It Commonly Sits On A Branch Of The _Ombu_
Tree, Near A House, And Thence Takes A Short Flight In Pursuit
Of Insects, And Returns To The Same Spot.
When on the wing
it presents in its manner of flight and general appearance
a caricature-likeness of the common swallow.
It has the
power of turning very shortly in the air, and in so doing
opens and shuts its tail, sometimes in a horizontal or lateral
and sometimes in a vertical direction, just like a pair of
scissors.
October 16th. - Some leagues below Rozario, the western
shore of the Parana is bounded by perpendicular cliffs,
which extend in a long line to below San Nicolas; hence it
more resembles a sea-coast than that of a fresh-water river.
It is a great drawback to the scenery of the Parana, that,
from the soft nature of its banks, the water is very muddy.
The Uruguay, flowing through a granitic country, is much
clearer; and where the two channels unite at the head of
the Plata, the waters may for a long distance be distinguished
by their black and red colours. In the evening, the
wind being not quite fair, as usual we immediately moored,
and the next day, as it blew rather freshly, though with a
favouring current, the master was much too indolent to think
of starting. At Bajada, he was described to me as "hombre
muy aflicto" - a man always miserable to get on; but certainly
he bore all delays with admirable resignation. He
was an old Spaniard, and had been many years in this
country. He professed a great liking to the English, but
stoutly maintained that the battle of Trafalgar was merely
won by the Spanish captains having been all bought over;
and that the only really gallant action on either side was
performed by the Spanish admiral. It struck me as rather
characteristic, that this man should prefer his countrymen
being thought the worst of traitors, rather than unskilful or
cowardly.
18th and 19th. - We continued slowly to sail down the
noble stream: the current helped us but little. We met,
during our descent, very few vessels. One of the best gifts
of nature, in so grand a channel of communication, seems
here wilfully thrown away - a river in which ships might
navigate from a temperate country, as surprisingly abundant
in certain productions as destitute of others, to another
possessing a tropical climate, and a soil which, according to
the best of judges, M. Bonpland, is perhaps unequalled in
fertility in any part of the world. How different would
have been the aspect of this river if English colonists had
by good fortune first sailed up the Plata! What noble towns
would now have occupied its shores! Till the death of
Francia, the Dictator of Paraguay, these two countries must
remain distinct, as if placed on opposite sides of the globe.
And when the old bloody-minded tyrant is gone to his long
account, Paraguay will be torn by revolutions, violent in
proportion to the previous unnatural calm.
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