leaden sky, across
a long, smooth-swelling, leaden sea. Tepid, un
comfortable weather it was, with the thermometer
standing at 850 in the shade.
Early in the morning of the 6th of September we

24 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
sighted a rugged, rocky coast right ahead of us, which
we soon made out to be the island of Porto Santo, the
northernmost of the Madeiras. It appeared to be
a wild spot ; a small isle not six miles long, with an
iron-bound coast, on which the Atlantic seas per
petually broke with a thunderous roar. It seemed
to be barren in the extreme, merely a tumbled
mass of rugged black mountains, in some places
running sheer into the foaming sea, in others fringed
at the foot by beautiful beaches of golden sands.
Strange did these lofty mountainous islands of mid-
ocean appear to us, after the low verdant shores of
old England.
There was but a light wind blowing, and it was
not till midnight that we sailed between the group of
barren rocky islets known as the Desertas (only
distinguishable this dark night by the roar of the
surf on them) and the east coast of Madeira. Then
we bore away to the westward until we were abreast
of the lights of Funchal, some four miles from the
anchorage, and hauling the fore-sheet to windward,
hove-to till morning.
The next daywas cloudless, sultry, and with scarcely
a breath of wind to fill our sails, but with the assist
ance of the sweeps we brought the Falcon, by about
mid-day, to the roadstead of Funchal, and came to
an anchor within hailing distance of the shore under
the walls of the Loo Rock Fort.
And now, indeed, we could perceive that we had
come to a summer land. On the shore in front of
us was the white Portuguese city, and behind it the
island rose in swelling "domes of luxuriant vegeta
tion and dark forests. up to the barren rocky mountain-
tops, 6000 feet above the sea. It was pretty hot
too; the Leste was blowing, the hot wind from
the African Sahara, which brought the thermometer
up to 900 in the shade.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 25
As soon as the Customs' and the health boat had
come off, and we were free to hold intercourse with
the natives, a bumboat came off to us from the
shore — the regular old traditional bumboat of
Marryat's novels — laden with oranges, bananas, figs,
mangoes, fresh butter, fish, soft tack, and other
unwonted luxuries. But the bumboat woman, the
sweet httle musical Buttercup, was wanting. In
her place was a shifty-eyed, grave, dark man of un
prepossessing countenance, one Marco, who under
took to supply us with water, stores, look after our
washing, and so on. He could speak some English,
and was laden Avith certificates from all the English
yachts that had visited Madeira for years. There are
no ship-chandlers here, so one is left to the mercy
of these irregular land-sharks. Marco is perhaps
no worse than the rest.
Jerdein said, " He may prove to be an honest
man, for he did not wince when swallowing the
very strong tot of whisky I gave him." I have
some doubts myself as to the general efficacy of
this ordeal.
The town of Funchal we found to be very dull
and uninteresting ; but like all who visit this island
of perpetual summer, we were astonished at the
beauty of the surrounding country. From the steep,
paved, narrow streets of the suburbs, over whose
every wall hung large bunches of purple grapes,
to the tops of the swelling hills, the land overflowed
with an exuberant and lovely vegetation. Myrtles,
large trees of grand geraniums in full flower, roses,
vines, oleanders, bananas, covered the hill sides,
while every lane was shaded with festoons of vines.
Mr. Falconer, our host of the excellent English
hotel known as Mile's Hotel, a beautifully situated
place built in the centre of a lovely tropical garden,
made arrangements for us to visit the world-re-

26 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
nowned view of the Gran Corral. He procured
good horses for us. The Gran Corral deserves its
reputation, and we had a most pleasant ride to the
sublime gorge, by a road which winds along the
sides of mountains, sometimes precipitous and barren,
but generally covered with verdure and flowers and
noble forests of chestnut. The broad, blue Atlantic
was always a feature in the scene ; so high were
we above it that we could see the light clouds skim
ming over it below us like phantom ships.
On our return to the city we went to the circus,
for dull Funchal just now boasted this excitement —
a Yankee circus that was travelling among the Canary
Islands and up and down the West Coast of Africa.
We were already provided with tickets for the per
formance, for the shrewd American had already
pounced down on us as likely people to be looking
out for entertainment. We had made the acquaint
ance of some of this queer crowd of light-hearted
wanderers in the following wise.
We were sitting in a cafe, indulging in glasses of
strong red wine in which cream ices had been stirred
up, a pleasant combination in vogue here. At another
table was sitting a man who eyed us silently for
some time, mentally taking our measure. He was
a shortish man, with close-shaved head and keen
Yankee features, with an eye ever twinkling with
good-natured fun, and a mobile, nervous mouth.
After, no doubt, having pretty well gauged the
character of the Falcons, and having detected some
freemasonry of Bohemianism in the appearance
of those great navigators, he came boldly up to us
and with Yankee twang burst at once in medias
res. " Wall, strangers, and so ye've come all the way
from England in that little craft in the harbour,
eh ? Proud to make your acquaintance. I'm the

THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON." 27
fi-nance man of Feely's circus, that's who I am.
Now I guess you'll want a dash of moral recrea
tion to-night after all those days of hauling and
heaving, eh ? Here you are (producing an envelope),
just four places left — four box-tickets for to-night's
grand representation of Feely's American Circus —
right. Yes, I'll take a little aqua pura with whisky.
Evviva, senores."
We visited the circus and enjoyed it too, for the
little company was clever. We all lost our hearts
to a pretty and merry-eyed httle Yankee girl, who
gracefully did la haute ecole on a fine bay horse. I
think our friend, the finance man, saw this, for he
considerately spared us any further wounding of these
too susceptible hearts.
He came off in a boat to call on us the next
morning, and brought with him his " boss," Mr.
Feely, and the Neapolitan clown, but none of the
" fair artistes." " They are liable to sea-sickness,"
he diplomatically explained. This trio stayed to
lunch, and we turned them out our best curry and
minced collops, stimulating their appetites first with
the world-renowned Falcon fog-cutter, a terrible
beverage of the cock-tail species, invented by Jer
dein in the early days of the cruise, but much im
proved by further research and experiment, as we
progressed. It contains manifold ingredients, of
which whisky and Angostura bitters form the
base. What comes on the top of these depends much
on the products of the clime the Falcon happens to
be in, thus a detailed recipe is impossible. If you ask
a denizen of British Guiana what a " swizzle " is,
his reply will be " a Demerara tipple." He will not
condescend to analyze further for you that delicate
pink foaming draught. So be it with the Falcon
fog-cutter — it is a " Falcon tipple."
For two years this company had owned a small

28 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON.'1
schooner-yacht, in which they travelled with all
their paraphernalia from island to island of the
West Indies, and up the Spanish Main. Then they
were wrecked. Many a curious yarn these three
Bohemians spun us of their roaming life on the
warm Western seas among the pleasure-loving people
of the Spanish Main. Mr. Feely was the gravest
of the three, as became his responsible position ;
circus proprietors always are more or less solemn.
It must indeed be hard and delicate work to keep in
order the curious little world of a travelling circus,
with its artistic jealousies and squabbles.

CHAPTER III.
In the afternoon of the 13th of September, having
got a clean bill of health for St. Vincent, and laid in
a good stock of vegetables and Colares wine, we
weighed anchor, and sailed out of Funchal Bay
before a light breeze. We did not get out into the
strength of the fresh trade-wind until past midnight,
as is generally the case on the lee-side of this island,
with its lofty mountains.
Our next port was to be Porto Grande, in the island
of St. Vincent, Cape Verde Islands, a distance of
1026 nautical miles. This voyage we accomplished
in seven days and twenty hours, notwithstand
ing that we had in all about forty hours of light
winds and calms, and twelve hours of headwind.
But during the rest of the voyage we had strong
north-east trade-winds. In three consecutive days
we made the following runs : 169, 166, and 183
nautical miles, which is not bad work for a tubby,
jury-rigged craft like ours.
We were now sailing over a lovely sea. The old
Spanish discoverers named this vast region of the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 29
north-east trade-wind, that extends almost from
360 N._ to the Equator, the Ladies' Gulf. Well
named it is too. A tropic sea where storms are very
rare, where there is a perpetual summer, tempered
by the fresh, strong trades.
In these warm latitudes the four a.m. to eight
a.m. watch is the pleasantest of the day. There is
first the matutinal coffee and pipe — for on the
Falcon smoking on duty is not absolutely forbidden.
You steer the gallant little vessel as she reels off her
eight knots an hour before the steady breeze, rolling
and heaAnng gently as the great green seas pass
under her, sometimes playfully dropping a bucket
ful of salt water over the bulwark. You watch
the gradual approach of dawn : there comes a pale
flush with bright emerald streaks in the eastern sky ;
and far quicker than in our northern climes, the
sable night is driven back, and the stars put out ;
and gloriously the tropical sun rises from a throne
of rainbow clouds over burning Africa.
During our voyage to St. Vincent, the thermom
eter ranged from 80° to 850 in our cabin. On
September the 14th it rained for the first time
since we left Southampton, but not for long.
On the evening of September the 16th, four full-
rigged ships were in sight of us astern.
The following morning the wind freshened from
the south-east quarter. We held our own against
three of the four ships, still keeping them astern of us.
Only one could gain on us, and at two p.m. she was
alongside. She was a magnificent British ship with'
all sail set. We were in company with her for
some hours, during which we kept up a conversation
with her by means of the international code of signals.
She hoisted her number, H.F.S.R., and we found she
was the well-known fast London clipper, the Para-
mata, of 1,521 tons, bound from Plymouth to Sydney.

30 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Her passengers crowded her decks to look at
us, the sight of so small a craft as the Falcon in
mid-ocean evidently surprising them. The flag
conversation went on in an animated manner,
until we bade each other farewell, dipped our ensigns
and separated, she taking a course considerably to
the westward of ours. This pleasant httle encounter
was in latitude 260 24' N., longitude 20° 30' W.
The other three ships did not overtake us.
On September the 18th we boomed along merrily
before a fresh breeze. It was Saturday, so at eight
p.m., as is the old sea rule, we drank to sweethearts
and wives, and even found occasion for another toast,
so merry were we at our luck and prospect of a smart
run. This was to the tropics, for it was this even
ing we entered the torrid zone, crossing the Cancer at
sunset. This night the wind freshened consider
ably, but blew steadily.
At daybreak, as I was steering, it being my watch,
the spinnaker outhaul carried away, so I had to call
up the watch below to muzzle the sail and repair
the damage. A curious and undignified spectacle
the port watch presented as they hurried up en desha
bille. Andrews was arrayed in a blanket and a
pair of hideous blue spectacles which he considered
to be necessary for his eyes when in tropic seas.
On the 19th, we had reeled off another 166 knots.
And now the gallant north-east wind blew fresher
and fresher still ; at times we made eight and a half
knots an hour, driving showers of spray from our
bows as we plunged " like a frighted steed " from one
great sea to another.
Top-sail and spinnaker were stowed in the after
noon ; by evening the wind had increased to the
force of a gale, and we close-reefed the main-sail and
shifted the jib.
Jerdein and myself had now to do all the steering,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 31
as was usual when the tiller required delicate han
dling. The old boat behaved, splendidly, and in
twenty-four hours we had made another 190 miles
on our course. On the morning of the 20th, we
sighted a brig steering W.S.W., with top-gallant
mast gone.
Nearly every morning about this time we had a
little fresh fish for breakfast, for many flying fish
would jump over our low bulwarks by night,
attracted by the glare of the bull's eye and side
lights (when we carried them).
On the night of September the 20th, we knew that
we were in the close vicinity of the Cape Verdes.
As the weather was very thick, we first shortened
canvas, and later on, during the middle watch, hove-
to, so as to keep off the land till daybreak. At
four a.m. I relieved Jerdein on deck, made sail and
proceeded on our course. We were unfortunate
in having an exceedingly unfavourable morning for
making a landfall. It was squally, drizzly, thick
weather, in which it would be impossible to distinguish
the highest land at the distance of two miles ; a not
uncommon state of things to encounter off these lofty,
cloud-collecting islands. At seven a.m. we per
ceived through the drizzle a dark, undefined mass on
the port bow that might be a lofty coast, so we
bore down towards it.
Then a violent squall came down on us, which com
pelled us to lower the main-sail. At eight p.m., of
a sudden, a great rift opened out in the thick atmos
phere, and lo ! right ahead, for a moment only, ap
peared a mass of inky rock filling up the rift, its edges
and extent not yet discernible. Then the rift in
the mist closed, and we were left again in uncertainty
for a while. But soon, with the strengthening sun,
the thickness cleared once more, and we perceived
before us, not three miles off, a dark threatening mass

32 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
of mountains which we recognized as the island of
San Antonio.
This is the most northward of the Cape Verde Islands
and one of the most fertile of the group, though it
looks barren and inhospitable enough from the sea.
These islands lie at the southern limit of the north
east trade-winds, and are about 200 miles distant
from Senegambia on the West Coast of Africa.
They belong to Portugal, and are for the most part
inhabited by a fine-looking race of negroes, giants
of their kind, who are good sailors and fanners. The
whole group is volcanic — a congregation of curiously
serrated, dark mountains, that look as if vomited
out from hell itself, so weird some of them appear.
The island of San Antonio presents a fine appear
ance from the sea. It is a grand volcanic mass of
dark rock, whose peaks rise above the clouds (it
attains an elevation of 7,100 feet), and at whose feet
is a perpetual white line of heavy surf. Bleak and
uninhabited as it appears to be, this island has a
considerable negro population, and they say contains
fertile vales, between its precipices, where vines,
cocoanuts, plantains, indigo, and cotton, are culti
vated by a mild and industrious coloured people.
The island of San Vincente is separated from that
of San Antonio by a channel seven miles wide.
After close-hauling the Falcon on the port tack
so as to double the north-east Cape of San Antonio,
we then bore away down the channel for Porto
Grande — the harbour of St. Vincent.
This is the most important island of the Cape Verde
Archipelago, having been selected as a coaling station
and place of call for several lines of ocean mail-
steamers. But of all the group, none I imagine is so
barren and burnt-up a desert as is this little islet.
As we approached it we could easily distinguish its
volcanic origin. It is merely a burnt-out volcano-

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 33
From the golden sands that divide it from the blue
tropic sea it rises a confused mass of utterly bare, fan
tastic mountain-peaks. Steep and profound ravines
descend to the sea in places, black and lifeless some
of them as if they had been cloven but yesterday with
a great pickaxe out of a mountain of coal. This arid
African crag is not a cheerful-looking place.
At mid-day we dropped our anchor in Porto
Grande Bay, close to the wretched little Portuguese
town. This is a splendid and well-sheltered harbour,
capable of holding at least 300 sail. The entrance,
which looks out toward the island of San Antonio, is
about two miles wide. Once within the bay one
finds himself in clear, smooth water, surrounded on all
sides by shores of beautiful yellow sands and coral
rocks, from which rises the amphitheatre of barren,
tooth-shaped mountains. The only objection to this
land-locked basin is the almost daily occurrence of
furious squalls, which sweep down on it from the
ravines. Twice during our stay here we dragged
our anchor in consequence of these.
The little town on the beach, with its whitewashed
houses and bright red roofs, looked cheerful against
the dreary background ; for from the domed moun
tain-tops to the shore sloped down the couloirs of
black lava and debris of old volcanoes. Travellers
have likened this aspect to that of a raked-out coal
fire of giants — a Titanic heap of cinders — and this
exactly describes it. One could almost imagine that
the fire still smoulders below, so intensely hot is it in
this land-locked bay; an atmosphere of a furnace
at times envelops the town. On the desolate land
there is no green to relieve the eye, no trees to
keep off the burning rays of the tropic sun.
The health-officer came off in a boat rowed by
sturdy negroes clad in white, and gave us pratique ;
then in his turn came off the Marco of St. Vincent in

34 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
his bumboat — a merry little Portuguese, with a ne'er-
do-weel twinkle of eye and cock of hat, Jose by name ;
he spoke English fluently, and offered to find all we
wanted in the way of provisions during our stay.
Very well he did it too ; and, to our surprise, without
swindling us in the least. Let me recommend little
Jose to future callers at this port.
It is easy to procure any quantity of bananas,
mangoes, cocoanuts, and other fruits here. _ They are
brought over from the other more fertile islands in
small craft by the negroes. These same islanders
appear to be a merry, prosperous people, perpetually
j abbering and grinning like so many monkeys. Some
of these islands, they tell me, are very negro and half-
caste Utopias. Each man owns his little plot of land,
which produces more than suffices for his needs.
Coffee, papias, sugar, bananas, &c, are cultivated in
the fertile vales beneath the volcanic crags. Yankee
schooners carry on a brisk trade among these people,
bartering cheap and gaudy cottons, knives, and such
goods, for agricultural produce. San Vincente is
not self-supporting even in the way of water, of this
necessary there is very little, if any. Some is brought
over from San Antonio in schooners, but the shipping
is chiefly supplied by Miller the coal-king, who con
denses large quantities of sea-water in giant tanks.
San Vincente is one of the stations of the Anglo-
Brazilian Telegraph Company, so there are about
fifteen young Englishmen in the company's employ,
resident here. It was chiefly owing to the companion
ship and hospitality of these gentlemen that we lay
at anchor off this cinder-heap for so long as nine days.
Every naval and royal mail officer knows the telegraph
station and the telegraph men of St. Vincent.
These all live together in one large building, by far the
most luxurious place on the island, with a spacious
verandah surrounding it, libraries, reading-rooms,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 35
billiard-rooms, and all the other luxuries of a club.
Were it not for the number of the company's em
ployes, and this pleasant system of half-club, half-
college fellowship, I should imagine their life in such a
hole as Porto Grande would be intolerable, so utterly
destitute of all society or amusement is it. As it is
they live j ollily enough. They give their little dances
to the officers and passengers of passing mail steamers;
play at cricket on the blazing sands ; keep their
four-oared boat, and so on. The arrival of a steamer
with a good supply of first-class passengers of the fair
sex is generally the signal for a ball, for St. Vincent can
turn out little in the feminine line — save negresses
and mulattoes. Sadly were the telegraph men, and
we mariners of the Falcon too, for the matter of that,
disappointed, when the SS. Cotopaxi called here on
her way to Australia, with a full complement of
passengers. We had eagerly looked forward to her
arrival. There would be English papers, the faces of
English girls again, a jolly ball. But, alas 1 there
was a case of scarlatina on board, so she was put
into quarantine during her stay. A great disappoint
ment for all parties — the passengers perhaps not
least ; the emigrants hung over the bulwarks all day,
gazing sadly at the forbidden terra jirma.
One fine morning Arnaud and myself started off in
our Berthon collapsible boat to explore the other side
of the bay under Washington Head, where the sands,
piled up m huge dunes, glittered like pale gold under
the vertical sun. The outward journey in the little
ten-foot canvas boat was smooth enough, but on
nearing the land we found, what we could not perceive
from the Falcon's deck, a heavy surf breaking on the
shore. The edge, too, of the beach was thick with
sharp, ugly-looking, coral rocks.
Anyhow, here we were, and land we must to
explore those great slopes of glaring sand. As soon

36 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
as we had reached the breakers, and were, as we im
agined, in sufficiently shallow water, I gave the order
to jump overboard, so that we might lift the boat
safely on shore without running a hole in her bottom.
To Arnaud's astonishment the water was well over our
heads ; so when we had at last successfully landed
and carried the boat out of reach of the breakers, he
upbraided me sadly. " You told me we were in
shallow water — do you call that shallow water ? "
We sat down on the burning sands under the sun
to dry, and forthwith entered into a fierce discussion
as to whether ten feet was shallow water or the
reverse ; I holding the former, Arnaud the latter
view. Shallow, I said, was a purely relative adjec
tive, and iii these circumstances ten feet was shallow.
Arnaud held that water could not be shallow for
walking and fording purposes, when there were three
or four feet of it above your head.
In five minutes the tropical sun had dried us, so
we postponed the discussion, and wandered about
collecting shells and specimens of coral, enjoying this
amusement, I verily believe, as much as we used to
do when we were small imps with spade and bucket
in the olden times.
The trade-wind blows all the refuse of Porto
Grande across the bay to this beach, and so stalking
about on the sands, greedily gobbling, were the ugliest
and most mangy-looking vultures I have ever cast
eyes upon. They were quite tame, and allowed us to
approach them within a yard or so. These useful
scavengers are protected by law, and a heavy fine is
inflicted on any one who kills one of them — hence
their tameness. They are evidently quite aware of
this law, and insult you with impunity. They are
most insolent beasts, worse than Barbados niggers.
Arnaud and myself now proceeded to re-embark —
no easy matter, for the surf had increased considerably

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 37
Our naked feet suffered a good deal during the
process, for the shore was covered with sea-urchins,
whose hedgehog-like bristles pierced and broke off
in them. We waded in quickly after a returning
wave, carrying the boat with us, jumped nimbly in
and paddled out ; but, alas ! we were not sharp
enough, for before we had got beyond the second
line of breakers a roller caught us, slued the boat
round, capsized her, rolled us out, and we had to draw
her up on shore, bale out, and start again. Five times
in succession we were thus capsized, but always
managed to save the boat and keep her off the coral.
We knew that there were ground sharks in this part
of the bay — not a pleasant matter to think of. The
sixth time we altered our tactics and succeeded.
We followed a breaker, carrying the boat with us ;
Arnaud jumped in, seized the paddles ; I held on to
the stern and managed to guide her safely over the
next breaker ; then he rowed with all his energy till
he was well outside the surf in deep water. It was
now my turn. I swam out till I came to the boat,
put a hand on either side of the stern, and jumped
in between my hands. My weight pulled her under,
and half-filled her with water, but she did not capsize,
and we soon baled her out.
I have mentioned this to show what can be done
with a Berthon's boat ; no wooden dinghy could
have got off from that shore then ; she would have
most certainly been stove in. But two men with
practice and a little activity can carry this httle fight
canvas tub through the broken water and safely
embark as we did on this occasion, without scratch
ing a particle of paint off her fragile sides.
Sunday, the 26th of September, was a hot day, a
day of oppression and irritability, which found vent,
as far as the Falcons were concerned, in two fashions.
The morning was too sultry to do anything ; we lay

38 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
about the cabin lazy and sulky, sleeping and wrangling
alternately. First we entered into a most fierce dis
cussion on some subject of dynamics, in which all
parties waxed savage ; as a matter of fact, none of us
knew anything about the question in point. Then
came lunch — curry and CoUares wine ; this mollified
us somewhat, and the talk veered round to a more
gentle discussion as to the comparative beauty of the
fair sex of different nations, over our pipes. But,
alas ! from that we go on to some profound meta
physical question, which stirred up all our latent
irritability again. At last, unable to convince each
other, we went to sleep.
In the evening we were engaged to dine with the
telegraph men. Arthur put us on shore, then pulled
back to the Falcon. When we reached the verandah
of the telegraph station, just as the sun was setting,
Jerdein's sharp eye detected a suspicious circum
stance — a boat with three men in it was rowing off
to the Falcon. Yes ! there could be no mistake ;
they were now alongside ; now they had boarded her.
Then the rapid night of the tropics fell, and all was
obscure. Jerdein and myself ran down to the beach,
found a boat with two negroes, and engaged them to
row us off. We told them to go off quickly, but noise
lessly, explaining our plans to them. They greatly
enjoyed the situation.
We found a boat made fast to the Falcon, but no
one suspected our arrival ; our foemen were all in the
forecastle, where we heard them laughing boister
ously. Jerdein and myself jumped down the com
panion, passed through the main-cabin, and so into the
forecastle, where we surprised three Portuguese sailors.
Without parley we proceeded to belabour these fel
lows ; there was a fine scrimmage. They were driven
on deck ; one fell into the boat they had come in,
and alone managed to escape with her ; the other two

THE CRUISE OF THE "FALCON." 39
we knocked overboard, to find their way to their
vessel as well as they could through the sharks :
the latter, by the way, are too delicate in their tastes
to feed on Portuguese mulattoes unless very hard
pressed for a meal, so I suppose they returned, safely
to whence they came.
Arthur told us that he was below when they came
on board ; they paid no attention to his remonstrances
at their uninvited appearance, but seized him, pre
vented him from going on deck, and commenced to
inspect the vessel for grog, and anything else, I
suppose, that might come in handy. After our vic
tory, which proved a fine safety-valve for the irrita
bility caused by the sultriness of the day, we handed
over a loaded six-shooter to Arthur, in the presence of
our two grinning negro boatmen, with injunctions to
challenge once, and then shoot, any other visitors who
might come off that night. The boy was proud of his
post, he took the revolver with a grin and meaning
gesture that made the niggers shudder. I did not
think that we should be troubled any more after this.
He is a bloodthirsty boy, this Arthur. He has, I
think, fed his youthful mind with literature of the
" penny dreadful " class. At every port he would
ask such questions as, " Be there savages here, sir ? "
" Be there Indians in these parts ? " He used to
appear very disappointed on receiving an answer in
the negative, but used to solace himself with dreams
of future bloody encounters. " With all these guns
and cannons we ought to do for them when we do see
them — eh, sir ? " he would say. He used to look at
our little brass cannon with great respect and admira
tion, as being a wonderful piece of ordnance ; was
very fond of it, indeed, save when he was set to polish
it. When, later on, we did come across his long-
looked-for Indians and savages, I fear one of the
cherished illusions of his fife vanished, a frag'

40 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
ment of his youth was gone ; for lo ! they were not
cannibals ; neither did they scalp him ; neither
were they, as a rule, even naked — simply a drunken,
dirty, very ugly set of uninteresting ragamuffins.
The morrow after this night of wrath was a busy
day for all hands ; we were employed in oiling spars,
taking in stores and water — in short, preparing all for
sea. But after all this work we did not sail on the
following day after all, but indulged in a holiday ;
for the SS. Thales was in the harbour, with the latest
English papers on board, so we went in for a grand
read at the telegraph station. The same steamer had
also landed in St. Vincent a small quantity of that
unwonted luxury, ice. One of the storekeepers near
the beach had obtained a supply of the precious
article, so most of the white population were in and
out of that store a good deal during that day.

CHAPTER IV.
Our first long run was now before us ; Bahia dos
Todos os Santos in Brazil, across the broad Atlantic,
was to be our next port. The time this voyage might
occupy was rather uncertain, for we were now to
wards the southern limit of the north-east trade-
winds. We had to traverse the region of the south
west African monsoon, which blew in our teeth, and
that broad belt of equatorial calm, so terrible to sailors
— the sultry doldrums, where a ship may lie for weeks
on the hot, smooth water under a cloudless sky, with
the pitch oozing from her decks ; a region of unbear
able calm, broken occasionally by violent squalls,
torrential rain, and fearful lightning and thunder.
All these difficulties conquered, we should be in the
pleasant realm of the strong south-east trade-wind
¦ — the trade-wind of the southern hemisphere — which

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 41
blows fresher and steadier than the north-east trade,
and under whose favouring breath we should be able
to reel off the knots right merrily.
We steered so as to cross the Equator in longitude
240 W., which Jerdein considered to be the best route
at this time of the year.
As this voyage will be of some interest to yachting
men, I shall, contrary to my usual custom, narrate
it in the form of a diary. It will be observed that we
were thirteen days reaching the equator ; that for the
greater part of that time we encountered calms and
south-westerly monsoons, so that sailing as we gener
ally did, close-hauled on the starboard tack, we were
driven considerably to the eastward of our course, on
the tenth day being as far east as 21° 30' W. Not till
we were on the equator did we fall in with the south
east trade, which then stood by us pretty steadily
till we reached Bahia.
Throughout the voyage the thermometer ranged
between 850 to 900 in the shade. In the following
diary I divide time in the civil fashion for convenience,
but the positions and distances are extracted from
the log, and given at mid-day, nautical fashion.
October 1st. — Weighed anchor at midday. Light
N.E. wind. Ran down the San Antonio channel
under all canvas. On our left were the bare volcanic
masses, the forbidding gorges of San Vincente ; a
thundering line of breakers dashing against the shore
everywhere : on our right the more smiling mountains
of the isle of San Antonio. The lofty summits of
both islands were hidden in the clouds. At night
wind dropped ; calm, and vivid lightnings.
October 2nd. — Dead calm ; nasty drizzle ; hot, de-
bilitatingweather; vessel rolling uncomfortably in the
swell. Through the haze perceived the lofty moun
tains of Brava, the southernmost and most beautiful
of the Cape Verde Archipelago. Towards evening an

42 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
E.S.E. wind sprung up, which enabled us to average
six and a half knots an hour during the night.
October yd. — Glorious sunny weather ; wind E.S.E.
Eleven a.m. — one of the crew was caught in a serious
breach of discipline ; man at the helm, too, at the
time. He was sitting down to his work ; was wearing
blue spectacles, and, worst of all, was reading a play
of Sophocles in the original. Fancy a man at the
wheel reading Sophocles ! He was seriously rebuked
by the officer of his watch, Jerdein, who is a martinet
in his way, and who gazed at him for fully five min
utes, speechless with dismay, ere he could find voice
for vituperation.
October 4th. — Wind E.S.E. At midday in longitude
250 1' W., latitude io° 32' N. ; distance made this
day 152 miles. During the day the wind came round,
till it was quite aft. The glass fell rather suddenly
— more than a tenth in a few hours. In the evening
there was a wild appearance in the sky, slight squalls
of wind and rain, and signs of worse weather coming ;
then followed a magnificent sunset, ominous of storm,
and a calm for a while.
So threatening was the appearance of the heavens
to windward, that all hands stayed on deck, to see
what was coming. Right aft we perceived an inky
mass of cloud rising from the horizon. It had huge,
rugged, black streaks diverging from it in all direc
tions, like the claws or arms of some great monster
crab or polypus. Bigger and bigger the threatening
mass swelled, and the evil-looking arms stretched half
round the horizon and to the zenith, as if the monster
was about to inclose the whole world in its grasp — a
wonderful and awful appearance. Our sails flapped
as we rolled in the calm ; we lowered the main-sail,
made all snug, and waited. First constant and vivid
sheet and forked lightning of a blue colour came out
of the cloud, and then down burst the squall on us,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON.1- 43
and such a squall. The cloud had enveloped all the
sky, had blotted out all the stars ; never have I
experienced so complete a darkness on the seas.
The wind blew with great fury ; and we could not
turn our faces to the stinging rain, so smartly it
struck. We scudded on before the heavy gusts.
As I steered I had to keep the vessel right before them,
judging the direction by the feel of the wind on my
neck, for the binnacle-light was blown out. The
roar of wind and rair rendered even our loudest shouts
inaudible to each other across the decks.
It was, as I said, pitch-dark. As I steered I could
only see two whirhng masses of foam on either side of
our bow like two great wings, thrown up by our speed.
Our side-lights were fit. On the foaming mass on our
port side fell the red, on that on our starboard side fell
the green light, lending a spectral horror to the scene.
With this exception, the occasional lightnings alone
threw a fitful light on the noisy darkness around.
Above the roar of wind and water but one sound was
heard — our bell pealed forth loudly, with each excep
tional pitch of the vessel, a deep funereal tone that
added to the solemnity. This squall lasted nearly an
hour ; others succeeded it throughout the night from
various quarters, but none came nearly up to it in fury.
October $th. — Cloudy, warm, no wind. We were
in that most uncomfortable position for a vessel,
becalmed in a heavy sea ; for last night's weather
had raised a confused tumult of choppy waves, in the
trough of which we rolled and pitched horribly with
all sail stowed. It was a lazy day for all, our chief
employment being eating bananas and vainly attempt
ing to catch a large shark who was prowling round us,
a wary old ruffian who refused the most tempting bait.
The calm continued throughout the day. As usual,
ill-temper resulted. Two of the crew entered into
a fierce discussion as to whether the plantains which

44 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
were to serve as one of the courses for dinner should
be cooked and eaten with salt like potatoes, or be
treated with sugar like fruit.
At eight p.m. there were signs of squally weather
in the sky, so the crew waxed hopeful and good-
tempered again. During the night we had occasional
showers and light squalls from S. to S.S.W., at which
we put the vessel close-hauled on the starboard tack.
Then came the calm again. We were now having an
experience of that tantalizing, wearisome region
where the doldrums and south-west African mon
soons fight for mastery over the equatorial sea.
All this time we were being drifted a considerable
distance daily out of our course to the eastward, for
we were now in the Guinea current, an equatorial
stream of hot water (its temperature is about 8o°)
setting into the Gulfs of Benin and Biafra. So warm
is the water that the morning douse with the bucket,
which took the place of the tub, was no longer refresh
ing as it used to be, for the temperature of the sea
was of course higher than that of the night and
morning air. When a sea came on board in the
night it felt like hot water to our faces and bare feet.
October 6th. — Again a dead calm ; 88° in the shade ;
a high sea running ; a fearful rolling, creaking, and
groaning of ship ; all our canvas was stowed ; a
barque in sight in the same situation ; for forty hours
we did not lose sight of her, though we were bound in
different directions ; lat. g° 14' N., long. 24° 30' W.
As no sharks seemed to be near, I jumped over
board for a short mid-ocean swim. At mid-day there
came on us a slight squall with rain. We hoisted the
canvas, but in half an hour it was as calm as ever.
October yth. — A light northerly air and very heavy
equatorial rain. We stripped and enjoyed a fresh
water shower-bath ; also blocked up the scuppers
and collected enough water to refill some of our

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 45
empty breakers. We only made seventeen miles
this day, so light was the wind.
October 8th. — Calms and light northerly airs. There
was a haze to the S.E. as if portending our entrance
into the region of the trades. This day we made
seventy-two miles on our course.
October yth. — Tacking very slowly against head
variable winds, divided from each other by hours of
dead calm. In the afternoon we came to a disturbed
sea, where it had evidently been recently blowing ;
870 in the shade. Spoke an English barque home
ward bound. At night passed very close to another
vessel. Neither of us were carrying side-lights, and
the night was dark, but we showed them our bull's
eye, to which signal they responded by showing
another. A night of calm with occasional squalls
from every point of the compass.
October 10th. — A strong and squally S.W. monsoon
sprang up. We sailed close-hauled on the star
board tack. The vessel was very lively but not
wet. At noon the wind freshened to a half-gale
from the S.W., with heavy squalls at intervals.
We sailed under close-reefed main-sail, fore-sail, and
storm-jib. In the night it was blowing a moderate
gale of wind in our teeth. The Falcon was livelier
than ever ; the way she jumped, first her head and
then her stern into a sea, was a thing to experience.
At midnight the vessel was labouring so heavily that
we hove her to, for it was a shame to tax too much
the endurance of the brave old boat.
October nth. — At dawn the great seas looked most
imposing, with the fiery sunrise lending a weird
colour to them, as they charged on towards us.
At eight a.m., as the wind was moderating, we pro
ceeded on our voyage. We put the vessel on the
port tack, for the wind was S. by W., and we had
been driven considerably to the eastward of our

46 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
course. At midday our position was lat. 40 58' N.,
long. 21° 49' W. All hands were now well weary of
this S.W. monsoon blowing in our teeth, with its
heaAry, confused seas and squalls.
October xzth. — Fine, sunny, but disagreeable day ;
for the wind, though still as a rule from the S.W.
quarter, seems to come at times from everywhere
and anywhere, hence a troublesome sea. There was
a curious hazy appearance to-day to the S.E., which
cheered us somewhat as indicative of change. We
had now reached a locality between the S.W. mon
soon and the S.E. trade, where these winds con
tend continually for the mastery. They certainly
have ploughed up their battle-field with their rival
artillery into short, choppy furrows, very nasty for
small vessels like ours that have to cross them.
At midday we were in lat. 30 56' N., long. 22° 50' W.
October 13th. — A marvellous sunrise ; on the eastern
horizon lay a bar of bright gold, with a mass of fiery
red above, like a coast of golden sand lit by an
intense light, and backed by mountains of half-
molten iron. The wind blew fresh to-day from
S. by W. to S. by E. At noon our position was
lat. 1° 47' N., long. 230 8' W. ; distance made in
the twenty-four hours, 146 miles.
During the night, of a sudden, with a squall, the
trade-wind burst down on us at last, then settled
down strong and steady : so we rejoiced exceedingly.
October 14th. — A glorious morning, no cloud in the
sky, and a fresh trade-wind. At seven a.m. we
crossed the line. At mid-day we had reeled off a
hundred and sixty miles on our course, and at
lunch were glad over our last two bottles of Col-
lares wine from Madeira, which we had reserved for
our arrival at the equator. Our luck had changed
as we entered the southern hemisphere, after thir
teen days of calms, squalls, and head-winds.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 47
Jerdein reported a most curious phenomenon in his
morning watch. The sea about a mile from us
became suddenly disturbed, boiling up violently,
as from a subterranean spring. This lasted for
about two minutes. He said he thought it would
have been dangerous had we happened to be over
the spot. Throughout the day we observed
great patches of discoloured water, having exactly
the appearance of shoal water. These and similar
phenomena are frequently observed in this part of
the ocean. Often a ship reports that hereabouts
she has experienced a violent shock, similar to that
which is felt when a rock is struck. Sometimes a
great rumbling is heard like that of a heavy chain
running through the hawse-pipes, and the vessel
quivers like a leaf in the wind. Another time in
smooth water a vessel has been known to heel right
over suddenly, as if she had run on a sand-bank,
for this is a region full of most uncanny apparitions
for the mariner — a sort of haunted corner of the sea.
Before this ocean had been as thoroughly sounded
and surveyed as it is now, these phenomena were
attributed to the presence of unmarked sand
banks and rocky shoals, and are thus put down
as vigias in the old charts. But it must have
astonished the mariner somewhat to find that he
got no soundings with his deep-sea lead, imme
diately after experiencing one of these shocks ! It
is now known that there is no less depth than
2000 fathoms anywhere in this neighbourhood, and
submarine earthquakes are acknowledged as the
true cause of these convulsions. So frequent are
these manifestations of suboceanic disturbance,
that this is now termed " the volcanic region of
the Atlantic." Fearful indeed must be the forces
that can transmit such violent action upwards
through three miles of water.

48 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
This afternoon we noticed that the sea changed
to a light green colour, and the thermometer sud
denly fell six degrees. These, I believe, are also
usual phenomena on this mysterious tract of ocean.
October x$th. — We sailed to-day through an enor
mous fleet of Portuguese men-of-war (Nautilus), under
full canvas. Pretty these little creatures (I don't sup
pose I can call them fish, and creature is a safe term)
appeared, with their delicate pink fairy sails spread
to the favouring wind. This day we logged 160 miles.
Position at mid-day, lat. 30 15' S., long. 24° 39' W.
October 16th. — Day's run, 175 miles ; lat. 50 45' S.,
long. 250 55' W. Spoke a full-rigged ship bound
for the Cape of Good Hope.
October 17. — We generally hold our own against
the trading-vessels we come across, and on many
occasions have shown some barque or ship a clean
pair of heels ; but this day we were ignominiously
beaten, but by so beautiful a vessel that we forgive
her. She was a clean, bright Yankee barque,
the Golden Cross. Her sails were as well cut as a
yacht's, and as snowy. By noon we had added
another 169 miles to our score.
October 18th. — The wind was now so much to the
E. of S.E., that we were enabled to hoist our spin
naker with advantage. A very hot day. The wind
was lighter, so our day's work was only 141 miles.
October igth. — Wind still lighter ; day's work,
118 miles ; passed a jackass-rigged craft.
October 20th. — Thermometer 90° in cabin, 1250 on
deck ; wind light and variable ; day's work, 89 miles.
October 21st. — A light breeze from S.E. ; barometer
fell a tenth. We observed three interesting phe
nomena this day. The first was a huge waterspout,
which crossed our bows at about two miles' dis
tance; the second phenomenon was America; the
third a bottle of Collares wine.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 49
I was at the tiller ; Arnaud was sadly contem
plating a small whale, which was floundering about
near us ; Arthur was, as was his wont, at the mast
head, looking out for passing vessels— this and
fishing for flying-fish with a bull's-eye at night
being his chief diversions on board. Suddenly the
boy cried " Land right ahead, sir ! " I was incred
ulous, for I did not expect to sight the coast for
some hours.
On going aloft with the glasses I saw that the boy
was right ; there was no mistake about it at all.
There before us lay a long line of low sandy dunes,
fringed with cocoanut-trees. I rather surprised
Jerdein, who was sleeping below, when I touched
him on the shoulder and remarked quietly, " Here
is America."It was a dreary coast — and so it is all the way
from Bahia to Pernambuco, low and monotonous,
but strange and of the tropics to one coming from
the northern lands for the first time. A treble
belt of striking colour clove the vast blue spread of
sea and sky. First was a band of bright white,
the foam of the perpetual breakers on the coast ;
then a long strip of golden sand, and above, a broader
green belt of waving cocoa-palms, dark against the
pale blue sky.
The third phenomenon I spoke of was a bottle of
CoUares wine. Having had a good look at the
American coast, our storekeeper took a dive below,
and soon reappeared on deck with a smile and this
same bottle. He was greeted with a shout of
surprise. The existence of such a treasure on board
had not been in the least suspected by the rest of
us ; but this wary member of the crew had secreted
this last bottle of our Madeira cellar, in order to
produce it on our first sighting the New World.
It was formaUy uncorked, and with its assistance we

50 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
saluted the Western Continent. We had made the
land about ioo miles to the northward of Bahia.
October 22nd. — A hot sun and a light breeze. We
slowly followed the coast, at a distance of about
two miles from it. A line of sand fringed with
cocoa-nuts, and — visible from the mast-head only
— dense black masses of forest behind, unroUed them
selves before us in monotonous panorama as we
sailed by. We perceived no signs of human life on
the shore, save here and there what appeared to
be a negro hut.
At last we sighted the lighthouse of San Antonio,
and the scenery changed ; gently sloping hiUs
came down to the shore, covered with all manner
of tropical forest and garden, among which nestled
the villas and palaces of the wealthy merchants of
Bahia. A wonderful sight this brilliant tropical
verdure to us fresh from the barren seas : a luxu
riant growth pouring right down to the narrow
merge of sand, where stretched the long line of
graceful cocoanut-palms, casting dark shadows on
the clear water. We rounded the point of San
Antonio with its picturesque fort, and sailed into
the smooth waters of the beautiful bay of Bahia.
At seven p.m. our chain once more rattled out
through the hawse-pipe, and we came to an anchor
off the city.
We were twenty-one days and seven hours out
from San Vincente, a much shorter voyage than we
had anticipated. The distance by the route we had
taken is 2538 nautical miles.
As soon as we had stowed our canvas, we brought
out from hidden places, white shirts, neckties,
clothes, boots, and other articles of civflization, —
for our sea costume was barbaric in the extreme,
¦ — and awaited the authorities.
Two boats soon came off ; first, the patrique boat,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 51
The doctor was satisfied with our hygiene and gave
us permission to land, as far as his department
was concerned. Then came off the steam-launch
of the captain of the port. The officer informed
us that we were anchored in a prohibited spot,
and must move farther in.
And now for the first time we experienced that
universal courtesy which so pleased us in aU the
authorities we had dealings with in Brazilian and
indeed in aU other South American ports.
_ As we were flying the blue ensign, man-of-war
rights were granted to us ; the captain of the port
gave us permission to anchor in the man-of-war
ground, and to land with our boats at the naval
landing-stage at the arsenal.
As the wind had now dropped, he very kindly
towed us up to our anchorage with his launch,
and offered to give us every assistance in his power.
The above privileges are of the greatest value in a
Brazilian port, where the custom regulations for
merchant-vessels are so strict. One cannot go off
or on one's vessel, if she be a merchantman, after
eight p.m., without a special permit from the
custom-house. Now we had the privilege of rowing
to and fro at any hour ; we could leave our boat
alone and in safety at the arsenal steps. AU we had
to do when coming off late at night was to caU
the sentry at the arsenal gates to open them for us,
telling him the name of our vessel. Again, an
insolent negro guard is put on board every merchant
man by the custom-house. There he has to be fed,
lodged, bribed, and made much of generally, during
the vessel's stay in the port — a horrible nuisance
which we were also excused, by virtue of our blue
ensign. Ours was a nice snug anchorage in four fathoms,
under the antique fortress of Fort la Mar, a round.

52 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
grey mass built on a rocky islet. We were close
to the beach and could see all the busy fife of the
Praya from our decks.
Bahia is a picturesque place viewed from the
sea. First along the shore is the Citade Baxa,
or lower town, the more ancient portion of the
city. Here are the lofty stone houses of the old
colonists, with antique churches of massive and
quaint architecture. For Bahia is one of the
most antique cities of South America. It was
founded in 1511, and is now the second city of
Brazil. The lower city is built on a narrow strip of land
along the water, at the foot of a steep, black cliff
some 240 feet high. One great street stretches
along the beach, known as the Praya — it is four
miles long, with a tramway running down its
length. This Praya presents a very animated
appearance. For here are the huge stores, maga
zines, and warehouses, and along the quays are
moored the native craft, the queerest imaginable,
with their gaudy paint, lofty sterns, strange rig, and
semi-nude negro crews. Here are to be seen the
giant blacks with glistening ebon skin, rolling down
the bales of cotton, coffee, and sugar, and other
produce of this rich province. At first sight, this is
evidently one of the busy marts of the world. Along
the front of the Praya is a fruit, vegetable, and
odds-and-ends market, where at their stalls sit the
fattest and most voluble of negresses, with the
gaudiest and most voluminous of turbans on their
heads, and a rather liberal display of their large
charms. This Praya is a hot place, and somewhat malo
dorous at times, for the fresh breezes are kept off
by the steep cliff. Here the English sailor, too,
rolls about red and sweating, drinking the vilest of

TELE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 53
new white rum, and eating half-rotten fruit under
the tropic sun, till of a sudden a sickness and a
dizziness comes upon him, and in a terribly short
time he falls, another victim of the invisible fiend
YeUow Jack.
Behind this Praya, as I said, rises a cliff, but not
a smooth, bare cliff, but rugged, with quaint houses
let into it, and rich vegetation filling each crevice.
The contrast between the two is most striking.
For the houses are antique with gloomy arches,
dingy, many of them, as if they had stood through
centuries of London smoke, whereas the vegetation
— who can describe its freshness, its marvellous ex
uberance of youth ! its fairy-like beauty ! Graceful
palms, luscious-leaved bananas, wonderful creepers
of rainbow colours, overflow the cliff, forming a
luxuriant curtain of tropical verdure, flower and
fruit, depending from the upper to the lower city.
On the summit of this cliff is a plain on which is
built the Citade Alta, or upper city, with its crowded
narrow streets (nearly each with its tramway line),
its broad squares, and the cathedral.
On either side of the town, on the hill-sides over
looking the bay, are the most beautiful suburbs
imaginable, with palatial villas nestling in gardens of
such colour and aroma as intoxicate the senses.
No wonder if the Brazilian is voluptuous and lazy,
living as he does in such a Paradise as this.
A steep road winds from the Praya to the upper
city, but there is also another means of ascent pre
pared for an indolent population that will not walk
ten yards if such exertion can be avoided. From
the sea an imposing-looking tower is observable,
built from the lower town to the upper, along the
cliff-side, and terminating in a broad platform
on the summit. This is the elevator, or parajusa
as it is here called, being merely one of our now

54 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
common hydraulic hotel-lifts on- a large scale.
A smart Yankee hit upon this speculation, and
it has proved successful. Any invention that can
save a Bahian a ten-minutes' walk must pay well.
The network of tramways in every Brazilian city
is almost incredible ; even small villages inland, like
S. Amaro, have their tramcars ; and fine dividends
the directors show too.
There is in Bahia another means of locomotion
which I have never seen elsewhere. Nothing less
than the good old-fashioned sedan-chair of Queen
Anne's day, carried by two stout negroes. The
model is exactly that of the queer box in which
our great -grandmothers were wont to be carried to
rout and ball. Such is Bahia, a city of about
230,000 inhabitants, of whom nearly three-quarters
are mulattoes, native negroes, and Africans, the
remainder Brazilians, Portuguese, and foreigners.
On the morning after our arrival we prepared to
go on shore to stretch our legs after our long con
finement. So here we were at last on shore in South America,
with plenty to see and wonder at. I am afraid the
first thing we did was to enter Freitas and Wilson's
store, and indulge in the unwonted luxury of English
beer. And now that I am on the subject, let me
strongly recommend this firm of ship-chandlers to
any yachts that may come into Bahia. I shaU not
soon forget the courtesy and kindness they showed us.
A ship-chandler's store in a foreign port offers
no small opportunity for the study of character,
for it is the loafing-place of the merchant captains.
Here they sit, drink, and gossip through half the
tropic day. Quite at home, sitting astride his
chair, is the Yankee skipper of the smart schooner,
with broad Panama hat and long cigar. That bluff
gentleman, who sports a white helmet, is the captain

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 55
of the fine English barque that came in yester
day. The jovial German in the straw hat is the
master of the ship Frdulein from Hamburg.
Somewhat savouring of shop is their talk as a
rule. Freights are discussed ; the best longi
tude to cross the equator in ; and the law is laid
down with a thump of a horny hand on the counter.
Then crews are disparagingly overhauled, some
what in the manner of women talking over the
much- vexed subject of domestic servants.
We were introduced to an old American skipper
with a snowy goatee, who hailed from Virginia,
a tough old sea-dog of the Spanish Main and the
Southern Seas. He had been a whaler in the
great South Pacific, and was full of strange yarns
of islands where one white lives alone — a king of
savages. He was a walking pilot directory, and
gave us a long string of directions as to where
we should go and what we should do. Said he,
" I guess you should go to the Solomons ; they
are fine. If you dew, don't land at such or such
an island, for they air a queer people thar ; they'd
treat you just as you would a fat bullock as walked
on board your vessel. No ! you visit the little
bit of an island just south of that, so-and-so isle.
Now I you mind me ; keep the big hut in the
east bay in one with a tall palm you'll see all by
itself on a hill, east by south, and steer bold in
and bring up in four fathoms, two cables off the
shore. There you land ; teU the people you want
the white man — say Jake. They'll know then that
you've smelt him out, and they'U fetch him for you ;
for he is shy, is Jake. Rather queer ; can't abear
a white man ; ain't accustomed to him. When
you see him, say you know me, and he'll show you
round that thar island, I bet. You'll have high
old times. Shouldn't wonder as you'U stay there

56 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
altogether, you'll like it so much. I guess you'll
take half-a-dozen wives each and fix ; and they air
fine women, young men. For that there island is
a paradise ; what with the fruit and the flowers and
— the women ; whitish, too, whiter than I am, with
long black hair. Why, Lord! see Jake sitting
under his palm-tree smoking all day, while his
wives do all the work there is to do — do it willingly
too, singing all the time, not like them darned sailors
we were talking of just now."
We start for an expedition to the upper town.
We take our tickets for the elevator, and enter a
half-dark sort of wild-beast cage, where we sit
down beside several of the gorgeous fat negresses,
for the production of which Bahia is celebrated,
and a few dark gentlemen smoking huge Bahia
cigars. A strong and not delectable aroma per
vades the cage, which strikes me as being some
how famifiar, and seems in some strange way to
call up reminiscences of my innocent childhood long
ago. I have it — it is castor oil ! The machinery
of the elevator is evidently lubricated with this
horror of my youth. The pretty tree from whose
berries this useful drug is extracted grows in great
profusion in Brazil ; and this oil is here the cheapest
of all lubricators, and is therefore extensively used
for this purpose.
At last our smooth, well-castor-oiled journey is
completed, and the cage stops suddenly. We effect
our exit, and find ourselves on a platform on the
summit of the cliff, an extensive square open on
the sea side, and surrounded by lofty hotels and
houses on the other three sides. We pause awhile
by the railing on the edge of the precipice to admire
the marvellous scene that stretches before us. The
cliff with its curtain of tropic verdure fans perpen
dicularly from our feet. Below are the roof-tops,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 57
the narrow streets of the lower town, the busy Praya,
the shipping ; and then beyond, a great, blue in
land sea, with islands of waving palms and dense
mangoes scattered over it, a sea indented with
many a beautiful sandy bay, and with many a
forest-clad promontory jutting out, noisy with
the cry of parrots, and bright with many jewel-
winged birds. On the farther side stretch ranges
of _ great purple mountains, scarce visible even in
this clear air, for the distance of them.
And many a great river is seen pouring in from
the inner lands, and many towns and picturesque
whaling villages are scattered here and there round
the wonderful coast, which is one ever-changing
tropic garden. For this is the world-renowned
Reconcava of Bahia, surely one of the wonders of
the world. A bay seven miles broad at its mouth,
ihen opening out into this land-locked sea of more
than one hundred miles in circumference, where all
the fleets of the world could find safe anchorage,
free from any danger, and opening out with its
many tributary rivers one of the richest regions of
Brazil, that wonderful country of tropical pro
digality — a gulf which seems as if formed by
nature to be the emporium of the universe. All
these shores are famous for the production of
tobacco ; for Bahia is the great tobacco port of
Brazil, just as Rio Janeiro is the coffee, and Per-
nambuco the sugar port.
Interesting it is for a stranger from the old world
to stroll for the first time through the Citade Alta
of Bahia ; the streets are narrow, some of the
houses are of antique architecture, built of solid
stone, the gloomy mansions of the old merchant-
princes of the land. The more modern are plas
tered, gaudily painted, pseudo-classic and Byzan
tine gingerbread — which, however, harmonize weU

58 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
with the brilliant air and vegetation. Most of the
buildings here are five stories high, thus utterly
differing from the patio'd, one-storied, flat-roofed
houses in the cities of the Spanish people to the
South. A busy life, too, throngs these narrow streets,
tramways rattle down the principal thoroughfares,
a mongrel crowd of black and white and yellow
jostles and jabbers. Towards evening, it is the
custom for the women to come out on the bal
conies to enjoy the fresh breeze that then springs
up. Up and down a long street, at every balcony,
up to the fifth story, they hang over — mulatto and
negro beUes, in orange, green, white, scarlet, every
gaudy colour, fanning, flirting, laughing, chattering
vigorously. Above the shrill scream of the tram-
whistle rises their shriller Babel ; a bewildering
pandemonium of extreme light and sound and
colour and motion, meUowed slightly as a rule by
an aU-pervading, mysterious, heavy odour.
On the morrow Arnaud and myself took tram
to a certain ancient convent, whose nuns are famous
for their skill in the manufacture of feather flowers.
All manner of precautions are taken to keep the
male sex from intruding on these gentle recluses.
We were not admitted within the precincts at all,
but had to stand outside a stoutly-grated window,
and hold parley through it with the caged inmates.
Indeed, one grating was not deemed a sufficient
barrier between them and the outer world. The
wall was about seven feet thick, and there was a
double grating in the recess, one at each side, so
that a partition seven feet deep was between us —
an unnecessary precaution, a biting sarcasm, I
should imagine, to the poor nuns, for in carnal attrac
tions they were sadly, hopelessly deficient. They
passed the flowers through the gratings to us in

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 59
long-handled ladles. Very beautiful some of these
flowers were, of metaUic-lustred, rainbow-hued
feathers of humming-bird and parrot. Very keen at
a bargain were the ladies ; they jabbered and wrangled
and pushed each other aside in the excitement of
their rivalry. It was an unpleasing sight, so we
purchased a few flowers and departed.

CHAPTER V.
During our stay in this port we organized several
pleasant expeditions up country ; but to describe all
these would sweU this work to a size far greater
than I mean to trouble my readers with. I should
like to teU you of the pretty viUage of Rio Ver-
milio, where the fresh trade-wind blows fuU on the
shore, driving the great Atlantic seas till they
break grandly on the rocky beach, scattering showers
of spray over the bending cocoanut-palms, whose
leaves glisten like diamonds with the salt crystals.
I should like to narrate, too, a five-days' trip of
Arnaud and myself, when we crossed the bay, steamed
up a river through jungle and forest, then progressed
higher stiU in a negro dug-out to the little town of
St. Amaro ; how on the muddy banks the pink
cray-fish gamboUed ; and how the branches of the
mangroves were thick with oysters hanging like
fruit ; and how from St. Amaro we rode across fifty
nules of roadless country to Faira St. Anna, now by
the palatial mansion of some rich sugar-planter, sur
rounded by its slave village and sloping hills of waving
cane, and now through virgin forest, where the tall
palms rose high above the lesser growth of trees,
linked by intricate creepers, lianas, and convolvuli.
I should like to linger over the description of the
wonderfuUy - plumaged birds — parrot, humming-

60 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
bird, canary, and a hundred others of the fruits
growing wild and in profusion in the woods — pine
apples, bananas, mango, jachas, bread-fruit, and
the rest. I should like to tell you of the people we
met, the half-naked slaves, standing outside their
huts, with their curious little, pot-bellied, whoUy-
naked children ; of the proud planter, with poncho
and massive silver spurs, galloping across his lands :
how we journeyed on from Faira St. Anna to Ca-
choeira by train through plantations of sago and
coffee, and thence by steamer again down a broad
river to the Reconcava. But aU this would fiU a
volume by itself.
Having been now a fortnight in port, we once more
prepared for sea. We refilled our rum barrel with
white rum, laid in a stock of pine-apples, yams, and
other vegetables ; and on the 6th of November
weighed our anchor and sailed out of the Reconcava.
Salvoes of crackers and rockets, and the tolling of
manifold bells from all parts of the city, seemed to be
bidding us a fareweU as we dropped slowly down the
smooth bay.
In Bahia every day of the year seems to be a
fiesta, and dedicated to some saint or other ; keeping
a saint's day here implies a terrible waste of fireworks,
and clanging of church beUs. AU day long, for they
do not even await the shades of night, the rockets
ascend. There is no place in the world like Bahia for
these amusements. Far out to sea you know when
you are approaching this port by the sound and the
blaze of the worship of its inhabitants. It is called
Bahia dos Todos os Santos — the bay of All Saints —
of aU of them with a vengeance. It is the most
religious and most vicious city of religious and vicious
Brazil. The eve of our departure there stood forth an omen
in the sky, which, said the sailors on shore, is but

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 61
rarely seen, and only when some terrible hurricane
is imminent. Inside the thin crescent of the moon
was one solitary, bright star, the only one in the
heavens. It was a curious appearance ; but it
seemed to me not likely to be connected with terres
trial storm.
Our next port was to be Rio de Janeiro, the
beautiful capital of this empire. We had fresh winds
from the E. to N.E., and so completed the voyage
in four days and twenty hours. We carried our
spinnaker and gaff-topsail nearly all the time. At
5.30 p.m., the 6th of November, we were outside the
Reconcava, off Point San Antonio. By midday, the
7th of November, we had logged 116 miles ; the 8th
of November we made 174 miles ; the 9th of Novem
ber 152 miles ; the 10th of November 167 miles ;
the nth of November 164 miles. It was glorious,
sunny weather, and bracing and pleasant was the
fresh Atlantic breeze, after the rather debilitating
climate of Bahia.
The second night out would have seemed to some
pilot of old as full of alarming portents. The
mariner at times does encounter such nights, weird
and awe-inspiring, that fiU his breast with vague,
superstitious terror as he keeps his midnight watches.
It was an exceedingly dark night and stiU ; the long
ocean swell rolled on smoothly, only at rare intervals
breaking into phosphorescent spray. The air was hot
and stifling as before storm. The clouds that passed
overhead were utterly black and assumed fantastic
shapes. Arnaud recognized Gambetta's head, and a
fiend riding across the heavens on a black horse, in
the slowly-floating masses of vapour. It seemed at
times as if the whole sky was full of uneasy spirits,
fixing up everything ready for a good old hurricane.
The moon only appeared at intervals through rifts
in the cloud. It was surrounded by a beautiful triple

62 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
halo of green, yeUow, and pink circles. In the middle
watch the sky cleared somewhat, and Arnaud and
myself became the amazed spectators of several most
remarkable phenomena, meteoric or electric — I
cannot be certain which. We saw first in the midst
of a cloud an appearance like that of a great shell
bursting. It illuminated the whole cloud and the
sea for a moment, and its explosion was accompanied
with a dull thud. Again we observed several meteors
that sailed across the sky like rockets, with bright
tails of fire, and then burst. A mysterious night this
on the warm tropic sea, and ominous of tempest,
which, however, did not overtake us.
On the fourth night out, we kept a sharp look-out
for Cape Frio, in whose neighbourhood we knew our
selves to be. There is a lighthouse on this point with
a powerful light ; we made it out about two a.m.
As we neared the cape the thermometer fell rapidly,
till we really felt quite cold for the first time since
we had left England. This sudden faU of the tem
perature is always experienced near Cape Frio, hence
its name, the Cold Cape. I believe the phenomenon
is attributed to the presence of some oceanic current
of cold water which comes to the surface hereabouts.
This cape is also famous for the furious squalls that
sweep down from it seawards.
When daylight came we discerned land once more
on the starboard bow — a distant range of blue moun
tains which we recognized from their sharp spire-like
peaks to be the Organ Mountains, which lie to the back
of the Bay of Rio. On approaching the entrance of
the gulf the water shallowed and became light-green
in colour ; the sea, as is not uncommon on this bar,
was coming in in heavy breaking rollers, which
would have proved dangerous to many a yacht of
the Falcon's tonnage, that I know of. We heard
that a heavy pampero had been blowing for three or

THE CRUISE OF THE ** FALCON." 63
jfour days to the south of Rio, hence the exception
ally disturbed condition of the sea when we arrived.
Who can describe the grandeur of the gates of the
/Bay of Rio, and the wonderful beauty of the bay it
self ? I thought nothing could be so beautiful as
the Reconcava of Bahia ; and lo ! here is a gulf that
transcends aU one's wildest dreams of the magnificence
of tropical scenery. Not here are the gently sloping
hills of the Reconcava. The entrance of this bay
is between stupendous and fantastically-serrated
mountains. Steep and forbidding domes of granite
fall sheer into the boiling surf. The aspect of this
coast from the sea is grand and terrible in the
extreme ; but once within the bay, all changes.
,One moment we were running before a cool, strong
breeze, rolling heavily in the steep seas, the next
moment we had passed between two waUs of rock — -
we had entered the inland sea. Immediately the
water feU smooth as glass^the wind died away, and
the bracing sea-breeze was changed for the sultry
atmosphere of the tropic harbour. We came to an
anchor inside the island and fortress of ViUegagnon.
What a scene was there round us, what a variety of
beautiful form and colour ! To give any adequate
description of this bay is quite impossible. It is as
extensive as the Reconcava of Bahia, and is studded
with the most beautiful islands, whose beaches are
lined with cocoanuts and stately palms. AU round
the bay rise the stupendous mountains ; some covered
with gorgeous-coloured forests, others of barren crags
and lowering precipice. And there stretching far
along the shore is the empire-city, Rio Janeiro — the
queen of South America, lying at the foot of an
amphitheatre of great mountains. There is the huge
granite crag of the Sugar-loaf, seeming ready to faU
down on the suburbs at any moment. There is the
Gavia, a square-headed mass of rock with a flat top

6j THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
like Table Mountain ; there the Tajuca and the forest-
covered Cocovado, with its springs of sweet water.
And all round the inland sea are little sheltered bays,
the most beautiful imaginable, with beaches of silver
sand, and wonderful tropical forests covering the
mountain sides, where the guava and mango grow in
wild profusion, and there are islands in these bays
too, like little gardens of Eden.
Our first stroll through the city gave us a very
favourable impression of it ; we were evidently in
a civilized and luxurious capital, where we could
recreate and relax very pleasantly for a few days.
Rio Janeiro is a fine city of about 500,000 inhabi
tants, and is thus much larger than Bahia ; it is also
much " whiter " than Bahia ; the negroes here are
not in so overwhelming a majority as in the former
city. Tramways of course are everywhere ; gas and
tramways are the specialities of Rio ; no town in the
world is so well lit. Far beyond the city, up to the
mountain-tops, through country lanes, are the tram-
metals laid and the lamps planted. Far out to sea
is the city visible at night by the great glare of it.
Five minutes after landing, instinct led us to the
establishment of Jimmy Graham, the well-known
Yankee barman. A smart man is Graham ; as you
enter his place the first thing in the morning, un
certain as to what your eye-opener shall be, do not,
if you be a wise man, tax your brains on the subject.
Jimmy knows what will fix you up better than you
do ; simply say, —
" Graham, I want you to prescribe for me."
" Take a seat," he will reply. He will look at your
face for a moment or so with his shrewd eye, then a
gleam of intelligence will flit over his expressive face.
He has diagnosed your case.
" Wall, I guess I can fix you up what you want,"

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 65
and forthwith he wiU arrange for you some iced
delectable poison, long or short as the case may be,
which you find will exactly suit your disease and
make a new man of you. But if you are that rare
bird a wise man, you will forswear strong drinks in
this climate, and patronize Jimmy only for the
prawn curries he knows how to prepare, and the
delicate rock oysters from the bay.
This first evening we went up to dine at the Hotel
Vista Allegre, which is out of the close city, on the
healtny hillside. Thither we travelled partly by
train and partly up a very steep, inclined plane in a
car which is hoisted by a chain, just like the railway
from Lyons to the Croix Rousse.
It was now night, and the aspect of the city and
the bay from the elevation at which we were, was
very strange and beautiful. Steep ravines and hill
sides sloped from our feet to the city, mountains were
around us, and all were lit by myriads of gas-jets.
The crags were covered with the rich vegetation of the
tropics. TaU palms towered above the houses. _ A
most fairy-like view, a wonderful contrast of city-
streets and nature at her grandest.
Rio is a Uvely town enough after dull Bahia, for
here we have theatres, an opera-house, an alcazar,
concert-gardens like those of Paris, and other dissipa
tions. The Rua Ovidor is the Bond Street of Rio.
Carriages are prohibited from traversing it after
dark ; for it is then that the Brazilian ladies pro
menade this narrowthoroughfare to do their shopping.
Ten p.m. is the fashionable hour.
The niggers here live a very out-of-door life, and
one thus acquires a very fair insight into the habits of
their private life, or rather what would be the private
life in the case of a white man. _ The negro barber
carries on his profession in the middle of the street ;
when a customer comes, he simply sets him down on
3

66 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON,"
the pavement, if no other seat be at hand, and lathers
his chin and shaves away, undisturbed by the crowd
of little niggers that generaUy admiringly surround
the artist.
Here sitting in a long string on the kerb-stone of
a crowded street are negro slaves weaving straw hats ;
listen to them ; that barbaric tongue cannot be
Portuguese ; no, it is an African dialect. For these
are not Creoles of Brazil, like most of the slaves here,
but Africans, men who have once known freedom.
I had noticed that one of these half-naked hat-
weavers was always treated with great respect by his
fellows. He was a giant in size and had evidently
been a man of uncommon strength, but he was now
of great age, his back was bent, and his curly wool
was white as snow. I was informed that he had once
been one of the greatest kings of Africa, and that all
Africans from his part of that continent, even over
here in America, after years of slavery, observe the
same form of etiquette when approaching him as
they perforce did in the old times, when he was every
inch a king, and the hfe and death of his subjects
were in his hands. Barbarous indeed these savage
courtiers must be thus to stiU revere their prince
and be loyal to him, knowing well that there is not
the slightest chance of his ever again recovering his
freedom and his kingdom, and being in a position to
reward them for their fidelity. For it is not only by
mere courtesy that they show their devotion, it is
customary for them to quarrel among themselves as
to who shall complete the aged sovereign's daily
hat-weaving task, when their younger and nimbler
fingers have completed their own. You can observe
this amiable squabble among the poor fellows every
afternoon, the old king, sitting the while blinking
sleepily, taking no interest in the proceedings, apa
thetic beneath the burdens of his many years, and

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 67
now, I should imagine, hardly remembering and
regretting those days when —
"At furious speed he rode
Along the Niger's bank."
Two days after our arrival at Rio, we got up
anchor and sailed up the bay to the island of Paqueta,
a distance of about ten miles. This is a pretty little,
wooded, hilly island, with a population of about 1700.
A friend of Jerdein, an ex-royal-mail officer, and now
superintendent of that company in Brazil, was living
here with his family, so we came to an anchor off
his house, and remained there until we sailed for the
River Plate. A beautiful spot it was, nestling among
the stately palms and bamboos, tamarinds and
almonds. And very pleasant it was for us after our
semi-savage life to see once more in Mr. May's
hospitable home the faces of English ladies and
English chUdren.
This islet of Paqueta is a lovely little corner of earth
to pass a lazy time in. Here we are, for instance,
in the evening sitting in Mr. May's verandah, puffing
at our post-prandial cigars. The too short tropic
dusk has passed, and it is night ; all round us is the
tropic garden of rare fruits and palms and creepers.
The garden terminates on a sandy beach, on which
break, with gentle plashes, the small waves of the
sheltered bay ; along the sand is a fringe of cocoanut-
trees, waving their great leaves gently in the evening
breeze. A promontory of round boulders projects,
a dark mass, into the water gleaming in silver arrows
under the moon. Beyond the rocky islets and
palmed promontories, across the broad bay is seen,
looming dark against the sky, the opposite coast,
with the mountains of the interior stiU farther back,
vague and misty.
The faint lights of the charcoal-burners' fires are

68 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
seen here and there on the far-off hill-sides, where
the virgin forests are ; and to return once more to
the foreground, there within a stone's throw rides the
stately old Falcon at anchor. Now add to this the
still, warm night-air, heavy with the odour of
flowers and fruits and spices, the flight of bats, the
perpetual shriU cries of cicadas, the sad splash of the
waves on the rocks, and you have the very sur
roundings for an indolent man who loves to ponder
silently over his cigar and coffee, or rather not even
to ponder at all, but sink into that reverie qui ne pense
a Hen, his mind intoxicated with the beauty of all
that fervid yet lazy nature around him.
But after aU there are few lotos-eaters at Paqueta.
Certain perspiring black savages, with a rag round
the waist as their sole clothing, here pass anything
but a life of dolce far niente. Above the cry of cicada,
and the moaning of sea, and the rustling of palm-
leaves, all through the long night, from the time that
the sun sinks into the fiery crimson clouds that crown
the Organ Mountains to when he rises again from the
Atlantic — you can hear a strange and melancholy
song rising in wild bursts on the night-air ; a barbaric,
monotonous and sad chorus, such as Israelite bonds
men might have sung long ago in Egypt. And this too
is a chorus of bondsmen, of African slaves. For there
are lime-works on Paqueta Island, and by night and
day, unceasingly, the native blacks toil on in batches.
The night-watchers are obliged to sing this chorus at
intervals, so that their master in his bed, if he chance
to awake, may know that they are toiling and watch
ing, and not falling to sleep with weariness.
This lime is made from the shells of the oysters
that so thickly cover every rock in the Gulf of Rio.
About Paqueta can be seen daily a regular squadron
of quaint native craft, manned by naked slaves,
dredging for the bivalves

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 69
The process is a very primitive one, involving a
great deal of labour and very little proportionate
results. The slave has a long bamboo with a small
cradle fitted to one end ; this he scrapes along the
rocky bottom, raising each time only a handful or
so of sheUs, I should imagine.
I wiU not inflict on my readers a description of the
lions of Rio and its neighbourhood, which of course
we did ; and what city on earth has such marveUous
scenery in its immediate neighbourhood ? Why,
even in the narrow streets of the city itself you come
suddenly on the most lovely little oases of tropic
vegetation. Here, for instance, is a gloomy and
ugly old mansion in a squalid lane. It has some
pretensions to architecture, and it is the palace
of some merchant-prince, maybe, but it is as dingy
and uninteresting-looking as are the houses near
Fitzroy Square. You are passing it, when suddenly
the portal of it is opened, and there is revealed a
glimpse of Paradise itself. Under that dark door as a
frame is seen a bit of bright azure sky above, and
below, a garden ; but what a garden1, what colour,
what form ! among the dazzling creepers and
bushes, stone fauns and nymphs disport themselves,
and fountains splash on cool marble and tesselated
pavements. And down the great garden is a drive
through an avenue of immense palms, smooth and
straight as columns, with their leaves joining over
head like the aisle of a cathedral of giants. It is a
glimpse into fairyland ; then the portal closes, and
we might almost be in dingy London, save for the
sky above and the niggers around.
So pleasant was found our stay here that it was
not till forty days had passed unnoticed by, that we
sailed from Rio. We came in on November nth, and
left on December 21st. It was the midsummer here
south of the line, but the heat on the Brazilian coast

70 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
is rarely oppressive. Our thermometer in the cabin
only once, as far as I remember, registered more Jhan
950. We found lots to do. Sometimes in the city,
sometimes making pleasant excursions into the in
terior, sometimes organizing cruises and picnics \yith
the Falcon in the bay, and, best of all to my mind,
sailing about in the dinghy among the beautiful
islands near Paqueta. Those httle exploring expedi
tions were most delightful. There is a little archi
pelago of islands near Paqueta, all beautiful ; some
large, with pleasant villages of peaceable mulatto
folk ; others uninhabited, but overflowing with a
glorious vegetation ; others bare, mere boulders ris
ing from the clear water with, maybe, a solitary cactus
growing on the summit. Nowhere on earth is there
an inland water so adapted for a cruise in a smaU
boat. One could travel on for months, and anchor
each night off some new picturesque island, or in some
new bay, so extensive is this great winding gulf.
Here is the log of one of these little cruises : —
One glorious morning I put the mast and saU in the
dinghy, provisioned her with a keg of water, a bottle
of wine, bread, oranges, pipe, tobacco, matches,
and sketching materials, and started for a solitary
sail. First I circumnavigated Paqueta, keeping
close to the shore, where the palms overhang the
water, steering among great boulders. These
boulders that rise out of the Gulf of Rio are of in
terest to the geologist ; they are smoothly rounded,
by the action of water, into a dome shape, and nearly
all of them are split down the middle as by a wedge,
so that they present the appearance of so many
episcopal mitres. Then passing several islets, I
reached one — an uninhabited httle paradise which
I named Cocoaniat Island, from the multitude of
those graceful trees that lined its shores — and
beached the dinghy in a little sandy cove. If that

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 71
island could be transported as it is to Kew Gardens,
it would be one of the sights of Europe. It was hilly,
and about a mile or rather more m circumference,
and covered with a dense vegetation. Mangoes and
tamarinds and the most gorgeous flowers grew on its
slopes, all bound together by intricate network of
lianas and purple-flowered convolvuli. Brilliant-
plumaged humming-birds and rainbow-hued butter
flies seemed to be the sole inhabitants. From the
summit of the islet one looked over the broad many-
islanded bay and the far mountains, glowing under
the blue tropic vault. In order to acquire an appetite
for my picnic, I treated myself to a plentiful feast of
oysters. AU the rocks were covered with these up
to high-water mark ; smaU and delicate they were
too ; so I waded about in the tepid water, cutting
them off in clusters with my knife. Then came lunch,
for which the mangoes on the island provided a
dessert. Then off again to explore further islets,
all uninhabited, till I felt like a sort of Robinson
Crusoe of half-a-dozen isles instead of one ; and the
sun was low and it was time to beat back against
the fresh sea-breeze to where the Falcon lay at
anchor by the stately row of palms.
One of the things to be done by the visitor to Rio
is Petropolis, a model highland village founded by
the Emperor of the Brazils, and in the midst of which
he has built to himself a summer pleasure-palace.
Thither one fine morning we proceeded, and a pleasant
journey it was. First, a steamer took us across the
bay to a point where a train awaited us. After but a
short voyage on the line, we again changed our mode
of conveyance, and entered one of the six coaches
that were intended to carry the passengers across
the mountains to the imperial viUage. In single file
they slowly ascended the pass — a fine road in sharp
zigzags, reminding one of " Les Echelles " of the

72 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Mont Cenis — but the view around was somewhat
different ; not the grey crags and the snows and
sombre pines of the Alps on this tropical mountain
pass. On either side of us were palms, tree-ferns,
lianas, and all manner of unknown plants and flowers,
with colours such as no orthodox plants should have,
stolen from the minerals. Great leaves of burnished
copper strewed the ground, and the green, and silvers,
and yellows, and reds of the twining creepers and
flowers were as of molten and incandescent metals.
The parrots, humming-birds, butterflies, and beetles,
gaudy-hued as they were, were not more so than this
glorious vegetation they inhabited. From the summit
of the pass the view was grand in the extreme. A
vast expanse of country lay beneath us like a plan.
The mountains sloped down from our feet to a dark,
wooded plain ; beyond that was all the Bay of Rio,
with its islands and mountains, the Sugar-loaf guard
ing the entrance ; and then stiU farther the Atlantic
horizon-fine. Descending again, we soon reached our destination,
the luxurious village nestling in a hoUow of the forest-
clad hiUs. We rattled down the main street by
which flows a babbling river shaded by avenues
of willows, and dismounting, introduced ourselves
to Mr. Mills, of the comfortable English hotel, who
forthwith proposed to mix for us the refreshing cock
tail of the New World, the while dinner was pre
paring. Petropolis is built in the centre of a large imperial
estate ; the emperor, who is, as every one knows, not
only one of the most hard-working monarchs in the
world, but one of the most active in every scheme
of benevolence, is, if nowhere else, popular in Petro
polis. Some years ago, some pseudo-philanthropist
sent over to Rio a large batch of German colonists.
When the unfortunates landed, they found they were

THE CRUISE OF THE ** FALCON." 73
hot wanted, there was nothing for them to do ; they
lay about the quays, living on garbage, till yeUow
fever thinned their ranks woefully. They would
probably aU have perished had not the emperor
taken up the matter. He transported them en masse
to his highland estate, where the cooler climate per
mits the white man to work without danger in the
fields, and founded Petropolis. And now it stands
a model village in which there is no sordid house,
no poverty, aU is clean, tidy, and prosperous-look
ing. For some miles round where the forest is
cleared, are the little farms of the happy and con
tented people. And so, as you ride along the well-
made roads that traverse the little colony, you per
ceive about you everywhere comfortable-looking
Teutons with blue eyes and yellow hair, and well-
dressed children going to school, and comely matrons
knitting at cottage doors, as in Europe, instead of
the half-naked negroes and the barbarism of the
slave plantations which surround this little oasis of
liberty. And now in addition to all this, a further
cause of prosperity has come to the village of Dom
Pedro Secundo, for a blessing seems to be on the
place. The cool and healthy air has induced many
of the wealthy citizens of Rio to resort here during
the summer months, when the yellow fever is hanging
about the hot city. It is rapidly becoming quite a
fashionable little place, and several good hotels have
sprung up around the imperial summer palace.
We stayed at Mills' two days, visited the virgin
forest — another thing we had to do — in a downpour
of rain ; I think we were done more than the forest
was, for we did not appreciate its beauties under the
depressing circumstances, though we had brought
some cana with us, wherewith to '.dilute |the .rain.
Besides, the virgin forest was a fraud, though a
beautiful one, for the vegetation of it was in no wise
3«

74 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
more magnificent than that of most portions of the
neighbouring country, though these gave themselves
no high-sounding titles. From Petropolis we took
coach to Entre Rios, a drive of about fifty miles,
along a very well-kept road. The coach-mules were
splendid animals, and carried us on in grand style,
past the coffee plantations and the uncleared forests.
From Entre Rios, we travelled about on the Dom
Pedro Railway in rather an unmeaning way, from
one uninteresting place to another.
On the 15th of December we sailed from delight
ful Paqueta to our old berth off Rio, under Fort
Villegagnon. The weather was now becoming oppres
sive — ninety-five in the shade, with no cool nights as
a relief. Thecalm water in the harbour began to stink
horribly ; and far from odorous was the vegetable
refuse that lay about the markets — so Yellow Jack
found his opportunity, and there were five vessels in
the harbour with the ominous yeUow flag flying
at their main.
While we were at anchor here the emperor came
off to the Falcon in the Wanderer's launch ; he was
interested in our cruise, and, as I understand, in
tended to honour us with a visit. Unfortunately we
were aU on shore at the time, so he merely steamed
round us, and remarked that we must be very un
comfortable and very foofish to wander about the
oceans in such a cocklesheU. If I were an emperor I
think I should be of the same opinion, and prefer
something a good deal bigger if I cruised at all ; but
after all, would it be half so enjoyable ? — maybe
not. For several days in succession, during our stay, a
violent squall arose every afternoon in the bay. The
weather would wax sultrier and sultrier from sun
rise till about three p.m., when suddenly a mass of
black cloud would sweep over the sky, pouring down

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 75
rain in such torrents as only tropical clouds can, ac
companied by thunder and lightning. These squalls
blew with very great force, lashing the bay into a
mass of foam. On two occasions we had to put down
two anchors, with fifty fathoms on each, to prevent
driving. One day during the squaU two large vessels
near us fouled each other in consequence of the
anchors of one dragging. Signals of distress were
hoisted, and two men-of-war's boats' crews were sent
to their assistance. After considerable damage had
been incurred by both they were cleared. This is
the old-fashioned Rio weather. Once this daily storm
was so regular in its coming, that it was customary
when one made an appointment with another to say,
" I will meet you after or before the storm," as the
case might be. But of late years the climate of
Rio has changed considerably, as has that of every
part of the world it seems, more or less ; and the
three p.m. storm is not as punctual as was his wont
of old.
One of our crew here left us — Andrews — so we
were now rather under-manned, and determined to
pick up some one else in the Plate.
It was now about time for us to leave Rio ; two
of us were down with slight attacks of fever, and we
all felt as if the fresh winds of the Atlantic would be
beneficial as a change.
We had made the acquaintance of the officers of
the SS. Norseman in Rio, the telegraph-vessel of
the Anglo-Brazilian Telegraph Company. She was
bound about this time for Maldonado, in Uruguay,
and the captain kindly offered, if he met us out at
sea, to give us a tow if we were in want of one. Mal
donado Bay, he told us, was a pleasant spot, with
lots of sport on shore, and in every way preferable
to Flores Island as a place to spend our quarantine
in ; for into quarantine we were certain to be thrust

76 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
as soon as we touched at any Uruguayan or Argen
tine port after leaving Rio. The River Plate people
have the greatest dread of yeUow fever, their countries
he outside of the usual limits of this pest, but they
have a vivid reminiscence of the fearful epidemic
at Buenos Ayres ten years ago, when the whole city
was put into rigid quarantine, aU business was at a
standstill, and the horrors of a mediaeval plague,
such as that of Florence, were experienced to the full
in the crowded South American city ; no less than
a thousand people perishing a day, for several
weeks. CHAPTER VI.
We saUed out of the harbour on December the 21st,
the city looking very beautiful from the sea in the
early morning.
There was but little wind, and we progressed but
slowly. It happened that the Norseman steamed out
the same day, so ten hours after our departure she
came up with us. The captain stopped his vessel
and repeated his invitation as to the tow ; adding,
as a further inducement, that we should thus reach
Maldonado by Christmas Day, and we could all
pass that festive season together. We gladly accepted
his offer, so the Norseman lowered a boat, and we
soon got a tow-fine to each of her quarters. It was
as well that we did get this tow, for now that
Andrews had left us we were only four on board.
Of these Jerdein was laid up below with slight fever ;
I was far from well, recovering from the same ; and
the boy had also been suffering from a sort of bilious
fever for some days.
Under these circumstances Captain Lacy sent on
board of us one of his black sailors to lend a hand
at steering. He and the boy took one watch during

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 77
Jerdein's iUness, Arnaud and myself the other.
Steering a small vessel when towing fast requires
some care, so, as usual under similar circumstances,
I had to do all the steering in my watches. Arnaud,
however, was not allowed to be idle. He was kept
very constantly at the pumps, for we were towing so
fast through the short seas — ten knots an hour at
times — that much water came on board, and found
its way below through the hatch of the sail-room.
We had not been towing long before we parted
one of the warps ; the steamer stopped and lowered
a boat with another. This boat was manned by
Krumen, who kept time to their oars as they came
off with a queer dirge-like song. The words of this
song were delightfully simple, consisting of a constant
repetition of the monosyllable Bo.
Some of my readers may not know what Krumen
are. WeU, they are a superior race of black men who
inhabit a certain strip along the West Coast of Africa.
They are all boatmen by profession, and are engaged
by European vessels for service in the unhealthy
oil-rivers, and other parts where work in the sun is
perilous for the white man. Excellent fellows they
are, with a far more inteUectual cast of countenance
than any of the West Indian or Brazilian blacks.
These they despise, and will hold no communion
with, for the Kruman boasts that he is not only a
freeman, but the descendant of freemen. He is
certainly a superior being to the ordinary negro,
faithful and honest.
Curious names these jolly blacks take to them
selves. On the Norseman we had Silver, Maintop,
Ropeyarn, Jibboom, and Zulu ; this latter was so
called because he was taken to London to impersonate
one of the Zulus exhibited at the Aquarium. He
there enjoyed himself amazingly, and stiU receives
letters from an Aquarium barmaid. Zulu was the

78 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
man sent on board of us by Captain Lacy. Rather
funny that we should ship an Aquarium Farini-
Zulu as a hand on the Falcon !
As the sea increased a good deal on our second
day out, it became necessary for the Norseman to
diminish her speed to eight knots, so as to avoid
straining the yacht, Avhich towed very heavily. We
had now crossed Capricorn, and were once more
out of the tropics. The difference of latitude soon
made itself apparent. The wind blew from the
south, cold and bracing after its passage from
Antarctic seas. It was a very great change after
sultry Rio, and we found pea-jackets necessary
for the first time.
The distance that the Norseman proposed to tow
us was above 900 miles. The experiences of the
voyage were such as to make me resolve never
under any circumstances to undertake anything of
the kind again. The Norseman had been compelled
to go easy, and stop so often in order to enable us
to put fresh chafing-gear on the hawsers, and to
get a new tow-line on board when one was carried
away, an incident which occurred thrice, so violent
were the sudden jerks at times, that on the 24th
of December, Christmas Eve, we were stiU so far
from Maldonado, as to render all chance of eating
our Christmas dinner in port very remote.
This day a nasty short sea was running, that was
continually filling our deck fore and aft. The vessel
pitched about with extraordinary quickness; showers
of spray came over the bows constantly, half-
drowning the man at the tiller, who alone stayed on
deck. Everybody and everything was wet through.
Poor Zulu, unaccustomed to the cold and wet,
looked very miserable indeed when his turn used to
come round to steer. No doubt he regretted his
native wilds in the weU-warmed London Aquarium,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 79
where he was wont to raise his terrific Farini war-
cry, and hurl his assegai into the targets, surrounded
by admiring pale-faced damsels. The poor fellow
was laid up for three days after his experience of
Falcon life.
About two p.m. I was at the tiller : a confused
sea was running at the time, so that it was very
difficult to steer the vessel. And now a serious
accident that I had for a long time foreseen as prob
able occurred. I must explain that the Falcon's
bowsprit runs straight over the top of her stem
amidships and that the forestay leads to the bow
sprit gammoning-iron — an exceptionally strong one
of course — instead of to the stem, as is the usual
method. I do not know whose idea this arrange
ment was, but it is obviously a very bad one ; not
only is that most important support to the mast,
the forestay, fitted in an insecure fashion, but the
bowsprit cannot be taken wholly on board, as the
main-mast is in the way of so doing. Thus we had
a good many feet of bowsprit overboard when the
heel of it was jammed up against the mast. The
result was, after one heavier pitch than usual, and
a shower of water that half-blinded me and took
away my breath for a moment, I saw with consterna
tion that aU the main rigging and shrouds were
flying about quite slack. I knew in a moment what
had occurred — one of the hawsers had got under
the bowsprit close to the bow, and wrenched the
gammoning-iron and stout iron band right out of the
stem, thus canying away our forestay as well. I
called all hands on deck, and hailed the Norseman,
which at once stopped and lowered a boat to lend us
assistance. We found that a large piece had been
wrenched off our stem in addition to other damage :
so we were in a fine pickle. The bowsprit itself wag
not broken.

