enterprising Englishman obtained leave to proceed into the interior to the forests, where the yerba or tea is gathered, to work for his livelihood; and with such success, that, from beginning without a dollar of his own, by the time he was allowed to leave Paraguay, five years afterwards, he found himself in comparative affluence; and, though only permitted by the dictator to carry out of the country a portion of the yerba he had by his industry collected, he had still enough left when he sailed for Buenos Ayres to compensate him for the loss of all the tobacco with which he had originally sailed from Oran. The narrative of this person contains such curious details, not only respecting his residence in Paraguay, but also regarding the country about Oran, where he had passed some years previously to his voyage with Soria down the Vermejo, that I have thought it worth communicating to the Geographical Society for insertion, if they please, at length, in one of their periodical journals.

If it was difficult to collect the most ordinary statistical data relative to the interior, it may easily be supposed how much more so it was to obtain information of any interest in a scientific point of view; nevertheless, in this respect, I was not altogether without resources; and the accidental residence of two or three observing and intelligent individuals of our own countrymen in the remotest parts of these widely-spread regions laid open to me sources of information even upon such matters as I little expected. The results of that portion of my correspondence will be found in various parts of this Volume, where I have had the satisfaction of acknowledging my obligations to the individuals from whom they were derived.

From the materials to which I have above alluded, and other papers in my possession, my original intention was to have attempted a work of a more extensive nature; but any necessity for this has been since superseded by the publication, which has been commenced by M. de Angelis, at Buenos Ayres, under the auspices of the Government, of an extensive collection of unedited historical documents relative to the provinces of La Plata.

In the course of the last three years five folio volumes, and portions of two more, have already appeared, in which not only many of the most interesting of the papers in my own collection are given, but a variety of others throwing great light upon the history and geography of the countries to which they relate[4].

I cannot hesitate to say that it is infinitely the most important and interesting publication which has as yet appeared in any of the new states of Spanish America, to the great credit of the enlightened editor, who has illustrated it with his own learned notes and observations, the fruits of a long study of the history of his adopted country.

Upon the appearance of the first volumes I gave up my own design, as a work of supererogation where one so much more valuable was attainable.

It became however manifest, as M. de Angelis' work proceeded, that its extent would rather render it available as a book of reference and authority than for general purposes; and, as it was in the Spanish language, particularly so for the general purposes of English readers. I was again, therefore, induced to resume my task, though with the essential change in its character from my original plan, to the brief and general sketch of the Republic, and of the progress of geography in that part of the world during the last 60 years, which now appears; referring those who desire more detailed information to the invaluable collection of original memoirs now in course of publication by Don Pedro de Angelis: it has been of great use to me in enabling me to complete my own chain of information, as indeed it must be to any one who pretends to give any account of the part of the world of which the documents it contains may be said now to constitute the original and authenticated historical records.

To M. de Angelis I am also indebted for the copy of a MS. map, by Don Alvarez de Condarco, in which are laid down not only a recent journey of his own in 1837, to examine the mines in the Indian territory south of the Diamante, but the several marches of the troops, detached from Mendoza, in 1833, to co-operate with the forces from Buenos Ayres under General Rosas, in the general attack made upon the native tribes. I had already received, as I have mentioned in Chapter IX., through my friend Don Manuel Garcia, a map drawn by General Pacheco, showing the march of the principal division of that army, along the banks of the River Negro, from the Islands of Choleechel to the junction of the Neuquen.

The routes in question have been very material to the laying down of the true courses of some of the many rivers which constitute the most important, though hitherto undescribed, features of that part of the continent:—and it is satisfactory to find that they are strikingly corroborative of the accounts, as far as they go, which I had already cited as given both by Villariño, by Don Luis de la Cruz, and our own countryman, Dr. Gillies.

Thus far I have spoken of my geographical materials:—they will be found embodied in the accompanying map of the Republic by Mr. John Arrowsmith, who has spared no time or labour in its construction. In this he has also availed himself of the invaluable recent survey of Captain FitzRoy, to give the whole of the line of coast upon the very best authority. In the interior the various routes, which appear now for the first time collected together, have been all re-protracted from the original sources of information, whilst a careful re-examination of the labours of the Boundary Commissioners and of other authenticated authorities has enabled him to correct many errors of position which had crept, I hardly know how, into the latest maps, not excepting those compiled in the topographical department of Buenos Ayres.

Upon the whole, although we have yet a vast deal to learn before any perfect map can be drawn of this extensive portion of the new continent, I trust that the present attempt will be regarded as no slight improvement upon our old geography of that part of the world[5].

I regret that I lost, during my residence at Buenos Ayres, the opportunity of making what too late I learnt would have been very acceptable additions to our zoological collections; but I never imagined that our public museums were so entirely destitute, as I found them upon my return, of specimens of the commonest objects of natural history, from a country with which we had been so many years in, I may say, almost daily intercourse. Mr. Darwin, and the officers of His Majesty's ship Beagle, have since done much to supply these deficiencies; but we still want, I believe, specimens of by far the greater part of the birds and beasts of which Azara gave us the description nearly forty years ago. The collections of some of the museums on the Continent are, I believe, much more complete; especially those of Paris, to judge from the accounts of the acquisitions made by M. Alcide d'Orbigny, the fruits of many years spent in those countries, to which he was sent in 1826, expressly, I believe, to collect information and specimens for the Museum of Natural History.

Instigated first by Dr. Buckland, I made those