the corral, should be their general. The person who succeeded was
accordingly elected; and doubtless made a fit general for such an army.
This extraordinary feat has also been performed by Rosas.
By these means, and by conforming to the dress and habits of the
Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country, and in
consequence a despotic power. I was assured by an English merchant,
that a man who had murdered another, when arrested and questioned
concerning his motive, answered, "He spoke disrespectfully of General
Rosas, so I killed him." At the end of a week the murderer was at
liberty. This doubtless was the act of the general's party, and not of
the general himself.
In conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. His
gravity is carried to a high pitch: I heard one of his mad buffoons
(for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the following
anecdote. "I wanted very much to hear a certain piece of music, so I
went to the general two or three times to ask him; he said to me, 'Go
about your business, for I am engaged.' I went a second time; he said,
'If you come again I will punish you.' A third time I asked, and he
laughed. I rushed out of the tent, but it was too late--he ordered two
soldiers to catch and stake me. I begged by all the saints in heaven
he would let me off; but it would not do,--when the general laughs he
spares neither mad man nor sound." The poor flighty gentleman looked
quite dolorous, at the very recollection of the staking. This is a
very severe punishment; four posts are driven into the ground, and the
man is extended by his arms and legs horizontally, and there left to
stretch for several hours. The idea is evidently taken from the usual
method of drying hides. My interview passed away, without a smile, and
I obtained a passport and order for the government post-horses, and
this he gave me in the most obliging and ready manner.
In the morning we started for Bahia Blanca, which we reached in two
days. Leaving the regular encampment, we passed by the toldos of the
Indians. These are round like ovens, and covered with hides; by the
mouth of each, a tapering chuzo was stuck in the ground. The toldos
were divided into separate groups, which belong to the different
caciques' tribes, and the groups were again divided into smaller ones,
according to the relationship of the owners. For several miles we
travelled along the valley of the Colorado. The alluvial plains on the
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