As he had been very obliging--not only
providing me with food, but lending me his private horses--I wanted
to make him some remuneration. I asked my guide whether I might do
so, but he told me certainly not; that the only answer I should
receive probably would be, "We have meat for the dogs in our
country, and therefore do not grudge it to a Christian." It must
not be supposed that the rank of lieutenant in such an army would
at all prevent the acceptance of payment: it was only the high
sense of hospitality, which every traveller is bound to acknowledge
as nearly universal throughout these provinces. After galloping
some leagues, we came to a low swampy country, which extends for
nearly eighty miles northward, as far as the Sierra Tapalguen. In
some parts there were fine damp plains, covered with grass, while
others had a soft, black, and peaty soil. There were also many
extensive but shallow lakes, and large beds of reeds. The country
on the whole resembled the better parts of the Cambridgeshire fens.
At night we had some difficulty in finding, amidst the swamps, a
dry place for our bivouac.
SEPTEMBER 15, 1833.
Rose very early in the morning, and shortly after passed the posta
where the Indians had murdered the five soldiers.
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