Page:Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay (1870).djvu/283



FROM ROZARIO TO CORRIENTP^S. 253

The cliff section is lined with long horizontal bands of stra- tified mnd, like courses of masonry ; here whitish, there yellowish, and there ruddy : these denote the process of deposition raised by secular upheaval. The fine dark humus varies in depth from one to three feet. You may imagine its antiquity when Humboldt makes seven lines of humus the work of a century in the temperates. It rests upon sandy silt, the latter is supported by red or white tosca, calcareous clay, sandstone, or marl, and the base is strewn with boulders, arenaceous heaps, and tree-trunks, the spoils of the mighty river- god. The oyster cliffs at Parana on the eastern side contain gryphsea, O. acuminata, O. deltoidia, and O. exogyna : below the line lie ochreish clays, and sands green and yellow, whose principal fossils are Astarte elegans, Pecten, and Plagiostomus. On the western shore the succession is vegetable mould. Pampas earth, and conchylian limestone.

As a rule, upward-bound craft hereabouts hug the left bank. On board the Yi, however, cautiousness prefers the torrential mid- stream to the slack water on both sides, and self-sufficiency disdains to take a hint. Our commander declares, although the stations are printed upon the card, that being ordered to return on the 27th instant, he will halt only when he wants beef. A curious party of pleasure ! about as free as yonder red-shirted Paraguayan prisoners who pass us in the steamer dashing down stream, and who affect us with immense excitement. M. Varela and a ridi- culous being called Canstatt make after-dinner speeches.

Presently we sight a narrow in front. The left bank is Punta Gorda, called Diamante by General Urquiza, when (February 3, 1852) he here reviewed his cavalry, 12,000 strong, before crossing the river and going to glory at the battle of Monte Caseros. The troops were ferried over in boats and rafts. On the Entre Riano side a tall and