On The Third Day We Pursued Rather An Irregular Course,
As I Was Employed In Examining Some Beds Of Marble.
On
the fine plains of turf we saw many ostriches (Struthio
rhea).
Some of the flocks contained as many as twenty or
thirty birds. These, when standing on any little eminence,
and seen against the clear sky, presented a very noble
appearance. I never met with such tame ostriches in any other
part of the country: it was easy to gallop up within a short
distance of them; but then, expanding their wings, they
made all sail right before the wind, and soon left the horse
astern.
At night we came to the house of Don Juan Fuentes, a
rich landed proprietor, but not personally known to either
of my companions. On approaching the house of a stranger,
it is usual to follow several little points of etiquette: riding
up slowly to the door, the salutation of Ave Maria is given,
and until somebody comes out and asks you to alight, it is
not customary even to get off your horse: the formal answer
of the owner is, "sin pecado concebida" - that is, conceived
without sin. Having entered the house, some general conversation
is kept up for a few minutes, till permission is
asked to pass the night there. This is granted as a matter
of course. The stranger then takes his meals with the family,
and a room is assigned him, where with the horsecloths
belonging to his recado (or saddle of the Pampas) he makes
his bed.
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