80 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
But a more serious mishap was now to follow,
which all but put a termination to the Falcon's
cruise altogether, by sending her to the bottom of the
South Atlantic. The Norseman had stopped. Being
to windward we drifted on to her. Seeing that we
were getting too near, we shouted to the officer in
charge to take a few revolutions ahead occasionally
so as to keep clear of us. As soon as he attempted
to do so it was found that one of the tow-lines had
got round her screw, so that she could not move,
but lay helplessly rolling about in the seas. In a
few moments we had drifted right down on her,
and we were foul of each other. Our rigging then
got entangled in the stock of her anchor, and thus
having secured us, she locked us in her embrace, and,
like a great sea-monster as she is, deliberately pro
ceeded to crush us to pieces. She was rolling heavily
at the time, and with every roll the stock of her great
anchor and her iron sides came down on us with
pitiless weight. First our main-mast was nearly
wrenched out of us. Then the great black mass
of the ocean steamer leaned over us, bending in our
davits, and crushing our beautiful dinghy into match
wood. Then another great lurch, and the stock of
her starboard anchor coming down between our
port-shrouds carried away all the ratlines, about ten
feet of bulwark, and threatened to stave in our decks.
Then our bowsprit went. We were now right across
her bows, a most perilous situation ; for over the
bows of a telegraph-vessel hangs an enormous
iron machine, weighing many tons, used, I beheve,
for winding in the electric cable. This rose and
feU above us like a battering-ram, as the steamer
pitched in the great seas. It was indeed a " bad
quarter of an hour " for us that ; not a merry way
of passing Christmas Eve. We tried our best to dis
entangle our rigging from her anchors, and shove.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 81
clear of her, a difficult and even dangerous under
taking. One plucky Kruman was very nearly
crushed while helping us.
At last, almost miraculously, we fell clear of her,
and setting a bit of sail, drifted some half-mile away
to leeward, where the poor old Falcon lay a dismal
and dishevelled wreck upon the waters. The re
mains of our dinghy oars and other articles were float
ing away, visible at times on the summit of the waves,
a pitiable sight. But it was no time for lamentation ;
it was important to repair the damage as far as
possible without delay. On inspection we rejoiced
to find that to all appearance only our upper works
had suffered, the body of the vessel was as sound
as ever. We passed our chain through the two
hawse-pipes, set up our forestay to it as well as we
could, and got everything shipshape again.
In the meantime the Norseman managed to get
the hawser clear of her screw, so steaming down to
us she took us once more injtow.
We had a most uncomfortable time of it this
Christmas Eve. The wind and sea had risen con
siderably, and it was very dark. I remember
weU what curious work it was steering that night
by the rising and faUing stern-light of the heavily-
pitching steamer. The motion of the Falcon was
at the time the most violently quick I have ever
experienced. We were constantly jumped off our
feet while steering. At regular intervals the vessel
would take five of six terribly rapid roUs in succes
sion, rolling her gunwales under, and filling her decks
right up with water, heeling to such an angle as made
even capsizing seem quite a possible contingency
at times ; then she would pitch as violently as she
had roUed, and we expected to see the main-mast
chucked out over her bow at any moment. Water-
breakers and others articles broke adrift, floated

82 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
on deck, and flew about wildly with the frantic leaps
of the little craft. Down in the cabin the water was
a foot over the flooring, and washing over the bunks,
drenching everything, notwithstanding that some
one was always at the pump. Every one was wet,
cold, and miserable, and bruised, too, with the bang
ing about, against which no sea-legs availed. It was
rather an anxious time, for had the weather been a
little worse the steamer would have been obliged
to slip us, no agreeable prospect in our half-wrecked
state. So passed our merry Christmas Eve.
But when Christmas Day broke there came a
change. It was a lovely morning, bright and bracing ;
the wind had moderated considerably ; the sea,
too, had gone down ; so the Norseman increased her
speed to make up for lost time.
Towards dinner-time the steamer stopped, and
Captain Lacy sent a boat with a fresh hawser to us,
and an invitation to partake of the orthodox roast
beef and plum-pudding on board of his vessel. He
lent us two Madagascar negroes to steer the Falcon
in the meanwhile. After the wet and cold of the
last few days we thoroughly enjoyed our Christ
mas dinner in the comfortable saloon of the steamer.
In the evening we returned to the Falcon once more
to renew our duties. Throughout the night the sea
was smooth, and aU went well.
On the morning of the 26th of December we
perceived the loom of land on our starboard side, the
coast of Uruguay. On nearing it we were enabled
to discern what manner of country this was that
we had now reached. The climate, the colour of
the clear sky, and the aspect of the vegetation
showed us that we had indeed left the tropics.
Very different aU appeared after torrid Rio, one
thousand miles to the northward. It was a low
shore with sandy dunes and hills of no great alti-

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 83
tude in the background; a desert-looking country
where thistles and aloes seemed especially to thrive.
Of iU-repute too is all this wUd coast from here to
the Brazilian frontier, and a terror to mariners.
The currents of the ocean hereabouts are powerful
and inconstant. There are few landmarks, and
disasters to vessels are frequent. On the shore
among the surf one can perceive the skeletons of
many ill-fated ships, as one coasts along the dreary
sand-banks. And woe betide the mariners who are
wrecked on this inhospitable land ; for the only
inhabitants of it are wild gauchos, professional and
skilful wreckers when not employed in the almost as
lucrative pursuit of pillaging and ravaging aU over
their native country under the banner of one or the
other of those rival guerilla chieftains who are ever
contesting who shall next be the chief magistrate
and arch-robber of poor revolutionary Uruguay.
These land sharks are bold in the extreme in
their malpractices, and of course commit all sorts
of atrocities with absolute impunity, for the Govern
ment cannot be troubled with inquiry into such
little peccadUloes as wrecking and piracy. These
brave gauchos must be humoured, or they will join
the other side in politics, and lend their lances to
a rival cut- throat.
At about sunset we were in sight of our port.
As we approached the land, the whole vessel was
enveloped in a dense cloud of dragon-flies, which
completely covered our rigging.
That very common phenomenon in the River
Plate, a mirage, was observable along the whole
coast. All the inland hiUs seemed to have turned
upside down ; and these floated at some_ height
above the plain, midway in a band of lovely pink sky.
We rounded Pt. Este, and sailing inside Lobos
Island, famous for its many seals, entered Maldonado

84 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Bay. This little harbour seemed but little pro
tected, should the wind choose to blow hard from
seaward. It is but a shallow bay surrounded by
sand-banks, with one little island called Goriti,
overgrown with wild asparagus, and inhabited by
rabbits alone, in the centre of it. It was here that
H.M.S. Agamemnon, Nelson's old vessel, was lost.
The town or village of Maldonado is situated a few
miles from the shore and is hidden from it by the
sand-hills. Only a few little houses are to be seen
on the beach at the extremity of the bay. Not a
very prepossessing spot, but Captain Lacy promised
us plenty of sport on shore by the lagunas which lie
beyond the sand-hills.
" Partridges, snipes, teat, geese, &c, are to be
found here in amazing numbers, at times," he said.
Just before sunset we perceived a dismasted
vessel far out to sea, a derelict evidently, for she
had no signals flying. Unfortunately a mist came
on just then, or the Norseman would have steamed
after her and brought her in. A wind arose in
the night that carried her far away before morning.
The Norseman put to sea again the day after our
arrival, and proceeded towards Chuy, as the sub
marine cable required repairing somewhere there
abouts. She did not return for two days. This
time we spent in repairing as much as possible the
damage the coUision had inflicted on us. We
naturally were desirous of going on shore and
having a look at the country, but of course could
not do so until we had received pratique. We waited
twelve hours, and no one came off to us. There was
no sign of life anywhere : there were two small
craft anchored in the bay, but no one was on board
of them ; the shore might be a bit of the central
Sahara for loneliness. Twenty-four hours passed,
and still no one. At last a solitary horseman

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 85
appeared on the summit of a sand-hill and looked
at us. Hope revived in our breasts ; but after
remaining a few seconds only, he galloped away
again. Forty-eight hours passed away, and .we
waxed impatient. We hoisted all manner of signals,
but no one paid the slightest attention to them.
Where were all the Maldonadans ? Had they gone
away revolutionizing ? or, seeing from afar that
imposing brass gun of ours, had they taken the peace
able Falcon for a pirate, and betaken themselves in
terror to the inner wilds ? These two days a south
west wind blew fresh and squally right into the bay,
and brought into it a sea that made us far from
comfortable at our anchorage.
Waxing impatient, I took the collapsible dinghy,
and went off to the desert islet of Goriti to shoot
rabbits. Here I made the acquaintance of the
only inhabitant, a sociable horse, who followed
me about everywhere ; walked on when I walked
on, sat down when I sat down, and standing on the
beach gave me a plaintive farewell neigh when I
ultimately rowed off. Of rabbits I saw no traces
save their habitations. They too, I suppose, had
gone revolutionizing. There were sever?! old
iron cannons lying about on the island, for it was
strongly fortified in the days of the Spanish, when
there was a viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres.
On the third day the Norseman came in again ;
and at last the inhabitants took notice of us, for a
boat came off with a gentleman most gorgeously uni
formed and much sabred, who politely told us that
he was the captain of the port. Hearing we had
come from Rio, he gave us two days' quarantine.
" But," I suggested, " we have already been two
days here."
" Ah I indeed ! " he replied ; " then it is well ;
your quarantine is over,"

86 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
We went on shore, scampered up the sand-hills,
and were surprised, on reaching their summit, to
behold on the other side a wUd but pleasant-
looking country ; an undulating Pampas of grass
and thistles, aloes and cactus, lay between us and
the distant hiUs, diversified with little lakes, bogs,
and sandy wastes. In the foreground was Mal
donado town, a smaU congregation of whitewashed,
flat-roofed houses, with a street or two, in which
it seemed as if no man ever walked. We were
introduced to the aristocracy of the place. First
to a store-keeper, who is also a commandant, or
something of the kind ; next to a portly major-
general in the Uruguayan army, who is also a
butcher ; and to an ex-high-admiral of the Uruguayan
fleet, who is wiUing to pilot us to Montevideo in con
sideration of a small gratuity. Truly a republican
country ! The latter grandee is an ex-admiral at
present because his politics are not those of the
party now in power. For with a change in the
Government of a South American republic every one
goes out of office — admirals, generals, telegraph
clerks, policemen, crossing-sweepers — to make room
for the friends of the new presidents, and the
friends of those friends, and the friends of aU their
sisters, their cousins, and their aunts, and so on.
One rises and faUs pretty rapidly out here — admiral
to-day, ordinary pilot to-morrow.
We stayed two days more in Maldonado Bay, and
had some pleasant rides over the country with the
officers of the Norseman : but I cannot say that we
shot quite so many partridges, snipes, &c, as we an
ticipated. However, we had a very good time of it,
thanks to our friends on the Norseman and on shore.
On December the 31st we got up anchor, and
sailed for Montevideo, which is about seventy miles
from Maldonado. We took the ex-admiral with us

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 87
as pilot ; not that a pilot was really necessary, but
the old gentleman seemed anxious to come with us,
and was very companionable and jovial in disposition.
We were now in the estuary of the Rio de la
Plata, for the limit of the river and the ocean is
held to be a line drawn between Maldonado and
the Cabo San Antonio, 150 miles across. At Mon
tevideo the river is sixty-four miles wide. At
Buenos Ayres, 210 miles higher up than Mal
donado, it is thirty-four miles wide. All this
gigantic estuary is obstructed by shoals and sand
banks ; the depth of water is hardly anywhere
upwards of three fathoms. Luckily the bottom is
generally of soft mud : hence there is little risk
to a vessel that runs ashore unless the weather be
bad. But, unfortunately, bad weather is very
common indeed off the River Plate. It is a region
of storms and extraordinary electric disturbance.
The pampero, the storm- wind from the Pampas, is
frequent, and blows with great violence ; often
being, indeed, a true hurricane in its fury. The
ocean tides do not affect to any great extent the
waters of the River Plate, but strong sea winds
cause it to rise considerably. The water is fresh
almost as far as Montevideo, where, indeed, it is
occasionally drunk on the vessels in the roads, so
slightly brackish it is. A desolate waste of choppy,
muddy waves, flowing between dark mud-banks,
with here and there little floating islands of lilies,
and trees drifting seawards from the great rivers
of the interior ; such is the mouth of the La Plata,
the widest river of the world ; and the one which,
with the exception of the Amazon, discharges the
greatest volume of water into the ocean.
At daybreak on the 1st of January we were in
sight of Montevideo. From afar off we observed
that there were many men-of-war of different

88 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
nations and sizes in the harbour and in the roads
— some twenty, at least. Furthest to seaward of
all we perceived a British squadron of five huge
vessels at anchor. These we soon recognized as
the Bacchante and the four other men-of-war com
posing the flying squadrons now bound on a voyage
round the world with the two sons of the Prince of
Wales. Montevideo presents a very pleasing ap
pearance from the sea, looking very much like an
Eastern city with its whitewashed, low, flat-roofed
houses. Like an Eastern city, it looked very clean
and bright from a distance. We afterwards found
that, unlike an Eastern city, it proved as clean and
bright on closer inspection.
We came to an anchor weU up the little bay
which answers as an apology for a harbour here —
a very poor harbour in bad weather, as we after
wards found — and hoisted the yellow flag for the
health officer. When that functionary came off,
he expressed great dissatisfaction at the conduct of
his colleague in Maldonado.
" Two days' quarantine is insufficient for a vessel
coming from Rio ; you must sail to Flores, and pass
three more days off that island before I can permit
you to land here."
But now a steam launch, with some other gor
geous officer, came off ; and hearing how matters
stood, took our part, and argued that in the case
of so small a vessel, with so few men on board, it
was hardly necessary to inflict the full allowance of
quarantine. After some parley the first doctor gave
in, and we were granted pratique, to our great
delight, for three days off Flores was not a pleasant
prospeqt. Montevideo was having a good time of it
with all these men-of-war in the roads, no fewer than
nine of which were British. BuU-fights, masked-
balls, hells.- and other dissipations were not wanting

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 89
to relieve the mariner of his hard-earned cash. They
told me that there were frequently 5000 men-of-
war's men and marines on shore at a time.
A walk through the streets and squares of the
capital of Uruguay soon showed us how very dif
ferent were these people that we were now among
from the Brazilians in every respect. No two
cities could be less alike than these two capitals of
neighbouring states. Not here the lofty houses of
Rio, but clean streets of one-storied glaring white
houses, built in the style of a Pompeian dwelling.
A square,, flat-roofed building, with an open court
yard, or patio, in the centre, on to which all the
rooms open ; a fountain and a flowerrgarden in the
patio ; towards the street the windows, if any, smaU
and heavily barred with iron — such is the residence
of a South American Spaniard, a retiring sort of a
dwelling, shutting itself jealously from the outer
world with a Mussulman-like love of seclusion.
The populace, too, how different from that of a
Brazilian city ! No negroes here, and no ugly-
looking Portuguese ; but handsome and dignified
Spaniards, with a good deal of Indian blood in the
veins of the lower orders of them. Cleanest of cities'is
Montevideo, with straight streets cutting each other
at right angles in the American chess-board fashion.
In the evening of New Year's Day we visited
the fine Plaza de l'lndependencia, where an excel
lent military band was playing. Here we were
enabled to study the different orders of the popu
lace.- The ladies floated by with stately Spanish
walk, looking well in their black silk dresses and
mantillas ; but why will every South American
lady so besmear her face with powder, however good
her complexion be ? Officers of the army strutted
by in gorgeous uniforms, and with the clash of sabres
on the pavement ; a motley crowd of the lower

90 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
orders loafed about — Basques, Italians, Greeks, and
the native gauchos in their barbaric but becoming
costume. Here was a group of British blue- jackets
slightly overcome by cana. The native soldiers
were everywhere, dressed in their hideous parody
of Zouave uniforms. And here were two of the
Spanish bull-fighters in their picturesque off-duty
dress and pigtails ; smart, wiry, neat-cut fellows
they were, and rather foppish in their general get
up. The young native swells hung round them
admiringly, were proud of their acquaintance, were
delighted when allowed to sit at the same table as
the matador at a cafe and treat him to champagne
— in short, courted them and made much of them,
much in the same way as English gentlemen did
prize-fighters not so long back, and the young
Roman patrician the crack gladiators of his day
when he wanted to be considered as a fast man
about town. CHAPTER VII.
The climate of the River Plate is exceedingly
changeable and trying. The day we came in it
was quite cold. The day before the thermometer
registered 1020 in the shade. When the south
wind blows from over the cold Antarctic seas the
weather is bracmg and cool. But with the north
wind coming as it does from over thou^ds of
leagues of parched Pampas and tropical jungles,
the atmosphere is hot, dry, and oppressive as that
of North Africa when the khamsin blowsS^
AU skippers that have been unfortunately com
pelled to put into Montevideo for repairs to their
vessels anathematize it ; we were not exceptions to
this rule. A wretched German, who called himself a
ship's carpenter, undertook to repair the damages to

THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON." 91
our stem and bulwarks. He not only made a miser
able job of it, but detained us seventeen days, and
finally presented us with a most exorbitant bill.
Never having been a witness of a bull-fight,
curiosity led me to visit the arena one Sunday. It
was a glorious day — true River Plate weather — that
is, with a cloudless, pale blue and peculiarly clear
sky overhead. The clearness of the atmosphere in
this land of the Pampas is very remarkable, and it
causes the vault of the heavens to appear to be
much farther off and vaster than in other lands. The
stars, too, at night shine with an exceeding brightness.
They seem to be at a far greater distance off
than those over our hemisphere, and one can
see more of them, farther up into the heaven as
it were, so pure is the sky ; stars behind stars,
archipelago behind archipelago of them, to infinity.
On this day a great slaughter of bulls and horses
had been promised to the populace ; so the glaring
white streets that led out of the town to the amphi
theatre were thronged with the thousands of
pleasure-seekers who were on their Way to the cruel
games. It was like the road to the Derby without
the rowdyism. In carriages, trams, and on foot the
crowds poured on, while over the balconies of the
houses leaned the pretty Montevidean girls, fanning,
and laughing, and flirting as they looked down on
the human flood. We entered a tram-car — for of
course, being a South American city, Montevideo
has scarce a street down which the tramway-rails
are not laid—and drove some miles through the
pretty suburbs of the town, where nestling in lovely
gardens are gaudy viUas of pseudo-classic and Italian
style, generaUy painted outside in delicate tints of
pink, yeUow, and blue, which suits the climate
well enough. At last we reached the amphi
theatre, gay with the flags of Uruguay and Spain.

92 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
We paid our dollar and a half for a sombra seat
— that is, one on the shady side — and entered the
huge structure. It was just the Roman amphi
theatre over again. Uncovered to the blue sky
was the great circus, with the flights of bare stone
steps sloping down to the arena, on which the
common spectators sat. And there, too, was one
scarlet-draped box, in the which sat a bloated
grandee in bright uniform and much be-medalled —
president or great minister, I know not which,
with his sycophants around him ; just as bloated
emperor or consul sat in his purple-draped box long
ago, under as blue Italian skies, while beneath him
the gladiators fought to the death, or Christians
fed famishing lions. And no wit less brutaUy
savage was the spectacle, and no less cruel and
ready with the " pollice verso" were the spectators
on this fine Sunday afternoon, in this civilized city
of Montevideo, in the year of grace 1880, than in
the Roman circus of 2000 years ago.. There was a
very fuU house, and there was no small number
of our ruddy blue-jackets and marines among the
sallow Spaniards. I was pleased to see that, con
trary to my expectations, only two women were
present, and these were foreigners, and evidently
members of the demi-monde. Constant communion
with strangers has possibly softened the manners
of the women of this branch of the Spanish race ;
for it is certainly not the thing in Montevideo for a
lady to assist at a buU-fight. But on the other hand,
there were a great many young children of both
sexes present that had been brought hither by
their fathers, and the bloodthirsty little dears enjoyed
themselves amazingly.
I had never seen a buU-fight before, and in my
ignorance imagined that there might be something
more in it than mere cruel brutality — some good

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 93
sport or display of skUl. I do not know that such
may not be the case in Spain, but in Montevideo
this amusement is merely the ordinary business of
an abattoir glorified by music and gay costumes,
and a strong spice of unnecessary cruelty. Danger
to those engaged in the fight is reduced to a mini
mum. After waiting about half an hour there
arose a martial fanfare of trumpets, a door opened,
and there galloped forth a picturesque procession.
First rode the proprietor in his black velvet dress,
mounted on a fine coal-black horse, then came the
toreadors, picadors, and matadors in the gaudy
and beautiful costumes peculiar to their respective
duties ; and lastly came four horses drawing a yoke :
this to drag out the carcases of buUs and horses
that were to be massacred during the games.
Three times, to the lively strains of the band,
this procession galloped round the arena, and then
went out again ; the door closed, and there were
left alone in the centre two picadors on their horses,
each with his long lance, and a group of footmen
with scarlet cloaks over their arms, and the cruel
httle darts in their hands. Then came a suspense
and a pause in the chatter from the stone steps for
a few moments, and quickly another door opened,
and out rushed, head down, a savage little bull of
the Pampas, who made it pretty lively for every
one for a short time. But between his wild rush
ing hither and thither, the being dazed by the
scarlet cloaks that were thrown across his head,
the loss of blood from lance wounds, and the eight
little darts that were sticking in his flanks, the
poor beast after a few minutes became weak and
showed disinclination to continue the unequal
combat. But this was not what was intended by
his cowardly foes — he must kiU a horse or two ere
he be permitted to gasp out his life on the blood-

94 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
stained sand of the arena and be at peace — the
people wanted the smeU of more gore, and the
pleasant spectacle of prolonged dying agonies
before they could let him go. It was now the duty
of the picador to place the horse on which he was
riding across the path of the bull as much as pos
sible, and no longer to avoid him. It was a disgusting
spectacle. The picador himself, with his legs thickly
padded with lead and cloth, could suffer no injury
from the animal's horns — while his wretched horse
had bandages over his eyes, that he might not
perceive the infuriated bull that charged him, take
alarm and run away. Neither horse nor bull was
quite up to the scratch, for the former heard and
trembled though he could not see, and the latter
was now weak and faint. So we enjoyed the
elevating spectacle of attendants whipping up the
poor horse, and others stabbing and torturing the
dying buU into one last infuriated charge. Mad
dened by his tormentors, at last he did charge ; the
picador kept his horse broadside on to the attack,
and loud cheers of bravo, toro ! saluted the bull as
he ran his horns into the beUy of the poor animal,
that then rushed wildly away, almost unseating
his rider in his agonized plunges, with his bowels
dragging over the ground as he went. The buU had
yet the horse of the other picador to disembowl,
or blind, or tear asunder in some other way, before
his turn came to die. He lay crouching in a corner,
with the blood pouring out of his nostrils with every
heavy gasp ; stiU at bay though, and ready to
stagger to his feet and defend himself on the ap
proach of an enemy, only to faU again with half
his life gone out with exertion. Then came up
the matador, with scarlet cloak on the left arm,
and rapier in the right hand. He came deliber
ately up to the bull, and after a little dodging deftly

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 95
run the long steel into his brain, and the poor beast
was free at last. The work of the matador is the
most merciful to the buU, and the most dangerous
to the man, of the whole performance ; for when
the bull, as often happens, has stiU a good deal
of hfe left in him, the slightest divergence in the
rapier-thrust might be fatal to the unskilful swords
man. Seven bulls were tortured and slain this
fine Sunday afternoon, and some fourteen horses,
tUJ the white sand was red and reeking with the
blood and entrails of the poor beasts. When a
horse was not kiUed outright by a bull — only dis
embowelled, or with shoulder ripped up, or the
like — he was taken out, doctored and patched up,
his wounds sewn up and plastered over to stay the
flow of blood, and then he was brought on again
half an hour afterwards, weak and staggering, to face
and be ultimately killed by another buU.
During the course of the afternoon, one incident
gave great pleasure to the spectators. A savage
httle yeUow buU charged with such fury that he
tossed a horse and picador clear into the air. The
man feU, half-stunned, with the horse on the top
of his legs. The buU then stood over them and
commenced to deliberately gore his prostrate enemies
to death. It was a splendid sport for the people,
and a loud cry of bravo, toro ! bravo, toro ! went up ;
no horror, no sympathy for the wretched man was
expressed on any face of that large crowd of Span
iards — merely fiendish delight in the horrible scene.
The people stood up and shrieked with frantic joy,
and laughed to see the cruel horns bury themselves
in the soft flesh. The picador was not killed, for'
his comrades diverted the buU, and rescued him.
I am sure that many of the spectators looked on this
as very unfair — they had been defrauded of the best
part of their entertainment — how exciting to have

96 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
seen a man slowly gored into shreds ! Brutal our
prize-ring was, no doubt ; but what can be said
of this torturing of the noblest of dumb animals,
that I have attempted to describe as I saw it
myself this day ?
Throughout our stay at Montevideo the weather
was abominable. Violent squalls occurred daily,
and it blew a gale of wind three days out of four
— an exceptional state of things in midsummer.
We roUed and pitched so much at our anchorage
in this unprotected port, that the carpenter Was
unable for ten days at a stretch to get his stage
alongside, in order to fit on our new stem-post.
Indeed, we were occasionaUy running our bows
right under in the short, nasty seas. Nor was he
able to effect the repairs on deck during this time,
for the wretched fellow got sea-sick as soon as he
stepped on board of us. Thus it was not until the
20th of January that we got all straight again.
On the 21st of January we weighed anchor at noon,
and proceeded out of the harbour under aU plain
canvas to sail to Buenos Ayres. It is customary
for strangers to take a pilot from Montevideo to
Buenos Ayres, but we did not consider this neces
sary in the case of a smaU vessel like ours. There
was a fresh E.S.E. wind blowing, so that we were
enabled to set our spinnaker, and kept up an average
speed of seven knots throughout the voyage. At
ten p.m. we made the Chico light-ship, and then,
keeping the lead constantly going, sailed over the flats
in about three fathoms of water, until, at seven a.m.
on the morrow, we reached the guard-ship, which
is moored about twelve miles or so from Buenos
Ayres. From here we could see the long line of the
houses of the city and the vessel in the inner roads.
We hove-to off the guard-ship in order to await
the doctor's boat and obtain pratique before sailing

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 97
into the town. Many large vessels were at anchor
around us, roUing heavily in the rough pea-soup-
coloured water, for no vessel of considerable draught
can approach nearer to the shore than this ; indeed,
none of our big men-of-war could come anywhere
near Argentine Waters. The royal mail steamers
have been known to ground even so far out as these
outer roads, as they are caUed. For where the
vast plains of the Pampas terminate in the sea, so
gradual is the incline that it is reaUy difficult to
say where sea begins and land ends. The gnarled
mangroves grow far out into the water from the
swampy shores. So flat are these alluvial plains that
a rise of one foot of water only wiU overflow the
land mfies inland in many places.
At ten we received pratique, and proceeded
towards the city. As we sailed in, the water very
graduaUy shoaled untU we reached the inner roads
where lay a large number of vessels whose' lighter
draught enabled them to come thus far in. We
proceeded stiU farther, and came to an anchor in
fourteen feet of water off the Catalina Mole in the
midst of a crowd of lighters, shaUow coasting
schooners, river steamers, and other smaU craft ;
stiU, however, a considerable distance from the
shore. We got into our dinghy and proceeded
to saU towards the end of the pier. So shaUow
became the water long ere we reached it, that
even our little boat bumped continuaUy against
the bottom. For half a mile or more we saUed
through a large fleet of carts and horses ; for in
this extraordinary port of Buenos Ayres mer
chandise has to be transhipped three times between
the' vessel, fourteen miles out in the outer roads,
and the railway trucks on shore — from vessel to
lighter, from lighter to carts drawn by amphibious
horses, and so to the railway. This port, if it
4

98 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
can be called such, of Buenos Ayres is a very
unpleasant place to lay in, whether one be in the
outer, inner, or smaU craft roads. For this coast
is quite open to the Atlantic on the south-east, and
when the wind blows hard from anywhere near that
quarter a very short, dangerous sea soon rises on
these shallow waters. The Argentine Republic is
very unfortunate in the matter of its ports ; save
far south, in Patagonia, where there is little if
any commerce, there is no harbour worthy of the
name. Just to the south of the city of Buenos
Ayres a small river runs into the sea — the Riachuelo.
This has been dredged sufficiently to admit smaU
craft. It is the head-quarters of the ItaUan river
schooners, which are here built and fitted out.
A large town has now sprung up around this port —
the Boca, inhabited almost exclusively by Italians
and Greeks, a rather cut-throat place by reputation.
North of Buenos Ayres, and some ten miles from
it, is another river, the Lujan, one of the many
channels of the intricate delta of the River Plate.
Near one of its mouths is the little town of San
Fernando. Here the Argentine Government has
constructed docks, and here are the naval stores
and workshops. It is a sort of Argentine Chatham ;
but unfortunately the entrance of the river is im
peded, like aU others hereabouts, by a bar, and there
are times when the water is so low that a vessel draw
ing only eight feet has to wait weeks before it can
cross it. Oncewithin the river there is plentyof water.
To lie off Buenos Ayres was, of course, impossible,
so we had to choose between these two harbours
for the Falcon during our stay here. We decided
on the latter, or rather on the River Tigre, which is
a branch of the Lujan. On its banks, and close to
the Tigre railway-station, is the boat-house of the
English rowing club. Our friends recommended

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 99
us to drop our anchor close to it, as being a quiet
spot where we would be unmolested, and where
we would have the advantages of trains running
into the city at short intervals.
We lay at anchor off the Catafina Mole during
the night, tossing about very uncomfortably in the
short seas. On the morrow, the 23rd of January,
we weighed anchor at one p.m., and proceeded in
charge of a pilot to the River Tigre. A fresh wind
was blowing from the E. by S., and we sailed rapidly
along the low coasts. The pilot kept the lead con
stantly going. As we approached the mouth of the
Lujan the water gradually shoaled, for here the
alluvial matter brought down by the many rivers
of the delta have formed a great bank known as Las
Palmas, that stretches far out to sea. From two
fathoms we shoaled to ten feet, then to nine, then to
eight. The pilot looked anxious.
" How much did you say you were drawing ? "
he asked.
" Seven feet six inches," was the reply.
" WeU, we may do it. We'll hit the channel soon,
and be in deep water. Besides the mud is soft here,
we can drive her through it."
Another cast of the lead showed us we were in
seven feet of water. Bump, bump, the vessel went,
as she sailed over the mud, before half a gale of
wind, with aU canvas set.
" We shaU be in deep water soon," said the pilot ;
"but the river is precious low; there should be
more than eight feet here by rights."
Another cast of the lead indicated a depth of only
six feet, and the Falcon, after vainly attempting
to force her way a little further, stuck firmly, to, the
great disgust of the pilot, who seemed to be sur
prised that a vessel drawing nearly eight feet of water
could not sail where there was a depth of six.

ioo THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
We quickly lowered all the canvas on deck, while
Jerdein who had promised himself a pleasant even
ing in town with some old friends, admonished that
unhappy pilot with his usual eloquence. There was no
particularly pleasant evening for any one that night.
We got two anchors down, and proceeded to wait
until some sea-wind, or flood, or other phenomenon,
should cause the waters to rise, an event which might
be in an hour or in a month, as far as we could tell,
and the pilot could not enlighten us. The water was
still going down, for in three hours after we struck
we found that there was a depth of only five feet
round us. The wind now freshened considerably,
and howled and whistled through our rigging.
It was a weird and melancholy scene from the
Falcon's deck. A few miles to the port hand was the
low leaden-coloured shore of mud, a leaden sky was
above, and the choppy seas of dirty water that were
around us were of still more dismal a shade. To
wards evening the rain commenced to fall heavily,
and the wind increased tiU it blew a gale from the
south-east. This made matters look rather serious for
us, for this coast is a lee-shore to this wind, which
blows straight from the Atlantic. The seas became
higher and higher, and occasionally washed over us,
and had we bumped about throughout the night in
the manner we did at first, the Falcon, strong though
she be, might possibly have broken up. But this
south-east wind, blowing straight into the estuary
from seawards, is the wind of all others to cause
the waters of the Plate to rise rapidly, for it stops
the currents from proceeding out to the ocean, and
drives them back towards the delta. In about an
hour the water had risen upwards of two feet, and we
were afloat once more, riding safe to our two anchors,
only striking the bottom with our keel at long inter
vals, after some higher wave than usual had passed by.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 101
We remained at anchor during the night, rolling
about very heavily ; but we had good holding ground
under us, and good ground tackle to hold on by, else
we should have felt more anxious than we did, riding
out a gale of wind on this lee-shore. In fact we
got off very weU considering everything, and much
better than some others did, for we afterwards found
that two schooners had been driven ashore at Buenos
Ayres that night, and broken up. At daybreak the
wind moderated and came round from the north
east, while the water commenced to fall again.
We weighed anchor, and proceeded to cross the bank
towards a buoy that marks the entrance of the channel
— not without touching the ground occasionally. At
last we found ourselves in deep water once more,
and sailed into the Lujan, which we found to be a
narrow river, with low banks overgrown with forests
of willows. After ascending the stream for about
two miles we reached the junction of the Tigre and the
Lujan, and proceeded up the former river a few
hundred yards till we reached the rowing-club
house. We brought up alongside the bank, put
out an anchor ahead, and one astern, and took a
warp to a tree on shore.
On looking around us we were very contented
with our new berth. It was the snuggest that the
old Falcon had known for a very long time. The
banks of the river were thickly grown with graceful
willows and other trees, while handsome villas were
scattered here and there, with beautiful gardens
of sub-tropical shrubs and flowers stretching from
them to the water's edge. The captain of the port
of the Tigre came off to us, inspected our papers,
and gave us pratique, so we were free to take train
into Buenos Ayres. On landing and looking around
us we found that we were in a very different sort of
country from any we had yet visited. This delta

102 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
of the Parana is one vast flat jungle, scarcely raised
two feet above the level of the water, and inter
sected by innumerable creeks and channels, that
flow sluggishly between islands of every size, only a
few of which are inhabited, or for the matter of that
have even ever been trodden by the foot of man.
The richest portion of this mosquito-infested laby
rinth, and the most thickly peopled, is in the neigh
bourhood of the Tigre. This indeed is a beautiful
region, called the Venetia of South America. Here
the many islands are covered with a prodigal natural
vegetation and very forests of peach-trees, for the fat
alluvial soil is as rich as that of the Nile banks,
and the river is continually overflowing it to leave
fresh deposits.
French and Italian immigrants possess many of these
islands, and cultivate on them miUions of peaches
and splendid vegetables of aU kinds. Very pleasant
little farms these are. Each family has a little island
to itself, surrounded by narrow creeks — a secluded
little paradise among the drooping willows. The
house is built invariably on piles, so as to be above the
level of the waters in time of flood. The most lovely
roses and other flowers grow luxuriantly around the
homestead. The only means of communication
is by water, and every morning can be seen canoe
after canoe laden with fruit and flowers floating
slowly down the wiUow-shaded canals to market,
the light-hearted owner singing merrily as he stands
up in the stern propeUing his little craft with one long
oar, as they do in the Venetian gondolas.
There is a peculiar dream-like beauty about this
enchanted region that strikes all visitors to La
Plata. The citizens of Buenos Ayres are very proud
and fond of the Tigre. Its banks are a favourite re
sort on Sunday, and many a pleasant picnic party and
fete champetre enlivens the isles in the summer days.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 103
Before any one decides to purchase land and
settle among the channels of the delta, he should
first consider one or two rather serious drawbacks.
In the first place, the mosquitoes are terrible ; in the
second place, real property hereabouts is by no
means an " immovable." These islands and creeks
are ever changing. If you buy an island one year,
it may have grown to double its original size by the
next, or it may have disappeared altogether ; where
houses once stood, deep waters now roll ; and on
the other hand, the peach-trees grow thickly where
the river schooners were wont to sail a few years
back. CHAPTER VIII.
And now, my readers, I am going to take you with
me far away from the salt seas, not to return to them
again until you have followed me over many thou
sands of miles of inland travel extending over nine
months of time. For the Falcon was now to sail up
the great fresh-water rivers to the central wilder
nesses of the continent, where no yacht had ever been
before ; and again she was to be left for months at
anchor, whfle her crew changed their sailor life for
that of the gaucho, and rode across the great Pampas,
through the arid montes of St. Iago, to the great
Cordilleras and tropical forests of Tucuman.
A few months before our arrival, Buenos Ayres had
passed through one of these periodical revolutions,
without which no South American Republic is long
happy. The bumptiousness of the province of
Buenos Ayres provoked the contest ; for the Portenos,
as the Buenos Ayreans term themselves, wished to
raise by force their own man to the office of President
in despite of the votes of the other thirteen provinces.
These revolutions are a great nuisance to the

104 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
estancieros (cattle-farmers) in the camps ; for while
they last the country is overrun by irregular troops
and marauding gauchos, who requisition and rob in
a most promiscuous fashion. Robbery is after aU the
whole object of these civil discords ; the two parties
fight their little game out, and the winner enjoys
the monopoly of swindling the nation for the term
of the presidential office ; bloodshed is avoided as
much as possible. This time, however, one serious
engagement was fought in Buenos Ayres ; for
the rival armies met by accident, and about 2,000
of the Buenos Ayreans were slain by the wild Indians
and half-breeds of the provincial army. This battle,
so they say, was entirely due to bad generalship,
for aU the rival forces desired was to keep apart
and plunder in different directions. Unfortunately,
it came to pass that the two armies came across
each other, and were plundering at the same time
in the same locality. It was exceedingly awkward.
They could not very Well wink at each other and
continue to plunder on different sides of the street.
They could not ignore and cut each other dead, so were
obliged, if only as a matter of form, to do a bit of
fighting. I suppose they got warmed up when they
once commenced, for it was a serious business as long
as it lasted, and the butcher's bill was longer than the
Government Uked to confess afterwards.
We loafed about Buenos Ayres until we were bored ;
were " welcomed on Change " — Anglo-Port enos will
know what that means ; visited several estancias
in the southern camps and elsewhere, acquiring an
insight into the unnecessarily brutal way in which
horses are broken in and cattle worked in this part
of the globe ; were interested in the ostrich farms,
which promise to be as remunerative here as in
South Africa ; and then considered Whither we
should next go.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 105
Our chief object in coming out to this part of the
World was to ascend some of the tributaries of the
great La Plata, as far as was possible in the yacht ;
for from all we had heard and read, such a voyage
would not fail to repay us with the enjoyment of
strange and marvellous scenery and splendid sport ;
nor were we altogether disappointed in our expec
tations. But for the present the river voyage was not to be
thought of. It was now midsummer, and even as far
south as Buenos Ayres — by the shores, too, of the
refreshing sea — the thermometer did not rarely
indicate ioo° in the shade. Those at Buenos Ayres
who knew the Parana and Paraguay, advised us to
postpone our cruise tiU the winter, and drew alarming
pictures for us of the intolerable torment of the
mosquitoes, that would render our life a misery to
us on the inland waters at this season.
We therefore determined to leave the Falcon at her
safe moorings in the Tigre in charge of the boy, pur
chase a horse each, and undertake an expedition into
the interior of the continent of about two months'
duration. Our plans were rather vague when we left
the capital, but Cordoba, the ancient Jesuit city in the
heart of the Republic, was to be our immediate des
tination ; and Rosario, the second city of this country
and 280 miles higher up the river than Buenos Ayres,
our starting-point. From Cordoba we would journey
either to the tropical provinces to the north, or west
ward to the Andes, as we might consider best.
Jerdein, Arnaud, and myself met at the Estacion
Centrale one delicious February morning. Our
luggage was simple and business-like ; each took
with him a saddle, saddle-bags containing spare
flannel shirts, &c, top-boots, a blanket, a revolver,
a poncho, and a wide native belt of carpincho hide ;
while a broad-brimmed felt hat was on each head.
\a

106 THE CRUISE OF THE ** FALCON."
After a three hours' journey in the comfortable
American cars of the Campana Railway Company,
across treeless, dustyplainsof pasturewhosemonotony
the rare agave and cactus alone relieved, we reached
Campana, a small port on one of the many channels
of the great delta of the La Plata. This is the
terminus of the railway, and here we had to embark
on David Bruce and Co.'s steamer Provedor. These
steamers run between Campana and Rosario.adistance
of about 200 miles, thus connecting Buenos Ayres
with the Central Argentine Trunk Railway, whose
southern terminus is at Rosario. We were enabled
to form a good idea of what was in store for the
good ship Falcon, from what we saw on this short
voyage up the great Parana. We steamed all that
afternoon and throughout the night up a broad
stream of muddy water, winding across an alluvial
plain flat as a pancake. This stream was broad and
deep, as a huge river should be, and yet this was
but one minor branch of this tremendous watercourse,
which, with its sister the Amazon, drains the huge
southern continent ; and whose head-waters are in
the unexplored tropical forests and savannahs, in
close promixity to those of that other mighty river.
The Paraguay, the Parana, the Uruguay, and a
dozen other mighty streams pour their waters into
the common estuary of the Rio de la Plata, and it
is estimated that the volume of water brought down
hourly by this river exceeds that of all the rivers in
Europe put together. As we steamed up we could
perceive the mainland on either side of us, for
this was but a comparatively narrow channel be
tween two huge islands. And what a strange
country was this intricate network of island and
channel. On our starboard hand, for instance, the
mainland was thirty miles away ; between us
and that were islands numberless, rising not more

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON. 107
than two feet or so above the average level of the
water — an unknown wilderness of swamp and
jungle, uninhabited save in rare spots by the shores
of the more commonly navigated channels. The
islands are thickly overgrown with a rank and
ever-verdant vegetation. Willows, great reeds, the
gnarled seibo-tree, with its bright green leaves and
scarlet blossoms ; strange bushes, all interwoven with
rich convolvuh, render these wilds impassable save
to the Carpincho or river-hog, the tiger, and the lion
(as the natives caU the jaguar and the puma),
and deadly snakes of resplendent colour.
Near Rosario, the islands are frequently inhabited.
Enterprising foreigners cultivate rice successfully
on some of them, and on others, as I read from the
Buenos Ayres Standard, certain not desirable people
are to be found : gauchos, who have given up the
horse to take to the canoe — a lawless set, who make
frequent raids on the estancias of the mainland,
fishermen by profession, but pirates and banditti
by practice. For those good old-fashioned ruffians,
the buccaneers, are by no means extinct on the tribu
taries of La Plata. There are districts on the banks
of the Parana, for instance, near Corrientes, a thou
sand miles from the sea, that have acquired a very
evil reputation ; cut-throat crews have often come
out in canoes from the secluded riachos of the Chaco,
seized and plundered the passing Italian trading-
schooners, and murdered the men. Most of these
trading-schooners now carry a small cannon in
addition to their muskets. The Falcon, though
much smaller than any of these vessels, would, I
think, be quite as capable as any of them of resisting
the pirates successfully, for we are incomparably
better off as regards arms.
On the following morning we found that we had
reached the main stream of the Parana. On our

108 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
port hand was the mainland, on our starboard a
string of islands about three miles away. The
river itself is still very wide, for the Entre Rios shore
is quite forty miles off, an unexplored wilderness of
shallow streams and long, green isles intervening.
There is now a considerable navigation on the
Parana. Vessels from North America and Europe
load with hides, bones, and alfalfa (a sort of lucerne)
at the quays of Rosario ; but the navigation above
this is almost exclusively in the hands of the Italians.
Their vessels are handsome schooners of little draught,
but great beam, with enormous spread of canvas,
and great square top-sails high aloft to catch the
wind above the trees. The running-gear is generaUy
of plaited hide, a very excellent substitute for rope.
They go up against the stream, laden with wines and
European produce, even as far as the centre of the
Brazilian province of Matagrosso, about 2,400 miles
from the sea — the voyage there and back occupying
about a year. They return to Buenos Ayres, and
Montevideo with cargoes of cedar and valuable
hard woods from the virgin forests of the Chaco, of
oranges from Paraguay and other produce of those
rich but little cultivated countries.
At last we came to an anchor off Rosario, the
second city of the Republic, stretching along the
banks of a river which even here, so many hundreds
of miles from the sea, is so broad that from a ship's
deck the horizon between the many islands is of water,
the farther coasts being invisible. Such are the sea-
like expanses that stretch between isle and isle. Mr.
Keenan, the popular host of the English hotel at
Rosario, soon made us at home in his comfortable
hotel. He already knew us by reputation, having
read about our wanderings in the papers.
If you study any old atlas, and not so very old
either, you will not be able to discover such a place

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 109
as Rosario on the map of South America, yet you will
most probably see Santa Fe, its neighbour, marked
in prominent letters, though this is but a little village
to the first named large and wealthy city. For Rosario
is one of those mushroom cities that rise so rapidly
in this new Western world. Its prosperity is of
yesterday ; it is bran-new — painfully new from an
artistic point of view ; a money-making, tramway ed,
prosperous place, that has doubled its population in
ten years, and will, in all probability, double it again
in another ten years ; for it cannot but always be a
most important place, being as it is the terminus of
those great railways that will in time open out all
the rich regions between the Bolivian forests and
the Pampas, the Pacific and the Atlantic. Now that
the influx of foreigners into the Argentine Re
public is augmenting so amazingly, and revolution
is waxing feebler and feebler before it, who can fore
see limits to the increase of the commercial enter
prise and wealth of these wonderful countries ? Even
now the produce that lies on the quays of Rosario
ready to be put on board ship will give us an insight
into what is yet to be. There are the sugars — the
valuable cabinet woods of Tucuman — the hides and
beef from the estancias of the Pampas- — wines from
the eastern slopesof the Andes, the vintageof Mendoza
and San Juan ; minerals, too, from the Cordilleras,
and from the Sierras of Cordoba, where gold and silver
and copper abound, and only await the adventurous
miner. There is but little to say about these modern
Spanish South American cities. They are very
uninteresting. In describing one you describe all.
The same straight streets drawn at right angles to
each other, with the dismal one-storied, flat-roofed
houses. Tramways everywhere. A square or two.
A cleanly, prosperous look about the whole, inhabi-

no THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
tants included. Here yOu have everything. This
chessboard-like, block system of laying out cities
produces one effect that eminently strikes the
stranger. In any of these long, straight streets one
has an uninterrupted view right through the town.
At Buenos Ayres, and more especially at Montevideo,
the sea terminates the view as a rule. Here it is the
Pampas. If you stand in the centre of Rosario
where any two streets cross, and look up and down
them, you will see that each abruptly terminates far
off in a sort of mist, for no straggling suburbs sur
round the town. At the end of each street is the desert.
The mist you perceive is the dust of the immense
plain that commences at the verge of the city and
stretches unbroken for a thousand leagues. The
suddenness of the exit from the thickly thronged
street into the roadless wilds is very remarkable
in many of these cities, and is doubtless a relic of
the old days when Indian raids were frequent, and
the first few founders of the pueblo crowded their
habitations together for mutual protection, and
surrounded them with a common stockade. It
is indeed a marvellous contrast ; a wilderness un
titled, inhabited by wild half-breeds clad in a barbaric
costume, coming up to the very streets of cities,
where every article of European civilization is to be
found, and whose citizens are delicate in their fives
and fastidiously dressed in the height of the latest
Parisian fashion. It is curious to see the gaucho
from the Pampas strolling through the busy streets,
so out of place with his striped poncho, his laced
drawers, and his hide belt ornamented with coins.
He does not evince any interest or curiosity, but from
his looks evidently hates and despises towns and
their pale inhabitants. Life in the saddle, on the
Pampas or in the Monte (bush), is the only fife he
knows or cares for. Horse-stealing and cattle-

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." in
lifting, in his opinion, are the only pursuits worthy
of a man.
One more day we pottered about the glaring hot
city and its environs. In the morning we visited
an ostrich farm on the river-bank; in the even
ing attended a public ball. For the carnival was
approaching, and South Americans, only requiring
an excuse to commence their favourite pastime,
generally open the masked balls weeks before the
orthodox time, so as to get into full swing for that
fearful Terpsichorean orgie which they celebrate
once a year. The Indo-Spanish race, lazy in all else,
is certainly indefatigible in dance. For nights in
succession these people wiU tread unwearied their
graceful native figures with supple limbs. The
head — every limb — indeed the whole being, seems
to be entering into the measure, inspired with a
species of phrensy. At three theatres here there were
public masked balls this night attended by all classes,
from stately white ladies in Parisian costume, to
the simple little copper-coloured chinas with pink
dresses of common stuff and black mantillas,
ever-laughing faces, and perpetually shaking fans.
There are, by-the-bye, some not uncomely faces
among these dusky half-breeds — the Indian blood
producing a much handsomer type than the negro,
when crossed with the Spanish or Portuguese.
Before starting on our expedition we had to ex
change the notes we had brought from Buenos Ayres
for the money cunent up country. Every province
of this republic has a circulation of its own not current
in the other provinces, which accounts for the enor
mous number of money-changers one comes across in
every city. There is a common standard through
out the whole country, called a patacon, which is
about the value of four shillings ; but this patacon
has no real existence.it is a purely imaginary quantity ;

112 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
there is no coin or bank-note which professes to be
one or more patacones, or any fraction of the same ;
but I suppose it serves as a standard whereby to com
pare the variously fluctuating provincial moneys.
In the province of Buenos Ayres gold or silver is
unknown, paper money being the only currency.
The original paper dollar was intended to represent
a Spanish silver dollar or peso ; but between revolu
tion and what not this paper peso graduaUy de
preciated till it reached its present value of about
twopence. This seeming somewhat unsatisfactory
to the sage rulers of the country, they issued another
superior sort of paper dollar which they called
the peso juerte, or hard dollar, to be of the fuU value
of the original four and twopenny silver coin before
mentioned. This is now current in Buenos Ayres
by the side of the twopenny paper dollar, or peso
corriente. But, alas 1 the peso Juerte has also terribly
depreciated by this time ; whether the Govern
ment will issue an extra-juerte, and then when that
goes down a fuertissimo, and so on, is beyond my
power to say.
The Government of Santa Fe, the province in
which we now are, issues a paper dollar of the value
of about three shillings. The Cordoban paper dollar
is worth a little more, and does represent some
fixed value — the silver dollar of Bolivia. In the re
moter and poorer provinces there is no paper money ;
but quaint old silver Bolivian coins, Peruvian
and Chilian dollars, and the like foreign money are
the sole currency. I have said enough to show
how confusing this system is, and how the unfortunate
traveUer must lose in the frequent exchanges while
travelling through this republic. It is rather a
curious fact that in the wealthier republics of South
America metallic currency is quite unknown, while
the poorer countries like Paraguay and Bolivia have

THE CRUISE OF THE "FALCON." 113
nothing else. I suppose the fact is that no one would
have anything to do with the paper of these untrust
worthy states, had they the impudence to issue any.
About seven leagues from Rosario, on the Central
Argentine RaUway, is the small town — I must not
risk offence by calUng it a village— of Carcaraiial.
Hearing that this was a likely place to purchase
horses in, we took train thither on the second
morning after our landing at Rosario. This rail
way is carried in a perfectly straight line, without
curve or gradient, for hundreds of miles across the
Pampas — and strange these vast plains seemed to
us as viewed to-day for the first time from the
windows of the car. We saw an interminable
pasture, roadless, treeless, stretching all around;
here and there a great cattle farm, either unfenced
or surrounded with a wire fence ; vast herds of
sleek cattle and troops of half-wild horses roamed
over the plain. Here and there were partial deserts
of burnt-up earth and sand ; here muddy lagunas ;
while at long intervals, like oases in this treeless
waste, rose smaU isolated, clumps of eucalypti, mark
ing the sites of the estancias. Under the intense
blue sky the horizon seemed to be infinitely far off,
trembling and rolling like the waves of a distant sea
with the mirage, whUe the distant eucalypti were
raised by it, and seemed to be rooted in mid-air.
At Carcaranal we found a httle inn, kept by a
hospitable dame from old Gaul, who made us very
comfortable. A curious little camp-town this :
merely a straight row of clean flat-roofed white one-
storied houses; in front a. lane of smaU acacias,
and all around and beyond, glaring under the cloud
less implacable sky, the arid, plain with its short
dried-up grass; a cloud of dust over aU, dust of
the finest and most penetrating nature, dust that
wUl find its way through aU your clothes to your

114 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
skin in no time, dust that is as bad as an Egyptian
plague, irritating, blinding, pore-closing, parching,
— stay, let us at least give it justice — it did prepare
us to thoroughly enjoy the brimming cups of caiia
and water, flavoured with some delicate essence of
fruit, that our landlady mixed for us. There is use
in everything, even in dust.
A funny collection we were in the little hostelry
after dinner. At one table was our party playing
at euchre in shirt-sleeves ; at another several natives
in camp garb gambling desperately at monte, with
a very greasy pack of cards. In the next room
we could perceive through the open door a merry
wedding-supper party — gringos these, English,
German, French, and Italian colonists. We had
arrived here very opportunely; for as soon as
these people had dined they cleared the room for
a jolly ball, which was energetically kept up all
night to the merry music of a three-tuned barrel-
organ. As is the free and easy fashion of this
country, all strangers were welcome to join them
in their merry-making. Wedding garments were
by no means de rigueur, but it seemed the proper
thing to take off one's coat while dancing.
In the middle of the night we heard in a luU in
the revelry a shouting of many voices in the dis
tance, and then the tread and lowing of numerous
cattle. This turned out to be a vast herd of many
hundred head that was being driven down to Rosario
from some far northern province, where a long
seca had been prevailing, and where aU beasts were
dying for want of water and pasture. As soon as
the peons had rounded in these cattle outside the
town for the night, the head-man and a few others
came in to seek hospitality. Attracted by the
sound of the baile they entered the inn, and were
soon dancing away with the best of us, in despite

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 115
of the fatigue and stiffness of a month in the saddle.
They danced in their camp dress, top-boots, silver
spars, chiripas, poncho and aU, so that one might
almost imagine oneself at a fancy-dress ball at
home, such was the variety of costume.

CHAPTER IX.
Not being able to find what we wanted in the way
of horses at Carcaranal, we again took train to Canada
de Gomez, another camp-town a few leagues higher
up the fine. We found this to be a typical little
camp settlement, the mushroom growth of a few
years — new and prosperous, with an astonishing
amount of civilization, too, considering where it
is. We entered the fonda, or general store where
the camp-man comes down to buy aU he wants,
groceries, powder, and especially cana, I fear.
The proprietor, Schnack, is an old Dutchman, a
saUor, whose long service in British ships accounts
for his perfect knowledge of our tongue. He put
an upper room at our disposal to sleep in. He could
not feed us, only lodge and drink us, he said ; but
there was a restaurant at the railway station oppo
site, so that mattered little.
A wonderfully cosmopolitan continent this South
America is. Having left our Dutchman for the
restaurant over the way, we found the proprietor
of this was an old trench soldier, of the Garde
Imperiale, and a maitre d'escrime. Then we went
to the barber to be shaved, and found that he was
a citizen of Naples : his razors, I imagine, came
out of the torture-chambers of the Inquisition.
This is indeed a very civilized little town. We
not only have our restaurant and our barber,
but also our judge ; also a half-finished church—-

116 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
this the common condition of a camp-town church,
for the priests, after squeezing a certain amount
of dollars from the pious, start building on an over-
ambitious scale, run short of funds, and then comes
a standstill in the work, until the little dribblets
of offerings enable further progress. There is also
a prison here, this being an imposing pair of stocks
considerately placed under the shade of the pretty
cina-cina trees in front of a grog-shop. The court
house where justice is dispensed, and which is also
the residence of the judge, belongs to friend
Schnack. The Government is a bad pay-master,
and our host tells me that after many vain applica
tions for arrears of rent he has been obliged to evict
the poor judge and Mistress Justice to seek a roof
elsewhere. Peaceful and civilized though this little place
appears, the untamed Indian tribes are not so far off.
It is now but twelve years since the Indians made a
raid here, and carried away 10,000 head of cattle,
and many women, for the aboriginal has the good
taste to prefer the white to the dusky beauties of
his own race. But the camps of the white men
have advanced many leagues farther into the
Indian territory since that time, and Canada de
Gomez has little to fear now.
Schnack's was a type of the regular camp-town
store ; loafing about the bar, drinking cana, gin,
and cocktails, was the usual crowd from the camp.
Natives in their picturesque dress, and English
estancieros — these, many of them, in the native
costume also, but mostly in shirt-sleeves, top-boots,
broad felt sombreros, and hide belts with six-
shooters and knives stuck ostentatiously therein.
The Englishman of the province of Santa Fe rather
affects this brigand-like get up ; but I believe there
is good reason for it, as there are no few bad char-

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 117
acters about, and the hand of justice being almost
impotent hereabouts, each one must look out for
himself. When the men standing at the bar heard of our
proposed ride, they of course overwhelmed us with
advice. When in reply to their queries we said that
we thought of riding through Cordoba to Tucuman,
first one, a Yankee, said, —
" Take train from here to Cordoba, and com
mence your ride from there. There is nothing to
interest you between here and that city."
Said another, a Britisher, —
" No ; ride from here to Cordoba ; that wiU be all
very well. To go beyond that wiU be madness ; you
wiU lose yourselves and die of thirst in the Salinas,
salt-deserts where there is no water — salt and cacti
and sun, salt and sun and cacti, nothing more."
Said a third, a native, —
" My advice is, don't go at aU. It is too hot to
ride this time of the year; what pleasure can you
find in galloping through the eternal salt and sun
and cacti that my friend here speaks of ? "
I tried to persuade this last that we were a
scientific expedition, that had been sent hither by
the English Government to inspect sun and salt
and cacti, and send home returns thereon ; but he
would not swaUow this, and set us down as harm
less lunatics.
We were not a little laughed at, too, when we
informed our friends that we intended to accom
plish our journey with one horse each— taking no
remounts. This was pronounced as impossible.
In this land of cheap horseflesh it is the universal
custom to travel with a tropilla—iour or even eight
horses to each man. A mare, the madrina, with
bell tinkling at her neck, is also taken, and aU the
spare horses follow her like sheep do the beU-

118 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
sheep, as she leads the way. It is only necessary
to hobble the madrina when the party encamps
for the night ; the troop of geldings can be left to
graze at will, for these animals wiU not stray far,
but keep near the lady, with an affecting Platonic
tenderness. This method of travelling by tropilla is
certainly by far the fastest. The fashion here is
to go at full gallop, leap from one horse to another,
as they in turn weary, and get over about one
hundred miles a day — the South American caring
little if he lose a few of his animals by the way.
We however preferred our own quieter mode of
travelling, which our experience in other lands
has taught us was certainly possible. One horse
weU looked after wiU carry a man for a journey of
months ; at a very fair pace too.
The result proved that we were right, for we
reached, later on, lands where there was no pasture,
and where hard food for our horses had to be pur
chased at extravagant prices. Had we been travel
ling with thirty instead of four horses we should
have found it rather expensive work.
Many a long yarn was spun this night for our
benefit by our revolvered friends on the dangers
of our way. They told us of the monteneros of
Santiago, who would cut our throats and steal our
horses ; of the salt-deserts, where we would perish
of thirst — deserts in whose midst two tropiUas
have been known to meet and fight to the death for
the little skin of water that was aU left to one
party; of the deadly chuchu, or fever, of the
northern provinces; of jiggers that would bring
mortification to our toes, and the bicho Colorado
that would lay eggs in our legs ; and so on.
About thirty miles from here is the estancia of
Las Rosas, the property of the well-known Mr
Kemiss, whose horned cattle and horses are the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 119
pride of the Plate, an enterprising man who has
introduced blood from England, and whose horses
carry aU before them on the race-courses of South
America. On the morning after our arrival at
Canada de Gomez we procured a trap and two
horses^ and drove up to this estancia. A pleasant
drive it was, too, through the clear exhilarating air
of the plains ; _ beneath our feet were flowers of
every hue, chief among which that commonest
flower of the Pampas, the scarlet verbena. The
grasses hereabouts were long and of various species.
All of them were now capped with plumes of silver
seed, so that on the horizon the white stretches of
it were exactly like the sands of a distant desert.
We followed the tropilla-track to the north, which
consisted merely of the ruts made by the huge
waggons of the caravans that have for ages wended
their slow way by this route. In places which
are apt to be swampy in wet weather, the ruts
become very deep, so that the waggons have to
avoid them and make a slight circuit : thus new
tracks are formed parallel to the old, till in some
softer parts of the country the road is a band of a
thousand ruts, a mile or so in breadth. Such are
aU the roads of the Pampas — roads to the con
struction of which man has contributed no labour.
The pastures we crossed to-day were some of the
richest of this province. Here you have a typical
view of the camp as we saw it when we unharnessed
our horses and aUowed them a rest and a roll at
midday. First, just before us stretched the muddy
tropiUa-track, a dark line through the bright grasses.
Across it lay the huge clumsy walnut wheel of a
broken-down waggon ; the bones of cattie were
frequent, and a little farther off we could see a
crowd of mangy vultures feeding on the carcass
of a horse. At the entrance to the numberless

120 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
bizcacha holes, among the wild pumpkins, sat,
solemnly blinking, the grey owls, generaUy in
twos, sociably. Why, by-the-bye, does the bizcacha
always plant pumpkins and owls at his door ?
Looking farther away we perceived on one side
the silver stretch of a laguna a league or so off,
with many cattle and horses by it — also numerous
plover ; the grass by it not yeUow and partly
burnt as elsewhere, but of a vivid green. Beyond
that, afar off, stretched the unbroken horizon of the
plains, a long line of smoke rising from it in one
place, showing where some leagues of camp were on
fire. Turning round in the other direction we could
perceive some shy gama, the deer of the Pampas,
playing under the shade of a solitary ombu ; beyond
that on the horizon the waving sea of the mirage,
and two tall columns as of a water-spout dark against
the bright sky — two dust-whirls that broke and
vanished as suddenly as they had arisen. A strange
solemn land this lonely Pampas ; stiU, too, save
for the sound of the dry north wind sighing in the
grass. At last we reached the wire fences and passed
through the strong gates on to the lands of the
great breeder of horses, and drove up to the hos
pitable house. A pleasant place this, and possess
ing what is very rare on the Pampas — a garden of
flowers and one of fruit and vegetables. The native
estanciero is far too lazy a man to cultivate these ;
he breeds his cattle in his rough brutal way ; and
yet, though he number them by thousands, butter
and milk are unknown luxuries in his house. He
is content to eat his perpetual asado and puchero
without vegetables or bread or seasoning; alfalfa
and maize being the sole produce he condescends
to raise from his estate.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 121
The locusts had been playing considerable havoc
in Mr. Kemiss' gardens of late : the peach-trees
stood stripped of all leaf and fruit, the stones alone
hanging bare of flesh from the skeleton twigs. The
blue gum-trees and the prickly pears, of which the
hedge round the garden was composed, had alone
resisted the ravages of these destroying swarms.
As the sun set we perceived what is a common
sight enough on the Pampas in summer. All around
the horizon, at five different points, were long bands
of ruddy flame. These camp fires sometimes burn
and smoulder on for months, devouring league after
league of pasture. We had an opportunity of
seeing how these fires are extinguished while we
were in this neighbourhood. The method is one
which will illustrate as much as anything the value
of horseflesh in this country. The peons of the
estate which we were visiting perceived a fresh
fire breaking out on the verge of their master's
lands : immediately they galloped off to it. There
happened to be a troop of mares close by gazing
tranquiUy. In almost less time than it takes to
describe it, two of these were lassoed, thrown on
their backs, killed, and their stomachs ripped right
up with the long knife every native carries ; lassoes
were attached to the legs of the animals, and the
mounted men dragged the bleeding carcasses across
the burning grass— and a very efficacious method
it proved to be, for the conflagration was thus got
under in a few minutes.
On the morrow we borrowed horses from Mr.
Kemiss, and galloped all over the country to see
if any neighbouring estancieros had horses fit for
our expedition to sell us. We rode to the estancia
of Las Tres LagUnas, then to that of Las Lomas,
and that of California — where three brothers
from Central California were trying their fortunes, —

122 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
but all in vain ; save one tropiUa of unbroken young
riscos from the Entre Rios camps we could find
nothing. So the next morning we drove back to Canada de
Gomez in our trap. It was a sultry day, heavy
with storm. When we had about half-completed
our journey the sky became overclouded, and
vivid fork lightning flashed in the distance. The
horses trembled : their instinct evidently told
them what was coming ; for nothing is more tenible
than a storm on the Pampas. AU animals, and man
himself, are struck with terror when they find
themselves overtaken on the unsheltered wilderness
by these terrific tempests. The blast sweeps over
these thousands of leagues of plain with force un
checked, meeting no obstacles of hiU and dale to
deflect and break its strength. The wind drives all
before it, the vast herds of lowing cattle till they
fall one on the top of the other into the swollen
rivers, and are drowned. Clouds of dust are stirred
up that make day as dark as night, and have been
known to bury great herds — even as does the dreaded
sand-storm of the Sahara — and the hailstones fall
so large and with such force that they kill man
and horse exposed to their fury, and, as I have
myself seen, break through the tUed roofs of houses
like so many round shot.
But curiously enough, where there comes but only
a little and rare cultivation and civilization, the
climate of a country changes. Of old the dust-
storm used frequently to rush into Buenos Ayres
— now it does so rarely and to a limited extent.
And wonderful though it may seem, they tell me that
the presence here in the wilds of Santa Fe of a few
scattered estangias, with their eucalypti, has greatly
contributed to break the fury of the desert tempest,
and that to see it in aU its horrible majesty one

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 123
must now go farther out into the wider regions of
the Pampas ; for not only the Indians, but drought
and the hurricane itself retreat before the advance
of _ the white man. But the storm we experienced
this day was quite enough for us. It came on with
amazing suddenness ; one moment it was hot,
sultry, and calm, the next moment a wind of hurri
cane strength rushed down on us, and we shivered
with cold, _ so rapidly the temperature fell. The
dust_ rose in clouds, the hunicane threatened to
capsize our trap and roll it over the plain before it.
We had to turn it to the wind and heave-to as it
were, stooping down with our heads buried in our
ponchos ; then the rain came down sharp and
stinging — a rain of mud, for it gathered up aU the
dust from the skies as it descended— a rain, too,
of sticks and stones and grass, and millions of
prickly thistle-heads.
This deluge luckily did not last long, and the fury
of the short-lived tempest soon subsided ; but it
left us most miserable objects. We were drenched ;
an inch of mud covered our clothes, as thickly
studded with thistle-heads as a plum-pudding is
with plums ; and we were not sony when we found
ourselves once more under Schnack's hospitable
roof. Not being able to purchase horses in this neigh
bourhood, we took train to the camp-town of Fraile
Muerto, which is in the province of Cordoba.
Before reaching this place we observed that the
aspect of the Pampas was gradually changing. For
we were nearing the region of the monte, or bush,
which stretches hence to the tropical forests of the
north. The camps, no longer monotonous wastes of
grass and thistles, were covered, save in some open
patches, with mimosas and thorny bushes ; com
monest and most imposing among which rose the

124 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
algarobas, noble trees of the mimosa species.
The algaroba is a tree of great importance in South
America. In the first place it is used in the place of
coal on the railway engines, and its wood serves for
sleepers. In the hot provinces of Santiago del
Estero it bears fruit every year ; but here, in more
temperate Cordoba, but once in four years. This is
a large bean-like pod full of saccharine matter. It
is excellent food for cattle ; and horses, when hard-
worked, thrive on it as weU as on maize. Even
human beings extract nourishment from the alga
roba pod. The poor of Santiago almost entirely
subsist on cakes made from it, and the children
seem to be perpetuaUy chewing the hard sweet
seed in its raw state. An enterprising Frenchman
attempted to prepare sugar from it, but failed to
compete with the cane sugar of Tucuman. How
ever, a very palatable spirit is extracted from it.
The algaroba is of the same species as the locust-
tree of Cyprus and Asia Minor.
On arriving at Fraile Muerto station, which is
some way from the settlement, we found that
civilization had progressed so far that there were
two coaches to meet us. The driver of one, a
sharp Indian, pounced on us first, and claimed
the caballeros as his own.
We drove at a gallop across a plain of alternate
pasture and brushwood; then over an iron bridge
that spanned the Carcavanal, a typical river of the
Pampas, flowing rapid and muddy between two steep
forty-feet-high banks of earth, glittering with
particles of diamond-like mica — banks that were
topped with evergreen mimosas, while the inter
spaces of the bush were fuU of lovely flowers, and the
lofty pampa grass with its plumes of silver feathers.
Fraile Muerto is a prosperous-looking little camp-
town. It for the most part consists of one big square

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 125
with a double row of trees round it. Whenever a
new pueblo is founded in South America, the native
colonists commence by laying out an immense square.
At first it is a mere waste, with only three or four
ranches, maybe, scattered along its lines, while
all round is the tiger-haunted jungle. The next
thing they do is to cut a race-course through this
jungle, and then they sit down and rest — they have
done enough — let Providence do the rest. From this
nucleus a great city may spring or it may not, Quien
sabe ? As a rule it does not ; but where there is
much of energetic foreign blood about, cities do
spring up very rapidly indeed in South America —
so is it with Fraile Muerto, which is fast becoming
quite a considerable little village.
The Spanish American mind always seems to run
in squares. His cities are built in cuadros all of a size ;
he even measures length by squares, and speaks of
so many cuadros where we should say so many dozen
rods. The Portuguese American prefers lines to
squares and irregularity to symmetry. The net
work of streets in a Brazilian city is puzzling in the
extreme. You do not find there the chessboard
arrangement the Argentine people are so fond of.
Again, when BrazUians found some new village in the
interior, they prefer to make one long irregular street
of it, stretching along the high road. They do not
understand concentration around a central square.
At Faira St. Anna, for instance, there is one street
only, with no others branching off it. Yet this town
is of considerable size, and the one street it does,
boast is, I am afraid to say how many miles in length.'
There is a cafe at either end of it. If you breakfast
at one, and walk briskly to the other, you will reach
it just in time for dinner — at least, so the natives
say ; but the story seems hardly probable. I should
like to see the man who performed this pedestrian

126 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
feat, for there happens to be a tramway running all
down this one-streeted town, and what Brazilian
would walk ten yards when he could drive, or even
when he couldn't ? for in that case he would remain
in the end of the town he was born in, and decline
to venture to the unknown further end of the street.
We drove into the courtyard of the fonda of Don
Pepe. Our host came forth to meet us. Don Pepe is a
great character in his way — a Roman of noble family,
they say, and an ex-bandit of Calabria ; he is a fine,
handsome, white-haired old ruffian, and a terrible
swearer. His sister, a most stately Roman dame,
assists him in preserving order in his, at times,
rather noisy establishment. This lady rolls off the
sonorous Spanish and blood-curdling Italian oaths
as volubly as her brother.
Fraile Muerto is associated with the fortunes of the
iU-fated Henley colony. About twelve years since
there came hither from England a strange crew of
young English gentlemen with the ostensible object
of cattle farming. If energy and skiU in caha drinking
and horse-racing are the sole requisites for a cattle
farmer, then none could be better than these.
These young men, unsteady, fresh from school and
college and regiment, without any practical know
ledge of anything, arrived at Rosario in a batch, and
considerably astonished the natives by their manners
and customs. The Henleyites came down on the land
in the fashion of a hostile army. They had a uniform
of which a helmet was not the least conspicuous
article ; each was provided with a regulation rifle,
revolver, and sabre, not to speak of the very arsenal
of wonderful weapons he took on his own account
in addition. They were encamped for some time
in a viUage of wooden huts, while lands were being
apportioned out to them ; and here they soon
snowed what manner of colonists they were going to

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 127
be. Drinking, gambling, and horse-racing were the
order of the day. The capital they had brought with
them took unto itself wings, for let the gringo, however
knowing in his own land, skin his eyes ere he match
himself on the turf with the simple gaucho of the
Pampas. So things went on, and the natives smiled
at the ways of the locos Inglesas, won their money,
acquired their mortgaged lands, while the colonists
diminished woefully in number. Many of these gen
tlemen ultimately were driven to take any menial
work they could get ; some died of delirium tremens,
others self-despatched with their own revolvers ;
the remainder settled down, after the first wild burst
was over, with diminished means to the business
they had come over to undertake.
This prosperous little town of Fraile Muerto has
been built for the most part on the spoils that have
been wrung from the ill-fated Englishmen by publicans
and usurers.
Fiascos in the way of emigration are frequent
out here, and bring discredit on this fine country ;
whereas it is the folly, or worse, of people at home
that is really to blame.
There have been schemes of this nature in South
America that have turned out far more unfortunately
than even this one of poor, well-meaning, but mis
guided Mr. Henley. The Paraguayan Lincolnshire
farmer scheme, for instance. During our ride I
happened to see a navvy working on a remote por
tion of the Tucuman railway line. On my asking
him the way, or some such question, he proved to be
a fellow-countryman. He rested his foot on his
spade, and started to chat with me : —
" Right glad I am to have a chance of talking
the old language now and again," he said. He told
me he had been a jockey in his youth ; then a groom
in London.

128 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
" And how came you out here ? " I asked.
" Oh, I came here as a Lincolnshire farmer," he
replied, with a humorous twitch about the corners
of his mouth.
" As a Lincolnshire farmer ? I don't quite
understand." " Ha ! ha ! Well it do seem rum, don't it now ?
But that's right — a Lincolnshire farmer. Why, you
know, I saw a grand emigration scheme advertised in
the papers, Lincoln farmers to go out to Paraguay and
grow tobacco on land that had been bought dirt
cheap from the Government ; splendid climate, and
so on. Bueno. I did not know a rap where Para
guay was, and didn't care ; but I was main tired of
town, and times was bad, so I scraped some money
together, and off I went ; and here I am, less of a
Lincoln farmer than ever, I guess."
But his case was light enough. The misery that
wretched Lincoln farmer scheme brought on hun
dreds is inconceivable. In the first place these emi
grants, who were supposed to be experienced agri
culturists from the rich lowlands of East Anglia, were
anything but that. Farmers, forsooth ! No more
so than, and as useless in their way as, the young
gentlemen of the Henley colony ; roughs from
London, the offscourings of the Dials and White-
chapel, rusty acrobats, race-meeting minstrels, and
the like, not unaccompanied by a large following of
dirty, noisy women and puny children.
Well, this motley crowd was packed off a thousand
miles inland to grow tobacco in the tropical climate
of Paraguay. They reached the lands assigned to
them, an uncleared jungle alternating with swamp.
Here, as any one could have foretold, fever fell on the
miserable, uncared-for wretches, living as they could
amid deadly miasma ; so helpless and ignorant that
they could not even put their hands to building huts

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 129
to cover them. So they perished by dozens, the
little children, weak with privation and fever, being
literally devoured by mosquitoes and jiggers, till they
died of putrefying sores. The remnant had to be
sent south again by the exertions of private charity ;
and would it be believed, the men of this melancholy
relic — independent, helpless, surly British workmen
as they were proved to be — refused to carry from the
bakers the biscuit charity had provided for them and
their starving families, unless they were paid for doing
so ! Some of the specimens of the British working-
man one sees in South America are verily strange
beasts, and not calculated to do credit to their
fatherland. But there was one emigration scheme
that I know of that beats all the others. A peculiarly
pestilential district, in a state adjoining this one,
was the locality chosen. The originators of the
scheme were sleek, godly men of the city of London,
who richly deserve to be brought out and delivered
over to the tender mercies of those that have been
deluded by their plausible prospectus.

