amounted to $8,000,000, in a paper currency so depreciated, that eight dollars were only equal to one silver dollar. The expenses of the year were $10,000,000; the public debt is $20,000,000.

7. POPULATION. The population of this country is computed to be about 2,000,000. They consist of descendants of Spaniards, Indians, negroes, and mulattoes.

S. GOVERNMENT. Buenos Ayres has at present an organized republican government, with a Governor, and Captain General, and a House of Representatives. This province was lately under the power of a Military Dictator, and some of the other provinces are at present in the same

state.

9. INHABITANTS. The inhabitants are European Spaniards, Creoles, Negroes, Indians, and the mixed races. The Chiquitos are a numerous and civilized nation of independent Indians. There are many other tribes. The houses at Buenos Ayres are generally of but one story, though well built. Almost every house has a garden. In the country the dwellings are mere huts. A great part of the food is beef. The matté or Paraguay tea, is used. With such plain food diseases are rare. The travelling over the immense plains is peculiar; the horses nearly wild, are driven at full speed, over the grassy plains, and Captain Head used to perform more than 100 miles a day. There is a sameness in the character of all the South American states. The strictest equality reigns among the Creoles. No white would serve any one of his nation. In the cities there is much dissipation and vice. But the people are generous, lively, and fond of show. The houses however are filthy.

In the country the inhabitants are cultivators or shepherds; the latter are the most numerous, and they offer but a bad specimen of the pastoral character. They live little better than the Indians; they sit upon their heels, or the skulls of their cattle, and sleep on skins. Their only food is roasted meat, eaten without salt. Pulse and vegetables they consider as fit only for horses. They wear the poncho, or cloak with a hole in the middle for the head, a hat, a pair of drawers, and boots of fresh hide. The women wear merely a shirt without sleeves, bound with a girdle round the middle. The shepherds are the best of horsemen, and perform all the operations of husbandry on horseback; they fish on horseback, and hear mass on horseback sitting in the saddle at the church door. The negro slaves are treated in Buenos Ayres with rare kindness. Many of them, according to Azara, never hear the sound of the whip, and none are deserted in old age.

The common amusements partake too much of gaming. Education is not in a flourishing state. The Roman Catholic is the general religion, and the cathedrals and churches are richly adorned. There are many convents and monasteries. Among the foreigners are Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, &c. The dead are burned, or lodged in churches, where the pavement is sometimes removed and a small excavation made, often insufficient to contain the body, which is beaten down to a level.

10. HISTORY. The Jesuits early formed settlements in these regions, and their efforts to civilize and convert the Indians were attended with much success. The country continued under the rule of a viceroy, appointed by the King of Spain, till the year 1808, when a revolution was effected in the city of Buenos Ayres, and the viceroy was deposed and sent to Europe. The Spaniards have since made several attempts to reduce the patriots of the country, but without success. In July 1821, a great battle was fought between the parties, in which the Spaniards were defeated. The tranquillity, however, of the United Provinces, has been much disturbed by disputes with the Monte Videans, Paraguay and Brazil, which were at last settled by the treaty of August 27th, 1828.

460

PARAGUAY.-CISPLATINE REPUBLIC.

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The soil is exThe plains are

PARAGUAY. This country is bounded N. by Brazil, E. and S. by the river Parana, and W. by Buenos Ayres, and Bolivia. The principal rivers are the Paraguay, the Parana, the Porrudos, and the Tibiquari. country is flat, and abounds in plains, swamps and lakes. tremely fertile, and abounds in rich vegetable productions. fed by immense herds of horses, mules, cattle and sheep. The forests abound in birds, remarkable for their rich plumage. Among the remarkable birds, is the great cassoway, or American ostrich. The principal exports are hides, tallow, wax, horses, Paraguay tea, and tobacco. The population is 100,000, of whom 5,000 are whites, and the rest mestizoes and Indians. This prov ince declared itself independent in the year 1813, and established a government consisting of several members. In about three years this government was abolished, and all the powers of government fell into the hands of Doctor Francia, who still exercises them under the title of Dictator. He adminis ters the government with great vigor and severity, and maintains the most rigid police in every part of his territories. He has strictly prohibited all intercourse with foreign countries. He has published a decree which has been enforced with very few exceptions, by which all inhabitants of Buenos Ayres, Santa Fé, and Corrientes, who shall enter his territories shall be punished with death, and those of all other countries with perpetual detention.

