Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Descriptive Outline of the Pampas &c. &c.
- The Town of Buenos Aires
- Mode of Travelling
- Town of San Luis
- Journey to the Gold Mines and Lavaderos of La Carolina
- Mendoza
- The Pampas
- The Pampas Indians
- Passage Across the Great Cordillera
- Convent at Santiago
- Journey to the Gold Mine of El Bronce de Petorca
- Gold Mine of Caren
- Journey to the Silver Mine of San Pedro Nolasco
- Departure from Santiago
- Return to Mendoza
- The Pampas
- A Few General Observations Respecting the Working of Mines in South America
- Conclusion
Passage Across the Great Cordillera
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 August 2010
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Descriptive Outline of the Pampas &c. &c.
- The Town of Buenos Aires
- Mode of Travelling
- Town of San Luis
- Journey to the Gold Mines and Lavaderos of La Carolina
- Mendoza
- The Pampas
- The Pampas Indians
- Passage Across the Great Cordillera
- Convent at Santiago
- Journey to the Gold Mine of El Bronce de Petorca
- Gold Mine of Caren
- Journey to the Silver Mine of San Pedro Nolasco
- Departure from Santiago
- Return to Mendoza
- The Pampas
- A Few General Observations Respecting the Working of Mines in South America
- Conclusion
Summary
The mules were ordered at twelve o'clock, but did not arrive till four: we had been waiting for them with great impatience; at last we heard the tinkling bell approaching, and they then came into the yard of the Fonda (inn), driven by the capataz and one peon. The capataz was a tall stout man, with a bad expression of countenance: we found him cruel, lazy, insolent, cowardly, and careless of everything but eating, and all this easily to be read in his countenance. The peon was a handsome, slight-made, active young fellow.
There were sixteen mules of different sizes and colours; they were all thin, but looked very healthy and hardy. One or two of them had dreadful sore backs, which I pointed out to the capataz, who promised to change them as soon as he got out of Mendoza. As my party consisted of eight people, and as we had baggage sufficient for six mules, we had only two spare ones, and these unable to work; whereas I learnt afterwards, that the capataz was bound to provide a much larger proportion of extra mules, but he was as greedy after lucre as he was after food, and to save a few dollars he would have worked his poor mules to death.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009