CHAPTER X.
Carnival was in full swing at Fraile Muerto when
we arrived. Buckets of water were being thrown
liberaUy over passers-by, and every one was armed
with the inevitable pomito, or squirt, of Florida water.
The dark-eyed little rogues under the black mantiUas
made it very hot, or rather, wet and cool, for the
Falcons with the aid of these detestable instruments.
The night was one of revelry ; the twang of the
guitar was heard through many an open door, and at
least a dozen bailes were under way in different parts
of the town ; indeed, there were as many balls as
5

130 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
there were houses, for all the estancieros, rancheros,
and gauchos for leagues around had flocked into
Fraile Muerto for the occasion.
Thoroughly the laughing little camp girls threw
themselves into the spirit of the wild and beauti
ful native dances. Horse-racing, cock-fighting, and
dancing are the only amusements of the Pampas,
and the last is the only one which the fair sex can
share with the sterner. They certainly are not stingy
in their preparations for carnival in these parts ;
many pretty masquerade dresses were to be seen
among the revellers. This afternoon a grand pro
cession of clumsy waggons, drawn by handsome oxen,
slowly perambulated the glaring, dusty streets.
Waggons and oxen were tastefuUy decorated with
flowers and coloured draperies. In one waggon was
a band of musicians clad f antasticaUy in yeUow coats,
that recalled the penitential dress of the victims of
the Inquisition ; while two men worked a huge squirt,
or fire-engine, pouring volumes of water right and left
— rather too rough carnival play this, but all good-
naturedly taken. Another waggon was full of pretty
chifias, dressed in a uniform of red and black, laugh
ing and squirting scent.
At the Union Club, for we boast a club in our viUage,
was the grand affair of the evening, the masked ball
for the aristocracy. Thither we repaired. The
club turned out to be merely a fair-sized room on
the ground-floor of a house. This was a particularly
select entertainment, yet where the exclusive
grandees of Fraile Muerto drew the line I did not ex
actly perceive . The door of the ball-room was on the
street, and was wide open ; all who wished could look
in and behold the spectacle, could even, as far as I
could see, enter and join the dancers. The com-
mandante was there with his pretty daughters ; the
storekeeper, too ; and the shoemaker, with his' lady

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 131
and family— these exhausted the list of the native
aristocracy. Then came people with whom " one
did not like to mix," and on whom the daughters
of the above swells turned up their little noses —
gauchos from the camp, murderers and cattle-lifters
many of them — wild fellows in native dress and of
savage mien. Mate seemed to be the only refresh
ment provided, and nothing there is that will better
puU together the wearied dancer than this invigo
rating decoction of the Paraguayan yerba.
On the morning after our arrival Pepe insisted on
taking us round his establishment. This caravan
serai of the Pampas consisted of a large square court
yard, round three sides of which was a low, one-
storied building — simply a series of small rooms with
doors opening on the said court ; on the fourth side
were stables and a blacksmith's forge.
" That forge," said he, " has only recently become
my property. It belonged to a Frenchman ; poor
fellow, he drank it all away in absinthe ; got drunk
' on tic,' as you English say, at my bar ; so now it
is mine." " And now," said Pepe, " come, and I will show
you my museum." He took us into a small room,
surrounded with cases of arms and other curiosities.
" These," said he, " are chiefly the spoils of your
countrymen, taken by me in lieu of bad debts ; all
represent so much caiia drink."
It was a melancholy spectacle — Westley Richards,
Cogswell, and Hanison, and the like names were
to be seen on many a fine arm in this collection.
Here were the best shot-guns and rifles out of
English and French workshops : Martini-Henrys,
Sniders, Winchester repeaters, Colt's and Smith and
Weston's six-shooters, swords, sabres, and so on —
the relics of the ill-fated Henley colonists. Here,
too. were strange made Italian stilettos, some such

132 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
as are served out by the secret societies to their
initiated, — all pawned for drink.
But do not imagine from all this that Pepe is a sort
of Fraile-Muertan Shylock, an unpitying, grasping
usurer ; on the contrary, he is a very kind-hearted
old fellow, who has done many a good turn for our
countrymen, as weU as his own, who have come to
grief here. He is beloved by all, save the authorities,
who entertain a wholesome dread of him ; for Pepe
holds very strong opinions as to his fonda being his
castle, and more than one British ne'er-do-weel or
Italian cut-throat has found a harbour of refuge in
this hostelry. When the serenos come to seize the
refugee, old Pepe wiU stand at his door and swear
sonorous oaths, and with a hundred horrid blas
phemies, threaten to rip up the tripos of any who
venture to cross his threshold against his wiU.
Carnival was now over, so it was possible to pro
menade the streets with a dry coat ; and the natives
once more began to attend to the httle business they
ever trouble themselves with. We let it be known
throughout the village that we were in want of four
good horses — five-year-olds that were accustomed
to eat maize and other hard food, for the camp-horses
wiU not do this, and a fortnight's starvation, at the
least, is necessary before they can be induced to
touch it.
A pure-blood Indian offered his services ; he
said he knew every horse for ten leagues round, he
would gallop over the camps and bring every animal
in that he thought would be likely to suit us. A
curious old ruffian this was, short, stumpy, with
straight, long, black hair, laughing, groggy eyes,
bandy legs, and a sort of duck's waddle in the place of
a walk — as is that of aU horse-Indians. For three
days he gaUoped about and brought horse after
horse to us for inspection, while other ragged and

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 133
wild-looking fellows, who had heard of our wants,
came in with tropillas and single animals. We pitted
the rival vendors against each other : it was amusing
to listen to their voluble lies and denunciations.
After inspecting one tropiUa of twenty we picked out
the best two, and made a bid of thirty Bolivians for
them. The owner laughed us to scorn. " Why,
forty wiU be dirt cheap for these two splendid
thoroughbreds ; the Colorado is the fastest horse
over four cuadros in the whole province — besides,
you spoil my whole tropiUa by taking these two out."
And so he argued after the manner of one that sells
a horse, in aU times and among all peoples. After
some haggling we brought him down to thirty-two
Bofivians for the two, that is about fifty-five shillings
each — quite a fancy price, but they were decent
animals, and seemed to have anything but an
objection to eating maize when we put some before
them. They were five year-olds, and in addition
to their other virtues were provided with papers in
proper form, so we purchased them.
In this country the traveller needs no passport, but
his horse does. There are title-deeds to horses here
as to land, and any transfer has to be made before
the judge of the district, and registered in the
archives — a new title, or guia, stamped with the
judicial seal is then delivered to the purchaser,
which describes the conditions of sale, and is illustrated
with a diagram of the animal's marks. These marks
are large characters branded in very conspicuous
fashion on the horse's flanks, so that there can be no
mistake about them. So it is too with cattle, and
the market value of their hides must be somewhat
diminished by the custom ; but aU this is very
necessary in this land of horse-stealing and cattle-
Ufting. Our old Indian generaUy got a few reals out of us

134 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
each time he brought a horse round for inspection.
These he used to invest on the replenishing of his
caiia jar, from which he was wont to sip freely, as he
galloped over the plain in search of other animals.
This went on for three days : he got drunker and
drunker till he could scarcely talk, and certainly
could not walk ; but his seat on horseback, and his
discrimination in choosing, and sharpness in seUing
horses was not in the least affected. Horse-dealing
is a delightful pursuit for such as he ; the gaucho
loves to prolong the agony of a bargain. He would
rather take less for has horse and linger over the
haggling, than be paid the sum he opens the market
with straight down. We managed to pick up another
decent horse for about thirty shiUings, and were now
ready to start.
It was a glorious morning in early March that we
paid Pepe our biU, drank the stimip-cup, and rode
out of Fraile Muerto in fuU marching order. Each of
us had his saddle-bags under him, and his blanket
roUed up behind. A. felt sombrero, top-boots, a
native hide belt six inches broad, with a six-shooter
stuck in it, and a striped poncho over the shoulder,
made each man look quite an orthodox roamer of
the Pampas.
And now commenced a most delightful journey,
concerning the direction of which I wiU make a few
preliminary remarks.
On looking at a good map it will be seen that
wild tribes of Indians, for the most part, occupy
the centre of South America from north to south,
and that the Europeans occupy a band more or less
broad along either coast. But in this part of the
continent a thin strip of civilization has been carried
right across, connecting the eastern country of the
white man with that of the west ; the Atlantic with
the Pacific ; the camps of Santa Fe and Buenos

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 135
Ayres with the Andes and the Chilian territory. This
strip is not a broad one, and as yet is but sparsely
inhabited by the conquerors ; but it is ever and ever
broadening. The line of the frontier forts is ever
advancing both north and south into the lands of the
savages. Here at Fraile Muerto the strip is not very
broad. If one travels but a few leagues to the south
ward, one arrives on the Indian territory of the
Pampas — an almost unknown country, on which the
white man has no footing — even to the deserts of
Patagonia and the cold shores of MageUan's Straits.
If one travels to the northward again, one wiU soon
reach another Indian territory, that of the Gran
Chaco, an unexplored waste of forest and jungle and
swamp that lies between the rivers Parana and
Paraguay on the east, and the provinces of Santiago,
Salta, &c, on the west ; and stretches north, through
latitudes claimed by Bolivia and Brazil, who knows
ho.w far into the steaming tropics. It is down the
centre of this strip of civilization that the Central
Argentine RaUway is carried, a line that is destined
to be the trunk line of the whole South American
system when these countries are opened out.
We proposed to ride along the line as far as
Cordoba, and there leave it to travel by the old
tropiUa-track to Santiago and Tucuman. It is by
this route that of old the caravans used to wend their
slow way from Potosi to Buenos Ayres.
From Buenos Ayres to Tucuman by this tropiUa-
track, which winds a good deal, is 1,119 English miles,
according to an old Argentine postal road-book which
a friend lent me. By following this route we should
see a good deal of the country, and also much variety
of scenery. It was curious to observe the gradual
change in the vegetation as we advanced northward
to tropical Tucuman, which is eight degrees nearer
the equator than Buenos Ayres is. First comes the

136 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
green Pampas of Santa Fe, where the rainfall
is considerable and the climate temperate; then
gradually drier lands, the camps of Cordoba, where
water is scarce, and the sky is cloudless for long
months of drought ; then the regions of the monte,
the bush that forms the northern Emit of the Pampas ;
and then a hotter and drier land, where spinous
bushes and giant cacti of many species can alone
extract nourishment from the arid sandy soil, en
crusted as it is with glittering salt. Finally another
change comes : a range of stupendous mountains
blocks the horizon, the Sienas of Tucuman and
Aconquija, branches of the Andes, whose summits
attain the height of 17,000 feet, mothers of many
rivers. Under their giant shadows spreads a great
plain, a land of streams and much rain, a steaming,
hot, unhealthy region, breeding fatal fevers, yet rich
withal, with great plantation of sugar-cane waving in
the tepid breeze, and brilliant orange-groves ever
noisy with parrots and other gorgeous birds of the
tropics — for this is the province of Tucuman, known
far and wide as the garden of South America.
I must not let the memories of that delightful ride
lead me to the occupying of undue space m this
book with the story of it, so let us prick our horses
into a " little gallop " as they call it here, and speed
across the plains alongside the straight fine of the
railway. We took it easily at first for sake of selves and
horses, and made a six days' ride of it to Cordoba.
Our first day's journey was across a parched country
of burnt earth, scant and coarse pasture, with here
and there a clump of algarobas. The grass in this
part of the Pampas does not cover the earth in a
rich velvety carpet as in Santa Fe, but grows in scat
tered tufts with bare baked earth between — a very-
grass of the desert, wiry and prickly. Numerous

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 137
eagles, vultures, owls, and bizcachas, seemed to be
the sole inhabitants of this wilderness, a desolate
expanse, with a horizon as is usual on the Pampas
and most characteristic of these plains — vague,
mysterious, immense — seeming to be infinitely off,
and melting into a waving mirage, as if into some
strange magic-land far beyond. And a strange land
it is that does lie beyond, for there is the wilderness
of the Indian, a desert of peril and thirst and death,
stretching — so immense is it — as Head writes, " from
tropic forests of palm in the north to eternal snows
in the dreary south."
But there is one sign of civilization about us, and
that with its contrast tends only to increase the sense
of solemnity and desolation. Only two thin bars of
iron running parallel in the very straightest fine,
till they meet in the far perspective like a wedge, and
disappear in the trembling horizon . But this insigni
ficant-looking line of the railway has tended as much
to carry progress and justice into dark lands, as even
that other thin red line, of which we Englishmen are
so justly proud. The thin edge of the wedge of
civilization has now been driven deep into the bar
barism of the Pampas, notwithstanding the fanatical
obstruction of Cordoban priests, and the vain opposi
tion of novelty-hating gauchos, who tried to lasso
the engine as it passed, and found that they had
something more stubborn than an infuriated bull to
deal with.
We rode on in the teeth of the hot north wind, tin
we came to where a bush-fire was smouldering over
some leagues of country. All the grass had been
consumed, the algaroba-trees had been all more or
less carbonized, and tongues of fire leapt up hungrily
here and there. Between the hot sky above, and
the baking ashes beneath us, we soon acquired a very
respectable thirst, that an old toper would have given
S«

138 THE CRUISE OF THE M FALCON."
muchfor; but, alas! we had no means of alleviating
it, so it was not of much use to us.
Before dusk we reached the station of BaUesteros.
We expected to find a little town here, but could
perceive nothing but two or three wretched huts,
none of which was an inn.
The only decent-looking establishment was the
raUway station ; so we repaired thither, and to"our
delight found that the station-master was an English
man, Mr. Coleson. He received us with great hos
pitality, and we did justice, after our exhilarating
ride, to the hearty supper he put before us, as did
our horses to their alfalfa and algaroba pods.
We were now gradually leaving the region of the
foreigners. But few British estangieros are to be found
beyond Fraile Muerto, and we were to change the
comfortable homesteads and civilized ways of the
gringo for the at any rate as hospitable, if more
primitive, homes and manners of the old Andalusian
colonists. There are several natives estangias round BaUes
teros, so, of course, a juez, a commisario of poUce,
and a commandanle have been put in authority over
the rising pueblo. There is some amusing scandal
running about concerning these great men, which is
worth repeating, so iUustrati\re is it of life in these
wild camps. What I am about to relate wiU seem
almost incredible to those who have passed their
lives among the weU-ordered communities of Europe ;
but here, be it remembered, we are in the midst of a
half-barbaric people, and a people that have never
known what justice is, and whose state of civilization
is in many respects far inferior to that of our recent
foes, the Kaffirs of South Africa.
Each of the three functionaries I mentioned above
imagines himself to be the boss of the place ; for their
powers are rather vague, and they are hardly men

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 139
capable of understanding nice distinctions. Of the
three the judge, I beheve, alone can write, and that
only to the extent of being able to sign his name to
official documents. This legal luminary receives no
fixed pay, but is supposed to reserve one-half of all
the fees he receives and the fines he exacts, a method
which, of course, leads to unlimited extortion. The
poor old gentleman, who looks more like a gaucho
than a judge, had suffered a run of very bad luck of
late. His cattle had perished of drought, fees and
fines did not come in, for people would not be married
or commit crimes as they should, so he was at last
at his wits' end even how to procure a sufficiency of
beef to keep up his judicial proportions. About a
week before our arrival he hit upon the foUowing
happy plan. He procured a few bottles of vUe gin on
credit from the pulperia, and invited all his friends
to a little carnival baile at his house. Several of
these abused his hospitality and his gin to such an
extent, that on leaving towards the early hours of
the morning, they commenced to reel about the
township in a boisterous and unbecoming manner,
and waxed quarrelsome to boot. This was duly
reported to their host, who summoned them all to
his presence, severely censured them, and then
fined each offender five pesos. He dined sumptuously
every night for a week afterwards.
Another instructive incident recently occurred at
Ballesteros. It seems that a certain unfortunate
debtor was so pestered by his importunate creditors
that he fled into another province. It happened
that a storekeeper here owed certain moneys to the
fugitive. On learning this our old friend the judge,
losing no time, hurried round to attach the debt,
with the intention of apportioning it among the
creditors, after, of course, deducting a fair percent
age for court fees. But, alas ! he was too late. It

140 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
happened that the commissary of pohce was one
of the creditors, and had wisely anticipated aU the
others. He had visited the storekeeper, and obliged
him to deliver the whole sum over to him. A stormy
meeting between judge and commissary ensued in
the open road before the assembled populace. The
judge demanded a restitution of the moneys by the
commissary. The latter refused to do anything of
the kind, and openly accused the old gentleman of
desiring to appropriate all to himself and rob the
creditors. Thereupon the judge, gliding over the
retort courteous and other intermediate stages of
discussion, passed on at once to the countercheck
quarrelsome, and said : — " Senor Commisario, you
lie ; " at the same time striking him across the face
with his rebenque, or whip of plaited hide. On this
the commisario retorted by knocking the judge down
with the back of his sword, caUed assistance, and
arrested that high functionary. Next he had him
placed on a horse with his feet tied underneath its
belly, and marched him off to Fraile Muerto, where
he put him in the stocks.
Barbarous enough, too, as a rule, are these camp-
town stocks. There is no convenience for sitting
down as in our comfortable old English stocks, where
Hudibras took his ease. Here the feet are impris
oned at some height from the ground, while the body
is left to shift for itself, dangfing down often with
the head undermost. In this uncomfortable posi
tion, an unfortunate wretch is often left untended
and without food for days, through sun, and rain,
and dew.
Another rather good story, and an authentic one,
is told of our judge. Some time back he was playing
at cards in the baker's house with a capataz of railway
navvies. The capataz was unlucky, and lost consider
ably. Suspecting the judge of foul play, he refused

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 141
to pay up. _ Thereupon the judge determined to sue
him, but being so far conversant with law as to know
that nemo in sud lite potest judicare, he assigned
this debt of honour to the baker, who then haled the
offending capataz before him. Our judge solemnly
listened to the case, inflicted a fine, and sentenced
the defendant to imprisonment until it was paid.
But the capataz was a sharp man, and found means
to repay the judge for this judicial farce. He
went off to another, I suppose a superior, judge, who
though he did not think it right to set aside the
decision of his learned brother, at any rate inflicted
a heavy fine on him, for countenancing unlicensed
gambling. In this land of liberty a licence is needful
for nearly everything — a game of cards, a private
party, or a ball.
Such are the magistrates who are supposed to
administer justice in the camps ; petty tyrants who
imagine that their powers have no limit, whom the
fear of assassination alone keeps in check. The poor
people, the friendless widows whom they can bully
and rob with impunity, are of course quite unaware
that there are higher tribunals to which there is an
appeal from the decisions of these ignorant and
unjust judges. Perhaps it is as weU after all that they
are so unaware in this land, where, if rumour be true,
the highest as weU as the lowest official has his price.
The laws of this republic are exceUent in theory,
codified as they are after the schemes of Bentham
and the French jurisconsults, but men capable of
administering them are sadly wanting.
The law as regards murder here is very extraordi
nary ; too harsh and too lenient at the same time.
Accidental and justifiable homicide is placed more
or less on the same footing as wilful murder. Thus,
if an honest man by accident or in self-defence kiUs
another, he is imprisoned awhile and then sent into

142 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
the army to serve on the Indian frontier ; no pleasant
and luxurious station that. Again, if a viUain stab
an old man in the back to rob him of his little
hoard, he likewise is transformed into a soldier as
a punishment, and like all others has his chance of
rising in the ranks. The late station-master of BaUe-
steros was brutally murdered by a peon. He is by
no means the only British station-master that has
been assassinated at his post on these railways. His
murderer is now a non-commissioned officer, and was
pointed out to me at the head of an escort of prisoners
on the march.
This night I am writing my notes in a bedroom,
Avith a candle in front of me on the table. The fight
has attracted all the insects of the neighbourhood
who are immolating themselves wholesale in the
tempting flame, a very entomological museum that
only South America could turn out at so short a notice.
There are aU manner of moths and beetles and
strange creatures of aU sizes and shapes and numbers
of legs — some lean, some fat — of aU colours ; some
very uncanny of appearance ; and aU humming and
buzzing in different notes and keys. Verily, this is
the land of bichos; every month has bichos of its own
peculiar to itself, but the omnipresent mosquito
flourishes through all the months. Of this plague,
too, there are many species; some are enormous
feUows, striped like tigers, and capable, I should
imagine, of sucking your blood through a thick hide
boot ; others smaU and black, but no less irritating.
That word bicho, by the way, is a very useful one.
I suppose originaUy it was intended to signify beetle,
but it means a good deal more than that now. It is
more comprehensive in its meanings than even the
Yankee bug. The term bicho is used here to signify
not only an insect but any strange beast. The gaucho
calls the tiger a great bicho. If he were to perceive

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 143
any animal — say an elephant— that were new to him,
he would speak of it as that bicho. Not only to ani
mals but even to inanimate things is the term applied.
I heard a native call a grain unknown to him a
bicho. Old Pepe, of Frafle Muerto, would call his
morning draught his bicho ; and people talk here of
putting spirit in their water to kill the bicho, and very
careful they are, too, to do this. The water bicho
has a poor chance indeed with the average South
American. A violent storm of thunder, wind, and rain re
freshed the parched soil this night, and was very
grateful after the recent heats.

CHAPTER XL
On the morrow we saddled betimes and rode through
the town, or rather nucleus of a town, consisting as it
did of a store, one other house, a pair of stocks,
and a race-course.
We gaUoped over the plain, brighter and more
beautiful after the rain. Here by monte of prickly
bushes, under whose lee the grass was pressed down,
showing where the wild beasts had crouched for
shelter during the storm. Here by clumps of feathery
pampa grass,iand over greenest pastures thickly dotted
with the scarlet and purple blossoms of verbenas and
polyanthi. A south-west wind blew in our faces,
odorous of mint and vanUla and a thousand flowers,
and fresh and invigorating after the norte of yester
day, dry and hot as it was from its passage over a
thousand leagues of parched steppes.
Who can do justice to these glorious Pampas —
to the irresistible fascination of this vast expanse of
grass and flowers — to the intoxicating delight of a
gallop over them at breezy dawn, and to that peculiar

144 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
quiet charm and sense of ecstatic calm that subdues
even the most unimaginative man, when sitting by
the evening encampment he is a spectator of that
magnificent appearance — a sunset on these ocean
like solitudes ? There is no scenery, not even of the
great mountains, that so overwhelms a man with a
sense of his littleness, with a consciousness of what
an immense unknown there is around him, as that of
the South American steppes, where all Nature is so
vast and vague.
Just before we entered the township of Villa Maria,
which we had chosen as the destination of our second
day's journey, we traversed a pretty wilderness of
rank weeds, ten feet in height, all new to us, luxuriant,
of many scents and flowers, and noisy with song of
bird and hum of cicala. Riding through this we
suddenly came upon a strange scene worthy of the
brush of a Long. Dark between us and the golden
sunset, there came towards us through the varied
vegetation a troop of some thirty women, walking in
slow and solemn procession ; dusky half-breeds and
Indians these, with their shoulders and raven hair
covered with the black shawl of the country, and
barefooted. Before them walked four girls who bore
a little gaudily-painted image standing erect on a
stretcher. This was a celebrated saint, who was now
on his way to pay a visit to a neighbouring saint.
Every native likes if possible to have a little wooden
saint of his own in his rancho. It is believed that
these saints are of sociable disposition and like to meet
each other at times. So San Martin, in Lopez's
rancho, is carried to visit Santa Rosa, in Gonzalez's
rancho; an excuse for much cana-drinking and
gambling. Some of these saints are celebrated for
the miraculous cures they perform. Such a one's
saint, for instance, is great at the curing of rheu
matism. When this is the case, he is often a good

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 145
thing to his owner, who lets him out to sufferers at so
much a day. A man will even pawn his saint some
times ; but this is looked upon as unlucky, and the
saint has been known to lose his virtues after having
been thus treated. The priests do not much en
courage this system of private saints — they like to
have a monopoly in them, I suppose, and to act as
go-between to saints and sufferers. Far from my
intention is it to ridicule any of the rites of the
Roman Catholic Church, but the religion of the South
American camps is not the Roman Catholic religion —
and none deplore this more than the educated digni
taries of the Church at Buenos Ayres — but a super
stition of the very grossest kind, encouraged by an
ignorant native priesthood, which, as Mr. Bates
says in his excellent work on South America, " on
everything pertaining to morals and the ordinary
decencies of life, has its own opinions and ideas,
which are certainly somewhat at variance with those
usually entertained in Europe on such matters."
ViUa Maria is an important little place, being at
the junction of the Cordoba railway and the new and
yet unfinished line to Mendoza and the Andes. Here
we passed the night in an hotel kept by M. Albert,
a Frenchman, who prepared for us a capital dinner
that reminded us of Europe, and which was washed
down with wines from the slopes of the Cordilleras —
the vintages of Mendoza, Rioja, and San Juan —
which are by no means despicable.
We were now experiencing for the first time the
attacks of that plague of the Pampas, the bicho
Colorado. This minute pest burrows into the lower
half of the human leg, and there proceeds to lay its
eggs under the skin ; when the young bicho is hatched
he works his way out of his cradle to the outer world,
a performance that produces the most intolerable
itching. These little beasts do not attack one singly

146 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
but in hundreds, and in some cases produce nasty
sores, but aguardiente, or other spirit, well rubbed in,
generally brings relief.
On our third day we rode to the camp railway
station of Chanares, a distance of only twenty-two
miles ; but here we had to halt for the night, as a
waterless, pastureless wilderness lay between this
and the next stage, Laguna Larga, forty miles
farther on. This day we perceived a broad purple
streak along the horizon like a sea of blood. On
approaching it this proved to be thickly-growing
polyanthi, covering a vast area of plain. Not only
a land of bichos is this, but of thorns. As we un
saddled our horses, and lay ourselves under a big
mimosa among the ants for our midday halt and siesta,
we were made unpleasantly aware of how thorny a
land we were approaching. The grass of this arid
portion of the Pampas is a very grass of the desert,
stiff, hard, sharp as a needle. Every plant and bush
and tree is covered with thorns. There are balls of
seed, too, studded round with cruel needles, like
porcupines ; if you pluck these, your hands are filled
with the minute and Irritating points. Some of these
seed-balls are as big as large plums, and roU along with
the wind. When they strike one's coat they anchor
themselves there and cling so tenaciously, that in
wrenching them away much of the material of the
cloth comes away also.
Our poor horses did not seem to appreciate this
sort of vegetation in the way of pasture, but the
algarobas were covered with pods, which we plucked
and fed them with, to their evident gratification.
At Chanares, jovial Mr. O'Donohue, the station-
master, and his kind wife received us with true Irish
hospitality. After our asado and praties — un
wonted luxury — we camped out for the night on the
platform, and slept the sleep of the just until mid-

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 147
night, when the train to Cordoba thundered in.
" Caramba ! what a lot of passengers for Cordoba,"
I heard the guard say as he saw our prostrate forms.
"Ah, no, it's those yacht fellows; for I can see
Don Arturo's nose peeping above his blanket." The
guards of the trains — old English sailors most of
them — knew us by this time, and were wont to
exchange greetings with us, as we passed each other
daily on the line — for the train runs to Cordoba one
day, and returns to Rosario the next. That parti
cular nose, by which they recognized us this night,
was one of the great features of the Falcon ; its owner
is very proud of it, and, indeed, once seen, it is not
soon to be forgotten, with its noble proportions
coloured by the suns of many climes.
Our fourth day's journey was to Laguna Larga, a
longer ride than usual. To one traveUing over these
plains each day brings some new feature in the vegeta
tion. This day we crossed a large space where grew
a grass three feet in height, topped with the most
lovely feathery seeds; these, waving in the wind,
caused the plain to assume the appearance of a rolling
sea of softest wool or down — a most pleasing and
curious effect. We noticed how far more numerous
the birds were in this region, where the Pampas merged
into jungle, than in treeless Santa Fe. Pewits,
vultures, eagles, and many other varieties were here,
while a vast multitude of green parroquets kept up
a perpetual chatter over our heads. An immense
cloud of martins too were flying north, doubtless
emigrating from the impending winter of bleak Pata
gonia;, a wonderful number of them. Many were
resting awhile on the telegraph wires ; they crowded
on them, sitting dose together, flutteringand chatter
ing — living festoons of birds stretching a league away.
We then crossed a very parched district, waterless
and treeless, where a strong stink of the skunk

148 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
was the prevailing odour of the sultry air. Towards
midday we sighted right ahead a square, black mass,
rising conspicuously over the level plain. This turned
out to be a tank in which the scant water of a neigh
bouring laguna is collected after rainfall in order to
supply the railway engines. We called a halt,
unsaddled our horses, and indulged in a welcome
draught of the water — brackish, muddy, and tepid
though it was. A native was in charge of the tank ;
beside the hut in which he lived there was another
wretched mud rancho, into whose roof a stick was
thrust, with a white rag flying at its summit, indi
cating that this was a grog-shop ; for even this
ungodly, houseless spot in the wilderness must
needs have its pulperia.
It is astonishing how far off the thirsty traveUer
can distinguish that blessed white flag in the clear
atmosphere of these level steppes. We lit a fire by
the tank, and bringing forth from our saddle-bags
some ribs of beef we had brought with us, pierced
them with our iron asador (spit), which we then
stuck into the ground in the midst of the fire. Thus
was soon ready for us that national dish of South
America, the asado. A luxury it is, too, out in the
camps, with the sauce of a healthy appetite ; but
an asado eaten with knife and fork within doors,
is hardly to be recommended. We washed this
down with some cafia from the pulperia, enjoyed a
siesta, and then rode on to the station of Laguna
Larga, where Mr. Wynn, the station-master, who
was expecting us, had prepared a good square supper
for the travellers. This night, like the last, we
passed on the platform comfortably enough.
Early in the afternoon of our fifth day's ride
we reached the banks of the Rio Segundo, a river
that rises in the Sierras of Cordoba, and ultimately
flows into the Mar Chiquita, an inland lake whose

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 149
waters never reach the sea, but are absorbed by the
thirsty wilderness. The Rio Segundo is here a
broad, rapid stream of clear water flowing over a
sandy bed ; extensive sand-banks border its edges,
backed by banks overgrown with tall grasses and
shrubs, a jungle inhabited by many pumas and
parrots. We met a native, who gave us instruc
tions where to cross the river so as to avoid the
quicksands. The water was low, so we found no
difficulty in fording. This is by no means always
the case. Many men and cattle are lost at this
ford yearly. In a real crescente it is, of course, quite
impossible to effect a passage. These crescentes of
the rivers of the Pampas are as terrible and sudden
as those of South Africa. A few hours' heavy rain
in the far Sierras, and down comes the flood with
a thunderous roar — sweeping aU before it, bearing
down on its swoUen waters huge trees and drowned
cattle and the wrecks of habitations.
The water of this river is very wholesome, and is
strongly impregnated with the sarsaparilla that
grows thickly on its banks in places. Having ef
fected a safe passage we gave our horses a rest,
whfle we indulged in the very unwonted luxury
of a bath. For this purpose we waded to a pretty,
willowy island in the middle of the stream.
The little township and station of Rio Segundo
is but a mile distant from the river bank. Here we
passed the night. Mr. Mott, the station-master,
gave us much information as to the profusion of
game in the neighbouring montes. The pumas are
almost the only sportsmen who revel in this grand
hunting-ground, where are to be found innumerable
wood-pigeons, parrots, three varieties of partridges,
teal, snipe, duck, geese, chunas, ostriches, jaguars,
deer, and many other beasts and birds.
The next, our sixth, day's march was to be our

150 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
last in the company of the railway fine ; we were no
longer to have the certain hospitality of a British
station-master to look forward to at the end of
each day's journey, for this night we were to reach
the city of Cordoba.
The Sierras now loomed distinctly on the north
west horizon, refreshing indeed to the eye after
these hundreds of leagues of unbroken plain. We
greeted the hiUs once more with almost as keen a
delight as the mariner the loom of land after a
long voyage on the plains of the salt sea.
The country between the Segundo and Cordoba
is of a very pleasing character. We had evidently
left the Pampas proper at last, and were entering'
the region of the bush that stretches hence to the
tropic forests of the north. We rode through
groves of algaroba and beautiful flowering shrubs,
carpeted with the variegated blossoms of verbena,
polyanthus, and other plants. The land, no longer
of a dead level, was slightly undulating. As we were
galloping down the pleasant glades one of us shouted
in delight, " Hunah ! here is a peach-tree covered
with fruit." We aU drew near, but were doomed to
disappointment. It was but some poisonous plum
of the monte, amber of hue, and comely, but acrid
in taste, and not any kin to the familiar old fruit
we had mistaken it for.
At midday we hobbled our horses, plucked some
algarobas for them, and lunched off some sardines,
biscuit, and caiia we had brought with us. As I
was sitting down I suddenly perceived two bright
eyes glaring at me from a large hole in the ground.
I dropped my sardine, and put my hand to my
knife, not knowing what strange beast this might
be, and what were his intentions ; but I soon per
ceived that it was but an innocent, amiable creature
after all, against whose character I have never

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 151
heard any accusation brought— an unlovely scaly
monster, somewhat resembling an alligator, yet
inoffensive enough, being only a poor iguana that
was peeping out of his house with no evil design,
merely wondering what we intruders on his solitude
might be. I presented him with a bit of biscuit,
which accepting gratefully, he retired unobtrusively
into his house.
At last we reached a ridge overlooking a vast
expanse of country : to our astonishment, for we
were unaware that we had been ascending so much,
and never expected to see Cordoba so far below us.
It was a magnificent view : beyond the jungle that
sloped downwards from where we stood, there lay
extended a vast level plain, well watered with many
silver streams, bordered with rows of poplars.
Arable fields and pastures stretched far to a distant
range of grand mountains, swelling range behind
range. Lofty indeed they seemed to us after the
interminable plains, and indeed some of the summits
of these Sierras are 7000 feet in height ; and in the
centre of this plain, in the bend of a broad river
winding out of sight into distant groves, we per
ceived the fair white city, with many domes and
spires of churches, some of a bright white stone,
others of marble, others gleaming with gold. To us,
coming straight from the wilderness, this sudden first
view of Cordoba was as that of the Delectable City to
the worn pilgrim of that quaint history which is so
delicious to the mind with its old-world fragrance.
Yes, before us was the world-renowned Cordoba,
the Cordoba of the Jesuit fathers, the city of the
churches, and the ringing of bells, the sanctimonious
town of priests and doctors, the oasis of learning
in the wilderness, in whose antique university how
many generations of youth have acquired the Aris
totelian philosophy, and aU the humanities, and

152 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
inhumanities to boot, if report be true. A mys
terious place this ancient stronghold of the much-
dreaded Society of Jesus, in the heart of South
America, with a false-learned and narrow-minded
population to this day over which the priests have
retained a great deal of their old power. When
the railway was first brought up to the gates of
Cordoba, the frailes felt that the old days had gone
for ever, and that the dreaded light was coming,
the old order changing for the new. In every
church they preached fiercely against the accursed
thing, and, had they dared, would have urged the
pious citizens to tear up the rails, and cursed the
fatal iron way.
But let us linger no longer on the hiU that over
looks the ancient city, but ride boldly in, more
boldly far than we could have done in the olden
days, when the Inquisition with its tortures awaited
the heretic gringo who dared venture here. From
the ridge upon which we stood the track gradually
widened until it became quite a decent road ; for
Cordoba, like all other cities in this land, is a mere
oasis of civilization in the wilderness ; its streets
are continued as roads but a few hundreds of yards
outside the town, and then dwindle away to scarce
distinguishable tracks.
As we descended we became conscious of a great
and sudden change in the Nature around us. No
longer the level plain, so stoneless that one could not
so much as find the smallest pebble wherewith to
threaten a snarling cur, but here, at the edge of the
Sierras, the granite peeped out occasionally through
the soil, a country of rocks and of running water,
and where the feet of horses are shod with iron, as
is never the case on the Pampas.
Across the road and alongside of it ran with
much sound streams of clear sparkling water. We

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 153
passed, too, huge waggons, slow, groaning hor
ribly, drawn by oxen— waggons of hard red wood,
in the construction of which no iron had been used,
not even for one nail or tire of wheel, but the parts
of which were lashed and laced together with
thongs of raw hide.
Our poor unshodden horses of the Pampas were
affrighted at the strange surroundings, they stum
bled and shied at every step ; never had they
before been down so steep an incline, felt such
stony ground under their feet, or heard such sound
of running water. There was a little water-course
that was carried across the road in a sunken wooden
trough, or canal, some eighteen inches broad at most ;
though small, it babbled along noisily enough. The
horses could not make this out at all ; they sniffed
at it suspiciously, shook their heads, became very
uneasy, and refused to cross it. Ultimately, by
dint of much persuasion of whip and spur, they
did jump it; each in his turn pulled himself to
gether, took a tremendous leap, and cleared it by
yards and yards — a ridiculous spectacle ; the
prudent creatures evidently were determined to
make no mistake about it, and give as wide a berth
as possible to the uncanny phenomenon.
There are no suburbs to this city, the wilder
ness stretches down to the edge of its mediasval
streets and squares. Just outside, it is true, there
is a wretched ceinture of rubbish — offal, bones,
broken bricks, and the like, among which, like
jackals, dwells a miserable pack of squatters — a
low type of half-breeds, hideous and repulsive in
aspect. Their squalid mud ranchos are scattered
peU-meU over this disreputable locality without
any pretension to order.
We rode into the city, which seems a well laid-out
and agreeable place at its first aspect. We tra-

154 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
versed long straight streets of one-storied white
houses with the usual prison-like grated windows
looking on the street ; clear water flowing down
every gutter. The streets here are paved with
stone ; on hearing the clanging of their hoofs
on these our horses became almost unmanage
able in their alarm, and when they did quiet down
a little, proceeded with steps gingerly and timid,
as if red-hot iron was beneath their feet.
We repaired to the " Hotel d'Europa," to which
we had been recommended, and sent our horses
to a stable to be looked after during our stay at
Cordoba, with injunctions that they should be
shod, another new experience for the poor beasts.
The genial host of the " Europa," who is a German,
made us very comfortable in his excellently-
managed hostelry.

CHAPTER XII.
On the morroAV after our arrival we sallied forth to
inspect the city. We found ourselves once more
in a civilized centre, for tramways, American bars,
and French cafes have foUowed the railway, and
now relieve the sense of oppression and ennui
which pervades the atmosphere of the slow, grave
old university town.
We had been awakened early by the ringing of
many bells in many old churches, so had a good
day before us to explore the streets and handsome
squares of the city of priests and women. For,
indeed, priests and women seem to form the bulk
of the population of Cordoba. The frailes are a
sour-looking lot enough, though some of the young
clericals are regular petits-maitres in their way, and
seem to have quite a feminine taste for lace and

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 155
millinery. _ The women are not gifted with much
beauty, with the exception, of course, of those of
the high caste — pure white Spanish beauties, who
are invariably dressed in the latest Paris fashion.
But of these there are but very few ; all the others
are half-breeds, of a peculiarly disagreeable, dark,
muddy complexion, and possessing the harsh Indian
type of feature. Indeed, the population here
abouts has no right to rank itself with white men
at aU ; these people are but the mongrel descend
ants of Indians that have been tamed by the Jesuits.
This extensive crossing of the Spanish with the
Indian blood has, in the opinion of those who
know, proved to be a great curse to these countries,
for the result has been a useless breed that cumbers
the face of the earth. Not as in North America,
where the aboriginal races have vanished like
smoke before the advance of the white man and his
civilization ; here the Indian blood has mingled
with that of the Latin colonists, overpowered it
indeed, and imbued it with its own barbarism,
so that in many regions the conquerors have adopted
the manners, dress, and even language, of the
conquered tribes.
The negro and mulatto belles of the West Indies
know how to set off and match their complexion
and peculiar style of beauty with appropriate dress
and gaudy tints ; but the Indo-Spanish half-breed
and china of Cordoba envelops herself from head
to foot in a shabby-looking black shawl, or sheet,
which, especially when rusty with age, does not
tend to show off to advantage her muddy face.
Though her toilette be thus simple, and does not
entail heavy milliner's and chapellerie bills, the
china belle is very particular in one respect — boots ;
she must have a pair of nice-fitting French-styled
boots. No more acceptable present can you make

156 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
your Cordoban sweetheart, should you have the
bad taste to possess one, than uno par de botas
nuevas. Cordoba, by the way, like its namesake
in old Spain, is a great place for the working of
leather, and its damsels evidently consider that there
is " nothing like leather," and despise all other
additions to their doubtful charms.
When the traveller has explored the cathedral
with its massive gilding, the university, and some
of the curious old churches — life is too short to
visit them aU — he cannot do better than light
his cigar and stroU round the two great squares —
the Plaza 250 de Mayo and the Alameda. There
is a great contrast between these two. The latter
is strictly old world and Spanish ; a, solemnity
pervades the severe enclosure, deserted as it gener
ally is, save for some silent stalking fraile with shovel
hat, or black draped china, weU harmonizing with
the spot. This square is laid out with strictest
mathematical regularity ; round it are the usual
white, grated-windowed, one-storied houses, with
no shop-windows gay with display of goods — lifeless,
prison-like. A lake of water occupies the centre
of the Alameda, in the middle of which is an island
cut into some mathematical figure, with a bright
white temple of Greek architecture on it. There is a
cold, artificial, confined look about the whole place,
that seems strikingly emblematic of the old life of
the ecclesiastical stronghold, austere, working in a
narrow groove, never looking beyond its own limited
horizon of the cloister wall. Rows of fine willows
once bordered this lake, but during the tremendous
hurricane that swept over Cordoba two years back,
all these were uprooted. This must have been a
fearful tempest, it bent double every heavy iron
and brazen cross that tops the manifold steeples
of this city of churches, and thus they stiU remain

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 157
as we saw them, sloping all one way, a sign to the
traveUer of what a South American pampero can
do at times.
This dreamy Alameda, so lonely and stern of
aspect) that one would imagine it had never been
awakened to any show of life, save by the excite
ment of some auto-da-fe of heathen Indians, does
wake up in a languid sort of way once a day. To
wards the late afternoon when the shadows of the
Sierras come down to the city, and the southern
cross with a myriad stars begins to iUumine the
delightful night of inland South America — the
haughty Spanish beauties come forth in their
carriages, and drive round and round the lake for
three-quarters of an hour or so, while a considerable
crowd of chinas and others of the lower orders
promenade on foot, marvelling at the white beauty
of the upper caste.
The other square — the Plaza de 250 de Mayo, is
in the centre of the city, and is far more lively
than the gloomy Alameda, for it is here that the
energetic money-making gringos most do congregate.
Fine shops and briUiant cafes surround it. At one
side is the old Gothic cathedral, perhaps the finest
specimen of mediaeval architecture in the new
world. A pleasant and well-tended garden occupies
the centre, with two avenues crossing it diagonally
from the comers of the square, as is the fashion
of most of the old Spanish plazas ; shrubs, splash
ing fountains, and winding walks fill up the inter
space. Here every evening the military band
plays exceUently the enchanting airs of old Spain.
A visit to the North Market in the early morn
ing is worth the while to the European stranger.
Ugly old women and girls, half-bred Indians from
the country, sit on the bare ground all over the
quaint old enclosure; not chattering overmuch,

158 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
nor importuning the passer-by to purchase, but rather
stolidly sucking the perpetual mate through the
bombilla, each wrapped in the black funereal shroud
I have described, squatting in front of her smaU
stock of wares. Some have but a little mound of
algaroba-pods, maize, or alfalfa before them, about
six-pennyworth in aU, which nevertheless they have
perhaps brought hither several leagues, traveUing
on foot through the night. Others vend melons,
wheaten cakes, and strange fruits ; while hide
horse-gear, old and new, has its separate corner
of the market allotted to it ; and boots, of course
— that chief production of Cordoba, — are tempt
ingly laid out in long rows before the marketing
china. We loafed about the ancient city for three days,
made a trip to some of the pleasant vales at the
foot of the Sierras, and then prepared for our ride
to Tucuman. There is an English photographer
established in Cordoba — who alone of any we met
had undertaken the journey from here to Santiago
del Estero. From him accordingly we procured a
description of the old tropiUa-track, and a list of
the good halting-places. This track, which is a
portion of that great route across South America
along which in the olden days the strings of jinghng
mules were wont to bring the bars of silver from
the mines of Potosi to Buenos Ayres, has been
deserted by travellers since the construction of the
Tucuman railway. The caravans of waggons from
the interior now alone make use of it. From Cor
doba to Santiago del Estero, the capital of the
province of the same name, is according to some 130
Cordoban leagues (three and a half miles to a
league) ; according to others, more. The latter,
I think, are right, for the track winds considerably,
and we were sixteen days accomplishing the distanee..

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 159
riding at no mean pace for about twelve hours
each day.
The railway to Tucuman strikes straight across
the salinas, or salt-deserts, an almost impracticable
route for horses, for apart from the lack of pasture
and fresh water, there are times when, after heavy
rains in the Sierras, a strong wind blows the waters
towards the desert in a mass, so that they roU over
it like the Red Sea during Pharaoh's famous march,
and convert the salt plain into a broad inland sea,
with no land visible on any horizon. The railway
is carried along a raised bank which is always above
the level of the inundation.
On the other hand the road to Tucuman via
Santiago sweeps one hundred miles to the eastward
of the raflway ; skirts the salt-desert, and winds
among the undulating hiUs of the province of
Santiago, one of the poorest and most thinly popu
lated of the repubhc, a mere jungle for the most
part, lying between the salinas on one side, and the
Indian hunting-grounds of El Chaco, beyond the
great Rio Salado, on the other — a province between
two deserts. This country, according to our friend
the photographer, would not fail to interest us, for
its scenery is picturesque, and it is inhabited by a
primitive people, poor yet hospitable, dignified
and courteous, and preserving all the manners and
customs of their ancestors, the old conquistador es,
who came here under Pizarro, ages ago.
The Santiagenas, however, are much hated and
feared by the Argentines of the south, having
acquired an unenviable reputation as bandits, mur
derers, and cattle-lifters. Let me anticipate some
what by stating that among this ill-famed people
we met with greater kindness and hospitality than in
any other of the five provinces which we traversed
in this expedition. The Santiagenas, it is true,

160 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
return the compliment, by accusing the Cordobans
of being the greatest assassins and thieves in South
America. The Cordobans, in their turn, heartily
abuse both their neighbours of Santa Fe" and San
tiago, and so it is throughout the republic ; but all
unite in giving a very bad character indeed to the
men of Santiago. As far as my experience, and
that of others who know these countries better,
goes, the reports as to the dangers of traveUing in
this part of South America are grossly exaggerated.
I do not suppose it would be quite prudent to walk
all over the republic alone and unarmed, but it
would be stiU less prudent to do so in many coun
tries in Europe I know of. Organized bands of
banditti, as they have in Mexico, are quite unknown
here, unless it may be in revolution times, when
every South American becomes more or less of a
brigand for the nonce. Considering how impotent
the arm of justice is in these remote provinces,
that there is practicaUy no police, and that these
vast montes could shelter large bands of robbers
and enable them to defy the authorities with abso
lute impunity, it is wonderful that there is so httle
crime. It is indeed creditable to these poor half-
breeds, that, left to themselves as they are, they
should be so law-observing and orderly. Mule-
trains laden with silver dollars often make enormous
journeys here without an armed escort being deemed
necessary to accompany them. If the people that
inhabited these wild steppes were of Anglo-Saxon
blood, it strikes me that this would hardly be the
case, and that in the absence of other law, that of
Judge Lynch and the Vigilance Committee would
soon become necessary.
We were now to leave the land of paper, so we
had to supply ourselves at the Cordoba branch of
the London and River Plate Bank with chirolas.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 161
small silver Bolivian coins which are cunent in the
northern provinces, and others of anything but pure
silver, bearing on one side an impression of the blessed
cinchona-tree. The value of a very few sovereigns in
this spurious metal weighs somewhat, so we had to
divide these coins among the party, and no small
addition did they make to our baggage.
We were strongly recommended to take a native
peon with us, and a friend at the bank found us the
very man — " A regular ruffian," he said, " doubt
lessly an old horse-thief, and therefore the very one
to see that your horses are not stolen ; a native en
dowed with that wonderful instinct every true gaucho
possesses, which enables him, when yet afar off, to
detect the presence of water or pasture, to tell where
a river can be forded with the least difficulty, and
the like — a very useful man. You wiU find, per
haps," he continued, " that he will like to hurry
over some portions of the road, as he is wanted
in more than one place." This, indeed, we found to
be the case ; on one occasion we became aware that
he was taking us by a very circuitous route to the
place we wished to reach. The following conversation
then ensued : —
" Is there not a way shorter than this one, Man
uel ? "
" How no, senor, there is a road a little shorter."
" Then why have you not taken it ? "
" Because, senor, I know some one on that short
cut." He said this simply, without further com
ment, as if this was the most natural reason in the
world. I suppose he once had a misfortune there —
a South American euphemism for having murdered
a man — and was being looked out for by revenge
ful relatives of the deceased.
This worthy called on us at the *' Europa," and
much disappointed us by his appearance. We
6

162 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
expected to see a regular cutthroat-looking bandit
in poncho, chirippas, and massive silver spurs, with
a long knife at his back. But Manuel was a very
different-looking person. With the exception of the
alpagatas on his feet, his dress was in no respect
that of the orthodox South American bravo. He
was clad in a light tweed cutaway coat and trousers —
the present of some Englishman — very worn and
ragged. His face, dark and bearded though it was,
had no ferocity in its expression ; his smile was
bland and amiable as that of the heathen Chinee.
Here we had a pleasant-looking, weather-beaten,
middle-aged man, rather down at the heels, dis
reputable undoubtedly, but no fit model for a melo
dramatic villain.
There was something in the face of this terrible
being that pleased us, so we soon struck a bargain
with him. He engaged to ride with us to Tucuman
as our peon, and supply his own horse.
" Have you got a horse, Manuel ? " asked Jerdein.
" Como no, senor."
" Then we wiU start to-morcow morning."
This Manuel did not seem to approve of. " My
horse is twenty leagues from here," he said. " By
the day after to-morrow I can bring it and be ready
to start."
Thus Was it arranged. Jerdein uncharitably
suggested, when Manuel had turned his back, that
he was not in the possession of any definite, distinct
horse, but looked upon aU horses as more or less his
Eroperty, and only required this space of twenty-four
_ ours, to enable him to pick out from the neighbour
ing camps a steed to his liking. Poor Manuel ! I
hardly think this was fair ; though suspiciously
enough, he did have no guia for his horse, when the
said beast turned up ; anyhow, if he had appropriated
another's, he had made a good selection, for that horse

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 163
proved to be the hardiest of our troop. Manuel him
self, too, turned out to be a most excellent fellow,
very useful, honest, and obliging ; we parted with
sorrow on both sides, when the journey was com
pleted. As Arnaud's horse showed some tendency to sore
back he purchased another, a big black ex-racer, and
we converted his old Colorado into a baggage animal.
This change of duty the animal much appreciated —
Arnaud, to begin with, is no feather-weight ; now
he had but a light burden to bear, and had it much
his own way on the journey. He could trot on
ahead and feed on some clump of delicate grass till
we came up, then trot on again at his own sweet will ;
so long as he kept up with the rest of the party,
and showed no tendency to roll and disarrange his
burden, as he generally did after his girths were
tightened up.
We formed quite an imposing troop as we fell in
early on the morning of the 17th of March in front
of the hotel. First came the baggage animal with
our saddle-bags on his back, also a sack of necessaries
for camp life we had purchased in Cordoba — mates
and bombillas, an asador, a yard and a half of Bologna
sausage to fall back upon in the wilderness, a supply
of sugar, yerba mate, pepper, salt, and sulphate of
quinine (for it was the season of chuchu in Tucuman),
goodly ribs of beef, and some of the little flat loaves
of the country, and, of course, tobacco. A kettle
dangled melodiously at his neck. After this animal,
who thus bore on his responsible back all that apper
tained to the baggage, commissariat, and ambulance
departments, came we three gringos in top boots and
ponchos, each armed with a big revolver and a big
bottle, the latter to be fiUed, when occasion offered,
with cana and water. Then foUowed the sage
Manuel armed with his perpetual cigarette, looking,

164 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
in his seedy cutaway, far less bandit -like than the
rest of the party.
He was mounted on a strange, lean, black horse,
with bloodshot eyes — a dissipated-looking beast,
and seemingly quite incapable of accomplishing so
long a journey. But Manuel knew what he was
about, and when we criticized his mount, he would
smile and say, " Es muy guapo " — " You will see."
We did see, and wondered. This was a horse from
the Pampas, and, unlike our own, had never been
taught to eat hard food ; thus, in the pastureless
lands we traversed the poor beast positively starved
for days. He stood and looked on with astonish
ment when our horses greedily ate algaroba or maize,
but he himself disdained to satisfy his hunger with
these. It was but occasionaUy he came across edible
grass, yet, marvellous to say, this horse that seemed
to exist on air was fresher every night, and in better
condition when we reached Tucuman, than our own
better-fed animals. He was muy guapo with a
vengeance. A gaucho 's horse, like the gaucho him
self, is as tough as nails, and capable of enduring with
stoical resignation hunger, thirst, and fatigue.
We rode down to the Primero, the broad river
which runs along the north side of the city, crossed
it by a fine stone bridge, and soon found ourselves
in the open uncultivated country, on the old tropiUa-
track, marked by the deep ruts of the lumbering
waggons. When we were still near the town, Manuel rode up
to my side, and, pointing to a cluster of mud ranchos
some few hundred yards off to the right of our road,
said rather shyly, —
" I have a sweetheart up there." i
The gaucho, I must tell you, is like the Eastern
European, rather bashful when alluding to his love
relations-

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 165
" Well," I replied, " I suppose she would like you
to say good-bye to her as you pass by."
" Quien sabe ? " said Manuel, with a shrug of the
shoulders ; " but " — this hesitatingly — " she is very
poor, is Anita."
He then explained that this damsel was under his
sole protection, and that he should like to have an
advance of a few dollars of his wages, to enable her
to live during his absence. This Dulcinea was
certainly not very extravagant in her menage, for
Manuel said he only wanted about fourteen shillings,
this would quite suffice her while he was away (about
a month). We gave him his fourteen shillings, and
off he galloped to the rancho of his love. After, no
doubt, an affecting farewell, he returned smiling, and
told us that the senorita sent us her respects, and
wished the caballeros a safe journey. I am grieved
to say another lady turned up in Tucuman, who like
wise had claims on Manuel's purse. Our attendant
was evidently a regular roue.
It will be very difficult to avoid monotony and
repetition in my narrative of this ride. Each day's
journey, it is true, showed us some new features to
admire in the scenery and vegetation ; but it cannot
be expected that the reader wiU appreciate the
meagre description of the ever-changing beauties
of this summer-land as we did the delightful reality.
Monotony we found none, all was fair, strange,
and new to us.
This morning we passed a tropiUa, a picturesque
and old-world sight. Slowly it came towards us, a
long train of huge lumbering Waggons drawn by
mules, solidly built of the hard red wood, with no
springs or iron in their construction, creaking
and groaning horribly. Miles off one could hear
the weird lamentation of the tortured timber.
These waggons were laden with hides ; strange and

166 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
wild-looking men in the gay-coloured ponchos of the
north rode alongside them, and behind followed a
large number of spare mules. The chief of the
caravan was better dressed than the rest, wore boots
with silver spurs, and a valuable poncho of vicuna
hair, while a brazen trumpet swung by his side,
with which he sounded his orders from one end of
the cavavan to the other. As we passed, the two
parties greeted each other in stately Spanish fashion,
and Manuel asked a few questions from the chief
as to the state of the road, the rivers and fords, as to
how many days they were out, whence they had
come, whither they were bound, for travellers on
these great steppes hail each other and exchange
news very much in the same way as two vessels
meeting in mid-ocean. The discipline of a tropiUa
indeed very much resembles that of a ship. This
South American caravan has its captain, whose
powers over his wfld subordinates are as great as
that of the sea captain, nay, greater, for there is no
inquiry on reaching port, in this lawless land, should
he even have inflicted death whue chastising a mutin
ous peon. There is no South American PlimsoU
for the crews of the caravan.
These tropillas undertake enormous journeys, ex
tending over many months, journeys whose length
may be measured by thousands of miles. The men.
are generallyarmed so as to be able to resist any hostile
Indians they may encounter on their lonely way.
When attacked they form their waggons in a ring
and fight behind them, somewhat in the fashion of
the South African Boers. The foremost waggon
of the line of march is often provided with a smaU
cannon on a swivel. The railways, however, have
now to a considerable extent done away with this,
as with many other of the picturesque features
of Argentine hfe.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 167
About midday we came across another small
tropilla halting by the side of the track among the
mimosas. The men in their picturesque garb lay
about lazily smoking ; while a juicy asado was
grilling temptingly over their fire, and a huge demi
john of red wine from the Andes lay among the
flowers ready for the meal. The physiognomy of
the men and the whole scene recalled vividly to my
mind the wayside descriptions one reads in " Don
Quixote " and " Gil Bias." So lonely is the land
we now traversed, that we only came across one more
tropiUa for the next 300 miles of our journey ;
other travellers none.
Just as our appetites told us that it was time for
our own midda}' meal, we came to a public-house.
This was a mud hut shaped like a sentry-box, about
five feet high and four feet broad. The side to
wards the road was open, and there stood a little
table covered with a very dirty bit of native lace.
On this were laid out aU the resources of the estab
lishment — the whole capital of the enterprising
owner. This consisted of one square-faced bottle
of vUe gin, a tumbler, three wheaten cakes, some
tafls of strong black tobacco, and several water
melons. At first this establishment seemed to be
deserted, but on looking over the table we perceived
the attendant barmaid ; for there, squatting on
the mud floor, was a very ugly half-breed girl, apa-
theticaUy sucking mate' through a black bombilla,
evidently troubling herself very little as to whether
travellers patronized her restaurant or not.
These Argentines are a very independent lot, and
won't go out of their way to ask you to employ
them. If you purchase anything at a store, they
serve you with an air as if they were conferring a
great favour on you ; the servility and importunity
of a London tradesman would astonish and dis-

168 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
gust them. The lady rose from the mud with a
gesture of annoyance at being disturbed, and for
a real sold us a large water-melon, delicious this
sultry day. We gathered some wood, lit a fire by the
side of the track, and over it cooked a succulent asado
of the ribs of beef we had brought with us in the
commissariat sack. We invited the bitter barmaid
to join us at lunch. She melted, and smilingly ac
quiesced ; so we all sat down and feU to with our
fingers, native fashion. The caiia we had brought
with us washed down the roast ; then the mate was
prepared and handed round from one to the other,
our horses the while roUing in the grass and enjoying
the rich herbage. The barmaid now waxed quite
loquacious. In reply to our queries, she sighed and
said she was " solitaria," her husband was serving
as a soldier on the Indian frontier ; " forced into the
army for merely stealing a miserable horse," she
indignantly explained.
Having enjoyed our meal and our siesta, we col
lected our gear, saddled our horses, and bid adieu
to the ugly grass-widow, who insisted on standing
us a glass of her vile gin all round.
We went at a hand-gallop over the undulating
plain of bush and flowers, whose sole inhabitants
seemed to be parrots, vultures, and bizchacas, until
we reached Jesus Maria, a small viUage thirty-
three miles from Cordoba. This is an old decayed
Jesuit settlement. There is a fine old church in it ;
and the ruins of a convent, solid and grand, towering
over a clump of sordid ranchos and grass-grown
streets. Just outside the town are a few small
plantations of maize ; beyond, the wilderness of
thorn. It was curious to see this stately ecclesi
astical edifice among such surroundings, as foreign to
it as were its builders, the old Jesuit missionaries, to
the savage natives of the country.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 169
There is a very fair tienda at Jesus Maria, quite
a luxurious hotel for this country, where our horses
and selves were weU fed and lodged for the night.
One is very lucky if he gets a bed at all when travel
ling in these provinces. The Argentine of the camps
does not need such a thing ; he sleeps anywhere —
out of doors by preference — and if he have a warm
blanket, he considers that he has aU that the most
fastidious could require. When the traveller does
get a bed, as we did this night, it will be what is
caUed a catre, which consists of a wooden frame
with strips of hide strapped across it. The catre is
generaUy too short for a decently taU man. His
head wiU hang over one end, his legs over the other,
unless he curl himself up like the domestic whiting.
As in the East, the traveller is supposed to bring his
own bedding with him. As the native saddle con
sists of a mass of ponchos and blankets lashed on to
a wooden frame on the horse's back, what was saddle
by day serves admirably as bedding by night.
Our this night's bedroom was an apartment striking
for its unostentatious simplicity; the waUs and
floor were of mud ; there was no fireplace, no window,
no furniture, nothing indeed but four catres arranged
in a row. There was no door either to the doorway,
so we enjoyed ample ventilation. Privacy is not
valued much here. If one feels dirty in the morn
ing, no uncommon matter with the filthy Britisher,
one must sally forth to the horse-pond, or to the well,
to perform one's ablutions. But this country is not
intended for the over-fastidious traveller.

CHAPTER XIII.
March 18th. — At daybreak, Manuel gathered some
sticks, lit a fire on the floor of our bedroom, and
6 a

170 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
prepared our matutinal mate. This is indeed a
grand drink to pull one together ; it beats coffee
altogether. It has, I believe, another property,
that of acting as a substitute for vegetables, and
correcting the evil effect of a meat diet, for the native
of the Pampas is exclusively carnivorous, gorges
himself with beef like a wild beast, when he can get
it, eating no vegetables, nor even bread ; but he
fills up aU his leisure moments between meals
in sucking up from the bombiUa this marveUously
sustaining decoction of the Paraguayan yerba.
This day we rode across a charming country, more
undulating than ever, for we were skirting the outer
ridges of the Sierras. We crossed many dry beds
of rivers — " AVhere oleanders flushed the bed
Of silent torrents, gravel spread.'; "
and traversed, to repeat an expression I have before
used, a land of birds and flowers, a bocage of many
shrubs, aU in blossom of many colours, of many
scents, with fruits, amber and purple. Among
others we observed the various mimosas, the honey-
tree with its snow-white blossoms smeUing of honey,
cacti, and prickly pears with large ripe fruit. Below
our feet was soft grass in places, everywhere beauti
ful flowers, gorgeous as if cultivated with greatest care
in a British hot-house.
We were very hot and thirsty by midday, for the
parching north wind was blowing ; but aU the river
beds we passed were dry, so we had to ride on. At
last, about two p.m., we reached a smaU shaUow
pool of foul water, left by the last rains. We
had to make the best of this, so called a halt, un
saddled, lit our fire, and got the asado under way
under the shade of a large algaroba blanca. The
muddy water of the pool was not very nice, rotten

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 171
and hot as it was. However, we enjoyed the asado,
which we flavoured with the little red peppers which
grew plentifuUy at our feet. Then came the usual
siesta, very necessary in this climate, under the drowsy
shade of our tree, among the polyanthi blossoms,
while insects kept up a perpetual hum around, and
the parrots a screaming aloft at our intrusion.
We reached this evening a little place caUed Las
Talas, which is important enough to possess a judge,
a worthy man who keeps a store and a bflliard-room.
We put our horses in his corral for the night, and
gave them a feed of alfalfa. He kindly let us have a
mud outhouse, inhabited by frogs, lizards, and fleas,
for our own accommodation. He would have let us
occupy the billiard-room, had it not been for a great
match that was coming off therein this night be
tween the two great billiard-players of the district.
March igth. — This day's journey was across a
similar country ; at long intervals we passed a
house — no rich estangia, such is not to be found in
this poor province, but a mere rancho of some small
proprietor or squatter. Round each, as a rule,
was a smaU plot of maize or alfalfa. We slept this
night in the viUage of AveUaneda.
March 20th. — This was a lovely day, hot of course,
but tempered with a delightful breeze. We were now
in the Sierras, and the track wound down pleasant
wooded vaUeys, and over ridges whence we looked
over many leagues of undulating jungle and pasture.
We passed through a forest of charcoal, where a
monte * fire must have been raging fiercely for weeks,
the ground being still uncomfortably hot beneath
our horses' feet.
Our midday halt [and asado was by the banks of
* I trust that my readers by this time understand that " montS "
does not signify " mountain," as one would not unnaturally sup
pose, but what the Australians understand by the term " bush.

172 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
a stream of clear water running over a sandy bed ;
here, too, we found a deep, cool poo' wherein, to
Manuel's surprise, we bathed.
In the afternoon we came to a new country. We
left behind us the monte, with its various shrubs,
and traversed a land where hill and dale was covered
with pampa grass, while clusters of dark, stunted
palm-trees were scattered here and there. By-and-
by these became thicker, till at last we penetrated a
dense forest of palms ; from the hill-tops we per
ceived that as far as our vision could reach, the
whole landscape was black with this gloomy-look
ing species of that graceful famUy. Here and there
rapid streams crossed our path, cleaving steep
channels through the dark, loamy soil.
At sunset we reached a solitary house on a height,
which is known by the name of Santa Cruz. It is a
large and straggling building of unbaked brick, and
served as the post-house in the days before the Tucu
man railway withdrew traA^eUers from this route.
It stands alone on a bare hill, and commands one
of the most solemn and melancholy views imagin
able. AU round it one looks over a seemingly U-
limitable expanse of black palm-heads, covering
mountains and vast plains, right away to the horizon.
The owner came out as he saw us approach — a
dark, handsome, pure-blooded white, with all the
sternness and dignified politeness of his Spanish stock.
A wild-looking lot of domestic animals, pigs, children,
and two or three cut-throat-looking fellows followed
to stare at the strangers in the garb of civilization —
relatively speaking, for Bond Street would have
stared for other reasons. We saluted him in the
ceremonious manner of the land, whereupon he
invited us to dismount. After a little conversation
and mate, he placed a mud outhouse, far inferior
to an English pigsty, at our disposal ; herein we

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 173
arranged aU our impedimenta, but slept outside in
our blankets. Our horses were safely lodged in
the corral.
The ladies of the house brought us the mate, and
we were much struck by their remarkable beauty.
At times in the wildest parts of the republic the
traveller comes across the most perfect type of re
fined white beauty among poor people like these
were. One of these was the loveliest woman of the
Spanish type of beauty I had ever seen, with splendid
complexion, teeth, and eyes, and long raven hair
hanging in two tails almost to her heels. There
was evidently no Indian blood in this family ; here
was the old Spanish stock of the conquistador es,
unsullied by mixture with lower races.
A regular patriarchal house was this, where all
the old-fashioned customs of the grand colonial day
when Spain was great were still rigidly observed.
Our host was surrounded not only by his stalwart
sons and beautiful-eyed daughters, but by his pretty
grandchildren and his now aged and helpless father
and mother — a happy and upright f amfiy of the good
old style, over whose heads the peaceful years pass
by uneventful and uncounted, as the sons tend their
herds and grow their maize in the clearings of the
forest of waving palm, unmindful of the revolutions
and the ambitions that stir the heart of the citizens of
the great cities by the sea.
When we had rolled ourselves up in our blankets
for the night, we heard our host, good Catholic
that he is, reading out the evening prayers to his
assembled family, while at intervals the hum of
their subdued voices, joining in, was heard above
the shriU cicala and the crackle of the palm-leaves.
In the morning Jerdein asked our host to what
amount we were indebted to him.
" Give me what you think right, senor," said he.

174 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
" Of course you were my guests last night for
supper, what may be the worth of the alfalfa we
gave your horses in money I know not, you from
the city know better than I what things are worth
in money."
We knew what this " leaving it to you, sir,"
means in England ; but here our host spoke in all
simpficity, for after we had given him what we
thought to be right, he held a consultation with
his beautiful wife, and then insisted on returning
it aU with the exception of twelve reals, saying that
he was sure the alfalfa was not worth more than that,
and that sum, at any rate, would pay him very
well. Such was the primitive country we had now
reached, a land where hospitality is stiU as much
a duty as among the Arabs themselves.
Here, where inns are almost unknown, the travel
ler as a matter of course rides up to any house,
rich or poor, doffs his hat and asks for hospitality
for the night. The host responds by bidding him
dismount, and informs him that all he has is at his
disposition. In the house of a wealthy man, as
wealth goes in this poor country, you would insult
your host by offering payment. In the house of
a poorer man, the traveUer if he can afford it pays
for the alfalfa for his horses, maybe for the beef he
himself consumes, but never for his lodging. A man
without a cent can travel from one end of this
republic to the other and never want, for no one
dare refuse food to the stranger if there be any
in the house. The Argentine has his vices ; and
they are great vices ; but he has his virtues also,
and they are also great.
March 21st. — This day's ride was across a desolate
country— an undulating waste of dark palms,
with here and there, in strong contrast with their
gloom, extensive barren stretches of salt sands

THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON." 175
glaring in the sunshine, for we were now travelling
along the narrow strip of land that lies between
the Sierras and the salinas, and partakes of the
character of both. We passed no house during
the day, and having taken no beef with us, had to
content ourselves with Bologna sausage and water
for our first meal.
At sunset we came across a solitary house, the
estangia of Rosario, a more substantial-looking
place than we had yet seen in this province. The
owner also had shown a tendency to please the
eye when planning out his dweUing; a very rare
thing in a country where a man builds his ugly
mud house for use alone, and considers it very
foolish to waste his sweet leisure in any super
fluous ornamental work.
As I have before remarked, the native's estangia
is rarely surrounded by any attempt at a garden.
He is far too lazy as a rule even to cultivate vege
tables, far less flowers and ornamental shrubs. But
here we found a very delightful residence indeed,
with many signs of refinement within and about it.
The house was built on an eminence overlooking
an extensive landscape of hill and dale, jungle,
pasture, and palm forest. Beautiful creepers
wound about the piUars of the wooden portico.
A really pretty garden with weU laid-out beds
spread in front, surrounded with a hedge of cactus
and prickly pear. As we rode into the enclosure
of this model farm of South America, a regular
menagerie of dogs, geese, ducks, and hens saluted us.
We perceived, sitting under the flower-covered
portico now glowing in the setting sun, a comely
matron of the true Castilian caste of countenance.
Busy over the lace she was working, she yet had
time to superintend aU the little country duties
at which her group of pretty daughters and the

176 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Indian servants around her were employed. A
large fire of wood blazed in the centre of the court
yard, over which hung a huge copper cauldron,
from which came forth a pleasant simmering and
gurgling and a not unpleasant sweet smell. The
girls stirred, fed, and tasted the contents at
every instant ; great expectancy and excitement
seemed to centre in that preparation, and no wonder,
for, like the Primroses, mother and daughters
prided themselves on being the most industrious
housewives and the most clever fruit-preservers of
the province. They were making nothing less than
ropa, that is prickly-pear jam, and what little
country family is not excited when comes the
important preserving season ?
The Indian girls came in constantly from the
bush with huge baskets of the wfld fruit on their
heads, while the daughters of the house deftly
peeled them ; no easy matter for a novice to do this
without filling the hands with miUions of irritating,
almost invisible, darts. Figs, too, from the patriar
chal fig-trees were being laid out to dry on raised
platforms of plaited reeds.
As we rode in there was a flutter of alarm among
the girls, and they gathered round their mother
like chickens round a hen, and gazed at us wonder-
ingly with their big black eyes — for a body of
armed strangers is not always a welcome sight in
this wild and revolution-ridden country.
The lady of the house rose stately from her chair,
and returned our salute with a dignified bow. We
explained to her that we were only poor harmless,
benighted gringos, who craved her hospitality for
the night. As a matter of course she offered her
all at our disposal; so dismounting, we sent our
horses to the corral with Manuel, and sat down with
the handsome girls and their comely mamma to

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 177
drink mate. Our story|much interested them ; they
had read of the yacht in the Cordoban papers, also
of our intended ride ; " Therefore," our hostess
said smilingly, with trae Spanish grace, " you are
not strangers to us, but at home." She told us
that they were citizens of Cordoba, where her
husband now was ; she and her daughters were
passing a few months in this their country farm
for the benefit of their healths. For the second
time in twenty-four hours the Falcons all irrevocably
lost their hearts.
March 22nd. — On the morrow it was with reluc
tance that we gathered our impedimenta together,
in order to leave this oasis of civilization and the
pleasant society of fair and gentle ladies. But
we were not to start quite so soon as we expected.
Manuel came up to us and informed us that our
horses had broken through the corral in the night,
and had decamped. This was startling news ; they
might have wandered leagues away by this time,
and small chance of recovering them in that case,
or — the tenible thought flashed across our minds —
stolen !
" No," says Manuel confidently, " they are not
stolen. See," pointing to their fresh footprints in
the soft soil of the corral, " they have gone through
that break, and that too not three hours ago, and
none of the men's footprints about here are nearly
as fresh as that."
To have distinguished the prints of our horses'
feet, iron shod as they were, from the others was
easy enough; but it required the instinct of the
gaucho to detect that no man had been in the
neighbourhood at the time of their departure, for
some of the human footprints about seemed quite
as fresh to us as the marks of our animals.
Manuel was confident though, and he proved to

178 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
be right, for after tracking the horses some two
miles through the bush, we found them quietly
grazing by the side of a stream ; so we captured
the deserters and brought them back.
Having saddled our runaway horses, we continued
our journey. The undulating country was now
densely overgrown with cacti, prickly pears, palms,
and thorny mimosas ; a land of poor and rare
pasture, but of plentiful water, for down every
valley a little arroyo of limpid water runs over
the yellow sands.
At midday we came to a mud rancho. The
woman who seemed to be its sole inhabitant per
mitted us to rest awhile under the huge carob-tree,
which, as usual hereabouts, spread its broad branches
some twenty yards in front of the threshold, and
whose shade serves in this primitive land as a sort
of spare-room for friends and travellers.
This lady provided us with some algaroba for
our horses, for ourselves charki and maize ears ;
which latter, roasted over the fire, are a very fair
substitute for bread. Here, away from the peren
nial pastures of the Pampas, it is usual for each ran-
chero to cultivate his little plot of maize or alfalfa ;
necessity forces him to become, against his instincts,
somewhat of an agriculturist as well as a shepherd.
We lit our fire under the carob, cooked our meat,
and made merry during the sultry noon of this torrid
land. For those of my readers who have never tasted
charki, a few words on this widely-consumed
delicacy will not be amiss. Charki is merely beef
cut into long, thin strips and dried in the sun;
when fresh it is not bad, but it rarely is fresh ; and
after these lean shreds have been hanging outside
a rancho in the hot, dusty air, for I am afraid to
say how long, they form anything but a luxurious

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 179
diet. The charki then becomes so much third-
rate leather; all the juices have been completely
dried out of it, and the grilling of it on an asador
over a wood fire does not tend to soften it. The
toughness that beef thus treated can acquire is a
thing to be experienced, not told. Conceive first
the ideal abstract, " stringy toughness ; " then,
as to flavour, imagine a sort of charnel-house,
fly-blown taste — for be it remembered that all
these months that the charki is hanging in the
sun, an average half -inch deep layer of flies is settled
on it ; lastly, do not forget that this is one of the
dustiest regions in the world, and that you will
consume your orthodox peck of dirt before you
have got through half a dozen meals of these delect
able rags, and you wiU have formed some idea of
what charki is — a teeth-testing dish with a vengeance.
Having torn, and worried, and masticated some
particularly choice, old, high-toned fragments, we
lay down under our carob-tree to enjoy our well-
earned siesta, and rest our aching jaws. But we
were soon awakened by an approaching sound,
a confused murmur coming from the north. Then
we distinguished the lowing of a vast multitude
of oxen, the tread of thousands of hoofs, and the
shouting of men. At last the great herd appeared
out of the bush — a thousand head of cattle at
least, lean, and halt, and weary with their long
journey over the herbless, waterless country that
lay to the north of us. About twenty wild-looking
horsemen were in charge, with gay ponchos flutter
ing in the breeze ; some were barefooted, others had
their feet encased in the raw skins of foal's legs.
This is the orthodox gaucho chaussure. It is pre
pared by simply cutting off the hind leg of a foal,
and withdrawing the bone and the flesh. The
man's foot and leg are then thrust into this natural

180 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
boot. To guard the legs of the riders against
the fearful thorns of the northern jungle, each
horse had two shields or breastplates of stout raw
hide, extending like two wings in front of the saddle
and falling to below the stirrup-irons. About
eighty remount horses followed the herd.
The cattle were rounded in for their mid-day
halt just above us ; then the chief — a great swell
with silver spurs, rich poncho, polished top-boots,
with very high heels, and mounted on a splendid
horse — rode up to the rancho, and craved per
mission to take water from the laguna for his
beasts. An introduction was soon effected between
this gentleman and ourselves, and he insisted on our
joining him at breakfast. Vain was it to declare
that we had just completed our meal — breakfast
again with him we must. There was one little bull
in the herd that was very lame, so our new friend
had him lassoed, pithed, cut up, and converted
into asados in an incredibly short space of time.
We sat down with him, ate the sweet beef with
our fingers, and drank the red wine he had brought
with him with much pleasure ; luxurious, indeed,
were these to us after our charki and tepid laguna
water. Bidding farewell to our hospitable friend, we rode
on till we reached the first township we had seen
since Jesus Maria. This was Chanares, a wretched
little place in the midst of an uninhabited, unfilled
plain of palm and thorns. The raison-d'etre of a town
in such a spot is more than I could discover.
There were only from twenty to thirty houses,
and half of these seemed to be deserted and in
ruins, for the unbaked mud bricks of this country
do not form very substantial buildings ; they soon
faU to pieces when left to themselves. We dis
mounted in front of the solitary store, entered it,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 181
and called for a tot of cafia all round before com
mencing business. The bottle was put before us
and one glass — water they had none on the estab
lishment. We inquired of the storekeeper if it was possible
to find accommodation for ourselves and our horses
for the night in this city. He thought that to find
this would be a matter of difficulty, as most of
the houses were one-roomed. By this time half
the population was around us, for the news of our
arrival had spread like wild-fire, the visit of travel
lers, and what is more, foreign traveUers, being a
very rare occurrence indeed here. Some made
suggestions as to where we might possibly get what
we required. One little Indian girl, carrying a
naked, very open-eyed baby, said she knew of a
house that belonged to a recently deceased gentle
man ; this mansion was now deserted, as the defunct
had left no testament or kin behind him, and it
might suit us.
We visited this eligible villa, which was in the
outskirts of the city. If in the days of the late
lamented proprietor it was anything like it is now, I
do not wonder that he decided to leave it for a
more comfortable mansion in another world. It
was a mud rancho ; the roof and two of the waUs
had fallen in, and the ruins had evidently been
considered by the neighbours as a most suitable
deposit for aU sorts of household refuse and filth.
Better to pitch our camp outside the town than
here, and this we accordingly determined to do,
after purchasing a stock of provisions.
But at this juncture an important personage
attracted by the crowd, and imagining that this
was a revolution that must be nipped in the bud,
came on the scene. This was no less than the
commandante, who was only distinguished from

182 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
his humbler fellow-citizens by having a rusty pistol
and an ancient cavalry sword stuck into his broad
belt. A pompous man as became his dignity,
but a very well-disposed little person was this.
Robust, weU-fed, and oily, both in countenance
and manner, he much resembled my idea of the
renowned Sancho Panza — that worthy, when gov
ernor of his long-promised island, must have been
something like this magistrate. He shook hands
with us, waved his hand in a patronizing manner
round the village, and said, " Welcome to our
town ; " the our sounding much as if it signified
my, for he evidently never forgot that he was the
presiding genius of the place. " Our town is at
the entire disposal of the caballeros ; our herds, our
horses, our domestic hearths." There was nothing
that was not ours ; we were lords of aU we sur
veyed, according to him. We explained that we
really could not trespass so much on his generosity
as to accept the whole city, but were very much
obliged to him nevertheless; we would be content
with food for ourselves and horses, and cover for
the night if possible.
Brought down from this florid Castifian talk to
matter of fact, the poor fellow looked perplexed.
It was evidently more difficult to satisfy this simple
want than to give us the entire town. He stopped
his discourse, looked anxious and doubtful, scratched
his head, made and lit a cigarette ; then he placed
his forefinger to the side of his nose, and with a
thoughtful frown contemplated the weather-cock
on the church steeple. So he stood for some
moments, while the little children, sUent and with
open mouths, gazed with awe at their pondering
ruler. Suddenly he slapped his thigh, rubbed his fat
hands merrUy, and said, " Come ! sefiors, come !

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 183
I know now." He took us to a house where dwelt
an old lady and her two daughters. She had one
large, bare, mud room on the street, which she
kindly placed at our service. It was quite a sump
tuous apartment, for it even had a floor of wooden
planks, and. the mud waUs were whitewashed to the
height of six feet. Windows of course there were
none ; but there was a doorway big enough to answer
aU purposes.
This was a very garrulous old lady ; she tried
to monopolize us altogether, and would not permit
her comely daughters to come near us. A most
Argus-eyed duenna, she crueUy took the young
ladies altogether out of the establishment as soon
as we arrived, and locked the poor things up some
where at the other extremity of the town.
We tied up our horses in the courtyard for the
night ; but as it was impossible to procure any
algaroba or alfalfa for them, the poor beasts had
to content themselves with a large pile of the
branches of some tree. However, they seemed
to enjoy their frugal repast, even Manuel's horse
feU-to heartily; at lunch-time he had patiently
fasted, gazing contemptuously at the others as
they munched their algaroba.
Our hostess drove the bats, cockroaches, snakes,
lizards, and other tenants of our apartment into the
street, and swept and garnished this room tiU it
looked so large and beautiful, that it inspired the
usuaUy stolid Manuel with a most luminous idea.
"What a fine room this would be for a battel "
he said. The very thing, we cried, so we determined
to give a grand baU to the whole town this night.
In this quaint country it is quite the thing for a
passing stranger to do this — and the people wfil
not be shy at accepting his invitation. A musician
wiU easily be found; and two dollars' worth of

184 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
vile gin is all that is necessary in the way of re
freshments. We impressed a blind and villainous-
looking gaucho, who could play baile music on the
guitar, and after dinner proceeded to decorate our
room. We stuck about thirty tallow candles
round the walls, borrowed some wooden benches,
and got a few bottles of square-face from the store,
and aU was ready. We then issued our invitations.
Our hostess was in raptures over the whole thing ;
she even released her daughters, and permitted
them to accept our invitation. Of course all the
aristocracy was invited — the judge, the com-
mandante, the store-keeper, and any of the other
sex that might to them belong.
The dancing was soon in full swing, and a merry
time we had of it. The chinas had donned their
feast-day frocks, had adorned themselves with
cherry-coloured ribbons, and looked pretty enough,
as their dark eyes flashed with delight and excite
ment. Twang, twang-twang, twang aU night flowed out
the old Spanish airs from the guitar, and as the
people danced the guitarist sang, in a nasal drone,
words to the tunes he played, as is the custom
here — words generally of his own composition ;
love-songs ; translating the subtle meanings of
the figures of the dance.
For many of these quaint and stately dances are
whole stories of a love. Such is the zampa, the
handkerchief dance, and the gato, in which the
fingers are snapped like castanets. Only two
persons take part in these dances — a man and a
woman. The man is wooing the woman. She is
coy and turns away. He follows, implores. All
the gamut of feeling and passion is traversed in
this dumb-show, in which each movement of the
supple, lithe forms of these marvellous dancers

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 185
is full of expression. And all the while the guitar-
player sings in rough, but often powerful, words
the story of the dance, the passionate wooing of
the man, the coyness, the subtle by-play of the
woman, love sick, yet feigning indifference; again
the lover's despair, and ultimately his triumph,
when at last the girl can hide her heart no longer,
returns his passion and confesses her love. It was
an awful and rare sight to see Jerdein in his top-
boots dancing the gato with our venerable but
jovial hostess as a partner.
There was no sleep for us that night, for our
indefatigable guests did justice to our entertain
ment and kept it up tiU dawn; as is the nature of
their race, winding themselves up to a madness,
a Terpsichorean delirium. It was a demoniac
whirl to supple limbs, with at times a Bedlam
shouting. The atmosphere of the room was hot
and stifling with the heavy clouds of dust raised
by the twinkling feet, and the fumes of tobacco.
Those who did not dance themselves sat down,
clapped their hands in time with the measure, and
shouted incoherently to encourage the frenzy of
those that did. It was a strange spectacle, and
showed us that in the dance, if in nothing else, the
Indo-Spaniard can be more than energetic.

CHAPTER XIV.
March 23rd. — Having closed the ball, we saddled
our horses and resumed our journey. I am afraid
some of our guests could easUy have been taken for
Anglo-Saxons this morning, for unfairly enough any
one at aU disguised in drink is at once put down as
one of that bibulous race by the South American.
Our gin, too, was strong, and to teU the truth vUe,

186 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
but the beverages supplied at balls are not pro
verbially of the best quality even in England. A
choice deputation of revellers accompanied us a good
way outside the town; then we shook hands all
round, or rather two or f hree times all round, for the
deputation was singularly short of memory. The
commandante came up to me with his clanging sabre
and his beaming face at least six separate times.
On each occasion he came back to the attack,
saying, " Ah, Don Edouardo, I have not embraced
you, nor bidden thee fareweU yet. Good-bye, dear
friend ; good-bye."
At last we broke away from the kind and friendly
people, and proceeded to brace ourselves up with a
smart gaUop after our night's dissipation. The
country was now becoming poorer and more thinly
inhabited as we progressed. We were approaching
an almost waterless and rainless region, utterly unfit
for cultivation of any kind. From dawn tiU the late
afternoon we travelled on this day without seeing
any sign of human life. We had now crossed the
frontier and were in the iU-famed, poverty-stricken
province of Santiago, almost a desert itself, sur
rounded by veritable deserts.
At last we saw before us a little rancho with a
corral by it, but no pasture anywhere, no plot of
maize or alfalfa, or indeed any sign to show on what
the inhabitants of the hovel subsisted. We rode up
to it. An Indian woman with a child in her arms
came out.
" Have you got any charki to sell ? " we asked.
" No, senor."
" Any maize ? "
" No, senor."
" Have you any food at aU in the rancho ? "
" No, senor."
We were parched with thirst, as were our poor

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 187
horses, so we asked the woman if she could supply
us with some water.
" I have got no water, senor," she replied.
There is in the neighbourhood of nearly every
rancho in this part of the country a laguna or little
artificiaUy dammed-in pond, in the which stink the
hot and putrescent dregs of the last rains ; but the
laguna here had been dried up for weeks.
" Where is the nearest water, then ? " we asked.
" Quien sabe ? " was the reply. " Who knows ?
They say that the laguna two leagues further on is
also dry."
These people are certainly not unlike the animals
they breed in many of their habits, as hardy and
enduring as the beasts of the field. Often, as in this
instance, a native wiU find himself in the dry season
at many leagues' distance from the nearest water.
This troubles him but very little. Notwithstanding
the dry, thirst-giving nature of his diet, he can exist
without drinking for days comfortably enough.
Twice a week or so he wiU go down to water with his
cattle to the nearest laguna, and there slake his thirst.
How unlike the poor bibulous white man, who has
such an unfortunate tendency to get thirsty at all
sorts of odd moments !
So we had to ride on without food or drink all day
until sunset, when we reached a comfortable-looking
house. A plantation of prickly-pears and a plot of
alfalfa were on one side of it, a muddy pond on the
other. The master came out to greet us with the
usual stately politeness; he was a man of some
substance, for his broad hide belt was adorned with
many coins, a gold condor gleaming in the midst
of them, and he wore at his back a long knife in a
heavy silver sheath. He was able to supply us with
as much alfalfa and water as we required, and told
us that we were at liberty to sleep under the large

188 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
paradise-tree in front of the house. So we unsaddled
our horses and placed a welcome feed of alfalfa before
them, and then bethought us of our own supper,
which was also not unwelcome, considering that it
was our first meal this day.
We had mutton for a change this night, for we
purchased a plump live sheep from our host for
twelve reals ( = about four shillings). We took him
under our tree and made aU ready for a truly Homeric
repast. We lit a glorious fire, while Manuel, now
quite in his element, cut the sheep's throat, deftly
skinned and disembowelled it, and then hung the
carcass on a branch.
As we had now more than sufficient meat for two
days, we did not care about keeping the " innards,"
so Manuel took these in his hand, walked up to the
senora of the house, bowed, doffed his hat in stately
fashion, and with a neat little speech presented them
to her as a small token of his gratitude for all her
kindness. A don of the old Spanish court could not
have presented a necklace of pearls to a great court
lady with more polished courtesy than Manuel his
strings of raw tripes to the buxom Dulcinea of the
Estangia Algarroba. We really appreciated our
splendid roast mutton this night, unaccompanied
though it was by bread or vegetables. Our host,
Don Innocentia Acosta, could not supply us with
these. It was, I suppose, beneath the dignity of his
stock of shepherd gentleman to plant a potato.
We turned in under our blankets to leeward of the
fire, so that the smoke might keep the mosquitoes
from us, for these pests were numerous this night.
As we were making our preparations for the night
our host came out to us, and advised us to sleep with
our revolvers loaded at our sides, " For," said he,
" this is a wild part of the country. Who knows
what bad men may pass by to-night ? A month or

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 189
two back two young fellows who had brought some
cattle to the south for sale, and were returning with
the money, slept one night under that very tree
where you are ; the next morning we found them
lying there robbed, and with their throats cut from
ear to ear."
However, we slept snugly by our fire under the
paradise-tree, undisturbed save by the dogs, who,
smeUing the blood of our sheep, prowled about our
camp constantly. Manuel had placed the sheep's
head under his own head for safety. At midnight
three or four big, bold dogs crept up, made a sudden
rush at him, rolled his head aside, and decamped
in a moment with the delicate morsel — the sheep's,
not Manuel's head. A fearful uproar ensued, and
sonorous Castilian oaths feU like a cataract from our
faithful peon's mouth. We all leapt up and seized
our revolvers, thinking that an Indian raid at the least
was on us. On Manuel's explaining we laughed
heartily at the adventure, to his disgust, for he
would not be consoled for the loss of his sheep's head.
Then we roUed ourselves in our blankets, lit our
pipes, and smoked ourselves to sleep once more.
March 24th. — At daybreak our fire was stiU alight,
so we made some mate, and cooked some appetizing
kybobs of the kidneys and other choice morsels of
our sheep. Then we saddled, slung the remains of
the carcass over Manuel's horse, and galloped off.
At an early hour in the afternoon we reached the
township of Ojo del Agua, consisting of one large
square, a church at one side of it, and about twenty
mean nouses scattered round. Through the broad
spaces between these one perceived the wilderness,
whose luxuriant growth ran through and overflowed
all the square itself. Yet this is the pueblo that our
last night's host spoke of as muy linda — very pretty
—and possessing mwho gente.

igo THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
We put up at the most respectable store, where
some awful-looking ruffians, gauchos of gauchos,
would insist on our drinking with them. These were
weather-beaten, cutthroat -looking fellows, with
knives ostentatiously long : Monteneros, who came
down to town occasionally to purchase mate or other
necessaries, when, as now, they knew that there
were no soldiers about. The montes about here
seem to have a very bad name. I suppose there
must be some fire where there is so much smoke.
Our host, rather a timid fellow, told us that these
men were banditti when chance offered, prowled about
the tropilla-track, attacked small parties of travellers,
and cut camp to unknown fastnesses when they were
pursued after some more daring outrage than usual.
We were warned to be careful, when camping out by
night especially.
The coinage in Santiago is curious in itself, and
there is but little of it. I drank a glass of caiia at
the store, and presented the smallest coin current, the
silver chirolla of Bolivia, worth two reals. I received
in change a little triangular bit of silver, which, on
inspection, turned out to be the quarter of a chirolla
• — for here, in default of smaller change, the people
cut up their coins — two cigars, and a vale, or I O U,
for another quarter real, with the storekeeper's stamp
and signature on it. The storekeepers in the
remoter provinces often do this petty banking, and
issue these vales to a large extent in lieu of giving
smaU change. A very good business, too, it must
be for them, for not only do they thus derive
the banker's ordinary profits, but indirectly others
also, for the holder of the vale generally, I should
imagine, feels himself rather a mean cuss when he
enters the store to get it cashed, and ends by becoming
ashamed of himself, and taking it out in drinks,
or other " kind," instead of in specie.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 191
Our host informed us that the country ahead of us
was very rough, that the old tropiUa-track was quite
impassable, as there was no food to be found on it
for man or horse for at least eighty miles — a land of
rocks and deserts uninhabited and waterless, traversed
only by gaucho bandits when escaping pursuit. He
therefore advised us to leave this track for a time and
make a detour to the eastward, so passing through the
pueblo of Salabina.
March 25th. — The vegetation, as I have before
remarked, had been gradually changing as we ad
vanced, becoming more and more of the tropics.
It reached its climax of luxuriance in the country
we traversed during the next three days, before
becoming stunted and ugly again on the borders of
the salt-desert we had subsequently to ride across.
The colouring of the jungle seemed now of an
almost unnatural brilliancy. Strange thorny shrubs,
flowers, and capsicums, with leaves of aU shapes and
hues, thickly covered the ground, but nearly all were
of a dazzling metallic lustre, some gleaming like blue
steel, others like burnished yellow gold, or red
copper, or still darker bronze. The snakes and birds
and beetles, too, that fed on the acrid juices of these
seemed to have acquired from them the same
mineral sheen, so brightly flashed their gorgeous wings
and scales. Glorious convolvuli, with large blossoms
of various colours, wound luxuriantly over every
bush. One creeper, with white waxen flowers, sweet
scent, and bright emerald leaves, struck us for its
remarkable beauty. We procured some seed of this,
and sent it home. Perchance the child of Central
South America will flourish in an English hothouse.
The prickly-pear-trees, covered with delicious ripe
fruit, were everywhere. This was the only food-
producing plant of the monte. Not only we ourselves,
but our horses also, appreciated the cool pulp when

192 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
we were thirsty. Giant cacti at intervals soared
above the lesser growth of the jungle.
After riding some few leagues this day we came
to some open spaces in the bush — clear spots of bare,
dry earth — where we perceived, growing in patches,
a low, insignificant-looking plant with soft, white-
petaled flowers and leaves of vivid green. " The
chuchu," said Manuel. Yes ! this was the fatal
plant against which we had been so frequently
warned. Further on we saw acres of it. It grows
only where no other living plant is, on the bare
desert spots of the country; in solitude, as if all
other herbs avoid its poisonous influence, forming
little bright-green isles of verdure on the yellow earth.
I do not know whether it be poisonous to man, but
if a horse swallow but a few leaves of the deadly
plant the symptoms of violent intoxication will first
be declared, and the poor beast will die within an
hour, raving mad and in great agony. The fact of
its growing only in pastureless districts makes it
particularly dangerous. The horses that are native
to the sub-tropical plains where it grows know it and
avoid it instinctively, but strange horses, like our
own, from the Pampas wiU greedily devour it when
they come across it. We had, in consequence, to
look carefully after our animals, and never let them
wander about to graze when any of this was near.
Chuchu, by the way, not only signifies this horse-
poisoning plant, but also the man-poisoning fever of
Tucuman and the northern provinces.
We were in luck this day, for at noon we reached
a rancho caUed Aigulla, and found that we were in
time for a grand feast. An ox had been killed — a
great event — so the people of the place were making
merry. Like vultures, the gauchos and others had
smelt the blood from afar, and had gathered here to
participate in the luxury of a feed of fresh meat.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 193
Of course we also were invited to fall to with our
fingers at the sweet asados, and to help them drain
the bottle of square-face as it went its rounds.
Ultimately we departed, content and happy, for had
we not enjoyed a very square meal ?
In the evening we reached Quebrachos, a town
which, fike aU these pretentious Santiagan settle
ments, was laid out in a huge square, not by four-
fifths fiUed up with the mud houses. At one end
was a church, a curious edifice, ambitious in design,
of unbaked mud, unfinished, but half-fallen in. The
architect had tried too much ; crumbling mud is far
too unstable a material wherewith to construct a
pretentious Gothic cathedral fike this promised to
be had it held out. The inhabitants of this bleak
mud square were exceedingly hospitable. The com-
mandante lodged us for the night, and a courteous
and handsome old gentleman invited us to dinner.
He was a colonel in the army, but as a follower of
General Metri, the ex-president, out of the service
pro tern., and in receipt of no pay ; for as I have
already explained, in these enlightened and go-ahead
republics there is a clean sweep of the broom with
each change of Government. When one party goes
—out, too, go aU the subordinates — down to the
ticket-clerks of the Government raUways, and even
— I should not be surprised to hear — to the licensed
shoeblacks of the capital.
The colonel was a very genial old gentleman and
cheerful, notwithstanding that Providence had been
playing at Job with him with a vengeance of late. Not
only was his party out of office, but everything had
been going wrong with him, he said. A recent flight
of locusts had devoured all his maize ; a few days
back a jaguar had robbed him of a valuable horse ;
and now he had received very bad news indeed
from his estate on the Rio Salado, eighteen leagues 7

194 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
to the eastward — the Indians had made a raid on his
cattle there, driven off some hundreds of head, and
lanced some of his peons.
We were informed that we were the first foreigners
that had visited this town save one, and this latter
was so pleased with it, that he had taken up his
residence here ; what he found to be so pleased at our
informant could not tell us. Anyhow, this eccentric
individual, on hearing that there were some European
travellers in the puebla, caUed upon us, and welcomed
us with great warmth. He proved to be an Italian,
and, according to his own account, a ne'er-do-weel
who had tried many professions in his day. He was
a garrulous yet solemn little feUow ; he plucked us
by the sleeve, and rushed off into a detailed narrative
of his former hfe in the true " ancient mariner "
style. He had been for eighteen years a soldier in
Italy ; then deserted : after this he was a sailor in
the Spanish navy for so long ; deserted again : next
he became the husband of a shrew ; deserted once
more : and so on through a variety of professions,
finishing off always with a desertion or abrupt
running away.
" And what are you noAv ? " I inquired, imagining
that he kept a little grog-shop, was the cobbler, barber,
or something of the like nature ; but he gravely
replied, " I am the Government schoolmaster of the
national school of Quebrachos." He was the vUlage
dominie of this little hole in the desert, and was now
seriously contemplating yet one more desertion from
this not over-lucrative post.
It rains but seldom in the central portions of the
Argentine Republic ; but when it does rain, it is to
an English shower what the Niagara is to the falls
of the Upper Serpentine. This night a fearful storm
swept over the land, a hurricane of wind, terrible
thunder.and such a deluge of water as quite accounted

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 195
for the deep fissures and rents that cut the monte
we had recently traversed in aU directions.
The dogs of Quebrachos were as hospitable as the
inhabitants, and not wanting in kind attention to
the strangers. They came from the four corners of
the square, and mustered in front of the open
doorway of the room in which we slept, to guard us
through the perils of the night. They told themselves
off in two watches, about twenty to each watch, and
so relieved each other in the awful chorus which
they kept up diligently tiU morning. When we rose
at dawn, they came up to us with forty wagging
tails, and looked up to our faces with self-satisfied
looks, as if waiting for the thanks which were their
due. We did not feel very grateful to them for their
noisy guard, but assumed the virtue though we had it
not, and expressed to them our undying gratitude
for their generous conduct. The officers of the guard
dismissed the other dogs, and consented to join us
at breakfast over the remains of our sheep ; then,
with expressions of mutual good-will, we parted.
March 26th. — We did not set off very early this
morning, but waited to see whether the weather
would clear, for it still rained heavily. This, the
autumnal, is the rainy season here. It is only
during these two months of February and March
that there is any rainfaU at aU ; when this fails, as
not unfrequently happens, there is great distress
in these provinces, and the cattle must either be
driven eastward to the rivers by the Indian Chaco
for pasture and water, or southward for sale.
Our Italian acquaintance caUed on us at about
ten o'clock ; he was a casual pedagogue, conducting
his school on free and easy principles. He said, —
" I must now show you round the town, besides I
want to have a chat with you about Europe ;. come
to the school with me and have mate."

