544 A NATURALIST ON THE "CHALLENGER." 



lie, and point them out to strangers ; but there is nothing in 

 their appearance which would lead one to suspect their real 

 grandeur were one not acquainted with it beforehand. 



The hill-sides around the town are scored by the straggling 

 tracks of Pack Mules following the crests of the ridges. The 

 earth being so little held together by vegetation is readily cut 

 into by the rain. An excessively heavy rain-storm occurred 

 just before we left Yalparaiso. The water poured off the hill- 

 sides, flooding the streets of the town, and carried so much earth 

 with it that it buried the lines of the tramway in some places 

 with two feet of soil, and the line had to be dug out. 



One sees the lasso in full use even on the quay of Yalparaiso. 

 It is used by the herdsmen who have to assist in shipping the 

 cattle which they drive down from the country. I saw two 

 refractory animals thus thrown down with the lasso on the pave- 

 ment, and subdued, amongst a crowd of passers-by. It might 

 have been awkward for the crowd if the men had missed their 

 aim ; but the matter seemed perfectly safe in their hands. 



Amongst the herdsmen was a youth of about 16 years. He 

 made a clumsy shot with his lasso, which interfered with that 

 of one of the other men. The man rode his horse full tilt at 

 that of the boy several times, driving in his spurs and making 

 his horse charge with all its force. The boy returned the charge 

 guiding his horse so that the two met always chest to chest, and 

 eventually the man finding he could not upset him gave up the 

 attempt. I was told that this charging of horses, which corre- 

 sponds exactly to charging at football, is commonly practised in 

 Chile. It was curious to see it going on in the populous street 

 of a large city. 



I went to Santiago, the capital of Chile, and also made an 

 excursion to the summit of the Uspallata Pass, which is tra- 

 versed by one of the roads leading over the Andes to Mendoza 

 in the Argentine Eepublic. I started from the town of Sta. 

 Rosa de los Andes. The Pass has been described by Mr. 

 Darwin.* 



Soon after leaving Sta. Eosa the hill-sides are seen to be 

 covered with the tall Candelabra-like Cactus (Cereus Quisco) 



* " Journal of Researches," p. 330. 



