stand what makes the poor horse carry his head so low, and look so weary. The little innocent colts come running up to meet him, and then start away frightened; while the old horses, whose white marks on the flanks and backs betray their acquaintance with the spur and saddle, walk slowly away for some distance, and then, breaking into a trot, as they seek their safety, snort and look behind them, first with one eye, then with the other, turning their nose from right to left, and carrying their long tails high in the air. As soon as the poor horse reaches the post he is often quite exhausted; he is as wet as if he had come out of a river, and his sides are often bleeding violently; but the life he leads is so healthy, his constitution is so perfectly sound, and his food is so simple, that he never has those inflammatory attacks which kill so many of our pampered horses in England. It certainly sounds cruel to spur a horse as violently as it is sometimes necessary to do in the Pampas, and so in fact it is, yet there is something to be said in excuse for it; if he is worn out and exhausted, his rider also is-he is not goaded on for an idle purpose, but he is carrying a man on business, and for the service of man he was created. Supposing him to be ever so tired, still he has his liberty when he reaches the goal, and if he is cunning, a very long time may elapse before he is caught again; and in the meanwhile the whole country affords him food, freedom, health, and enjoyment; and the work he has occasionally performed, and the sufferings he has endured, may perhaps teach him to appreciate his liberty and the wild plains in which he was born. He may suffer occasionally from the spur; but how different is his life from that of the poor post-horse in England, whose work increases with his age,-who is daily led in blinkers to the collar, and who knows nothing of creation but the hard dusty road on which he travels, and the rack and manger of a close-heated stable! The country through which we rode this day was covered with locusts of a very beautiful colour: they were walking along the road so thick that the ground was completely covered—some were hurrying one way and some another, but the two sets were on different sides of the road, like people in the City (of London). Multitudes were basking in the sun, and apparently in high enjoy ment were making a faint thrilling cry which was higher or lower as it proceeded either from the young or old, and as I galloped along the notes varied like the distant vibrations of an Æolian harp. At one post these locusts were in such numbers, that the poor woman, in despair, was sweeping them away with a broom, and they swarmed in crowds up my horse's legs. A little girl had given me some water, and I put my straw hat on the ground while I sat down to drink, and with feelings of very great pleasure I was looking at the mug, which was an English one, and on which was inscribed No power on Earth, Can make us rue, If England to her- when I saw my hat literally covered with locusts biting the straw. As soon as I took it up, these parti-coloured creatures hopped off like harlequins. The number of them is quite incredible, and they would be a most serious enemy to any individual who should attempt to cultivate a solitary farm in the Pampas-although a large population and general cultivation might perhaps keep them away. We arrived late and very tired at the post, having ridden one hundred and twenty-three miles, and found the master, Don Juan, very busy, providing supper for a priest, who had just arrived in a carriage. The water was extremely bad, and I began to think I should fare badly, when the priest asked me to partake of his supper, which was now smoking on the table. He had some good water in bottles, and we had a roasted lamb before us. The priest ate the heart, and seemed to enjoy his repast as much as I did. He was silent, but very kind, and occasionally nodded at the dish and said to me "Come bién !" (Eat well). After the lamb he brought out a box of sweetmeats, and he then put his hand up the large loose sleeve of his white serge gown, and pulled out some cigars. Next morning at daybreak we started. The French Colonel's servant, who was a Chilian Gaucho, now began to complain; and after riding one hundred miles I saw no more of him, as he and L the Scotch gentleman who had accompanied me stopped at sunset at a hut where the servant was afterwards found by my party, who took him into the carriage. I rode on about twenty miles, and the next day I rode one hundred and twenty miles, and reached Buenos Aires about two hours after sunset. A FEW GENERAL OBSERVATIONS RESPECTING THE WORKING OF MINES IN SOUTH AMERICA. WHEN one reflects upon the immense riches which have proceeded from some mines, and the large sums of money which have been lost in others, it is evident that the inspection of a mine, with a view of immediately working it with a large capital, is in any country an important and difficult duty. There are, perhaps, few subjects which require more deliberate and dispassionate consideration; for to be too sanguine, or to be too timid, are faults which it is easy to commit. In the former case, one builds upon hopes which are never to be realized; in the latter, one loses a prize which energy and enterprise might have secured; and the passions of the mind are never more eager to mislead the judgment than when the object to be considered is the acquisition of what are termed the "precious metals." But if this is the case in civilized countries, where experience has recorded many valuable data, where the lode to be inspected may be compared with those which are flourishing and with those which have failed, where operations may be commenced with a cautious step, where the windlass may be succeeded by the whims, and the whims by the steam-engine, how much more difficult is the task when the lode is in a foreign country, destitute of resources, experience, and population, and when as a stranger one is led over a series of wild, barren mountains, to a desert spot, at once to determine whether the mine is to be accepted or not. As this has been my situation, I will venture to make a few imperfect observations on the subject. The first object which draws the attention to a lode (which is a ramified crack or fissure, in which ores, with other substances, are embedded), is its positive value or contents, and this value has lately been estimated in England merely from the inspection and assay of a piece of the ore; but of course this judgment is altogether erroneous, for a large lode of a moderate assay may be more valuable than a small lode of rich ores or assay; and an extraordinary rich lode may be too small to be worth the expense of working, while a very large poor lode may be worked with profit. But besides these observations, the physical character of the lode must be considered; for the fissure is seldom filled with ore -it contains also quartz, mundic,* &c. &c., and is occasionally a strong box which contains no riches at all. It is therefore evident, that besides the size of the lode, and the assay, the average quantity of ore it contains is also to be considered; because a large lode, with an occasional bunch (as it is termed) of rich ores may not be so worthy of working as a smaller lode with a number of bunches of poorer ores. There is also another material question,-whether the lode is getting richer or poorer as it dips? For a large lode, with rich assay and frequent bunches, but diminishing in value, may be calculated at less value than a smaller lode with poorer assay, less frequent bunches, but increasing in value. There are many other considerations; but the above, perhaps, will satisfy those who have not reflected on the subject, that the abstract value of a lode in America can in no way be determined by the assay of a piece of ore in England, particularly when it is known that specimens of ores are often sent from South America as samples of lodes from which they never were extracted. However, upon the spot a calculation may be made of the probable produce of the mine; and in Cornwall, where the expenses of the mine are known and certain, it is on this calculation that almost all the speculation of the enterprise depends. For the riches of lodes being subject to sudden variations, they may increase or diminish in a surprising degree; still the calculation rests in Cornwall upon as fair a basis as those which are made on the duration of human life, or the insurance of ships, &c. &c. But in South America the case is widely different; for *The Cornish term for sulphurets of arsenic, iron, &c. |