10th May 1833

Las Minas

During this days ride, there was not much interest, excepting from the novelty of this manner of travelling. — The country is the much the same; more uneven & hilly; a sort of miniature alpine district; the whole surface, however with the exception of the bare rock is covered with a short green turf. — And this indeed is the picture of all which I saw: — it sounds very delightful riding over so much turf; but positively I at last became so tired of the endless green hills that I thought with pleasure of iron-shod horses & dusty roads. It is very rare to meet a single individual, and we did not till close to Las Minas. This night we stopped at a Pulperia or drinking shop, which also sells a few other things. The evening was very tiresome as we were obliged to remain the whole time amongst a set of drinking strangers before the counter & with scarcely a place to sit down. This was however the only night, in which we did not sleep at private houses.

During the evening a great number of young Gauchos came in to drink spirits & smoke cigars. They are a singularly striking looking set of men; generally tall, very handsome, but with a most proud, dissolute expression. They wear their moustachios & long black hair curling down their necks. With their bright coloured robes; great spurs clanking on their heels & a knife, stuck (& often used) as a dagger at their waist, they look a very different race of men from our working countrymen. Their politeness is excessive, they never drink their spirits, without expecting you to taste it; but as they make their exceedingly good bow, they seem quite ready, if occasion offered, to cut your throat at the same time.

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The town of Las Minas is considerably smaller than Maldonado, & of the usual symetrical figure. it is seated in the plain of the Rio St. Francisco, & is surrounded on all sides by the low rocky mountains. It has rather a pretty appearance, with its church in the middle. The outskirting houses all arise out of the plain, like isolated beings, without the usual (to our eyes) accompaniment of a garden or court. This is the case with all the houses in the country, & gives to them an unsociable appearance. —