northward, ceases to be inhabited; and hence the Indians sometimes come
down thus far, and waylay travellers. The nature of the country also
favours this, for instead of a grassy plain, there is an open woodland,
composed of low prickly mimosas. We passed some houses that had been
ransacked and since deserted; we saw also a spectacle, which my guides
viewed with high satisfaction; it was the skeleton of an Indian with
the dried skin hanging on the bones, suspended to the branch of a tree.
In the morning we arrived at St. Fe. I was surprised to observe how
great a change of climate a difference of only three degrees of
latitude between this place and Buenos Ayres had caused. This was
evident from the dress and complexion of the men--from the increased
size of the ombu-trees--the number of new cacti and other plants--and
especially from the birds. In the course of an hour I remarked
half-a-dozen birds, which I had never seen at Buenos Ayres. Considering
that there is no natural boundary between the two places, and that the
character of the country is nearly similar, the difference was much
greater than I should have expected.
October 3rd and 4th.--I was confined for these two days to my bed by a
headache. A good-natured old woman, who attended me, wished me to try
many odd remedies. A common practice is, to bind an orange-leaf or a
bit of black plaster to each temple: and a still more general plan is,
to split a bean into halves, moisten them, and place one on each
temple, where they will easily adhere. It is not thought proper ever
to remove the beans or plaster, but to allow them to drop off, and
sometimes, if a man, with patches on his head, is asked, what is the
matter? he will answer, "I had a headache the day before yesterday."
Many of the remedies used by the people of the country are ludicrously
strange, but too disgusting to be mentioned. One of the least nasty is
to kill and cut open two puppies and bind them on each side of a broken
limb. Little hairless dogs are in great request to sleep at the feet
of invalids.
St. Fe is a quiet little town, and is kept clean and in good order. The
governor, Lopez, was a common soldier at the time of the revolution;
but has now been seventeen years in power. This stability of
government is owing to his tyrannical habits; for tyranny seems as yet
better adapted to these countries than republicanism. The governor's
favourite occupation is hunting Indians: a short time since he
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