The governor's favourite occupation is hunting
Indians: a short time since he slaughtered forty-eight, and sold
the children at the rate of three or four pounds apiece.
OCTOBER 5, 1833.
We crossed the Parana to St. F? Bajada, a town on the opposite
shore. The passage took some hours, as the river here consisted of
a labyrinth of small streams, separated by low wooded islands. I
had a letter of introduction to an old Catalonian Spaniard, who
treated me with the most uncommon hospitality. The Bajada is the
capital of Entre Rios. In 1825 the town contained 6000 inhabitants,
and the province 30,000; yet, few as the inhabitants are, no
province has suffered more from bloody and desperate revolutions.
They boast here of representatives, ministers, a standing army, and
governors: so it is no wonder that they have their revolutions. At
some future day this must be one of the richest countries of La
Plata. The soil is varied and productive; and its almost insular
form gives it two grand lines of communication by the rivers Parana
and Uruguay.
I was delayed here five days, and employed myself in examining the
geology of the surrounding country, which was very interesting.
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