The Cabildo, or Municipal Government of the several towns, is chosen annually by the people. Indians, as well as Creoles, and mixed breeds are eligible to these offices. There is perfect security for person and property. Each district is made responsible for every theft committed within it. All the inhabitants, Indians as well as Creoles, know how to read, write, and keep accounts. Public schools are established every where, and children are required to attend them, until, in the judgment of the Cabildo, they are sufficiently instructed. The Dictator has established lyceums, and other liberal institutions. Every body is required to labor, and mendicity is prohibited. The people appear to be contented and happy under this strict regime.

Assumpcion is the capital, and the usual residence of the Dictator. It has 6,000 inhabitants. Itapua, on the Parana, and New Coimbra, on the Paraguay, are towns on the frontiers of Brazil, through which a limited foreign trade is permitted to be carried on, which is regulated by treaty. Villa Rica is a town of 3,000 inhabitants, and Concepcion has 1,500.

THE CISPLATINE REPUBLIC, OR BANDA ORIental. After a long and mutually devastating struggle betwixt Brazil and Buenos Ayres, for the possession of Montevideo and the Banda Oriental, the dispute was terminated by treaty of the 27th August, 1828, declaring the entire independence of the debateable territory, and erecting the whole into a republic, of which the town of Monte Video is the capital.

The territory, called the Banda Oriental, is situated betwixt the southern parallels of 32° 10' and 35°. The Spaniards gave it this appellation, signifying, 'the Eastern frontier' or 'boundary,' because to them it bounded on the N. with Brazil or Portuguese America; while the Brazilians bestowed on it the appellation of Cisplatina, on account of its lying N. of the Rio de la Plata. The river Uruguay divides this district into two parts, which are distinguished from each other as the Banda Oriental and Banda Occidental, or

the Eastern and Western Banda. The latter country, however, is nominally, at least, incorporated with the republic of Buenos Ayres, forming the provinces of Entre rios and Corrientes.

The southern frontier of the Banda Oriental stretches the length of 335 miles along the Rio de la Plata; on the E. it stretches along the Atlantic, for 240 miles, to the Rio Grande do Sul de San Pedro. The Brazilian terri tory bounds it on the N.; and the Uruguay on the W. Its superficies may be estimated at 10,500 geographical square miles; and its population at 175,000 souls, chiefly of Spanish descent. The principal mountains are, the Cochilla Grande de los Tapes, and a part of the Serra do Mar; the principal river is the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Uruguay. Its capital, Monte Video, is situated on the N. bank of the La Plata, near the mouth, in 34° 54' 48" S. lat. Its port is good, and its environs fertile: its population in 1822, was 16,000 souls.

CHAPTER LII. PATAGONIA, &c.

1. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. This extensive region is bounded on the N. by Buenos Ayres; on the E. by the Atlantic, on the W. by the Pacific, and on the S. by the straits of Magellan, by which it is separated from the island or islands of Tierra del Fuego. On the western side, the coast extends about 770 miles, to the western entrance of the straits of Magellan, in S. lat. 529, and upwards of 1,050 miles along the eastern side, or shore of the Atlantic, exclusive of the windings; its utmost central length, from 37° S. lat. to the southernmost point of the straits in S. lat. 54°, is 1,175 miles.

This tract is very little known, and is at present of very little importance. The name of Patagonia was bestowed on the southern part, by Fernando Magalhaens, or Magellan, the first discoverer of its eastern coast and the straits called by his name.

