294 Voyage of the Novara. 



The journey to the capital of Chile is not among the most 

 inviting. There are nmnerous crests of mountains (questas) 

 to be crossed en route, which at many points are steep, not 

 to speak of the bad construction of the roads, and the little 

 care taken to keep them in order. Frequently tlie carriage 

 rolls along the very verge of a profound abyss ; the soil 

 seems about to give way, gravel and stones plunge thunder- 

 ing down, while neither wall nor wooden railing intervenes 

 to prevent the traveller from following them. Moreover, the 

 vehicles in ordinary use are not calculated to diminish the 

 perils of such a journey, especially if it is an object to ar- 

 rive speedily at one's destination, when the regular national 

 coach, the Birloche, as it is called, must be used. It is a 

 sort of double-seated two-wheeled cabriolet drawn by two 

 horses, while five or six horses trot alongside, Avhich furnish 

 the change of horses when required. The driver rides one 

 of the horses, as in Havannah, and is wonderfully skilful in 

 his way. He usually wears the national brown-covered 

 poncho (a quadrangular piece of clotli with an opening in the 

 centre through which the head passes), a small straw hat, 

 linen pants, and on his bare feet enormous, heavy spurs, 

 sometimes fastened by a piece of leather, sometimes with a 

 mere cord. 



We pushed forward without stoppage as far as Casa Blanca, 

 one of the most ancient settlements of Chile, which, however, 

 as previously remarked, has always preserved its village-like 

 aspect. Here we fell in with several very handsome ladies, 



