our destination: the ways and means would form a very long subject for a Petter, and I consequently reserve the details until my return.

1

The few provisions that we carried were of an inferior description, and had an unfavourable influence on our health, but like true Germans we have already forgotten our past sufferings and laugh at them in the bases of the engineers, Messrs. William H. Cock and Auguste Lemelle, who have received us as if we had been old friends. We are now lodging in the house of the Salado Navigation Company. Major Martinez is rather ill in the Bracho encampment, with the Indians who accompanied , whose behaviour has been very bad.

On the 1st of May an Indian ran away, back to Corrientes, with one of the horses. On the 17th another Indian and a boy ran away, stealing our beef and two of the best horses.

On the 14th the Cacique Dachilique, with his brother, ran away, stealing some of our horses and the only hatchet we had with us. We lost our way during the night and passed 35 hours without water. The Cacique was familiar with the locality and could have found water, but seeing that the majority of our horses were tired, he separated from us, to take the horses to his «tolderia.» He is the same who, three years back, murdered the Franciscan friar at Matara, and he communicated this fact to the Cacique Leoncito, adding that he accompanied us, merely to learn the state of the roads and cattle, so that he might be better enabled to carry on his depredations against the Province of Santiago. Such are the «trustworthy agents» given to us by General Ferré.

"On the 14th of May, at last, we came to the River Salado, and established ourselves in the 'canton Tostada,' now abandoned. Here we found the ine and well constructed «azotea» houses, erected by orders of our friend Dr. Archer, of which we have taken a plan and sketch to present to you on our return.

The road that we have travelled over is 175 leagues, and we are now waiting instructions and horses from the Governor of Santiago. The road an be made transitable for cargo with very little expense.

believe that we will start for Santiage on the 26th, passing by Salavina, and from thence I will write further. I do not know yet when and bow we shall return to Corrientes, for this depends upon the measures taken by the Government of Santiago.

«FRANCIS PANKONI,

«Lieutenant Commanding.»

JOURNEY ACROSS THE CHACO.

An intelligent Indian interpreter and traveller, named Felipe Saravi who had previously crossed the Chaco, made a journey in January 186 with complete success, and his diary from Esquina Grande to Corrient is as follows:

«January 21st. Left Colony Rivadavia, crossed to the right bank of the Vermejo, following the stream (three leagues) as far as Selicano: goc. water, course S.E and E.

«22nd. Started at sunrise, and reached Santa Rosa by noon (four leagues); course E. Pushed on (three leagues) to Cañada Angosta, course S.E roads good.

«23rd. Dined at Poso Escondido (five leagues): good water, roa middling, course E. At one part we had to hew a passage of half a league Advancing three leagues before nightfall we encamped near a large lak which I called Selicano Muerto: road very bad, course S.E.

«24th. Made four leagues to the lake of Paso Yuchan: the route i almost impassable, and we had frequently to cut our way through woods About midway is Palo Santo, where a port is projected on the Rio Vermejo Leaving Paso Yuchan we cleared a road through three leagues of thicket and one and a-half leagues over level ground brought us to Campo Alegre : here there is a good well, course E.

«25th. Reached Poso Verde (five and a-half leagues) by noon. At first the road is good, S.E.; but we had two and a-half leagues E. through dense woods, and then turning again S. E. came on a fine lake. Before night we pushed on (three leagues) to Rancheria, S. E., the route being impassable even to our sixty Indians on foot, until cleared by four men with axes.

«26th. Starting at six a.m. the path was still impenetrable, and with great difficulty we made two leagues to Pescado Flaco, where the steamer Vermejo grounded last year, and sent her cargo on mule-back to Salta I employed the Chinipis Indians to make a wood-opening here, giving them both money and axes. Course E.: there are two large lakes.

«27th. Using our axes again we made three leagues to Bobadal, E. Two leagues more through the woods to Yuchanes, E., where there is a fine lake.

«28th. At noon to Codillar, which is three and a-half leagues; at first no road, afterwards level camp, and a lake; route E. Two leagues further to Paso Quebrahacho, over level ground, with water, E.

«29th. To Punta Monte two leagues, level camp, S. È.: here there is a well. To Cañada Larga one league, S., with water. To the well called Pelaco three-quarters of a league, E. After this, half a league of thick

woods E., and two and three-quarters of level camp to Tunal, S. In the evening we made three leagues: good road to Laguna Larga, S.E.

<30th. Two leagues E. and S.E. to Paso Tobas, open ground. Three leagues more, same road, to Laguna Verde, S.E.

31st. To Tres Positos, four leagues, S. E., first half of the way through thickets, afterwards open camp. At three p.m. started for Represa, two and a-half leagues, good road, S.E.

«February 1st. After one and a-half leagues of good road, we had to use our axes for two leagues, before reaching Binalar, S.E. Following this route we reached Totoral, the road being for one and a-half leagues good, and the rest very difficult, S.E.

2nd. Six leagues of good road, E., to Agua Hedionda, where there is a fine lake, and we passed the night.

<3rd. Five leagues good road, S., and then N.E. to Gateado lake: thence to Paso Zancudo, four and a-half leagues, E., and then S., over level ground: much water.

<ith. Taking S.E. four leagues good road to the lake of Algarrobal. Same route, three leagues and a-half to Palma Acheada and the lagoons.

5th. To Acheral, four and a-half leagues, clear way, at first S.E. and then E. We passed the night at Potrero, five leagues further, S.E., good road, and water.

«6th. Started at six a.m. and took siesta at Tres Palmitas, six leagues S.E., varying to E. Here there is no water. By sundown reached Perdido, two leagues S.E.

