wake, and the darkness of the sky was momentarily illuminated by the
most vivid lightning.
When within the mouth of the river, I was interested by observing how
slowly the waters of the sea and river mixed. The latter, muddy and
discoloured, from its less specific gravity, floated on the surface of
the salt water. This was curiously exhibited in the wake of the
vessel, where a line of blue water was seen mingling in little eddies,
with the adjoining fluid.
July 26th.--We anchored at Monte Video. The Beagle was employed in
surveying the extreme southern and eastern coasts of America, south of
the Plata, during the two succeeding years. To prevent useless
repetitions, I will extract those parts of my journal which refer to
the same districts without always attending to the order in which we
visited them.
MALDONADO is situated on the northern bank of the Plata, and not very
far from the mouth of the estuary. It is a most quiet, forlorn, little
town; built, as is universally the case in these countries, with the
streets running at right angles to each other, and having in the middle
a large plaza or square, which, from its size, renders the scantiness
of the population more evident. It possesses scarcely any trade; the
exports being confined to a few hides and living cattle. The
inhabitants are chiefly landowners, together with a few shopkeepers and
the necessary tradesmen, such as blacksmiths and carpenters, who do
nearly all the business for a circuit of fifty miles round. The town
is separated from the river by a band of sand-hillocks, about a mile
broad: it is surrounded, on all other sides, by an open
slightly-undulating country, covered by one uniform layer of fine green
turf, on which countless herds of cattle, sheep, and horses graze.
There is very little land cultivated even close to the town. A few
hedges, made of cacti and agave, mark out where some wheat or Indian
corn has been planted. The features of the country are very similar
along the whole northern bank of the Plata. The only difference is,
that here the granitic hills are a little bolder. The scenery is very
uninteresting; there is scarcely a house, an enclosed piece of ground,
or even a tree, to give it an air of cheerfulness Yet, after being
imprisoned for some time in a ship, there is a charm in the unconfined
feeling of walking over boundless plains of turf. Moreover, if your
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