And here I took up the business of a cattle-drover, or _trappiere_. In an Estancia, called the Corral del Piedras, under the authority of the Minister of Finance, I succeeded in collecting, in about twenty days, about nine hundred cattle, after indescribable fatigue. With a still greater degree of labor and weariness they were driven towards Montevideo. Thither, however, I did not succeed in driving them. Insuperable obstacles presented themselves on the way, and, more than all, the Rio Negro, which crossed it, and in which I nearly lost all this capital. From that river, from the effects of my inexperience and from the tricks of some of my hired assistants for managing the drove of animals, I saved about five hundred of the cattle, which, by the long journey, scarcity of food and accidents in crossing streams, were thought unfit to go to Montevideo. I therefore decided to "_cuercer_" or "_leather_" them,—that is, to kill them for their hides; and this was done. In fact, after having passed through indescribable fatigue and troubles, for about fifty days, I arrived at Montevideo with a few hides, the only remains of my nine hundred oxen. These I sold for only a few hundred dollars, which served but scantily to clothe my little family. In Montevideo I spent some of my time in the house of my friend Napoleon Castellani, to whose kindness, and the courtesy of his wife, I felt much indebted. I acknowledge my obligations also to my dear friends, Giovanni Battista Cuneo and Giovanni Risso. Having a family, but my means being exhausted, I felt it necessary to provide for the subsistence of the three individuals of whom it consisted. Other people's bread always seemed to me bitter, whenever in my diversified life I have found it necessary to partake of it; and I have been so happy as never to be dependant on any friend. Two occupations, of small profit, it is true, but which would afford me a subsistence, I assumed for a time. They were those of a broker and a teacher of mathematics, given in the house and to the pupils of the estimable instructor, Signor Paolo Semidei. This manner of life I pursued until I entered the Oriental squadron. The Rio Grande question was approaching a settlement, and there was nothing more to be thought on that subject. The Oriental Republic soon offered me employment, and I accepted it. I was appointed to proceed on an expedition, the results of which, through either ignorance or malignity, proved ruinous. With the sloop Constitucion, of eighteen guns, the brig Terceira, of two eighteen pounders, and a transport, the schooner Procida, I was ordered to proceed to Corrientes, an allied province, to assist in their military operations against the forces of Rosas.