196 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
" I am afraid we will disturb you at your duties,"
I remarked. " My duties ? nonsense ! I won't ring the bell
for school as long as you are in Quebrachos. We'll
give the urchins a holiday. Besides, I am tired of
working for nothing. Can a man work unless he is
fed ? Bueno I the provincial government have not
paid me for nine months; they give me paper
instead of salary ; paper will not buy bread."
He showed me one of these despised bits of paper ;
he receives one each month, a large elaborate printed
document gay with stamps and seals, an acknow
ledgment that the provincial government of Santiago
del Estero owes him so many doUars (fuertes) for a
month's salary.
In the original agreement with him the Govern
ment contracts to pay him his salary each month,
in gold, or its equivalent in bank-notes at the then
rate of exchange. But these wretched I O U's, which
the Government will never redeem, which no store
keeper wiU take — utterly unnegotiable, in short — are
all the poor wretch is receiving. No wonder that
he contemplates another desertion from such a
thankless office. It suits the venal heads of depart
ments very weU, in more than one way, that Govern
ment debts should be paid in these I O U's, for the
following trickery is notoriously practised. The
Government employe, the poor ignorant holder of the
paper, finding that he cannot cash it — that it is next
to useless to him — will in many cases be only too
willing to part with it at any sacrifice, for a sum far
below its nominal value. Then steps in a third party,
who buys the paper from him for a mere song — a
speculator who has a brother, or a brother-in-law,
or a cousin, who is a compadre of some big man in
office, or is possessed of some such backstairs key to
that so mysterious an abstraction for the unlearned

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 197
— the Government. This influence being brought to
bear, the treasury winks and cashes the paper at its
full nominal value, when the speculator, his relative,
and the big man in office share the spoil and hold
their tongues. Large fortunes have been acquired
in this manner in this enlightened republic.
Quebrachos is but a very small place, at the very
outside possessing twenty houses and huts, and yet
within these narrow limits we have three public-
houses, an imposing store where you can buy English
pickles and beer, half a church, a school, a com-
mandante, a judge, a schoolmaster, and an idiot
beggar. A Santiagan settlement is like a San
Domingan regiment, where aU are officers and there
are no privates ; or the old Falcon where we had a
self-dubbed admiral, a captain, a first lieutenant, a
second lieutenant, and a crew composed of one
small boy.
Our friend the schoolmaster did after all summon
his pupils before we left ; not to study, however, but
to take a lesson in practical engineering. The
flood of last night had invaded the schoolroom, and
a bank of sand had formed outside the door, pre
venting the escape of the water, so there was the
good-natured pedagogue, bare-legged and in shirt
sleeves, spade in hand, directing a lot of half-naked,
ragged, half-breed urchins to dig a canal through the
sand into the square, so as to drain the flooded
academy. We bid adieu to our kind hosts, and rode off in
a luU in the storm. It soon, however, broke on us
again with all its fury of thunder, wind, and rain.
We were of course drenched in a very short time.
Manuel utterly despised the rain, for, as he said,
" See my coat ; it is an English coat, and water
cannot go through it — at least not much." He
had evidently great faith in the tweed cutaway of

198 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
the white man ; and, though he did become as wet
through as ourselves, he insisted that the water
found its way only through the numerous rents of
the old garment, the impenetrability of the material
he never doubted for a moment.
It rained so heavfly that the sandy-floored monte
was soon covered over with two feet of foaming
water. It thus became impossible to distinguish
the track, but we followed the current of the waters,
which we knew was in our direction, for the brown
roaring flood was rushing to the North to sweU the
Rio SaladiUo into wfld crescentes with these millions
and millions of tons of water — water, difficult though
it was to imagine, that would never reach the salt
sea, but dry up beneath the hot sun in the vast
Laguna de los Porongos, an inland sea in the desert
that has no outlet to the ocean.
From a balloon some hundred yards or so above,
the whole plain we were now traversing would, I
imagine, have presented the aspect of a shoreless
murky sea, with many bushes rising above its sur
face. We progressed with difficulty. Our horses
became alarmed, and stumbled continuaUy in the
rapid water, whose bottom they could not see.
At times we suddenly found ourselves in holes,
where the whole of our saddles were under water,
and the animals were carried off their legs by the
rapid tide. Indeed things looked far from pleasant,
and, more or less lost as we were, there was a prob
ability of night overtaking us while we were floun
dering about in the flood — a not agreeable prospect.
Of a sudden the sky cleared and was blue again.
The sun shone brightly, and aU the birds burst into
song. Lovely, indeed, this wfid monte now ap
peared. AU the vegetation was fresh and drip
ping with diamond-like drops. The tropic ever
greens were greener than ever after the welcome

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 199
moisture. The huge cacti, twenty to thirty feet
in height, were the chief feature in the landscape,
pointing their gaunt arms, with their rectangular
elbows, heavenward, like some huge polypi — quaint
and weird growths, very aged some of them, rotten
and brown skeletons, with aU the outer green pulp
long gone, lying on the ground, or standing only
tiU the next strong wind blew them down.
Beautiful convolvuli wound around all of them,
while air plants depended like hanging gardens
from every branch with their delicate blossoms.
Below, the yeUow sands were hidden by the rushing
waters, but the patches of golden-blossoming camo
mile rose like little islands here and there. At last,
to our delight, we came across a hospitable house on
a slight elevation overlooking the flooded land.
On riding up a gentleman came out with an un
mistakable Teutonic cast of features. We intro
duced ourselves to him, and craved hospitality for
the night. He told us to off-saddle and enter
within. We found ourselves, to our surprise, in a
weU-furnished room, with good engravings on the
walls, and a book-shelf fuU of standard German
works. We seemed to have been transported of
a sudden to Europe and civilization once again.
Our host then, before making any further remarks
to us, called to a native hand-maiden, and ordered
her to bring in some hot water and sugar; then
he opened a mysterious cupboard, full of curious
instruments and bottles. From this he drew a
decanter. Then turning to us he said in good
English, deliberately and with pauses between the
sentences, as he poured out with much delicacy,
and in exact proportions, the contents of the decanter
and hot-water jug into four tumblers, —
" I, too, am a gringo — Dr. Scharn — a medical
man in practice at Santiago ; and now. as a doctor

200 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
I am going to prescribe for you after your wetting.
Hot water and sugar — that is enough. Now, then,
the rum. I think that's about the right dose.
Come, now, drink this down while it is hot."
Bowing to his superior knowledge as to what
was good for us, we swaUowed the medicine hero
ically, and that, too, without making wry faces
over it.
We found the doctor to be a very weU-informed
man, who spoke French, English, and Spanish as
well as his native tongue. We were lucky in find
ing him on this his country estate, where he was
now passing a few weeks — a pleasant change after
the sultry, unhealthy city of Santiago.
We got all our clothes dry, and enjoyed a sleep
in beds for a change this night ; for this was a very
Capua. CHAPTER XV.
March 27th. — It was not till noon this day that
we saddled and rode off, for we had but a
short journey before us to the banks of the Rio
Saladillo, where we had decided to pass the night.
After traversing some six leagues of sandy glades,
we reached our destination, just as the sun was
setting. The mud rancho, where dwelt the ferry
man, was some hundred yards or so from the river,
which was invisible from it on account of the lofty
cane-brakes that intervened.
As we approached this habitation we heard a sound
of voices and music, and, on riding through an
opening in the bush, we burst suddenly on a village
festival. In addition to the ferryman's, there were
two other ranchos here, the white rag flying over
the roof of one declaring it to be a pulperia, perhaps
the only grog-shop for a day's journey around.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 201
Each of these miserable huts stood in its own little
enclosure, surrounded by a fence of prickly pear
and cactus, to protect the cattle within from the
tigers and pumas that are so numerous in these
monies. Along a sandy glade in front of the grog
shop a primitive racecourse had been laid out, and
a great race-meeting was now evidently being held ;
for here was a gathering of mounted men — some
200 at least — and such a gathering !
AU the gauchos for three days' journey around
must have been collected here — half-breeds most
of them, though not a few were half-naked pure-
blood Indians. A more cutthroat-looking lot of
ruffians I never beheld ; ragged, weather-beaten
outlaws, each with his long knife at his back, many
with bollas and lassos ready to bring down any stray
cattle that might come by to tickle their appetite on
their lonely wanderings. In front of the pulperia
a baile was being energeticaUy carried on.
We rode up to the ferryman's hut. He came
out to meet us — a handsome, clear-complexioned,
snowy-haired old Genovese.
" Lodging for the night, como no, senores cabal
leros? Dismount — dismount. Beppo, unsaddle
these horses. Come in, senores caballeros. You
are very welcome."
He told us that he was most delighted that we
had arrived here so opportunely, as we could stand
by him with our six-shooters in the event of a row.
He considerably dreaded these race-gatherings, for
an awful orgie always foUows them, and a gaucho
maddened with drink is a reckless savage, aU the
blood-lust that is in the instinct of his race rising
to the surface.
" Besides, ""said our friend, "these are bad men
round here to-day — murderous thieves, who would
think it but a good joke to cut the throat of an old
7 «

202 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
gringo like me ; and they think I have money in
the rancho, the devils ! "
As we sat in the old man's porch, v/e could see
the fresh arrivals on the scene, for they still kept
flocking in, late though it was, two or three on one
horse in many cases, bare-legged ruffians with big
toes thrust in loops of hide for stirrups, half-drunk,
waving long knives and bottles of gm above their
heads, and yelling discordantly. They (generally
came up at full gaUop, and reined up suddenly in
front of the huts. All looked askant at ourselves
and our horses tied up within the cactus fence,
doubtlessly reckoning up the chances of success in
an attempt to run off with the animals in the night.
Our ancient host, Bartolo, told us that he had
been settled here for twenty-four years. Before the
construction of the railway across the Salinas the
mails to Tucuman passed by here, and he had the
monopoly of carrying them across the river on in
flated hides in the old fashion that Xenophon or
Herodotus, or both, describe, and which is still in
practice in Mesopotamia and many Eastern lands.
Those were good days for Don Bartolo, but now
trade is slack, and few travellers need his services
as ferryman. The old man had been a sailor in
his youth ; he had also been a soldier in Italy, and
at the siege of Montevideo, in 1842, under Gari
baldi. His hfe, he told us, had often been in danger
in this lone spot in the wilderness, where, of course,
law, police, and justice are unknown luxuries.
Men here are left to do what they fike, and they
do it. These race-meetings at the fercy, he said,
end as a rule in considerable kniving — regular duels
with the murderous cuchillo being a favourite
amusement when the gin had done its work. He
once kept the public-house, but abandoned this
trade as being too dangerous for a foreigner,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 203
" And now about dinner for you," continued
Don Bartolo, who did his best to make us thor
oughly at home. He caUed his servants and ordered
a fat sheep to be kiUed on the spot. Our mouths
watered on hearing this ; we sighed with excess of
joy, and our hearts warmed towards the benevolent
old man. A pretty, little, half-naked, innocent boy,
some seven years old, now ran up, and with a bewitch
ing smile asked, in dulcet tones, if he could kiU the
sheep. His fine hazel eyes glistened with anticipa
tion of such a treat. A knife was handed to him.
With bloodthirsty grin he wiped the keen blade ;
then, with half-a-dozen children younger than him
self shrieking and tumbling over each other at his
heels, he ran proudly up to the sheep and, very
deftly, it must be confessed, let out the creature's
life. Loudly did the happy infants cheer when they
saw the red blood flow, for such is the sweet Argen
tine child, such his gentle play. In this Indo-
Spanish race a thirst of blood seems to be sucked
in with the mother's milk. Cold-blooded torture is
the one amusement of babyhood. The child of the
Pampas despises dolls and toys, but give him a dog
or other dumb animal, he will amuse himself for
hours. First he wUl practise his father's lasso on it,
and half-choke the poor beast ; then he will tie it
up and get further excitement by running pins into
it, putting out its eyes, and such-like pretty child
ish games — innocent httle darling that he is I
And now that the sheep is cooking, let us go on
the race-course and see the fun. A curious meeting
this to one accustomed only to our British sport.
I wonder if one of our blatant bookmakers would
find himself at home here, or one of our jockeys,
for the matter of that. It would, I imagine, rather
astonish the winning rider, for instance, at home
to feel a knife plunged between his ribs by another

204 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
disappointed rider who was coming in a good second
behind him. This, however, occurred at the last
race-meeting here, and was not looked upon as
very extraordinary. The course was drawn down a
sandy glade, between the giant cacti. Right down
the middle of it was a row of posts supporting a
hide-rope. It is the custom here for two horses to
race at a time, and this barrier is intended to
separate them from each other. There was only
one match to-day that had been arranged before
hand, the others were scratch-races got up on the
course. This, the race of the day, was for twenty
dollars, for 420 yards, between two great swells,
the only present who wore boots.
It had just been run when we came on the scene.
It seems that one had come in three lengths ahead,
but the loser disputed the result, and refused to
pay up. One of the barrier-posts had been knocked
down, as he alleged, by the winning horse. Now to
foul this rail invalidates a race. The winner denied
this, and accused the other of riding against the
post purposely, when he saw he had no chance of
winning. There seemed to be no judge — none, at
any rate, whose decisions any one paid the slightest
attention to — so the dispute waxed hot. All the
wild horsemen grouped round the two infuriated
jockeys. Each gaucho, of course, stuck up for the
horse he had laid his money on, and a good deal
of perjury was knocking about in the air. It hap
pened that he who had come in first was a stranger,
so nearly aU the money, and hence the sympathies,
of the spectators were with the other. Therefore,
finding himself overpowered, and his protestations
against the cheating vain, the winner leapt on his
horse, swore a great oath, and galloped furiously
away into the jungle, followed by the jeers of the
crowd.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 205
This matter settled, preparations were made for
another race. The would-be competitors, some
mere boys, half-naked on bare-backed steeds, rode
about in the throng, shouting out challenges in
regular bookmaker style ; some wanted to back
their horses against special animals, others against
the field, or the field bar one, somewhat thus, " Ho !
ho ! I'll race my Colorado (chestnut) for two squares,
for two dollars, against any horse save Jose's big
saino (bay). Ho ! ho ! caballeros."
In the interval between the races we looked round
to see what substitute they had here for Aunt Sally,
nigger minstrels, and other Derby-day amusements.
It was rather a serious meeting ; we saw in one
place three men sitting round a fire, and silently,
sadly playing at some game with a very greasy
pack of cards, as they sucked their mate. About
two dozen gauchos stood round them, watching the
game with a solemn apathy. By the way, the
peculiar seriousness of the half-breed is not indica
tive of a contemplative mind, but of a torpid in
dolence ; his indeed is the " reverie qui ne pense a
rien." Farther on we came across a ragged minstrel, play
ing on a cracked guitar. There was a jabbering
idiot on the course, too, whose ears had been cut
off, by Indians probably, and whose costume con
sisted solely of a thin, torn poncho, and thick dirt.
He groaned and wept and wrung his hands ener
getically, and evidently was reaping no small
harvest. " Another race ; make way ! make way ! " A
long, lean, lantern-jawed feUow, looking like a
Don Quixote in bad circumstances, with only one
leg, rode to and fro on a hard-looking black horse ;
he carried a long staff on his legless side, which he
stamped on the ground as he rode along, like Peter

206 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
the Hermit in the old woodcuts. He was very eager
indeed to race his horse. " I'll run any one four
squares for a patacon 1 " he shouted continuaUy
with a stentorian voice. Many present evidently
considered that they had a very fair chance of
success, if matched against this one-legged sports
man. " Bueno ! I'll race you on my bay," cried
one, and four or five others also accepted his chal
lenge. But that one-legged structure of skin and
bone knew what he was about. He affected not
to hear these, but continued to yeU out his chal
lenge like one possessed, so drawing on more and
more to answer it, for all now doubted his earnest
ness, and looked upon him as some poor, half-daft
feUow. But at last, aU of a sudden, he turned
sharply round, and pounced on one jovial-looking
fellow mounted on a black horse, who had just
then jestingly accepted the chaUenge. " Good, my
friend, then we will race," he said, to the discom
fiture of the joker. He had waited his time, until
one whom he thought he could easily beat had
shouted acceptance to his offer — cunning old turfite
that he was. The jovial one was rather taken aback,
but could not withdraw now, and race he must ; so
the two dismounted, and prepared for the contest.
It seems strange to a gringo to see a jockey take
off his trousers in order to ride a race, but the jovial
one did this ; the one-legged one did not happen
to have on even one trouser, so could not. It is the
custom in this country to strip nearly naked on such
occasions. Our two friends divested themselves of
drawers, ponchos, and sombreros, fastened handker
chiefs round their heads, and stood in their shirts.
They then withdrew the heavy saddles from then-
horses, and rode bare-backed to the starting-point.
Now commenced the betting among the crowd,
and bet they did with a vengeance; there is no

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 207
more reckless a gambler than your gaucho ; when the
fever of play is on him he wiU gamble away his
bridle, his blanket, his horse, his knife, his all,
and then walk away, stolid, taking his reverses like
a philosopher — a ruined man, yet not cast down,
for he wiU soon steal another horse, and may be
luckier next time. We walked to the starting-
point, to see the start, which is managed here very
differently from the way it is managed in England.
The riders start themselves. There are a dozen
false starts at least to every race. " Are you ready ? "
says one ; " Good ! " then by mutual consent off
they go. If one be dissatisfied with a start, he
draws up short after a few yards, and they begin
again, not without a preliminary wrangle.
At last both drop their rebenques, and they are
off in earnest. The horses are at their fuU speed
from the very first stride — they are speciaUy trained
to this — there is no puUing in, no making a fine
race of it, but slash, slash, go the hide rebenques
from the beginning to the end of the race, and at a
tremendous rate they do go over the small dis
tances they generaUy run here.
The knight of the rueful countenance won this
race easily. Many more races foUowed, some for
as low stakes as fourpence or fivepence ; but all very
exciting to the spectators, and productive of much
gambling. Cockfighting fiUed up the intervals.
But the red sun had now set behind the horizon,
and the sudden night of these latitudes was upon
us, so the meeting broke up, and the crowd returned
to the open space by the three ranches to carouse
and make merry. After a good deal of half-scorched,
half-raw beef had been devoured by the fires that
were now scattered over the camp, a very witches'
baU, so fantastic it appeared, was started in the
pulperia, overflowing, so many were the dancers,

208 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
to the limits of the tiger-haunted monte. The
band consisted of a haggard and ferocious-looking
gaucho guitarist, and a crazy, almost naked Indian
boy, who accompanied him on a drum, which he
beat in a monotonous tom-tom fashion.
The young ladies who were present at the ball
were plump, dark, not uncomely, but smacking
somewhat of the immortal Dulcinea ; fat and garlic
being the chief reminiscences I have of them. They
were aU barefooted, and danced wonderfuUy, lithe
some as snakes, in the rather licentious native dances.
The sole ornaments each girl wore was a flower be
hind her ear, or a glow-worm picked up in the
monte gleaming among her raven tresses.
The guitarist turned out to be rather a celebrated
Majo, or troubadour, one of the wandering min
strels of Andalusian type, that have long died out
in old Spain, but are stiU not uncommon on the
Pampas. This bard chanted to us, in a nasal tone,
some of his own compositions, plaintive tristes, stir
ring vidalitas, with choruses to them, in which
drummer and bystanders loudly joined — songs in
which the exploits of gaucho heroes are told — all the
whUe he twanged his cracked guitar not unskilfuUy.
Most of these native airs are of a melancholy wild-
ness, monotonous, but of a strangely impressive
monotony, like that of many primitive races ; airs.
too, that curiously affect even a civilized ear, tor
they seemed to awaken and stir in the soul far
vague memories, the buried instincts and sentiments
of a remote barbarian ancestry.
The dance waxed mad and furious, the dancers
were beside themselves with frenzy, but neither man
nor supple damsel seemed to weary, and all the while
these ragged beggars, these outlaw cattle-thieves,
were as smilingly courteous, as polite, as weU-behaved,
as dignified as the proudest hidalgo of old Castile.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 209
At a late hour we retired to rest, sleeping in our
blankets, a la belle etoile, with our horses, under the
clear dewy sky, with our revolvers under our saddles,
which served us as pillows; but aU night long the
camp fires burned, and the mad orgie continued,
the dance, the shouting, the gambling, the gin-drink
ing, the guitar, and the monotonous tom-tom of
that dreadful drum. How weary that wretched
httle Indian boy must have felt !
March 28th. — When we awoke the next morn
ing at seven, and prepared our mate, the revellers
ivere stiU hard at it in front of the pulperia ; the
tom-tom stiU banged away, while crackers were let
off at intervals, as if to revive the flagging energies
of the dancers up to the proper pitch.
We went down to the river, and found it to be a
wide, rapid stream, with steep earth banks on either
side, and sand-banks and quicksands rising here
and there in the midst of it — not by any means a
nice place to ford.
The natives call this portion of the Rio Dulce
the SaladiUo, but the maps designate by the latter
name a tributary stream which here joins the main
watercourse. The Rio Dulce is a considerable river ;
it rises in the lofty sierras of Tucuman, and, after
traversing the Salinas, flows by here towards the
Chaco, pouring its waters into that extensive in
land sea, the Laguna de los Porongos, which lies in
a depression in the great plain, draining it, but hav
ing no outlet to the sea. By the bank we found
the chata, a very rough sort 01 ferry-boat, awaiting
us. Several men and women, and a harpist, all very
disheveUed, half-drunk, and showing unmistakable
signs of having "kept it up" aU night, were to
cross with us to their respective homes beyond the
river. The boat was far too smaU and rickety to
carry our horses across, but three dusky half-breeds

210 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
volunteered to swim them over for what would be
equivalent to three shillings.
It was a gloomy morning, with a cold south wind
blowing ; the river was quite a quarter of a mile wide,
swollen and rapid with the rain, so they earned their
money well. The fellows were more than half-seas
over, and had a powerful tot of raw gin all round
after they were stripped, to keep the cold out. We
hardly liked to trust our animals to them, and the wife
of one of them shared our fears ; she vainly en
deavoured to drag her inebriated lord back into the
boat, but he eluded her. The lady then made us
hand over his share of the pay to her, as she said that
he was not to be trusted with it, and would be
murdering her or some one or other if he imbibed any
more square-face. The men, drunk though they
were, took our horses across very cleverly ; they
were strong swimmers, going hand over hand, dog-
fashion, one ahead, with the halters of two horses in his
teeth, leading the way, the other two swimming after,
rounding in the other animals, and urging them the
way they should go with shoutings and splashings.
We crossed in the chata, resaddled our shivering steeds,
and pushed on at a gaUop across a very desolate
and dreary country.
We were now traversing the eastern corner of the
Salinas, and could form a good idea of the character
of those salt deserts. No grass or herb of any kind
grew on the sandy soil, but huge cacti, whose trunks
two men could scarcely span with their outstretched
arms — giants of their tribe — were frequent. I be
heve that in no part of the world do these plants
attain so great a size, their rectangular arms branched
out like those of huge candelabra, and for the most
part, so ancient were they, the green covering was
entirely stripped off them, revealing the hard wood
beneath — decaying monsters that stood like weird

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 211
skeletons, gaunt and stark, and unhealthy yellow of
hue, aU over the unfertile plain. The thorns of these
cacti were fuUy seven inches in length, their fine
points easily pierced the stoutest boot, and inflicted
nasty wounds that healed with difficulty. The
only other plants that we came across on this wilder
ness were a sort of espinas, or thorny shrubs, whose
leaves had a saline flavour.
As a result of the recent rains, we came occasionaUy
upon extensive shaUow lagunas ; but where the sand
was dry it glistened with dazzling brightness with
the salt deposit that covered it. The reflection
from this would soon have peeled the skin off our
faces, had not sun and exposure pretty weU hardened
and darkened us by this time.
In the damper places we were besieged by millions
of mosquitoes, that literaUy covered ourselves and
our horses. There were three distinct species of
them. There were some that I could scarcely
recognize as our old enemies, nearly as big as wasps,
and striped like them, yellow and black ; ferocious
beasts, that pierced even through our clothes (and
through Jerdein's boots, according to him), with
their diabolical suckers. They were wonderfully
tame, too, never flying from the avenging hand
like their why cousins in Europe ; but what availed
it to immolate a dozen or a thousand in this land
of bichos ?
We reached our night's halting-place before dark
— a curious little settlement. First picture its
surroundings : a plain of dry mud, in places covered
with salt, and everywhere cleft with deep, broad
sun-cracks, and cacti scattered here and there,
alone in the way of vegetation. In the centre of this
not over-cheerful prospect was one of the ordinary
unfinished squares of low houses of unbaked mud that
I have had so frequently to allude to ; the square.

212 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
the buildings, the plain, the inhabitants, were all of the
same depressing yellow colour. Such is the j aundiced
pueblo of Salabina, among whose prosperous fleas
we passed an uneventful night.
March 2qth. — This day we forced our way through
hostile legions of mosquitoes and thorns, to the
village of Juanilla. This is indeed a spinous region.
The thorns of this day's bushes beat anything I
have ever experienced in the way of thorns ; I cut
some and carried them off as trophies, and am now
writing this with one converted into a pen-holder.
It would be the envy of any porcupine ; it is a foot
long, and its base is larger than a sixpenny bit.
At midday we came to a miserable rancho, whose
sole occupants were a woman and her child. She
gave us permission to light a fire under the mimosa-
tree in front of her door, and we soon grilled the
beef we had brought with us from Salabina. As
we sat by the fire, eating our succulent asado, a
bundle of brick-coloured rags sauntered slowly
down to us. This was the lady of the house, who
led by the hand her little naked, fly-blown child.
A lean spaniel bitch followed, also with its offspring,
a still leaner, most melancholy-looking puppy ; in
deed a miserable procession. The woman was
pretty, or rather would have been pretty had she been
fed, washed, and combed out. Two long raven
plaits of hair hung down her back to her heels ;
her eyes were black and large. She came down
towards us slowly and stately, with all the Spanish
hauteur of mien and carriage. Then she sat beside
us, and, with a long nasal drawl and slow delivery of
speech, which the Spaniards of South America have
acquired from the Indians, she asked — not begged
— for a bit of bread for her child. He was ailing, she
said. Bread, she thought, might be good for him ;
she had none in the rancho, charqui alone (dry leather !

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 213
what a diet for a sick baby!). Miserably poor the
woman seemed to be, scarcely able to drag along
her existence. Famine had dimmed her fine eyes, and
weakness had reduced her to a half-daft condition.
She did not pay attention to any remark we made
till it was repeated three or four times. She was
subdued by want to an utter apathy and torpor,
a not uncommon state of things in poor Santiago,
notwithstanding that its people are so hospitable
and ready to share their little all with the stranger.
" WiU the senora do us the honour of joining us
at our meal ? "
" Como no, senor ? " she repUed ; and I think our
fresh beef, biscuit, and caiia did the poor soul good.
The spaniel, too, came up, and with plaintive patience
waited for an invitation to have a share in the good
things. She, too, had an ailing puppy who would
be benefited by bread, and she found means to tell
us as much in her own pathetic way.
We made the woman a little present of yerba and
sugar before we left, and she insisted on giving us a
bottle of prickly-pear jam in return, for with all her
poverty, she was far too proud to accept anything
in the way of alms.
After crossing eight leagues more of salt plain
we reached Juanilla, where were three or four houses
and a store. Outside this store were sitting several
very stately gentlemen, chattering and smoking.
They rose, and politely begged us to dismount.
We piled up our impediments under the eaves of
the house, and entered into conversation with the
gossiping compadres, who were evidently the big
men and elders of the place.
The people about here are for the most part of
pure Spanish blood, many tracing back their descent
to the old conquistadores, foUowers of Fernandez
Pizarro ; but, curiously enough, the language spoken

214 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
hereabouts by all is not Spanish, but the Indian
dialect, Quichua, the ancient tongue of the Incas
of Peru. These elders aU conversed in this language,
but of course understood Spanish as weU, as many
of the lower orders do not. The Quichua tongue is
only spoken in the northern provinces of the Argen
tine Republic, on the frontier of Bolivia. Our new
friends of JuaniUa were aU fine types of the antique
colonist, reminding one of the portraits by the old
Spanish masters. Velasquez painted heads like
these, long, fierce-eyed, stern, and bearded. In the
becoming native dress they looked like men of a
long-past age, as they verily are in aU their manners ;
tall, gaunt, angular men of the true Don Quixote
breed. We chatted and drank gin with these antique
Santiagenas, while a small boy was sent in search
of maize for our horses. In the midst of the slow
dignified conversation, a sudden commotion was
heard in the pueblo, and even these stolid sages
showed unmistakable signs of excitement. What
extraordinary event was it that could so stir these
profoundly stiU natures ? Nothing less than the
racehorses — two of them — that were being brought
out for their afternoon gaUop. The whole population
of JuaniUa — some thirty, including women and
babes — turned out to inspect the beautiful animals.
This was the one event, the sole excitement to break
the sleepy dead-and-alive day of this duU South
American village. These two horses are the pride,
the hope of JuaniUa, the objects of the greatest sofici-
tude. They are tended with minute care, fed at
intervals, day and night, in a scientific way, till they
becomo as hard as nails, or as char qui. Before their
alfalfa is laid before them, every unwholesome bit
or particle of foreign matter is carefuUy picked out.
In fact, they have a fine old time of it. and are treated

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 215
as gods, even as some sacred Bull of. Memphis,
kinging it in his manger.
We saw the horses gallop, and agreed with the
proud owner that the tordillo (grey) was a likely
animal to put one's money on. When the maize ar
rived — very dear it is, by the way, in this province
of the desert — we found it was ungrained, so we had
to sit down and disintegrate the tough ears our
selves. This is no easy work, and would inflict sore
havoc on a delicate-skinned hand, which ours are not,
anyhow. After a square meal of puchero we turned
in, in the primitive way of the country, under our
blankets in the middle of the main (and only) street,
for there were no policemen here to disturb our
slumbers and bid us " move on."

CHAPTER XVI.
March 30th. — On leaving JuaniUa, our route lay
across a rather less desert country. We were
off early, and before the mosquitoes had slept off
the last night's orgie. But they got up soon after us,
when the sun warmed their wings, half-paralyzed by
the cold of the morning dew. We cooked and
devoured our midday asado in the middle of the
viUage of Atamisqui, in front of the butcher's house.
This was a typical dweUing of the country: a one-
roomed rancho, with no window. Inside was noth
ing save fleas and dirt, but outside was aU the careful
housewife's apparatus. First, in front of the door,
was a mud structure like a bee-hive — this was the
oven wherein the bread is baked ; near this was
the hoUowed stump of a tree, forming a big mortar,
in which a woman was crushing maize, or algaroba
pods, with a wooden pestle. The meat (char qui)
hung in festoons from the branches of a large mimosa.

216 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
This is certainly a most out-of-door people. In
this province the cooking of a household is done out
side, the family eat outside, at night lock up the house
and sleep outside ; in short, exist altogether outside —
wisely, seeing what worse than pigstyes their ranchos
are. But why do they take the trouble of construct
ing houses at aU, since they apparently make no
manner of use of them ? I cannot imagine, unless,
upon mature consideration, it be for the laudable
object of becoming householders, and so having a
vote ; but I forget we are in enlightened, universal-
franchised South America, not in feudal England.
Here we found that the inhabitants understood but
little Spanish, and spoke Quichua exclusively.
In the evening we reached Loretto, the largest
town between Cordoba and Santiago, but that is not
saying much. The photographer of Cordoba had
spoken to us of Loretto, and marked it down on the
road-plan he prepared for us as a " town of women."
Such towns, where men are few, the population
being almost exclusively made up of the fair sex, are
not rare in some parts of the Argentine Republic.
In aU parts of this province the traveUer is especially
struck by the disproportion of the sexes. This I
have heard attributed to the revolutions, and to the
sweeping conscriptions the tyrant governor of a
province often decrees, in order to strengthen his
personal power. This Argentine confederation has
been, and stiU to a lesser extent wiU be, until the
Unitarios get the upper hand for good, a coUection
of almost independent states or provinces. Each has
its separate provincial government, its provincial
army, its local satrap, who, as often as not, sets at
nought the impotent edicts of the central National
Government. In this province of Santiago, some
few years ago, reigned almost as kings, or, more
exactly, as powerful feudal barons, the Taboadas,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 217
a noble family, haughty and ambitious. The flower
of the land was taken by these to serve in the pro
vincial army, which they maintained on a far higher
footing than was necessary to protect the Indian
frontier. Thousands of gaucho cavalry were kept
ever in readiness to advance against the neighbour
ing provinces, when disputes arose between the
Taboadas and rival satraps.
It was this state of things, I am told, that accounts
for the now paucity of men in Loretto and other
towns. The Nero-like cruelties and lusts, the un
bridled tyranny of these Republican presidents,
dictators, and governors, would hardly be credited
by folks at home. These men, ignorant as a rule,
mere gauchos some of them, raise themselves to the
little brief authority by the means of assassination,
treachery, and crime ; and with these same they
protect themselves through their rapacious career,
until the assassin's knife makes way for some greater
tyrant. The Monteneros, or organized bands of
gaucho outlaws, become the ready tool of any would-
be despot who offers hope of plunder, and the
wild hordes of the Pampas are brought down to
overrun the civilization of the city. It is this system
that has ruined what would otherwise be flourishing
towns and centres of commerce and industry. The
stranger is struck with astonishment, and is at a loss
for an explanation when he comes across so many
towns, considerable and ancient many of them, in
this Republic, that are now falling in [ruins, [and
whose grass-grown streets are almost deserted by
man. About half a mile or so outside the "town of
women " was a rancho. Here, indeed, was a man,
but he was not a whole one, for he was lying very
pale and weak on a catre in front of his hut, having
been severely wounded by a jaguar that he had

2i8 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
hunted and driven at bay. He was feebly sucking
mate when we approached. Two small, naked,
brown children sat by him on the ground, each with
two broad rings of flies settled round his eyes, like
the black rims of spectacles — for, like the Egyptian
infant, the Argentine country child never bethinks
him of brushing away these flies, but sits down,
seemingly perfectly comfortable, with fifty or sixty
thus roosting round his optics. There are two pot
bellied little urchins squatted, stolidly chewing
algaroba-pods, which seems to be the sole diet of
the poorer children of this province — not a very
nourishing one either. To procure enough susten
ance in this way necessitates about thirteen hours of
persistent chewing a day ; thus the stomachs of
the young here, like those of aU savages who live on
vegetables and roots alone, are bulky and oxlike in
proportion. This man could sell us alfalfa and charqui, and
behind his house was a small pond of muddy water,
so we determined to camp here for the night, instead
of thrusting ourselves on the hospitality of the Loret-
tanas ; besides, it was far from certain if forage would
be procurable within the waUs of the town ; and yet,
again, would it not have been an over-adventuresome
and perilous thing to have passed down those mud
streets, and found ourselves alone and unprotected
males among so many women ? Caramba ! It
was too perilous, and legends of fierce Amazons rose
to our memory, and the fearful laws of that city of
fair girls where Tennyson's Princess held her sway, so
we off-saddled and prepared our camp by the side
of the mosquito-haunted laguna — smoke could keep
off their sting — but women ! not that we Falcons are
misogynists. Heaven forbid !
But from the watch-tower of the city did the
sentinel maiden perceive the four horsemen from a far

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 219
country, and she reported us to the governess.
Then was a consultation held, and the elders said,
" Let us send some forth that they may slay these
gringo intruders — gringos and males to boot! it is
horrible ! " But the younger women were loth
that this should be done, for they had perceived
that the horsemen were not uncomely, and, being
women, they felt much curiosity to know what
these men in so strange apparel and stained with
long travel might be.
Now, happily, the younger women were the
majority in the council, so there were sent forth to
invite us as friends within the waUs two delegates
— one an elder and stately matron, one a graceful,
dark-eyed girl. Afar off we saw them approaching,
so we tried to look our best, shook the dust off our
ponchos, gave our sombreros a gay, cavalier-like
askewness, twirled our moustaches, and put on our
most superior smiles. They came up, and then
we felt smaU indeed, for they paid no manner of
attention to us ; they had walked hither, not for us,
but to visit the sick man, who was their relative,
and to bear him grateful delicacies. All I have
written above was the mere offspring of our wanton
imaginations, the conjecture of our vanity, when
we perceived the two black-draped figures coming
out of the town towards us.
After these ministers of mercy had seen to the
wants of the wounded man, they condescended to
notice us, and inquired of him what we were. On
hearing our tale, the elder woman came up, and, with
a very pleasant manner, invited us to her house in
the town.
" Senores Caballeros," she said, " I have an apart-
ment in my house, which is not in use, and which I
shaU be happy to place at your disposition for the
night, if you will accept of it. There is a well hard

220 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
by, and I can supply you with a sufficiency of beef,
maize, and alfalfa."
We accepted her gracious offer, resaddled, put our
baggage on the pack-animals, and foUowed her into
the town. The poor horses evidently did not relish
this, for we had ridden them fifty-five miles this day,
and they naturally thought the time for repose had
arrived ; but they had not far to go ere they were
again unsaddled and at ease.
While our asado was cooking in the courtyard, we
took a stroU through the town. The smaU number
of men in the place was certainly extraordinary.
At last, in one of the stores, we did find quite a con
siderable group of our own sex drinking — cut-throat-
looking gauchos, all with long knives, some with
revolvers, but who politely insisted on our drinking
with them.
Here, too, was an individual who deserves particular
mention — a dark man, beardless, with bright,
beady eyes, and much of the Indian in his blood.
He was well-dressed, but in a barbaric fashion, that
differed considerably from that of the gauchos round
in its details ; a scarlet kerchief was round his head
below his sombrero ; his poncho was of gaudy colours
and strange pattern ; his sUver spurs were massive,
and gold earrings were in his ears. When he spoke
it was with a pompous nasal drawl, very deliberate,
and offensive to ears unaccustomed to it.
This man was a Bolivian CoUa, a travelling herbalist
or quack doctor. These Indian and half-breed
Collas have a great reputation aU over South America;
they travel with their packs of drugs to the southern
most camps of Buenos Ayres, and northwards to the
shores of Panama. They are looked upon with much
reverence by the gauchos of the Pampas as great
medicine-men, conjurors, and miracle-workers.
That there is much humbug in these Collas is true,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 221
but there is much besides ; there is a sort of primitive
college in Bolivia where the would-be Collas receive
their diplomas. This college has no buildings, no
books, the primeval forest serves for both. The
elder Collas take the young aspirants out into the
midst of that glorious Bolivian vegetation, and ex
pound to them, day after day, the properties and
secret virtues, the poisonous effects, of all the herbs
and animal distillations, as handed down by tradition
from generation to generation, from CoUa to CoUa,
long ere the Spaniard stepped on the American
shore. All the instruction is oral; none of this
lore has ever been committed to writing. I doubt
if one out of twenty of the learned dons and
doctors of the college of CoUas can read or write.
When the young man has imbibed all this antique
wisdom, a wand, painted in spiral stripes, is given to
him, he is solemnly called by the name of CoUa, and
he is sent forth to wander over the wide continent
on his healing errand. Not to be despised is the
medical science of these unlettered men; that tra
ditionary system, that empirical wisdom of many
centuries, contains many wonderful and useful
secrets unknown to our European schools. I have
heard of several extraordinary cures performed by
them on sceptical Englishmen, not at all likely to be
taken in by a common quack. For all fevers, snake
bites, and diseases peculiar to this country, give me
the Bolivian Collas with the striped wand. They
know the leaf that is the magical dispeller of fever ;.
they can extract charms from innocent-looking in
sects that will aUay the pains of rheumatism;
they can teach you how to mix your mother-in law's
mate with an essence that will bring peace to your
household; they wiU seU you chips of wood, the
which, if you throw them in a stream or pond, will
poison or intoxicate all the fish, so that they float on

222 THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON."
the surface and can be easUy caught ; but as a surgeon
the CoUa is not to be relied upon ; of anatomy,
physiology, or any other ology, of course, he knows
nothing whatever, though he wUl talk aU sorts of
incomprehensible jargon about them for your benefit.
March 31st. — From Loretto a two-days' journey
brought us to Santiago del Estero, the capital of
the province. Our route lay across a much pleasanter
country than that we had left. The vegetation,
more tropical in nature, was fresh and green after
the recent rains ; below the bushes was spread a
soft carpet, not of grass, but of lovely flowers —
verbenas, polyanthi, tulips, camomUe, and others.
Towering above the lower bushes were stately trees —
the Quebrachos colorados — betokening that we were
near the limit of the monte, and at the commence
ment of the tropical forest. The bushes were not
too near each other here, as in the denser montes
further south, but scattered, so that through the inter
spaces the eye was relieved by extensive views over
the] sea-like spreads of flowers. The convolvuli and
creepers, too, that overflowed the bush, the trees, the
bushes, were aU in manifold flower/and in fruit as well ;
aU bore fruit. There was the prickly pear, with its
heavy load of juicy orbs, and the ancoche, with its
pearl-like drops, sweet to the taste and wholesome.
There was a huge cactus, too, hereabouts, that bore
plentiful fruit, somewhat like that of the prickly pear
in outward appearance, but larger ; some of these
were bursting open with ripeness, and disclosed the
delicious pulp within, cool as spring-water, and of
a blood-red colour. This is called the oukli here,
a lovely fruit, and one of the most useful in South
America. In the rainless, arid district of the Andes, in Santi
ago, and other provinces remote from the sea-coast,
where the rainfall is irregular and rare, and where,

THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON." 223
after long months of cloudless, burning skies, the
pastures wither up, the lagunas dry, and the cattle
perish of drought ; in rocky regions, too, baked by
the vertical sun, where no other plant can find sus
tenance, the blessed oukli flourishes. Those stout,
prickly stems and manifold round fruit, covered with
thick, green rind, blushing slightly with the red pulp
within, are fleshy and juicy to excess, full of an in
sipid sap sucked in from the heavy dews of the night.
These plants are admirably constructed for the ab
sorption of the floating vapours.
In the seca— the drought — the ranchero will go out
and cut down with his machete a quantity of these
soft, pulpy cacti, which the cattle will eagerly devour,
both stem and fruit, therein finding an abundance of
both food and drink. Were it not for the oukli, many
portions of this province now inhabited would have
to be left utterly desolate. We found the cool fruit,
which can be eaten with impunity, very grateful.
In the pleasant fields we crossed this day, all the
winged people of the province seemed to have
gathered ; never did I behold so many birds together :
thousands of cooing doves and chattering parrots,
and strange rainbow-coloured little creatures that
never rested ; coranchos, vultures, and owls
were there too in legions, but preserving a more
dignified appearance, and seeming to despise the
frivolity of their cousins.
A land of fruit and birds and flowers, but of bichos
and espinas too !
We heard from people that we met that the Rio
Dulce, which we had to cross once more, was swollen
by the rains, and not practicable at the passage of
Gauchana, so we had to follow a longer route, and
ride by the banks of the river to a point about a
league distant from the city of Santiago, where there
was another chata.

224 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
We passed by a liti'e town called Mamodo, where
was the usual square, this one more unfinished than
any we had yet seen. There were but six houses
scattered round it, and the jungle grew so dense and
taU in the centre of it that it was impossible from
one side to see the houses on the other. I do not know
how these pueblos are founded, but the augu6t
founders, whoever they may be, evidently, as a rule,
expected that enormous cities were to rise on the
spots of their choice, on so extensive a scale did they
draw out the skeletons of these future Babylons.
This they told us was an ancient pueblo, yet jaguars
and pumas roamed unmolested in its square. At a
rancho here we tasted a new and strange drink,
which we aU pretended to like — algaroba beer. To
make this, the pods are weU mashed in a hollow
tree-stump, water is poured on them, fermentation
takes place, and in twenty-four hours you have your
foaming ale. I cannot say much for algaroba beer,
but algaroba spirit is by no means to be despised,
and the cakes made from the pounded beans are very
nice indeed.
After riding about forty miles we entered a forest
nearly entirely leveUed to the ground by what must
have been a most terrific hurricane. On emerging
from it we came to an estangia caUed Roblez, where
we passed the night, being received with true Santi-
agenan hospitality. There was a Frenchman staying
in the house, an engineer, who was engaged in con
structing canals of irrigation for the sugar plantations
near Santiago. He was in possession of a Paris paper
three months old, which we devoured eagerly.
April ist. — This morning we rode down to the ford
on the Rio Dulce, which was but a few leagues distant.
We found the river in high flood. It here flowed
between sandy shores sloping up to a dense jungle,
and was of considerable breadth. There were some

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 225
men willing to swim our horses across, perilous work
in this crescente, for heavy trees floated down rapidly
on the turbid water. These men drove the horses
into the stream nearly a mile above the spot they
proposed landing at on the other side, so strong
was the current. We in the rough chata accom
plished the voyage in the same manner. When we
reached the other bank, we were landed on a quick
sand. Several Indians now commenced to run
rapidly backwards and forwards over this, and so
soon formed a fairly hard road for ourselves and
horses. This method of making a temporary solid
path across a quicksand is very effectual. In Africa
they first drive the oxen across a river, that the
sands may so become sufficiently hard to allow the
heavy waggons to cross without danger of their
sinking permanently into the treacherous bottom.
When we were beyond the river we beheld, at
about a league off, the ancient city of Santiago del
Estero. The gleaming dome of the old cathedral
dominated aU, contrasting strangely by its size, and
the wealth lavished on its construction, with the
barbarism and poverty of the broad province it
looked down upon.
We were now entering a new country. As we
approached the city the untiUed wUderness vanished,
canals of irrigation flowed sluggishly on either side
of the road — for there was a road — and aU around
us, with a rustling and a crackling sound, waved
great plantations of sugar-cane; we were in the
tropic north again, with a sudden burst, as it were.
No longer were around us the parched montes and
salinas, but a damp, rainy, steaming land, covered
with a rank vegetation, the unhealthy tepid tropics
of Central South America.
We rode into the city, a largish town, but thor
oughly Argentine ; there are but few gringos here :
8

226 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
a mean place, so mean that there is not even a tram
way in it, and no South American city can even pre
tend to be respectable without that. The miserable
houses are of mud, brick being the exception.
Paving there is none to speak of. The streets are of
softblack mud. A disreputable, dishevelled-looking
sort of a capital, whose inhabitants have a large
proportion of Indian blood in their veins, the indolent,
useless Indian blood, that is the curse of this Republic.
As we rode in we saw the children, mahogany-
coloured, with bright dark eyes, and straight black
hair, wallowing naked in the rich mud of the streets.
There was a wild, barbaric look about the dirty city
and its inhabitants that struck us much. We rode
to the one hotel, the " Hotel de Paris," a new
institution. Of old the traveUer had to throw
himself on the hospitality of the inhabitants or camp
outside. A native keeps this — the first native hotel
that we had experienced in this Republic ; may it
be the last ! The landlord was a haughty aristocrat,
who would not condescend to look after the comfort
of his guests in the least, but stalked like a monarch
through his palace, eyeing his guests as if they were
so many intruders on his peace.
The hotel was a strange old place, and not wanting
in magnificence; the house once of some governor
or great man, a tyrant Taboada maybe. The patio
was large, with a beautiful columned gallery around
it, delicately-painted, but now crumbling to pieces
from neglect. There was something of the ruined
Moorish palace in the look of the whole building.
There was a large courtyard behind the patio, in the
centre of which was a huge wooden structure like a
hencoop. This was the cock-pit, with its tiers of
seats. We were divided into different bedrooms over
looking the patio — large rooms with gaudy draperies

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 227
on the waUs, now hanging in mildewed shreds, but
betraying former grandeur and ostentation of wealth.
I was quartered with another traveUer, a Bolivian,
who was driving cattle south, but was here laid up
half-way with a very bad attack of chuchu, or inter
mittent fever ; not a pleasant companion, for he
groaned awfuUy when the shivering fit came on him.
He told me he was taking eighty grains of sulphate
of quinine a day, which is a largish dose, but not
unfrequently ordered here by the doctors.
The plaza of Santiago is fine in its way, and sur
rounded oy rather imposing pubUc buildings. A
white-plastered column, commemorative of Liberty
or somebody else, is in the centre of it, of course
tumbhng to pieces, for here, as in China, dilapidation
is but rarely repaired.
The day of our arrival the municipality had awoke
to a spasmodic fit of cleaning up: some gaucho
prisoners, guarded by stunted, dirty, half-breed
soldiers, were (smoking the whUe) hoeing up the grass
which had been allowed to rankly overgrow all the
flags of the desolate Plaza, wherein no human being
ever seemed to walk, fine promenade though it
would make.
The street sights of Santiago are of the country —
china girls, wUd and half-naked, ride cross-legged
on mules laden with alfalfa for sale. Sandalled
gauchos loaf about solemnly and noiselessly. At in
tervals in the gloomy streets are stores where cheap
Brummagen and Manchester goods, gaudy, and of
bad quality, are exposed to view. With the exception
of these last, the houses are like prisons, with grated
windows admitting but a feeble light from the street.
Outside some of the best of these dungeons, white
high-caste ladies, bonnetless, with their two raven
tails hanging to their waists, and in dainty high-
heeled shoes, sit on chairs in the street, chatting,

228 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
fanning, drinking mate, and smoking cigarettes, in
a very free and easy manner. These are the noblest
of the land, wives and daughters of deputies and
generals — and in this fashion do the elite of Santiago
take the air. It is a very out-of-door life that of this
people; and, indeed, the habitations are not such
as would tempt one to stay indoors much — an out-
of-door life, but not a French out-of-door life — there
are no brilliant cafes here, no splendid shops, no fld-
neurs. The citizens have no cheerful promenades, so
stand and sit — a melancholy-looking race — outside
their prison-like houses, hke so many prisoners
out for an airing.
From here to Tucuman is a three days' easy
journey on horseback by the usual route, but on
account of the flooded condition of the Rio Dulce,
which we had yet once more to cross, we were recom
mended to make a detour, and follow its banks to a
point some fourteen leagues from here.

CHAPTER XVII.
April 3rd. — Having enjoyed a day and a half's
rest in the not very interesting capital of the prov
ince of the desert, we rode off at daybreak on the
3rd of April. We went through the town in our
usual picturesque procession, with the baggage-
animal trotting on ahead, with kettle and asador
swinging under his neck rattling merry music ; and
the sack on his back well full of sugar, mate, biscuit,
and beef, a four day's store, for as we were not
'foUowing the regular route, who could teU how far
we might have to' travel ere finding a place where we
could re-victual ?
We rode aU day ; first through the canalized sugar-
plantations in the neighbourhood of the town, then

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 229
across a wilderness of trees and flowers. The deadly
chuchu plant was plentiful at our feet, so, too, thick-
growing white poppies and variegated tulips. We fol
lowed the river, generaUy about a mne from it, a dense
jungle intervening. At midday we halted to feed in
a small pueblo, where a laguna provided us with tepid
muddy water, but there was nada mas to be got in
this place in the way of provisions, as Manuel, after
diligent inquiry, informed us, not even caiia or
gin! What a barbarous country! Far, indeed,
from civilization must be the spot where fire-water
cannot be procured. Then we went on again across
the plain, steaming and dank with its rich black
loam — how different from the dry south. The
atmosphere was that of a vapour bath ; it was late
autumn, and the rank vegetation was rotting all
around us, unhealthy and leprous-looking. We
understood now how it was that this country was
famed for its pestilential chuchu, being a prolific
mother of fevers, whUe the Pampas and the arid
montes further south are quite healthy, where, as
in the Sahara of Africa, hunger and thirst and old
age are the only diseases known.
It demonstrates how little the natives here know of
their own country, to say that we found that the
chata, or ferry-boat, fourteen leagues off, the people
of Santiago had told us of and recommended, was not
in existence, and had not been so for nearly ten years.
So after riding all day, we found that we had to follow
the bend of the river still further to the south-west
out of our direction, in order to find some other
paso. About an hour after dusk we came upon a
house by the river bank, standing alone in the wilder
ness. The whole family was sitting outside mate-
drinking — a patriarchal-looking tribe. The head
was a stalwart, hale old man, straight as an arrow,
in gaucho dress, shod with colt's feet, and belted

230 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
with many dollars, with a head that might have
belonged to Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. He had
several sons round him, one, a youth of about fifty,
was married, had married daughters, and was already
a grandfather ; thus our host was a great-grandfather ;
but, to our surprise, huddled up within the rancho
was another very aged man, with long white hair
and beard, and blind, with his palsied head wrapped
up in a white cloth. This was our host's father,
the venerable ancestor of aU the little colony, the
great-great-grandfather of the little babe there at his
handsome mother's breast. This old gentleman lived
in a world of his own, in a time about three-quarters
of a century back at least. He would talk to no one,
ignored his descendants and aU present things
altogether, and was wont, so our host told us, to tie
himself in a knot there in the corner, and shiver and
moan on day by day, with eyes that, though blinded,
had yet a far-off look, and mumble to himself all sorts
of ancient memories. He would talk often of the
king of Spain, whom he evidently considered stiU
ruled half the New World, and of many events of
long-past history that his grandsons had not even
heard of.
This was a handsome famfly, from the old Con
quistador, as we caUed the ancient, downwards ;
there was no taint of the Indian blood in them.
And so the happy and peaceful hfe of this little
community of five generations of men flows on its
even way in this remote waste, with only the season
of the marking of cattle and such-like rural excite
ments to vary its uneventful calm ; for out here even
the outermost wave of the revolutions of the cities
is unfelt, and those lawless bands of armed men that
fatten on pronunciamenta, robbing men .and violating
women, do not extend their raids thus far.
At night the preparations for rest were made in a.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 231
way that would surprise an English farmer. Although
the night air was cool, almost cold, our host bid his
sons bring out the beds. Three catres were then
arranged in a row outside the house, which, emptied
of every one, was locked up for the night. The
patriarch turned into one catre, the host and his wife
into another, the damsels into the third, while the
men, the children, and ourselves, camped out along
side in our blankets. This curious habit of locking
up the house and turning out for the night is common
in these northern provinces ; even in chilly weather
the native prefers to sleep under the stars to within
doors, luUed into slumber, as we were to-night, by
the lowing of cattle, the hum of cicala, the cry of
wild beasts, and other manifold sounds of the forest
and the wilderness, not to forget the snores of
patriarchs, for the great-great-grandfather raised a
nasal trumpeting this night that drowned that of all
his five generations of descendants, his oxen, and
the strangers within his gates put together.
April 4th. — When we had ridden but a few miles
this day, we perceived that ahead of us the monte,
for leagues, as far as the eye could see, was of a red
colour, Uke that of burnt bricks. Earth, tree, and
bush had aU assumed the same curious hue, the effect
being something like that of early winter on some of
the vegetation of northern Europe. We could not at
first conjecture what the strange appearance signi
fied — it was as if some pestilential blast had withered
up aU the hfe of the land ! On approaching, we found
this to be a vast multitude of locusts, that were
settled so thickly on everything that no twig or leaf,
or inch of bare earth, was left visible. There was
nothing to be seen anywhere under the sky but the
mahogany-coloured bodies of these fearful creatures,
they covered aU. They had nearly finished up this
district. As we rode through them they rose from

232 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
under our feet in thousands, with a multitudinous
crackling sound as of a huge bonfire, and then, when
we had passed, settled down again, but having re
vealed in their short flight the devastation they
had wrought; little but bare barkless stalks were
left of tree and bush, even the grass had been de
voured down to the ground.
Afrer riding over several miles of locusts, we
reached a hut by the river, where were two men, who
made their livelihood by burning charcoal and
ferrying stray passengers across the stream. For this
purpose they had constructed what they rather boldly
caUed a boat. Imagine two rough logs, about three
or four feet long, lashed together with hide thongs
in the shape of a V, then a plank nailed on top of
these, so converting the V into an A ; here you have
the boat. The apex of the A was of course the bow
of the vessel. Only one passenger could be carried
at a time on this rickety craft, and he had to balance
himself gingerly, as he squatted down on the trans
verse plank, and held on to the two logs.
One by one we were ferried across. The Charon
would launch the boat each time with its nervous
occupant looking exceedingly ridiculous, and then
swim behind it, pushing it on with his hands, so
steering it diagonally across the curcent, tiU ulti
mately he beached it on the opposite bank. The
river was much swollen, very rapid, nearly 300 yards
wide, and big trees kept floating down, often threaten
ing to coUide with the little raft, thus there was no
small element of danger in this passage. No accident
occuned, however. We were all safely landed, and
then the men proceeded to swim our horses across.
We had not ridden half a mile beyond this when
a strange sound was heard suddenly, coming from
all round us, a sound low and ominous, terrible to
the husbandman ; it was the noise of the wings of

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 233
myriads of locusts. The word had been given forth
by the captain, and, with one consent, in a moment
the vast army rose up with the sun after their night's
feed, as is their custom, to renew their journey of
devastation. The light was obscured by the number
of them, and the sky was reddened. We rode through
several leagues of them, aU bound in a contrary direc
tion to ourselves, so we had to meet them in the
face, a most unpleasant sensation. Our horses
evidently had the strongest objection to riding
against these dense living showers, that pelted
against us without intermission.
We passed a rancho, by which was a small plot of
maize. The family were all out, endeavouring to
drive off the invaders with branches of trees and
shouting, but in vain, for they crowded on over their
dead, and would not be repulsed or checked by any
slaughter ; so the poor people stood in despair, and
hung down their hands, as they beheld the speedy
ruin of their httle farm.
By midday we reached a deserted rancho. In its
ruined corral was a well, from which we managed to
draw out some rotten water, but we saw that there
were so many dead and swollen snakes and other
beasts in the well, that we dared not drink, fearfully
thirsty though we were, for the day was very hot.
Neither could we find pasture for our horses. Be
tween Santiago to Tucuman the stages were long, and
we were unable anywhere to procure algaroba or
other hard food, so our animals had a very hard
time of it.
Rather late this night, very thirsty, we reached a
farm that is caUed Chourki ; here there was water
and some pasture, so we rested by it for the night.
We camped out under a carob-tree in front of the
house, together with the fanner, his family, some tame
ostriches, and a little flock of goats. 8a

234 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
We returned his hospitality by doctoring a horse
of his that had been frightfully clawed in the back
by a puma. He told us that his place was in the
province of Tucuman, so we must have crossed the
frontier some time this day.
April 5th. — This was our last day's ride, and brought
us to the city of Tucuman, which is about fifty miles
distant from the farm of Chourki. We saw ahead
of us a range of giant mountains looming, these were
the Andes of Tucuman, the Sierras of Aconquija,
whose highest summit is 17,000 feet above the level
of the Pacific Ocean. After riding some leagues we
reached an extensive swamp, of the perils of which
we had heard some exaggerated accounts; we had
been told that it might easily befaU us to lose a horse
or two while traversing it. >
We found it to consist of treacherous soft black
mud, in some places covered with water, in others
with bright green grass, forming a quaking crust over
the morass ; canes and other swamp-loving shrubs,
six feet high and more, grew aU over it, rendering
progress slow and difficult. A nasty, unhealthy
place, a nest of chuchu, where only mosquitoes could
resist the poisons of the malarious atmosphere, for
under the hot sun the black mud was rotting and
fermenting and stinking, breathing forth pernicious
fevers. Once beyond it we reached Naranquita, a
pueblo consisting of a store, a few ranchos, and a
sugar factory with its lofty chimney ; a sugar
plantation sunounded the" viUage, and a grove of
oranges. It was an unhealthy spot that should be
left to the mosquitoes that infest it. Nearly every
one in the place seemed to be prostrated with the
fever more or less, and those who were not suffering
then were saUow, emaciated, and haggard from old
attacks of it. We rode on towards the big mountains
until late in the afternoon, when we perceived signs

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 235
that we were nearing an important city. In the first
place, the foot-track broadened into a road, and on
either side of us were great plantations of sugar
cane, with deep canals and hedges of prickly pear
dividing them one from the other. Large orange-
groves, too, were frequent. Above aU towered
huge sugar factories, by which were the mud ranchos
of the peons, grouped in httle villages ; by the
roadside were canteens for the use of the men
employed on the plantations, presided over by
Indian women.
On reaching an eminence, we saw before us a long
straight road, and at the end of it a fair city with
glittering domes and snowy-white houses, backed by
the distant Sienas, rising range behind range into the
clouds. Between us and the town was a rapid
shallow river, the Rio Tati, a branch of our old friend
the Rio Dulce. Here we found a long wooden bridge
of considerable height, so as to be above the level
of the frequent floods. This bridge is peculiar in its
way ; its architect certainly has hit upon the most
original idea in the way of bridges possible, in so
much as this ambitious and solid structure, after
starting from the level of the lofty barranca, crosses
the lower plain for several hundred yards, and then
suddenly stops short, just where your common
every-day bridge generaUy begins — at the bank of
the river, at the water's edge ! We rode along
without observing this at first, and were loudly prais
ing the high state of civilization of the country we
had now reached, where the rivers were spanned by
bridges, and were congratulating ourselves on a pas
sage dryshod, when we were surprised to find the
wooden roadway slope suddenly down to the water,
leaving us to ford the stream saddle-deep.
Once beyond the foaming Tati, we ascended the
steep street to the centre of the town.

236 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
Now we enjoyed a speU of luxury for a space, and
surrendered ourselves to a gentle life ; for in this
city, among others, is a hostelry yclept the " H6tel de
Paris," kept by one M. Doucet, a Frenchman ; and
surely this is saying enough to indicate that it
cannot but be an oasis of gastronomic comfort in this
monotonous land of puchero and asado. This was
a very Capua for us ; our host was erst of the " Cafe>
de Paris at Rosario, an establishment frequented
by the Anglo-Saxon, so he knew how deftly to mix
the insinuating cocktail and the matutinal egg-nog.
Contact with the white man had also civilized the
native waiters of the hotel.
There was one, a fresh hand, but inteUigent, who
had found time already to study and commit to
memory many of the principal habits of the white
man. N.B. — By white man, of course, is signified
Englishman, to the exclusion of niggers, Spaniards,
and all foreigners whatever ; this is the common and
proper definition of the term. I rung my bell for
something or other the day after our arrival ; this
particular waiter promptly turned up, and before I
had time to say a word, the varlet jerked out, —
" Cognac con soda, senor ? "
" No," I replied with virtuous indignation, for I
flatter myself that there is nothing in my personal
appearance, no nasal flush or grogginess of eye that
betokens habitual morning dryness. " No, why
do you ask me that ? "
" Ah, senor," he said with a childlike smile, " there
have been several English here, and whenever they
rung the beU they asked for a brandy and soda."
Such are the pitfalls that the rash inductive logician
is apt to fall into, I meditated ; this knave has
formed this hasty generalization as to the habits of all
my countrymen from the eccentric and vile practice
of a few individuals, and thus unjustly, , , . , " But

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 237
stop," this aloud, " on second thoughts I think
I wfll have a brandy and soda, waiter, if Senor
Jerdein wiU join me." After all, the poor feUow
had been doing his best to formulate into laws
the mysterious Anglo-Saxon nature. It might
confuse his intellect, cause him to despair, and
renounce his laudable design, were we thus at these
early stages of his study to place before him glaring
exceptions to what he considered to be the most
elementary and general rules of Anglo-Saxonology.
We had now to dispose of our faithful horses,
and entrusted Manuel to seU them for us. He
took up his abode under a cart in the stable-yard,
and there received the would-be purchasers of
our steeds, There were some sharp feUows, who
tried hard to do our worthy follower; but he was
on his mettle, and, with his bland and simple smile,
was quite up to these Tucumans, who fancied their
own cuteness, and imagined themselves much more
knowing than a Cordoban. We stayed at Tucuman
some days, and visited the neighbouring country.
We had evidently arrived at the wrong time of the
year to enjoy the beauties of Tucuman, for it was
now the rainy season, no make-believe one in this
province. A perpetual pall of inky cloud obscured
the skies, the rain feU continually, beneath our feet
in street or orange-grove was stinking, deep, black
mud, suggestive of fever and rheumatism. We
found that expeditions into the country and the
cordiUeras were just now provocative rather of bad
temper and grumbling than of enthusiastic admira
tion of the glorious nature around us. When we
were taken out to do anything, we would not admire
it at all — nothing was wonderful in our eyes ;
the plain of Tucuman was but " an unweeded
garden " to us and the Andes detestable nuisances ;
such is the effect of weather on the traveUing mind.

238 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
One day our host took us out for a drive round.
the neighbouring sugar factories in a tumble-down,'
vermillion vehicle drawn by no less than six horses,
with two outriders on the leaders, dirty, bare
legged half-breeds, each armed with a tremendous
whip. The several portions of the carriage, the
driver, the outriders, the horses, were all lashed
together firmly with strips of raw hide, so as to
obviate all chance of disintegration on the way.
In this bone-jolter we were carried along some
terrible roads ; for so civilized is this province
that roads actuaUy exist between the several plan
tations, but they are not of a high class, our six
horses could scacely drag us through them. Tall
sugar-canes waved on either side of us, a ditch
and then a cactus fence in all cases dividing them
from the road, which was but a space left between
two plantations, unmacadamized, and untended in
any way, its natural swampiness being increased
by a remarkably intelligent custom. The mud that
is dug out in the construction and constant dredging
of the ditches is piled up on the sides of the road,
forming two banks, sloping down towards its centre.
Thus the highway, instead of being slightly con
vex, as with us, and draining into the canals, was
concave, and very much so; indeed, aU that can
be said in its favour is that, though a very inferior
road, it would make a passable ditch. We were
ever and anon getting into some more fearful slough
than usual, when our coach would refuse to advance,
and commence to sink gradually into the bowels
of the earth, until the long whips and the tall
language of our Jehu and outriders stung the horses
into supernatural efforts, and they tore us out. We
visited several large factories, all provided with
expensive machinery from England, and the pro
cesses of sugar and rum-making were explained to

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 239
us. We tasted several samples of cafia. One was
a 44 caiia, not an a.d. 44, or a 44 shiUings a dozen,
but a 44 above proof — fire-water, with a vengeance,
calculated to make even a QuUp cough.
We brought a new pet for the Falcon back with
us in the carriage, no less than a young Uon, a
six-month old puma, that we purchased on the
way from an Indian for five shiUings ; playful as a
kitten, about the size of a Newfoundland dog, and
with a purr as of a trombone.
We enjoyed ourselves much in Tucuman, and
actually learnt a new vice, one that is much indulged
in throughout the north-west province of the Argen
tine Repubfic — coca-leaf chewing. We have heard
a good deal about this drug in England lately, and
one of our professional walkers is said to have kept
up his strength by its use during a recent sensational
walk. The foUowing is what I learnt concerning
it in this, the land of its use and abuse. The Indians
of Bolivia discovered the properties of coca ; they
either chew the leaf or drink an infusion of it, and
their white conquerors have acquired the vice from
them. That it does possess the wonderful sus
taining powers attributed to it is certain. When
an Indian undertakes a long journey on foot he takes
with him a little bag of these leaves, and as he
goes, perpetually chews them and swallows their
bitter juice. He wiU traverse many hundreds of
miles of country thus, without taking any other
sustenance or requiring rest ; but when the gigantic
effort is over, he lies down on the ground utterly
prostrated, and so remains without moving for
days, until he has slept off the wearisome and tenible
reaction of the drug. From what I heard from
intelligent men here, possessing some medical know
ledge, it seems that, taken in moderation, it is a
stomachic, and has reaUy useful sustaining powers

240 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
— would not be a bad substitute for tea or coffee,
and is probably better than these. But those who
exceed in the use of coca experience the most dis
astrous results ; the intemperate enjoyer of the drug
becomes apathetic, an utterly useless wretch, im
potent in mind and body ; his energy dies, his
digestive organs become seriously impaired, the
worst symptoms of dyspepsia are induced, and
helpless idiotcy not unfrequently occurs. Mr.
Ledger, of Tucuman, the discoverer of that most
useful species of quinine-tree that bears his name,
the Cinchona Ledgeriana, told me that in his
opinion the injurious results of excess in coca are
more rapidly brought on, and are more terrible in
consequence, than those attributed to excess in any
other drug — opium and Indian hemp included.
I purchased a pound of coca-leaf at a chemist's
(every chemist here seUs the drug) for four sliillings,
and started chewing vigorously, to see what effect
it produced. I certainly took a large quantity of
it, but experienced no appreciable symptoms what
ever ; perhaps it only affects the simple living
Indian, and cannot touch the gringo.

CHAPTER XVIII.
We stayed about a week in Tucuman and its
neighbourhood, and then returned by rail and
steamer to Buenos Ayres. As we had to tra
verse five provinces on this journey, each having a
different paper currency, we provided ourselves
with a load of Chilian and Peruvian sUver dollars,
sols, as they are caUed, which are everywhere taken
for eighty-two cents gold.
From Tucuman to Cordoba we were carried by
the Government raUway, and the evils of its ad-

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 241
ministration were everywhere apparent ; it com
pared very unfavourably with the other railway
companies of the Republic under the management
of Englishmen.
A railway accident is the ordinary incident of
travel on this fine, for it is now so rotten and dila
pidated that the train runs off the metals two or
three times a week, notwithstanding that there are
no curves on the way, the raUs being carried in one
perfectly straight line across the level plains. How
ever, passengers are but rarely injured by these
accidents, for there are no high banks for the train
to roU over. They even manage to get up a collision
occasionaUy, an ingenious and extraordinary feat,
requiring some calculation to bring about, seeing
that one train only starts every other day from
either terminus, and the rate of progress is so slow
that it is almost possible to see the other train
approaching when it is stiU half a day's journey
off across the plain.
Of course we had our httle accident ; we ran off
the fine and took a trip into the Salinas, till we
were brought up, and, after some hours' delay, put
on the rails agam.
We were advised to carry a sufficiency of pro
visions with us ; so we victuaUed our carriage with
a demijohn of Mendoza wine, some cold fowls, and
other luxuries, and made ourselves very comfort
able during the two days' tedious journey to Cor
doba. The stoppages were frequent ; we passed
half a night at a place caUed Recreo, for what
object I knew not, save it be for the purpose of
putting money into the pockets of the exorbitant
proprietor of a buffet that is there. We were
continuaUy halting at other little unnecessary
stations in the salt-desert, where there were no
vUlages, no goods or passengers to be discharged

242 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
or taken up, nothing indeed but a station-master,
sand, salt, and cacti. The delay at each of these
stations was enormous.
The engine-driver and guard of our train would
get out at each, light up their cigarettes, and look
dreamily across the burning desert for half an
hour or so, as if in search of some impossible pas
sengers that were coming up from the far horizon. '
Had we anticipated these delays, we would have
brought an ox with us, and made Manuel get out
and cook us an asado on each platform as we
travelled along. As might be expected, we took
up no passengers at the stations on the Salinas —
at some of the other stations we did. Then there
was a double or treble delay, but this was not
surprising to me after the foUowing experience at
the station of Tucuman.
I had found out that our united fares amounted S
to seventy-five doUars gold ; so, before presenting
myself at the ticket-office, I had calculated what
this would be in sols at eighty-two. I counted out
the proper number and presented them to the ticket-
clerk. But to him this calculation was a very serious
matter, and not to be hurried over ; so he caUed
me into his office separately, keeping all the other
passengers waiting, and said solemnly, —
" Come, senor, let us calculate, this, "at the same
time producing a large sheet of foolscap, a pen, and
a horn of powder.
So we calculated ; he was not what one would caU
a ready mathematician, over and over again he
attacked the difficult problem, irritated, perplexed,
impatient, yet ever polite. At each attempt he
brought out a different sum ; I worked it out for
him, but he utterly despised my result. I had
arrived at it too quickly, with too few figures. \
could not be right ; it was not such a simple matter

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 243
as aU that. At last some new way of reckoning —
an inspiration of genius— flashed across his brain,
and after covering another sheet of paper with a
row of five-barred gates with a lot of figures running
a steeple-chase across them, he came to a conclusion.
The number of sols he asked for was less than that I
had computed, but he insisted he was right, and
would take no more. I paid him and off he rushed
to repeat the process with others who were bringing
him the moneys of different provinces to puzzle
further his addled brain.
When I was settled down in the train, he flew
back to me, informed me that he had just discovered
a new and infaUible way of calculating, which,
applied to my case, showed that I still owed him
two sols. He was almost right this time, not quite,
so I paid him the additional demand ; I beUeve, as
we now stand, he owes me twopence.
It certainly must be a maddening profession,
calculating fractions before a wild, jabbering, im
patient crowd of half-breeds, who, by the way, are
exceedingly suspicious of the clerk's arithmetic,
and squabble with him fearfuUy on principle, for
they are far too mathematically obtuse themselves
to have the remotest conception of how much
change they should receive.
It was early in the morning of our second day's
journey that we entered the province of Catamarca
and traversed the Salinas. Waggon-tanks of water
are attached to the train while crossing these arid
wastes, to feed the engine and supply the rare
stations. Just now, however, of water, salt though,
there was no lack. It was the rainy season in the
distant Sienas, and, as often occurs, the floods had
poured down and almost entirely covered these
wide flat expanses. As viewed from the train, the
Salinas presented in places the appearance of a

244 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
shoreless sea, for all round, the horizon was of
water rippling before a strong north wind ; the
stations, which are built on raised spots, stood out
like islands in this sea, on to which the little salt.
waves dashed constantly. With these exceptions
nothing rose above the waters, save here and there
the taU gaunt cacti, looking like ships at anchor with
their yards squared. Scarlet flamingoes seemed to
be now the only inhabitants of this waste, for the
deer and other beasts of the desert had been driven
back by the waters to take refuge in the higher
lands. We stayed a couple of days in old Cordoba,
bade farewell to faithful Manuel, and then took
train to Rosario, where we arrived on Good Friday.
This day is observed with great solemnity in South
America ; we found that aU the shops were closed,
and the inhabitants were dressed in universal black.
The yards on aU the schooners in the river were
crossed, and the roughs and gamins were letting
off crackers in the streets to the peril of passers-by
— burning Judas, as the custom is called.
We sailed to Campana in the steamer Tridente, one
of a new company, the Argentine Lloyd.
Cold and keen seemed the wintry morning air
when we reached Campana, a great change after
tropical Tucuman. Buenos Ayres too was bracing,
to say the least of it, notwithstanding its bright
sun. When we reached the Estagion Centrale, we
left our puma, who had behaved excellently during
the voyage, save once when he wished to eat a
white baby, in the cloak-room for an hour or so.
He was tied up with a cord to a ring, and could only
promenade round a circle of about three feet radius,
but he somehow managed to get into plenty of
mischief even within that space, and run up a nice
little biU for his owners during their absence. He

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 245
devoured a porter's shirt that was hanging within
reach; then a feUow-prisoner, a foolish turkey,
that came too near his well-clawed paw ; then he
wound himself up with his rope in an inextricable
fashion, so that he could not move an inch. We
found him thus, lying down, tied up, blinking
patiently, purring, and Ucking his blood-covered
chops. And now, leading him with a cord, we went off
to the Tigre to see how our poor old Falcon had
got on during our absence. Our home and Penates
we found to be all right, but we heard that there
had been strange doings pn board while we were
away. It seems that our boy Arthur had got
into a row with some drunken sailors on shore,
a policeman interfered, whereon the urchin knocked
him down, jumped into the river, and swam on
board. The assault Avas too serious to be over
looked, so the captain of the port sent off some
of his men in a boat to arrest him. On seeing them
approach, our crew dived down below, brought up
a rifle, and threatened to exterminate his pursuers
and bombard the port if they did not leave him
alone. For many hours he kept the whole of the
Tigre, with all the naval and military forces of
the Argentine Republic, at bay. The people
locked themselves up in their houses, terror seized
aU souls, and Arthur, master of the situation,
proudly strutted up and down the deck, pointing his
rifle instantly at any one who was rash enough to
show his head. But, alas ! the enemy by strata
gem effected their purpose of taking prisoner that
gallant crew. They knew that he would never
surrender alive, and that his motto was that of
the old French guard, so they waited tiU night.
Under the influence of excitement and the cafia
he had drunk, Arthur at last feU asleep on the

246 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
deck. With muffled oars a large body of men
rowed off in boats from the capitania ; they boarded
the Falcon, and, before he was awake, the un-
conquered one was firmly fettered and carried off
to a deep dungeon, where he was left to sober at his
leisure, which he did with headaching and lamen
tations. They soon released the drunken little
rascal, and the authorities of the port behaved very
weU in the matter, kindly looked over the offence,
and laughed at it as rather a good joke.
We now set to work to fit out the Falcon once
more for a lengthened cruise up the tributaries
of the river Plate. We found that the fresh water
had stripped aU the barnacles off her bottom ; she
was as clean and bright as a new guinea. We
took most of the chain and other heavy articles out
of her ; by this lightening her draught to six feet
six inches, which is quite enough for the shaUow
Parana, and more than most of the steamers draw.
This made her rather cranky, but not dangerously
so. It is impossible to ascend the ever-shifting channels
of the Plata without a pilot, so we made an ex
pedition to the Boca in search of one, for aU the
up-river pilots are Italians and dwell in this sea-.
port, which is so entirely foreign a settlement,
that Spanish is scarcely ever heard on its quays ;
gruff Genoese, rapid Neapolitan, and oily Greek
being the most used and abused languages. Every
cafe has its rough lithographs of Garibaldi, or
Italian men-of-war on its walls, and quite a fleet
of vessels is necessary to bring from Europe the
annual supply of maccaroni and fonghi, that are
necessaries of life to these luxurious mariners from
the Mediterranean and ^Egean seas.
In the Boca we ordered a new boat to be built of
cedar and other native woods, to replace the dinghy

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 247
we had lost in our collision with the steamer ; we
also purchased an old flat-bottomed canoe, such
as the river schooners carry, for use on our cruise
up the Parana.
We heard of a first-rate Genoese pilot who would
come with us for 1000 dollars, 61. a month, and
therefore engaged him.
Having lost Andrews, it was necessary to find sonw
sailor to take his place ; so I went down with
Jerdein to the beach of Buenos Ayres, where the
foreign sailors, the shipping-masters, crimps, slop-
tailors, and other people whose business in life is
connected with the salt water do most congre
gate. A wonderfully cosmopolitan loafing-ground
is this ; beach-combers of aU nations, mostly
sulky and down-at-heel, lolled about lazily outside
the grog-shops, and ship-chandleries ; Italians,
Greeks, Bascos, bronzed, cutthroat -looking rascals
most of them, with scarlet sashes and gold earrings ;
British runaway sailors, too, far the most dis
reputable and debased-looking of the lot. An
English sailor we determined not to get, for all
such as are to be picked up in these South American
ports are worse than worthless, as any master of a
vessel knows. If we had engaged one of these
drunken shirkers of work, we should doubtless
have had to throw him overboard within a few
days. Through a shipping-agent we found a very decent
sailor-boy of seventeen, an English subject, it is
true, but hardly an Englishman ; he was of Malay
parents, and born in Mauritius, so spoke both
Creole-English and Creole-French.
On the 7th of May our pilot, Don Juan by name,
came on board ; he turned out to be a great dandy ;
he brought an umbreUa with him, an article quite
unknown with us ; also lace-covered pillows for

248 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
his bed, and a looking-glass. He had a gigantic
trunk of clothes, his mate and bombilla, and his
dispensary consisting of a roll of sulphur. I have
noticed that Italian sailors invariably carry an
enormous amount of bedding and luggage with them
on board ship, very unlike our own improvident
mariners, who so often report themselves with
nothing save what is on their back, even when
bound for a voyage round the Horn in winter-time.
We were now all ready for sea ; but from May
the 7th to May the 12th we were stuck hard on the
mud by the Tigre bank, waiting for the waters of
the river to rise. This was a time of impatience
for us ; we stayed on board, and only on one occa
sion went down to Buenos Ayres, for at any moment
the crescente might come and float us off.
The rest of these days on the mud I passed in
reading Kingsley's " Westward Ho ! " It was some
years ago, when I was a boy, that I read this charm
ing work last, but I remember well how it made me
yearn then for a httle ship and a wandering freedom
on the salt seas ; and yet, now that I was in mid-
fruition of that then so impossibly glorious a dream,
it seemed quite an ordinary commonplace sort of a
life after aU ; but so is it with aU our hopes and their
realizations. I hope such philosophizings as the
above are not symptoms of my becoming blase, but
it is impossible to be gushing and enthusiastic and so
on, when one is stuck on a mudbank for days,
waiting for a high tide, with half a dozen grumbling,
sulky, impatient companions round one — there is
not so much of the bold-buccaneering-life-on-the-
ocean-wave sort of a feeling in one under these
circumstances, as there should be in the skipper of
a thirty-ton yawl on a roving commission for two
years.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 249
CHAPTER XIX.
The foUowing facts concerning the navigation of
the rivers Parana and Paraguay will be of interest
to any who purpose ascending these majestic
streams. The average rate of the current between
Buenos Ayres and Corrientes is two to two and a
half knots an hour. The current of the Paraguay
is less strong than that of the Parana. The navi
gation of both rivers is obstructed by constantly-
shifting sandbanks. The height of the waters varies
much, and irregularly, according to the rains in
Matagrosso and the Chilian Andes ; sometimes there
will be but six feet of water in the passages be
tween the shoals, and at other times the Indian
Chaco wul be flooded for a hundred miles from the
river-bank. Cuyaba in Matagrosso, the very heart of South
America, is the limit of the navigation. The flat-
bottomed schooners occupy the best part of a year
in sailing there and back. To accomplish the out
ward journey in six months is considered good work.
These vessels, as a rule, have excellent pilots on board,
and travel day and night ; when there is no wind
they pole or warp.
It is only within the last few years that the upper
rivers have been navigated by these Italian golettas,
for the exclusive policy of the tyrants of Paraguay
closed that portion of the stream to foreign bottoms,
and in Paraguay itself vessels of any description were
quite unknown. But now the whole majestic river-
system of the Parana-Paraguay is open to commerce
from the tropic forests and Uanos of Matagrosso to
the bleak steppes of the Buenos Ayrean Pampas.
The following are the distances by water in English
miles from the chief places on the river to Monte-

250 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
video, which can be considered as at the mouth of
the La Plata.
Miles.
Buenos Ayres  15°
Rosario ......... 43°
Diamante  5°7
Parana .  553
La Paz  692
Bellavista  9"
Corrientes  • 1053
Rio Paraguay  1081
Humaita  1109
Villa Pillar ........ 1133
Villa Franca  1189
Formosa  1210
Villa Oliva  1228
Villeta  1294
Asuncion  1312
Cuyaba  2365
As the current is perpetuaUy contrary, and it is
rarely possible to tack against a head-wind, the
upward journey is generally tedious for a sailing-
vessel ; thus, as will be seen, our voyage from the
Tigre to Asungion, the capital of Paraguay, occupied
ninety-one days ; but it must be remembered that,
unlike many of the traders, we invariably came to an
anchor at night, and rarely took to poling or warping
when there was a calm.
On getting off our mudbank on the morning of the
12th of May, we found that there was but a very fight
breeze ; but we were anxious to make a start, so, by
dint of sailing, poling, and rowing, managed to travel
about thirty miles before sunset. On getting out
of the Tigre, we ascended the Capitan, one of the
numberless channels of the Delta ; it wound much
and was very narrow, not more than eighty feet or
so broad. All this day we were traveUing through a
lonely and beautiful forest of wiUows ; in the midst
of it we passed the quinta or country-house of ex-
president Sarmiento, where that hard-working
litt6rateur loves to retire in the summer months.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 251
In the afternoon a large Genoese goletta came up
with us, overhauling us with ease. We found that
these vessels always did so going up the river, their
shallow draught and enormous spread of canvas,
towering above the trees, being in their favour.
But corning down the river, especiaUy when any beat
ing had to be done, our draught told, and we were
more than a match for any of them. We also spoke
two ballandras or smart river-sloops bound for Buenos
Ayres from Paraguay; these were laden with
oranges, which not only filled their holds, but were
piled seven feet high on their decks.
At sunset we dropped our kedge and made a
bow-line fast to a tree on shore — thus ended the first
day of our cruise to that mystic and beautiful land
of Paraguay.
May X3th. — The wind being fair, we sailed out of
the narrow Capitan into the wide Parana de las
Palmas, one of the mightiest of the mouths of the
Parana ; there was quite a choppy sea on this
broad water, so the old Falcon became quite lively,
and began to imagine she was on her beloved ocean
once more, but the freshness of the water must have
puzzled her.
We had some capital spinnaker driU this day, as
on many other occasions on this voyage, for we had
to be continually jibbing the main-sail and shifting
over the former sail, according to the windings of the
river, which brought the wind now on this, now on
that, quarter. The scenery was as that of the
whole of this delta, low broad islands covered with
rank jungle and forest, and intersected by numerous
streams. Many camelotas, or floating islands of a
species of Uly, passed us ; it is these that join to
gether and form the islands of the delta, binding
the soft aUuvial soil that is brought down by
the river. Quantities of eagles and turkey-buz->

252 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
zards hovered over the rank foliage of the swampy
country. On the 14th of May we reached Campana, when
the wind fell away and we were obliged to come to
an anchor. We were now becalmed for nearly
four days, a prey to mosquitoes and ennui. We
passed our time in grumbling, and fishing with cotton
and bent pins, in the manner of the Serpentine
anglers, for a small fish that abounds here, and
which, when fried, we pronounced to be as good as
whitebait. This enforced idleness tried aU our tempers,
especially those of our lion and the two boys, Jim
and Arthur. The two latter were always squabbling,
and the Uon became so irritable and ferocious that no
one dared to approach him ; he bit and clawed several
of us, and growled perpetuaUy. At last he lost his
appetite, and showed symptoms of insanity and
distinct homicidal mania, so we had to execute him
and cast his corpse into the river as an example to the
two lads.
While we were becalmed and at anchor a govern
ment steam launch came to us from Campana, and
the officer in charge took it upon himself to reprimand
us severely for not hoisting our ensign before eight
o'clock in the morning. As he was rather abrupt
in his manner, we became obstinate, and positively
refused to show our colours before the orthodox
time. The Argentine naval officers are inclined to
be rather arbitrary, and are very punctilious about
the respect that is due to their flag. A few weeks
before this the passenger-steamer Inca, of the
Brazilian River Company, was steaming down the
Parana, flying the Brazilian flag ; there happened
to be a smaU Argentine gunboat hidden in the jungle
under the bank, the captain of which, observing that
the steamer did not dip on passing, snatched up a

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 253
rifle and deliberately commenced to fire shot after
shot at the Brazilian captain as he stood on the
bridge, and it was not owing to want of wiU, but of
skiU, that he did not kiU him.
On May the 18th a favourable breeze sprang up,
and under all canvas, spinnaker included, we reached
the port of Zarate before evening. Above on the
hiU we saw the little white gleaming town of the
same name nestling among the fine willows ; so, with
Jim following me with a huge basket under his arm,
I walked up to it in order to do some marketing,
for we had run rather short of stores. I called at
the capttania on my way to report myself, for every
hamlet on the river has its captain of the port. This
functionary here had little to do ; there was but one
schooner anchored off the town, laden with hard
wood, so he kindly offered to accompany me and
show me the best stores. We found Zarate to be a
considerable place, neat, clean, and full of gringos.
We found a French butcher and a French greengrocer,
and sent Jim down to the beach, tottering beneath a
great load of delicacies, beef, potatoes, pumpkins,
apples, and onions.
The 19th was another day of sultry calm, and bad
temper — so was the 20th ; but on the 21st it blew
a gale from the south-west, and we sailed at a great
speed till nightfaU, when we made fast to a tree
on the bank, and caught some fine fish for supper.
This day we passed several southward - bound
golettas, chiefly laden with charcoal. These Italians
saU up to the riachos of the Chaco, and moor alongside
the forest, while the crews are on shore cutting down
wood and burning charcoal, until they have sufficient
to load their vessels and return. Our pilot seemed
to know, and hafled, all these skippers from the
Boca as we passed each other.
On May the 22nd the wind was northerly, so, after

254 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
sailing up one reach close-hauled, we had to come to
an anchor again. The shore near us was low and
swampy and overgrown with huge reeds. We saw
a great many geese flying inland, so I went up the
masthead to see what sort of a country lay beyond.
Some two mUes inland there was a cliff parallel to
the river, and I saw that at the foot of this there
stretched an extensive laguna, upon which were
feeding thousands of ducks, swans, and other birds.
The morass extended from the river to the edge of
the lake.
Tempted by aU this prospective sport, Arnaud and
myself took our shot-guns and proceeded to wade
through the swamp towards the cliff, and a most
distressing wade it was too ; we sunk up to our!
waists in the thick black mud which sent up bubbles
of foul-smelling gas as we stepped into it. The
mud was quite cold, so protected was it from the sun's
rays by the horrid tangle of aquatic growth that
covered it. In places there were two or three feet
of water over the mud, and often we sank so deeply
in the slime that we became alarmed, and thought
of turning back, for what danger can so terrify
the imagination as that of being inextricably stuck
in such a slough as this. The reeds and other plants
grew far above our heads, so that we could not see
where we were going, and had to judge our direction
by the position of the sun in the heavens. The
mosquitoes troubled us terribly, as did the cameiotaS
that wound their stems round our legs, and seemed
to try to drag us down.
After traveUing in this exceedingly unpleasant
manner for upwards of an hour, we suddenly came to
the end of this obstructive vegetation, and were in
the open air once more with nothing but a quarter
of a mile of bare festering mud between us and the
laguna. And now came our reward : geese, turkeys.

THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON." 255
golden plovers, black ibis, snipe, teal, and some other
species of aquatic birds, whose very names I do not
know, were feeding here in incredible numbers.
They were rather wild, but we managed to kill quite
as much as we could manage to carry back through
the swamp. We were now both very tired with our
exertions, almost faint, but could not possibly sit
down in f his soft mud, into which our bodies would
have sunk never to rise, for to recover one's feet
again would have been quite impossible ; so we
waded across the lake, which was shallow, and to
our dehght reached dry and solid earth again under
the cliff on the other side. Here were some trees
that swarmed with noisy and gaudy-plumaged
parrots, of which I shot a few to skin as specimens.
We were pretty well done up by the time we got on
board, but a bumper of Carlon wine soon set us right
again. While becalmed, or delayed by head-winds, as we
often were in the course of this voyage, we generally
found that sport of some kind for gun or rod was to
be obtained in the virgin forests and savannahs, and
on the numerous riachos ; so time rarely hung heavy
on our hands.
Even on this night we had the excitement of some
more and rather unusual sport. As we lay moored
alongside the bank, we heard a sound as of some large
animal breaking its way through the rank vegetation
close to us ; there was much noise of snorting and
splashing and of breaking reeds. It was intensely
dark, so we could not perceive what manner of beast
this could be. Some one suggested that it was a tiger,
but, considering the marshy nature of the ground,
we concluded that it was a carpincho. Of these
animals we had already seen several, and knew them
to abound hereabouts. The carpincho, I must ex
plain for the benefit of most of my readers, is an

256 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
amphibious animal that can best be described as a
river-pig; its flesh is esteemed as a great delicacy
by the riverside folk.
When the unknown monster was, judging by the
noise, just in front of us, we fired a volley at it,
seemingly without effect ; so we reloaded, and stand
ing in readiness, ordered Arthur to strike a blue-light
so as to Uluminate the neighbourhood.
Then by the unearthly glare we were surprised to
behold staring at us fearlessly with fiery eyes a huge
being, whose black head was topped by two great
horns. " It is the devil," whispered Jim in horror,
and his fingers wandered nervously about his neck for
the blessed relic that some padre of far Mamitius had
given him ere he had started on his wanderings over
the seas. It certainly looked uncommonly like the
traditional devil, and we hesitated, bold buccaneers
though we were, to fire again at his diabolical majesty.
With a last spurt of haggard flame our blue-light
died out, and we were left in darkness. Then was
heard Jerdein's gruff voice, " Jim, bring up the
bull's-eye." With shaking hand Jim brought it,
but absolutely refused to throw the light on to the
shore, and reveal once more the outlines of that
dread form ; so Jerdein, the undaunted one, snatched
it from him, and with as much sang-froid as if he had
been a London policeman flashing his buU's-eye on
some smaU street-arab sleeping on a doorstep, he
directed the bright disk of light fuU on to Satan's
coal-black visage, and lo, it was a buU ! How a
buU had strayed across this league of treacherous
morass I cannot say, but there he stood, blinking
in the light, and evidently puzzled at our strange
conduct. Jerdein now proposed to send a rifle-bullet into him,
cut him up and salt him. We felt much tempted
to accede to the proposal ; stolen fruit is sweet, and

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 257
sweeter still is stolen beef, but we hesitated, our
insular prejudices, I suppose, making us rather shy
of felony ; so we sat down and argued the question
out in our usual warm and eloquent manner. On
one side it was argued that the owner of the bull
was a wealthy man and could easily spare him, that
cattle-stealing was the custom of the country, " the
most respectable men in the Republic," said Jerdein,
" the generals, doctors, statesmen, and the presidents,
without exception, have been cattle-lifters in their
day, so why not we, when a bull comes and puts him
self right in our way ? " The bull was spared, how
ever, and in despite of these unanswerable arguments ;
but I am afraid the high tone of our morality had
little to do with our abstention from felony. The
fact was the temptation was not a strong one ; we
had eaten well, and were not hungry, and we had
already more beef on board, as it was, than would
keep fresh. Had we been hungry or short of meat,
I fear that that bull would have replenished our
larder. Thus was it that we were preserved from
committing a great crime that would have hanged
us, even in civilized England, not so many years
back. I wiU not go into all the details of our most tedi
ous voyage to Rosario. Sometimes vessels occupy
several months between Buenos Ayres and that
port : one barque, a short time back, being as much
as 120 days on the way ; but that is, I believe, the
longest time on record. The reason is that vessels
are delayed by the constant windings of the river,
so that the wind that is favourable for one reach is a
head-wind in the next ; and, as I have before ex
plained, to beat up the river against the vyind is
impossible, even for a smart fore-and-after like the
Falcon, save in one or two places where the current
is feeble. 9

258 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Nowhere does the river wind anything like so much
as between the sea and Rosario. There is one most
tantalizing series of bends about half-way, known as
the Nuevas Vueltas, or nine turns. To pass these,
unless you pole or warp, you may have to wait for
six or seven successive changes of the wind. You
run up one reach beneath a slashing pampero ; in
the next reach this is in your teeth, and there you
have to wait at anchor for days, perhaps weeks, until
the wind shifts, though you know all the time that,
were you once beyond that reach, the pampero would
be a fair wind again for a long distance.
Between calms and flaws of wind it is always down
anchor or up anchor in this river, entailing no smaU
amount of labour to the mariner. And so it was with
us till the last day of May, when, having been twenty
days out, we had not accomplished more than two-
thirds of the distance to Rosario, and began at this
rate to despair of ever reaching Paraguay.
Since Zarate we had passed no town or village, un
inhabited swamps and jungles everywhere lining the
banks ; thus we had run short for the last three days
of sugar, rum, and biscuit, and were anxious to reach
some settlement.
On this twentieth day out we did see a town, but
only saw it , alas ! for we were not to approach it , as it
was on another arm of the river — this was San Pedro,
built on an eminence, with a lofty church tower that
is visible for many leagues around. This town
stuck to us aU day, though we were sailing at a good
rate — it seemed as if we should never pass it ; it was
worse than Netley Hospital is to a yacht going up
Southampton Water.
The Parana here wound about so much that it
really appeared as if we Avere going round and round
San Pedro ; sometimes it was in front of us, some
times behind ; now on the port hand, now on the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 259
starboard. " And to think," as Arnaud dreamily
remarked, " that up there|there is plenty of rum and
sugar and biscuit,' and he sighed deeply.
A large Italian river barque passed us this day ;
she was fifteen days out from Buenos Ayres and had
been warping through all the calm weather. Later
on in the day we overtook her again, for we were
then in a bend of the river, up which we could only
just lay close-hauled, with our sheets flattened right
in. She, of course, could not manage this, sagging to
leeward as she did with her shallow draught, but was
obUged to take to warping once more. This part of
the channel was nearly two miles wide, flowing be
tween plains of lofty pampa grass. We took the
ground in the afternoon, running on to it with a
violent shock, for we were under all canvas at the
time, and the wind was blowing fresh ; we managed
to haul the vessel off again easily enough by taking
out an anchor astern.
On the 1st of June it blew a strong gale from the
S.S.W. — a pampero ; now this was a fair wind for us
aU the way to Rosario, so we made up for lost time,
and after sailing for fifteen hours came to an anchor
not more than twelve miles below that port. It was
not by any means a pleasant day, the rain feU in
blinding torrents, and the lightning and thunder
were more terrible than I think I have ever ex
perienced. OccasionaUy squaUs of extreme violence
struck us, in some of which we were obliged to lower
all our sails on deck.
Throughout the day we had three reefs in our main
sail, and that was quite as much as we wanted, though
the wind was nearly right aft. We flew by Obligado,
a httle port, and St. Nicholas, a considerable place,
but did not stop to procure provisions ; we could not
waste so glorious a wind as this.
In the afternoon we came to a point where there

260 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
was a rapid bend, which we just lay through close-
hauled. But at the commencement of it rode at
anchor no less than fifteen schooners, someof which we
recognized as having passed by us on the way ; for
none of the river craft could hope to weather that
point with this wind blowing.
This day our pilot walked the deck with a prouder
gait than usual, for he had now outstripped aU the
other craft ; it was with a voice of importance,
too, that he shouted his orders to tropical Jim,
shivering with cold at the tiller, green of complexion
and miserable. The very babel of tongues in use
on board the Falcon during this voyage was curious
enough. Spanish, Italian, Genoese, English, and
Creole-French were combined into one common
language. Jim would occasionally swear in Malay
and Hindustani for variety, and a good many
Gaurani words crept into our vocabulary later on
in Paraguay. This is a specimen of the manner
of giving and replying to orders on board ; Jim
is at the tiller, pilot looking out : —
Pilot. " Arriva ! " (Bear away !)
Jim. " Arriva it is, sir I "
Pilot. " Horsa un poco ! — bueno ! " (Luff a
little !— steady !)
Jim. " Horsa un poco, monsieur ! — bueno it is ! "
We passed a barque this afternoon laden with
marble ; she was thirty-eight days from Buenos
Ayres, so had more cause to grumble than we had.
We could not afford to waste this glorious breeze,
so broke through our rule, and sailed on till mid
night, by which time Don Juan computed that we
had made nearly forty leagues, an excellent day's
work. We should have reached Rosario before
morning, had we not, just as eight bells sounded,
run hard up on a sandbank. We had to work
diligently throughout the night before we could

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 261
haul the vessel off again : we lay out our big anchor,
but dragged it home twice, and not till we had got
two anchors down did we succeed in hauling her
off into deep water. By this time the pampero
had blown itself out, and a dead calm foUowed
for twenty-four hours.
On June the 3rd there came light catspaws
of wind from the south. We got up anchor and
sailed slowly before them against the here strong
current. Between the puffs we went astern again
and had to drop our kedge. At last, by watch
ing our opportunities as closely as if we had been
sailing a race, we reached Rosario, and came to
an anchor among the shipping, exactly opposite to
the custom-house, being twenty-three days out
from the Rio Tigre, not an over smart passage it
must be confessed.

CHAPTER XX.
We went on shore and purchased a goodly supply
of provisions, mutton, half an ox at twopence
a pound, potatoes, pumpkins, onions, and other
luxuries, three demijohns of wine, and a suffi
ciency of Havannah cana to replenish our rum-
cask withal. We also purchased some paint, so as
to make the Falcon beautiful before reaching the
capital of Paraguay.
The tradesman who sold us this addressed his
bill to El Senor Don Milor Inglese, abordo del Jot.
I have seen yacht spelt in many curious ways,
such as yatch, yot, and yat, but never before as jot.
We procured some Bolivian and Peruvian silver
from the bank before sailing, as we were again to
visit paperless regions. We made yet another
very useful investment, a large accordion and a

262 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
noisy hurdy-gurdy, which latter reeled off four
tunes : the Blue Danube waltz, a Cloche de Corne-
ville gallop, a reminiscence of the Grande Duchesse,
and a boisterous, furious cancan. These purchases
were made at the instance of our pilot, Don Juan,
who said they would be quite necessary in Paraguay,
where we should be obliged to give balls occasion
ally, as is the custom for aU distinguished travellers
like ourselves.
It was late when we returned to the beach this
night in order to go on board. Arthur and Jim
were asleep, so could not hear our loud " Falcon,
ahoy ! " We looked for a shore boat to take us
off ; boats there were plenty, but no men, and
what was more important, no oars. There was a
large low building on the shore, which we could
see was brilliantly fit up, and in the which, from
the noise that issued from it, a merry baile evidently
was under way. Here we thought we might come
across some of the owners of the boats ; we were
not wrong in our surmise. We went to the door
of the baU-room, at which stood two serenos or
policemen ; these felt all the people as they entered,
to see that they carried no knives on their persons,
for these had to be left outside. This precaution
is generally taken at these not over aristocratic
public bailes in the low parts of a South American
seaport ; neither are they idle precautions, judging
from the physiognomy of the frequenters of these
places. We entered the ball-room, a large whitewashed
apartment decorated with bits of coloured paper.
At the deal tables that served as bars ugly half-breed
Hebes vended vile gin and viler caiia. The guests
were Italian and Greek sailors, all in their shirt
sleeves, and a few young China girls of anything
but dazzling beauty, but making up for this by the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 263
extreme affability of their manners — some might
call them too affable.
We picked up a boatman, and persuaded him, in
consideration of a dollar, to desert for a space the
buxom partner he was dancing with, and row us off
to the Falcon. At first he absolutely refused to
go, and explained his reasons. He could not trust
the lady of his affections by herself— she would
go off with some one else while he was away. But
we were not going to be left boatless at this hour
of the night without an effort, so we explained the
matter to the young lady, who stood by fanning
her hot face, and implored her to promise her
mariner not to elope faithlessly with another lover
in his absence. The nymph indignantly refused
to bind herself by any such vows, and was walking
proudly off with her little nose in the air, when, as
a last chance, we reminded her that through her
flightiness and obstinacy the boatman would lose
a dollar. The mention of so large a sum startled
her ; she turned and said thoughtfully, —
'* A doUar ! "
" Yes," I continued ; " a Bolivian dollar."
I saw that she hesitated and was lost. She was
wrapt in meditation for a while, when suddenly
a happy thought suggested itself to her, and she
said, —
" Provided that Don Alfonso will promise not to
spend any of the dollar until he comes back here to
me, I will wait for him."
The love-sick swain joyfully undertook to do as
she wished ; so, after half an hour's diplomacy, we
were rowed over to our vessel.
On Monday, the 5th of June, a strong E. by S.
wind sprang up, enabling us to proceed on our
journey. We were told that it would be advisable
to take a bill of health from here for Paraguay, so I

264 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
called early in the morning at the Paraguayan
Consulate. A stupid negro girl opened the door
to me, and drawled out that the great Don who
represented the inland republic was not in the
habit of arriving at his office till eleven o'clock.
This day he did not arrive tiU nearly one. He
asked me to follow him in, and, throwing himself
in an armchair, deliberately roUed himself a cigar
ette. Having made himself generally comfortable,
he sighed deeply in anticipation of the hard day's
work before him, and asked me in a languid and
aggrieved voice what I wished that he would do
for me. I explained that I required a Patente de
Sanidad for Paraguay. " Show me your papers,"
he said. I produced my Admiralty Avarrant and
another Spanish document which the captain of
the port of the Tigre had kindly furnished me with.
Now he saw a chance" of making an honest (?)
penny without much trouble, and, before I could
imagine what he was about to do, he pounced down
on my papers with his official seal, leaving a huge
blue impression on each, and glibly said, " It is a
patacon for each seal, senor, if you please ; I wiU
now draw you out a bill of health, six patacones —
that is eight in aU " (thirty-two shillings). I grew
wrath at this gross imposition and disfigurement of
my papers. Vain it was for me to expostulate, to
urge that I had never asked him for these stamps ;
his only reply was to shrug his shoulders and say,
" It is done, sir," all the while holding the docu
ments and admiringly contemplating his handi
work. Evidently he considered that this sealing,
whether it was useless to me or not, was a piece
of hard work for which he, the worker, must at all
events be paid.
However, I would not pay up, whereon he waxed
nasty, and commenced to throw doubts on the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 265
authenticity of my Admiralty warrant. His
objections to this were ingeniously absurd and
abstruse. He pretended that he could not under
stand the Admiralty stamp on it — being a colour
less impression standing out in relief, unlike his own
gaudy blue concern ; — he thought it must be
humbug; he rubbed it suspiciously with his finger,
smelt it, and at last let me go in sheer weariness
of me, and then turned fiercely to inspect a row of
Italian river skippers who were waiting their turn,
looking like a patient rainbow, for they wore no coats,
and their flannel shirts, as is their wont, were of
gaudy colours — one of orange-yellow, one of scarlet,
and so on. Leaving these poor fellows to suffer
their share of Paraguayan blockheadedness, I hurried
on board, and in a few minutes we were under
weigh and once more scudding rapidly up the stream.
We anchored for the night off the mouth of our
old friend, the Rio Carcavenal.
We sailed aU the next day by the ever-changing
swamps and jungles, past mouths of tributary creeks,
alive with duck, teal, and geese ; by capes and
wooded islands and floating camelots until evening,
when we anchored in the midst of a wild and beau
tiful scenery.
Throughout the 8th of June we were becalmed
in this spot. After breakfast Jerdein, Arnaud, and
myself, taking with us our shot-guns, revolvers,
and knives — a ruffianly-looking crew — started in
the canoe in search of game. Coasting down a
little way, we came to a narrow opening where a
smaU stream clove the densely-covered bank. Let
us paddle up that creek, suggested some one. So we
shot our canoe within it, and then, to our amazement,
found that we were going, not up, but down it ;
the current, and a strong one too, was with us ; _ the
little stream did not flow into the broad river,
9«

266 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
but out of it. As we floated farther on we passed
other small riachos branching from this one, they
not feeding it, but aU drawing away its waters.
This seemed an entire reversion of the ordinary
course of things, but on a little reflection we solved
the problem. In this part of its course the Parana
is thirty miles wide, and, as is its characteristic
throughout, it flows through an intricate network
of channels that divide its islands. The broad
river in which the Falcon lay at anchor, two miles
wide though it be, is but one of many, is not even
the principal of these many branches. Innumer
able riachos, like the one we were now descending,
wind tortuously among the untrodden jungles
that lie between it and the mighty parallel branch,
the Parancito to the right, and the Rio Colastine to
the left, joining them in unexplored water-labyrinths.
This will give some idea of the magnitude of this
stupendous Parana, with its myriad shifting isles
drifting on to fiU up channel here, sweU promon
tory there, till they compel the waters to force out
new passages through the great alluvial wilderness.
Lovely, indeed, were the shores we beheld as
our canoe idly drifted on with the current, deeper
and deeper into the secret haunts of carpincho,
waterfowl, and tiger. On the banks was a vegeta
tion of incredible luxuriance, not the jungle as of
arid Santiago, but a growth full of sap, gigantic,
drawn by warm suns from the dark soft mud — the
richest soil in the world — never dry, but over
flowed at short intervals by the fat and feeding
waters of the Parana. Though satiated with tropical
scenery, we could not but gaze with enthusiastic
amazement at the beautiful nature around us this
warm, still day. It was mid-winter, but of the
season there were no signs, no decay, no brown leaf,
no death ; the leaves and flowers were fresh and

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 267
bright as of an English spring. Great white lilies,
with broad dark leaves, floated on the water ; on
the banks rose mighty reeds, aquatic plants, and trees
of various foliage ; but that which made the wonder
of the place was the mass of flowering creepers,
lianes, convolvuli, and others, that overean all,
covering the other vegetation like a great blanket
thrown upon the country, climbing over the
highest tree-tops, and then hanging over in festoons
and curtains, forming the loveliest bowers and
dark-shaded caverns of leaves and flowers, such as
fairy gardener could alone contrive ; little shel
tered houses with floors of soft brown earth, dweU-
ings for the lucky carpinchos only, fitter to be
summer palace of Titania herself, or Undine fresh
from the warm river. We landed and wandered
awhile in this glorious garden, wondering and en
joying the loveliness of it, and gathering beautiful
orchids and flowers strange to us with as much
delight as if we had been children once more, untU
animals that were good to eat came to look at us,
when sentiment vanished, and the murderous in
stincts of the hunter took its place.
We spared the parrots, kingfishers, monkeys,
and other innocent inhabitants of this paradise,
who, judging from their fearlessness, knew little
of cruel man, but shot several monte hens — pretty
birds with russet wings, red legs, and green beaks, —
a welcome addition to our larder. We also robbed
a Avild bee's nest, and caught a few pounds of a sort
of small suver fish. We drifted on and on down
this fascinating little stream that wished to bear
us away who knows whither, and into what un
known wilds ? and were loth to turn ; but we had
the current against us on our homeward journey,
so reluctantly we took our oars, and rowed back
to the broad river where the Falcon lay snugly

268 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
at anchor, with the blue smoke issuing from the
galley-chimney, to welcome us and remind us it
was tea-time, and a most appetizing smeU of griUed
turkey's legs scenting the air around. Those were
happy days we spent on the Parana, days that,
when we recaU them years hence, will doubtless
bring sighs of regret for their vanished pleasures.
I have now related but one of our very many
wanderings on these wild shores when becalmed.
Tedious this journey was, but not a waste of time.
Nothing in all my voyages delighted me so much as
this river cruise, for here the traveller when he
lands walks in perpetual excitement, is exploring
the unknown, and cannot tell what new strange
sight will present itself next, what wild beast he
may not at any moment encounter.
There is a mystery and a loneliness that pervades
the scenery of the Parana, that agreeably affects
the imagination ; a mystery — for are not its shores
unexplored forests, its sources indefinite, in an
unknown region that is still a sort of fairy-land of
fable and romance, even as it was when the first
Spaniards came and sought the Eldorado ? a
loneliness too — the towns on its banks are far
apart, and there are no roads across the swamps
and jungles that divide them.
For days of journey on this river the traveller
sees no sign of human life on the shore, only
interminable stretches of palm-groves and forests
and morasses. So complete and ineclaimable a
wilderness extends on the Chaco shore of the river,
that it is only in certain spots, far apart, that the
wild Indian himself can find a way to the bank
from the inner forests to fish ; the rank dense growth
is altogether impassable. It is the utter desert as
far as man is concerned, intolerable to him with
mosquitoes and ague. If he. penetrate it but a

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 269
httle way, awe seizes him to behold that gigantic
net-work of plants that shuts him in as in a prison.
In these dark depths one is oppressed by a feeling
of suffocation, of restrained freedom, as in a night
mare. The sublime Pampas, with its boundless horizon,
impresses man with a sense of its immensity, an
immensity of freedom ; likewise does the solemn
Chaco impress one, but with a different sense of
immensity, as of an immense prison, a dark tangle
of boughs that goes on for ever, and from which
there is no escape.
On the 10th of June the rain feU heavily, but a
fresh pampero was blowing, which continued for
nearly three days, enabling us to make good pro
gress up the river. All this time we were ascending
reaches so broad and long, that always in one,
often in many directions, the horizon was of water,
as on the ocean; the water, too, was quite rough
on these vast lake-like expanses, so that the little
floating camelotes, now hove to (the wind being
against the tide), rolled and pitched in the choppy
waves, like ship at sea, their broad sails of lily-
leaves being all taken aback and showing their
light-coloured under-surfaces, while the stems, but
slender masts, bent to the strong wind.
At last we saw far away on our starboard hand,
on the hiUs of the mainland of the province of
Entre Rios, divided from us by leagues of great
islands and swamps, the massive cathedral of the
ancient city of Parana, and on our port hand,
beyond other wastes intersected by a thousand
Avinding channels, the city of Santafe, the two old
provincial capitals, nearly thirty miles apart, look
ing across at each other from the two banks of the
mighty river.
It was but little beyond this that we entered the

270 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
main branch of the Parana, which is the most
eastward, skirting the mainland of Entre Rios;
so now we had on our starboard hand no longer
swampy deserts, but the Bananca, as it is called,
a precipitous range of forest-topped cliff that de
scends abruptly into the river, so that in many
places no landing is possible.
We crossed the Banco de la Patientia — the Bank
of Patience — a sandy accumulation that in one
place fills up the broad bed of the Parana, and
through which the narrow deep-water channel
winds in sharp zigzags. A wind that is thus fair
for one reach may be a head-wind in the next, and
the river craft are often delayed for weeks on
this well-named shoal.
But our Jobian virtues were not to be tested
here ; our luck had changed since Rosario, for the
wind was such as enabled us to lay right through.
the channel, though in some turns we were as close-
hauled as was possible. The pilot kept his lead ever
going as we skirted the shaUows, and he shouted out
his Aniva ! Horsa ! and Bueno ! in the most
rapid succession. No other sailing craft on the
river could have crossed the Patientia with one wind,
as we did ; and Don Juan was ever boasting of this
great feat to every skipper and pilot he met during
the voyage.
At midday of June the 12th the pampero died
away, and a calm, followed by a head-wind, detained
us at anchor until the evening of the 16th. We lay
close under the Barranca in twelve fathoms of water.
This cliff was here of a sort of chrome-coloured
earth, full of curious fossils, so we named a steep
point below our anchorage Fossil Bluff. The summit
of the Barranca was clothed with elephant grass,
prickly pears, palmettos, aloes, tree-ferns, and other
sub-tropical vegetation. There were no signs of

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 271
man or his works anywhere on this mainland, but
some wild horses approached the edge and gazed at
us with evident curiosity.
We went on shore with our guns the morning
after our arrival, shortly before daybreak. We
beached our canoe at the entrance of a profound
and beautiful ravine, or gully, that clove the Bar
ranca. The fossil cliffs, fantastically shaped, over
hung it on either side, a rich vegetation covering
every inegularity in them that offered a holding-
place for roots. Below, a little stream followed
the windings of the ravine, losing itself in swamps
and pools shaded by willow-groves and dense
cane-brakes, the large white lily that is such a
feature of the Parana scenery of course covering
every sufficiently moist spot.
Arnaud and Jerdein went up to the higher land,
where they shot some partridges, ducks, and
pigeons. I went down into the swamp, to try my
luck with the carpinchos, whose footprints were
everywhere on the soft mud, and whose pig-like
splashings and gruntings I heard among the canes.
These animals are very shy of man, and it is diffi
cult to approach them without giving notice to their
keen senses, so I lay in ambush among some myrtles
on a dry spot overlooking the cane-brake, and,
with a charge of double zero in my gun, patiently
waited for some unwary hog to pass.
As I sat here at sunrise, all the life of this soli
tude awakened around me. The songs of many birds
began to break forth, some sweet of notes, some
harsh, as if from little throats hoarse and sore from
too much feeding on the hot acrid juices of the
tropic berries. As I lay motionless the birds
showed little fear of me, considering me a harmless
sort of animal ; they perched and sang on the
bushes close to me. There were funny little parp-

272 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
quets — very gossipy, — staid httle grey owls, with
big round hazel eyes contemplating me solemnly,
very musical canaries, and others. It was amusing
to watch their pretty antics in this free aviary.
There was one little bright-plumaged fellow, with
an impudent orange and pink beak, and cocked-up
tail, that was perched on a twig within two yards
of me, on one leg, stiU asleep, not the " early bird "
this, but a little sluggard.
Of a sudden rang forth an ominous sound, high
up in the sky — ka-waak, ka-wa-a-k — a long-drawn,
melancholy, hungry cry that the httle birds knew
but too weU. There was for a moment a flutter
ing, a frightened chattering, and a trembling
among the tiny people, and there was a dead silence
where a few seconds back was so much joyous song.
The httle sleepy fellow woke with a start, gave a
little shriU scream, and nearly feU into my lap with
terror. Ka-wa-a-k, ka-wa-a-k. It was a huge
cha-ha, or turkey-buzzard, slowly soaring above.
The birds of prey had arisen, and were looking out
for their breakfasts among the other " early birds."
Ugly coranchos — the vultures of South America, —
kites, eagles, and hawks now crossed the sky over
us at intervals. All the bird world was awake.
The kingfishers, storks, ibis, and other so numerous
fish-eating birds of this region were hunting in the
inky slough in front of me, and when one hooked
up some fine prize there would be a regular fight
over it between three or four of them, accompanied
by angry yells.
The ants and the beetles had also now turned
out of bed. I was surrounded everywhere by a
teeming animal life that was most interesting to
watch, and was being luUed into a sleepy reverie,
when suddenly there was a crackling of bush, a loud
grunt, and there, some twenty yards off, among

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 273
the reeds, I beheld the dark form of the object of
my patient waiting, a carpincho, and a very big
one too.
I fired my charge of double zero into him, and
quickly reloaded ; but, alas ! this beast is hard
to kiU. For a moment he was stupefied, the blood
was pouring from his nostrils, he shook himself,
and with a grunt of pain and rage plunged into the
morass, and was far away before I could fire again.
I tracked him some way by his blood, but at last
came to a place where he had taken to the water,
so was obliged to give up the search, and return to
the Falcon with empty hands.
I employed the afternoon in repairing our Berthon
collapsible boat. This was rather an old one, and
was pierced by several holes. When a Berthon boat
is stove in, it has the advantage over other boats
in not requiring a ship-carpenter to repair it. The
best person to put it in serviceable condition again
is a lady's maid. I took ours on shore, turned it
upside down, and mended it very nicely with one
of Arnaud's shirts.
While we were anchored in this place we caught
many fish. We passed a stout fine from our stern
to the shore (about fifty yards), and hung it at
intervals with lengths of copper wire, terminating
in large-sized hooks baited with beef. We caught
for the most part armados and patis, both excellent
eating, and averaging about three pounds each.
The monster dorados, however, that defied our at
tempts to catch them, bit many of the fish off our
lines, leaving nothing of them but the heads.
The fish we caught were all very fierce, biting at
everything they came across when landed on our
deck, and barking like dogs. The finny inhabitants
of the Parana seem to be aU of a very ferocious dis
position, and much inclined to bark and bite in this

274 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
way. It is dangerous to bathe in the River Para
guay and Upper Parana, on account of a tiny fish
that infests some parts of these rivers. If you
jump overboard anywhere where these voracious
little creatures are, a thousand or so wiU attack
you, and simultaneously take a bite each out of
you, so that you are worse than flayed, and leave
the water one quarter inch thinner all over your
body than when you went in, a most unpleasant
way of Banting.
On the 16th of June the wind was northerly, but
there were signs of a change of weather in the
threatening sky. There is no country where the
health and spirits of man are so dependent on the
state of the weather as in the River Plate, and this
is not difficult of explanation. This is said to be
the most electric region in the world, and certainly
nowhere else are the phenomena produced by elec
tric disturbance more beautiful and terrible.
No one can reside here, even for a few months,
and fail to observe one very general rule inthemeteoro-
logical changes over this portion of the continent..
For days, or for weeks even, the wind will blow from
the north, and all this time the weather will be
come sultrier and sultrier, and more and more op
pressive with the pent-up electricity, until at last,
to the relief of all nature, there wiU be a crash of
thunder and torrents of rain, and the cold hurri
cane of the pampero will sweep over the parched
land, more or less violent, according to the previ
ous duration of the north wind, and hence the
greater or lesser intensity of that exceptional elec
tric condition of the atmosphere.
For four days the norte had been blowing, and
now, on the 16th, the weather became intolerably
oppressive. The hot parching wind seemed to dry
up the pores of the skin - and so enervated us all

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 275
with its poisonous breath that we were too languid
and uncomfortable even to eat our breakfasts, or
row on shore, or undertake the slightest exertion.
And thus was it, not only with us, but with all
animal fife. The shores of the river, ordinarily
so noisy with the songs of birds and chirping of
shriU cicalas, and a thousand mingling cries, were
as sUent now as if death had suddenly faUen on
the land. All nature was in suspense.
In the afternoon the stifling sensation was more
intense, the air was suffocating, and the wind en
tirely died away. The barometer fell rapidly, and
at six in the evening a ruddy fight came up in the
south-west. The tension was about to be broken;
the stillness was fuU of awe ; then, with a hissing
sound, the hurricane came rushing up the river
with its accompaniment of plentiful rain, vivid
lightning, and loud thunder. The sky assumed
an extraordinary lurid colour that was reflected by
all the landscape. What was the most remark
able was the instantaneous and violent change of
temperature, and general sensation of relief. We
were now shivering with cold before the bracing
gale, and aU our languor was dispelled in a mo
ment. When the first burst of the pampero, a terrific
squall that lasted for about ten minutes, had sub
sided, we weighed our anchor, and scudded up
merrily before the favouring wind, till some time
after dark, when we came to an anchor under a pro
montory of the Barranca, called Cercito Point.
For several days after this we progressed but
slowly, letting go and weighing anchor at short in
tervals, in consequence of the frequent calms, but
occupying the many periods of enforced delay pleas
antly enough with various sport on the ever-chang
ing banks, though I am rather surprised that none

276 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
of us ever caught fever after our long wadings under
the hot sun among these poisonous swamps.
The skill of our phot in guiding our vessel up
the intricate channels of the Parana was marveUous.
For fourteen hundred miles he knew every feature
of the stream, where deep water was always to be
found, and where the channel across the more shift
ing shoals was constantly changing from one side
of the broad river to the other, and had to be dis
covered by his experienced eye from appearances
that conveyed no intelligence to us.
Even with a vessel drawing two instead of nearly
seven feet, a pilot would be necessary to ascend
the Parana. No stranger could find his way among
this labyrinth of islands and branch streams ; he
would most probably take one of the false channels,
as they are called, and find that he was ascending
one of the many rivers of the Chaco instead of
the main network of channels, being brought at
last to a cognizance of his error by a flight of arrows
from the bank, or a threatening band of naked
spear-brandishing horsemen coming down upon
his wood-parties.

CHAPTER XXI.
On the night of the 18th of June, as we lay at
anchor under the bank, we heard the noise
of a chain rattling through hawse-pipes, and on
looking up found that a downward-bound schooner
had come to an anchor close to us.
The captain and pilot happened to be friends
of Don Juan, honest Genoese sailors, so they came
on board of us for an hour or so, and a merry con
cert, as is the pleasant custom of the Parana on such
occasions, was improvised. Most of these Genoese

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 277
and Neapohtan mariners have rich voices, and know
how to use them ; all seem to have an inexhaustible
repertoire in their heads of sea-songs, Venetian gon
dola chants, and operatic selections, so it is really
very good fun to bring up when possible alongside
one of these golettas.
Don Juan and the other pilot talked a good deal
of shop in the Genoese dialect, as is the custom of
their class ; how, on one voyage, he sailed from
Rosario to Corrientes in so many days; how, on
another, he scraped such a bank, and so on.
The skipper of the schooner had a very nasty
scar on his forehead. Don Juan, who knew the
history of it, begged him to narrate it to us, which
he did as follows : —
" Five years ago, having saved a considerable
sum as captain of river vessels, I purchased a fine
new schooner of one hundred tons, bunt of hard
Paraguayan wood. My first voyage was to have
been to Corrientes for a cargo of oranges. I left
the Boca hopefully enough, being now for the first
time owner as well as captain of my vessel. AU
went well till we had been about a month out ; then,
being becalmed, we brought up along the Chaco
bank, not far above Goya. It was a hot and lazy
day, aU hands were below, or lying about the deck
asleep, except the cook, who was preparing the
dinner outside the galley. Of a sudden, as I was
lying in my cabin, I heard such a temble yeU as I
have never heard before or since. I rushed on deck,
and there I saw a scene whose every detail seems
to have been instantaneously photographed on the
back of my eyes, and there to have remained ever
since, for I have only to close my eyes to see it
all again. The cook lay dead on his face, with
an arrow in his back ; there were about twenty
Indians on deck, who had already kiUed fojjr of

278 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
my six men, probably even before they had awaked
from their sleep. On seeing me, one struck me
with his lance on the head, severely wounding, but
luckily not stunning me. I leaped into our canoe,
whose painter that moment became, I think, miracu
lously, unfastened, and with a shower of arrows
foUowing me, drifted down with the tide. Not
having a boat with which to foUow me, they let
me go. I then fainted away, and was picked up
by a schooner later on. Other schooners reported
having found my vessel at anchor. On boarding
her the sailors beheld a horrid spectacle : my mur
dered crew lay naked on the deck, hacked in a
thousand places, fearfully mutilated. The Indians
had taken away aU that could be of any use to them
— the sails, fittings, and other property useless to
them they had cut up or burnt, venting their rage
on aU they came across, as is their custom. So
here I am once more, a poor river captain on an
other's vessel, with all my savings of years lost."
Such disasters have frequently happened to river
craft that moor to the trees on the Chaco shore,
and carelessly keep no proper watch ; but the In
dians are not alone responsible for these outrages.
Outlaw gauchos, runaway criminals, and other
renegade whites, find too easy an escape from justice
by crossing the river to the Indian Chaco, where
pursuit is quite impossible. These men are a hun
dred times more dangerous than the maligned In
dian. By the superiority of race, they become
caciques and leaders of the aboriginal tribes, and
urge them on to the raids and piratical atrocities
that are the terror of the frontiers and the river.
On the night of the 19th of June we came to an
anchor off the little town of La Paz, which is built
upon the Entre Rios barranca. Here, though 700
miles from its mouth, the river seems to preserve

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 279
its volume undiminished. To a vessel anchored
in the Parana near La Paz, the horizon both before
and behind is a shoreless stretch of water.
On the morrow we went on shore, to lay in neces
sary stores — wine, meat at three-halfpence a pound,
pumpkins, beans, &c. The river being flooded, the
butcher's shop on the beach was under water, so we
were able to row right inside it to buy our beef,
which was highly convenient. We also purchased
a quantity of coarse salt for purposes of barter, for
this is a valuable commodity higher up the river,
and the inhabitants are very glad to exchange eggs,
cassava, and other produce, for a few handfuls of it.
As is usual after the prevalence of this wind for
some days, the Pampero now graduaUy died away,
the cloudy skies and bracing weather that accom
pany it disappeared, and we lay at anchor some
fifteen miles above La Paz for several sultry, cloud
less days, during which time light northerly winds
alternated with calms.
We were anchored close to the Chaco shore, here
covered with a fine forest ; but the trees were joined
together with such strong and close networks of
lianas and other parasites, that to walk into the
country, even with the aid of a machete wherewith
to cut a way, was quite impossible.
We did manage, after considerable labour, to clear
a small space alongside the Falcon with our hatchets
and cutlasses, and on this we kept a tremendous
fire burning during our stay, doing aU our cooking
on shore. As there was no game to be found here
abouts, we employed our time in cutting an abun
dance of fuel, sufficient for a month, and stowing it
in our vessel. We also boiled down the feet of the
ox we had bought at La Paz, and manufactured
some excellent neat's-foot oil. Charcoal-burning was
another of our experiments, and in this we were also

280 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
highly successful. How much I would have enjoyed
this Robinson Crusoe life on the edge of the virgin
forest when I was a boy ! The water was deep
right up to the bank, and the Falcon was so close
that we were able to jump off and on to the shore.
Day after day passed without any change in the
weather, and grumblings at our bad luck commenced
once more to be heard. The impracticability of pene
trating the forest prevented us from obtaining any
sport, save a stray shot or two at a carpincho or lobo
(fresh-water seal) as they swam by us, and we were
anxious to progress to some more open country.
It was not until the 27th of June that the wild
Pampero came up once more from the south-west.
This strong gale drove us in a few hours into quite
another and more tropical country. We hugged
the Chaco shore, which soon assumed quite a differ
ent character. The land, no longer swampy, became
slightly undulating, and the rich vegetation that
covered it was not dense, but leaving open spaces
and glades that afforded easy passage to man. Tall
and graceful palms, the palmistes, and vicunas,
were here in thousands bending to the strong breeze ;
numberless little streams traversed the country,
running down beds of golden sands to the Parana.
It was a lovely land, inhabited by tigers and other
wild beasts alone, and untraversed save by the
roving Indians, who often come down here to fish.
I went aloft, so as to command a more extended
view over this charming country. It offered many
varieties of landscape; forests of palm were suc
ceeded by leagues of Pampa grass ; then there were
broad gleaming stretches of sand, and lakes swarm
ing with duck — a land after an Indian's own heart,
I should imagine. This Pampero had evidently
blown us into a new climate, and a new vegetation ;
we noticed, too, that its breath was more mild and

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 281
genial than it had been further down the river.
Should the brave south-wester but last another
twenty-four hours, we said, we would by that time
reach the land of crocodUes and monkeys. It did
not last twenty-four hours, but left us becalmed
this evening off the mouth of the riacho that leads to
the town of Esquina.
In the evening of the 28th, a light Pampero sprang
up, which carried us some fourteen miles to the
mouth of the riacho called Tala, on the Chaco side
of the river.
The next day a regular gale was blowing from
the south-west, so we joyfuUy prepared to get under
weigh, anticipating a run of nearly 100 miles before
nightfaU. We had weighed our anchor, and were
dropping out of the narroAV mouth of the riacho
before tide and wind under bare poles, when a
sudden squaU from another direction struck us,
and in a moment drove our vessel beam-on to the
shore. It was now seven o'clock, and for eight
hours, until three in the afternoon, all hands were
hard at work endeavouring to drag the vessel off
again. It was of no use, she would not move, so
firmly was her keel embedded. We had our big
anchor out on splendid holding-ground, but with
every purchase at our command applied to the wind
lass, we could yet do nothing. There was a downward-
bound schooner at anchor close to us waiting for a
fair wind. Now it is the good custom of the river
craft always to assist each other under such circum
stances as these, even though the one assisting loses
considerable time by so doing. So the captain of
this vessel, having first moved her further out in
the river, put two anchors down, and then taking a
very stout warp to our bows, set aU his men to work
on his capstan. These schooners are specially pro
vided with capstans of immense power, in view of

282 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
their taking the ground, as they invariably do more
or less frequently on each voyage. But the good
fellows laboured in vain ; the warp stretched, and
our timbers creaked with the strain ; yet the Falcon
would not budge. The only thing we could now
do was to take our anchor out into the river again,
and keep a constant strain upon the chain, whereby
in time the vessel would eat a channel out for her
self. It was horribly annoying, however, to lose
all this valuable wind in this way. Our pilot nearly
cried with rage, and stamped about the deck, fre
quently exclaiming, "If we had run on a bank
under full canvas,I should not have minded so much,
but under bare poles to stick so fast ! "
By putting a watch-tackle on to our capstan-bar,
we kept up a very considerable strain on our anchor,
and by the afternoon the gale raised a sea that did
more for us than aU the labour of ourselves and the
goletta's crew, with all the capstans and tackles
put together. For now the vessel rolled about till
she had so loosened her hold in the mud that we
were enabled to drag her off a few inches at a time
towards the deep water. At last it was only her
stern that held her, so, hoisting our heavy canoe
on to our bowsprit end, we made her rise aft, and
then with a haul altogether on the watch-tackle, we
floated her off. After these eight hours of constant
hard work, we took three reefs in our main-sail, for
the gale had increased rather than diminished, in
violence, and sailed a good eight knots an hour up
the stream tiU nightfall ; the Pampero followed
us with its usual accompaniments of heavy rain,
thunder, and lightning.
The following day the same south-wester was
blowing, but with moderate force, so that we were
enabled to shake our reefs out and set the spin
naker. After sailing some twenty miles, we came

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 283
to a portion of the river where navigation is attended
with considerable difficulties. The bed of the Pa
rana, here very broad, is fiUed with an accumulation
of ever-shifting sands, just covered with water.
The channel across this, which rarely has more
than seven feet of water in it, winds considerably,
and often changes its position. Our pilot had been
informed by a brother pratico who had recently
sailed down, that since the last crescente it was
necessary to steer from a certain clump of trees,
which is a well-known mark to another clump right
opposite on the other bank. However, there was
some mistake about the direction, for we ran hard
upon the sands right in the middle of the river.
We let all sail fall on deck, lowered the canoe from
the davits, and lost no time in getting out an an
chor, but it was not tiU after three hours of work
as hard as that of the previous day, that we got off
and continued our voyage. We anchored this night
off the riacho of Caraguyta, which is not far from
the town of Goya.
We were becalmed here throughout the whole of
the 1st of July, so were enabled to go on shore and
explore the country awhUe, which we now had not
done for many days.
On our right hand was now the province of Cor
rientes, a land of palm forests, swamps, and many
lakes and rivers.
On landing, we traversed a broad morass that
lay between the river and a fine forest. We saw
many alligators basking on the drier spots, but be
ing only provided with shot-guns, could not kiU
(any of them. On reaching the wood, we broke
through the lianes and creepers, clambered over the
fallen trees, and soon found ourselves surrounded
by the veritable South American forest. No words
can possibly convey any idea of the solemnity of

284 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
these virgin wilds. The lower growth was of bam
boo, wild coffee, dense lianes, and other plants,
whUe above aU, towered the ancient and gigantic
trees that produce the most valuable hard cabinet-
woods of export. We were in the haunt of beasts
of prey and carrion. Storks, eagles, and foul vul
tures, flew over us with hoarse cries ; parrots
screamed, and hundreds of monkeys looked down
on us with their human faces from the branches
above. We saw many fresh footprints of tigers,
and the lacerations on the trunks of trees showing
where they had recently sharpened their claws.
While lying at anchor here Ave amused ourselves
with some more exciting sport than usual. In the
daytime we succeeded in catching some dorados, a
fish we had long been trying to hook in vain, and in
the night we organized a general tiger-hunting
expedition. I have already told how these dorados would bite
other fish we caught off our hooks ; now it was our
turn. We happened to have some oranges on board,
and these, the phot declared, were the best possible
bait for these voracious monsters. Acting in accord
ance with his instructions, we baited some large-sized
hooks with half an orange each, bending them on stout
copper wire trebled ; even through this their sharp
teeth would sometimes bite.^and we would lose our
hooks. In half an hour we caught one great big
fellow, five feet long ; we got him into the canoe.
In his rage he bit the bulwark tiU his teeth nearly met
in the stout wood. We passed a rope's end through
his gills, and hauling him on deck, examined him at
our leisure. The dorado may be described as a
gigantic goldfish; his shape is that of the httle
creature familiar to us in bowls at home, and his
colour is that of the outside of an orange, with a
more reddish tint in places ; his mouth is large and

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 285
cruel, hke that of a shark, and I do not doubt that
a fuU-grown dorado could bite a man's arm off. We
managed to catch three of these great fish this day,
the smallest of which was three feet long. We cut
them into strips, salted and sun-dried them, and
found that their flesh was really most excellent eat
ing. We lit a fire on shore, and extracted the oil out
of one of these fish, which proved to be the very best
material for preserving guns from rust I have ever
tried. We found a spot on the shore so thickly covered
with the spoor and footprints of tigers, that it was evi
dently a favourite watering-place for these animals,
and not only that, but a fishing-place also, for we saw
the remains of dorados lying about. The jaguar is
a great fisherman ; he crouches in the dense under
growth by the river bank, and deftly hooks up passing
fish with his claw, somewhat in the manner of an
English boy tickling trout.
To secure some of the beautiful skins of the
South American tiger was a great ambition of ours,
so we consulted how best to tempt the wild beasts to
visit our neighbourhood this night. We had nothing
but salt beef on board now, and as this might not
be to the taste of the monarch of the forest, I set
forth in the canoe up a riacho to kill some of the shag
that abound on the Parana, or any other animals
that might be suitable for tiger-bait.
I shot as many black shag as was needful, wounded
a carpincho — a beast we never could secure, though
we wasted much powder and ball on him, and was
drifting back noiselessly with the oars on board, when
I heard a sound on the bank close to me that made
my heart suddenly beat somewhat quicker.
It was a loud breathing or snoring of some evidently
large animal. I guided my canoe to the opposite
side of the riacho, here only about twelve feet broad,

286 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
and quietly made it fast to the rushes. Then I loaded
my rifle, which I had with me, and tried to make out
who this gentleman enjoying his siesta might be.
The jungle was so dense that this was impossible,
and I thought it hardly prudent to force my way
through and disturb his slumber. He might be of
a choleric temper, and] object. So not knowing
what else to do, I fired straight at the point from
whence the noise came, which could not have been
much more than twenty feet from me, in the hopes
of hitting him in some fatal spot. This may have
been rather foolish, but I could not bring myself to
go away without letting that conical bullet have its
chance. The noise of the discharge, if nothing else,
did disturb him, for it was foUowed by a howl
of anger and surprise, and a sound of something
crashing through the jungle. I forced my way
through the canes to the spot where he had been
lying. There was his bed, a large one, too, and
stUl hot with his body, but I could see no blood or
other signs about to show me that my shot had
taken effect.
We cut open some shag, and hung them, together
with some dorado-flesh, on the branch of a tree some
three feet from the ground, and close to the watering-
place I have mentioned. At sunset the forest re
sounded with a continuous and awe-inspiring din,
the chorus of wild beasts, tenible and exciting to
one who hears it for the first time ; the shriek of tiger
and puma, the drum-like chatter of baboons, and
strange and weird cries that we had never heard
before. Jerdein, Arnaud, and myself, settled ourselves
comfortably among the branches of three separate
trees, each armed with rifle, revolver, and knife.
We were so disposed as to be able to converge our
fire on any animal that should come near our bait.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 287
We remained perfectly noiseless in our respective
trees for three hours. Then, I imagine, we began to
consider our position ridiculous, and our attempt
at jaguar-catching a vain amusement, but no one
liked to speak first and suggest this. The wild
beasts seemed now to have turned in, except one,
who occasionally stiU disturbed the still night with
a wild sardonic laugh, full of insanity and cruelty,
the most blood-curdling cry of the forest, that no one
would imagine to be uttered by a bird ; yet so it was,
for this was the screech of the foul buzzard of South
America. Four hours passed away, and we stiU remained
on our perches, immobile and silent, when suddenly
Arnaud sneezed. The charm was broken : we burst
into a simultaneous Homeric peal of laughter, and,
with no dissenting voice, moved an adjournment on
board the Falcon.
The tigers never came that night, for the bait
hung untouched in the morning. Had we possessed
a live sheep or other animal to tie up as bait, we might
have had better luck.
On the morrow the north wind was stiU blowing, so
I was enabled to visit a large island covered with
trees that was near our anchorage.
I found it to be densely overgrown with bamboos,
mangoes, coffee, and venerable Que brachos Colorados,
of whose hard red wood — so heavy that it sinks in the
water like lead — the river schooners are constructed.
Beautiful orchids or air-plants in blossom hung from
the trees like aerial gardens. Of these we tore down
some, and stuck them on our own rigging, where they
flowered and throve for some months, so that the
Falcon presented quite an aesthetic appearance. On
the soft soil of this island were the fresh marks of
tigers and deer, but we did not come across the
animals themselves. If we had only brought some

288 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
dogs with us, I believe we should have found some
good sport among the larger game ; not to have pro
cured some at Buenos Ayres was a great oversight
on our part.
This morning's bag was composed of two turkeys,
two monkeys, some parrots, and an alligator or cai
man. The turkeys and parrots were shot for the
larder, the alligator and monkeys for their skins,
though alligators' tails are esteemed as a delicacy in
Paraguay, and a dish of young monkeys is not to be
despised by any one.
CHAPTER XXII.
On the 6th of July we came to a portion of the
river where, for the first time, we saw both banks
at the same time, the wilderness of El Chaco being
on one side, the not less wild province of Corrientes on
the other, no islands as usual intervening between
us and one or other of the two mainlands. We beheld
at last, after all these labyrinths of isles and channels,
the whole volume of the Parana concentrated in one
stream ; and a noble river it seemed here, of con
siderable depth, and I should say about two miles in
breadth. At nightfall we came to an anchor off a rancho of
mud and bamboo on the Corrientes beach. It was
the first sign of man we had seen since we were
off the riacho of Esquina, ten days before. The
owner of this house came forth when he heard our
chain rattle out, and endeavoured to strike up a
conversation with us. But we were sulky, and stood
on our dignity at first, not responding heartily to his
friendly overtures — for, if the truth be told, we felt
very annoyed and aggrieved when we beheld this
hut and its holder.
We had lately taken to looking on aU these deserts

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 289
and forests as our own happy hunting-grounds, and
this feUow seemed to us an intruder on our solitude.
He at any rate owed us a humble apology for having
dared to build himself a house in the centre of our
preserves, and just in front of our night's anchorage
too. But when he came off to us in a little canoe with a
peace-offering of cassava, sweet potatoes, and eggs,
and only wanted a little bag of coarse salt in ex
change, we melted, and magnanimously forgave him.
We went on shore, and found that there were
several ranchos behind his. Round one was a
plantation of orange-trees covered with fine ripe
fruit. Wishing to purchase some of these, we went
up to the hut, and found there two women swinging
lazUy in grass hammocks, smoking huge cigars. We
addressed them politely, but found they could not
understand a word of Spanish, being only cognizant
of the Indian dialect Guarani. However, our first
acquaintance could speak a tongue that bore some
distant relationship to Castilian, and acted as
interpreter. The women drawled out in the soft
vowels of the Indian language that we could have
oranges at a dollar a thousand, but must gather them
ourselves. As it was nearly our dinner-time, this we
could not do, but informed them that we would
willingly pay more if they would pluck them for us.
This they declined to do ; they were far too com
fortable there in their soft hammocks, dreamily
watching the wreaths of smoke as they rose from their
mouths, to think of descending, were it for forty
dollars. But a happy thought occurred to the
inspired Jerdein, and he said, " Fair ladies, if you wiU
but pluck for us 500 oranges, we wiU give a grand
ball in this viUage to-night, at which we will hope
to have the pleasure of seeing you."
When this was interpreted into Guarani, we could
10

29o THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
perceive by the expression of their faces that they
were at last moved by our entreaties — the prospect
of a baU excited them greatly ; but they were not to
be humbugged, so these indolent beauties (beauties
by courtesy) would not get out of their hammocks
tiU they had inquired into all the details of our
entertainment. " But there is no music here,"
urged one. " O yes there is," explained the per
suasive Jerdein. " There is a concertina, and a box
full of dances ; you turn a handle, and out they come,"
and he demonstrated in pantomime the action of a
hurdy-gurdy. " There wiU also be gin," said our
interpreter, " and tobacco," continued Jerdein.
Before aU these temptations the fair ones could not
but yield, and they consented to pluck us our oranges
on the understanding that — no oranges, no bah.
This little settlement is called Rincon de Sota, and
the inhabitants of it are about as numerous as the
letters of its name. The poverty of the place can be
imagined when I state that it does not support either
a commandante or a judge !
As we had progressed northward, we perceived that
the population became more agricultural in its pur
suits ; thus these poor half-breeds of Rincon de Sota
cultivated the ground around their bamboo huts
with considerable care, producing cassava, potatoes,
oranges, and maize — very unlike the shepherd aristo
crats of the Pampas, who scorn to till the soil.
Of the dozen inhabitants of this little place, about
nine were of the other sex ; these, on hearing of the
coming ball, became excited to a degree, and forthwith
set out to wash themselves in the river, and otherwise
adorn themselves in a rather public manner for the
great event.
The ball was to be held in the rancho of our first
friend, which was large and had a fine mud floor,
admirably adapted for the purpose. At about nine

THE CRUISE OF THE "FALCON." 291
in the evening we went on shore with the concertina,
the barrel-organ, and three bottles of gin. We, too,
were in ball-dress, that is, we wore top-boots, had
sailors' guernseys on, handkerchiefs round our necks,
and revolvers and knives at our backs. None other
but ourselves wore boots. We left Jim to keep
watch on deck with a musket during our absence,
and Arthur, with a cutlass as big as himself, stood
by our canoe on shore, for of course we could not
know that our new friends were not of a piratical and
brigand disposition ; anyhow, this is a rough and
dangerous part of the river, and it was as well to
be prudent. But aU went on weU, and there was no
grand finale of stabs and shots to mar the harmony
of the evening.
_ Women as weU as men smoked long Paraguayan
cigars aU the time they were dancing, as is the custom
of this province, where the smallest child indulges
freely in the strong green weeds, and where a baby
crying in its mother's arms is soothed by having a
plug of tobacco thrust into its mouth. Our host
was an Indio manso, or tame Indian — a very ugly
but sprightly old gentleman, who, becoming medio
obscuro, as Don Juan euphemistically termed his
condition, sat in a corner, with an expression of
intense satisfaction on his leather features, clapped
his hands, and exclaimed at intervals, " Es muy
superior ! muy superior ! " He, at any rate,
appreciated our efforts to amuse the population.
His ugly squaw was highly pleased with a keepsake
I presented to her, being an old wooden pipe.
The banel-organ, of course, was an object of great
interest ; every one insisted on having his turn in
revolving the handle, and the smUes of astonishment,
pride, and delight that Ulumined those simple ugly
faces when a real bond jide tune resulted from their
efforts were worth seeing.

292 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
It was not until the evening of the 12th of July,
having been sixty-one days out from the Tigre, that
we came to an anchor off the town of BeUavista.
The aspect of the scenery around us at that moment
was extraordinarily beautiful. We were between the
sun and the moon ; on our left hand was the former
setting gloriously behind the Chaco, throwing over all
that wild country a peculiar crimson glare ; while to
the left of us, over the Corrientes shore, hung the full
moon, casting a silver light upon the white houses
of the ancient city. Very remarkable was the
contrast of colour between the two coasts under
these circumstances, and apt to recaU to one's mind
the stiU sharper contrast in another respect between
the two lands thus separated by the mighty river.
On the one hand the Spanish settlements, the coun
tries of the men that live in houses ; civilization of a
poor kind, but civilization aU the same, and pro
gressive. On the other hand barbarism, for there
lay the vast Indian hunting-ground of El Gran
Chaco, where the aborigines defy the white man, and
wage perpetual war against him. For three centuries
the two races have looked at each other across the
broad Parana for upwards of a thousand miles of its
course with the same ineconcilable hatred ; and
nothing so strikes a stranger when standing in the
streets of such a town as Corrientes,with its tramways,
its men in black coats and top-hats, and other out
ward signs of civilization, as to look across the gleam
ing Parana and remember that that fair country so
near to him is yet the uncontested territory of the
savage, as much as it was before the Spanish keels
first clove the waters of the River Plate.
We had to remain at BeUavista throughout the
next day in consequence of a calm. This town, though
the second of the province, is a wretched place, but
beautifully situated on the summit of the Baranca,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 293
commanding an extensive view over the Parana and
its islands, and the Chaco beyond.
The river as seen from the Plaza is very majestic ;
even here, and far above this, it stretches in such
broad, seemingly-shoreless expanses, that an explorer
coming from overland upon its banks would easily
imagine that he had reached some bay of the sea,
were it not for the freshness of the water. BeUavista
is embowered in a grove of oranges ; each house is
surrounded by a plantation of these dark-foliaged
trees, now covered with golden fruit. No region in
the world so abounds with oranges as do the province
of Corrientes and the Republic of Paraguay. It is
not worth the while of the people to gather them,
save where the trees are in the vicinity of the river-
bank, for there it is easy to dispose of them to the
Italian schooners that sail up the Parana at this
season to take in cargoes of the fruit.
At BeUavista we were enabled to lay in a fresh
supply of beef, salt, mate, wine, and vegetables.
We also covered our decks with mountains of oranges,
which we devoured from morning till night, to the
horror of Don Juan, who told us we should all die of
a horrible death if we committed these excesses.
Said he, " It is the fever (chuchu) season now on the
river ; nothing gives a man fever so soon as eating
oranges." But we would not be persuaded, being unable
to see any connection between malaria and oranges,
and we did not catch fever, whereas abstemious Don
Juan did, though but mildly.
After leaving BeUavista, we sailed for two days,
when the wind rather suddenly veered to the north,
and we were obliged to anchor off the mouth of a
large riacho that penetrated the Chaco. This
change caused the thermometer to rise from 65° to
8<5° in the shade, within a few hours. In the canoe

294 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
I ascended this riacho for some miles with Jerdein.
A forest of fine trees, but impassable on account
of the dense undergrowth, lined either bank. At
last we came to an encampment of some twenty
Wild-looking half-breeds and tame Indians, who had
two long canoes moored to the bank. They were
occupied in cutting down bamboos for sale in BeUa
vista, where they are much used for building and
other purposes. They were fairly armed with old-
fashioned muskets, knives, and bollas, to defend
themselves in case of attack by marauding Indians,
Their wives and children were with them, and
performed all the domestic duties of the little camp.
When the dogs had been quieted with sundry kicks
from their owners, and objurgations which I suppose
were Indians' curses, we saluted each other, and
entered into conversation. They told us there was
an open savannah some three leagues up the riacho,
where there was great plenty of game and wild beasts,
but that by the bank between us and that, on a
" campo muy rico," there was a tolderia or village
of Tobas Indians, who were far from being friendly-
disposed to the white man. One old feUow that was
spokesman of the party was a professional tiger-
hunter ; he had an ugly and many-scarred dog with
him that was the hero of a hundred fights with the
jaguar, and which he said he would not seU for five
ounces of gold.
In the night of the 18th of -July, a gale of wind
sprang up from the south-west, and raised such high
waves that we rolled about at anchor as if we had
been lying in the Solent instead of on a river iooo
miles from the sea.
On the 19th the pampero was stiU blowing with
such fury that we sailed under mizzen and fore-sail
alone, going very fast even under that short canvas.
There was quite a heavy sea running in places, so that

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 295
we felt anxious, for to have run on a bank under
these circumstances might have involved the total
loss of the Falcon. Hereabouts, too, the bottom is
not altogether composed of sand and soft mud,
but blocks of tosca rise up at intervals ; this is a sort
of natural concrete, nearly as hard as rock.
But the pilot was very careful, sounding every
moment as we crossed the perilous shoals with often
not more than half a foot of water under our keel ;
we were continually turning and jibbing our sails,
tiU at last we were greatly relieved by Don Juan
saying, as he coiled his lead-line on the hatch,
" AU right now, we have three fathoms of water all
the way from here to Corrientes." Before dark we
came to an anchor off the city of Corrientes, the
capital of the province of the same name.
This is a curious old place, rising from a shore
of rough, lumpy tosca. Both beach and town have
a slovenly, unkempt appearance ; the streets are of
loose sand, with big stones and deep holes here and
there, straight, lifeless streets fragrant with the
many orange-trees, unlit by night, and then not
over safe to promenade in, for the population of
Corrientes has a lawless, murderous reputation.
Several campaniles of old Jesuit churches dominate
the dilapidated-looking city, and there is a college,
a reaUy fine building, that would be worthy of
a European university town. I saw the pupils
turning out from lecture, when I was here. They
were of the age of English schoolboys, small boys,
too, for the most part, but in their manners very
different indeed from those at home. There was none
of that boisterous tumbling out of school — those
irrepressible animal spirits that distinguish the Brit
ish urchin — these saUoW youngsters walked out staid
and solemn, old men in all but years, each, even the
smaUest, puffing away at a gigantic native cigar.

296 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
On landing in our canoe on the tosca beach, we
found ourselves in the midst of a crowd of half-naked
women washing clothes and chattering, as is the
manner of washerwomen all over the world, very fast
in the soft Guarani. A little higher up on the beach
was an encampment of men, women, and children,
whose barbaric costume and hideous faces betokened
them to be Indians of the Chaco. They were Gua-
curus, a ferocious tribe, and spoke a harsh, guttural
language, sounding very unpleasant after the tongue
of the civilized Guaranis. These Guacums had come
over the river in a huge canoe which they had drawn
up on the beach ; they had brought firewood and
skins of wild beasts to exchange for salt and other
necessaries. They were of a very dark colour, with
long coarse black hair hanging down their backs ;
some had tiger-skins, but most had merely filthy
blankets wrapped round them. The women were,
if possible, uglier than the men. The married women
were distinguished from the maidens by large round
patches of black or dark-blue paint under their eyes,
giving each one the appearance of having received
two very thorough black eyes at her husband's hands.
Corrientes is really more an Indian than a Spanish
city, for not only do the savages from the Chaco
often throng its streets, gazing with wonder at
the gaudy blankets and cheap trinkets that are
exhibited in the stores to attract them, but, as far
as I could judge, quite three-quarters of the in
habitants are Guaranis, and speak that tongue.
Arnaud and myself were going off to the Falcon
this same evening at about eleven o'clock. We stood
on the beach and hailed her until we were hoarse.
For upwards of half an hour we shouted, so that we
woke most of the Indians camping round their fires.
AU the cocks in Corrientes commenced to crow, all
the dogs to bark, and the police to yell challenges

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 297
and ansAvers to each other in different parts of the
city, as is their custom, to show that they were
awake and heard the disturbance, and, as is also their
custom in a row, they took very good care not to come
anywhere near us. Though we had stirred up a din
as of many revolutions, our sleepy crew would not
wake ; so, as there was no one else about, we applied
to the Guacuru Indians for assistance. I gently
poked one with a stick, whereon he rolled out of his
blanket with a grunt. I tried to explain to him
that we wished to go on board the Falcon in the
canoe of his people, a huge craft that required at
least four men to row it. He would not understand.
Then I showed him a silver dollar, and he evinced
signs of intelligence, and proceeded to wake up some
of his fellows. But now a difficulty arose. The
squaws and children were already awake and sitting
up in their blankets, staring at us with their black,
beady eyes, but it seemed that our friend was too
gallant to ask the ladies to row us over, or perhaps
too jealous to trust these questionable beauties with
us. Anyhow, he insisted on trying to wake the men.
But these sons of the tropic forest had, after com
pleting their barter, invested most of their gain, as
is their wont, in the fire-water of the white man,
the insinuating square-face gin. Dead drunkenness
is the only term that can express the condition
of most of these noble savages. Our friend, who was
comparatively sober, failing to awake the others,
went up to the cacique, a huge ruffian, rolled up in a
white blanket, and reclining his head on a half-empty
bottle of gin as a pillow. He proceeded to stir up this
great man with a ceremoniously and respectfully
administered kick in the ear, as befitted his high
station. The savage, with his wild-beast instincts, fearful
of danger in every sound, leapt to his feet in a

298 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
moment, as if he had received an electric shock, with
a sudden start and a horrible yell, as his right hand
clutched his long knife. Having appeased him,
our Indian tried to explain our wants, and put before
his chief all the arguments in our favour : how many
drams of gin could be purchased for a dollar,, and so
on. But the cacique was too far gone to understand
anything, even gin ; so, after glaring savagely
around with his blood-shot eyes, and muttering
sundry guttural blood-curdling remarks in Guacuru,
he fell down and relapsed into insensibility. Find
ing that we could not get a boat, we presented our
friendly barbarian with a few cigars, and repaired
to an almacen to beg a bed, having succeeded in
awaking the savages, dogs, cocks, police, and citizens
of Corrientes — aU indeed save our sleepy boys.
I have already alluded to the many curious
substitutes for coins that a South American store
keeper will give you in change, such as the vales or
IOU's, tramway tickets, chopped up Bolivians, and
so on. In Corrientes and all the Paraguayan towns
you will receive in lieu of small change, as I found
on paying my hotel bill the morning after our adven
ture with the Guacurus, boxes of matches, bundles of
cigars, and drinks ; very cumbersome, save per
haps the latter, which are a sufficiently portable
currency ; and yet have we not seen men totter
even beneath the weight of these ?
On going down to the beach, we walked over the
prostrate forms of the still " drunk and incapable "
Indians, whose lank, black locks were alone visible
above their dirty blankets. The squaws, however,
were awake, smoking cigars, and sadly contemplating
their lords, who, in a night's spree, had thus wasted
aU that the women had earned by months of hard
work, reserving nothing wherewith to buy the httle
household necessaries, such as salt to flavour the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 299
Sunday joint of alligator-tail, a blanket for the new
baby, or tobacco for the old wife.
Our boy Arther was an independent and mutinous
young ruffian, who, like most of us, would not
hearken to and profit by the experience of his elders.
So it happened that, in consequence of neglecting
the sage advice of Jerdein and myself, he received a
rather practical lesson on the night after our arrival
at Corrientes. Having obtained permission to stroll
about the town for a few hours in the afternoon, he
proceeded to dress himself out in the costume in
which he most fancied himself, being the Sunday
apparel of a North Sea fishing-boy : thick pilot coat,
woollen stocking round the neck, and so on, more
adapted to the Arctic regions than to latitude 260.
Thus accoutred, and with the biggest cigar he could
procure in his mouth, he commenced to roU about
Corrientes in the regular Jack-ashore style. To cut
the story short, he broke his leave, and never returned
all night. We went off in the canoe to look for him
in the early morning, and there on the beach we be
held a miserable, half -naked object that we could
not at first recognize as our gallant crew. He had
nothing on but a pair of trousers. His face was
swollen and bloated, and his teeth chattered with
cold. We took him on board, where he explained,
as well as he could, but vaguely, what had occturred.
He said he had been drugged by some Spanish sailors
in a public-house, then robbed of his coat, money,
boots, hat, belt-knife, pipe, &c, and cast out in an
insensible condition to pass the cold, dewy night
upon the beach. He had been afraid to approach
the Indian fires when he awoke, and so must have
had a very uncomfortable time of it.

300 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
CHAPTER XXIII.
Northerly winds detained us in Conientes for
several days, so we were enabled to see a good
deal of the neighbourhood. One excursion we
made is worthy of mention. This was to the Colonia
Resistantia,a small settlement of Indian agriculturists
in the Chaco opposite Corrientes, one of the few
spots where the white man has established a footing
in the Indian hunting-grounds beyond the river.
Don Felice, a jovial store-keeper of Corrientes, who
owns property in the Resistantia colony, invited us
to go there with him ; so one fine morning we em
barked in a small, lateen-sailed boat that carries
passengers across the Parana to the new settle
ment. We were very much over-crowded, there
being twenty-six of us altogether. With the ex
ception of ourselves, all were Italian colonists. There
were several pretty girls among them, and two
musicians to enliven our journey with guitar and
flute. The voyage was a stormy and even a perilous one,
for the north wind blew hard. In the middle of the
broad river a choppy sea was running, and the
waves toppled over the sides into our deep-laden
vessel in most alarming fashion. We were aU soon
drenched ; the women shrieked and prayed, whereon
Don Felice at the helm shouted to the musicians,
" Toca la musica ! toca la musica ! " thinking with
lively strains to sooth the tercified damsels ; but,
alas ! the harpist and flutist, haggard and pale with
sea-sickness, could not even talk, for less harmonize.
Then our admiral drew forth a bottle of rum, and
ordered tots to be served round to all hands. This
inspired the crew with greater confidence, and a pretty
little Italian girl sitting next to me so far recovered

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 301
as to wipe the tears from her eyes, draw forth her
fan, and commence a little flirtation with the writer,
which Don Felice noticing, he cried out, " Bravo ! "
and called public attention to the pluck of the
Donna Julia, holding her forth as an example to the
rest, at which she blushed and simpered, not unbe
comingly, behind her fan.
As a matter of fact we were not very far from
foundering on several occasions during this voyage,
but, baling out all the while, we managed to reach
the other side of the broad, rough Parana, and
entered the calm waters of a riacho that pierced the
jungle of the Chaco. All these amiable Italians
now recovered their spirits, and fanning, flirting,
laughing, and music became once more the order of
the day. After ascending the riacho, along whose
banks basked many alligators (yacar6s) for some
miles, we came to the colony. We found quite a
decent road traversing it, and seeing the tidiness,
cleanliness, and signs of industry everywhere around
us, we did not require to be told that this was not a
native but a foreign colony.
The settlement consists of smaU farm-allotments,
whereon a hard-working, handsome, cheerful race of
Piedmontese, Tyrolese, and Lombards raise from a
fertile soil nearly every produce of the temperate
and sub-tropical zones. Round each pretty house is
a flower-garden and a little plantation of potatoes,
turnips, peas, a common sight at home, but a very rare,
and therefore pleasing one in this republic. Beyond
these are the fields of maize, plantations of cotton
and sugar, groves of oranges and bananas, and the
cleared pastures for the cattle. None of these pleasant
people are rich, but aU are in a comfortable position.
They are sufficiently numerous to defy the Indians,
and five contentedly and undisturbed, save for the
impositions of a vile government.

302 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
On sailing back to Corrientes on the 25th of July, we
found that the north wind had freshened to a strong
gale, so a shift to the southward within a few hours
was more than probable. " Norte duro pampero
seguro " is the proverb of the Parana pilots. This
was one of those hot, electric days that accompany
the termination of a northerly, — 900 in the shade,
1250 in the sun, a good temperature for midwinter ;
but this had been an exceptional season for these
latitudes, " un anno de norte " as Don Juan called it
in disgust, and very unfavourable for the ascent of
the Parana. " Un anno de crescente," too, it had
proved, for the river was exceptionally high, and the
larger game had retreated inland from the flooded
shores of the Chaco. Hence the comparatively
poor sport we had encountered. As a rule the river-
banks swarm with deer, tigers, and other animals.
On the morning of the 26th of July there was a
dead calm. It was terribly close and hot, a silence
as of death hung over all nature, and man and beast
lay listless and dr:-' ?ed in suspense beneath the
incubus of the C storm. Suddenly a dark
mass of cloud josf . ' from the southern horizon,
and then the fie%. ^? ° .ipero burst down upon us
with great fury ; iu. eTW blast was hot as of a furnace,
being the dry air oi°?ne recoiling norte ; but in an
incredibly short time this had passed, and instead of
an atmosphere of the Sahara when the simoon blows,
we had above us the cloudy rainy sky of the autumnal
equinox at home, and the cold, moist breath of the
wind in our faces was exactly that of our bracing,
blustering south-westers of Old England. On no
occasion have I experienced so very rapid and great
a change in the climate as on this day.
Early this afternoon, having run at a great rate
before the strong pampero, we reached the junction
of the rivers Parana and Paraguay, and here leaving

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 303
the former we proceeded to sail up the latter mighty
stream, with the forests of the Republic of Paraguay
on our right hand, and the Indian territory of El Chaco
on our left.
At last, after a river voyage of seventy-four days,
we found ourselves at the gate of that fair land of
Paraguay, of which we had heard so strange things,
and which we had so desired to see ; the country of
women, a very fairyland of romance, of which so
little is known in Europe ; a region the most favoured
by nature under the sun ; a beautiful, tropical
garden, weU watered by many lakes and rivers, and
yet now the poorest and most unfortunate of states.
The history of Paraguay does not go far back, and
yet it is one of the most remarkable in the world,
and full of instruction to communists and other
theorizers on the perfect social state.
Here remote from the sea, in an earthly paradise,
dwelt a mild, kindly, but brave race, that of the
Guarani Indians. To them in the commencement
of the seventeenth century came the Jesuit fathers,
who, notwithstanding the jealousy of the Spaniards,
succeeded in founding here the most important of
aU their missionary establishments. Paraguay be
came an ecclesiastical commonwealth. The fathers
taught the Indians the arts of peace — and war too,
for no little fighting had to be done at times with
savage Indians and San Paulist slave-hunters. The
people held all their property in common, and were
taught a blind obedience to their clerical rulers ;
they were kept in a state of perpetual pupillage, as
mere children, not being allowed to acquire the art
of writing or reading, and being compelled to speak
the Guarani language alone. By these means the
Jesuits thought to insure the perpetual submission
of these docile savages, and to prevent the ingress of
any new ideas from abroad.

304 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Such was the education and such the dependent
condition of this simple people for a century and a
half. Then the Jesuits were expelled from South
America, and anarchy and pestilence sadly thinned
the Guarani population. Next that new spirit of
revolution that had so shaken aU the thrones of
Europe crossed the seas, and the watchwords of
political freedom were echoed from the Pampas to
the Andes and even up to remote Paraguay. Not one
of the Spanish-American races was in any way pre
pared for self-government, nor are they so to this
day, but far less than all, poor Indian Paraguay. But
little could these docile children of the good fathers
understand these new theories about liberty — what
did they want with liberty ? Thus when all the states
around them declared their independence from
Spain, the Paraguayans did nothing, but wondered
in their usual stupid way, and waited for something
to turn up. Something did turn up in the shape
of one Francia. Seizing the reins of government,
this man constituted himself the first of the dictators
or tyrants of Paraguay. His policy was similar
to that of the Jesuits in many respects. Under
his administration all foreigners were excluded from
the country ; if any wretched stranger did venture
across the frontier, he was not permitted to return,
and was most probably imprisoned for life. This
exclusiveness was indeed if anything stricter than
was that of Japan until recently.
To Francia succeeded Lopez I., who followed in the
footsteps of his predecessor ; and then came the
infamous Lopez II., his son, who in his short reign
succeeded in converting the once cultivated garden of
Paraguay into what it now is, a jungle roamed over
by tigers that have become man-eaters since their glut
of humanfleshin the late tenible war ; a land of women
and children, for nearly all the men were slain. ; whose

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 305
population numbers but one-sixth of what it did
but twenty years ago.
Lopez II. commenced by converting the so-called
Republic of Paraguay into what may more appro
priately be termed one huge slave estate of his own.
He enforced the old laws prohibiting any native to
leave the country, but encouraged foreign engineers
and artificers to come to it, that they might be sub
servient to his ambitious schemes ; though towards
the latter end of his administratorship he was wont
to imprison and otherwise ill-treat these on the
slightest pretext.
The river Paraguay was closed to foreign bottoms ;
when an Italian schooner came up the Parana from
Buenos Ayres, it was obliged to come to an anchor
at the mouth of the Paraguay. The tyrant would then
send an agent on board to inspect the cargo and offer
a price for it. If this was accepted the goods were
stored in the government magazines, and retailed to
the people at a high profit. If Lopez and the skipper
could not come to terms, the latter had to return to
Buenos Ayres with his cargo, for he was not per
mitted to seU it to any private party. AU the
commerce of the country passed through the dic
tator's hands, who thus amassed an enormous
fortune. If Lopez had contented himself with
tyrannizing over the docile Guaranis, no one would
have meddled with him ; but in an evil hour for him
self and Paraguay he visited Europe. At Paris
he learnt all the vices of civilization and nothing
more. There he took to himself a mistress, an Eng
lish woman, another man's wife ; clever, ambitious,
and unscrupulous, she flattered the vain, ignorant
savage, and led him to believe that he was destined
to become the Napoleon of South America. He
greedily drank the poison, returned to Paraguay;
spent the whole revenue of the little country in

306 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
preparing her for a gigantic struggle, and then set to
work to conquer the southern continent.
Hence that five years' war, which only terminated
twelve years back with the death of Lopez at the
hands of a Brazilian lancer, one of the most terrible
wars of history, between one plucky little Indian
state and three such formidable aUies as Brazil, the
Argentine Republic, and Uruguay. Few know what
those five years were ; what suffering, what atrocities,
what oceans of blood attended that literally war to
the knife, and aU to gratify the ambition of one
madman, the half-breed Lopez. The Jesuit-taught
docile Guaranis foUowed him devotedly to the death,
blindly, not loving him and yet not fearing, but with
unreasoning, dog-like fidelity.
For five years the unequal contest was prolonged,
until the Guaranis were nearly exterminated, and
to this day there are nine women to one man. To
wards the latter years of the war Lopez became little
better than a dangerous madman, as was his pro
totype, Nero, before him. An insane suspicion of
all, even his relations and dearest friends, possessed
him. He was liable to sudden accessions of violent
rage. He put to death all officers that were un
successful in battle, or who were unable to carry out
his impracticable orders. It is said that he had a
cage of wild beasts in his palace, to whom he threw
his cousins or other people that annoyed him. He
ordered his own mother and sisters to be publicly
whipped for expostulating with him for executing
some innocent relative. He put to death his bishop-
brother, and the noblest of the land, in his jealous
hatred of any that might be considered as equal to
himself. If any man was praised before him as being good
or able, it was sufficient to arouse the tyrant's sus
picion, and a death-wanant was issued, It seems

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 307
almost impossible to imagine that this reign of
tenor was in the nineteenth century; nay, but
twelve short years back.
After the final defeat and death of Lopez, the
allied armies occupied the country for a time, and
it is but recently that the last Brazilian regiments
have evacuated Concepgion and other towns. Such
a tremendous war indemnity was demanded by the
conquerors from the vanquished republic as will
cripple her energies and render her perpetually
bankrupt ; for it is quite impossible that she will
ever pay it, or her public loan, for the matter of that,
which was fraudulently contracted for her in Europe,
and of which poor Paraguay received so little.
At the present day matters are drifting along
tranquiUy enough in the desolate country. The form
of government is as nearly as possible that of the
neighbouring republics, and the rivers are as open to
foreign vessels as the Thames itself.
Such is the history of Paraguay, the only South
American Republic that has no sea-board, and the
only countryintheworld in which the conquerors have
universally adopted the language of the conquered,
for Guarani is still the spoken tongue, Spanish being
only used by the upper classes, who are not very
numerous ; even the country priests can only speak
the Indian dialect. But Spanish words are used
for European luxuries and for numerals above five,
for which there are no equivalents in Guarani, this
not being a mathematically-minded race.
Paraguay is indeed a beautiful and voluptuous
land ; a tropical forest cloven by broad, fair rivers,
with gardens fair as those of the Hesperides inter
vening between the places of denser-growth — a realm
of lotus-eaters, where the worn mariner might
well be tempted, fike the followers of Ulysses, to
wax weary of the " fields of banen foam," and cry,—

308 THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON."
" We will return no more ; our island home
Is far beyond the wave ; we will no longer roam."
There are, indeed, certain men who have come
here from Europe, and the lazy influence of the soft,
beautiful climate has eaten into their souls, and they
have stayed in the " land of streams," unwiUing to
return, settling on these gentle hills that slope to the
broad Paraguay, amid groves of orange- trees, bananas,
and papaws, with white-robed, silent Indian women
serving them as slaves.
There is no useful product of the tropics that is not
to be found in Paraguay: sugar, coffee, yerba, cassava,
tobacco, cotton, and rice, all flourish on the fertile
red soil. It is a land where there is an unbelievable
profusion and variety of game of all sorts for the
sportsman. For the explorer, too, there is on the
Brazilian frontier, in latitude 240, the half-fabulous
cascade of La Guayra, where the whole volume of the
Parana falls from a great height. The old Jesuits
had visited it, and described it as the most stupend
ous cataract in the world, even greater than Niagara.
No white man has ever seen it in modern times.
The Indians say that no man can dweU within thirty
miles of the falls, for even at that distance the roar
is so great as to produce complete deafness in time.
Expeditions of whites have attempted to reach
La Guayra, but have aU failed, so dense is the under
growth of the forest through which they had to
cut their way, so pestilential the swamps that have
to be traversed. Strange, indeed, are the tales that
the Indians teU of some of these inner solitudes :
of the gold, the jewels. One is reminded, on hearing
them, of the fairy tales of the Eldorado that first
urged the old Spanish adventurers to their bold
explorations. The women of Paraguay, for so few are the men
that of the fair sex alone is it worth while to say

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 309
much, are not uncomely ; they have weU-moulded
limbs, voluptuous lustrous eyes, and are of every
colour, from mahogany to the white and pink com
plexions of the fairest Anglo-Saxon. The dress of a
Paraguayan woman consists merely of a snow-white
tunic, coming down to the knees, and a white shawl ; a
much prettier costume than the dingy black robe of
the Argentine. These women are bare-footed, only
the upper classes wearing boots. " The shoed people "
is the Guarani expression for the aristocracy.
This mild race lives principaUy on oranges, pump
kins, cassava, and other fruits and vegetables, being
almost vegetarian, unlike the almost exclusively
beef-eating and more ferocious Argentine of the
Pampas. There can be no doubt that the Guarani
is one of the higher branches of the Indian family.
The Paraguayans are incontestably a handsomer
race than any of the half-breeds of the neighbouring
republics. I have seen in this land as perfectly beauti
ful women as in any part of the world, but, it must be
confessed, they are the exception.
Many are the virtues of these poor, brave Para
guayans; they are hospitable, kindly, honest, and
though marriage is looked upon as an unneces
sary prelude to two young people starting house
keeping together, they are remarkably constant in
their attachments. The Paraguayan girls are, fike
Byron's savage heroines, faithful unto death, soft
as doves, but ready to give up their lives for their
mates. Fiery, passionate little creatures these, and
woe to him who gives one cause for jealousy, for
in love and hate they have the tiger in them — the
fierce Indian blood that produced a Lopez throbs in
the veins of these tropical Haidees.
In this land none see any shame in unlawful love.
Every country priest keeps his mistress, generaUy
more than one, and this openly, without any attempt

310 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
at concealment, every parsonage containing its
harem and its nursery. In a recent work on South
America the Paraguayans are reported to excuse
the errors of their clergy by saying that the Pope
has, in compassion for the now unpopulated con
dition of poor Paraguay, been pleased to grant to the
priests there, dispensation from their vows of chastity.
This excuse is a very good one, but from aU accounts
this people were not famed for their morality even in
the days before the war.
Not a few European traveUers have visited
Asungion since the war, but none, I beUeve, have
explored the interior of the country. Paraguay is
indeed now, for the most part, an unknown country,
even to its inhabitants ; and yet there are few so
charming regions for the traveller, be he sportsman
or naturalist, or merely an admirer of what is grand
and beautiful in nature. What more delightful than
an expedition of a few friends in a properly-furnished
and fight canoe upon these glorious rivers and lakes,
many of which have been hitherto undisturbed by the
frailest bark-boat of the Indian ? At times the ex
plorer wiU, to his amazement, suddenly come upon a
stately stone ruin in the dense forest, overgrown and
half-hidden with the rank creepers. It is the remains
of a Christian church, marking the site of some old
Jesuit mission, long since deserted to the tigers, all
signs of the ancient clearings and mate plantations
vviped away, for the rapid growth of tropical vegeta
tion soon fiUs up the scars of man's handiwork.

