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 side appeared fertile, and it is supposed
that they are well adapted to the growth of corn. Turning
northward from the river, we soon entered on a country, differing
from the plains south of the river. The land still continued
dry and sterile: but it supported many different kinds
of plants, and the grass, though brown and withered, was
more abundant, as the thorny bushes were less so. These
latter in a short space entirely disappeared, and the plains
were left without a thicket to cover their nakedness. This
change in the vegetation marks the commencement of the
grand calcareo argillaceous deposit, which forms the wide
extent of the Pampas, and covers the granitic rocks of Banda
Oriental. From the Strait of Magellan to the Colorado, a
distance of about eight hundred miles, the face of the country
is everywhere composed of shingle: the pebbles are