I this day paid horse-hire for thirty-one leagues; and
although the sun was glaring hot I was but little fatigued. When
Captain Head talks of riding fifty leagues a day, I do not imagine
the distance is equal to 150 English miles. At all events, the
thirty-one leagues was only 76 miles in a straight line, and in an
open country I should think four additional miles for turnings
would be a sufficient allowance.
SEPTEMBER 29 AND 30, 1833.
(PLATE 30. PARANA RIVER.)
We continued to ride over plains of the same character. At San
Nicolas I first saw the noble river of the Parana. At the foot of
the cliff on which the town stands, some large vessels were at
anchor. Before arriving at Rozario, we crossed the Saladillo, a
stream of fine clear running water, but too saline to drink.
Rozario is a large town built on a dead level plain, which forms a
cliff about sixty feet high over the Parana. The river here is very
broad, with many islands, which are low and wooded, as is also the
opposite shore. The view would resemble that of a great lake, if it
were not for the linear-shaped islets, which alone give the idea of
running water. The cliffs are the most picturesque part; sometimes
they are absolutely perpendicular, and of a red colour; at other
times in large broken masses, covered with cacti and mimosa-trees.
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