1839.] mines. 105 



lucerne grass, is brought in the same manner, — the owner 

 sitting in the midst of his load, almost out of sight, and his 

 lower extremities completely lost in the brobdignag stirrups, 

 nearly as large as a peck measure, that dangle beneath him. 



Connected with the commerce are the manufactures of the 

 country. The Chilenos are excellent potters, and make light 

 and strong earthen jars that ring like metal. Hempen cloths, 

 common hemp cordage, soap, leather, wine, brandy, tallow, 

 charcoal, and some rough articles of copper ware, are the 

 chief articles manufactured. Besides the acida and aguar- 

 diente, or wine and brandy, made from the grape, a potation 

 called chicha* is made by boiling down the clear grape-juice 

 after fermentation. 



(8.) Though so large a portion of Chili is not susceptible 

 of cultivation, nevertheless, even there, it contains vast depos- 

 itories of wealth, which more than compensate for the defi- 

 ciency. The country is extremely rich in minerals. Silver 

 is found there at a greater elevation than any other metal ; 

 it is also met with in the valleys, or bowls, in the lower 

 ranges, but it generally decreases in quantity in proportion 

 to its distance from the Andes. The most valuable silver 

 mine is that of Huasco. Gold occurs altogether in alluvial 

 formations, and most, if not all, the rivers, wash down this 

 valuable mineral. Lead and iron are abundant, but are not 

 much sought after. Zinc, antimony, manganese, arsenic, 

 tin, alum, salt, nitre, and sulphur, so pure as not to require 

 refining, are plentiful. Coal mines, which improve as they 

 are worked, have been opened near Concepcion, and already 

 form a principal article of trade and consumption at Valpa- 



* This is not the chica, or intoxicating beer, found among the aborigines of 

 Chili and Peru. That was produced by fermenting maize or Indian corn, pre- 

 pared in a most disgusting manner, according to the account given in Acosta's 

 Natural History of the Indies, and Frezier's voyages to the South sea, and the 

 western coast of South America— the saliva of the females being used for barm 

 in producing the fermentation. The Abbe Molina says it was customary with 

 the aborigines, when burying their dead to deposit an earthen jar filled with 

 chica in the mound, with the deceased, to subsist him on his journey to the other 



world. 



5.* 



