sentinels were the worst of all; for, from their office and from having
arms in their hands, they robbed with a degree of authority which other
men could not imitate.
Our passage was a very long and tedious one. The Plata looks like a
noble estuary on the map; but is in truth a poor affair. A wide
expanse of muddy water has neither grandeur nor beauty. At one time of
the day, the two shores, both of which are extremely low, could just be
distinguished from the deck. On arriving at Monte Video I found that
the Beagle would not sail for some time, so I prepared for a short
excursion in this part of Banda Oriental. Everything which I have said
about the country near Maldonado is applicable to Monte Video; but the
land, with the one exception of the Green Mount 450 feet high, from
which it takes its name, is far more level. Very little of the
undulating grassy plain is enclosed; but near the town there are a few
hedge-banks, covered with agaves, cacti, and fennel.
November 14th.--We left Monte Video in the afternoon. I intended to
proceed to Colonia del Sacramiento, situated on the northern bank of
the Plata and opposite to Buenos Ayres, and thence, following up the
Uruguay, to the village of Mercedes on the Rio Negro (one of the many
rivers of this name in South America), and from this point to return
direct to Monte Video. We slept at the house of my guide at Canelones.
In the morning we rose early, in the hopes of being able to ride a good
distance; but it was a vain attempt, for all the rivers were flooded.
We passed in boats the streams of Canelones, St. Lucia, and San Jose,
and thus lost much time. On a former excursion I crossed the Lucia
near its mouth, and I was surprised to observe how easily our horses,
although not used to swim, passed over a width of at least six hundred
yards. On mentioning this at Monte Video, I was told that a vessel
containing some mountebanks and their horses, being wrecked in the
Plata, one horse swam seven miles to the shore. In the course of the
day I was amused by the dexterity with which a Gaucho forced a restive
horse to swim a river. He stripped off his clothes, and jumping on its
back, rode into the water till it was out of its depth; then slipping
off over the crupper, he caught hold of the tail, and as often as the
horse turned round the man frightened it back by splashing water in its
face. As soon as the horse touched the bottom on the other side, the
man pulled himself on, and was firmly seated, bridle in hand, before
the horse gained the bank. A naked man on a naked horse is a fine
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