7th. Reached Montes Grandes by noon: five leagues, good road, S.E., much water, pushed on to Siete Arboles, three and a-half leagues same route. «8th. Made five and a-half leagues to Arroyo Cortaderas, E., good road, with water. Five leagues more to Bajo Grande.

9th. Started at seven a.m. and reached the bank of the Paraná, in front of Corrientes, at noon. After siesta crossed the river to the city, which is four leagues from Bajo Grande.»>

The journey occupied twenty days, averaging seven leagues per day; of the total hundred and forty leagues, twenty-seven are impassable even to the Indians on foot, who have to cut a passage, as we have scen, with axes. The longest interval without water is six leagues, but it is not clear that the lagoons bearing the names of «Stinking Water» and «Green Well» are fit for drinking purposes.

At the same time the ill-fated brothers Barron (formerly of Waterford, Ireland) got up an expedition to traverse the Chaco from Goya to Santiago, enlisting for the purpose some Indian auxiliaries, but owing to the outbreak

THE HELVETIA COLONY.

39

of the Paraguayan war the enterprise was abandoned (The Barrons undertook a second expedition from Mendoza to Chile, in which they were carried off by a savage tribe of Indians, but shortly afterwards effected their escape. Finally they were murdered in San Juan on a third mule expedition, in 1866.) Since 1865 no similar expedition has been made, but the road in question is one of vital necessity, and will probably be the first care of Government on the conclusion of the war. The above named Sr. Arce, at the request of President Derqui, made an attempt to cross the Chaco in 1860: his men (sixty peons) were not prepared for the hardships of the journey, and after three days' floundering through morasses they mutinied; just then a band of Indians fell on them, robbing the convoy, and murdering a friar and six others. Sor. Arce miraculously escaped by floating down the Vermejo on the branch of a tree.

HELVETIA COLONY.

This colony was founded in October, 1861, by Dr. Romang (formerly physician to the Esperanza Colony), who obtained from the Santa Fé Government a grant of four square leagues, on condition of establishing 125 families thereon. It is situate N.N.E. from the Calchines, on the River Cayesta, about a league beyond the Indian village of Cayesta. The first settlers were twenty-four families from Esperanza, and others from Villa Urquiza, who preferred this place on account of its excellent soil and situation, the farming lots being sold very cheap. The average price is 100 Bolivian dollars (£16 sterling) per lot of 85 acres. Dr. Romang's house is in the centre of the spot marked out for the future town and port of the colony: the port is good, and protected by a picturesque and wooded island from the south wind. The river San Javier is about 300 yards wide, and schooners from Buenos Ayres come up to the colony. The road hence to Calchines is mostly through swamps and thickets, with open camps at intervals: the pasture is very poor, unless near the colony, where there is a fine black vegetable earth. Mr. Perkins writes of the locality as follows:

«A little over a year ago I travelled all over that section of the country, and found it, without exaggeration, the finest place for farming and cattlerearing purposes I have seen in this country. The ground or soil is black and sandy, and the grass hard; but not near so hard as south of the river Salado. I think for sheep it would not do so well in the beginning; but I fancy that 'gramilla' would make its appearance sooner than near Esperanza, San Jeronimo, San Carlos, &c.

Romang's grant is situated on the immediate banks of the navigable branch of the Rio Paraná, called by the country folks 'El arroyo del pueblo viejo:' by 'pueblo viejo' they understand an Indian village, Cayesta, at a distance of about twenty-five leagues from the city of Santa Fe. There I have seen the ruins of a church and a number of houses-all seemed to have been built of tapia or adobe: remains of bricks and baldosas could be seen in various parts. The former ground of the church is now used by some of the baptized Indians as a burying-ground: they put pieces of wood and branches of trees on the tombs. Most of them have chacras (fenced in) and grow corn, water melons, pumpkins, and mani.

The women are industrious: they spin, dye, weave, sew and stitch tolerably well; they rear cattle, have first-rate milch cows, but make neither butter nor cheese, only using milk as a beverage. Their clothing is of the most primitive nature. The land would be capital for growing cotton and tobacco. The milch cows would be very safe and do first-rate on the fine island opposite the shore.

Dr. Romang has the land divided into lots of five and twenty cuadras, each 150 yards square, and he sells such lots in the immediate neighborhood of the river for 100 Bolivian dollars, a little further off for sixty, and those lots situated two miles from the river for fifty.

I forgot to mention that within a league of said land there are beautiful forests of a great variety of trees. The forty families who accompany Dr. Romang are all known to me; they are old settlers of Esperanza, and have the routine of the exportation of timber, &c., which is the principal reason, I think, of their removing farther north. They all handle the rifle well, and are not afraid of the Indians.»>

The situation is most picturesque, on the banks of the San Javier, which has fringes of fine timber, and some fertile islands. The colony counts 40 families, which comprise 167 individuals, and 100 more families are ready to come out from Switzerland as soon as the war is over. Some of the lands are good, others need drainage, but have excellent timber. The chief products are maize, wheat, and potatoes. Raising pigs promises to be a lucrative business, as the animals are fattened on maize, and the hams sell at 18d. per . Cayasta is an Indian village, comprising thirty huts, a house belonging to a Spanish wood-cutter, and the residence of the cacique, Tomas Valdez. It stands on a bluff near the San Javier, with a zone of open camps; but the horizon is bounded on all sides with a dark fringe of wood. All these lands, as far as Saladillo Dulce, are very suitable for colonists, with easy communication with the river Paraná. The Indians of Cayasta are indolent, thievish, and fond of hunting and fishing: the men