CHAPTER XXIV.
As we entered the mouth of the river Paraguay;
we saw before us an island that is called Cerito, on
which, though we could perceive no houses, there

THE CRUISE OF THE ** FALCON." 311
were several white-clad damsels standing, who
waved their hands to us and laughed musically as we
sailed by, as if to welcome us to the land of women.
We noticed that the Paraguay was considerably
narrower than the Parana, and that the vegetation
had suddenly changed in character, being more
tropical. Possibly this is due to the waters of the
Paraguay being of a higher temperature than those
of the Parana, for it flows from due north, straight
from the burning regions of Central Brazil, whereas
the latter river pursues a westerly course.
The navigation of the Paraguay is much easier
than that of the Parana, notwithstanding that it
winds like a corkscrew, but it is generaUy deep and
unobstructed by sandbanks, while its current is
much less rapid than that of the other stream. At
nightfaU, having sailed a great distance before the
strong pampero, we came to an anchor along the
Paraguayan shore, with a Une from our bows to a
palm-tree in the forest.
During the next day, July 27th, the south wind
blew hard, so we accomplished another good day's
work. We sailed between magnificent tropical
forests, that even roused our enthusiasm, accustomed
as we were to such scenes ; we passed occasional
brakes of the most gigantic canes I have ever seen,
stout as our own main-mast. Both banks were
alive with parrots and monkeys, and the alligators
lay basking in rows by the water edge, looking fike
so many stranded logs.
This night we anchored again under the Para
guayan shore. One of those terrible thunder
storms peculiar to these countries broke upon us,
and lasted for several hours. We, too, became
rather electric and stormy after tea, for we dis
cussed the Irish question so warmly that we kept
the poor pilot awake for more than half the night

312 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
with our declamations, and effectually frightened
all the monkeys away from that part of the forest.
The next morning the weather was damp and
close, with a yellow fog hanging over the jungle,
very suggestive of fever.
As there was no wind, we had to remain where we
were, so I determined to set foot on the Paraguayan
shore and see what manner of country it might be.
Taking my Martini-Henry rifle with me, I landed, and
found that beyond a morass and jungle of cane and
bamboo that lined the river there extended a splen
did wood of huge trees, from whose depths I could
distinguish the cries of wild beasts, and over whose
dark foliage flew multitudes of large green-and-
gold-plumaged panots. After penetrating this
jungle, I found myself surrounded by that wonder
ful production of tropical nature — the virgin forest,
with its tangled mass of intricate creepers and its
monstrous growth of secular trees. The most thought
less man is strangely awed and impressed by this
gigantic and mysterious nature that appeals at
once to his every sense. Like a cataract of sound
ring out around him the manifold new and terrible
noises of the solitude. The strident cries of rainbow-
birds, the angry, hoarse shriek of others, the fearful
wails of various beasts, the shriU, ear-piercing song
of cicala, and at times a fearful crash in the unseen
depths of the woods as of thunder, that hushes all
that noisy hfe for a moment — it is the faU of some
ancient giant of the woods, a huge tree dead long
ages ago, but only now breaking its way through
the dense growth around it to the ground. Most
impressive is this teeming life, vegetable and animal,
but not human, for nature here is too great and
rank for man. Here life springs up fierce and
monstrous, drawn up from the warm alluvial swamp
by the aU-compelling sun of the tropics. One can

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 313
almost imagine that his senses perceive — that he
hears the tremendous flow of sap, the intense genera
tion, a growth so great and rapid that it goes beyond
death itself. The great tree outstrips itself, and
while one half is green and full of life, the other
is rotten and dead ; strange creepers with metallic-
lustred leaves wreath round skeleton branches with
their graceful festoons. A life, reckless, profligate,
despising death, familiar with and embracing it on
its way. Out of leprous-looking tangles of rotten
trunks and leaves spring in horrible contrast the
ghoul-like plants feeding on decay, rich, rank,
gaudy of colour. The tree endeavours to force its
way for life to the upper light and air above the
dark smothering undergrowth — so for sixty feet it
puts out no leaves, but employs all its strength to
rise upwards to the open heavens, where at last
it sends forth branches to breathe the fresh winds,
and feel the bright sun. Then the parasitic creeper
from below ascends the tree, fighting also for the
light and air, and winds round the trunk and branch
tiU it chokes its helpmate and they both die. Among
this vigorous life, death meets one at every step.
Plant and animal prey on each other and live by
death. The vulture awaits it on the tree-tops,
the wild beasts below crouching in the jungle, all are
on their guard, each preying on another, each fearing
a greater. The habitant of temperate lands where
fife is less strong and profligate, but more careful
and provident, is awed by this perpetual presence of
death. It is everywhere — pestilence is in the air —
the hectic benies are poisons — the rare savage of
these wilds knows not what security is, he creeps
with stealthy, fearsome steps through the confused
growth, uncertain what next danger he wiU sud
denly come upon, what hideous reptile, what new
death lurking among the briUiant flowers.

314 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
In these forests of Paraguay is to be found a
wonderful variety of strange plants of every kind,
and the jerce, unhunted by man, abound in incredible
numbers. Besides the jaguars, pumas, and deer,
are tapirs, bears, hogs, while among serpents
the deadly rattlesnakes are unpleasantly common.
Huge vampire-bats, too, flit about these wilds, and
often prove worse than disagreeable to the traveller
that camps out in the open.
Later in the day a fight wind sprang up which
enabled us to sail as far as Humaita, off which little
town we anchored, alongside a schooner whose
main-mast had been struck by lightning in the
last night's storm, and had broken off short a few
feet above the deck. A drizzling rain was falling
as we neared Humaita, and miserable the place
looked. We saw a congregation of a few low huts, not
more than sixteen. But high above aU soared a
monument of misery — the ruins of a great church
that must have been a grand building in its day,
but is now a weird-looking wreck, having evidently
been pounded to pieces by heavy cannon. It is
wonderful that so much of it does remain, and that
it was not entirely levelled, for this now dismantled
fortress of Humaita was the chief stronghold of Lopez.
For three years was fierce battle waged here, and
the Brazilian gunboats in vain poured their heavy
balls upon the devoted earthworks. For three
days even after the evacuation of the place, when
not one inhabitant was left in it, did the iron hail
faU on the church and town, so fearful were the
conquerors of landing among those wonderful men
and women who fought so fiercely. The Brazilians
made themselves pretty sure that not a Paraguayan
was left among the ruins before they, dared occupy
the troublesome fortress.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 315
Notwithstanding so prolonged a bombardment,
the grand church stiU towers bravely over the huts
of Humaita, for those old Jesuits built for aU time,
unUke our modern architects, and the stout waUs
could not fall utterly ; the tower, though riddled
and torn, stiU stands a ghastly monument of the
five years' war. It was here at Humaita that Lopez
put his celebrated chain across the Paraguay to
stop the Brazilian gun-boats. Here, too, he sank
blocks of tosca in the river for the same object,
which stiU impedes the navigation. When the
water is low a plentiful harvest of cannon-balls,
guns, and other weapons is to be gathered in the
bed of the Paraguay, in front of the town. The
population of Humaita consists, as far as I could
see, of a crowd of women and girls, who live in
ranchos scattered about the remains of the old
pueblo. As soon as a vessel brings up off here,
these flock down, twenty or thirty of them to
gether, each with something to sell, eggs, cassava,
sweet potatoes, and other produce. This after
noon it rained so hard that only two or three ven
tured forth. Ladies who possess but one garment
in the world, and that a light one, and dwell in
highly-ventilated bamboo-and-mud huts, naturaUy
do not care to expose themselves under a tropical
rain. Here we heard that a revolution had broken out
in the province of Corrientes, and that there had
been a " little kiUing " at Esquina. This in no
way surprised us, though but three days back
when we were in Corrientes aU was quiet, but
revolutions break out very suddenly in these coun
tries, especiaUy when the north wind blows.
The captain of the port came off to us — a very
pleasant feUow, who was delighted to see the first
yacht that had ever sailed to Paraguay. He gave

316 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
us strict injunctions not to anchor on the Chaco
side of the river at night, between Humaita and
Asungion, as the Indians that come down the
riachos to fish are of a very dangerous class, and
wage perpetual war against the whites.
During the 29th of July we sailed by the solemn
forests and cane-brakes that characterize this river,
seeing as usual no sign of human beings on the
banks, save one encampment of wild Indians on the
Chaco shore at the sandy estuary of a little stream.
These yeUed discordantly at us as we passed. We
observed that some of these Indians were employed
in skinning what appeared to be a large serpent.
" It is an anaconda — a water-snake," said Don
Juan ; " there are many hereabouts."
He told us these monsters of the river often
attained an immense size. He had seen the skin of
one on a goletta that was twenty-four feet long
and eight broad. I remember reading a transla
tion of some old Jesuit's journal in Purchase's
Pilgrims, in which the gigantic size of the anacondas
of the Paraguay is aUuded to.
At mid-day we came to a bend where a consider
able river joined the Paraguay. This was the
Vermejo, a stream that, rising in the highlands of
Bolivia, flows by the city of Tarija, and thence
winds for upwards of a thousand miles across the
Indian Chaco to this point. This great river has
never been fuUy explored, for the dense forests
on its banks are inhabited by ferocious Indians
who nurse an undying hatred against the Spaniard,
and, themselves unseen and safe in the trees, let
fly their poisonous anows against any rash whites
that venture into their fastnesses. The Vermejo is
not more than fifty yards in breadth at its junction
with the Paraguay, but higher up they say it is
shaUow and very wide.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 317
Above the estuary of the Vermejo the river
Paraguay flows with so little velocity that we found
it possible in most places to beat up against wind
and tide ; the shaUow river-schooners, however,
cannot do this.
The next day being calm, we were forced to
remain at anchor under the Paraguayan shore.
Across the river we beheld a very typical scene
of the Chaco wilderness. We saw four Indians
come stealthily down to the bank, armed with long
lances. Then, lying down among the reeds, they
gazed silently into the water tiU they saw some
big fish pass by, when, with wonderful skiU, they
speared them one after the other and threw them
on the bank. Next they lit a fire, roasted the fish
they had caught, and devoured them. This done,
they picked up their weapons and crept back into
the woods as noiselessly and stealthily as they had
come. The whole time — some three hours — that
they were on the river-bank not one of these men
spoke a word ; they gave the necessary directions
to each other by slight inclinations of the head
only. As soon as they had gone, the kites and
vultures that had been waiting patiently around
came down and finished the remains of the fish.
In the canoe I ascended a beautiful stream in
the Chaco this day, but the vegetation was too
dense to aUow a landing in any spot; however,
I succeeded in kilhng some duck and turkeys.
The business of the next day, the 31st of July,
commenced with what the pilot called a " diver
sion." Arthur and Jim, whole preparing the
morning coffee for their masters, fell out over some
discussion on the Irish question or Woman's Rights
maybe, as the skipper and mate were wont to do.
But from windy words the two lads came to blows,
and created a din that awoke us all, whereupon

318 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Jerdein, who is not fond of having his slumbers dis
turbed, informed them that if they wanted to fight,
they must do so on deck. As they seemed very
anxious to have it out, they were marched up, and
aUowed to exhibit their pugilistic skiU through a
few rounds; then, their officers deciding that each
had received a sufficient punishment, they were
sent down again to their duties. The monotonous
hfe, good food, and fight work of the river cruise
had made the boys wax over-plethoric and hence
irritable. They were always wrangling, and this
contest was necessary to clear the atmosphere.
Arthur was the smallest but the pluckiest of the two.
Jim the half-breed was the heaviest. Arthur got
Jim's head in chancery, and then set-to to pummel
it lustily, being quite unaware of the toughness of
the nigger's skull. Jim on this commenced to butt
his adversary's stomach with the top of his head,
as is the fashion of his race, much to Arthur's
surprise and discomfiture. Jim was very anxious
to discontinue the fight, though he was reaUy
getting the best of it, and amused us much by
constantly caUing out in his Creole-English, as he
fought, " Artur ! now you beat me or I beat you
quick, for I in much hurry; I must go make cap-
tin's coffee."
The morning being calm, the pflot, myself, and!
Arthur, with his black eye, paddled some miles
up a riacho, but shot nothing but a carpincho and
a cayman, who both escaped.
In the afternoon the wind freshened, blowing
right in our teeth, but we made good progress tacking
against it. The water was deep right up to the banks,
so we never went about until our rigging brushed
against the palms and other tropic trees. The
river was here literally covered with lilies, through
which our vessel clove its way, tearing up and

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 319
casting them away from either side of her stem
like the unsesthetic yawl that she is. Towards
evening we came to a rich and beautiful country,
pretty farm houses were seen occasionally peeping
through the oranges, palms, and guava bushes that
lined the river bank. We were evidently ap
proaching some large settlement, and soon on
turning a palm-covered promontory we saw it
before us, the picturesque Paraguayan town of
Villa PiUar, one of the most considerable places in
the Republic.
These townships of Paraguay present a much
more pleasing appearance than the dismal Argen
tine pueblos of the Pampas with their ugly, flat-
roofed houses. The houses of Villa PiUar, for
instance, have wooden verandahs in front of them,
and sloping roofs of palms, looking something like
Swiss cottages. As seen from the river this pretty
settlement presents rather the appearance of a
garden than a town, for the habitations are scat
tered, and nestle in groves of papaws, bananas,
palms, and orange-trees.
On the morrow of our arrival I went on shore
to do some necessary marketing, taking Jim with
me, who carried a large sack on his shoulders, into
which the provisions were thrown as soon as pur
chased. We traversed several silent, sandy streets
that were streAvn with the oranges that feU from
the frequent trees; on looking round, my first
impressions of a Parguayan town were certainly
of an agreeable nature.
Numerous women passed us, each clad in the
snowy white robe of the country, bare-footed, and
bearing something on her head, a jar of water, a
pumpkin, a bundle of cigars. I have never seen a
Paraguayan woman without some burden, be it
only a box of matches thus placed ; I do not think

320 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
she considers herself dressed or decent without
one. Every one of these fair damsels was smoking
a long native cigar, also quite indispensable to the
women of this race : the smallest female children
of three years old that toddle at their mother's
heels are inveterate devotees of "ye holy herbe,"
as old Purchase calls it. Few Paraguayans are really
remarkable for the beauty of their features ; but
their figures, the modelling of their small hands and
feet, are such as no other land can, I believe, show.
They stalk through the streets with a soft, supple,
panther-like tread, that is most beautiful, for they
do not indulge in high-heeled boots and stays, but
step out as Eve herself might have done, quite
unimpeded by their simple dress, which is merely
a short tunic tied round at the waist, and adorned
with the pretty native lace. These tunics have
short sleeves and very low necks, and reveal the
statuesque shoulders and breasts rather more than
would be considered delicate in Europe. Nearly
all the Paraguayan women have large dark and
fine eyes, and I think they know this.
What I particularly remarked was the jovial, gay
nature of this amiable and innocent race, so unlike
the sombre dignity of the Argentine character.
These Paraguayan women seem to be always happy
and laughing, and their kindness and good-nature
towards each other is very discernible. The few
men we met possessed the same jovial, kindly nature,
but they are more indolent and selfish than the
ever-sprightly women, who, being now so much
in the majority, do aU the work in the country, and
pamper and support the nobler sex. Thus the men
become considerably spoilt, and degenerate into
lazy drones dependent on the generous fair, which
cannot but prove sadly detrimental to the nobility
of this once fine race.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 321
We came to an open place backed by groves of
oranges, and sloping to the broad river ; in the
middle of this was a fine market-place, a large
covered building, such as I did not expect to find
in ViUa Pillar.
Here the white-robed houris vended meat, man-
dioka, sugar-canes, sweet potatoes, cigars, and the
various coloured liqueurs for which this land of
Paraguay is famous, and which the old Jesuits,
I suppose, taught their children to distil from the
oranges and canes ; some of these liqueurs are
flavoured with rose leaves and other flowers.
These market-women were all laughing and
most good-naturedly importune ; how different
again from the silent china market-girls of Cordoba
that I have described further back ! One would
catch me by the coat, and try to stammer out in
Spanish persuasions to buy her goods, then the
whole market would resound with shrill laughter
at her failure in the foreign language : " Come and
try my fine cigars, patron," or " See this fine
mandioka," " How nice is this fat meat ! " about
exhausted their knowledge of the Castilian, where
upon they would commence to jabber away in the
soft Guarani. The way I was pestered by these
fair damsels was very trying to a modest man
like myself.
After I had completed my purchases and fiUed
Jim's sack, my fair butcheress, a plump little woman,
whom I had selected from aU the other butcheresses
on account of her superior beauty, insisted on giving
me the customary japa or parting gift of a glass of
liqueur. On this all the other women in the market
tried to make me take japas with them ; I tasted a
few green, blue, pink, and yellow compounds to
their great delight, and departed to the sound of
clapping hands and feminine laughter.

322 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
The market-place of ViUa PiUar is certainly a
most amusing sight for a stranger. I found that
nearly aU Paraguayan markets were conducted
on the same merry principles. There is always an
immense amount of joviality and good feeling
between vendor and purchaser.

CHAPTER XXV.
On August 2nd we made good progress before
a cold and moisture - charged southerly wind.
Throughout the day we saw no signs of human
hfe. In the evening we passed VUla Franca, once
a flourishing town. We could only see one rancho
on the beach. The pilot said he landed there
two years back and found the population of this
city consisted of two women. Thus have the
banishment of the Jesuits and the wars of Lopez
depopulated and ruined these once flourishing
regions. From the mouth of the Paraguay to Asungion,
nearly 300 miles, there are but two settlements
now that are worthy even of the name of viUages,
Villa PiUar and ViUeta. We passed by many
deserted ranchos on the forest-clad banks. Our
pUot once found a fine tiger-skin hanging up in
one of these. It was difficult to say what had
become of the inhabitants. The common ex
planation about here is that they were eaten by
jaguars, for these beasts are very numerous in
Paraguay, and have become man-eaters since the
war; they are much bolder here than in most
parts of America, even walking coolly into the
streets of a town like ViUeta occasionally, and
taking off some child or woman.
This night we did not cast anchor, but made

THE CRUISE OF THE '« FALCON." 323
fast with a hawser to a palm on the Chaco shore,
for there were many sunken trees about here which
our anchor might have got foul of and so have
been lost.
We were close to the sandy estuary of a little
riacho, which the pilot said was much frequented
by Indians. Farther in, he told us, this stream
opened out into a great deep-water lake, which
he once explored in a Spanish schooner, that had
saUed to the Chaco to take in a cargo of hard-wood.
He was no less than six days sailing round this
inland sea, but found no timber, jungle alone on
the banks. From the centre of it no land was
visible on either side even from the top-mast of
the vessel, so extensive was this sheet of water.
It is not marked on any of the maps, but indeed
the Chaco even close to the river banks is but
little known. The pilots call this lake the Loguna
Ojo. No marauding Indians molested us this night,
but we were kept awake some time by the roaring
of many jaguars in the bush.
During our next day's voyage we were much
astonished at seeing another very strange phe
nomenon in the Chaco, which also was unmarked
in our maps. This was no less than an important
fortified town. There on the edge of the Paraguay
was a congregation of log-houses and stores, with
the backwoods just behind them — no clearing having
yet been made even of the immediate forest. There
was a battery, too, facing the river, with half a
dozen smaU brass guns on it, and the white tents
indicating the encampment of a full battalion of
troops. Off this settlement rode at anchor two
gun-boats, and to our amazement we perceived
that both fort and men-of-war flew the Argentine
and not the Paraguayan flag.

324 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
AU this was an exceeding puzzle to us, and also
to our pUot, who had never seen this mihtary estab
lishment before.
" Why," he said, " when I was here last that
was a settlement of Indians ; the tolderia of one of
the greatest Caciques of the Chaco was on that spot."
It was not until we reached Asungion that this
mystery was solved. We were told that since the
war the Argentine Republic as weU as Paraguay
laid a claim to this portion of the Chaco, and the
former had thought proper about twenty months
back to establish this fortified post as a menace, I
suppose, to the Indian Republic. It is called For
mosa, and wiU, I suppose, form the nucleus of a
prosperous colony in time. At present it is merely
a military post, and rations are served out to the
civilians daily as to the troops. Thus vessels can
not easUy victual here, as we found on our return
voyage. On the 4th of August we sailed a great distance
before a fresh south wind. We passed ViUa Mer
cedes, an important town with only one rancho,
that is not in ruins, and that one is uninhabited.
Here also we saw the wreck of the old military
telegraph of Lopez that connected Asungion with
Corrientes. As it was possible to tack up the Paraguay, we
were only detained by calms during this part of
the voyage, not by head-winds. We were detained
by dead calm, or an insufficiency of wind, during
the 5th, 6th, and 7th of August. Luckily, we were
at anchor in an interesting portion of the river,
and were enabled to amuse ourselves with sport
and exploration, both on the Chaco and Paraguayan
shores. Arnaud, Don Juan, and myself in the canoe
ascended a broad stream that penetrated the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 325
Chaco. On the way we shot a lobo (river seal),
and picked up a derelict Indian canoe. After
paddling several miles up this river we found that
it opened out into a broad lake surrounded by fine
forest, and studded with many islands of lilies
and other aquatic plants, floating gardens, whose
sole inhabitants were gorgeous butterflies.
We circumnavigated the lake, but could no
where discover a landing-place, for the country
seemed to be flooded for leagues inland. We
paddled up between the great trees, and the intri
cate fianes far up into the recesses of the forest.
The aspect of this wilderness was grand in the" ex
treme. In places the stiU water reflected beautifuUy
the glorious vegetation, the evergreens with their
lilac and red flowers and the towering palms. In
places the dense growth above hid the sky, and we
E regressed slowly, winding among the trunks of
uge trees through the inky water, along caverns
of dark branches, above us the noise of the unseen
parrots and monkeys, and below the ugly roar of
th3 crocodiles. Then we burst out once more into
an open glade of the forest, glowing under the sun
shine, where the spread of water would be entirely
covered with the Victoria Regia, the queen of lilies,
forming a fairer carpet than can be imagined by
any one that has not seen the wonders of these
lands. We came to a certain large tree, with dark green
leaves, which Don Juan told us was always a favour
ite of the pavos. He told us that he had never seen
one of these trees on which half a dozen or so of
these birds were not perched. The pavo, both in
shape and in the cackUng sound it makes, is very
similar to a large domestic fowl, but its plumage
is something like that of a partridge. It is ex-
ceUent eating. Don Juan told us that the pavo

326 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
was rather a wild bird, but if you succeeded in
shooting one on a tree, none of the others would
fly away, but remain to be quietly kiUed in detaU.
Likewise if one took flight and flew away, aU the
others would immediately foUow, these birds pos
sessing much family affection, and never separating
in life or death. There were six pavos on this par
ticular tree, so here was a good opportunity of dis
covering whether this bird is quite so idiotic as our
pratiquo made out. We paddled up cautiously,
and succeeded in bringing down the necessary first
one, and true enough not one of the others moved,
but. they simply flapped their wings and looked
around them in an uneasy and foolish manner, as
if they thought something was not quite right,
until we had secured the whole six, not a very much
more sportsmanlike feat than firing into a poultry-
yardj might be; but great was the rejoicing on
board when we produced this welcome addition
to the larder, for salt meat had been our diet for
some days.
I have often read of vessels being ice-bound, but
never lily-bound ; and yet this was our plight
whUe we lay at anchor during these three days
of calm. Camelotas, big and smaU, were floating
down in thousands at this time. These got across
our chains, and gradually accumulated, tiU we be
came the centre of one great island of beautiful lilies,
in leaf, in flower, and fruit. Finding that these
were causing us to drag our anchor, we left off
hanging over the bows, " living up to the precious
things ; " and waxing unassthetic, commenced to
ruthlessly cut them away with cutlasses and hatchets,
a long and tedious process ; but we had no desire
to be carried away to sea by our floating island,
which would soon have taken charge and dragged us
off so big was it becoming.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 327
We visited the Paraguayan shore of the river,
which was hereabouts some forty feet high, far out
of reach of the highest crescente, so on it we found
once more the spinous underwood, the dull-hued
thorns and cacti of a waterless land, like that we
see in the province of Santiago del Estero, a great
contrast to the rank and glorious vegetation of the
opposite Chaco, with its often flooded alluvial soil.
The 8th of August was ushered in by a little excite
ment in the shape of the ship on fire. A paraffin
stove came to grief forward, and caused the mis
chief. There was a tremendous blaze, but we soon
got it under, and little damage was done. This
day we kiUed several patos reales, royal ducks,
and I succeeded not only in killing but securing a
crocodile. I sent a Martini-Henry buUet into one
of his eyes as he lay on the bank. Even this did
not immediately render the beast insensible, for
he commenced to crawl into the river, but shoving
the canoe up towards him, I managed to take a
turn round him with the painter, and we hauled
him on board. He then napped about his huge
tail in a way that threatened to break some of our
legs and smash the canoe, but a few blows on the
skuU with a hatchet soon quieted him.
It occupied me a good afternoon to skin the
monster, no over-pleasant work on a sandbank in
the blazing sun, for nothing can be more nauseous
than the rank smeU of alligator flesh. This day
our thermometer registered 870 in the shade, and
this in midwinter. The mosquitoes were becoming
insufferable, and were it not for the mosquito-nets
we had brought with us, and under which we used
to sleep on deck at night, travelling would have
been quite impossible.
On the 10th of August, the south wind blew
strong and enabled us to reach Asungion, and com-

328 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
plete our upward voyage. After sailing some hows
we saw far off on the Paraguayan shore blue un«
dulating mountains once more, pleasant after the
level swamp and forests we had been among for
the last three months.
We passed by the httle town of ViUeta. Here
was the schooner Aconcagua lying along the bank,
taking on board a cargo of oranges. Two gang
ways connected the vessel with the shore, along
which coming and going were two streams of jab
bering, laughing, white-robed girls, who brought
down the golden fruit in large baskets on their
heads, from the orange groves on the neighbouring
hiUs, and poured them into the schooner's hold.
As we sailed on, the Paraguayan shore became
more hiUy, sweUing up into great forest-clad domes,
one behind the other to the purple mountains on the
horizon far inland. From the very bank of the
river rose one very remarkable sugar-loaf-shaped
peak, covered with fine timber ; this was the Cerro
Lambar6, famous for the gaUant defence of the
Indian Caique Lambare' against the Spaniards.
The river hereabouts is stiU of great width, and to
one looking from the deck of a vessel the horizon
up and down the stream is generaUy of water, as if
it were an estuary. In the afternoon we beheld
before us what seemed to be a considerable city,
with two Brazilian ironclads and many schooners
at anchor off it. We were at last at our journey's
end; after having ascended the great rivers for
ninety-one days, we had reached the capital of
Paraguay, which is distant by water upwards of
1300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.
Wretched as is this city of Asungion, on nearer
inspection it presents an imposing appearance
from the river; for on a httle promontory that
juts out slightly from the ruined quays, there towers

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 329
a grand palace, a haughty structure that dominates
aU the mean streets ; lower down, too, is a great
building that is, or was, evidently the naval arsenal
of an ambitious state.
But all else is squalid and in ruins, and on look
ing once more it is perceived that the palace is a
mere wreck, with broken windows, gutted as by a
fire, a mere empty sheU within, and without, torn
and pierced by many a shot, and that the ambitious-
looking arsenal is deserted and falling also into
ruins. For that glorious and massive palace, re
minding one somewhat of the Tuileries, and now
in the same pitiful condition as those imperial
TuUeries actually are, is the palace of one who
also assumed imperial honours — the would-be
Emperor of South America, Lopez. This and
that other ambitious ruin, the Arsenal, where the
shot and sheU and cannon were turned out, stand
as reUcs of one of the most fearful tyrannies
since Nero, one of the most annihilating wars
since Carthage feU. It was from this palace that
the tyrant swayed the mfid Paraguayans with a
rod of iron; and now it stands a monument of
his despotism over the unfortunate city that he
made desolate, and which, though twice as great
in extent as Rosario, numbers but about 16,000
inhabitants, for half the houses are in ruins, and
many others deserted and tenantless.
Such is the condition of the ancient capital of
the great Viceroyalty of La Plata. It is a melan
choly place, full of the wrecks of the ambitious
schemes of Lopez, who certainly would have made
a fine city of it in time. On the north side is a
shaUow bay that he intended to deepen and con
vert into a port, a most useful design, but now this
bay is entirely covered with the beautiful Victoria
Regia lilies, with leaves so large that a child can
11 a

330 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
walk upon them and be supported. Out in the
river opposite this bay the top-masts and yards of
a sunken ship are visible — another relic of the war,
for the stains of battle are not quickly washed out
in this land.
On landing and exploring Asungion, we were
much struck by the desolation that reigned every
where. Few men were visible in the streets, and
these for the most part were foreigners — the7 crews
of the Brazilian gun-boats — Italian storekeepers
and others ; but of barefooted, graceful-walking
women there were many. The streets are un-
paved, and so one sinks deep into the soft red sands,
in which holes fuU of water and running springs
are frequent. In some places banks of stones are
built right across the road, so as to act as dams,
and prevent the sand washing away with the rain,
and leaving deep ravines behind ; indeed, most of
the more hiUy streets present the appearance of
the profoundly-fissured beds of mountain tonents.
In addition to the palace on the beach, and the
arsenal, there are several other public monuments,
constructed by the late tyrant, rising in strange
contrast to their mean surroundings. AU of these
are more or less in ruins. Everything that Lopez
planned was on the most ambitious scale, but was
never completed, for the war burst out in the midst
of these great works. There is a noble theatre,
and a Pantheon destined to be the last resting-place
of a long fine of emperors. But no actors ever find
their way to this impoverished capital, and the
house of Lopez feU even before its founder was
enabled to wear that imperial crown which he had
commissioned a Parisian jeweUer to construct for
him. There is a hotel too which we frequented occa
sionally, the Hotel de Roma, a most pretentious

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 331
building, though somewhat dilapidated, a palace
with its doors opening on an unpaved street of sand
and shards. Seeing its magnificence, I knew that
this, too, must be some other monument of Lopez ;
on inquiry, I found that this was the case. This
palace had been built by him to serve as the resi
dence of his mother. Papaws, bananas, and palm-
trees grow in quantities about the town and some
what relieve the monotony of its red, silent streets.
The native men of Asungion seem an indolent lot,
and pass their whole life in smoking. They wear
white linen trousers, frequently scarlet ponchos,
and are barefooted hke the women. These latter,
as they stalk by with their white robes and mantles,
harmonize well with the ruined city around them.
As they pass some unfinished, yet ruined temple
of Lopez, with its Grecian architecture, the resem
blance of these women in costume and walk and
figure to the women of ancient Greece irresistibly
strikes the traveUer. Their white robes are worn in
the same fashion, theirs is the same grace of move
ment ; but they are always smoking cigars, and
Grecian dames, I believe, did not resemble them
in this.
A well-known writer has pointed out how much
an interior at Asungion resembles one at Pompeii
in nearly every respect; there is the same central
court-yard, with its fountains, gaUeries, and painted
walls ; and the girl who walks silently into the patio
to present you with the mat6 and bombiUa is the
impersonation of the Pompeian slave-girl; while
she waits for the empty bombiUa, she stands before
you motionless, with her bare white feet gleaming
on the tesselated floor; her white robe is fastened
up on one shoulder, revealing the opposite breast ;
her faultlessly-moulded arms are bare; they are
dropped meekly in front of her, with the hands

332 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
clasped. You could take her for some fair statue
just stepped down from its niche. You return the
bombiUa, and with supple, suent tread she goes out
without a word.
Asungion is as much a city of the dead, and of
memories only, as are the ruined cities of Greece
and Rome; for aU her palaces, though not two
decades old, are deserted, grass-grown, and wrecked ;
all the civilization and commercial wealth that the'
Jesuits and the tyrants after them did, notwith
standing their faulty policy, create, are things of
the past; and her brave manhood is no more —
slaughtered in an unworthy cause, while women
and a new and effeminate bastard youth alone
represent the gallant race.
The only dissipation or excitement that this
capital offers is its tramway. This is a very unique
thing in the way of tramways. It runs but for a
short distance, from a certain drinking-place on the,
beach to another drinking-place near the railway-
station. Its only object seems to be to take people
from one of these bars to the other. The trains
run at such very long intervals, every two days,
I believe, that the carriage of railway passengers
to and fro is the least of its functions. In the even
ing a band of three unmusical but noisy musicians
is stationed in the front part of the tram ; this
attracts aU the members of the jeunesse dorle of
Asungion, who fill the car, and, silently smoking
the while, travel backwards and forwards from the
one public-house to the other, a stoppage of ten
minutes being aUowed at each terminus for refresh
ments — the Paraguayans, be it told, being the
reverse of teetotallers. In an hour you can make
about six passages to and fro in this manner. The
first time I travelled on this tramway I was much
amused by an incident which is highly character-

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 333
istic of the way things are done in Asungion. The
manager of the tramway happened to be one of
the passengers; on the car drawing up opposite
the cafe near the station, this gentleman dis
mounted, entered, and called for some potable or
other. The waiter happened to be engaged in an
interesting game of cards with the proprietor of
the place, and did not respond with proper waiter-
Uke alacrity to the cry for drinks, but continued
dealing the cards, whereon the irate tramway man
ager called out in a stentorian voice to the patron,
" Let that drink be brought me at once, and by,
&c, &c, blank, blank ! if this ever happens again,
I'll take up the tram rails and lay them down
up the other street to Don Pedro's cafe, and ruin
you." When tramway traveUing from bar to bar loses its
excitement, no other form of amusement is left one
to faU back upon, save the public balls, which bear
a strong resemblance JJto the dignity baUs of the
West Indies. Most of the streets of Asungion are
altogether unlighted at night, and wherever a
lantern with its solitary fight hangs outside a door,
it indicates that there is a public baile within.

CHAPTER XXVI.
The Falcon lay at anchor a whole month off Asun
gion before we commenced our downward voyage.
During this time we made many pleasant excursions
into the interior of this beautiful country, and saw
a good deal of the manners and customs of this
simple people, but it wiU be sufficient to describe
but one or two of these expeditions in order to
convey some idea to my readers of what fife in
Paraguay is.

334 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Like aU others who visit Asungion, we took train
to Paraguari, which is the terminus of the line.
Lopez intended this raUway to connect the capital
with ViUa Rica, but only forty-two miles were laid
down before the war broke out, so it remains half-
finished and most dilapidated, hke aU other of the
tyrant's works. The raUway station at Asungion is
of course a most ambitious structure, with a splen
did colonnade and frieze, like a Grecian temple, and
might be as old as the Parthenon, judging from its
wrecked appearance. It overlooks a great square,
one of those wildernesses of red sands and weeds
that characterize this city, and much add to its
appearance of utter desolation.
The train leaves the capital at six a.m. every
other morning ; we found two first-class carriages,
one of which we occupied ; it was dirty and ragged,
with no glass in one window, and no cushions —
this had been the state carriage of Lopez, which
he used when he traveUed. There were open trucks
attached to the train, in which, with bare legs dang
ling over the sides, were huddled up a chattering,
laughing mass of women.
The raUway traverses a lovely country, undulat
ing and many-fountained — this Paraguay is indeed
a land of running water.
There seemed to be a fairly large population,
but chiefly of squatters, among these verdant lulls.
Pretty httle qmntas and huts, with long, sloping,
thatched roofs, peeped out of the glorious groves
of oranges and citrons in fruit and flower at the
same time; the air was heavy with the perfume
of these mingling with that of many flowers, and
the ground was strewn everywhere with the golden
fruit. The little one-roomed houses nestled among the
oranges, bananas, and papaws, each surrounded

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 335
with its little plantation of cassava, and the women
and plump naked children played or swung in their
hammocks outside, in the indolent manner of their
race, smoking of course. A land of unsurpassed
fertility, whose happy inhabitants have, at any
rate, always a sufficiency of food, and whose mild
climate renders clothing not a necessary of life.
Many taU palms rose above the orange-trees, and in
places the hill-side was one mass of bright pink,
with the blossom of that noble tree, the lapacho, a
species of greenheart, whose hard wood is in re
quest for ship-building. Above the more or less
cultivated plains and lower slopes rose in the back
ground great domed hiUs, clothed to the summits
with virgin forests. On our left hand lay the exten
sive lake of Ypacaray, which the railway skirts for
many leagues ; beyond it is a dark range of moun
tains, the Cordillera, much infested by tigers, but
at whose base a German colony has recently been
established. At each station that we stopped at was a curious
crowd of women who vended fruit, cakes, bits of
pork, lace, and what not, to the passengers. The
remarkable tidiness and cleanliness of these Gua
rani women, not only in their persons, but also in
the manner they prepare these refreshments for sale,
is also very worthy of remark. I believe the Para-
guyans are the cleanest people in the world, as weU
as the most good-tempered. It was very cheerful to
see the happy, innocent ways of the childlike little
women at the railway stations; we bought some
oranges of one, whereon she insisted on decorating
us all with flowers in her gratitude.
At last we reached the station of Paraguari. In
front of us were two isolated mountains, between
which a strong wind nearly always sweeps, The
Jittle town is on an eminence, and, Uke all these old

336 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
mission villages, consists of one grass-grown square,
a dead-and-alive place, sUent and strange, that
commands a wonderful view over a great plain of
pasture and waving palms, traversed by silver
streams, that stretches to a far range of blue
mountains. On this railway there is a little settlement called
Aregua, to which we paid rather an interesting visit
that is worth recording. We were accompanied by
an Englishman who knew the gefe or chief man of
the place, so we determined to give a baile to the
population, a very good way indeed of acquiring
knowledge of the manners and customs of this
people. Accordingly, we left Asungion one morning
by the usual six a.m. train, taking with us a couple
of demijohns of wine and some beer for the proposed
entertainment. At the station of Leuki we stopped for some
minutes, so we purchased from the crowd of women
that always awaits the train here some provisions
for ourselves, bits of pork and roast parrots laid out
on plates with snowy napkins on them, oranges,
bananas, and a sufficiency of chipa, or Paraguayan
bread, which is very exceUent and is made of man-
dioka flour and eggs.
The station of Aregua is some little distance from
the town, which is on a height above it ; so we placed
our provisions on the heads of some dozen laughing
women, who serve as porteresses in this land of Ama
zons, and proceeded in procession up a steep grassy
hUl. We found Aregua to be a very typical old mission
settlement, and beautifully situated, as are aU towns
founded by the clever Jesuits. It is built on a sort
of tenace in the mountain ; behind rise steep domes
clothed with forests and groves of citron and orange ;
in front of it the land falls down in a grassy slope to

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 337
the cultivated plain that the railway crosses, beyond
which stretches the broad lake of Ypacaray, backed
by the dark Cordilleras — an extensive and magnificent
view. And the town is so laid out that from every
house this fair prospect can be commanded ; for it is
built in a square, of which the houses fiU three sides,
the fourth, that opening on the lake, being left open.
The houses are all similar, whitewashed, and con
taining two rooms each, one looking on the square,
the other on to a httle garden behind. The doors of
aU the houses open out on to a common verandah
or colonnade that is carried right round the three
sides of the square, and which is paved with the
strange, pentagonal, basaltic stones that are found
in the Cerro of Aregua, a steep peak that towers
above the settlement. The centre of the square,
like the slope in front of it, is grass-grown, common
pasture for the animals of the townsfolk.
In the lovely evenings of this country the gossips
are wont to sit out on this verandah to talk, smoke,
and enjoy the fresh breeze that comes over the lake.
There is a church that looks like a barn in the
middle of the square, and some way off an erection
like a guiUotine or some instrument of torture, and
indeed it is the latter, for this skeleton scaffolding is
no less than the belfry, and at short intervals during
the day it is customary for two naked boys to scramble
therein and ring the bells in most energetic style.
After walking round this square, we found that the
population of Aregua may roughly be described as
two store-keepers, the gefe, the parson, the carpenter,
and many women, who occupy their time for the
most part in making cigars and lace.
On calling on the gefe, we found him to be a lively,
friendly little man, who at once gave orders that a
spare house in the square should be hung with
hammocks for our reception.

338 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
When he heard that we proposed to give a ball, he
rejoiced much, and took it upon himself to prepare
aU the preliminaries. He ordered the largest
room in the viUage to be emptied and to be laid down
with the most luxurious carpet that could be found
in Aregua ; for in this land carpets are laid down,
not taken up, in view of a ball, and indeed a carpet
is preferable to a mud floor, especially for bare feet.
I don't suppose there was another carpet in the town,
and that this was kept for such occasions as the
present. Tallow-dips and petroleum-lamps were hung about
in the baU-room, and the portion of the verandah
opposite it was rendered gay with half a dozen Chinese
lanterns. At eight p.m. several crackers were let off
outside, for this is the Paraguayan mode of issuing
invitations to a ball, and letting the guests know that
all is ready. Then the aristocracy of the place poured
into the room, with all their little finery about them,
merry, determined to be pleased. A few of the
women wore in their hair the national golden comb,
but there are not many of these now in the poor
country, for nearly all the native jeweUery was
melted down in the cruel war, the patriotic women
giving up their ornaments to Lopez that he might
mould them into cannon, as was literaUy done,
many of the captured guns at the Parque of Buenos
Ayres containing much gold in their composition.
Outside the ball-room squatted many of the poorer
women, with bottles of gin and bits of chipa before
them, vending refreshments, for these poor creatures
never omit a chance of earning a little money, gener
aUy to find its way into the pocket of some idle
and worthless lover.
Our band of four musicians was reaUy good, for
this people is endowed with much musical taste,
which was fostered by the Jesuits. The dancing

THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON." 339
was of course perfect of its kind. The Paraguayans
dance even better than the Argentines — and the
Palomita, one of their favourite measures, is very
beautiful, and, I should say, would cause a furore
if produced on the stage of our opera-house. AU
smoked. It was curious to see a girl and her partner
puffing away at their long cigars across each other's
shoulders while waltzing vigorously.
The g6fe would not hear of our leaving Aregua
this day, but insisted on our staying till the morrow
— the great feast of the Santa Rosa, during which, he
said, " there wiU be great doings ; you will not regret
having waited with us, you will see."
We were introduced to the clergyman of this little
flock, who was certainly one of the most remarkable
members of his profession we had ever come across.
The padre was a very stout and jovial man, of pure
Guarani blood ; no article of his attire, save, perhaps,
the coUar of his coat, betokened his sacred calling.
He wore a very broad-brimmed straw hat, no boots,
and was an exceedingly slovenly and unshaven
old gentleman. He was certainly the very typical
Paraguayan parson ; he could only speak his own
native Indian dialect, and knew nothing of Spanish,
save the names for beer and a few other luxuries.
He had been a brave soldier under Lopez, they say ;
for priests as weU as women and children fought
in that terrible war ; but had degenerated into one
of the most profligate, lazy, drunken old rascals it
was possible to imagine. His head was very much
too big for his body, as is not uncommon among this
people, and was Ulumined by a perpetual smile.
He had a panot in the verandah outside his house,
whom he had taught to imitate the sound of the
weeping women at funerals, the mumbling of the
Latin Church service — which the bird, I am sure,
understood just as weU as his_owner. — and several

340 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
indecencies and blasphemies. The way in which
this reverend gentleman passes his hfe is somewhat
as follows. He gets drunk regularly twice a day, and
is on each occasion put into his hammock by the young
women who dwell in his house, and who bear relations
towards him which are of far from a doubtful char
acter, to sleep off the effects of the cafia ; his children
— for of these he has a nursery full — the meanwhile
fanning him into a refreshing slumber.
Between these orgies, unless they have been too
severe, he delivers mass at his church, but generally
with a fuU stomach, and not fasting, as the canons
order. As he waddles off to church, he is al ways foUowed
by fifty women or so, clad in white, and droning
hymns in Guarani.
The mistress of the priest is one of the great ladies
of Aregua, for this post is considered an honour in
this queer, demoralized country.
The padre is great at raising coUections, and
combines with his pastorship the profession of
usurer, for he advances sums to his parishioners that
have good security to show at the moderate interest
of sixty per cent.
Notwithstanding aU his faults, and his gross
ignorance about everything, he is loved, revered,
and thought much of by these poor deluded people.
I may state that in honour of our arrival he got
very drunk, and publicly notified that he would be
incapacitated from opening the church for mass
during our stay.
August 30th was the feast of the Santa Rosa.
This is in the River Plate an iU-omened day, fraught
with storms and disaster ; but in Paraguay it is
always the occasion of much meny-making.
The gefe undertook to take us to a great festival
and baile that was to take place some four leagues off.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 341
My readers will doubtless complain that all I have
to describe of my Paraguayan experiences are the
perpetual baUs, and that I really saw nothing else of
the customs and habits of the people. This may be
tnie, but, be it remembered that dancing is the life
of this race, the one object of existence to which all
else is subservient : a woman will save penuriously
for months that she may contribute to one of the
great public balls, such as this one that I am about to
describe. It was arranged that we should travel with the
aristocracy of Aregua in a trolly to the festival, and
that each of us should take charge of a lady. My
partner of the last baU, who gloried in the possession
of boots and a golden comb, kindly honoured me by
selecting me as her escort.
Early in the morning we EngUshmen waited at the
railway station for our companions. Soon we heard
a tremendous din of bells on the hill, and beheld the
whole population of Aregua flocking into the church.
The service was of about three minutes' duration
only — I don't suppose our padre was given to long
sermons ; — then all the people poured out again,
and forthwith forming into procession descended the
grassy hiU towards us. It was a curious sight.
First came the fat padre on his palfrey ; then
women, bearing aloft a httle, gaily-dressed doll, the
Santa Rosa ; then aU the white-robed women of
Aregua, chanting a melancholy dirge, and lastly, the
gefe, the carpenter, and others, who seemed to think
themselves too important to mingle in a religious
procession. On reaching the railway aU the people, save the
few who were to travel by trolly, hurried off to the
scene of the festival on foot ; some bearing the image
of the saint, the others carrying on their heads pro
visions of different kinds. They stalked out grandly

342 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
along the line, a good-natured, laughing mob, bent
upon pleasure.
The trolly was drawn up. First two cases of beer,
our votive-offering, was placed on it ; then we as
cended, the four EngUshmen, the gefe, the carpenter,
the padre, who preferred travelling with us to leading
the procession — being, as he himself confessed, more
partial to beer than to Santa Rosa, — and seven
ladies, one for each gallant to look after ; and very
pretty they appeared to be, as they sat there excited,
happy, and laughing, with all their finery on and roses
in their raven locks.
Our motive power consisted of two men, who pushed
the crazy trolly along the iU-laid metals. The padre
much pitied their labours, and was continuaUy
calling for a halt, that they might rest, and that
he himself might indulge in another bottle of his
favourite beer.
At last we reached a point on the railway that was
the nearest to our destination, and the trolly was
brought to. Here we found seven horses awaiting
us, which the seven men mounted, each taking a fair
one behind him. The ladies thought this great fun,
though they were rather timid at first, and made
many excuses in the soft Guarani that we could not
in any way understand, but their pastor soon con
quered their scruples, and himself leaping on a horse,
took a buxom girl up behind him, and galloped on
to show the way. After riding a few nules through
the odorous groves of orange and citron, we came to
an open place where there was a great white crowd,
and a sound of music and merriment. There were
here collected about 500 women and 100 men, aU
clad in white, save for the occasional scarlet ponchos
that some of the men wore. Very few had boots.
It was a happy, childish assembly ; there were no
quarrels, and none of the men seemed to carry

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 343
knives behind them — very different, indeed, from the
wild, murderous race-meetings of the gauchos of the
Pampas. The reveUers, indeed, bore far more resem
blance to clean children at a school-treat in an English
village than to anything else I can think of.
Here was a people well in harmony with its con
stant associations of perfect climate, birds and
flowers and fruits — innocent and natural ; and these
are heroes too, though they evidently know it not,
too perfectly brave to be aware of the fact. The
women are proud in a simple manner of their beauty
and skiU in the dance ; the men seem to be proud of
nothing ; y?i: these are the enduring stolid men
and women that in the war, as Surgeon Skinner tells
us, bore amputations without cry or wince of pain,
though no chloroform had been administered to them.
This was what may be termed a subscription picnic,
for aU here had contributed something towards it ;
each woman had brought on her head provisions of
some kind, were it only a bowl of milk or a httle
mandioka, and aU shared aUke when the dinner was
laid out at the long deal tables under the palm-
trees. Many a one of these clean and tidy women had
nought in the world save the dress she wore — no
house, no bed, — and yet supported some lazy lord
on the profits of her lace-making. Perhaps she
had toiled for months, in order to save enough for
this festival of the Santa Rosa ; for not only had she
her own contributions to think of, but she must needs
turn out her rascally lover on that day in a clean
shirt, a new pair of pantaloons, and a pocket-full of
silver Bolivians, to lay on his prize fighting-cock
in the pit, for the Paraguayan is far from free from
the usual South American passion for gambling.
I believe that nine out of ten men at that festival
were thus dependent on the industrious women who

344 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
wash their clothes for them, cook their chipa, and
give them aU their little earnings.
The first thing we did on our arrival on the scene
was to pay our respects to our host, an old gentleman
who occupied a small house, and had the honour of
sheltering within it the doU Santa Rosa during the
feast. We seven men and seven ladies.whose aristocratic
and booted forms seemed to inspire the revellers with
great respect, dismounted and crawled into the house
which was something like a big beehive, with a doof
not more than three feet high. We then found
ourselves in a small, windowless room, at one corner
of which was a little table on which stood the image
of the saint with three lit candles before her, and
around, many not untasteful decorations composed
of flowers, native lace, and the feathers of gorgeous
parrots and humming-birds.
Not much respect seemed to be paid to her saint-
ship, for padre and all drank, smoked, and sang
Bacchanal and other very secular songs in her pres
ence — the latter not badly accompanied by the padre
on his guitar.
We were glad to escape from the stifling atmosphere
of this room to see the fun outside. The baile was
being vigorously carried on under a large palmetto-
thatched open shed, notwithstanding the intense heat.
It had commenced at nine this morning, and would
doubtless continue aU through the sultry day, aU
night, aU the morrow, and indeed tUl food and drink
for this multitude fell short, when each merry girl
would trudge back to her home to work like a slave,
while the men slept until the next fiesta.
Besides the dancing, there were other amusements
to attract the pleasure-seeker, such as scratch horse-
racing, cock-fighting, and tilting at the ring at full
gallop — a pretty pastime, at which some of the men

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 345
were very skilful. The ring used is not much bigger
than a wedding-ring, and the lance, a small wooden
skewer, not much more than a foot long.
When it was time for the midday dinner, the people
sat down at long deal tables to a very substantial
repast. We aristocrats were forced to dine in the
stifling room where the Santa Rosa was. Our meal
was a luxurious one ; chipa, roast parrots, and
stewed iguana or lizard being but a few of the many
delicacies that were spread before us.
The padre did not dine with us, as he had drunk
himself into a state of imbecility, as is his wont on
every such occasion. The women of the place had
tucked his fat carcass into a hammock, and were
engaged in fanning his apoplectic-looking visage.
Women in aU lands show much affection for the
ministers of the Church, but the devotion of the
Paraguayan women towards their pastors altogether
outdoes anything in the way of curate-worship at
home. It was very sad for us to observe what a lot
these kindly girls made of that horrid old man.
While he thus lay drunk, a boy crawled through
the door to ask for his blessing ; whereon the priest
swore softly, but horribly, and waved him off —
" Not to-day, not to-day those farces," he said,
" to-morrow ; to-day is the Santa Rosa, and I am
drunk — very drunk," and this in the very presence of
the illuminated saint !
As is the custom of the country, our seven fair
companions did not sit down with us to dinner, but
stood by, serving us silently with ah we wanted.
When Ave had concluded our repast, the damsels sat
down in their turn, while we stood behind them.
From time to time one of them would take up a
delicate morsel on her fork, and hand it up to her
cavalier to eat, a pretty little attention that is anothel
custom of the country.

346 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
At six in the evening we rode away to the station,
so as to catch our trains into Asungion. The young
ladies saw us off and presented us with flowers and
sweetmeats to take with us ; then came the farewells,
which brought tears into the eyes of these sympathetic
daughters of the tropics, and the train started.

CHAPTER XXVII.
There was a race-meeting at Asungion while we
were there, an important one too — a sort of
Paraguayan Derby ; but all seemed very unfamiliar
to our eyes. Imagine a tropical moor with palm-
trees and bananas scattered about it, and wastes of
red sand here and there. The course was worn bare
of vegetation by the feet of many horses, and was of
soft earth, something like that of Rotten Row.
As is usual in South America, but two horses ran
at a time, divided from each other by the partition
that I have before described. As is also usual under
the South American system of racing, there were
about fifty false starts to a race, but no impatience
was manifested by the quiet spectators. There
was no grand-stand, no book-makers, no merriment,
or debauch. Twenty white-draped women were
squatting in a row with bottles of gin, dulces, or
sweetmeats made of guava, prickly pear, and other
fruits to vend. Very few of the people, and none of
the jockeys, wore boots. There were many of the
soldiers about, these too, non-commissioned officers
as well as privates, bare-footed, as is the economical
custom of this army. The uniform of the Paraguayan
Tommy Atkins is not costly ; a cheap kepi, a coarse
blue blouse, and white pantaloons complete his outfit.
As I watched the racing I noticed that there was
a white man, far taUer than any Paraguayan, and

THE CRUISE OF THE ** FALCON." 347
clad in the dress of an Argentine gaucho, who was
watching me intently. At last he addressed me, —
" Do you feel inclined, sir, to back any of this here
crowd as is going to run now ? "
Surprised at hearing my native tongue spoken by
a gaucho on a race-course in the centre of South
America, I stared at him speechless for a moment,
and soon recognized through the deep tan unmistak
able Anglo-Saxon features.
" Well," I said, " I should not have taken you for
a fellow-countryman ! "
" No, I suppose not. I've been in this country
some years now, and don't think I shall ever get out
of it ; it's too much trouble. One gets lazy-like
up here ; besides, my little woman there " — pointing
to one of the vendors of gin and dulce — " is not a
bad sort. I don't much care about leaving her."
As I evinced some curiosity to learn how he first
came to the country, he continued, —
" It's not a long story. During the war I was a
saUor on a British gun-boat lying off Montevideo,
deserted, shipped on an Argentine man-o'-war,
came up here to fight these poor devils, and somehow,
between this and that, I never got back again. Here
I am still."
The lazylotus-eatingspiritof theland had evidently,
after all these years, completely possessed the man,
and, like Ulysses' mariners, he had foresworn the
stormy seas, and put out of his mind his far island-
home and all that he held dear therein, succumbing
to the soft dreamy influences that were ever around
him in these regions of perpetual summer, where,
" Sooth to say,
" No living wight could work, ne cared even for play."
General Caballero, the president of this republic,
on whom, as in duty-bound, we had paid our

348 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
respects on our arrival, expressed a desire to visit
the Falcon, the first yacht that had ever navigated
Paraguayan waters. So one afternoon, after giving
us due notice, he came off to us in the presidential
barge with Don Jose Segundo Decoud, the Minister
of Foreign Affairs, the Chilian minister, and others.
The first magistrate of Paraguay is a fine-looking
man with no Indian blood in his veins, indeed more
like a good specimen of an English squire than a
Paraguayan. The expression of his face is kindly,
and no man in the country is more respected and
loved. This is the same Caballero who, as general
under Lopez, showed such high military qualities,
and routed the Brazilians in many a bloody battle.
He is not a great diplomatist, but is the very man
for Paraguay in the present day — a plain, straight
forward trooper without any of the wild ambitions,
or impossible political schemes of his predeces
sors. Even the Brazilians like CabaUero, though he
thrashed them so frequently and thoroughly, for
he bears a character for humanity, and has never
been accused of committing the fearful atrocities
that disgraced nearly all the other generals of the
tyrant. After enjoying ourselves very much for about a
month in the capital and the country round it, it
was proposed that we should up anchor and descend
with the current to the distant ocean once again. But
now a strange thing came to pass. The crew of
the Falcon had become enamoured of soft, barbarous
Paraguay. Jerdein, Arnaud, and even the boys,
were loth to leave the land, and declared their in
tention of deserting the Falcon when she reached
Buenos Ayres, and returning up the river. The
boys had a rather vague idea as to what profession
thev would take up, but Jerdein and Arnaud talked

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 349
a good deal about coffee and tobacco-planting, and
were exceedingly sanguine about their prospects.
Such was the enervating effect of a month's
dwelling among the lotus-eaters. I felt the charm
of the land myself ; but at the same time an im
patience after old associations, the civilization —
dingy and ugly though it be — of old London came
upon me.
The European cannot long be a lotus-eater. There
is an unsatisfied, melancholy expression on the faces
of most of the English gentlemen that are settled in
Paraguay and cannot get away. That dyspeptic
recluse, immortalized by our great poet, who, sad
under dark English skies, hungered for the soft
savage " Summer isles of Eden lying in dark-purple spheres of sea,"
Was foolish only for a moment, and knew that —
" Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay."
I do not believe that Paraguay is altogether
the country to recommend a young Englishman
with some capital to emigrate to. Land is cheap,
it is true ; but labour is not easily procurable,
and the distances to the nearest marts for any
produce are immense.
On Sunday, the nth of September, we bid adieu
to our friends at Asungion, weighed anchor, and
proceeded under all canvas down the river before
a dry and hot northerly wind that raised the tem
perature to 900 in the shade. Our upward journey
had occupied ninety-one days, but we accomplished
the downward voyage in twenty-two. The river-
schooners, with their light draught, had nearly
invariably out-sailed us against the stream, as L
have explained farther back ; but now that the
cunent was with us. our deep draught was in our

350 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
favour, and not a single homeward-bounder could
keep up with us, even when we were running free.
When we had to tack we of course defeated the
golettas still more easily. Had we chosen to sail
by night as well as by day, I am confident that we
would have made the fastest voyage on record
down the Parana.
Just before we started we were visited by a
strange scarecrow, a man, lean, and of starved
appearance, clad in a ragged blouse and trousers ;
his naked feet were sore, swollen, and fuU of chigos.
He took off his old greasy cap, and commenced
to address us, with a voice hoarse and indistinct
from long exposure to the heavy night-dews, in
very excellent French. He said he was a starving
Frenchman. He wanted to get down to Buenos
Ayres, where he might find employment. Would
we give him a passage in our vessel ? He would
work his way wiUingly. We consented to take
the poor fellow with us as a deck-passenger. He
certainly did work his passage with good-will, always
trying to make work of some kind to do, when there
was none very obvious at hand.
Washing was his great forte ; he would wash
everything without waiting for orders, from the
plates to the tiUer. His nautical education had
been neglected, but he tried his best to become a
sailor during the voyage.
To look after the fore-sheet, when we went about,
was his especial delight. The fierce, earnest way in
which he would tackle it each time was very laud
able. He evidently thought that the safety of
the vessel entirely depended on his proper hand
ling of this rope. He came to look upon it as an
enemy to be bravely attacked, yet cautiously cir
cumvented ; but at first he used to charge it with
the blind elan peculiar to his race, till he was brought

THE CRUISE OP THE '* FALCON." 351
to his senses by sundry hard knocks on the head
from the heavy fore-sheet block, as it banged about
backwards and forwards, while the vessel was
coming into stays.
He explained that he was a lithographic work
man, and had imprudently left Paris for Buenos
Ayres, where he was told wages were high. At
Buenos Ayres he discovered there was no room for
him, and was advised to go to Asungion, in which
capital he found that there was still less demand
for men of his trade, seeing that there is not a
single lithographic establishment. His career had
been rather a chequered one. He had fought for
the commune in Paris, impressed, he said, against
his wiU, and had received a severe bayonet-wound
in the leg. He arrived at Buenos Ayres twenty
months back, just in time for the last revolution
there. Having no papers of nationality with him
to prove that he was a Frenchman, he was again
impressed, and forced to fight against his will, this
time receiving a rifle-baU in the head as a trophy.
In Paraguay, being unable to find work, he had lived
on oranges in the woods, a not very fattening diet,
though the Paraguayan troops often fought for
weeks on no other food than this.
We had three other passengers as far as ViUeta,
friends of ours, who had been invited as WeU as
ourselves to a baile at that town, given in our
honour by the captain of the port. These were
a money-lender, an ex-minister of finance, and a
merchant ; for this is a democratic country, wherein
presidents, usurers, publicans, and sinners seem
to be aU on much of a same footing, and associate
together in a most natural way.
Current and strong wind both being with us, we
reached ViUeta in three hours, and came to an
anchor off .the little town. Like_ Aregua and many

352 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
other of the old Jesuit settlements, it is built on the
summit of a lofty, grassy down that slopes down
to the water's edge ; it consists of one square,
three sides of which are of low houses connected
by a deep verandah, the fourth, that looking
towards the river, being open, with four ancient
black wooden crosses of huge size planted at equal
distances along it.
There was a steamer and several schooners lying
along the shore, which were being loaded with
oranges by a long stream of laughing white-draped
girls. Mountains of the golden fruit lay on the
bank, whUe lumbering bullock-waggons constantly
brought down fresh supplies from the groves, a
quaint scene very characteristic of Paraguay.
We landed, ascended the down, and found our
host, Colonel Godoy, and a sumptuous repast
awaiting us. This gentleman, now commandante of
the port, and gefe of ViUeta, is a very good type
indeed of the Paraguayan man, such as there were
many of before that war of annihilation. Not tall,
but very broad and muscular, with a profusion of
curly black hair, bright black eyes, and a broad
mouth that is ever opening to smile and laugh,
revealing two rows of large white teeth, he presents
a remarkable and pleasing exterior. But beneath
the joviality that he shares with all his race, it is
easy to perceive that there lurks something of the
savage, tigerish spirit, that is also in the Para
guayan blood, though it be but seldom awakened.
Even Lopez was an amiable man enough, tiU he
had tasted blood.
Senor Godoy is a well-known character; he
was one of Lopez's most dashing and valiant
colonels, and distinguished himself on many occa
sions during the sanguinary five years' war. He
received in different actions no less than fifteen

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 353
wounds, of which some were very severe. I may
mention that the foreign surgeons that were at
tached to the Paraguayan forces state that not
only did these men bear the most painful wounds
and amputations with extraordinary stoicism,
but that they recovered rapidly in cases that
would have almost certainly proved fatal to Euro
peans. Of the negro troops of BrazU they report
exactly the reverse.
One of the chief traits of the Paraguayan char
acter, brought about by the long training of the
Jesuits, is complete submission to any constituted
authority, else how can we explain the unquestion
ing manner in which the decrees of the tyrant Lopez
were obeyed ? When he ordered every officer that
proved unsuccessful in action to be shot, when
he put to death so many of the best and noblest of
the land, simply because they were such, there
was no attempt at disobedience, no symptoms of
rebellion displayed themselves. Thus Colonel Godoy,
who was narrating some of his experiences to us,
said, " When we were marching to X  , there
were many women and children with us, weak,
half-starving, who greatly impeded our progress ;
Lopez, hearing of this, enjoined me to cause every
man, woman, or child, who could not keep up with
the rest, to be shot. Thus in many cases my men
had to shoot their own sick relatives : it was
butcher's work ; I did not like it ; but we had
received the order, and had of course to obey the
chief." But this evening the gaUant colonel was em
ployed in a manner more congenial to his kindly
nature. After dinner he brought out his guitar,
and, accompanying himself the while, sang to us
in a fine deep voice the wild songs of the Guarani ;
Narancaros, or songs of the orange-gatherers.

12

354 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
and war-songs breathing bitter contempt for the
" Monkeys of Brazil."
When aU was ready for the baile, the colonel
ordered his bare-footed soldiers without to fire their
muskets and let off crackers, as an invitation to
the townsfolk. They were all prepared for this,
and immediately responded to the summons; the
women flocked in — the booted ladies and the un-
booted maidens that had been hard at work loading
the vessels with oranges all day mixing familiarly
in very republican sisterhood. In this land equality
is not merely a political watchword, but here alone it
is possible, for aU men and women are equally well-
bred, aU " gentle " in their manners — the ostentation
and false pride of the patrician being as unknown as
the coarse brutality and vulgarity of the plebeian.
When one wearied of dancing, it was pleasant to
leave the stifling bail-room and walk awhile in the
grass-grown square. The view from the four old
crosses on the edge of the down was impressive.
The broad river gleamed under a brilliant moon ;
beyond it stretched a long streak of flame, where
savage Indians had fired the Chaco in a great ring,
so as to hem in and destroy the tigers and wUd
beasts, whose skins formed their clothing. After
a pyrotechnic display with some of the rockets and
blue lights, from the Falcon's stores, the baU broke
up. The colonel and his men stretched some hides
out in the middle of the square, the usual bed-
place of the tough veteran, and lay down to sleep
on them, whUe we returned on board.
The spring was now advancing, and we found it
uncomfortably hot in the cabin at night, so through
out the downward voyage all hands were wont to
sleep on deck, of course under the mosquito-nets,
for these pests were much more numerous than
they had been during the upward journey.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 355
Different insects now pestered us at different hours
of the day, so we were able to divide our time very
accurately according to their visitations. In the
morning, when the sun had acquired an altitude of
about twenty degrees, the mosquitoes retired ; and
then turned out in dense clouds annoying little
winged insects that possessed long suckers, and left
black spots behind, where their probes had entered
the skin. In the afternoon these would be relieved
by the equaUy troublesome sand-flies, who would
bite vigorously until it was mosquito time again
at sunset.
Before leaving ViUeta on the morrow after the ball,
I was button-holed in the regular ancient mariner
style, by a venerable Genoese, with a glistening, fasci
nating eye, and a tangled mass of snowy hair.
Said he, " I have a disclosure to make unto
you ; there is, I believe, gold ! gold I gold ! unlimited
gold ! " and he stretched out his arms as if to en
circle a huge sack of the precious metal ; " gold !
and I know where it is ; come with me and get
it. The Indians have told me — up the Pilcomayo
— the sands are made of gold ; they have cooking-
vessels now of gold that their civilized ancestors
made. I have no money; I cannot get a boat to
go up the river and get aU this gold. O misery !
misery ! all this gold, and I cannot get at it — and
now,' seizing me fiercely by the arm, and speaking
slowly and distinctly ; " you are a milordo Ingleze,
you have some gold ; buy a steam launch ; take
me, we wiU go together up the Rio Pilcomayo, and
we wiU get it all. Gold ! do you hear ? gold.
O ! holy Mary, gold ! "
I could not deliver myself from the clutches
of this enthusiastic old man until I had promised
to think the matter over; but he shook his head
sadly at my half-hearted manner as he let me

356 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
go. " Gold, gold ! all that gold glittering in the
sands for us — and you hesitate ! "
There was unmistakable madness in the glare
of the man's eye ; and Don Juan explained that
his fellow-countryman, commencing hfe as a sailor,
had become a sea-captain, then an owner of many
ships, and lastly had invested all his capital in lands
and vast herds of cattle in this neighbourhood.
Now it happened about three years back that
the Asungion newspaper accused an Italian of
having murdered a certain woman in that town.
An Italian forthwith proceeded to the newspaper
office, and blew out the editor's brains with a
revolver. The Italians, of whom there are many
in Asungion, took their countryman's part, and for
eight days fought the government troops. At the
head of this Italian revolution, as it was called,
was my acquaintance of the snowy locks and the
glistening eye. When the emeute was put down
the government punished him by confiscating all
his lands and cattle — utterly beggaring him. This
calamity affected his brain, and now he roams
about, an innocent but wild and weird old man,
with a crazy head chock-full of visionary schemes ;
not, however, that the Pilcomayo gold scheme is
necessarily such, for many of these tributaries of
the Rio de la Plata wash down gold, though it is
doubtful whether the exploration of this particular
stream would prove profitable in that way.
On the 13th of September we again experienced
one of those remarkable and sudden falls of the
temperature that are such a feature of this climate.
We had been sailing all day before a light north
wind under a cloudless sky, the thermometer
registering 930 in the shade, when suddenly the
familiar haze of the dust-storm was seen rising on
the southern horizon, and the quick gathering

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 357
masses of cloud indicated the approach of the
Pampero hurricane. We hastily lowered our main
sail, and shifted jibs. We were at this moment
sailing close by the Paraguayan shore, and passing
a lovely grove of lapachos and oranges glowing like
fire under the lurid glare which the sun, shining
through flying clouds of dust, cast upon all nature.
In this grove were some ranchos, the occupants
of which, three women, with flowing white robes,
draping but not concealing the beauty of their
statuesque forms, on seeing us, came down to the
river bank, and hke the maiden of Longfellow's
" Excelsior," caUed out to us in silvery voices,
" Go no farther, come and anchor here, safe is this
port ; see the tempest comes." But, like Long-
feUow's youth, we were obdurate to the voices of
these sirens, and, with reluctance, brushing the
tears from our eyes, we shook our heads and shouted
back " Excelsior ! " or something to that effect,
and sailed on towards the storm.
Of a sudden our sails were taken aback, and with
terrific thunder, lightning, and rain, the Pampero
broke . on us. From 930 the thermometer fell
rapidly to 730, which seemed quite cold to us. We
tacked down the river against the gale until sunset,
under mizzen and head canvas alone.
On the 14th of September we anchored for an
hour off Formosa, the Argentine military settlement
on the Chaco shore. We found here a village of
log-huts, occupied by a battalion of troops, of
whom many were employed in clearing the forest,
digging drains, carpentering, tinkering, and so on.
We were told that these were military prisoners,
and received no pay for their work. In this case
about a third of the battalion must have been
prisoners at the time of our visit, a fact not much
to be wondered at. for the Argentine soldiery is

358 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
raised from the dregs of the populace. These men
looked like the thorough scoundrels they were, but
at the same time had a very hardy appearance,
and indeed even hostile critics allow them to be
splendid troops, brave, and enduring fatigue and
hunger with the fortitude of the Indians themselves.
We had run short of salt meat, but found it
impossible to purchase any at Formosa, for regular
rations are served out daily to soldiers and civilians
by the commissary, and he is forbidden -to supply
stores to passing schooners or other strangers.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
We reached ViUa Pillar on the 15th of September.
We found at anchor off here two schooners, the
Rosa and the Fradalanza — one laden with oranges,
the other with hardwood. Don Juan was acquainted
with the pilots of these craft, and after holding a
consultation with them, advised us, though we
might lose a few days by it, to await their departure
on the morrow, and keep them company as far as
Rosario, " for," he explained, " the Parana, they
say, is now very low, and if we do run ashore going
down the river, we shall be unable to get off again
without the assistance of some other vessel."
Seeing the justice of his remarks, we acceded
to his proposition. When the river is low,, it is
customary for vessels thus to sail in company;
that one with the greatest draught and the best
pilot leads the way; if she strikes., those behind
immediately cast their anchors, and, passing haw
sers to the leader, as a rule manage to haul her off.
Again, when there is doubt about a channel, a
boat is sent ahead to sound, and as one boat can do
this for the whole fleet, much labour is thus saved.

THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON." 359
On the 16th of September, at a signal from
the admiral, the Anglo-Spano-Italian squadron
got under weigh and proceeded down the river,
in single file, with a space of about 150 yards between
the vessels. I must explain that one of the schooners
was Italian, the other Spanish. The former, which
drew as much water as ourselves, was the flagship, and
led the way.
We found that we had to keep the Falcon under
easy canvas, so as not to outsail our consorts ;
we were invariably more than a match for either
of them, whether in running, tacking, or drifting
down stream in a calm.
On the 17th of September, a hot, cloudless,
windless day, the fleet drifted out of the Paraguay
into the Parana, and we bid adieu to the pleasant
land of women.
And now we observed that the appearance of the
Rio Parana had undergone a great change since we
had ascended it some two months back. The waters
had so much receded, that great banks of yeUow
sand stretched far out into the stream from the
jungly shores, or formed long islands in its centre,
between which in places were narrow, rapid channels,
wherein was scarcely sufficient water to float our
craft. And now aU the animal life that had been
driven by the flood into the inner fastnesses of the
Chaco, had come down once more to the river
banks, as we perceived from the cries of many
tigers, pumas, and other beasts that made each
night hideous as we lay at anchor under the shore.
On several occasions we managed to obtain some
very good sport during this downward voyage, suc
ceeded in killing some stags, but were unsuccessful
in aU our attempts to slay the crafty jaguar. The
ducks, turkeys, and geese were as numerous as
ever, and_the aUigators at the approach of spring

360 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
had come out in much larger numbers, and lay bask
ing on the hot sands in rows of twenties.
Our flagship ran ashore early in the day, but Ave
soon hauled her off; later on both the Rosa and
Falcon ran very hard on to an extensive bank that
was unknown to the pilots, having been formed since
our upward voyage. As aU the endeavours of our
selves and our friends failed to get us off, the fleet
had to come to an anchor. We put out our bower in
the deep water, and by keeping the chain constantly
taut, we gradually ate our way off the bank during
the night.
During the 18th of September the fleet proceeded
with great caution, for the bed of the river had en
tirely changed hereabouts, and puzzling sandbanks
and shoals obstructed the navigation. Constantly
we came to an anchor, while boats were sent ahead to
sound and pick out a channel. Notwithstanding
all our precautions the Rosa ran ashore, and four
hours' hard work foUowed before she was dragged
off again, a contingent being sent from the crew of
each vessel to render assistance at the capstans
and tackles.
Some delay was caused before the fleet could get
under weigh on the 19th of September, for the anchors
of the Falcon and Fradalanza had fouled some sunken
trees. By dint of some labour we raised our anchors
to the water's edge, and then cut away the branches
that encumbered them with hatchets, whereupon they
immediately sank, being of a wood that is as hard
and heavy as ebony.
This day we passed the steamer Messenger hard
aground ; for three days her captain vainly en
deavoured to get her off, while the passengers, the
stores provided for whom had fallen short, grumbled
not a little ; the sound of many cursings and lamenta
tions reached us as we passed the unfortunate vessel.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 361
This evening we anchored off BeUavista, and laid
in provisions, amongst others, very smokable cigars
at six shiUings for five hundred. The storekeeper,
who had supplied us before, recognized us from afar
off, and shouted to aU who might be interested in the
news, that the English " Ballandra de Guena " had
returned. The riverine folk seemingly by one consent used
to caU the Falcon the " Ballandra de Guena," as
best describing her appearance and character gener
ally. The term may be translated "war-lighter,"
the English war-lighter, verily a queer title.
The people of BeUavista made anxious inquiries
after the SS. Messenger, which they had been ex
pecting for some days.
On the 20th of September we sailed before a light
north wind tiU we approached Goya; near here
the pilots anticipated much difficulty, for the river
is broad and very shallow, so orders were given
to the squadron to come to an anchor, while a boat
was sent ahead to thoroughly explore the channel.
Here there were no less than four vessels aground,
showing how difficult and tedious is the navigation
when the river is as low as it now was.
Having safely sailed by these dangerous passages,
we proceeded tiU near sunset, when the northerly
wind died away and the appearance of the heavens
threatened an imminent tempest from the southern
quarter, so we came to an anchor for the night.
Three other vessels had now joined our squadron ;
thus there were no less than seven of us anchored
in single file along the Chaco bank, a force sufficient
to resist successfully any attack of Gauchos or Chaco
Indians. There was not a single native of South America
on board these vessels, the crews being entirely
composed of Genoese, Neapolitans, Spaniards,
17 12a

362 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Greeks, and Dalmatians. The Argentines hate the
sea and all that is connected with it, and the fife of
a mariner " pent up in a wooden box," as one once
put it to me, is utterly uncongenial to their character.
On the 2 ist of September the pampero blew with
such fury that the seven pilots resolved not to weigh
anchor until it subsided. Even an upward-bound
vessel scudding under a tiny rag did not seem inclined
to make use of the gale, which of course was fair for
her, but dropped her anchor in the midst of our
fleet. She had come from Montevideo, and her
captain reported a revolution in Uruguay. He told
us that the agitator Latone had returned from
exile, and was marching on the capital at the head
of an army of Gauchos. We were in no way sur
prised at the news, for of all South American people
probably none are so devoted to that " glorious
institution of a free people," revolution, as are the
citizens of fair Montevideo.
This day we employed in shooting in the Chaco,
which was hereabouts a terrible tangle of confused
growth, only to be traversed by following the sandy
beds of tributary streams.
In the evening we repaired to a musical entertain
ment on the admiral's ship (every night a similar
party was given on one vessel or the other), and
heard our friends Luigi, Juan, Pedro, Pancho,
Andrea, Francisco, and the" rest of them, not to
forget our Admiral Bartolo, sing the sea-songs of
Genoa, the gondola chants of Venice, Spanish and
Guarani love songs, and the like. The company
smoked largely, and a huge vessel of wine was handed
round, which we held high above our heads, pouring
the thin purple stream from the small orifice [into
our mouths as is the custom of the Italians.
Throughout the 22nd and 23rd of September we
sailed without the occunence of anv mishap, on the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 363
latter day making no less than forty-five leagues, and
passing La Paz.
On the 24th of September we passed Urquiza, and
taking the Santa Fe" channel, not the Parana channel,
which we haa pursued on our upward voyage, came
to an anchor some two degrees below Diamante,
in consequence of the flag-ship having run hard on a
shoal. After prolonged labour, all the other vessels
of the squadron lending assistance, it was found
impossible to move her, and as the pilots discovered
that the river was still falling, it was determined
that Ave should desert our unfortunate admiral, for our
stopping would not be of any use. Accordingly
the word was given to up anchor and proceed.
The admiral, as we heard afterwards, had to take
two-thirds of his cargo out of his vessel before she
would float, and was delayed nearly two weeks at
this spot, which unfortunate occurrence more than
ate up all the profits of his four months' voyage.
On Monday, the 26th of September, we reached
Rosario. We found the thermometer was only
66° in the shade; we had left the regions of per
petual summer, and the Buenos Ayres spring struck
us as uncomfortably cold after the climate we had
recently been enjoying.
After remaining two days at Rosario, we once
more weighed anchor, first bidding farewell to our
consorts, for the captains were trying to dispose
of their cargoes in this port, and so save the tedious
voyage to the Boca and back.
Overtaking and outsailing every vessel of whatso
ever tonnage and rig that we encountered, we sailed
by Zarate and Campana, entered once more the
narrow channels of the Delta, whose willow and
peach-clad banks were fresh and green in this glorious
spring weather of the River Plate, passed by the pretty
quintas of the market-gardeners, whence the Basque

364 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
and Italian girls waved their kerchiefs to us as we
went by; and on the 2nd of October came to an
anchor at our old berth in the Tigre, 143 days since we
had sailed from it for our cruise up the great rivers.
And now it was that the old crew of the little
Falcon was broken up, scattered in different direc
tions, while I was left alone on board of her to ponder
how I should proceed on the voyage. Jerdein
and Arnaud, enamoured, as I have before said, of
Paraguay, prepared to return to that soft climate.
Arthur, the boy, also refused to proceed on the
voyage, and asked to be paid off. I accordingly
gave him his discharge, anears of pay, and certain
words of good advice, in reference to the dangers
of this rough seaport of Buenos Ayres, which I was
fully aware he would utterly disregard.
Jim also refused to go to sea in the Falcon. He
said she was too small for the ocean ; we prefened
a bigger vessel.
But when it was known that I wanted men, no
lack of volunteers presented themselves : three Span
iards from the Capitania of the Tigre offered to desert
and join me, but I did not fike the look of them, stiU
less the appearance of the drunken, dirty, runaway
English sailors, or rather sham sailors, that loafed
on the beach of Buenos Ayres ; so I repaired to the
Boca del Riachuelo, the cut-throat Italian and Greek
colony that I have before described, but in which I knew
I could find as many honest seamen as I required.
To pick up a decent British sailor in these foreign
ports is very difficult, as British skippers know too
well. I wandered about the crowded quays and streets
of the Boca, a seaport that reminded me of many an
old Meditenanean harbour ; for, indeed, all its in
habitants and sailors are natives of the fair shores of
that inland sea, and have brought their habits of life

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 365
and style of architecture to the banks of this little
South American river.
Don Juan, our late pilot, accompanied me in my
search ; we entered the cafes that we knew to be
the haunt of Genoese mariners, and after passing over
several whose physiognomies were a trifle too cut
throat, we selected three likely-looking fellows.
As the Falcon required caulking and a general
overhauling before she was fit for sea, I determined
to sail her from the Tigre to the Boca, the latter
being a very convenient place for fitting out a small
vessel. On the 10th of October mynewcrew came on board,
and as is the custom of Italian mariners, brought such
mountains of luggage and bedding with them that
it would have filled up all the cabins of the Falcon,
so I was compelled to make them put three-quarters
of it on shore again, much to their chagrin. A British
sailor generally ships with nothing but the clothes
he stands in, in the way of impedimenta; but his
Italian brother has a very old-clothesman mania for
accumulating rags of all sorts. He never throws
away a coat or other garment, though it be so rent
and worn that he cannot possibly wear it, but hoards
up all, till after some years' service at sea he is the
proud possessor of five or six huge canvas sacks of
dirty shreds, which he carries with him wherever he
goes, though they are not of the slightest use to him.
On sailing out of the river Tigre we found from the
tide-metre on. the San Fernando mole, that there were
but six feet of water on the bar outside. (The reader
will remember that on entering the river we were
aground on this bar a whole night during a gale.)
For five days of rain and wind we lay at anchor off
the San Fernando, waiting for the rise of the water,
the monotony being only broken by a clumsy Argentine
man-of-war. or rather old-woman-of-war. that de-

366 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
liberately ran into us, doubled up our davits, canied
away a main shroud, and would perhaps have sunk us
had we not promptly given our vessel more chain.
The lubberly officer who was in charge of this steamer,
not contented with having inflicted this damage, pro
ceeded to carry away the bowsprit of a schooner
that was at anchor below us, and then while endea
vouring to turn so as to enter the San Fernando
Canal, ran the nose of his vessel with considerable
force against the stone mole.
On the 16th of October a change of the wind
caused the water to rise about a foot ; so weighing
anchor, we safely crossed the shallows and scudded
before heavy squalls of rain and wind down the coast,
past the long quays of Buenos Ayres to the entrance
of the river Riachuelo.
We found that the Boca was fuU of smaU craft
that had run in from the inner roads for refuge from
the bad weather, but we managed to squeeze our way
through the crowd and pick up a convenient berth
alongside the rickety wooden quay, between a German
barque and an Italian orange-schooner.
And now from sunrise to sunset for many days
there was a constant bustle on board the Falcon;
caulking, painting, stowing provisions, rigging; in
short, thoroughly preparing the vessel for her lengthy
homeward cruise.
The Italians in the Boca took great interest in our
proceedings, and there was always a little crowd
watching us from the quay. Seeing that I had taken
a crew of their own countrymen in preference to
any others, these eaninged and gay-sashed mariners
took a pride in the little vessel, and showed us much
sympathy. Jerdein and aU other Buenos Ayres friends ex
postulated with me on the madness of sailing with an
Italian crew ; my throat, they said, would certainly

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 367
be cut by these notorious ruffians of the Boca. But
I knew more about Italians than any of my friends,
and had gained no slight experience of the ways of
the population of all the Mediterranean coasts in
several previous travels, so felt confident ; besides, the
men that I had engaged were aU weU known in the
Boca, and of highly respectable character.
It is true that a little contretemps occuned before
the men had been three days on board that led to
the discharge of one of them. While I was on shore
for an hour or so, this fellow, who it seems was of
a quarrelsome nature, refused to obey the orders
of the man I had appointed mate, and, on being
remonstrated with, or more probably sworn at, drew
his knife and attempted to murder his officer, but
his object was frustrated by a knock on the head
with a capstan bar. On returning and hearing this
story, I considered that the " bag and baggage "
policy was the best adapted for the circumstances,
and packed him off on the spot with his impedimenta.
Only once again did anything like this occur
while these men served under me, and that also dur
ing my absence, for nothing could exceed the alacrity
of their obedience and civUity to myself.
When the Falcon was ready to saU, looking smart
enough with her fresh paint and new main-sail,
mizzen, and foresail, a ragged and miserable-look
ing object presented himself on board. The return
of the prodigal boy, Arthur, had come to pass as I
had anticipated. He had spent aU his pay, sold all
his clothes, and looked very dirty and thoroughly
ashamed of himself. He now of course wished to re-
ship on the Falcon. After putting before him the
heinousness of his offence in deserting me at a pinch as
he had done, and warning him as to the results of ever
behaving in like manner again, I took him back, but
kiUed no fatted calf for the reprobate; on the contrary.

