We reached it at sunset on the 1st of October. Instead of an asado of beef we had for supper delicious wild fowl, which abound in the islets of the lagoon. October 2d. We again launched our craft on the Bocaron de Narvicha, a stream which branches off from the Salado, in the lagoon, and rejoins the main channel at Sandia Paso, in latitude 28° 43′ 08′′, longitude 62° 58', nine miles by land and double that distance by water. It had five feet water, but was much obstructed by fallen trees. The banks on both sides were fringed with algorrobas, vinal, and chañar.* Unmistakable marks on banks and trees indicated a rise at high water of six feet above the present level. We soon overtook the men dispatched ahead to make an opening for us, but from that time till sunset advanced slowly. We enjoyed amazingly our asado and the warmth of the bivouac fires around which we settled for the night; but the rain soon after poured in torrents, and obliged us to seek shelter under the dense foliage of the trees, which were a poor protection against such an outpouring of the clouds, continuing throughout the night. October 3d. Under way at an early hour, we soon reached Paso Sandia, the encampment of the general, who honored our arrival with a "carne con cuero."+ A little beyond this the Salado flowed on, a well-defined and unobstructed stream, about sixty feet wide and from four to six in depth; current half a mile; banks low, abrupt, and indicating a rise of five feet above the present level at the season of high water. At Paso Sandia I found in the surface-soil vast quantities of the minute fresh-water shells seen fifteen and twenty feet below it at Matara. I had now passed over the most difficult part of the Salado in a boat, and had seen enough to convince me of the practicability of its navigation. But this cutting a passage through overhanging and fallen trees promised to be a work of more time than I could well spare; so, relying upon the assurance of the governor's guide, that our course lay directly along it, and that I could touch it at any point, I determined to join his Excellency's party, and proceed by land. We moved along on the right bank, and occasionally tried the depth of the stream by fording or bathing. October 4th. The Salado was now a beautiful and well-defined stream, following a general direction of southeast, through a grassy * An infusion of the leaves of the chañar is considered in that country an infallible cure for dropsy. + Beef roasted in the skin. pampa, belted for miles by noble mimosa; again its banks were not wooded, but fringed with luxuriant alfalfa, the bright yellow blossoms contrasting gayly with the deep rich green of the grass. At sunset we had made twenty-five miles in a right line, which might be estimated at double that distance by the course of the river. As we advanced, the adjacent lands were undulating, presenting considerable grassy elevations for a pampa country. Winding through it was a broad, verdant, and meadow-like belt, which looked as if it might once have been the bed of a river. October 5th. We passed over a fine undulating pampa, carpeted as far as the eye could reach with the most luxuriant alfalfa, the Salado winding through it, a bright placid stream skirted by trees. The algorroba, in some parts of La Plata a small bushy tree, was here superb in size and foliage, and as clear of undergrowth and dead limbs as if carefully trimmed. I enjoyed the sunset glories of that spring day, and an hour's rest upon a grassy elevation, from which I viewed the picturesque groups of dark-visaged gauchos. Some were bringing water from the river, others seeking fuel, and many gathered around the bivouac fires watching the asado. The atmosphere was resplendently clear, and the air soft, balmy, and redolent of the fragrance of alfalfa, through which the horses and cattle waded to their bellies. I thought I had never seen a fairer pastoral region. It was once inclosed as the Estancia Doña Lorenza, one among the most celebrated in La Plata. Posts dotted the plain, and traces of canals, by which the water of the Salado was conducted through the lands for irrigation, were the only vestiges of former occupation. Except some miserable captive, not a white man had passed here within the last quarter of a century. October 6th. From the Estancia Doña Lorenza, which is in latitude 29° 05′ 13" south, longitude 62° 48′ west, we traveled twenty-three miles, making eighty-three from Fort Bracho. I found the characteristics of river and bordering land varying but little from those noted the 5th. In the course of the day it was repeatedly crossed by fording, touched at every bend, and bathed in at the close of the day's work. It has a width of about eighty feet, and a depth of from four to six. The banks showed no washing; I therefore concluded that, even at the season of high water, there is very little current, and now it was scarcely perceptible. But this may be ascribed somewhat to the early rains eastward and to the "repunte" of the Parana, which had backed the waters up so ABANDONED ESTANCIAS. 385 far as to neutralize the current and increase the depth of the Salado to nearly its maximum. October 7th. Our bivouac fires for the night were close to the river, and near a skirting of fine quebrachos, one mile below Paso de Coria, in latitude 29° 13′ 42′′ south, longitude 62° 34′ 30′′ west. I observed during the day no obstructions to navigation. There was scarcely any current; the waters were clear; and as the river coursed through its green banks, so uniform was its width that it looked like a grand canal. Could we have remained one month longer at Monte Aguara, I believe we might have ascended to Sandia Paso in the Yerba. The plain abounds in a plant, the "caqueja;"* and in other parts of the province there grows a small tree, the "melancillo," which is highly valued for the medicinal properties of its root in cases of diarrhoea. October 8th. Bivouacked at Monte Tigre, latitude 29° 22' 32" south, longitude 62° 22' west, near a grove of nandubay, the first I had seen upon this river; it is of the mimosa family, and not unlike the algorroba in foliage, but the trunk is larger and straighter, and the bark is very rough. We passed at every mile or two