188 DK. CUNNINGHAM ON 



through the Strait in the course of this month, I make use of 

 the opportunity to send you a few notes of our proceedings 

 during the last two months. AVe left the Eay of Valparaiso on 

 the evening of the 3rd of ]S"ovemher3 and reached Lota two days 

 later. The surrounding country was looking exceedingly green 

 and pretty, very refreshing to the eye after the daily contempla- 

 tion of the parched brownish-green hills at the back of Valpa- 

 raiso. Here our stay lasted for a day and a half; and the first 

 day Capt. Mayne and I enjoyed a long ride into the country, 

 which was beautifully diversified with trees and shrubs, Boldoa 

 fragrans being especially plentiful among the latter, and its leaves 

 presenting a most agreeable variety of shades of green. A con- 

 siderable number of plants were in flow^er, the greater number of 

 which I had, however, previously observed in the neighbourhood 

 of Valparaiso. Such were the Pasithea ccerulea^ an OocaliSy various 

 species of (EnotTiera^ the little scarlet Tropcsolum, &c. ; but 1 

 also met with some novelties, such as Bomarea Salsilla, which 

 presents a very handsome appearance, trailing over the shrubs, 

 and the Chilian Strawberry, which was in full flower. The fore- 

 noon of the following day I principally employed in searching 

 the beach for marine animals, but did not meet with anything 

 that had not occurred to me on my former visit. In the after- 

 noon we got under weigh with the idea of continuing our voyage, 

 but before we had gone far found the wind so much against us 

 that we anchored in Luco Bay, one of the subdivisions of the 

 large Bay of Arauco. Here we spent three very pleasant days, 

 enjoying the fine sunny weather and the pretty hilly country. 1 

 saw some very beautiful trees of the Eoble {Fagus obliqua), which 

 appears to be rapidly undergoing extinction in the northern 

 provinces of Chili, and I obtained a considerable number of 

 flowering plants, a good many of which were new to me, as, for 

 example, an EmhotTirium^ which has much narrower leaves than 

 E, coccineum, a blue Sor€ma(?), an orange Linumy a species of 

 Lihertia, &c. Here and there curious tumuli were to be seen, 

 and I made what inquiries I could about them. I met a very 

 intelligent Scotchman, who was wrecked in the Bay thirty 

 years ago, and has been there ever since • and he told me that 

 nothing, so far as he was aware, was known as to their age, 

 bevond the fact that they must be of very considerable antiquity, 

 as the Araucanian Indians have no traditions respecting them. 

 He informed me that nothing, so far as he was aware, had ever 