368 THE CRUISE OF THE ** FALCON."
gave him no leave on shore, and plenty of hard work,
to counteract the bad effects of his ten days' de
bauch, during which time he had been Uving on his
accumulated arrears of pay at the rate of about iooo/.
a year. We did not require him now on the Falcon,
for I had engaged another man to take the murder
ously-inclined one's place, and I knew he would be
ever quarrelling with the foreigners ; but to leave
the scapegrace at Buenos Ayres would have been to
insure his speedy perdition, so I felt bound to take
him away.
The crew of the Falcon now consisted of myself,
captain ; PeUegro Lavagna, mate ; Paulo Ciarlo,
cook and seaman; Giobatta Panissa, seaman, and
Arthur Cotton, boy. The mate was a good-look
ing young Genoese of twenty-six, a good fellow, a
dandy when on shore, but rather a timid sailor, and
one who could not inspire the others with due
respect, hence frequent quarrels, and in two cases,
as before related, the drawing of sheath knives.
Paulo Ciarlo, a piratical-looking, bronzed feUow
of thirty, was not only an exceUent cook, but an
admirable fore-and-aft sailor, a plucky man, and
one with whom I never had occasion to find fault
during his stay on board the Falcon.
Giobatta Panissa, who I afterwards found dared
not return to his native land in consequence of having
been a ringleader in a serious mutiny on board an
Italian barque, did not turn out weU. He was a
young fellow with thick black eyebrows and a cruel
mouth, with a surly and forbidding expression. He
was not a good sailor, and could not be trusted at
the tiller in bad weather ; indeed, I discovered his
real profession was that of fireman on board steamers.
He was cowardly but quarrelsome, and required
constant suppression, which he got. This Panissa
was the hero of the second knife adventure, The

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 369
mate and Panissa took the port watch, Ciarlo, Arthur
and myself the starboard.
And now the outward voyage of the Falcon was
completed, and she lay moored to the Boca quay
ready for her homeward departure. The route
that I had chosen for myself was rather a circuitous
one. I purposed coasting up the eastern shores
of the South-American continent as far as the
West India Islands, and thence across the North
Atlantic and make for old England. In describing
this voyage, I shall have to tell how we sailed to the
desert island of Martin Vas and Trinidad, and there
explored strange volcanic peaks and ravines, where,
I beheve, no man before us had trod, and where the
savage birds, not knowing how formidable a foe is
man, attacked us with fury as we traversed the rocky
defiles which they peopled in their tens of thousands ;
thence how we once again sailed into the emerald
waters of the Reconcavo of Bahia and saw old
friends ; how we cruised for a week round the beauti
ful bay and up its tributary rivers, that pierce a trop
ical paradise ; how we visited Maceio, and Pernam-
buco, the Brazilian Venice ; and how doubling Cape
La Roque, we were carried rapidly up the coast by
a fresh wind that ever blew right aft, and a strong,
never-changing current of hot water, the same that
thousands of miles further on, after it has traversed
the Gulf of Mexico, is known as the Gulf Stream ;
how we passed by the turbid mouth of the Amazon,
greatest of rivers, crossed the equator once more,
sailed by unhealthy Cayenne, and the mangrove
swamps of Dutch Guiana to Demerara, where we
spent a pleasant time, and so on to Barbados, where,
for reasons that will be told in their right places,
the Falcon was hauled up on to the sandy beach, and
laid up for a season under the cocoa-palms and
poisonous manchineals.

370 THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON."
CHAPTER XXIX.
At half-past four on the morning of the 4th of
November, we were outside the Boca harbour, home
ward bound at last. We shaped our course for Monte
video, at which port I had to caU, having left my
chronometers there during my travels in the River
Plate Republics. It was blowing very hard from the
south-west, so we scudded under three-reefed main-
saU, passing the Chico hght-ship at nine a.m., having
run forty-five miles in four and a half hours, a speed
which astonished somewhat my Italian mariners.
It was somewhere near here that we hove-to and
filled our breakers and tanks with the muddy, yet
sweet and wholesome, water of the estuary, as is the
practice of outward-bound vessels. The water was
in no way brackish, though we were out of sight
of land, and to all appearance in the midst of a
tempestuous ocean.
The pampero had by this time raised the usual
steep breaking seas that render the navigation of these
shaUow waters so perUous, and my Italians expressed
great deUght and astonishment when they observed
how splendidly the little Falcon rose to each sea,
steering perfectly easily aU the while.
Near the Chico we passed the new Argentine man-
of-war, the A dmir ante Brown. This vessel was con
structed in England, and recently steamed over the
Atlantic with the intention of reaching some port
of the Argentine Republic. This she has not done,
and never wiU do, for it is found that this white
elephant draws too much water to enter Argentine
waters at aU, so here she remains at anchor in the
high seas, disconsolately rolling about, a constant butt
for the caricaturists and comic papers of Monte
video.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 371
At about two p.m. we passed the Cuirassier fight-
ship. The sea near here was tumbling about very
uncomfortably, for the tide and wind were opposed
to each other. Some ten miles further on we passed
close to a barque of about 500 tons that had evidently
foundered within a few hours. As the depth of the
estuary hereabouts is not much more than five
fathoms, her masts were above water, her canvas
was stiU on her, flapping about and tearing in the
violent wind, with a noise fike that of irregular
musketry fire. There were no men to be seen in her
rigging, so we presumed some passing vessel had ren
dered assistance to the crew. This, we learned later
on at Montevideo, had been the case. This vessel
was an old Italian wooden corvette of war that had
recently been sold to some Italians of Montevideo,
who had converted her into a river merchant barque.
At nine p.m., after a fast voyage of sixteen hours,
we came to an anchor off the custom-house of Monte
video, where we lay aU night, rolling and pitching
into the nasty seas that make this so-caUed harbour
so uncomfortable.
I had purposed remaining at Montevideo but four
days, which I calculated was a sufficient time wherein
to complete all our preparations for sea, but circum
stances, in the shape of a violent storm, considerably
delayed our departure.
During our outward voyage we had enjoyed
singular immunity from bad weather, but during the
first month or so of our homeward journey we cer
tainly encountered more than our share of it. It is
true that this was the tempestuous season of this
portion of the South Atlantic, when fierce pamperos
are of frequent occurrence.
The weather had been unsettled for some time.
On the 6th of November, two days after our anival
at Montevideo, the barometer commenced to faU

372 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON-"
steadily. It was intensely close and hot throughout
the day, and in the afternoon we observed that our
rigging was entirely covered with those fine filaments,
like spiders' webs, which sailors that have visited
these seas caU Virgin's threads. This phenomenon
is common on the River Plate, and is said to pre
cede a strong pampero. Throughout the foUowing
day there were many clear signs of an impending
storm visible, and ancient mariners on shore shook
their heads.
On the morning of the 8th of November it was
blowing hard, but it was not until five in the even
ing that the pampero burst upon us, with its usual
suddenness, but with a fury that I have never
experienced in any wind before or since. The
pampero of these seas is a true hurricane, and
though not of so long duration as the hurricanes
of the West Indies and other seas, it is often quite
as violent as long as it lasts.
On this occasion a perfectly clear sky became
of a sudden quite obscured to us by great whirhng
clouds of dust, that enveloped the whole city and
the roads. Then the hurricane came down with a
great roar, swung aU the vessels round with a
violent jerk, causing many to drag their anchors,
thereby fouling each other, and inflicting much
damage. We had two anchors down, with sixty
fathoms of chain on each, and dragged but an
inconsiderable distance. But the strain on our
chains was tremendous; we seemed to be drawn
under water at times during the more violent gusts.
We pitched and tumbled about in a manner that
threatened to be even dangerous, and as the wind
blew off all the tops of the waves, driving solid
sheets of water through the air, these flew over
our decks, almost drowning any one who ventured
above. We pitched our bows, too, so deep into the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 373
seas, that I entertained serious fears at times lest
we should founder at anchor. This first squaU
was far too furious to last long ; it was circular, as
aU such very violent storms are, going round aU
the points of the compass. The dust was soon blown
away, and then, as far as one could see it through
the blinding spray, the aspect of the sea, sky, and
city under this fearful visitation was really awful
and magnificent. The atmosphere passed through
several extraordinary changes of colour, now brick-
red, now pale-green ; the ships, houses, and vegeta
tion aU assuming the same hue. The lightning,
forked and purple in colour, was vivid, as it per
haps only can be in this highly electric region.
Other electric phenomena were not wanting. Each
wave in the roads was capped with a flame of fire,
and the large hailstones that feU seemed to be
mixed with showers of sparks.
The numerous casualties on shore and afloat
testified to the power of the wind. Many people
were kUled, and the city was filled with consterna
tion, hundreds of trees were uprooted, fifteen strong
stone houses were blown down in a row on the
sea front, the whole of the new exhibition building
at Buenos Ayres was destroyed, and, among the
many other accidents to the shipping, a large barque,
at anchor off Montevideo with aU canvas stowed,
was capsized by the first gust.
The Falcon was in great peril of being utterly
lost, either by foundering or coUision with the
numerous craft that had parted their chains, and
were driving helplessly on shore. Lucky it was
for us that this first cyclonic squaU only lasted about
half an hour, when the wind settled down to a com
paratively gentle, strong south-westerly gale.
We now found ourselves in a most dangerous
position, We had anchored near several of the

374 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
heavy, iron-ribbed lighters which are used to
discharge the cargoes from vessels in the outer
roads. These were aU much larger craft than the
Falcon. Now it happened during the cyclone that,
in consequence of some, or, as is more probable, all,
of us having dragged our anchors, we had coUected
together into a dense group, and collisions were
frequent between different craft as they rose and
feU on the heavy seas. To collide with one of
these tough monsters probably meant destruction
to the lighter and more delicate yacht. One did
come foul of us, and canied away the greater part
of our starboard raU and the stanchions of the
hand-rope, but luckily inflicted no serious damage.
Then she tried to come on the top of us, and bring
ing her bowsprit down on our decks, snapped it off
short. Before any serious damage had come
about, I had sent Panissa on board of her to pay
out her chain. This he managed to do, and so she
feU away clear of us. The wretched Panissa,
however, found it impossible to climb back to the
Falcon again, so he had to remain wet and blanket-
less on the deserted lighter until the weather
moderated on the following day, and we were
enabled to lower a boat to take him off.
But we now observed a far more serious cause
of danger just astern of us. We had dragged right
under the iron bows of another larger and also
deserted lighter. Her bowsprit was not a yard from
our bows. As a great wave passed under us and
raised her, she seemed to be right over us and about
to faU and inevitably cut us down and sink us.
I sent a man on board of her, but he could give
her no further scope of chain. We could not
move from our own position without certainly
fouling some lighter, so aU we could do was to hope
for the best, and wait. We were certainly in a

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 375
position of great danger. We all knew that if
the Falcon dragged her anchors but six feet more,
she would without fail be cut down and sunk. All
through that stormy night and the next day we
watched with straining eyes that cruel-looking,
iron-bound bow rising and falling behind us, ex
pecting in each fiercer gust of the storm, or after
Some higher wave than usual, to hear the duU
thud and the sound of crushing timbers.
I think that the most speculative of underwriters
would have refused to have anything to do with
the Falcon's insurance, had he seen her then. The
poor old vessel's life was not worth much, so little
that the men coUected their watches and such
valuables about them, in expectation of our vessel
sinking beneath our feet at any moment. But the
old Falcon was not yet to die ; she had dragged
so far, but having got as near danger as she con
veniently could, she stopped, and did not go astern
another inch aU through the pampero. Our escape
certainly seemed miraculous, and had the good
effect of inspiring my Italians with a profound faith
in the luck of the vessel.
Nearly a week went by before our repairs were
effected, for during that time a nasty sea was nearly
constantly running in the harbour, which rendered
carpenter's work difficult on board ; besides, the
Italian ship-carpenter we had engaged invariably
got sea-sick when our vessel roUed about to any
extent. But at last the httle craft was once more
ready for sea. All her stores were on board —
tinned meats, rum, and water for four months;
a large cask of eggs, preserved in Ume-water, on
deck ; and an abundance of vegetables. AU the
standing and running rigging had been carefuUy
overhauled, and replaced where necessary.
On the 15th of November I got a clean biU of

376 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
health for Pernambuco, brought the chronometers on
board, and gave orders for sailing that evening.
AU hands were then employed in securing every
thing on deck and below, lashing the boat bottom
upwards on the deck, and so on. The weather
was glorious, with every prospect of it remaining
so, and we saUed out of the harbour at seven in
the evening in grand style, with spinnaker and
top-sail set. We saluted the English gun-boats
as we passed them ; then, having got outside the
bay, found that we had a light wind right aft
to help us up the coast. AU seemed in our favour,
and we entertained hopes of being rapidly carried
into the calm tropic seas out of this stormy region,
for a pampero was not a phenomenon we at all
desired to encounter out at sea; we had seen quite
enough of the fury of this wind in port.
No sooner were we well outside the harbour than
the mate came up to me, and asked me if I had
any objection to the voyage being inaugurated
according to the usual custom of Genoese vessels.
On hearing what this ceremony consisted of, I at
once assented. He called the hands aft, made
a little speech in Genoese, in which he exhorted
them to do their duty, be obedient and respectful
to the captain, and so forth. Then a glass of rum
was served to each, the prosperity of the voyage
drunk, and the watches formally set.
The voyage that was now before us was to be
a far longer one than any we had yet undertaken
during our cruise. Not that the direct distance
to our next port, Bahia, at which I purposed call
ing on my way to Pernambuco, was great. From
Montevideo to the Bay of AU Saints is, roughly,
1800 nautical miles. But we anticipated a head
wind all the way; and a dead beat of 1800 miles
against a confused and choppy sea, not to mention

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 377
a contrary cunent, is somewhat of an undertak
ing. The south-east trade-wind does not blow home
to the Brazilian coast, but, at the distance of several
hundred miles from it, is deflected in its course,
and pursues a direction nearly parallel to the land.
For one half the year this wind blows down the
coast, for the other half up it. These seasons
are known as those of the northerly and southerly
Brazilian monsoons, a misnomer, as any one who
reads the definition of monsoon in any physical
geography can see for himself.
Now we' left Montevideo in the middle of the
northerly monsoon, when that wind blows boister
ously from the north-east, accompanied by heavy
rains and frequent squaUs, so we anticipated a
long period of uncomfortable tossing about, with a
good deal of water tumbling over our bows at times ;
nor were we disappointed.
It is the rule for vessels bound north from the
River Plate and South BrazUian ports, during the
prevalence of this unfavourable monsoon, to saU
some 700 mUes to the eastward, or even consider
ably to the south of east, close-hauled on the port
tack, before they go about and make their norther-
ing, and, with aU this offing, it is not unusual for
a clumsy craft to fail to weather Cape San Roque,
that bugbear of South Atlantic mariners.
But with a fore-and-after like ours, that could
sail a little over four points off the wind, such pre
cautions were unnecessary ; we would make easter-
ing when the wind was favourable for so doing, and
go about whenever a shift of wind rendered the
other tack the most advantageous.
By making use of every turn of the unsteady, ever-
varying monsoon, we made a fairly smart passage.
A large barque left Montevideo the same day as

378 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
ourselves. We both arrived at Bahia on the same
day after a voyage of thirty-eight days ; but,
whereas we sailed considerably out of our course
in order to visit the desert island of Trinidad, and
there remained at anchor for nine days, I think
we can fairly boast of having given that barque
a very undeniable beating. The distance to Bahia
is, as I have said, about 1800 miles, but with our
rather zigzag course and trip to Trinidad, we made
over 3,000 miles of it.
We passed Flores light at about eleven on the
night of our departure. Then the wind fell away,
and but light puffs occasionally filled our spin
naker as we drifted on slowly before the easterly
set of the River Plate.
On the following morning a five-knot breeze
sprang up from the west, before which we scudded
east under aU canvas. We passed by Lobos Island
and Maldonado Bay, and at sunset perceived Cape
Santa Maria to the W.N.W., from which we took
our departure.
On relieving the watch at eight o'clock of our
third morning out, I found we were out of sight of
land and in blue water once more. The wind had
now veered to the quarter from which it was to be
expected, north-east, so sailing full and by on the
port tack we were enabled to steer about east.
This wind gradually freshened, a confused sea
rose, and the sky became obscured by heavy banks
of clouds. This weather lasted for the next three
days, and very uncomfortable it was. The Falcon
continually pitched her nose into the short choppy
seas, taking more water on board each time than
during the whole outward voyage. She laboured
a good deal at times, and we found it necessary to
relieve her by taking two reefs in the main-sail
and shifting the first for the storm-jib. AU our

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 379
clothing was wet through during this time, as
indeed it generally was for a month afterwards,
while we battled with the north-east monsoon, our
paraffin-stove being, of course, not capable of
doing much in the way of drying ; we had to wait
for the rare sun to do that.
By this time I had been able to come to a fairly
just estimate of my Genoese crew. On the whole
I was satisfied with them. With the exception of
Panissa they were up to their work, and very
wiUing to do it ; but they were not of over-cleanly
habits. I often used to give the mate lectures on
this subject, describe to him the fastidious order
and cleanUness which distinguish an English yacht,
and picture to him the honor with which our
slovenly vessel would be regarded in an English
yachting harbour, such as Cowes. But it was of
no use ; I could not overcome the nature of these
mariners. An Italian considers dirt as a com
fortable sort of thing ; as long as everything is
fairly shipshape for practical purposes of seaman
ship, he is content ; he looks upon tidiness and the
removal of filth as foolish waste of time. After
vain attempts to bring my Genoese over to my views,
I had to give in for the sake of peace, and contented
myself with merely insisting on an approximate
cleanliness while in port.
Our cook, Paulo Ciarlo, a very worthy feUow,
was much puzzled at first with the paraffin-stove
and the tinned meats, but he soon fell into Falcon
ways, and ingeniously managed to evolve a very
fair cuisine a I'ltalienne out of the preserved meats
of Australia. This Paulo Ciarlo was a great fisher
man ; he would contrive aU sorts of quaint machines
wherewith to tempt the finny dweUers of the deep.
He made one most diabolical-looking apparatus,
a sort of wooden egg bristling with spikes an inch

380 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
and more long. With this he caught polypi, a great
luxury to Italians, though I cannot say I appreciate
them myself. But we caught better fish than these
— palomitas, dolphins, and king-fish, which latter
may be defined as giant deep-sea mackerel.
From a small vessel like ours many more fish can
be caught than from a faster-sailing vessel. Indeed,
during our homeward voyage we were never without
fresh fish on board, for the tropical seas of Brazil
abound in life. The dolphins were our favourites,
and we often caught fine feUows, weighing fifty
or sixty pounds. We always towed a stout twenty-
fathom line behind us with a large hook, baited,
as a rule, with a scrap of white rag merely, unless
we had a flying-fish to put on ; for this is the
greatest temptation one can offer to a dolphin.
We found a speed of about four knots the most
favourable for our deep-sea fishing.
As soon as some big dolphin or king-fish took
the bait, there would be great excitement on board.
The steersman would shove his tiUer hard down,
and the vessel would fly up in the wind with all
sails flapping, even the spinnaker would be taken
aback at times. The way of the vessel thus checked,
that arch-fisherman, the cook, who always rushed
on deck as soon as he heard the cry of " a fish,"
would haul in the line with a face distorted with
excitement, tiU the monster would be right under
our stern, darting about hither and thither in
frantic terror. Then another hand, who was
standing ready with grain or harpoon in hand on
the taffraU, would deftly throw it, and, in another
moment, a beautiful sixty-pound dolphin, aU
purple and gold, would be flying about our decks,
beating it with its powerful taU with blows that
sounded like a heavy hammer. Then the cook
would exult and chuckle, and draw his long knife

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 381
to prepare the beautiful creature for culinary
purposes. When a fish escaped from our hooks,
the anguish with which he would stamp about the
decks, and the fluency of his swearing, were fearful
to see and hear.
CHAPTER XXX.
In our sixth day out, Sunday, the 20th of Novem
ber, the north-east wind fell away, and we were
left rolling about in a calm, under an overcast
sky from which a constant drizzle descended. We
were about 340 miles from the nearest land, but
did not know our exact position, as the weather
had prevented our taking an observation of the
sun for three days. The barometer had fallen
rather suddenly a tenth and a half, but there
were no indications of bad weather in the heavens.
However, the River Plate pampero is not wont
to give much forewarning of this kind, and often
comes on with such suddenness, that the sails
can scarce be taken off a vessel before she is in
the midst of the furious hunicane.
The glass did not fall for nothing this day. At
mid-day the sky cleared, a light north-east wind
sprang up. It was the finest imaginable weather,
and a tempest seemed a very remote contingency;
but at 12.30 there rose suddenly from the southern
horizon into the clear blue sky, an inky mass of
cloud that spread over the heavens, and advanced
towards us with tremendous rapidity. It was a
most ominous appearance. There arose a great
bustle at once on board the yacht. We lowered
aU our canvas on deck, stowed the main-saU as
closely as possible, and lashed the boom firmly
amidships. On board a full-rigged ship, that was about a

382 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
nine to windward of us, the crew were taking in
canvas as rapidly as possible.
We made all snug, then waited to see what was
coming ; and not long had we to wait. The mass
of cloud was over our heads, and in another moment
had covered all the heavens. For the first few
minutes there was no wind, but a fearful downpour
of rain — bucketfuls of it — almost literaUy. The
conflict between the opposing southerly and north
easterly winds caused a dead calm by us. Then
the storm-wind gained the day, drove back the
feebler monsoon, and we were scudding rapidly
before a heavy south-easterly gale. We put the
storm-trysail — a jib-headed one — on the little
ship, and the storm-jib, under which canvas she
behaved very weU. But here let me remark, that
every smaU fore-and-after that is bound for a
lengthy ocean cruise should carry a smaU square-
sail of stout canvas for running before strong gales.
I much regretted not having provided myself with
this sail. Under such a square-sail the little craft
can run dead before the wind and waves without
any fear of jibing.
During the afternoon the wind came round from
the south-east to the south-west, as is the custom
of the pampero, and increased much in violence.
The sea, too, rose very suddenly, and some of the
waves that followed us looked so formidable that
I regretted not having hove the vessel to with
the floating-anchor out. This would have been
the more prudent measure, but now it would have
been dangerous to have attempted to bring her
up to the wind with such a sea running.
It was not a true sea, either, that was foUowing
us, for the waves not only came up behind us be
fore the south-west wind, but occasionally a nasty
cross sea from the south-east would worry us,

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 383
which we had to meet with the helm, so as to avoid
taking these dangerous waves broadside on.
The Falcon behaved wonderfuUy weU in this the
heaviest weather I have ever seen her in. Giant
biUows, with overhanging, breaking crests, came
rolling on us, looking as if they must inevitably
overwhelm the vessel ; but she would toss up her
heels as they approached, and they would thunder
by without sending much water on her decks.
This was a severe test for her seaworthiness, and
she certainly did not belie her old reputation of
the English Channel.
During the night, which was very dark, steering
was anxious, for it was difficult for the helmsman
to perceive in time, and bear away from, the cross
seas that came up steeper and higher than ever,
at intervals of about ten minutes. During my
watches this night I had to do more than my .proper
share of steering, for the boy, Arthur Cotton,
had managed to steal some rum from the barrel
below, and had brought himself into a condition of
the most helpless drunkenness, to console himself
for the bad weather. So he passed the night snor
ing loudly under the boat on deck. He had to make
up these arrears of steering with interest after
wards, and was deprived of sundry luxuries for
some time to come.
Throughout the next day, the 21st of November,
the gale blew with increased violence. The sea,
too, was higher ; we shipped a good deal of water
over our quarter at times, as we rolled about in the
confused seas which came up from the south-west
and south-east alternately, so that the vessel re
quired very careful steering. Panissa proved him
self so bad a helmsman, that we found we could
not trust him at the tUler at all, so he enjoyed a
holiday throughout the remainder of the pampero.

384 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
It is generally observed that during a prolonged
gale two or four rollers, far higher than any others,
occur at long intervals, say of twelve hours, and it
is no doubt, as a rule, one of such exceptionaUy
lofty and breaking seas that overwhelms a vessel
and causes her to founder.
At four o'clock this afternoon two such gigantic
biUows came right astern. I was steering at the
time ; the cook, who was on deck, suddenly cried
out, " Caramba, que marecada ! " and looking over
my shoulder, I perceived a huge wave of green
water, with an ugly, over-curling, breaking crest
rapidly overtaking us. It seemed that it must o:
a certainty faU on us, and that it was quite ini
possible for the Falcon to rise to such a steep
waU of water ; that she would be rolled over and
over by it certainly seemed probable to me at
that moment.
I observed, however, that the wave was not
breaking just at the portion where it would strike
us, though it broke heavily at either side. I only
took a second's glance, jammed myself firmly inside
the tiller rope, and steered so that the wave would
strike us dead aft. Suddenly up went our stern
with a jerk that jumped me off my feet, a few bucket
fuls of water tumbled on board, then up flew our
bow, tiU our deck was at an angle of 450. The
roUer had passed us ; it had struck us so true that
we remained on an even keel without the slightest
list to port or starboard.
But the peril was far from over yet ; another
equally lofty roUer followed close, and between the
two was a valley so narrow and steep that it was
impossible that the Falcon after her descent could
raise her stern in time to meet the second wall of
water. After a glance over my shoulder, which sufficed

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 385
me to take in the danger of the situation, I turned
my back on the roUer again, and kept the vessel:
dead before it. We slid down the slope of the
liquid vaUey, then our stern commenced to rise
a little as the foot of the second wave reached us, and
then there was a crash and a sudden darkness, and I
felt a mass of water rush right over my head.
" It is all, up with us," I thought, that is if I
thought at all, for aU this had occupied but a few
seconds ; I think, however, all on board imagined
that we had foundered ; doubtlessly, to any one look
ing from above, the masts of the vessel would at
that moment alone have been visible, the whole
huU must have been submerged. But the Falcon
was strong, the mass of water had not broken through
her decks ; just as she had met the first wave she
met this, not the least on one quarter or the other,
so we escaped broaching to — a probable occurrence
in the presence of such monster waves, and one that
would of course have ensured our loss.
In another second, as I opened my eyes after the
stunning effect of the deluge of water, I saw the
bulwarks rise above the sea, then the little vessel
gave herself a sort of a shake of relief and the
water soon poured out through her scuppers, this
being facilitated by the comparatively calm sea
that always succeeds to exceptionaUy high waves.
The cook, I observed, had held on tightly, and
had not been washed overboard. Then the com
panion hatch slid back, and the mate and Panissa
came up, with faces very pallid ; when they heard
the shock of the mass of water on deck, they said
they distinctly felt the vessel go down, and were
sure she was foundering.
This was the only occasion during the cruise in
which we were in serious peril. Had we taken the
first roller on board, the second falling on us as we
13

386 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
lay deadened and stunned, with our decks full ol
water, would certainly have sent us down.
During the second night of the gale steering was
more anxious work than ever, for it was too dark
to distinguish the perilous cross seas. It is no easy
work on a black night to luff or bear away continu
ally to two seas coming up at right angles to each
other. But about midnight there came a change in the
weather that was in a way favourable to us. The
south-west gale continued, but at frequent intervals
south-east squalls of great violence, accompanied by
heavy rain, would drive across the sea ; these
blew off the tops of the waves into blinding sheets
of spray, so that we could distinguish nothing, but
so furious were they that they soon also blew down
the high and breaking seas, and converted the
ocean into a confused mass of short, choppy, foam
ing waves of little height, and in no way dangerous.
We had to bear away and run before these squalls
when they stnick us.
The south-wester now gradually moderated, and
veered round to the south, then by the morning of
the 22nd of November to the south-east. It was
squally and rough stiU, but the gale had evidently
broken, and the glass was rising steadily.
I managed to get an observation of the sun, and
found our position to be latitude 310 58' S., longi
tude 430 57' W. ; we had therefore run about 300
miles in a north-east direction, before the pampero,
that is, nearly parallel to the coast.
At mid-day we got into a calmer sea, and the wind
being now about east we steered north-east, saUing
full and by on the starboard tack. The sky was
now cloudless, so contentment and joy filled our
souls at the contrast between this delicious weather
and the recent storm. Our decks presented a very

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 387
agreeable appearance, and a somewhat picturesque
one — a scene of idyUic repose, if the term is appli
cable to a seascape.
The vessel was sailing her five knots through
the dark-blue water, throwing up two wings of
sUver spray on either bow. ItaUan garments,
more or less ragged, and of rich colours, festooned
the rigging, to dry in the warm sunshine. AU hands
were basking on deck in their several fashions. The
cook lying on the upturned boat eagerly scanning
his fishing-line that was dragging aft, his whole
soul in his favourite sport ; the mate mending a
pair of pantaloons under the bulwark ; Panissa,
looking sentimental the whUe, was sitting on the
hatch playing Spanish airs and selections from
ItaUan operas on his accordion.
The captain lay on his back on deck in the sun,
drying, smoking, and contemplating the sky, a
volume of Balzac by his side. The boy, stubborn
and stern and sUent, was steering, making up ar
rears, a suspicious lump in his cheek betokening a
quid, a luxury the young rascal was over addicted
to. But we were not long to enjoy this pleasant
dolce far niente in the sunshine, for by night the
wind had got round to the north-east again, and
an uncomfortable fortnight was before us of weari
some beating up against the squally, rainy mon
soon across a leaden-coloured sea under a sunless
sky. We had now got an offing of about 350 irules, but
I wished to increase this distance considerably if
possible, for further to the eastward we should
probably encounter south-easterly winds.
In latitude 200 30' south, and some 700 miles
from the BrazUian coast, is situated the group of
desert islands known as the Trinidad and Martin

388 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Vas. Of these Trinidad is a fair-sized island,
about fifteen Engfish miles in circumference, with
lofty, rugged mountains ; as our course was likely
to bring us somewhere in its vicinity, I thought
it would be quite worth our while to effect a landing
and explore it if possible.
The description of this islet in the "South At
lantic Directory" was certainly tempting, though
hinting at dangers, and there were held out to us
in this work promises of good fishing around its
coasts, and sport among the hogs and goats in its
ravines, not to mention turtles, green food, wreck
age, and other attractions. The following is taken
from the description in the above-mentioned work.
" Trinidad is surrounded by sharp, rugged coral
rocks, with an almost continual surge breaking on
every part, which renders landing often precarious,
and watering frequently impracticable, nor is there
a possibility of rendering either certain, for the
surf is often incredibly great, and has been seen dur
ing a gale at S.W. to break over a bluff which is
200 feet high.
" Captain Edmund HaUey, afterwards Dr. HaUey,
Astronomer Royal, landed on this island, the 17th
of April, 1700, and put on it some goats and hogs,
and also a pair of guinea fowl, which he carried
from St. Helena. ' I took,' says his journal, ' pos
session of the island in his majesty's name, as know
ing it to be granted by the king's letters patent,
leaving the Union Jack flying.'
" When the English went to Trinidad in 1781,
in order to ascertain whether a settlement was
practicable there, they did not find it answer their
expectations. " The American commander, Amaso Delano,
visited Trinidad in 1803, and he, again, describes
it as mostly a barren, rough pile of rocky mountains.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 389
What soil there is on the island he found on the
eastern side, where are several sand-beaches, above
one of which the Portuguese had a settlement.
" This settlement was directly above the most
northerly sand-beach on the east side of the island,
and has the best stream of water on the island
running through it.
" Delano got his water off the south side of the
island. Here a stream faUs in a cascade over rocks
some way up the mountains, so that it can be seen
from a boat when passing it. After you have dis
covered the stream, you can land on a point of
rocks just to the westward of the watering-place,
and from thence may walk past it, and when a
little to the eastward, there is a small cove among
the rocks where you may float your casks off.
Wood may be cut on the mountain just above the
first landing-place, and you may take it off if you
have a small oak boat.
" AU the south side of the island is indented with
small bays ; but the whole is so iron-bound a coast
and such a sweU surging against it, that it is almost
impossible to land a boat without great danger of
staving it. The south part is a very remarkable,
high, square bluff-head, and is very large. There
is a sand-beach to the westward of this head, but
I should caution against landing on this beach ; for
just at the lower edge of it, and amongst the
breakers, it is fuU of rocks, which are not seen till
you are amongst them.
" If a ship is very much in need of wood or
water, it may be got at Trinidad ; or if the crew
should have the scurvy, it is an exceUent place to
recruit them in, as you can get plenty of greens
on the south-east part, such as fine purslain.
" We [Delano] found plenty of goats and hogs
— the latter were very shy, but we killed some of

390 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
them and a number of goats ; we also saw some
cats." When my men heard of my intention of sailing
to this lone island of the South Atlantic, they ex
pressed great delight, especiaUy when they learnt
that pigs and goats were reported to be its sole
inhabitants. On this, the 23rd of November, being
our ninth day out, Trinidad was about 1000 miles
to the north-east of us.
And now we had a troublesome time of it, the
wind was ever varying. Now we lay up to the
north-east on the starboard tack, now could only
fetch up to the east or even south-east. We were
often going about, and sometimes were considerably
puzzled on which tack to put the vessel, both being
bad ; the one taking us to the south of east — a
retrograde direction — the other towards the land
which we wished to avoid.
The weather, too, was abominable, the rain was
almost constant, and heavy squaUs very frequent,
so that we had often to lower our main-sail on deck
tiU they had passed by. A very nasty choppy sea,
too, was perpetuaUy running, which deadened our
way considerably, and kept us constantly wet.
We did not average 100 mUes a day. For two
nights we had to heave the vessel to, so heavily
was she labouring.
The poor cook was in great trouble aU this while,
for cooking was attended with decided difficulties.
Now and then, especially when the lubberly Panissa
was steering, a sea would come over the bows, find
its way down the chimney, extinguish the stove,
and spoil the polenta or savoury dolphin-stew.
Then would the forecastle man -hole cover be
shoved aside, and above the deck would appear
the cook's ferocious face and gaunt tattooed arm,
which latter he would shake menacingly at the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 391
guilty helmsman, while he thundered out sonor
ous Italian oaths on his head, until another green
9ea came on board and quenched his ire ; where
upon he would disappear suddenly, and the hatch
would close over him as on a Jack-in-box. Poor
cook 1 he had many troubles, not least among
which were the cockroaches which swarmed in
millions on the Falcon since her visit to Para
guay; these would devour all the vegetables and
the dried fish ; indeed, nothing came amiss to
them ; they supped one night on Panissa's kid
boots — for that mariner, like many Italian saflors,
possessed a shore-going pair of high-heeled French
kid boots ! They honeycombed aU our biscuits, our
soup always came on the table thickened with these
filthy insects, so that we had to skim it carefully
before eating. They were everywhere, and not to
be avoided ; to exterminate them we should have
had to take everything out of the vessel. But the
cook consoled himself for present iUs with the an
ticipation of future bliss, for he was wont to picture
to himself aU manner of wonderful fun he was go
ing to have at Trinidad, how he would salt down
tons of fish and turtles, cure bacon, collect birds'
eggs. It was ananged that he should go on shore
at daylight each day to milk the goats for our
morning coffee. He was pleased and excited at the
prospect, and volunteered to accompany me on a
thorough voyage of exploration among these un
trodden volcanic crags, for he had in his blood
some of the adventurous spirit of his feUow-citizen
Columbus. On looking over my log for this voyage, I find
the same constantly-recurring entries of the foUow
ing dreary nature : — " Constant rain " — " Four
violent squaUs in succession " — " StiU battened
down " — " Ship taking much water over her bows."

392 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
We had, indeed, a most uncomfortable time of it.
I believe, during this fortnight, the Falcon jumped
about more and shipped more water than during
all her previous existence. To be constantly bat
tened down was highly unpleasant, especially as
we advanced northward into warmer weather.
Although the sky was ever clouded, and pouring
down almost unremitting rain on us, the tempera
ture was high, 750 to 8o°. The sea, too, was of
about the same temperature, and felt fike hot water
as it washed over us, for we were sailing against
the warm equatorial current that flows down the
coast of Brazil at the rate of twenty miles a day.
The atmosphere in the cabin was horribly close,
and after a few hours' sleep below, one invariably
awoke with a headache. This was not to be won
dered at, for ventilation of course there was none,
and the stove poisoned us with carbonic acid gas.
The compound odour, too, was quite indescrib
able. The strings of garfic and onions that fes
tooned the forecastle, the reeking garments of the
crew, the foul smell of cockroaches, could be too
easily distinguished ; but there were other subtle
and pungent smells besides that defied analysis.
How we damp wretches looked forward to the
time when we should be running with easy motion
again before the soft trades under sunny skies, in
stead of this perpetual jumping into the steep
seas, with shock and sound, as if the vessel was
striking a rock, till one's head swam round with
the dizziness of the inegular leapings and fallings.
The health of the crew was affected by this un
wholesome tepid weather ; the constant exposure
to the humidity, not of the sea only, but of rains
and soaking dews, brought on rheumatism, and a
great languor and debility. Our sleep was heavy and
unrefreshing. We woke with big, aching heads, and

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 393
pains in the eyes and neck. Some of the symptoms,
such as the sense of debility, I was inclined to attri
bute in the case of the crew to the fact of their
constantly wearing their oilskins. In warm weather
fike this no practice could be more unwholesome.
I myself was suffering from a recurrence of old
malarial symptoms, and the cook from ophthalmia.
And so we thrashed up against the monsoon, as
a rule close hauled on the starboard tack, but occa-
sionaUy on the other when the wind favoured it,
until the 27th of November, our thirteenth day out,
when our position at mid-day was latitude 240 53'
S., our longitude 390 57' W. We were thus distant
but 160 miles from Cape Frio.
On the foUowing day Cape St. Thome bore 118
miles to the north-west by west. We had crossed
Capricorn, and were once more in the tropics.
We were now so much to leeward of Trinidad,
which was 568 miles to the E.N.E., that I deter
mined to abandon the projected visit to the desert
island, and sail direct for Bahia, which bore 600
miles to the north of us. But I consoled the cook
with a promise that we should anchor a few days
among the Abrolhos rocks, which lay on our course.
The waters round these are reported to abound
with fish.
The wind now became more variable and gusty
than ever, sometimes it blew from the north, some
times from the south of east, and for several days
we beat up against a very confused and trouble
some sea.
On the 2nd of December Trinidad lay 370 miles
to the east by north of us, the Abrolhos rocks 220
miles to the north-west.
On the 3rd of December the weather cleared, to
our great delight, and the sun made its appearance,
so we were enabled to hang out our drenched gar-
13a

394 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
ments to dry. Everything, even to our bedding,
had been wet through for three weeks. Our rig
ging now presented a goodly show of gaudy-coloured
rags, blankets, and oils, fluttering in the wind, sug
gesting reminiscences of Ratcliffe Highway slop
shops. On the 4th of December the wind chopped round
to the N.N.W., and blew hard right in our teeth,
if we continued our course to Bahia ; but it was
fair for Trinidad, now only 200 miles distant to the
E.S.E. It looked, too, as if it would last, so after
inspecting the chart, and thinking the matter over,
I determined to alter our course once more, and
run for Trinidad. I came on deck, and gave in
structions to this effect to the mate. The men
were delighted at the welcome news, and eased
off sheets, and got the spinnaker on with great
alacrity. Delightful to us was the easy motion of our vessel,
now running before wind and sea after aU our tack
ing. But this pleasant state of things was not to
last long. The Falcon seemed to be a very Flying
Dutchman, for whichever way we altered our course,
the wind would turn round and head us. At ten
p.m. the wind quite suddenly came round to the
E.N.E. again, taking our sails aback, so we had to
take in spinnaker, trim sheets, and put her close-
hauled on the port tack. Later on the wind got
round to E.S.E., that is, dead in our teeth.
The mate suggested wearing round, and running
for Bahia ; but I would not alter my plans again,
and determined now to sail to Trinidad, however
long it took us to get there. Besides, if we were
to alter our destination with each change of the
fickle monsoon, we should be ever going backwards
and forwards across this dreary bit of the ocean,
and never fetch anywhere.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 395
On the morning of the 6th of December the wind
got round again to the N.N.E., so we were able to
lay up for our island with flowing sheets. At mid
day Trinidad was 112 miles to the E.S.E. of us,
so the cook, wild with eager anticipation, over
hauled his apparatus of destruction, and got every
thing in readiness, fishing-lines, harpoons, casks for
preserving pork and goat-flesh in, and so on.
The 7th of December was a calm, cloudless day,
and hot. At eight a.m. we were about forty-six
miles from Trinidad, at which distance its lofty
mountains should be visible in clear weather.
As the sun rose higher we perceived to the south
east, in which direction we expected to discover the
island, a bank of cloud on the horizon. We knew
that the lonely rock of ocean lay in the midst of
this, for all such lofty and isolated islands attract
to them masses of clouds. The multitudes of fish,
too, that swam around our vessel were a sure in
dication of the vicinity of land. At eleven a.m.
this vapour lifted somewhat, and we distinguished
the whole rugged form of the iron-bound island,
its pyramidal summits being capped by clouds.
But the iU-fate of Vanderdecken seemed still to
attend us, for the wind, that though light had been
fair, feU away. We had been allowed to catch a
glimpse only of our much-desired port, when heavy
banks of clouds rose from the south-east horizon
with ominous rapidity, and scarce had we time
to take in our spinnaker, and reef our main-sail,
before the squall was on us, blowing right in our
teeth from the direction of the island, and accom
panied by a regular tropical downpour of rain.
The whole heavens were now covered with rolling
vapour, and of course the island became invisible
to us.
The south-east wind blew throughout the rest of

396 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
the day, and a steady drizzle set in that promised to
last some time, but taking short boards we sailed on
against wind and rain undiscouraged, for we were
so near to our destination that we now could afford
to laugh at the foul weather. Already we smelt
the smell of the roast pigs, and our mouths were
Watering at the thought of the delectable crisp crack
ling thereof.
At night the sky cleared, and in the bright moon
light we once more perceived Trinidad standing out
black and distinct with rugged outline before the blue
starlit sky, one solitary white cloud crowning its
highest peak. The wind blew steadily from the
south-east. This is the prevailing wind off Trinidad,
for the island lies outside the region of the Brazilian
monsoon, and within the zone of the south-east
trades.

CHAPTER XXXI.
At daybreak of the 8th of December we were
becalmed under the lee of the island, about
three miles from the beach, upon which we could
hear the sea break furiously. Trinidad certainly
appeared a wild and uninviting spot, a precipitous
mass of barren volcanic rock, with lofty inaccessible
summits, the whole surface being studded with
sharp needle-like peaks.
We got out sweeps, and with their aid slowly
approached the south-west corner of the island. I
recognized many of the landmarks that previous
navigators had described ; the huge Monument—
the Sugar-loaf and others — and on opening the south
west bay I perceived a considerable issue of water
leaping down a rugged, barren ravine in a series of
cascades into the sea. This I soon concludedjnust

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 397
be the one described in the Directory, and I deter
mined to come to an anchor off it.
After having got our chain and anchor up from
the hold, I sent the mate out in the boat to take
soundings, and choose a suitable anchorage. He
returned at mid-day, and reported that he had found
bottom — coral, and broken shells — in eighteen
fathoms, at about half a mile from the shore. Farther
in, he said, there were many dangerous rocks.
It was now a dead calm, so we towed the vessel
towards the bay with our boat. As there was a
slight current against us, this was pretty hard work,
under the rays of a vertical sun. At 2.30 p.m. we
came to an anchor off the cascade, the south-west
point of the island bearing south-east, and Bird
Island, N.N.W. Bird Island, so named by us, is a
rock of considerable size, peopled by thousands
of sea-birds, that lies off the north point of South
west Bay.
Glad we were to hear our chain rattle out once
more, even though in an open roadstead in mid-ocean,
off a small desert island, after our weary twenty-four
days of battling with the rainy monsoon.
Having made all snug, I decided to dine first, and
then search for a landing-place in the boat. It did
not look much like landing at aU from our deck or
masthead, for the great smooth ocean swell in which
the Falcon now rose and fell so gently, broke heavily
on the coral-fringed shore. There seemed to be one
unbroken line of great breakers even on this the lee
side of the island, and the roar of them reverberated
among the rocky ravines like loud thunder, that did
not sound encouraging to the explorers.
We enjoyed a very varied fish dinner, for the cook
had not been idle with his lines. I was aware that
the sea round any desert isle rarely visited by man
and far distant from any main, always teemed with

398 THE CRUISE OF THE "FALCON."
fish, but I had no idea that any portion of ocean
ever swarmed with life to such a marveUous extent
as is the case round this islet.
There was a species of black pig-fish, as the Italians
call them, that surcounded us in vast shoals, so dense
that the clear water presented an unbroken inky
appearance in every direction for a time. There was
another species of pig-fish, too, that was beautifully
striped with broad bands of violet ; there were fish
of every colour of the rainbow, of every size and shape.
" Too much fish, Mistare Niti 1 " exclaimed the
cook, who gazed with an amazement almost mixed
with fear at this more than realization of his very
wildest piscatorial dreams. He rubbed his eyes
and cried, "Is it not a vision ? but I wUl try."
And he forthwith cast his fines, and no sooner did
the hook touch the water than hundreds of fish were
at it, and the chief, indeed only, skiU required by
the fisherman was to haul the line quickly back
before the secured prey was devoured by his cannibal
brethren. There were eight distinct varieties of fish, and all
edible, crowding the waters around our huU, and
none were timid and shy, for what knew they of the
insidious hooks that lay buried in the tempting
morsels that these strange monsters that had visited
their island for the first time were so kindly throwing
to them ?
But now sharks, perceiving the unwonted com
motion and large crowd of smaller fry that was col
lected round us, came up to discover what was
going on. At one time there were quite thirty of
these ugly monsters swimming round us. The other
fish dispersed as they approached, and only the very
greedy ones remained. The sharks spoilt our fishing
somewhat during our stay off Trinidad ; but not
much, there was enough for all. What we chiefly

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 399
objected to was their habit of biting some fine fish
off our hooks before we could get him on board ;
but Mr. Shark got caught himself several times in
consequence of this unneighbourly practice, and
even before our dinner this day wc had hooked and
slain four fair-sized sea-lawyers.
After dinner I pulled off in the boat with the mate
and Panissa to discover a landing-place, taking a
musket and some fishing-lines with me. On ap
proaching the shore we found it run steep down, so
that the sea only broke when it reached it, there not
being two or three lines of breakers as is the case on
gently shelving coasts. But though we rowed along
the line of surf for some distance, we could nowhere
perceive any spot on which a boat could be beached
without running a great risk — indeed, certainty
would be the proper word — of getting her stove in.
There was but a narrow verge of beach between the
cliffs and the breakers, and this was composed of
sharp coral rocks and huge boulders fallen from the
mountains ; there were no sandy or pebbly beaches.
We could examine the shore very close, for the
sea broke always so exactly in the same spot that we
were enabled to keep the boat on the summit of a
wave just before it was about to break, and look down
on the beach below us.
We rowed under the Monument, which is a four-
sided column of basaltic formation, — quite 800 feet
high, I should say, — separated from the cliff by a
wide opening. We passed between Bird Island and
the mainland, and pulled on for an hour to the
northward, but everywhere the sea broke furiously
on an iron-bound coast. We observed that little
rivulets feU in cascades down every defile in the
mountains, so of fresh water there was evidently an
abundance on the island.
We could perceive no vegetation on the beach or

400 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
on the lower slopes of the mountains, which were
either precipitous or steep inclines of loose rocks and
stones of every shape and size. But we noticed that
there were plateaus and great domes at the summit
of these hills, which were covered with a bright green
grass or other herb, and, in places, forests of some sort
of tree.
Amazed as we had been at the quantity of fish that
swarmed in these waters, we were still more so when
we perceived the myriads of sea-fowl of various
species that covered this island. Seen at a distance
many of the cliffs appeared white, as if of chalk, with
the multitude of the snowy-plumaged birds that
were perched on their honeycombed surface. Bold
as had been the fish, these birds were more so.
Hundreds of kittiwakes and certain great fluffy,
hoarse-voiced fowl, whose true name I am un
acquainted with, came off their cliffs to inspect us ;
they flocked about our boat, and foUowed us as we
coasted along, their number ever increasing. They
kept up a continual chatter, no doubt discussing
what we strange creatures could be, whether we
were fish or birds, a new species of shark or albatross.
They approached so near to us that we could knock
them down with stretchers, and even catch them
with our hands as they flew round our heads. But we
saw no signs of any other life on the island, and
commenced to entertain some doubts as to the
existence of the pigs and goats. I think that after
our experience with the fish and birds, we had half
expected to see these quadrupeds flock down to the
beach in battalions to welcome us to Trinidad.
We returned on board considerably disheartened at
sunset, but were hungry and did justice to the cook's
dinner of rock-cod and pig-fish. Failing land-pigs,
that ardent disciple of Walton had caught "too mucho
fishi-porki," to use his own words.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 401
The next day was fine, but a fresh south-east wind
had raised a considerable sea outside ; this caused a
higher swell than usual to run into South-West Bay.so
that the surf on the beach was more dangerous
than it had been on the previous day.
After breakfast I rowed off with the mate and
Panissa in the boat, with the intention of again
attempting to effect a landing. I made for a spot
that I had observed on the previous day, and which
seemed to me then to be the best, if not the only,
locality adapted for a boat landing-place ; this was
a promontory of coral formation, that ran out into
the sea some fifteen yards or more beyond the
breakers. It was situated in South-West Bay, a
short distance to the northward of the cascade.
It was, indeed, a natural pier, for its sides ran
perpendicularly down into deep water, and its summit
was but six feet or so above the level of the sea.
We got alongside of this, and the swell that passed
by was so regular, though high, that it would have
been easy to have approached close to, and when the
boat was on the top of a wave, and so almost on a
level with the summit of this coral jetty, for me to
have leapt on shore without any danger, for the
rough coral was not slippery.
But the mate was a timid boatman, and Panissa
a more timid one ; so after several attempts, I had
to abandon this method of landing; for as soon
as a wave approached, these fellows would get
frightened, and push off so far from the rock that
leaping on it was quite out of the question.
I made them row along the coast far to the
northward, and I observed that this portion of the
island was far the most precipitous and inhospitable.
At last we came to a cove, on to whose beach the
sea broke dangerously at long intervals only; for
two precipitous capes that bounded it sheltered it

402 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
considerably. We observed also that in one portion
of the cove there were no sharp rocks to oppose
our landing, the shore just there, which seemed to
be of coral formation, was flat, and terminated sea
wards in a steep step. Here landing seemed to be
feasible. Our method was as follows : We dropped
our anchor some fifteen yards from the beach ; and
then, choosing our opportunity, slacked out cable
and backed stern on towards the shore. I stood up
in the stern, ready to leap on to the beach as soon
as the boat Was near enough, leaving it to the mate
to watch the sea, and choose a proper time between
the breakers. As soon as I leapt on to the land he
was to haul out again ; my provisions and rifle were
to be passed to me by a line. So was it ananged ;
but this is what occuned. I was standing up in
the stern in readiness, with my face turned to the
beach, when I heard a cry, and the next moment
felt a mass of water strike me on the back, nearly
pushing me overboard.
The clumsy mate had allowed a sea to break over
our bows. It nearly filled our boat up ; she quivered,
uncertain whether to turn turtle or not. The mate
seemed to be paralyzed by the accident, and not tiU I
poked an oar into his stomach, to wake him up, had he
the sense to obey my orders and haul away at the line,
so as to get beyond the limit of the breakers before
the next was on us. By balancing the boat carefully
we managed to keep her upright, and set to work to
bale out as rapidly as possible. It was a near shave,
and a nice mess we should have been in had we lost
our boat, for she certainly would have been stove
in had she been rolled over on these hard rocks by the
powerful waves. It would not have been very prudent
to have swum back to the Falcon through a sea
swarming with sharks, and I had left no one on board
who would have been capable of navigating her to

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 403
the Brazilian coast, to purchase a boat with which
to take us off. I saw I had committed a very im
prudent act, so determined when I next attempted
a landing to leave the mate on board the yacht, with
definite instructions as to what to do in case of an
accident occurring to the party on shore.
We returned on board in time for dinner ; the mate
and Panissa were more than discouraged by their
morning's adventure. They suggested that we
had better sail at once for Bahia, that landing on
Trinidad was impossible, the attempting it a serious
risk to life ; besides, they urged, " we have been close
to it : it is aU a heap of stones ; if we did land we
should discover nothing worth the discovering."
These arguments were just, but I did not like being
beaten by Trinidad, and after sailing aU this way
I thought that we had hardly tried enough yet, and
should not give in.
The cook was strongly of my opinion, and volun
teered to accompany me on a voyage of discovery
after dinner.
So we got under way once more at three p.m.,
taking with us a rifle, a bottle of rum, some biscuit,
a tin of sardines, some tobacco, and of course fishing-
lines. I arranged a series of signals by means of
which I could communicate from the shore to the
mate in case we lost the boat, one signal being an
order to bring the yacht nearer to the shore, so that
we could swim out to her ; another, an order to saU
to Bahia, purchase a boat, and return for us, this
latter being in view of our finding abundant food on
the island and funking the sharks.
This afternoon I examined the coast much more
closely than I had done before, and knew that if
landing was feasible, land we now should; for my
companion was a thoroughly good boatman, and quite
fearless, to boot. Paulo Ciarlo was ever ready iot

404 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
any wild adventure, and was a great contrast to
the timid mate and cowardly Panissa.
Just to the northward of the Monument there is a
promontory of precipitous rock, honeycombed and
full of birds; on to which the sea breaks with fury.
On the other side of this cape, and sheltered by it, is
a bay hemmed in by barren mountains, steep, and
seemingly inaccessible from the sea. There was little
surf here, so we determined to land. To beach the
boat we saw would be impossible, for the shore was
encumbered with huge boulders of rock fallen from
above. So we dropped our anchor far outside the
breakers in about twenty feet of water, jumped
overboard — there were no sharks so near the breakers
— and swam to the shore.
We soon found ourselves standing on dry land
once again, and rejoiced exceedingly. The next
question was to get our stores on shore also. Now as
the breakers were higher than they seemed to be from
the boat, and the back under-tow difficult to contend
against, even for a strong swimmer, we simplified
matters by carrying a line from the stern of the boat
to the shore; we hauled it taut and made it fast
to an elevated rock. We found it quite easy to
travel along this, hand over hand, through the water,
with our baggage tied on to our heads. In two jour
neys we had brought all on shore. We put our
property under a hollow rock, took a tot of rum
each to counteract the dampness of our garments,
lit our pipes, and proceeded to look around us. We
wished to discover if it were possible to reach the
rest of the island from this barren bay ; if it were
so, I decided to return on board, and get some of the
crew to land us here again on the morrow ; then they
could take the boat away until our exploration was
complete and we signalled for them to return to
bring us off. We of course dared not leave the boat

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 405
at anchor in this exposed spot for any time, for a
westerly wind might spring up and bring a furious
sea into the bay at very short notice.
The coast upon which we had landed was certainly
an uninviting one. We could find no issue of water
anywhere. The two precipitous capes that shut in
the bay to the north and south put insurmountable
obstacles to our progress in those directions, so we
proceeded to scale the mountains to the back, to see
if we could find an exit to a more fertile region.
In four different places in succession we attacked
the mountains, and four times were defeated, but not
till we had attained a considerable elevation on each
occasion. The lower slopes were formed of debris, loose stones
of every size, that the slightest touch dislodged, so
even this portion of the ascent was not unattended
with danger. Above these steep inclines of rolling
stones was an almost precipitous wall, hundreds of feet
in height, of basaltic formation, rising in shattered
regular-shaped columns similar to those of the Giant's
Causeway. So many were the inequalities of surface
offered to the climber's foot, that to ascend this
would not have seemed an alarming feat to any one
with a good head, were he sure of his foothold.
But we soon found the mountain to be literally
rotten. The columns were broken through at short
intervals, and crumbled away when one grasped
them. There was not one stone that was not loose
and ready to topple down.
Thus, after struggling up to a much greater
height than prudence should have sanctioned, for
we had some narrow shaves, we were compelled to
give in, weary and disappointed, and confess that
we had landed in vain, having fallen on a cove from
which there was no escape in any direction, sur
rounded by impassable cliffs.

406 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
As we discovered afterwards, this savage spot
afforded a good specimen of the nature of the island.
Utterly barren mountains rose from the coral beach,
mountains that were rotten — and the whole island
is so — burnt and shaken to pieces by the fires and
earthquakes of volcanic action.
What struck us as remarkable was, that though
in this cove there was no live vegetation of any kind,
there were traces of an abundant extinct vegetation.
The mountain slopes were thickly covered with dead
wood, wood, too, that had evidently long since been
dead ; some of these leafless trunks were prostrate,
some still stood up as they had grown ; many had
evidently been trees of considerable size, bigger round
than a man's body. They were rotten, brittle, and
dry, and made glorious fuel. This wood was close
grained, of a red colour, and much twisted. When
we afterwards discovered that over the whole of
this extensive island, from the beach up to the sum
mit of the highest mountain — at the bottom and
on the slopes of every now barren ravine, on whose
loose roUing stones no vegetation could possibly take
root — these dead trees were strewed as closely as is
possible for trees to grow ; and when we further
perceived that they all seemed to have died at one
and the same time, as if plague-struck, and that no
one single live specimen young or old was to be found
anywhere, — our amazement was increased.
At one time Trinidad must have been one magni
ficent forest, presenting to passing vessels a far dif
ferent appearance to that it now does with its in
hospitable and barren crags.
The descriptions given in the Directory aUude to
these forests; therefore, whatever catastrophe it
may have been that killed off all the vegetation of
the island, it must have occurred within the memory
of man.

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 407
Looking at the rotten, broken-up condition of the
rock, and the nature of the soil, where there is a soil —
a loose powder, not consolidated like earth, but hav
ing the appearance of fallen volcanic ash — I could
not help imagining that some great eruption had
brought about all this desolation ; Trinidad is the
acknowledged centre of a smaU volcanic patch that
lies in this portion of the South Atlantic, therefore
I think this theory a more probable one than that of
a long drought, a not very likely contingency in this
rather rainy region.
As we could find no fresh water in our cove we
saw that there was nothing left for us but to pack
up our stores once more, swim off to our boat, and
row back to the yacht. We felt very disinclined to
undergo the exertion of all this. It was now dusk,
and we had been toiling hard, rowing or climbing,
all day under a fiery tropical sun, so we were pretty
well fagged out ; our several duckings in our
clothes, too, had assisted not a httle to the ex
haustion of our energies.
We should have prefened camping out where
we were for the night, but without water this
was impossible, for we were even now parched with
thirst. I had already packed up my bundle and was
preparing to wade out into the breakers with no
pleasant sensation, when a joyful cry burst from
the cook, who was prowling about the shore in an
inquisitive fashion.
" Agua ! senor ; aqui hay agua ! "
I dropped my bundle and hurried up to him ; he
pointed to where, drop by drop, a crystal fluid
was oozing from an overhanging rock, to be absorbed
by the dry volcanic debris beneath. It was but
little, but it was enough, and a quart bottle which
we had brought with us filled, on being held under

408 THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON."
the tiny issue, in about five minutes, with as cool
pure water as any one could desire.
I tasted it, and then said, " Paulo, we will sleep
here to-night."
" It is good, senor," he replied eagerly, for he
was as tired as I was, and hence funked the plunge
into the strong breakers as much as I did myself.
We now proceeded to make ourselves comfort
able for the night. The overhanging rock under
which we had placed our guns and stores on land
ing afforded us excellent shelter from a drizzling
rain which had set in. We collected a large quantity
of the dead wood, and soon had a glorious fire
blazing at the mouth of our cavern, which quickly
dried our sea-drenched garments.
Our dinner was a luxurious one, for we had an
abundance of biscuit, a box of sardines, and a
bottle of rum ; besides these we had a few bright
speckled sea-snakes we had found among the rocks,
and some fine crabs, which when roasted we pro
nounced to be excellent. We both felt thoroughly
comfortable and contented as we smoked our
pipes by the loud-crackling fire after the com
pletion of our meal.
We were far from being in sole possession of this
little cove ; bare of vegetation though it was, it
swarmed with life. The hideous yellow land-crabs
were very numerous, and attracted by the un
wonted light, marched into our fire all night long,
to be roasted in hecatombs. But more numerous
than even these were the birds : there are several
species of sea-fowl on Trinidad, but this cove was
peopled only by a pretty sort of small gull like our
kittiwakes. It was now the breeding-season. On every
stone and stump of wood the female birds were
sitting on their eggs; our presence in no way

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 409
alarmed them, they permitted us to stroke them,
and seemed rather to fike our kind attentions.
The overhanging rock under which we slept, though
not of larger size than is, say, a brewer's dray,
must alone have been occupied by one hundred of
these gulls, so prodigiously crowded with bird-life
is this loneiy island.
Every crevice in the rock had an egg or freshly-
hatched chicken in it. One mother had a fluffy
baby on a ledge within arm's reach of where I sat
by the fire. Once when the mother was away I
presented this baby with some roasted crab, which
the dissipated little creature supped off eagerly.
The mamma returned before it had finished the
delicacy, and snatched the unwholesome morsel
from its offspring, following up with a shrill and
voluble sermon as to the peril of allowing strange
beasts to stand one crab suppers.
We slept soundly on our beds of stones and coral,
though we were frequently disturbed by the claws
of the inquisitive land-crabs that crawled over us
in a most mitating manner throughout the night.
At midnight I was awakened by the much in
creased roaring of the waves on the beach ; a high
sea was evidently running, and the spray of it
occasionally dashed into our cavern. So I turned
out to have a look at the weather ; I was far
from reassured by what I saw. The rain was still
faUing, the clouds above were of a very stormy
appearance, and were travelling in a southerly
direction at a rate that betokened a stiff breeze.
Even on this, the lee-side of the island, the sea had
felt the influence of the wind, as its loud roar
clearly proved. I knew that as the sea rose it would
break further out, in which case our boat anchored
where it was would almost certainly be swamped
by the rollers or dashed to pieces on the rocks.

410 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
The night being dark, I was unable to distinguish
it and relieve my anxiety.
To lose our boat and be left on this desert gulf,
unable to cross the imprisoning mountains to a
point opposite to the Falcon, whence we might
make signals of distress to her, was no pleasant
prospect ; it would be quite a question whether,
even if the mate sailed round the island in search
of us, he would be able to distinguish ourselves or
our signals from the distance at which he would
be bound to keep the vessel; besides, there was
no spare boat on board wherewith to fetch us off
if discovered ; the " coUapsible " had long since
been worn out and thrown away. To stay here for
a month or so, living on guUs and crabs, was, for
me and the cook, I saw, a now not improbable
adventure. However, anything was better than trying to
get off to the boat in the dark, tired as we were;
so as nothing could be done till dawn, I piled up
some more trees on the fire, lit a pipe, and smoked
tiU I fell asleep again, which was not long.
We were awake at daybreak the next morning.
" Es muy feo " — " It's very ugly " — was the cook's
remark, after silently inspecting the ocean that lay
before us for a few minutes. Ugly it was, but not
so ugly as it might have been, for our boat was
still nding safely beyond the breakers, though
hidden from us at intervals as it fell into the hollows
of the high swell. To reach her, however, burdened
as we should be, would be a formidable undertaking.
On the sharp slippery coral rocks, offering insecure
foothold at the best of times, the surf was dashing
furiously. The rock, too, to which we had fixed
the stern-line from the boat was now no longer
out of reach of the waves, for the tide had risen
considerably, so we had not the support of the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 411
rope to rely on just where we most needed it, that
is in the shaUow water among the breakers.
The weather looked very dirty, so we saw that we
ought to hurry back to the Falcon without delay.
But first we roasted some crabs, and off these,
with rum and pipes, breakfasted — a very necessary
preUminary, for we had hard and dangerous work
before us ; besides which we were fagged, chilly,
and aching in our limbs, the result of our yester
day's adventures. Having lashed some of the stores
on my back, including a bottle of rum, a hatchet,
and my rifle, I proceeded to make for the end of
the rope. As I was clad in a thick pilot suit and
heavy sea-boots, I found myself to be a very un
wieldy mass to guide when I got into the troubled
water. I had to watch my time, and hold for life
on the sharp coral as a wave approached, aUowing
it to go over me, a process attended with no few
cuts and bruises. Half-drowned, and considerably
knocked about, I at last managed to reach the
rope, and proceeded to haul myself along it, hand
over hand, towards the boat. Breathing between
the passing waves I got on very well for a few
yards, then the water deepened suddenly. I was
out of my depth, and I found that my impedimenta
were so heavy that it was quite impossible for
me to keep my head above water, and the rope
was so slack that my weight at once dragged it
under. I shaU never forget that journey, and do not
wish ever to repeat it. I was traveUing under
water. It was a race for life. I hauled myself
along the line as fast as my hands would move,
with the energy of a drowning man. I felt as if I
must have gone over a mile, and yet no boat;
and, indeed, the distance was a very long one for
a journey of this description. So long was I under

412 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
water, that the cook, looking on from the shore,
thought I had been drowned.
But at last I felt the line tighten, my head rose
above the water, and there was the boat just in
front of me. Purple of visage, and gasping, I
held on to the stern for a minute, then crawled
on board, and without more ado lay down until
the results of the semi-suffocation had passed, when
a tot of rum from the bottle set me right again.
It was now the cook's turn. Not profiting by
my example, he, too, overloaded himself. He
passed through the same period of torture, and,
after dragging his weary limbs into the boat,
vomited a gallon or so of Atlantic Ocean that he
had swallowed on his way.
After half an hour's rest we recommenced work.
There were stiU a few things on the shore, so,
stripping aU my clothes off," I jumped into the
water, and returned to the beach. Collecting
what there was, I hauled myself back again along
the fine, this time with my head above water,
for I carried but a slight burden. Then the cook
in his turn had his second ducking, for the fine had
to be cast off from the rock.
On his return we proceeded to weigh the anchor.
Alas ! our troubles were not over yet, for strive our
utmost it would not come up, having evidently
got foul of some rock at the bottom. After drag
ging our boat's stern down to the water's edge in
our endeavours, we had to give it up, cut our
cable as low down as we could, and leave our kedge
behind us. We soon reached the yacht, running
under our lateen sail before the strong wind. Those
on board were much pleased at seeing us again, for
they had been rather anxious for our safety.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 413
CHAPTER XXXII.
On the following day, the nth of December,
a rather high sea was running, so I saw it would
be impossible to effect a landing; but I coasted
along the shore, this time in a southerly direction,
to prospect. I satisfied myself that South-West
Bay was the best, if not the only portion of the
island that afforded facilities for landing.
One's foot once on shore there, it would be easy
to ascend the ravine above the cascade to the
forest-clad domes above, and thence to descend
to the fertile vales that are rumoured to exist on
the windward side of the island.
So much I could perceive from the Falcon's
deck. I have described further back the httle
promontory, or natural jetty, of coral formation,
near the cascade, that juts out beyond the breakers.
It was on that I determined to land as soon as the
sea should go down.
Coasting this day to the southward I was aston
ished to discover what really magnificent scenery
this httle island contains. Passing South-West
Point, a low, narrow isthmus, terminating seawards
in a smaU fantastic hiU of basaltic columns, we
opened out an extensive gulf, narrow at its entrance,
shut in by two stupendous precipices, but broaden
ing within. The sea, even in this sheltered fiord,
was tumultuous, and dashed furiously on the
rocky islets that thickly covered its surface. The
volcanic shores appaUed the fancy with their strange
forms and forbidding appearance. To the back of
this gulf were lofty mountains, among others the
Sugar-loaf. Passing this nameless gulf, that probably no keel
of boat had ever disturbed, we came to another

414 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
and stiU stranger fiord, that caused an exclamation
to burst from both of us, when it suddenly and
unexpectedly opened before us, framed as it was
picturesquely by a great arch in the chffs. This
was a deeper inlet than the other. Sunounded
like it by fantastic rocks, its further extremity
yet presented a most inviting appearance, for there
a beautiful beach of golden sand fringed the white
foam of the perpetuaUy-breaking sea. Above this
rose gentle slopes of verdure, of what nature we
could not distinguish. Behind aU rose steep, bare
mountains, the great square bluff of South Cape,
or Noah's Ark, as I named it from its shape (re
sembling that of the toy of our childhood), towering
to the right.
To land here would be deUghtful, so we pene
trated the gulf for some way ; but, alas 1 had soon
to abandon the attempt. For the bottom was
everywhere sown with rocks, some rising above the
sea as islands, others just awash, and these latter
were a source of great danger to us. For at times,
as our boat sank down into the hoUow between
two waves, we were honified to perceive through
the clear blue water some sharp rock just beneath
us, on to which we were rapidly faUing, appearing,
though, as if itself were rising upwards to pierce
our fragUe craft. The danger from this cause was
so great that we found ourselves obliged to re
luctantly return, having feasted our eyes on the
strangest and grandest scenery, but having con
vinced ourselves of the impracticability of landing
in any of these rough and rock-sown fiords to the
southward of Trinidad.
On the next day, the 12th of December, success
crowned our efforts, our perseverance was at last
rewarded, and we landed in South-West Bay, with
out any difficulty whatever.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 415
It was a glorious day, hot indeed, for it was
midsummer in this latitude, and the fierce tropical
sun was vertical at midday. The wind had almost
altogether fallen away, and it was very apparent
from the Falcon's deck that there was far less surf
on the shore than on any day hitherto. I deter
mined now to make a final attempt at an explora
tion of this island, and of course chose the cook
to be my companion. The boy also volunteered
to join us, and was so eager that I foolishly con
sented to his doing so, for, though now seventeen
years of age, he was not strong enough to endure
the fatigues we were about to encounter among
these burning crags and stifling ravines, and as
the sequel showed was considerably knocked up by
his journey, though behaving pluckily enough
throughout. We did not wish to encumber ourselves with
much baggage, so, in addition to the clothes we
wore, we carried between us three days' rations of
biscuit, a cake of tobacco, a bottle of rum, a rifle,
and a hatchet. The mate and Panissa rowed us
off to the coral jetty by the cascade, which I have
described, and we were aU astonished at the ease
with which we effected a landing. The water
was almost smooth, the rock being of coral forma
tion offered so many irregularities of surface that
we had no difficulty in climbing on it, and scrambfing
along its summit to the beach.
Having seen us safely on shore, the mate and
Panissa wished us a prosperous journey, and rowed
back to the vessel.
I have before described the aspect of the ravine
at whose foot we now found ourselves. A smaU
stream finds its way down to the sea, terminating
its course in a cascade of some height. On reach
ing the stream we found its waters to be deliciously

416 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
clear and cool, as indeed is all the water of Trinidad.
We slowly toiled up the ravine, and wearisome
work it was; sometimes on one side, sometimes
on the other, of the watercourse, at times flounder
ing through it, according as one or the other offered
the safest and easiest route. The ascent was
steeper than we had anticipated, and great rocks
faUen from above offered constant obstructions.
The dead trunks of trees everywhere crossed the
stream. Of vegetation there was at first none but
a wiry long grass which covered the soU, wherever
there was any. But after we had ascended a
considerable distance we came across those beau
tiful products of the tropics, the tree-ferns. At first,
of small growth, they fiUed up the hoUow of the
stream only, having exactly the appearance of
our common English fern, but higher up we found
them extending their fan-Uke masses of vivid-
green leaves from the summits of lofty trunks.
At last we reached the summit of the ravine
and were on the Col, for such it was, a gentle de
pression between two mountains, and here found
ourselves in the midst of a very different nature,
and enjoyed the loveliness of a scene such as we
Uttle guessed stern Trinidad concealed within its
encircling waU of wild crags. For now we saw no
rocks, we were walking on a soil powdery and soft
and dry, into which our feet sank. The mountain
that rose above us on our left was a gentle dome
of sinnlar soil ; and aU was covered with a rich
and beautiful vegetation. We were walking through
a dense grove of tree-ferns, whose branches meeting
overhead, hke cathedral aisles, aUowed but a subdued
light to faU on the soft floor below, where miUions of
land-crabs crawled about ; for these hideous beasts
swarm on this island even to the mountain-tops.
Other hfe there was none, not even insect.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 417
A gentle breeze blew over the Col from the
windward side of the island, very grateful to us
after our ascent of the hot, windless ravine. The
scene, with its fresh green, seemed very beautiful
to us at the time, as beautiful as anything we had
ever seen. But after a month on the banen sea,
and after the contrast of the dreary coast-scenery
beneath us, any vegetation could not but seem
very beautiful.
On the summit of the mountain there appeared
to be some other tree growing with a darker
foUage, but we left the inspection of this for our
return journey, for we wished without delay to
descend to the windward side of the island, which
seemed to hold out a magic attraction for us. We
expected, on very shght, if any, grounds, to make
all sorts of valuable discoveries in that direction.
We reached the summit of the Col and looked
down upon the eastern side of the island. A
magnificent view stretched before us. From our
great height we overlooked the mountains, ravines,
and fiords, a wonderful panorama of strikingly
contrasting or rather discordant colours. Dark,
barren peaks towered up all around, huge pyra
midal cyUnders of burnt rock. These were based
on gigantic couloirs or slopes of volcanic debris, of a
bright, ruddy colour. These again were continued
towards the sea by downs of vivid green, that in
their turn sloped down to bays whose beaches
were of the most brilliant white sand. Rugged
promontories of coal-black rock divided these
bays, and the sea for far out was studded with
similarly black islets, on to which the sea broke
furiously ; beyond the white foam lay the blue At
lantic, on whose far horizon rose three small islets
which we recognized as the Martin Vas, and which
are distant from. Trinidad about twenty-six miles *4

418 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
From the summit of Trinidad we obtained several
extensive views along the windward coast, and
everywhere it seemed that landing in any descrip
tion of boat was quite out of the question ; this is
not a clean coast as is that to leeward, but foul
with many outlying reefs and rocks, while the
surf is always much more dangerous, for the sweU
raised by the perpetually-blowing south-east trade-
wind breaks on this shore, the first obstacle it has
met after crossing thousands of mUes of ocean.
I was much impressed by the strange nature of
the scenery, which was such as I had never seen
before, though common enough, perhaps, in some
volcanic districts. There was indeed something
awful in the appearance of this island, with its
chaotic masses of rock and unearthly lurid debris.
After a halt and frugal meal under the shade
of the tree-ferns, we proceeded to foUow the ridge
of the mountain in search of some easy way by
which to descend to the sea-shore. Half a dozen
times we pursued some likely-looking route until
stopped by the edge of some precipice, that com
pelled us to wearily retrace our steps.
On one occasion we clambered down a long slope
of black debris, recalling to one's memory the
magic mountain of black roUing stones described in
the " Arabian Nights." This brought us to the
bottom of a steep ravine ; advancing some way
down this, we reached a spot where it feU pre*
cipitously into depths of utter darkness, and vm
had to clamber aU the way back again.
At last we came to where a red mountain ai
loose stones and debris sloped gradually towards
the sea and seemed to join on to the green dowris
below, no precipice intervening.
The day was now far advanced, and we were anxious
to reach a stream by which to bivouac for the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 419
night ; for we were now weary and very thirsty,
having come across no water since leaving the
ravine of South-West Bay. Therefore we walked
as fast as we could over the rolling stones of this
mountain, hoping in an hour at the outside to
reach the beach. Since leaving the fern-groves
we had seen no vegetation, but after progressing
now some way down, we found the volcanic soil
covered with a plant whose name I know not,
spreading far and wide with rope-like creepers,
bearing large leaves, pink flowers, and a bean about
the size of a haricot. This was the vivid-green
vegetation that we had distinguished from the
summit of the island.
We were now fated to meet a great disappoint
ment. This hiU terminated in a precipitous waU
of rock, which it was quite impossible to descend.
So we had to turn back once more.
We were now in a real mess. South-West Bay,
with its water, was many hours of weary climbing
from us ; weak and thirsty as we were, we could
not reach it, at any rate the boy could not, for he
now altogether collapsed, and said he could not
walk another step, and would stay where he was.
But move on we must, to stay where we were for
the night meant death; after a few hours' more
deprivation of water not one of us could have made
an effort to save his life. So, encouraging and
puffing the boy along, we commenced to very pain-
fuUy drag ourselves back — fearful work up those
loose stones, that rolled down on us as if to press
us back, and with the soil slipping away from under
our feet at each step.
I soon saw that we could never reach South-West
Bay, and must make an effort to find water nearer.
This mountain was a projecting spur from the
central mass, and divided two ravines from each

420 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
other. I thought it highly probable that a stream
flowed, down the ravine which was to our left, and
suggested to the cook that we might try to descend
to it. The debris on which we stood sloped down
at a steep angle to the depths of this gorge, but
the bottom of it we could not see. On its other side
rose steep precipices of black rock.
The cook thought a moment or so, looked at the
boy who was lying on his back, pale and breathing
hard, and said, " I think we had better try it."
He saw the difficulties and dangers of the plan as
clearly as myself, but also saw it was our only
chance. So we sthrred up the boy and commenced
the descent. At first it was easy enough, like an
ordinary moraine in the Alps, but at every step the
decline became steeper, until at last we had to lie
on our backs and progress inch by inch with the
greatest caution. To have slid a yard would have
meant a rush ever increasing in rapidity into the
depths below — a certain death.
This mountain was not composed merely of loose
dibris, or it could not have sloped at so steep an
angle. It seemed rather to be a mass of rotten, or,
rather, burnt rock, exceedingly brittle and breaking
away when grasped in lumps, whose regular mathe
matical forms denoted the fiery ordeal the whole
had been subjected to. It was but in places that
the debris covered the slopes in layers of any thick
ness. So it was that this treacherous mass in con
sequence of its semi-consolidated state preserved
an angle steeper than would be possible in inclines
of loose stones or earth, at the same time offering
no firmer support to hand or foot than would so
much sand. We named this Mount Rotten, not
while we were on it, though, for then we respected
it too much to call it any names.
It soon became apparent to me that to reascend

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 42t
this mountain would be quite impossible. To de
scend safely consisted of allowing oneself to slide
down a few inches at a time with the least possible
disturbance of the debris ; but one ascending could
not avoid disturbing these roUing masses, and no
where would the rock where it jutted out have
supported his foot, it was no better than so much
dned mud.
Thus if we found, as we might easily do, our
further progress barred by precipices, a most awful
fate was before us, for there we should have to
remain lying on the bare stones until we died of
thirst or feU over the edge.
Our position was certainly a dangerous one, and
we progressed slowly in silence, startled occasion-
aUy by the sound of a shower of rolling stones,
caused by the movement of one or the other of us,
when we would stop, dig our elbows into the earth,
and wait a moment or so, fearful to hear the sound
followed by another and more terrible one. Small,.
but not on that account the less dangerous, preci
pices occuned occasionally on this slope, to avoid
and go round which we had to work our way side
ways — a difficult proceeding. But by degrees we
approached the bottom without any accident, and
now found that for the last two hundred feet or
so we had to descend a rugged cliff of firm, black
rock. The foundations, at any rate, of the Rotten
Mountain were solid.
These rocks opposing no great difficulties to us,
we reached the bottom of the ravine, and there in
deed over the black stones flowed a tiny stream of
water ; in our joy at this we in a moment forgot
all our fatigues and dangers, and lay down with
our faces in the shallow current, taking deep
draughts until our fearful thirst was quite assuaged.
After this we lit a great fire of the dead trees that

422 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
lay thickly around us, dined off biscuit and roast
crabs, and slept soundly enough in spite of the
drizzling rain that feU throughout the night.
We were so happy and comfortable, having found
water, the only thing we cared for just then, that
how we were to get out of this ravine never troubled
our heads in the least. And yet we certainly seemed
to have descended into a very prison, from which
escape was impossible. There can be but four
ways of getting out of a gorge — to descend it, as
cend it, or climb one of its two sides. Now to
climb up the side we had come down the Rotten
Mountain, I have already explained was quite im
possible. The opposite side was formed of preci
pice above precipice of bare, black rock, rising to
a great height ; that, too, was evidently not acces
sible. To descend the ravine was likewise quite out
of the question, for just below our encampment the
stream feU over a sheer waU of rock quite a hun
dred feet high. There was but one chance of escape
left us, that of ascending the ravine ; and that,
too, appeared from our encampment to offer insur
mountable difficulties. Great rocks faUen from
above filled up the nanow bottom of the defile,
in places opposing steep walls to our progress ;
and we could perceive that, higher up, the stream
fell in a cascade over a precipice, seemingly similar
to that below us, and about thirty feet in height.
We felt fatigued, stiff, and ill, when we woke
the next morning, but commenced our difficult
march, or rather climb, at daybreak. We had to
exercise some ingenuity in getting over the steep,
faUen rocks that blocked our path. We found
the dead trees of great use to us here, and when
we came to the foot of the precipice I have men
tioned, we found means of scaling it by piling the
timber up against it — a proceeding that occupied

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 423
us a considerable time. I believe that we should
never have escaped from this ravine, had it not
been for the adventitious profusion of these trees.
After a time our progress became easier ; and
emerging from the ravine, we were once more on
the gently-sloping ridges of the central mountain-
mass, where all the ravines have their heads. Pro
ceeding along this ridge to the northward, and so
stiU further away from the South-West Bay, we
continued to search for some practicable way of
reaching the coast, for notwithstanding our yester
day's failures, we were not inclined to abandon
our project.
However, I determined not to allow our party
to travel more than a certain distance away from
water, for I dreaded a repetition of the previous
evening's adventures ; besides, the day was cloud
less and windless, and the heat was intense. It
was a genuine tropical midsummer day.
We soon came to the head of a ravine that seemed
to promise a way to the beach. It was a gloomy
gorge, with sides formed of black rocks piled on
each other in chaotic fnasses ; a small stream
trickled down it.
We clambered down from one big stone to an
other without much difficulty. After proceeding
some way the scenery became wUder, and the
rocks higher and steeper. Far below us we saw
the white beach, with the blue sea beyond it, but
we scarcely hoped to reach it, expecting sooner or
later to find ourselves on the edge of one of the
usual precipices that had already so often thwarted
us. Lower down we found that the ravine widened,
and a wiry grass grew in patches by the water-side ;
other vegetation there was none, save, of course,
the never-failing dead trees. Here the land-crabs

424 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
swarmed like ants on an ant-hill ; huge beasts some
of them, of a bright saffron colour. The birds, too,
were in the ravine in greater numbers than on any
other part of the island. It was evidently the
breeding-place of one particular species, not the
pretty kittiwakes that inhabited South-West Bay,
but large, snow-white, fluffy, awkward creatures.
Sitting on their eggs, tending their young, or sleep
ing, they covered all the stones. The whole valley
stank of the fish on which they fed ; and foul as
the fabled harpies in their manners, they dropped
morsels of rotten fish from their mouths when we
approached, and attacked us with fury. We had
to beat them off with the weapons which we car
ried ; and let me say that it is no joke to have to
defend oneself from a half-dozen or so of these angry
mothers, flapping, pecking, and screeching about
one's head all together. We had even to go round
and avoid spots where they were thickest.
Certainly, the whole nature, live or dead, of this
lonely island has something uncanny about it that
dismays and appals the imagination. This ravine,
with its black rocks, varied occasionally by red
volcanic debris, its strange vegetation of dead
trees throwing out their skeleton arms, and its
inhabitants savage, foul birds, and the still more
offensive-looking land-crabs, struck us as having a
particularly ghastly and spirit-depressing appear
ance. Among such scenery one felt as if anything
horrible might happen at any moment, and a vague
feeling of insecurity seized the mind.
We descended the ravine until we reached its
termination, which was on an extensive down of
soft red earth, covered with the creeping bean I have
described before, and with purslain, which we of
course ate eagerly.
The stream that had accompanied us down the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 425
ravine here left us, sucked up by the thirsty earth,
so we had to abandon it, but not unreluctantly, for
it was now oppressively hot, and we were tormented
with a perpetual thirst. We discovered that there
was nothing to prevent our descent from this down
to the beach, and soon found ourselves walking
over the fine, white sands. We had at last suc
ceeded in reaching the windward side of Trinidad.
We were on a bay to the north-east of the island,
so proceeded to foUow the shore towards the south,
as the more fertile and inviting country lay in that
direction. Thus we passed by the mouths of the
different defiles that we had vainly attempted to
descend on the previous day.
A broad margin of flat land, red earth, and then
sands, extends between the mountains of this side
of the island and the sea ; not as is the case on the
leeward side, where the mountains generaUy fall
sheer into the sea. Again, on this side the moun
tains terminate in great slopes of debris and downs,
so that the streams are absorbed far up, and never
reach the shore. We travelled along the beach
from sandy bay to sandy bay, the mountains tower
ing on our right, and the sea breaking on the coral
reefs on our left. Spurs thrown out by the mountains
divided bay from bay ; some of bare rock, some
covered with sand, but aU easy to cross. And now
we noticed that this coast, though more beautiful-
seeming from the sea, with its green downs, was
in reality a far less hospitable one for the ship
wrecked mariner than would the bleaker leeward
coast be; for, with the exception of the ravine we
had descended, it was clear to us that no route
lay from here up the mountains ; precipices occuned
everywhere above the domes of debris, and no
issue of water was attainable from the beach.
We met plenty to attract our attention as we
14a

426 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
walked along the glaring sands and hot coral rocks.
Every pool was fuU of quaint creatures, rainbow-
coloured fish, bright, spotted crabs, and azure polypi ;
and snakes striped like wasps or gold-speckled
crawled among the stones. We picked up some
beautiful specimens of coral and shells. We came
across the tracks of turtle ; they were evidently in
the habit of visiting these sands at night, and we
promised ourselves some sport later on. But first
We must find water by which to encamp, and of
this we saw no signs, not even that left by rains
in the hoUows of rocks.
We wandered on, opening out bay after bay for
some hours, tiU on traversing a rocky promontory
we came to an extensive gulf, backed on its farther
side by the huge mass of Sugar-loaf mountain ; great
waUs of rock surrounded it, and altogether it was
as inhospitable-looking a place as ship-wrecked
sailor was ever cast on. Now all the shore of this
gulf was strewed with wreckage. Along the whole
of this windward coast we had perceived many
spars, banels, timbers, and other remains of vessels,
but here they were in much larger quantity than
elsewhere, so we named this dreary spot Wreck
Bay. From its position in the region of the south
east trade-winds a vast amount of drift and many
derelict vessels must of a necessity be driven on to
the windward coast of Trinidad, and indeed there
was a marvellous accumulation. Judging from its
appearance some of this timber must have lain here
for hundreds of years, and doubtlessly this beach
preserves naval remains of every age since first
vessels doubled the Cape of Good Hope. Apart
from masts, banels, and other driftage, we observed
that more than one vessel, derelict doubtlessly, had
been driven bodily on to the island, for we frequently
saw two circular rows of ribs rising from the sand.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 427
with the corroded bolts sticking in them here and
there, showing where the frame of some fine old
ship lay buried.
What struck me as remarkable was that some of
this wreckage had been cast up a great distance
above what I judged to be high-water mark. Far
up, jammed between two rocks, I perceived a huge
iron beam that must have weighed many tons.
The explanation probably is that Trinidad, fike
several other lone-lying South Atlantic islands,
notably St. Helena and Fernando Noronha, is sub
ject to that terrible phenomenon known as the
roUers. Those who have witnessed this describe
how, on a fine clear day, when the winds are still
and the ocean smooth, of a sudden the waters in the
offing are observed to become disturbed ; billow
after billow advances to the shore, gradually increas
ing in magnitude, until at last the waters are pUed
up in mountains far higher than the hugest storm-
waves, that rush on to shore with fearful impetu
osity, driving from their anchors any vessels they
may encounter, and hurling them far up on the
land, beyond the reach of the highest spring tides.
Distant hurricanes and submarine volcanic action
are both suggested as the causes of this phenomenon.
Casting a fine into the pools left by the ebbing
tide we soon caught a much larger quantity of fish
than we could carry with us, so we called a halt, lit
a fire of drift-wood under the skeleton bows of a
smaU vessel, and prepared a lunch of roast fish
that was indeed exceUent, but which we should
have enjoyed aU the more had we possessed water
to wash it down with. We kept our thirst down to
a certain extent this day by constantly damping
our clothes with sea-water.
The boy and the cook became quite excited on
seeing aU these .wrecks, and proceeded to hunt about

428 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
for any valuables that might have been cast up by
the sea. They found nothing but an empty Ack-
shaw brandy-bottle, and a tin of Australian meat,
which on being opened proved to be bad. Valu
ables there doubtlessly are buried among the sands ;
the heavier portion of the cargoes of these wrecks
must stiU be here ; that ancient vessel under whose
bows we were lunching may have been some old
Dutch East Indiaman, or Spanish galleon from
Peru, and untold doubloons and bars of precious
metal may have lain hidden within a few yards
of us.
Had there been water anywhere near this bay,
we should certainly have dug into some of these
wrecks ; but water there was none within half a
day's journey. Had we even come across a sound
barrel, we could have fiUed it from the stream we
had left in the morning, and carried it to the scene
of our operations.
We crossed over the promontory that divided
Wreck Bay from the one next it to the southward,
and found ourselves at the foot of Noah's Ark Moun
tain. There was no water flowing down its per
pendicular slopes. Our farther progress was barred
by a precipitous mountain running out into the sea ;
but we were now to the extreme south of the island,
and aU beyond this we had already explored. The
next gulf was the one I had visited in the boat four
days back, but on whose shore I had been unable
to land in consequence of the dangerous outlying
rocks. AU we could do now was to return to our stream
in the harpy-inhabited ravine, and camp by it for
the night. So, loading ourselves with as many fish
and fine sea-crabs as we could carry, we trudged
wearily back across the sands, and did not reach
the foot of the gorge until dusk.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 429
Ascending it until we came to a suitable spot we
pitched our camp and lit a great fire. The stream
formed a little pool just below, in which I had a
most delicious and refreshing bath, while dinner
was cooking. An exceUent dinner it was — three
kinds of fish, biscuit, rum, and unlimited water, not
to forget the pipes of tobacco to finish up with.
More weird than even in the morning was the
appearance of this ravine, now that the shades of
night were falling. It was just such a scene as
Dore's pencil would have done justice to; a desert
of black stones over which hung a magic speU that
kiUed aU vegetation, so that the trees rose as gaunt
leafless skeletons, and haunted by evil spirits in the
shape of the foul birds brooding on every stock and
stone, and the abominable reptiles, the land-crabs.
The huge mass of black crags that towered at the
head of the gloomy defile was exactly what one
would picture as the enchanted castle of the evil
magician, within sight of which aU vegetation
withered, looking from over the desolate vaUey
of ruins to the barren shore strewed with its sad
wreckage, and the wild ocean beyond. We at our
encampment, picturesque enough in the firelight,
yet hardly realized my idea of the virtuous knights
about to release the damozel imprisoned in the
castle overhead.
But the land-crabs certainly looked their part
of goblin guardians of the approaches to the wicked
magician's fastness. They were fearful as the fire
light feU on their yellow cynical faces, fixed as that
of the sphinx, but fixed in a honid grin. Those who
have observed this foulest species of crab wiU know
my meaning. Smelling the fish we were cooking,
they came down the mountains in thousands upon
us. We threw them lumps of fish, which they de
voured with crab-like slowness, yet perseverance.