marks of abandoned estancias. At Viuda, formerly a rich cattle farm, we met a detachment of twenty soldiers from a military post of the Dulce. The governor had ordered them to join him here, for he was now in pursuit of the Indians who had made the last foray into Santiago. Among the soldiers was one who acted as guide or vaqueano. He knew every bend and ford of the Salado, having recently escaped from the Chaco after a captivity of many years among the Indians, who carried him off when he was quite a child. In the evening the wind was from the south, very fresh, and the rain continuous, pouring in such torrents that ponchos, horseblankets, etc., formed into a tent, under which the general, Mr. Murdaugh, and Cornelius crept with us, made but a poor protection. Musquitoes, close stowage, and a leaky roof were no provocatives to sleep; but in such sheets did the water continue to fall, that we kept in our quarters until 10 o'clock A.M. of the next morning. On the 9th we made but fifteen miles, passing numbers of abandoned estancias. The whole country was entirely destitute of wood; not a bush was to be seen, but the alfalfa was rich and * A tea made of its leaves is, the governor tells me, an infallible remedy for venereal diseases. 386 THROUGH THE MUD. fresh; as in a sea we waded through it. This was the beginning of the rainy season, which had set in much earlier than usual. As we advanced southeast the river was full and the lands immediately adjacent almost impassable. The beginning of the night was clear. We had no supper, not even a maté; for there could not be found fuel enough to boil a little water. Not so, however, with our horses; it was pleasant to see them luxuriating in the alfalfa. Myriads of musquitoes and rain-such floods as pour down in these countries during the season-drive away sleep; but on a clear night these pampa apartments, with their starry frescoes, are not bad. A man could scarcely desire a softer bed than the fragrant clover. Our rest was short. At 1 A.M. on the 10th we were in the saddle. Again the rain poured in torrents, and, although it was the second spring month, I shivered; for my India-rubber poncho was a good protection from rain, but a very poor one from cold. The object of this early move was to surprise a toldo near Laguna Abipones. We had gone but a short distance when we reached the borders of a pantano. As it was very dark and raining hard, the guides thought it prudent to wait for daylight before attempting to cross; so we remained, even in the darkness a black shadow on the borders of the morass. With the first streak of day we were floundering through mud and water, one taking his own way, another closely following the guide. On we went, plunging, whooping, yelling, laughing at our own or others' misfortunes; for some were fixtures, imbedded like fossils, or so firmly planted that they looked as if destined to remain, like the estancia posts, monuments of the life that had passed away; others turned somersets over their horses' heads, regaining their feet only to sink knee-deep in the soft mud. After toiling for two hours through the swamp, we touched terra firma, and reached our halting-place, Islita Chañar,* at 7 A.M. on the 11th, having been in the saddle six hours. Here it was deemed expedient to refresh both horses and men, preparatory to another Indian chase. Fearing that the savages would discover our approach the cooking fires were kindled behind a grove of chañar and kept very low. After a rest of a few hours we were again in the saddle, and following as closely as we could the windings of the river. Islas of wood, generally chañar, alone broke the monotony of the pam * Groves of wood which, on the naked pampa, have the appearance of islands. FIGHT AT THE PASO MISTOL. 387 pa; the alfalfa was every where exuberant in its growth. Although the governor anticipated a fight with the Indians, before leaving Islita de Chañar he nailed his card against a tree, inviting a parlamento (talk)-a mode of invitation well understood by the savages. After advancing six miles the scouts returned and reported stray cattle and horses. We were undoubtedly on the trail. "They passed day before yesterday toward the Paso de Tostado," said the vaqueanos. The men judged from tracks of the animals, and spoke without hesitation. The general based his movements. as confidently on their report as if they had come from the midst. of the savages. We had made about eight miles when, passing a fire, it was presumed that the Indians were in our neighborhood; and the soldiers were ordered to advance at a full gallop to Palo Negro, a belting of that wood. Here we came in sight of a number of horses and cattle on the Chaco side of the Salado. The men dashed down to the river, stripped off their clothing, again mounted, lance in hand, swam across, encircled the animals, and, driving them ahead, regained the opposite bank at the moment that a party of about forty Indians, with a war-whoop, issued from behind a grove of chañar, and made for the Paso Mistol. The grove of chañar in which their toldo was pitched had concealed from them our approach. Extending for some distance on the Chaco bank was a thin growth of bushes, and beyond, parallel with it, a slight elevation. On nearing the Paso the Indians threw themselves down behind the bushes, which, with the long grass, protected them from the unskillful firing of the soldiers, although the distance was not more than thirty yards. Volley after volley was fired into their midst, and after each, one, two, or three of them would rise, and with lightning speed escape amid a shower of bullets, seemingly unharmed. After blazing away for some time the general directed the interpreter to ask them if they would surrender. "Never! San Antonio for ever!" was the cacique's reply. The firing was kept up, and the Indians, apparently untouched, continued to disappear over the hill. I began to think that the whole party had escaped, when one rose up, whose appearance was hailed by a shout and a volley; he fell flat upon his face, as if struck, but in another instant was upon his feet. There was a second round, and again he fell, only to rise again untouched. Up to this moment I remained quietly on my horse, rather |