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 15th. - Rose very early in the morning and
shortly after passed the posta where the Indians had murdered
the five soldiers. The officer had eighteen chuzo
wounds in his body. By the middle of the day, after a hard
gallop, we reached the fifth posta: on account of some difficulty
in procuring horses we stayed there the night. As this
point was the most exposed on the whole line, twenty-one
soldiers were stationed here; at sunset they returned from
hunting, bringing with them seven deer, three ostriches, and
many armadilloes and partridges. When riding through the
country, it is a common practice to set fire to the plain;
and hence at night, as on this occasion, the horizon was
illuminated in several places by brilliant conflagrations.
This is done partly for the sake of puzzling any stray Indians,
but chiefly for improving the pasture. In grassy
plains unoccupied by the larger ruminating quadrupeds, it
seems necessary to remove the superfluous vegetation by fire,
so as to render the new year's growth serviceable.
The rancho at this place did not boast even of a roof,
but merely consisted of a ring of thistle-stalks, to break
the force of the wind.
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