430 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
It is a ghastly sight, a land-crab at his dinner.
A huge beast was standing a yard from me ; I gave
him a portion of fish, and watched him. He looked
at me straight in the face with his outstarting eyes,
and proceeded with his two front claws to tear up
his food, bringing bits of it to his mouth with one
claw, as with a fork. But aU this while he never
looked at what he was doing ; his face was fixed
in one position, staring at me. And when I looked
around, lo 1 there were half a dozen others all
steadUy feeding, but with immovable heads turned
to me with that fixed basilisk stare. It was indeed
horrible, and the effect was night-marish in the
extreme. While we slept that night they attacked
us, and would certainly have devoured us, had we'
not awoke, and did eat holes in our clothes. One of
us had to keep watch, so as to drive them from the
other two, otherwise we should have had no sleep.
Imagine a sailor cast alone on this coast, weary,
yet unable to sleep a moment on account of these
ferocious creatures. After a few days of an exist
ence fuU of horror, he would die raving mad, and
then be consumed in an hour by his foes. In aU
Dante's Inferno there is no more horrible a sug
gestion of punishment than this.
On the monow, after an early breakfast of cold
fish and water — we had finished our rum — we pro
ceeded to reascend the ravine. When we emerged
from it on to the plateau where the tree-ferns grew,
the green dome that forms the culminating point
of the island lay in front of us. I wished to ex
plore the mountain, so as to determine the nature
of the vegetation that covered its slopes, also to
discover the pigs and goats that, if they existed at
all on Trinidad, would most possibly be found in
this fertile district.
A scramble of a httle more than half an hour

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 431
brought us to the summit of the dome. We found it
to be everywhere covered with a dense grove of
beautiful tree-ferns and a shrub like myrtle, which
1 satisfied myself was not the young growth of the
species of tree whose dead specimens were strewn
over the whole island.
These were stiU a mystery ; having once robed
aU Trinidad with one glorious forest, they had of a
sudden perished as of a plague, leaving no young or
seeds behind them. The once vigorous race was
now utterly extinct. Of pigs and goats we also
found no traces whatever; they too, possibly fike
the old trees of hard red wood, had died out, leaving
the island to the birds and foul crabs that now alone
inhabit it.
We now stood on the culminating point of Trinidad,
and held a counsel as we looked down on the calm
ocean, and the little Falcon appearing like a child's
toy-boat, as she lay at anchor so far below. We de
cided that weshouldat once proceed to the south-west
bay and embark on our comfortable craft ; we had
had enough of this lone rock of ocean, and wished to
shake the dust of it from off our feet. Besides, we
were worn, weak, and had consumed all our stores.
At any rate we had succeeded in very thoroughly
exploring the island, and had made ourselves ac
quainted with all its resources, or rather lack of
resources. We had certainly undergone much
fatigue and no little peril, without any adequate
result. In the course of our explorations we had
been nearly drowned, had incurred much risk of
perishing from thirst, and had run a very near shave
of losing our lives among the mountains. The game
had indeed not been worth the candle ; but of course
we anticipated nothing of aU this when we started.
We must now satisfy ourselves with the empty glory
of having beaten the island, notwithstanding ifc

432 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
vigorous defence and our frequent repulses. As I
have before hinted, treasures might be dug from the
wrecks on the windward sands. Let some other
enterprising yachtsman sail in search of them ;
I certainly will not, having had quite enough of
Trinidad. These, or something like these, were our
deliberations on the mountain top ; then, resuming
our march, we proceeded to the head of the south
west ravine, descended it, reached the coral jetty, and
lit a fire to attract the attention of the Falcon.
Perceiving us, Panissa rowed off for us in the boat ;
the water being very smooth, we got into it without
difficulty, and were soon, weary yet joyful, reposing
ourselves in the snug little vessel — this night to dine
luxuriously indeed, and sleep undisturbed by land-
crabs. I forgot to say that we wrote a record of our
adventures on a piece of paper, and, enclosing it in
our empty rum-bottle, left it in the hollow of a stone,
just above the cascade.
NOTE.
In the winter of 1884-85, since the publication of
this book, an expedition started from the Tyne in
search of supposed hidden treasure on Trinidad. A
ship's captain, who has traded to the Tyne for some
years, obtained plans and papers relating to the hidden
treasure from an old sailor who had been a pirate in
his youth, and had seen the wealth buried. The vessel
reached Trinidad, a landing was effected with some
difficulty, but the treasure was not discovered,.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
On the morrow we got all ready to sail. We stowed
away the fish we had salted and dried ; a sufficient
quantity to last us for many months to come.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 433
For some reason or other all hands were more or
less ill on leaving Trinidad ; I was myself suffering
from symptoms of malaria, which had been troubling
me for some time, and which the recent fatigues I
had gone through had much aggravated, so that I
was debilitated and worn with fever, and almost
unfit to work at all. The crew were no better. What
was the matter with them, I could not pretend to
say, for they had visited no malarious regions. I
suspect that some of the fish we had caught and
eaten were unwholesome, and we certainly had been
indulging for some days on an exclusively fish diet.
Illness seemed to be the rule on board the Falcon
during the whole of this homeward voyage. On our
outward voyage aU hands enjoyed constant health.
There was a good deal of imaginary illness on
board, too, later on, especiaUy on the part of the
mate, who had a most wholesome dread of the fevers
of tropical ports, and who frightened himself four or
five times into what, he thought, was yellow fever,
but which I, as ship-doctor, pronounced to be in
digestion, the results of over-eating.
We were now to sail to the Brazilian coast, to the
Bay of All Saints ; my crew had looked forward with
joyful anticipation to landing on Trinidad, but not
so to their anival at their next port. The coun
tenances of the mate and Panissa wore throughout
the voyage an anxious gloom, which deepened as we
reached the dreaded coast.
Bahia lay 700 miles to the north-west of us, so
this voyage was not to be a lengthy one. At about
one p.m. of this day, December 15th, we weighed
our anchor and hoisted our sails. As the wind was
south-east the island kept it off us, so that we had to
take to the sweeps. Having got an offing with their.
aid, we at last felt the wind, which was but light, so
that we did not make more than four knots an hour.

434 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
On the morrow, the 16th of December, the wind
veered round to the north-east. At dawn we per
ceived a vessel steering almost as ourselves ; at
mid-day we came up with her and sailed close by.
She was the Pendragon, an iron ship of 2500 tons,
from San Francisco for Queenstown. She asked us
to report her at Bahia, which we duly did on our
arrival. This day we only made sixty-nine miles.
On the 17th of December we made 128 miles ;
all hands were now more or less prostrated with
sickness and fever.
On the 18th December we made 135 miles — the
same glorious weather and north-east wind continu
ing. Being now midsummer, the temperature was
high, even at sea — about 850 Fahrenheit in our cabin.
On the 19th of December we made 150 miles.
On the 20th of December we made 130 miles. We
were now approaching the land ; we passed one of
the quaint-rigged Brazilian negro coasting-vessels
this afternoon. The temperature in our cabin rose
to 900. This night the heavy dew indicated the
proximity of land ; at about midnight we sighted the
light on Point Itapuan, and lay becalmed in front
of it during the night, the breakers on the beach
being distinctly audible to us.
At sunrise on the 21st of December we still lay
becalmed. We were not more than one mile from
the coast, near the Rio Vermillio. The rows of
stately cocoas that fringed the sands and the hills
behind with their dense vegetation looked certainly
most beautiful in the morning light, and the rich
coast presented the very appearance of an earthly
paradise. No wonder that the old navigators grew
wildly enthusiastic when such lovely and fresh scenes
burst upon them suddenly, after dreary months of
sailing on an unknown sea. I called up the mate
to see how he would be affected by this to him first

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 435
glimpse of a tropical shore. He shook his head
sadly ; his face wore a look of miserable foreboding.
" Ah," he said, " the very look of it is enough ; you
can see the fever there. Look at that curious green
of the trees ; look at the yellow earth : any one can
see it is unhealthy. I can see it, can smeU the fever
even from here."
Hundreds of curious fishing-catamarans now sailed
out from the shore, manned by naked negroes. On
beholding these primitive craft, and on hearing the
barbaric jargon of their hideous crews, my men now
concluded that I had brought them to a land of
savages, as well as of fevers. A breeze springing up,
we slowly sailed by the coast, doubled Fort San An
tonio, and opened out that magnificent bay that is
one of the wonders of the world, with its stately city
rising steeply from the beach, mingling with the
rank and lovely vegetation that only these favoured
climates can show.
Exclamations of surprise and admiration burst
from all. But these sentiments soon gave way to
fear in the minds of two of the crew, as we sailed
into the bay, smooth and sultry after the fresh and
heavy Atlantic outside. A headache at once at
tacked the mate, and tears were in his eyes as he
informed me that he knew that yellow fever had
already struck him. " Take half a tumbler of
castor-oU," I said to him, " and don't eat so much."
I steered the vessel to our old berth under Fort La
Mar, and there dropped our anchor, after a voyage of
six days from Trinidad, and thirty-eight days since
we sailed from Montevideo.
It was now a year since I had last visited the
quaint old Portuguese city of the ever-tinkling beUs,
and I was glad to meet my friends and enjoy once
more the delights of civfiization. I determined to stay
over Christmas at Bahia, as the vessel was_in need

436 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
of some repairs, and particularly of a good cleansing
out, so as to exterminate if possible the myriads of
cockroaches that infested her. I expected remit
tances at Pernambuco, so thought I should save time
if I lert the Falcon at Bahia while I steamed to the
former port and back, thus avoiding the necessity
of calling there in my own vessel. My crew of
course were much pleased with my plan, for Pernam
buco has a very evil reputation in the River Plate as
being by far the most pestilential of BraziUan sea
ports. Pernambuco is only some 450 miles — looked upon
as nothing in this land of enormous distances-*-from
Bahia, so the voyage by steamer is not of long dura
tion or costly.
On the eve of Christmas Day I embarked on the
steamer Bahia, one of a very well-conducted native
company, whose vessels run up and down the entire
coast of the empire, calling at every important port.
The voyage was a very pleasant one. I have had
some experience of ocean passenger-vessels, but none
have I ever found more thoroughly comfortable in
every respect than this Brazilian mail-steamer.
There were no foreigners on board save myself and
two others of the passengers, one a German diamond-
merchant, the other a Capucin friar from Florence.
We three therefore naturally were attracted to each
other at the commencement of the voyage, being, as
the priest put it, if not fellow-countrymen, at any
rate fellow-Europeans, and so neighbours. The
German was a thorough cosmopolitan, and so a
pleasant companion ; but the poor priest, whose
face wore an expression of extreme discontent and
sonow, could talk but on one subject, that of which
his heart was full, his intense dislike of the manners
and customs of the people, of the climate, and of
everything indeed pertaining to Brazil. His home-

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 437
sickness was apparent, and the poor fellow said
himself, " Nostalgia wiU kiU me." So far he was
plump enough, though sour-looking — a rather vil
lainous-featured, black-bearded priest, of the true
inquisition-stake-and-fire type. His conversation
was not cheerful, being somewhat like that of my
mate. He spoke with loathing of the blacks, the
savage Indians, the fevers, the wild beasts, the
reptiles, snakes, insects, the terrible dense forests,
and the heat ; to hear his eloquent complaint one
would take this glorious empire to be a very inferno
of horrors, instead of the earthly paradise it really is.
The German and myself soon struck up an ac
quaintance with our Brazilian feUow-passengers,
chiefly students going home for their vacation from
the University of Rio de Janeiro, very nice young
fellows, and evidently gentlemen. There were some
famUies also on board, with charming young ladies,
and aU trying to render themselves as agreeable
as possible to their travelling-companions. The
Brazilians are indeed, at any rate superficially, a
defightful people, from the nobility down to the
mulatto peasant-proprietors.
Now that I had visited the River Plate States, I
was much struck, as aU travellers to South America
have been, by the tremendous contrast presented by
the Portuguese and Spanish settlements, the Portu
guese empire of Brazil and the numerous republics
of the Spanish-speaking peoples. Notwithstanding
the existence of slavery, and the great degradation
of the European race by mixture with the negro,
BrazU strikes the stranger as being a really civilized
nation. Most of the Spanish republics, on the other
hand, appear to him to be but badly-organized hordes
of utter savages. To the most superficial observer
is this great difference apparent. In Brazil a sense of
security is experienced ; a feeling that one is in a

438 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
well-ordered state. The government, alone in aU
America, is monarchical, and the old-fashioned system
does indeed shine out bright here when compared
with the wild democracies that surround it — republics
with perfect constitutions framed on the highest
principles of Bentham and Montesquieu ; where
universal freedom is preached, and the vilest tyranny
of unlettered savage chieftains practised.
The Brazilian has one fault, however. He may
have more — probably has — but this is a very great
one, or at least seemed so to me while Uving on this
steamer, as it seriously interfered with my comfort ;
whereas, whatever other faults he may have did not
get in my way ; to them therefore I am tolerant.
The fault I speak of is this, the Brazilian does not
know how to dine comfortably. This to the English
man, proverbial for his dining propensities, is simply
horrible and unpardonable, for is not dinner one of
the greatest duties of life ? But the Brazilian slurs
this sacred duty over. All the courses are put on the
table at once ; then comes a scramble, every one
gobbling away as if for very life — helping himself
from any or all dishes, peU-mell and anyhow.
Now, a most excellent dinner of many dishes was
served on board this steamer — a dinner to linger over,
and it was all done in thirteen minutes exactly by
my watch. Even when hurried by business this is
inexcusable ; but on a steamer, where one has noth
ing to do but eat and drink, and look forward with
anticipation to the next meal as soon as one is finished,
such a custom is positively criminal.
Why thus hurry over the chief pleasure of the day ?
Life is not so full of joys. Should we not advance
delicately from course to course, dally over the
dessert, and then, softly meditating, linger long over
the soothing cigar, coffee, and its chasse? But,
alas ! the good dinner is all over in thirteen minutes.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 439
though it be Christmas Day. Very little wine is
drunk, the coffee is taken standing, no one follows
it with a chasse, every one rushes off, and the German
ana myself do not feel that we have dined. How
ever, we console ourselves by sitting under the
awning on deck, smoking excellent cigars, and
watching the glorious coast scenery as we pass it —
leagues after leagues of sandy shores lined with
waving cocoanuts, and green hills studded here
and there with great mango-trees.
So passed my Christmas Day, like my last one at
sea. On the 26th of December the steamer anchored
for some hours in the Bay of Maceio, off the town
of the same name, to take in cargo. This is not a
considerable seaport ; there were but six vessels
at anchor when we arrived, nearly all Englishmen
loading with sugar, and, like ourselves, rolling about
heavily in the high Atlantic swell, for the bay is ex
posed to the prevailing on-shore wind. The glaring
white town is built on the slopes of a hill ; in front
of it is a fine, sandy beach, on which there is a per
petual surf. As everywhere else on the Brazilian
coast, groves of cocoanuts line the shore, and
beautify what would otherwise be a rather arid scene.
The diamond-merchant and myself went on shore
for a while, being landed by a native boat on the
end of a rather rickety pier. We found Maceio to
be an exceedingly uninteresting town — a mere con
gregation, for the most part, of small huts inhabited
by negroes and mulattoes. There was a tramway,
of course, as everywhere else in South America, and
the strings of nearly naked slaves and carts that
were bringing down the sacks of sugar to the beach,
not without much bustle and noise, lent some life to
the miserable streets. The export of sugar from
Maceio is very considerable, and this was the season
of greatest activity in that trade. We soon had

440 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
enough of this glaring town, for the heat was very
intense. It was indeed seasonable weather — that
is for Christmas in the southern tropics.
Early on the morning of the 27th of December
we were off Pernambuco, which from the sea appears
insignificant enough, huge city though it be, on
account of its low and perfectly flat site. Forests
of cocoas seemed to sunound it. I had heard a good
deal of the celebrated recife or natural breakwater
which forms the harbour of Pernambuco, but I was
not prepared to see so wonderful a freak of nature as
it really is.
The recife is a coral bank or reef extending along
many hundreds of leagues of the Brazilian coast.
In places there are openings or gates in this reef,
through which vessels can sail into the smooth
lagoons within, and here ports are established.
Here, at Pernambuco, the recife is paraUel to the
shore, and distant but eighty yards or so from it.
It rises in a broad, squared waU of coral, perfectly
regular, being some feet above the level of high-
water springs. To the north of the town this waU
terminates abruptly, and the reef from that point
is below the sea-level. At the end of this waU is an
old fort erected by the Dutch, just under which
is a very nanow channel deep enough for the passage
of vessels ; but the broadest and safest opening
through the reef is still further to the north. Steam
ing through this latter passage we proceeded up this
admirable harbour, which cannot but strike every
visitor with astonishment. It is, as it were, a broad
canal, thronged with vessels flying the flags of every
civilized nation. On our right hand extended a
fine stone quay bordered by an avenue of shady
trees, behind which were the long rows of houses,
the stores of merchants, hotels, banks, and cafes.
On our left, perfectly parallel to the quay, extended

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 441
the recife, a straight waU of dark coral, squared and
so regular that one could scarce believe that this
was the work of nature and not of man. Cannons
captured in the Paraguayan war were firmly let into
this waU at short intervals, to which the vessels were
moored. Under shelter of this breakwater the water
was smooth as glass; while on its other side the
great Atlantic waves, driven up before the trade-
wind, broke furiously, at times dashing showers of
spray right over among the shipping in the still
canal. The waves not unfrequently wash over the
recife ; but, as storms are almost unknown on this
coast, it is rare that much damage is inflicted.
Pernambuco has been caUed by some imaginative
people the Venice of Brazil. The resemblance con
sists merely in the fact of water being a rather com
mon feature of both cities. The River Capibaribe
doubles upon itself several times while traversing
Pernambuco, and hence one crossing the city in a
straight fine comes frequently upon broad, canal
like stretches of slow-flowing water bordered by quays
and houses. But the architecture and general
colouring is anything but Venetian. These canals
present an animated appearance, being covered with
the small craft of the country that bring down the
produce from the interior. Not here are the gon
dolas, but long, narrow, native dug-outs or canoes,
formed of hollowed trees, paddled by negroes and
other swarthy savages whose form of head denotes
their Indian blood. The catamarans, too, mere
rafts, skim along the water with an astonishing
speed under their white, triangular sails. Some
of these canals are exceedingly foul — weU calculated
to breed yellow fever, one would imagine.
Pernambuco, translated, signifies the mouth of
hell, and its reputation is well described by its name.
Low-lying, as it is, and surrounded by mangrove-

442 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
swamps and lagoons of foul, stagnant water, it ought
to be a most unhealthy place. Indeed, so it once
was ; being justly reputed, as I have said, the most
pestilential seaport of Brazil. But Pernambuco is
gradually acquiring a better reputation. Yellow
fever does not visit it as often as of old, nor are
the epidemics of this plague so severe as they were.
An English company has undertaken the drainage
of the town, and the increased salubrity is by many
put down to this cause. Again, there is but little
malaria even in the suburbs and in the vicinity of
the swamps, for the fresh trade-wind that never
fails by day effectually disperses the deadly exhala
tions. For seven days I had to wait at Pernambuco, as
no steamer sailed for the south during that period —
thus I was able to study the city and its ways. My
chief impression left was that of sugar. Sugar in
deed pervaded Pernambuco when I was there. The
very air was sugar ; the city was paved with it ;
the heavy smell of it was positively oppressive at
times. The gates of great barn-like stores gaped
on the streets, and within each I saw half-naked
Indians, negroes and Meztizzos pUing up very moun
tains of the yellow crystals with their spades.
Clumsy cart after cart, truck after truck, lumbered
creaking from every quarter to the quays, obstruct
ing the ways, with molasses dripping out be
tween their boards. Pernambuco indeed reeks of
sugar ; from the stores it overflows into the road ;
under one's feet is a brown sticky mud, like tar in
consistency, and far more soiling than even our
greasy London mud, for the mud of this city is of
unrefined cane-sugar.
The country round Pernambuco, though flat, is
exceedingly beautiful, overflowed as it is with a
vegetation of whose magnificence no one who has

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 443
never visited the tropics can have any conception.
I went one evening to Caxanga, which is to Pernam
buco somewhat what Richmond is to London, and
about an hour's journey by rail. It was one of those
magical evenings that are common enough in this
land of perpetual summer, starlit and still. Our
whole way lay through a wonderful, fairy-like grove,
where trees and plants that are valuable treasures
of the hot-house to us grew in wild luxuriance.
We passed villa after viUa nesthng in gardens ; and
what gardens ! what magical colours ! what dark
green masses, or light, feathery palms and bright-
flowered creepers ! and, more wonderful than all,
the frequent great trees, leafless, but covered for
leaves with bouquets of vivid purple or crimson.
The villas were gaudy to an English eye — horrible
would they be under an English sky, but here quite
harmonious to their surroundings, and in good
taste ; luxurious palaces of the tropics, where dwelt
the wealthy Pernambucan merchants — open and
airy mansions, aU of light colour, many covered
with porcelain tiles, most of them light-blue, picked
out with white, as if houses of Wedgwood china.
Caxanga itself is not much of a place, but there
are splendid baths of cool spring water that are the
chief attractions, for a cool bath is not to be found
everywhere in this climate. To the north of Per
nambuco is a hiU overlooking the sea, on which is built
the ancient and now almost deserted city of Olinda.
Between the two cities extends a dreary, marshy
plain, with lagoons and festering mangrove swamps,
tufts of palms rising occasionally above the lower
vegetation. An excellent road has been carried
across this wilderness from one city to the other.
Feeling very energetic one day, I walked along this
to Olinda. I rather repented of my project before
I had got half-way, for it was broiling hot, and shade

444 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
there was none. The only people I passed were
naked negroes, wadmg in the black mud among the
mangroves in search of crabs, and they looked at me
with surprise as I passed, for a white man tramp
ing along this road on a midsummer mid-day was a
strange sight indeed to them.
Olinda itself, one of the most ancient of American
towns, is now a city of the dead. AU the houses
are old, of the antique Portuguese style. Churches
and convents seem to be the most common bufldings ;
their number is extraordinary. The streets are steep,
winding and ill-paved, grass-grown and sUent ; even
the magnificent cathedral appears to be neglected.
Great indeed is the contrast between Olinda and
modern, bustling Pernambuco. The situation is very
fine, and a magnificent view of the distant seaport
and of aU the country around is obtained from the
open places. Great palm-trees rise in every portion
of the city, and set off to advantage the austere and
massive ecclesiastical edifices.
On reaching the summit of the town, where from
a plot of grass in frontof what I took to be a monastery
the best view is commanded, I sat down to make a
hunied pencil-sketch. Hitherto I had walked
through silent streets, hearing but the echoes of
my own footfaU, when now I was suddenly startled
by the most fearful and blood-curdling yells just
behind me. Leaping up, I perceived they pro
ceeded from a tumbledown-looking buUding that I
had not before observed. It was somewhat like one
of the cages in which the lions are imprisoned in
the Zoological Gardens, for a stout iron grating was
carried along the front of it ; within were several
men. mulattoes for the most part, with faces like wfld
beasts, who shook the bars and raised the fearful
cries that had startled me. This, as my readers may-
have guessed, was the pauper lunatic asylum.

THE CRUISE OF THE ** FALCON." 445
CHAPTER XXXIV.
On returning to Bahia I carried out a project that
had long been on my mind. When I first sailed into
this harbour, a year back, I was very desirous of
undertaking a cruise among the islands and bays
of that beautiful inland sea, the Reconcavo.
My poor mate was of course very sad on hearing
of this plan. " What ? " he said ; " you are going to
take us up those pestilential rivers ? we will aU die."
It was in vain to teU him that malaria was unknown
in the breezy neighbourhood of the ocean.
We procured a pilot, or rather a Portuguese harbour
boatman, who said he was a pilot for the rivers, and
sailed away before a glorious sea-breeze on the 7th
of January. As I had already steamed up the
rivers Cachoeira and S. Amaro a year before, we
made for the mouth of the river Jaguaripe, which,
after these, is the most considerable river flowing
into the Gulf of Bahia.
First we steered right across the Reconcavo to the
northern extremity of the large island of Itaparica,
which supplies the market of Bahia with fruit.
This island is famed for its beauty, and indeed, when
we approached it, we could not but allow that it well
merited its reputation. Gentle hills rise from the
shore, covered with a dense, rich vegetation — a
tangled forest of cocoas, bread-fruit-trees, mangoes,
bananas, jackas, palms, and other trees ; these
groves are of a delightful fresh green, and resound
with the songs of birds. Below are beaches of
sand, lined with mangroves. As the water was
deep, we kept close to the island as we coasted
round it. We passed several little villages, whose
negro inhabitants devote their time to fishing and
whaling; smaU whales are common in the Recon-

446 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
cavo, notwithstanding the constant war that is waged
upon them.
On doubling a point we opened the capital of the
island, the sleepy town of Itaparica, dominated by
an old fort. Sailing from here to the mainland, we
entered the mouth of the river, and after ascending
it untU dusk came to an anchor a mile below the Uttle
town of Maragoujipina, and there passed a night
among the mosquitoes, surrounded by dense groves,
aU glittering with myriads of fire-flies and noisy with
cicadas. On the next morning there was no wind ; there
fore, as our pilot told us that we were not far from
the city of Nazaret, we determined to leave the vessel
at her anchor and row there in the dinghy. On
being closely cross-examined as to the exact distance,
he informed us that it was about " one quarter of
the half of aquarterof a league." I suppose he thought
this would sound nice and precise to us, but it hardly
tallied with his next statement, that it would require
from an hour to an hour and a half's rowing to reach it.
Three rivers met just above our anchorage. Our
pilot pointed out one as being the river of Nazaret,
so we proceeded to puU up it, taking him with us,
so that he might set us right in case of our being at a
loss at any other point.
This river flowed across a muddy plain, but ahead
of us, at about the distance of three miles, were
wooded hiUs under which, we were led to under
stand, lay Nazaret. But these hiUs, though but
three miles off as the crow flies, were an unconscion
able way off by water ; for this stream wound about
in a most irritating fashion, so that we were rowing
away from our destination as often as not.
We were crossing an utterly deserted country,
whose scenery was anything but cheerful. On either
side of us stretched great mangrove-swamps; the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 447
black mud bubbled, and festered, and stunk under
the hot sun; and the mangroves themselves, those
most repulsive of all plants that grow, drooped down
from half their height in muddy festoons, showing
the point to which the sea-tide rose. Over them
crawled innumerable crabs, red, and blue, and yel
low, and green — the only reptiles that can find a con
genial habitat in such a slough. But a mangrove
swamp has often been described before, and all who
have seen it bear witness to its loathsome ugliness.
On and on we rowed, and never seemed to get nearer
to the hiUs ; then dark clouds crossed the heavens,
and the rain f eU, as it can fall in Brazil, drenching us
in a moment of course. This did not improve the
aspect of our dismal sunoundings. At last we did
reach the hills, and found that the river skirted them ;
on one side of us now was the swamp, on the other
were the fertile, but uninhabited, heights.
The river now wound more than ever, following each
inegularity of the hiUs. We rowed on for a con
siderable time, but no sign of Nazaret — none of the
bells and fireworks that announce to one yet afar
off the presence of a Brazilian city. We, so cheerful
hitherto, began now to wax wrathful ; and the pilot,
so very confident hitherto, looked puzzled.
" Are you sure we are right ? "
" Certain ; in a quarter of an hour we are there,"
was his constant reply to our often-repeated inquiry.
But we doubted him, and when at last we saw a
little bamboo rancho nestling in a banana-grove on
the hiUside, we shouted loudly, to the evident dislike
of our guide, who did not approve of being mistrusted.
The negro householder heard us, and came out.
" Ho ! Patrice ! " called to him one of my friends-
it is the custom to address every peasant as Patrice
hereabouts, until you know his real name. " Ho !
Patrice ! how far to Nazaret ? "

448 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON:"
" To Nazaret ! " replied the sable one, chuclding.
" This is not the Nazaret river."
" What river is it then ? "
" The river Sao Geronimo."
The unfortunate pilot, who had already come to the
conclusion that the crew of the Falcon were a set of
ferocious pirates, turned white on hearing this, and
was fain to jump overboard.in order toescape our just
anger. But finding that we were not going beyond
classical imprecations, he consented to remain with
us ; and wet, sad, hungry, and thirsty, we rowed aU
the weary miles back to the Falcon, which we reached
at about two p.m.
After a meal we set out again in search of Nazaret ;
this time we did hit on the right river, which did not
traverse a mangrove-swamp, but flowed over a bed
of silver sand, across an agreeable and diversified
country. Nazaret we found to be a pretty httle town, very
picturesquely situated on the slopes of a hiU. The
river is not navigable beyond this ; here it rushes
noisily over a rocky bottom, and is spanned by a
fine bridge.
Of course it was a saint's day, or rather half a dozen
saints' days, and the town was en fete. Rockets
and crackers fizzed and banged all around us, the
bells were ringing, the church was illuminated with
in and without at sunset, and we witnessed a curious
ecclesiastical procession of priests and negro acolytes,
certain of whom bore censers and danced in front,
revolving with slow and stately step, singing the
whUe quite in the old Biblical style. When we had
seen enough of all this, and had danced at a mulatto
baU, we rowed back, and at three a.m. partook of a
digestible supper of cold tinned plum pudding and
rum. The next day we sailed down the river till we w»

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 449
off the town of Jaguaripe, when, the wind failing us,
we came to an anchor. This little town is built on
the slopes of a hill covered with tropical fruit-trees,
and is dominated by a fine old church. I went on
shore with my two friends; it was blazing hot,
being but an hour after midday, and aU the inhabi
tants were within, enjoying their siesta ; we English
men were alone abroad. After wandering about for
some time, we were passing a large stone house, when
an upper window of it opened, and a man, putting
his head out of it, most courteously invited us to
come up out of the sun and refresh ourselves. Such
hospitality to an utter stranger is thoroughly
BraziUan. We entered, and were received by this
kind person in a large room whose windows over
looked a splendid and extensive view — leagues upon
leagues of undulating tropic forest-land intersected
by many winding rivers.
Our host produced Engfish bottled beer and cigars,
and entered into a lively conversation with us with
that unaffected cordiality and charm of manner that
so distinguishes the gentlemen of this empire. He in
troduced us to his wife and children, and also to his two
very pretty and agreeable sisters-in-law. He told us
that he was the chief of Jaguaripe, which he described
as a very quiet, peaceful sort of a place. Just below
his mansion was a gloomy mass of masonry, a build
ing large enough to lodge aU the inhabitants of the
town ; that, he told us, was the prison ; but do not,
he continued, " form an estimate of the number of
our criminals from the size of our prison ; there are
no prisoners in it, and there have not been any for a
very long time. Indeed, we have no police here now."
There is indeed very little crime in Brazil; the
mulattoes that form the bulk of the free population
are of an amiable, gentle nature ; in this respect form
ing a striking contrast to the natives of the Spanish i5

4So The cruise of the " falcon."
republics. Neither, again, is there to be found in
the free mulatto or negro of Brazil that insolence and
those other most objectionable qualities that so
distinguish the mulattoes and negroes of the United
States, the West Indies, and other Anglo-Saxon
countries, wherein slavery has been an institution.
The reason is not far to seek. Black blood is a re
proach in the latter. The Anglo-Saxon will not
marry with the negro, as does the Latin, and more
especially the Portuguese colonist. He hates and
despises the son of Ham, and all who have the slight
est taint of African blood.
The mulatto knows this ; feels it deeply ; despises
himself that he is of a despised race. Though feign
ing to imagine himself a man and a brother, he is
aware that he is a social outcast, that the whites wiU
not eat with him or associate with him ; so he revenges
himself by insolence and brutality, feeling that it is
vain for him to be ambitious, that he can never rise,
he gnaws his heart out with his thwarted aspirations
and crushed vanity. But in Brazil this caste-
feeling does not exist at aU, or at any rate to a very
slight extent. The best families have negro blood
in their veins. The pure whites are an insignificant
minority, and the mulatto, taking a pride in himself,
feeling himself to be reaUy on an equality with the
other citizens in every respect, faUs into his natural
position, and has no need, hke the Barbadian nigger,
that worst of his species, to try and pass off his
inferiority by unbounded insolence to those of the
superior race.
However, may the day be very far off when the
Anglo-Saxon, like the Portuguese, feels no degrada
tion in allying himself with the African ; for the
nigger, though he may be a man, is certainly not
a brother, whatever his white friends may say.
We sailed from Jaguaripe at daybreak on the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 451
foUowing morning, and tacked down on the top of
the ebb tide until we reached the centre of a broad
stretch of water within the Barra Falsa or false
entrance to the Reconcavo, which, obstructed with
reefs as it is, has caused the destruction of many a
vessel that has mistaken it for the true passage.
Suddenly we ran hard upon a sandbank and stuck
fast. The unfortunate pilot, who had been confident
as usual, now burst into tears, and rushed up and
down the deck, stamping and raving. On being
sternly asked for an explanation of his conduct, he
jerked out between his sobs, —
" Ah ! senor, it is not my fault indeed ; it is the
mermaid's." " The mermaid's ! thou idiot."
" Yes, senor; there was never a bank here before.
I have saUed ten thousand times across here, but
the last time — yes, close here — indeed, just here, I
saw a mermaid ; I did not throw her a gift, and
thus has she revenged herself. Ah dear ! ah dear !
what a miserable wretch am I ! "
We could of course abuse him no more after so
satisfactory an exculpation of himself. A pilot can
not in justice be held responsible for the acts of a
malicious mermaid, who piles sandbanks in his course.
Had we known the Reconcavo was infested by
these dangerous maidens, I should not have ventured
to navigate its waters in my precious Falcon.
All the fishermen of this coast have an unshakable
faith in mermaids ; few among them are there
that have not at least once seen one of these beauti
ful water-people. It is customary to place minors
and combs on rocks by the sea, as propitiatory gifts
to them.
As the tide was stiU ebbing, we had to reconcile
ourselves to a few hours' stay on the mermaid bank ;
so I rowed off with my friends to the coast, about

452 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
a mile and a half distant, where we perceived some
houses. After landing on the sandy beach at the
mouth of a smaU river, we walked up to the village,
the polite, kind yellow people of which informed
us that it was called by the curious name of Caixa
de Pregos, or Box of Nails. The houses or rather
bamboo huts are not built in streets, but scattered
through a dense and pleasant grove of bananas,
cocoas, mangoes, bread-fruit-trees, &c, winding
footpaths connecting one with the other in such a
way that the settlement is a very Hampton Court
maze. The whalebones that occasionally form the
doorposts of these huts indicate the occupation of
the people.
We at last, after much wandering in the maze,
came to a little bamboo public-house where passable
cashaga or white rum was vended : over the bar were
pasted two plates cut out of a Portuguese Ulustrated
paper. One was the portrait of Mr. Gladstone,
the pendant was Henri Rochefort !
We came across an old mulatto boatman here,
who undertook to paddle off to the Falcon at high
tide and pilot us across the banks. After being
introduced to, and then cordiaUy welcomed by,
every man, woman, or child, we left the viUage of
Box of Nails, and rowed back to the Falcon.
At four p.m. the tide had risen two feet, and we
were again afloat ; then our new pilot came off to us
in his dugout. A long discussion ensued between
him and the old pilot ; for the former insisted that
the bank on which he had grounded had existed
where it now was for twenty years, to his knowledge.
This rather shook our faith in the mermaid story,
and we led our unfortunate Portuguese, who was
now getting rather sick of the Falcon, to understand
that we should throw him overboard if he played the
fool with us any more, mermaids or no mermaids.

THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON." 453
Our mulatto piloted us over the shoals, and then
left us, when we proceeded without further accident
to the whaling village of S. Amarro de Catu, off
which we anchored for the night. Of course there
was a fiesta, church bells, fireworks, and dancing, at
which, being welcome, we assisted.
The next day we sailed to Bahia. First we had to
beat down a rather narrow channel ; however, the
pilot, though sad, was confident. Said he, —
" There are no more sandbanks now ; there are only
a few rocks ahead; sandbanks may change their
position, rocks cannot."
" But a mermaid can move even rocks."
On hearing this aU the poor fellow's confidence
vanished, and a tenible anxiety, to be easily read
on his face, took its place. We, too, felt anxious;
for, after so many specimens of his ignorance, we
doubted his accurate knowledge of the position of
the rocks ; for our part, he being pUot, we preferred
sandbanks. However, all went weU ; we sailed down
the river with its beautiful banks, passed Itaparica
again, crossed the broad Reconcavo studded with
quaint native craft, and before night were at anchor
once more under Fort la Mar. The pleasant trip
was over. The temperature, by the way, during
this voyage ranged from 88° to 940 in our cabin.
I stayed in Bahia for another thirty-six hours, and
then sailed for the north. It puzzled me somewhat
to decide what should be my next port of call on
my way to the West Indies. Having seen the prin
cipal and most beautiful of Brazilian cities, I did not
care to caU at any other ports of this empire ; besides
which, I wanted to make a lengthy sea-voyage of
it now, in order to blow some of the malaria out of
myself. Thus I determined to sail direct for distant
Guiana, but the question was, whether to make for
a harbour of Dutch, French, or English Guiana.

454 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Cayenne, as being one of the most remarkable
penal settlements in the world, rather excited my
curiosity. Having no charts or pilot-directories
for the coast to the north of Brazil, I hunted all
over Bahia in search of these. It was in vain ; there
was nothing of the kind to be found here. This was
awkward, for I knew that aU the coast north of the
Amazon is so obstructed with mudbanks, far out to
sea, that charts, and good ones too, are quite in
dispensable for a skipper wishing to make any of
the harbours, especially if the skipper be an amateur
one, like myself. However, I found among the
captains, who loafed about the ship-chandlers, an
old German, master of a barque loading here with
sugar for Hamburg. He knew Demerara well,
and gave me such plain directions for making the
mouth of that river that I made up my mind to sail
for Georgetown, the capital of British Guiana.
The directions of my friendly skipper were as fol
lows : Get hold of the coast near Berbice, and sail
on in four-fathom soundings till you sight the light
house and fort at the mouth of the Demerary river ;
when they bear S.S.W., sail straight in without fear.
For a vessel of the Falcon's draught these directions
are all that is wanted, but they would hardly do for
a much larger craft.
From Bahia to Georgetown is about 2600 English
miles, so this was to be one of our long voyages. .
On the 13th of January, having taken our water
on board, and a supply of stores, we got under weigh,
the afternoon breeze enabling us soon to get outside
the bay among the heaving Atlantic waves. Our
old enemy, the northerly monsoon, was still blowing,
but not so boisterously as is bis fashion farther
south. For the first 600 miles of the voyage, that is
to near Cape San Roque, I decided to keep hold

THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON." 455
of the land, taking short tacks, not only that we
might enjoy the scenery, but with the object of
fishing. For outside the inner reef of the Recife,
there extends for a thousand miles or more along
this coast, and parallel to it, a submerged reef of
coral, known as the Pracel, one of the finest fishing-
grounds for rock-fish in the world. We found it so,
as we now tacked backwards and forwards across
it for a week, securing bonitos, rock-cod, king-fish,
dolphins, sword-fish, and a dozen other species with
whose English names I am unacquainted, in large
quantities. The weather was fine, though the sea was choppy
and sometimes high; so we enjoyed these seven
days — for the monotony of an ocean voyage is
much relieved by being, as we were, ever in sight
of a varying and beautiful coast.
We passed the great Cocals, village after village
of negro fishermen, with whom, as they came out
to us in their strange boats, we often conversed, saw
Sergipe, gave Cape Coruripe and the neighbouring
reefs of San Rodrigo a wide berth, and took a board
up to the mouth of the mighty Rio San Francisco,
a river 1800 miles in length, the most valuable
watercourse in Brazil, and along whose banks dweU
one-sixth of the population of the empire.
On the 17th of January we came to where forest-
clad heights fell abruptly in cliffs of red rock into
the ocean, and behind them the far purple peaks of
the inland Sena Bariga rose into the pale blue sky.
On the 18th of January the coast changed once
more, being gently undulating and covered with
groves of fruit-trees, unplanted by man. This day
we passed the bay of Aiagoas and Maceio, and at
night sailed along a coast lit up for leagues by a
great forest fire.
On the 20th of January we doubled Cape San

456 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
Agostinho, and soon after discerned the hiU of Olinda
with its many churches and convents, and the great
flat city of Pernambuco. A very bright idea now
struck me. I had been rather troubled about my
foul bill of health, and feared quarantine in Demerara.
Now, if I put into Pernambuco, where yellow fever
had not yet broken out, I might get a clean biU for
Demerara. It was worth trying ; the Pernambucan
authorities, I knew, would not quarantine me, though
yellow fever had got under weigh at Bahia. The
Brazilians don't mind Yellow Jack ; they are too
familiar with him; besides, he does not attack a
native often, but only sweeps off the foreign
sailors and such like strangers. Had it been small
pox now, that had been written across my biU of
health, I should certainly have been quarantined,
for the Brazilian dreads that disease indeed, and
rightly, for it commits fearful ravages among the
South American populations.
So it was that, to the dismay of my mate, I put into
Pernambuco after aU (he took precious good care,
by the way, not to go on shore during our stay).
Refusing the services of a pilot, I took the vessel
through the Picao or httle passage — the narrow
entrance I have described as under the old Dutch
fort on the Recife, and brought up within the great
breakwater, nearly opposite to my old hotel. Several
mail-steamers were anchored without, while within
the Recife I recognized, to my surprise and joy,
the Norseman telegraph-ship, which, as my readers
will remember, towed us into Maldonado just a year
back. I succeeded in getting a clean biU of health for
Demerara on the monow after my arrival, and passed
the remainder of the day with my old friends of the
Norseman. While I was on shore a mutiny broke out on the

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 457
Falcon. Giobatta Panissa refused to obey the mate,
drew his knife on him, and compelled him to beat
a precipitate retreat into the cabin, where the
mate, finding a loaded revolver, in his turn forced the
other to retire up the companion to the maindeck.
At this stage of the proceedings I arrived on board,
and, after settling matters very quickly, pitched into
the mate roundly for his impotence in preserving
discipline when I was away, explaining to him that it
was his duty to at once hit on the head with the
weightiest bit of iron handy any one who ventured to
question his commands. As for Panissa, I got hold
of him by the collar, and informed him that it was
my unalterable intention to throw him overboard,
whether we were in port or mid-ocean, on the very
next occasion he even talked of using a knife.
Having thus restored peace to the vessel, I looked
around and found them a lot of hard work to do,
so as to keep them quiet for the rest of the day.
On the foUowing day, the 22nd of January, having
taken on board an abundant stock of bananas, pine
apples, yams, sweet potatoes, and manioka, we sailed
out of the harbour — this time by the larger
Olinda passage.
It is 2000 miles from Pernambuco to the mouth
of the Demerary. The voyage occupied us exactly
ten days, so this is the best log the Falcon can show ;
and, indeed, I do not think it would be easy to find
another yacht of her tonnage that had ever kept up
a rate of 200 miles a day for ten consecutive days. Our
best day's work was 220 nautical, or 253 English,
miles. There were two causes that conduced to this
rapid run. In the first place we had done with the
northerly monsoon, for about here are its limits ;
and we sailed away from Pernambuco before a fresh
south-east wind, which enabled us to run for days
15a

458 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
under all canvas, spinnaker included. We encoun
tered no calms on crossing the line, but passed straight
from the south-east to the north-east trade winds,
which in their turn were favourable to us, being
on our beam.
In the second place we had a strong, favourable
cunent with us from Cape San Roque to Demerara.
It is on Cape Roque, the easternmost extremity of the
New World, from which the coasts faU away at right
angles the one to the other, that the great ocean
cunent from the Cape of Good Hope striking, bifur
cates — one stream flowing down the coast of South
America to the south-west, known as the Brazilian
current, which, allied to the northerly monsoon, had
troubled us ever since we left the Plate; and the
other stream flowing up the coast of South America
to the north-west — this known as the main equatorial
current, farther on, after it has crossed the Caribbean
Sea and Gulf of Mexico, receiving the, to us, more
familiar appellation of the Gulf Stream. This
equatorial current is of great assistance to vessels
proceeding up the coast from the Cape San Roque.
The rate of it varies according to the season of the
year, sometimes, it is said, flowing as rapidly as four
knots an hour. The greatest difference we observed
between our distance run in twenty-four hours, as
recorded by log and observation, was fifty miles,
which would give a two-knot current.
For the first six days of the voyage the wind blew
fresh from the south-east, enabling us to make about
seven to eight knots an hour through the water.
This brought us to the Equator, when the wind
veered rather rapidly round to the north-east, and
so continued tiU we reached Demerara. We did not
encounter any calm whatever; indeed, the lowest
rate logged for any hour of the voyage was five and
a half knots.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 459
For the first few days we hugged the coast, saAV
the port of Parahiba, and passed close to the Rocas,
those perilous reefs that fie off Cape San Roque, and
which are so dreaded by mariners ; but now a light
house is being constructed on one of the higher rocks ;
we could perceive the men working on it as we
sailed by.
During this portion of the voyage we passed many
jangadas, the clumsy native coasters ; they sail well,
but do not appear to be built for reaUy bad weather ;
but bad weather is of rare occurrence on this tropical
ocean. I suppose when a jangada is caught by a gale
outside it goes down.
After doubling Cape San Roque, we left the land
and took a course more to seawards, so as to avoid
the variable inshore cunents, and to fall in with the
main body of the equatorial current. When we were
off San Luiz do Maranhao we had an offing of about
200 miles, which we kept till we approached Guiana.
We caught a great many fish during this run,
especially dolphins of large size. It was indeed
pleasant, though rather monotonous, sailing. As
the wind and current were in the same direction,
the sea was remarkably smooth, rolfing on in long,
oily-looking waves of tepid water under a blazing sun.
The temperature in our cabin was high, 85° to 90°.
We crossed the Equator on the 26th of January
in longitude 420 28'. On the 28th of January we
were off the mouths of the Amazon, but too far out
to sea to find ourselves in the discoloured water that
this huge river pours out into the ocean.
Now that we had a north-east wind and a beam sea,
high and choppy at times, our motion was not so
comfortable as it had been for the first six days of
the voyage ; we rolled heavily, took much water on
board, and on several occasions were under two-reefed
main-sail.

460 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
On the 29th of January, being off the north frontier
of Brazil, and Cayenne bearing west of us, 170 miles,
we steered so as to approach the coast once more.
This day we came into a very heavy sea, with nasty
waves breaking and curling up against the rapid
current; with us the wind was not strong, but a
gale must have been blowing somewhere. We had
now sailed into a very different climate from that
which prevails on the healthy coasts of Brazil. The
sky, instead of being clear, was ever overcast ; an
unhealthy yellow haze hung upon the sea by night,
and. the atmosphere was oppressively close. I
have since read a work by a naval officer, who
observes how debilitating an effect is produced
by this great heat accompanied by moisture. He
states he often had half his men below on the sick
list while sailing off the coast of the Guianas. The
crew of the Falcon, who seem to have got into a
generally bad state of health, felt these influences,
and were suffering from fever and those bilious and
intestinal disorders that are common in these
latitudes. On the 31st of January, having obtained no
observation of the sun for two days, in consequence
of the heavy vapours, but knowing that the land
could not be far off, we hove-to at daybreak to take
soundings, but found no bottom in forty fathoms.
This day we contrived to get the meridian altitude,
and an observation of the sun for longitude at four
p.m. We discovered that we were but twenty miles
to the north of the river Surinam in Dutch Guiana.
On taking a cast of the lead, we found that we were
in twelve fathoms. The water here was of a dirtv
soup-colour, as it is far out to sea, all along this
coast.

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 461
CHAPTER XXXV.
The coast of Guiana, indeed of all the countries
between the Amazons and the Gulf of Paria, a
stretch of upwards of a thousand miles, is one of
the strangest and most dreary in the world, rich
though the inner country may be. For here the silt
brought down by many mighty rivers, notably the
Amazon and Orinoco, has formed a broad strip of
low alluvial land that extends far out seawards from
the forest-clad hills. It is difficult to distinguish
where these vast plains terminate, and the sea begins,
for the slope is so gradual that the mariner can find
soundings when yet a day's sail from the coast ;
and a vessel can drive ashore and be broken up by
the heavy rollers on the shoals, though from the
mast-head no land be visible. And to mariners thus
wrecked poor is the prospect of escape in the boats.
For if they are not swamped by the breakers and reach
smoother water, they can go on for long leagues, the
sea but very gradually shallowing, tiU there be but
a few feet of water under them, and going farther
they will find vegetation indeed, but not land, for
dense groves of mangroves grow out into the sea,
and in places forests of huge trees. And now the
boat can go no farther, nor can the men proceed on
foot, for the mud underneath is soft as butter and
deep, so that one venturing on it wiU sink wholly
in it. Indeed, it appears a hopeless land of slime and
fever, quite unfitted for man, unless it be for the
Tree-Indians, a low race of fish-eating savages that,
like birds, build their homes among the branches
of the flooded forests on the Gulf of Paria. But
within this outlying waste of mud there lies one of
the most fertile countries of the world. If one
ascends any of the creeks and rivers that pierce the

462 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
outer swamps, and afford the sole means of com
munication to the interior, he wiU find himself
among the richest plains of earth, where are culti
vated sugar, cocoa, and aU tropical produce ; while
farther inland are mountains and valleys covered
with one dense primeval forest of the rarest cabinet
woods ; but this latter, yet unexplored, is inhabited
only by Indian tribes, cannibals some of them, for
the settlements of the few white men are solely on
the very unhealthy, but fertile, low-lying coast-
region, chiefly at the mouths of the rivers.
At midday, January the 31st, we were, as I have
said, about twenty miles from the nearest land, near
the river Surinam. The lightship that lies off the
mouth of the Berbice river, and which is moored
about twelve miles out to sea, was now but 130 miles
distant, and for this I now shaped a direct course.
As I had no chart and knew not how far out to
sea the tongues of the shoals might extend, I took
casts of the lead at frequent intervals. So soft is
the bottom hereabouts that it is difficult to feel
when the lead reaches it, and about a foot must be
deducted from the depth indicated to allow for the
sinking into the mud.
A fresh E.N.E. wind, driving us on at the rate of
seven knots an hour, blew during the night, yet a
heavy haze lay on the ocean. The soundings
decreased as we advanced, tiU at three a.m. we found
but three fathoms of water, so we hauled two points
to windward and got into the Une of five-fathom
soundings. We were then off the mouth of the
great Corentyn river, that divides! British from
Dutch Guiana.
At six a.m. the soundings quite suddenly fell to
three fathoms, and we found ourselves in the midst
of very heavy and dangerous rollers. These were
so high and steep that we had at once to haul our

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 463
wind and make for deeper water. For upwards of
ten minutes we were in real peril of foundering;
a heavy-laden merchant-vessel would certainly have
gone down. As we crossed these waves, our motion
was so extremely violent that I fully expected to see
the mast chucked right over the bows at any moment.
Each sea washed over us, filling our decks with
water. I was in charge of the deck at the time.
The tremendous jerks, the noise, and the alarming
angles the vessel assumed, sometimes seeming to
stand almost on end, brought up the watch below,
who fully expected to find that we had driven on
shore among the breakers and were fast tumbling to
pieces. But the Falcon behaved admirably as usual ;
and after steering seaward for a quarter of an hour,
we reached the six-fathom soundings, and were in
comparatively smooth water again.
I learnt afterwards at Georgetown that the rollers,
which, breaking more or less heavily, are always to be
met with on this shoal, are a well-known danger to the
mariners of this coast ; and that many a vessel had
not come out of them to tell the tale as we did, but
has gone down with aU hands.
At nine a.m. we passed close to the Berbice light
ship, and perceived on our port hand land once
more, and, what is more, English land, the first I had
seen since I had sailed out of Falmouth Harbour.
We coasted along the shore in four-fathom sound
ings, the sea being quite smooth, and of a reddish
tint. The shore here does not present so desolate
an appearance from the sea as it does to the east or
west of the British colony. We saw a long low line
of forest, above which at intervals rose the lofty
chimneys of the sugar factories. We passed many
of the colony craft, shaUow, but fast, sloops and
schooners, very different in build to the coasters of
Brazil that we had hitherto seen.

464 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
In the afternoon we sighted the lighthouse and the
shipping at the mouth of the Demerara river. Fol
lowing the instructions of my friend, the German
skipper, I sailed on tiU these bore S.S.W., and then
made straight for the entrance to the river, finding
nowhere less water than three fathoms. At four
p.m. we were within the Demerara, and dropped
our anchor off the fort. The captain of the port
soon came off to us, gave us pratique, and kindly
piloted us to a convenient berth, just in front of
Georgetown market-place, near the landing-stage of
the steam-feny that affords communication between
one side of the river and the other.
Having stowed our canvas, we now looked around
us. The town that stretched in front of us on the
right bank of the river was certainly quite unlike
any city I had yet seen in tropical America, in every
respect. At a glance one could perceive that this
was a British, not a Spanish or Portuguese, settle
ment. None of the massive quaint old houses of
stone here, none of the inegular streets as of Bahia,
the dirt and careless untidiness ; but bran-new,
unhandsome, but very practical and comfortable,
buildings of wood and corrugated iron sheets, cleanli
ness and order. What chiefly puzzled my crew was,
that aU the negroes that passed us in canoes and
rafts spoke English to each other It was evidently
quite a new idea to my Italians, who imagined that
blacks spoke Portuguese alone. I must confess I
felt somewhat as they did. It hardly seemed natural
to me, when I went on shore, to hear my native
tongue spoken by every one around me, black,
yellow, or white, and I was constantly addressing
people at first in Portuguese and Spanish.
On the monow after my arrival in port, I landed
on the Stelling by the market, and proceeded to
inspect the town. The clean, tidy dress of the black

THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON." 465
and Creole policeman, the zouave uniform of the
soldiers, forcibly brought to my mind that I was no
longer in a foreign colony.
The streets of Georgetown are wide and regular, the
houses are of wood with corrugated iron roofs, and
all are erected on piles, standing, as it were, on stilts ;
thus the ground-floor, to explain myself by a buU,
is some fomteen feet above the ground. The
object of this style of architecture is to avoid the
malaria that floats along the surface of the soil.
It has been found in all these countries, that if the
dwelling-rooms be thus raised some feet from the
ground the miasma is wholly avoided, or nearly so.
In many parts of the north coast of South America,
especially on the Spanish Main, to sleep one night
on the surface of the soil is nearly always fatal, so
deadly are the malarious emanations.
What constitutes the great charm of Georgetown
is that the glorious vegetation of the country has
not been excluded from it, but grows in luxuriance
between the houses. Viewed from the summit of
the lighthouse, Georgetown presents not the appear
ance of a city, but of a lovely grove of tall palms
and many flower-covered trees and bushes, with habi
tations scattered through it. The residential houses
are built in the comfortable East Indian style, with
verandahs sunounding them ; each stands in its
own garden. There are streets in Georgetown that
are more like botanical gardens than streets, to which
the tropical hot-houses of Kew are very deserts.
There is one very broad street at the back of
government-house, the name of which I forget
(the excellent Georgetown Club, of which I was an
honorary member during my stay, is in it), and of it
Georgetown should be proud. Along both sides of it
are viUas and wonderful gardens. In its centre, be
tween shady avenues of trees, flows a sluggish canal,

466 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
entirely covered with the magnificent Victoria Regia
lilies. There is a botanical garden outside George
town, but the skill of man cannot outdo the splen
dours of the vegetation that wiU spring up anywhere
in this land, where allowed to do so.
The population of Georgetown is indeed cosmo
politan, for four continents are here abundantly
represented. The Europeans are of course much in
the minority. Of these, the Portuguese are the most
numerous ; the small tradesman and artificer class
being largely made up of these frugal people. The
Englishmen here are among the most agreeable
and hospitable of their race. It was here I began to
learn what was meant by West Indian hospitality.
After the hospitality of my countrymen in this
colony, the next thing that the stranger observes
is their hats. I do not think any town presents
the spectacle of so varied a collection of head-gear.
You could not wear anything that could be con
sidered eccentric at Georgetown in the way of hats.
Of course, first there are pith-helmets of every kind ;
straw hats of infinite breadth of brim ; but it is,
after aU, in white felt-hats that the inhabitants show
their ingenuity most ; and high above them all
towers the stupendous pyramid that graces the head
of a certain popular and respected crown-officer.
After the white nankeen-jacketed, much-hatted
Britisher, come the representatives of Africa, the de
scendants of the black slaves, here a very worthless
and vicious class. America is represented by nearly
naked, stunted Red Indians, who come down the
river in their canoes from the interior to barter bows
and anows, skins of wUd beasts, and other curiosities
in the capital, and get dead-drunk with the proceeds.
Then we have the Asiatic coolies, who are as numer
ous as the blacks. First, the inscrutable Chinese,
who have their .own quarter, and, more frugal than

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 467
even the Portuguese, are graduaUy cutting out the
latter as small tradesmen. Then the Hindoos,
nude, save for the scanty loin-cloth, slim of limb ;
and though of the lowest castes, beautiful and with
noble heads ; sad, gentle men, who, quarter-staff in
hand, walk softly through the streets ; men of an
antique civilization, who look with contempt on
their fellow-labourers, the African and American
Indians, with their heavy animal faces, who never
have had, and never wiU have, a civilization.
So many friends did I have in Georgetown, and so
agreeably did time fly, that I extended my stay to
a fortnight. The town was fairly healthy while I
was there, though there was some yellow fever. A
frightful epidemic of this pest of South America had
been tiU recently raging in Demerara and in the South
ern AntiUes, but was now dying away. In George
town the fever had proved most fatal to the upper-
class white residents and the officers of the ganison,
not, as usual, being chiefly prevalent among the
shipping in the river and the low quarters of the city.
In consequence of this the white troops had now been
aU sent home, the negro regiment alone remaining ; so
great had been the mortality among the Europeans
that the constant dances that so characterize Deme-
raran and West Indian hfe were now conspicuous by
their absence, for aU were mourning many friends,
if not relations, and a gloom hung over the usuaUy
gay and lively population. As a rule, Georgetown
is as healthy as any city of tropical America.
Everywhere in the neighbourhood of Georgetown
the jungle is cleared, and great plantations of sugar
wave in the trade-wind. The country looks as
if it ought to be the most unhealthy in the world,
yet it is far from being that. It is but one vast plain
of mud, drained by innumerable canals and ditches,
which afford passage to canoes. It is no wonder that

468 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
the Dutch seized this colony that to other peoples
would have appeared the most uninviting portion
of all the South American coast, for it must have
strongly reminded them of their native land.
Demerara is a tropical Holland, as skUfuUy dammed,
canalled, and irrigated as is the European home
of its first possessors. Much of this rich land has
been conquered from the ocean. Great sea-waUs
of faggots overlaid with stones keep out the water
at high-tide, which would otherwise then overflow
the plantations. At low tide the gates in this wall
are opened, so that the pent in waters from the canals
and drains find exit to the sea. Sometimes, after
a spring-tide, the soft mud accumulates in banks
outside these dykes, and, being higher than the
level of the reclaimed land, prevents this out-drainage ;
then very regiments of coolies have to dig channels
through the vast slimy mass, a seemingly Herculean
task, till the imprisoned waters of the estates are
released. There is no genuine terra firma in this colony — that
is, in the cultivated coast-regions. The dry earth
forms but a thin crust over practically bottomless
mud. Hence it has been found very difficult to erect
reaUy heavy buildings. They are certain to graduaUy
sink. When the heavy machinery for the sugar
factories was first introduced, great difficulties
in this respect were experienced. As there is no
stone in the neighbourhood of Georgetown, the few
roads are paved in an ingenious manner. First
brushwood is laid down on the road and fired ; the
mud that is dug out of the canals or ditches that
border every thoroughfare here is then piled on the
blazing pUe. The fire bakes this into a hard red
brick-like substance, which, broken up, makes very
fair macadam.
Having obtained the necessary permission to land

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 469
there, I started one morning to visit the penal settle
ment on the Mazaruni river. The little passenger-
steamer that ascends the Essequibo cans at this
settlement, accomplishing the voyage in about six
hours. We steamed along the muddy shallow
water tiU we came to the broad mouth of the Esse
quibo, and entered the river by one of the channels
between the many islands that encumber this estuary ;
great shallow islands these, formed of the alluvial
matter brought down from the interior, and aU cov
ered with a dense vegetation. One of these, the Daunt
less Bank, has been but recently formed, having grown
round the wreck of a vessel of the same name. This
nucleus was sufficient to coUect in a few years an
immense mass of mud and sand, and there is now
quite a large island covered with a lofty vegetation.
I visited it later on with some friends in a schooner,
having been promised considerable sport ; but, save
for shooting some scarlet ibis, and catching some smaU
muUet with a seine net, after wading aU day up to
our waists in poisonous mud, we did nothing.
The low banks of the Essequibo are covered with
a rank vegetation, but through the openings formed
by the creeks are to be seen glimpses of the plan
tations of the sugar-cane that lie behind. After
passing a smaU island, on which stood the ruins of an
old Dutch fort, the scenery became more pictur
esque ; the banks were higher and clothed with forest,
and rocky islets rose above the water, showing that
we were now so far in the interior of the country as
to have reached genuine terra firma once again, and
had passed the belt of bottomless mud.
We steamed by a long island which I observed
Was, unlike the others, inhabited. There were
many huts on it, cattle, and cultivated patches of
cassava and plantains. This was, I was informed,
Cow Island, the leper-island of the colony. AU

470 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
who are affected with this fearful disease are sent
here. There are no boats on the island, as the
lepers are not aUowed to leave it on any pretence.
Soon after passing this we came to where the
three rivers Essequibo, Mazaruni, and Cuyuni join.
It is here, on a bluff some ioo feet high, sloping
down to the first-^named river, a most picturesque
position, that the penal settlement is established.
I was well piloted over this establishment ; for
my friend, Captain Fortescue, the inspector of
prisons for the colony, luckily happened to have
come up on the steamer with me. Landing with
him, I was introduced to the governor, with whom
I stayed untU the steamer started back for George
town on the morrow.
This is indeed a model penal settlement. If
any fault can be found with it, it is that the most
healthy, beautiful, and in every respect most desir
able spot of the colonized portion of British Guiana
has been selected as the residence of malefactors.
Here, at an elevation sufficient to be almost
entirely free from the malaria, the buildings con
nected with the settlement are scattered over an
undulating expanse of lawn and garden, backed
behind by a primeval forest that extends to Vene
zuela. These buildings have a singularly cheerful and
unprisonlike appearance. AU have been constructed
by the labour of the convicts. Indeed, this penal
colony is, I beheve, entirely independent of the outer
world for all its necessities. The prisoners grow
their own sugar-canes and make their own sugar ;
they cultivate an extensive provision ground, breed
cattle and sheep, work in the gneiss quarries whence
comes the only stone used in muddy Demerara,
and are employed in a dozen other industries at least.
The convicts are nearly all Chinese, East Indian
coolies, and blacks. Of Europeans there are not

THE CRUISE OF THE ** FALCON." 471
many. There were but two Englishmen among
them when I was there, but generally there are
to be found a few Frenchmen. These are runaway
convicts from the French penal colony of Cayenne.
They manage to steal boats occasionaUy, and to
escape — a dozen or so at a time — to British Guiana.
As they are for the most part regular mauvais
sujets, they generally renew their old games in
Demerara, are convicted of some crime, and packed
off to Mazaruni.
The Hindoo coolies give the prison authorities
much trouble ; for, when condemned to penal servi
tude for a long term of years, they are much given
to committing suicide. Notwithstanding every pre
caution, instances of this are of frequent occurrence.
They proceed to effect a happy despatch in a most
deliberate manner. Being deprived of knives and
any ordinary implements of destruction, they wiU
choke themselves with their loin-girdles. Those
that are suspected of this suicidal tendency are
watched with unceasing vigilance.
The cemetery of the settlement is also the flower-
garden, a lovely spot thickly grown with the most
gorgeous plants of the tropic zone.
Behind the enclosure of the prison grounds
stretches, as I have before said, the primeval forest
that extends to Venezuela. The black warders
entertain a wholesome dread of this unknown
waste, for a fixed idea exists among them that an
invading Venezuelan army wiU one day march
out of it upon the British colony. It seems that
Venezuela did, or does, lay claim to this portion of
Guiana ; whereas the English lay down the fron
tier as upwards of a hundred miles to the north
west of this. Venezuelans have been known to
issue out of the depths of this forest, and make
their appearance at the convict settlement ; but

472 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
these, far from being invaders, are unfortunate
fugitives who, after the coUapse of their party in
one of the usual revolutionary wars that so adorn
the history of aU South American republics, travel
through the dense jungle to seek protection on
British soil. These weary tattered foreigners,
speaking a strange tongue, cause a good deal of
unnecessary panic among the blacks when they
appear among them ; but that the poor wretches
should be for a moment mistaken for ferocious in
vaders is indeed curious.
Just as the steamer was starting the next morn
ing, I perceived, as I stood on the bridge, a long
canoe come alongside, manned by nude aborigines.
These Indians were a better-looking race than I had
seen in the Chaco and Pampas, and certainly of far
less ferocious countenance. Their faces wore a fixed
expression of apathetic content and mildness of
disposition. The women were hideous, and the
copper bodies of the men were ornamented with
stripes of black paint. Several of them came on
board to take a passage to Georgetown, carrying
with them bows and arrows, cassava-crushers, skins
of birds, and the logs of wood with which they
poison the rivers and so secure the fish. These
curiosities they would sell to the Chinese and Portu
guese curiosity shopkeepers for a little silver coin,
or plenty of bad rum, or, maybe, for one of those
extraordinary guns that are expressly imported for
their benefit — like the child's toy-gun in appear
ance and of scarcely more use. I believe they are
known as buck-guns to the trade, not that they
are intended to shoot bucks or anything else, but
simply to be sold to Buck Indians, as the male
aborigines are politely called by their white rulers.
One of these Indians must have been a chieftain,
for he owned a pair of nankeen trousers, not being

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 473
girdled round the loins merely, like the others.
He did not wear his trousers during the voyage, how
ever, but kept them carefuUy folded under his arm,
tiU we weremear Georgetown, when he deliberately,
with a gravity and unconsciousness that were deli
cious, put them on before aU the passengers on the
main-deck. Then his followers clustered round him
admiringly, felt the texture of the material, and
expressed approval in their soft sleepy-sounding
language. I should have much Uked to have undertaken
an expedition into the interior of Guiana, one of
the most grand of tropical countries, though but
httle known and explored ; but the costs of such
a trip are heavy, unless one has companions to
share them. Mr. Barrington Brown's descriptions
of the renowned Roraima Mountains and the Kaie-
teur Falls, which latter he himself discovered, are
indeed tempting to aU who love the wonders of
nature. CHAPTER XXXVI.
With much reluctance I tore myself away from
my friends of Georgetown, and sailed for my next
port, Bridgetown, in the island of Barbados, distant
about four hundred miles. We reached the lightship
at about daybreak, and there found a very nasty
sea running. High steep roUers were coming in, that
tossed us about in a very uncomfortable way.
The lightship was no less lively. As we passed
her she hoisted three signals to us in succession,
J. L., " Appearances are threatening ; " J. P.,
" Heavy weather coming ; " and J. S., " Get an'
offing." As we knew that those on board had some
good reason for thus warning us, we did not dis
regard their advice, but made for the open sea on

474 THE CRUISE OF THE '* FALCON."
the port tack. At two p.m., considering that we
had now got a sufficient offing, and would easily
weather the outermost shoals off the Essequibo, I
put the vessel about, and found that she would
just lay on her course for Barbados when close-
hauled on the starboard tack.
The wind N.N.E. to N.E. had now freshened ; the
sea was very rough, in consequence doubtlessly of
the opposition of the wind and cunent, which was
rushing with great velocity towards the Gulf of
Paria. This head-sea deadened our way, and we
shipped a good deal of water at times.
On the following day the weather was worse ; the
ship laboured a good deal and our decks were con
stantly full of water. We were obliged to take two
reefs in our main-sail and set the third jib.
On the 17th of February the weather improved,
though there was still an unpleasantly choppy sea.
This day we overhauled one of the island schooners
and were pleased to find that we not only sailed
much faster than she did, but that she made much
more leeway than ourselves. Her main-sail was a huge
sliding-gunter, as is usual in West Indian schooners,
and set flat as a board ; indeed, the sail-makers in
these islands know their trade well, and often cut
sails that Lapthorne would not be ashamed of.
During the whole of this voyage I was suffering
from a bad attack of remittent bfiious fever, which
for three days quite prostrated me, and prevented
me from taking my watch. This fever, common in
tropical South America, is very severe while it lasts.
Nearly all the symptoms of yellow fever accompany
it, including the yellowness. Indeed, it is often
mistaken for yellow fever, and many deaths that
occur through it on vessels at sea are put down to
the more deadly and contagious disorder. My
mate of course was sure that it was yellow fev^r

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 475
from which I was suffering, and was in much dread
of contagion. It may have been so, as far as I
know, but I rather think it was not.
At mid-day, the 18th of February, we sighted the
island of Barbados. As we approached it, its often-
remarked likeness to the Isle of Wight, as viewed
from the sea, struck me. It is about the same size
as the English island, and, like it, is covered with
verdure. But the verdure of Barbados, when seen
nearer, proves to be that of the sugar-cane, which
is planted over the whole island from the mountain-
tops to the seashore. We had been sailing aU this
time on the starboard tack, but now found that we
just failed of making our destination without tacking.
At about midnight we were some four miles from
the shore, under the lee of the island, between South
Point lighthouse and Needham Point. Tacking off
and on, we preserved this position until daylight,
when we sailed into Carlisle Bay and came to an
anchor off Bridgetown in the man-of-war ground.
Bridgetown, seen from the anchorage, does not
look like a town at aU, but more like a village of
huts scattered over a pleasant grove of cabbage-
palms, cotton-trees, and other tropical vegetation.
No sooner had our chain run out of the hawse-pipes
than we were sunounded by a very fleet of negro
boats, whose garrulous occupants commenced to
swarm over our decks until we drove them off forcibly.
Their importunity was fearful ; there were fat
bumboat women vending ginger, bananas, and what
not ; other damsels who wished to do our washing
for us at " half a dollar de dozen piece, massa ; "
and others — men, women, and children — who had
no ostensible trade, but were adroit beggars and
thieves. I had nowhere else experienced so dis
agreeable an ovation. It would be well if the rigid
laws about visiting vessels that prevail at Bahia and

476 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
other Brazilian ports were enforced in this harbour ;
but the Barbadian negro is free — a great deal too
free to be otherwise than exceedingly objectionable.
As I still felt very iU, and it was Sunday, I did
not go on shore this day. On Monday, the 20th
of February, I landed in my boat in the Carenage, or
inner and artificial harbour. I was surprised to find
all the shops shut, and to hear the church bells
ringing ; and, on inquiring the cause of this, was
told that this had been proclaimed a holiday and
day of thanksgiving throughout the island of Bar
bados for the cessation of the yellow fever. This
curse of the West Indies had been raging in an epi
demic form for many months in this island which
is generally free from it, and is indeed considered
to be by far the healthiest of aU the AntiUes. As at
Georgetown, the white regiments had been removed.
I soon saw that my stay in Barbados would be
prolonged, for I had brought several letters of intro
duction with me, and my friends soon became legion.
The hospitality of the Barbadians is well known, and
they take very good care that no stranger leaves them
but with regret, and bearing away with him most
agreeable memories of the delightful little island.
Barbados seemed to me utterly strange after the
countries I had recently visited. I felt as if I was
in Europe — in England once again; for it is not
the towns merely here that show signs of civilization,
but the whole country. No trackless backwoods
and jungles meet the traveller; no indications of
a new country and of a struggle between barbarism
and civilization. The whole island is as carefully
cultivated as the richest portions of Great Britain ;
good roads (painfully glaring, by the way, as they
are macadamised with snow-white coral) are every
where — indeed, form a closer network than anywhere
in England. Pleasant country houses, too, are

THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON." 477
dotted over all the country, the habitations of
planters, _ each surrounded with its sugar planta
tions, boiUng-houses, and windmill; for the wind-
miU is the great feature of a Barbadian landscape.
Sugar-making is not here carried on on so large a
scale as in Demerara, but by private individuals
of smaU capital. Hence the use of wind, as a rule,
instead of steam power. Happily the trade-wind
blows fresh and strong during the very season of
the sugar-making, Indeed, on the whole, Barbados
gives one the impression of not being a colony at all,
but an old settled country ; it is, indeed, our most
ancient settlement in this portion of the globe, having
been in our undisputed possession since 1625.
So many friends had I, that there was no part
of the island that I did not visit at the invitation
of the hospitable planters — from the petroleum
weUs, on the windward coast, to the quaintly-
shaped hills of the districts known as Scotland at
the other extremity. We had some pleasant pic
nics and cruises too, in the Falcon, visiting in her
the little ports of Holetown and Speight's-town.
One day we circumnavigated the island with a
party of friends, carefully avoiding of course the
coral reef that entirely sunounds Barbados. This
voyage we accompUshed in eleven hours. We passed
a vessel that had run ashore on the reefs off South
Point. She was rapidly breaking up, and the timber
that formed her cargo was scattered floating over the
ocean. The negroes of the windward coast, famous
wreckers, were hard at work collecting this, and no
doubt managed to steal a good deal before a body of
poUce was sent down to look after them.
My cook now became very ill indeed, and I was
obliged to send him to the colonial hospital. His
iUness promised to be a very tedious one, and I
was much puzzled as to what to do next. To sail

478 THE CRUISE OF THE *' FALCON."
away without him, the best sailor and the most
trustworthy man I had — in fact, the only one of
the crew worth anything — was a measure which I
felt great repugnance in taking. Again, to wait at
Bridgetown until he was well enough to resume
his duties, which might be a question of many
months, was impossible. I frequently visited the
poor fellow at the hospital, as he was very lonely
there, not being able to express himself in English,
and finding no one who understood Spanish or
Italian. That we should be obliged to sail away
without him evidently preyed on his mind, for he
was reaUy attached to me and to the vessel, and
nothing could compensate him for a separation.
However, other circumstances led me to decide
on a course of action which certainly was the re
motest from my thoughts when I sailed into Bridge
town. I was recalled to England by important
business that could not well wait, and I saw that
I must give up my cruise through the West Indian
Islands, and sail home at once. Things standing
thus, certain of my friends put it before me that
it would be well to discharge my crew, lay up the
Falcon, return to England by steamer, and in the
delightful winter-season, after the hurricane months
were over, come back to the West Indies, refit the
yacht, ship a native crew, and carry out my old
plan. I doubt whether I should have given way,
had it not been that several friends offered then to
join me for a cruise right through the islands. I
had now so long been alone on board that the idea
of companions seemed very pleasant. Such a voy
age with a merry party of West Indians who knew
the islands, and would have friends everywhere, was
indeed something to be looked forward to. My
friend Mr. Taylor, of Fontabelle, kindly offered to
store my property and look after the yacht while

The cruise of the •• falcon." 479
I was away, if I hauled her up on the beach by his
gaiden. Thus it was that I determined to lay up
the Falcon for a time, and suspend my cruise for
some six months.
There were not wanting other reasons to help me in
coming to this decision ; among others, the necessity
for a thorough overhauling of my vessel, and my own
rather iU-condition of health. My system was soaked
with malaria, which weakened me and took away
much of my energy and pleasure in the voyage.
Seeing the rather unaccountable Ul-health of all
hands on board the yacht, continuing as it had done
over a period of some months, a suspicion as to a
probable cause crossed my mind, which has now
been much strengthened by an article I recently
read in a medical journal.
Our diet whUe at sea, and to a great extent also
whUe in port, had consisted in tinned meats. Now,
these preserved provisions, wholesome though they
may be when fresh, do not, as many suppose, keep so
for an indefinite time. Chemical changes of some
kind take place in the contents of the tin, while
the metal itself, dissolved as it must graduaUy become
by the acids that some provisions contain, is itself
more or less injurious. Many of our tins had been
two years on board the Falcon, and most of that
time in the tropics. In my opinion this had some
thing to do with the symptoms of blood-poisoning
that were manifested by several of our company.
Had I alone been the sufferer, I should not have
attributed my iU-health to the tinned meats; for
malaria was sufficient to account for my condition ;
but here were these ItaUans, who had visited no
very unhealthy country, had caught no malaria,
drank no bad water, prostrated with disorders that
decidedly indicated the presence of some poison in
the system. It is a question if the old sea-diet of

480 THE CRUISE OF THE " FALCON."
salt meat is not more wholesome after aU than an
exclusive living on these tasty, but rather treacher
ous, preserved meats and vegetables.
I paid off my crew, found means for them to re
turn to Europe, and set out to lay up the Falcon.
I anchored her off Mr. Taylor's house and took every
thing out of her ; then with the aid of some twenty
negroes, rollers, strong tackle, and screw-jacks, I
gradually hauled the old vessel out of the water, up
the shingle bank to a pretty berth under the shade
of waving cabbage-palms, cocoas, and manchineals.
I did not return to England by the mail-steamer,
but in the 500-ton barque Augusta, commanded by
my friend, Captain Young. After a very pleasant,
though rather rough voyage of thirty days, we
sighted Hartland Point, a strong south-west gale
blowing at the time ; then hove-to under the lee
of Lundy to take the pilot on board, and were towed
into Bristol Docks. After a nearly two years' ab
sence I was indeed glad to step once more on English
land and walk through the streets of the dear old
western town I knew so well — the fresh, rosy faces
of the people seeming very pleasing after the saUow
and pallid inhabitants of the tropics.
I was unable to go to Barbados in the autumn,
as I proposed, to resume my cruise ; for now I was
laid up for many months, suffering from severe
sequela? of malaria. So the old vessel still lies high
and dry under the waving palms, waiting tiU her
master returns to take her from isle to isle of the
lovely Caribbean Sea, and across the Atlantic to her
moorings off familiar old Southampton, which he
is eagerly looking forward to do ; but up to now,
alas ! the doctors insist on keeping apart the Falcon
and her affectionate owner and captain.

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