2. GULFS AND BAYS. The principal gulfs, bays, and capes on the Atlantic side are the gulf of St George, extending from S. lat. 45° to S. lat. 47°; the gulf of San Antonio, extending from 41° to 43° S. lat.; the bay of Nuevi, and Great Bay to the south of Port St Julian; the entrance of Ballaco; Port Desire; Port San Julian; and the bay of Nodales. The capes are those of Corrientes, Blanco, Tres Puntas, Curiosa, Barrera, Possession, and Virgin Mary, at the eastern entrance of the straits of Magellan. Port Famine and Cape Forward form the southern extremity of the South American continent, at the very middle of the straits. To the N. W. of the straits, the western coast presents Cape Victory, Isabella, San Lucia, and the gulf of the Holy Trinity, Cape Corso, the peninsula of the Three Mountains, with the isthmus of Orfin, gulf of Pinas, Point St Andrew, the archipelago of Chonos, and the gulf of Chiloe.

3. MOUNTAINS. As so little is known of the interior, it is impossible to give any description of it. The vast chain of the Andes pervades it from N. to S., having on the E. a large extent of flat saline country interspersed with innumerable small streams ending in small lakes. There are several active volcanoes. A chain of mountains, called Casuhati, or Gazuati, stretches S. E. from the Chilean Andes to the district of Tuu, forming the N. W. boundary of Patagonia, but it is of small elevation, seldom exceeding 1,500 feet. 4. RIVERS. The chief rivers of this tract fall into the Atlantic, having their sources at the eastern foot of the Andes, and generally running in a

S. E. direction. The first of these, to the S. E. of the pampas of Buenos Ayres, is the Flueuque, which, after a comparative course of 700 miles, falls into the bay of Anegada, in 38° S. lat. The next stream is the Desaguadero, or Rio Colorado, called Moya Lec Leuvu by the Indians, and the largest river of Patagonia. Its comparative course is upwards of 1,000 miles, and it is a deep and rapid stream. The third river, called the Rio Negro, or the Cusu Leuvu, falls into the Atlantic in 41° S. lat., after a very winding course of more than 700 miles. On the western coast, the rivers, though numerous, all run short courses from the western declivities of the Andes, and merit no description. There are a considerable number of large lakes in the interior, besides smaller ones of little consequence.

5. CLIMATE. Captain King mentions a circumstance relative to the temperature of the climate, which is very remarkable. During the summer, he has been employed at his observatory the greater part of the night, when the thermometer has been as low as the freezing point, both within and outside of it, and, although not warmly clad, he felt no sort of inconvenience from the cold; and, in the winter time also the thermometer has been at 24°, without any inconvenience being felt. He attributes this to the peculiar stillness of the atmosphere on the coast, although at a short distance at sea in the of fing, the wind was high. There are other peculiarities in this climate, which also attracted the attention of captain King. One is the extraordinary warmth of the sea near its surface compared with the state of the atmosphere. In the month of June a difference of 300 was found between the temperature of each; the consequence of which is, that the sea is covered with a cloud of steam, and this may, in some measure, account for the prevalence of fogs. Another extraordinary circumstance relating to the climate is, that parrots and humming birds, generally the inhabitants of warm regions, are numer ous in the southern and western parts of the strait; they were even observed on the wing during a snow shower, and after a constant succession of rain, snow, and sleet; the latter have been seen sipping the sweets of the fuschia and other flowers, while the thermometer was at the freezing point.

6. SOIL, &c. Though a few valleys have been found here and there along the coast to be tolerably fertile and warm, yet navigators universally concur in representing the soil of the Patagonian coasts as barren, hardly producing any grain, the trees exhibiting a dismal aspect, and the climate excessively cold. The country abounds with wild animals, as deer, guanacoes, hares, and ostriches; while multitudes of water-fowl frequent the rocky shores. Prodigious numbers of seals, from 14 to 18 feet long, and thicker than a bull, are to be found in the vicinity of Port Desire.

