so much importance that in 1829 he was elected Governor of the country (Argentine Confederation). Mr. Darwin met him in 1833, on the Rio Colorado, when he was conducting in person the war against the Indians. He says:

"General Rosas intimated a wish to see me; a circumstance which I was afterward very glad of. He is a man of an extraordinary character, and has a most predominant influence in the country, which it seems probable he will use to its prosperity and advancement. [This prophecy has turned out miserably wrong,' adds Mr. Darwin, in 1845.] He is said to be the owner of seventy-four square leagues of land, and to have about three hundred thousand head of cattle. His estates are admirably managed, and are far more productive of corn than those of others. He first gained his celebrity by his laws for his own estancias, and by disciplining several hundred men so as to resist with success the attacks of the Indians. There are many stories current about the rigid manner in which his laws were enforced. One of these was that no man, on penalty of being put into the stocks, should carry his knife on a Sunday. This being the principal day for gambling and drinking, many quarrels arose, which, from the general manner of fighting with the knife, often proved fatal. One Sunday the Governor came in great form to pay the estancia a visit, and General Rosas, in his hurry, walked out to receive him, with his knife as usual stuck in his belt. The steward touched his arm, and reminded him of the law; upon which, turning to the Governor, he said he was extremely sorry, but that he must go into the stocks, and that, till let out, he possessed no power, even in his own house. After a little time the steward was persuaded to open the stocks and to let him out; but no sooner was this done than he turned to the steward and said, 'You now have broken the laws, so you must take my place in the stocks.' Such actions as these delighted the Gauchos, who all possess high notions of their own equality and dignity.

"General Rosas is also a perfect horseman-an accomplishment of no small consequence in a country where an assembled army

elected its general by the following trial: a troop of unbroken horses being driven into a corral, were let out through a gate-way above which was a crossbar; it was agreed whoever should drop from the bar on one of these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able, without saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it back to the door of the corral, should be their general. The person who succeeded was accordingly elected, and doubtless made a fit general for such an army. This extraordinary feat has also been performed by Rosas.

"By these means, and by conforming to the diess and habits of the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country, and, in consequence, a despotic power. I was assured by an English merchant that a man who had murdered another, when arrested and questioned concerning his motive, answered,' He spoke disrespectfully of General Rosas, so I killed him.' At the end of a week the murderer was at liberty. This, doubtless, was the act of the general's party, and not of the general himself. [But subsequent events showed that it might well have been the general's act.]

"In conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. His gravity is carried to a high pitch. I heard one of his mad buffoons (for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the following anecdote: 'I wanted very much to hear a certain piece of music, so I went to the general two or three times to ask him; he said to me, "Go about your business, for I am engaged." I went a second time. He said, "If you come again I will punish you." A third time I asked, and he laughed. I rushed out of the tent, but it was too late. He ordered two soldiers to catch and stake me. I begged by all the saints in heaven he would let me off-but it would not do; when the general laughs he spares neither madman nor sound.' The poor flighty gentleman looked quite dolorous at the very recollection of the staking. This is a very severe punishment: four posts are driven into the ground, and the man is extended by his arms and legs horizontally, and then left to stretch for several hours. The idea is evi

dently taken from the usual method of drying hides. My interview passed away without a smile, and I obtained a passport and order for the Government post-horses, and this he gave me in the most obliging and ready manner."

In 1835 Rosas made himself dictator, and a more terrible ruler never cursed a nation. A picture of life at the capital, while this

tyrant was feared as much as he was hated and flattered, may be found in the interesting work called "Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants," by D. F. Sarmiento, afterward President of the Republic, which was translated by Mrs. Horace Mann, and published in New York in 1868. This work was written some years before the downfall of the dictator, and only partly relates to

him. "The Reign of Rosas; or, South American Sketches," by E. C. Fernau, was published in London in 1877. Rosas was defeated in battle by General Urquiza in 1852, and spent the remainder of his days in exile, dying in England in March, 1877.

An English officer, captain of the
June 16th, 1869, at Cheltenham,

Sturt, CHARLES. (Page 72.) 39th Regiment; born 1795; died England. In 1828-31 he explored the great basin of the Murray River in South-eastern Australia, of which the Murrumbidgee is a tributary. In 1844-46 he penetrated nearly to the centre of the continent. Of these journeys he gave an account in "Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia" (London, 1833), and “Narrative of an Exploration into Central Australia" (London, 1849).

Symonds, WILLIAM. (Page 76.) An English rear-admiral and naval architect; born 1782; died 1856.

GENERAL INDEX.

The pronunciation of the more difficult FOREIGN NAMES is indicated in parentheses (a as in fate;
è as in equal; i as in like; ō as in tone; oo as in food). When not indicated, the chief thing to remem-
ber is, that a generally sounds as in father, e like a in fate, i like e in equal, u like oo in food.
Spanish; Port. = Portuguese; Fr. French; Ger. German; Dan. Danish; Eng. =

Amblyrhyn'cus, a kind of lizard, found only | Bahia Blanca (“white bay"), on the south

Ant, migrating, 83; enclosing prey, 84; at- Banda Oriental (Span. pron., ban'dah or-è-en-