(4/6. This prophecy has turned out entirely and
miserably wrong. 1845.) He is said to be the owner of seventy-four
square leagues of land, and to have about three hundred thousand
head of cattle. His estates are admirably managed, and are far more
productive of corn than those of others. He first gained his
celebrity by his laws for his own estancias, and by disciplining
several hundred men, so as to resist with success the attacks of
the Indians. There are many stories current about the rigid manner
in which his laws were enforced. One of these was, that no man, on
penalty of being put into the stocks, should carry his knife on a
Sunday: this being the principal day for gambling and drinking,
many quarrels arose, which from the general manner of fighting with
the knife often proved fatal.
One Sunday the Governor came in great form to pay the estancia a
visit, and General Rosas, in his hurry, walked out to receive him
with his knife, as usual, stuck in his belt. The steward touched
his arm, and reminded him of the law; upon which turning to the
Governor, he said he was extremely sorry, but that he must go into
the stocks, and that till let out, he possessed no power even in
his own house.
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