7. TIERRA DEL FUEGO. In the map of La Cruz, the Tierra del Fuego is divided by a number of narrow straits into 11 islands of considerable size. The largest island, properly denominated by the above name, contains a surface of 42,000 square miles; and is separated in its whole eastern and western extent from the South American continent by the straits of Magellan on the N.; on the S. E. by the straits of Le Maire, separating it from Staten island; on the N. E., by the channel of St Sebastian from a considerable island whose northern shore fronts the eastern entrance of the straits of Magellan; on the S. by Nassau strait, which separates it from Hermite's islands; and on the N. W. by another passage, which separates it from a cluster of other islands, lying to the south-west of the above straits. Cape Horn-the doubling of which has been so long the dread of navigators—is the southernmost point of admiral Hermite's islands, being situated in 55° 58' S. lat. The passage by this cape, (instead of sailing through the straits of Magellan), was first discovered in 1616, by Jacob le Maire, and was so called by him out of respect to the town of Hoern, in North Holland.-Staten Island, separated, as above mentioned by the straits of Le Maire, was first discovered to

be an island, by the Dutch admiral Brewer, in 1642, who found another strait at its eastern side, which he called after his own name, and which is narrow er and shorter than the strait of Le Maire. The Straits of Magellan are 340 miles in length, and stretch so far to the S. W., and from thence to the N. W. that they resemble a crescent or half moon. In some parts they are not a league broad; but at the mouth, between Cape Pelares and Cape Victory, the breadth is upwards of 30 miles, and 24 miles at the eastern entrance, between Cape Virgin Mary and Queen Katharine's Foreland.

8. FALKLAND'S ISLANDS. To the N. E. of the straits of Magellan, are the Falkland islands, so denominated by the English, in 1639, in honor, as is supposed, of Lord Viscount Falkland. The two islands are of considerable size, each about 40 miles square. The soil is bad, and the climate disagreeable, and the shores are beaten with perpetual storms; nothing but reeds and moss cover the ground; the sky is perpetually concealed from view by thick fogs; the extreme cold cannot be alleviated by fire, as there is neither wood nor coal; and even a ship in port is covered with constant snow. The shores are frequented, however, by considerable numbers of water-fowl and fish. The penguins, called swans by the Spaniards, supply a scanty and miserable food; and walruses, and other animals of the seal kind, abound. The Spaniards have a small settlement on the N. of the larger island. The history of the ridiculous disputes between Great Britain and Spain concerning these miserable islands, is one of the numerous evidences of the necessity of the study of geography among statesmen, as nothing but a complete geographical ignorance concerning them, could have raised such an unnecessary alarm on both sides.

9. SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS. Still farther to the S. than the Falkland isles, and more desolate are the islands of South Shetland, which were discovered in October, 1819, and taken possession of, in the name of his Britannic majesty. The extent of this group so far as it has been explored, is from 540 to 65° W. lon., and from 61° to 64° S. lat. It consists of numerous islands without a vestige of vegetation, except a species of moss, and in a few solitary spots, something resembling grass. The interior is mountainous, and covered with eternal snows. A species of coal was found, which burnt well. Seals were extremely plentiful, and shrimps and penguins were numerous beyond all conception. The large islands of South Shetland which have been discovered, are five in number. One of them has been named Livingston's Island, another Robert's. Some of the harbors are very good; vessels in them being land-locked. No field ice was seen in their vicinity, but innumerable ice islands were floating about.

10. GEORGIA. In this department may also be reckoned Georgia, an island of considerable size, lying to the N. E. of South Shetland, in 36° W. long., and in 54° S. lat. This island was first discovered by Rochon, a French navigator, in 1675: it was visited by the Spaniards in 1756, and explored by captain Cook, in 1775. It may be termed a land of ice, presenting rocks and mountains of that substance; while the vales, destitute of trees or shrubs, are clothed in eternal snow, the only-vegetables being a coarse species of grass, burnets, and lichens. The rocks are of blackish horizontal strata, perhaps approximating to hornblende. The lark, a hardy bird, appears here as well as in Hudson's bay, and there are numbers of large penguins and seals.

To the S. E. of Georgia are some, if possible, more dreary islands, more properly called the Southern Thule than the Sandwich islands, a name already bestowed on a very different country. Here, seated forever on her icy throne, sits the Southern Winter, surrounded by black rocks covered with everlasting snow.