Í252 A VOYAGE TO BookVIII. 



"winds fherc is no poiTibility of landing on account of 

 the great lea, : but in fair weather, every place is con- 

 venient for [roing on ihore. 



The country round the bay, particularly that 

 betwiren Talcaguana and Conception^ within four or 

 five Itagw^ from the fhorc, is noted for a very fin- 

 gular curiofity, namely, that at the depth of half or 

 three quarters of a yard beneath the furface of the 

 ground, is a ñratum of ihells of different kinds, 

 two or three toifes in thickncfs, and in fome place» 

 even more, without any intermixture of earth, one 

 large ihcl! being joined together by fmaller, and 

 which alfo fill the cavities of the larger. From thefe 

 fiiells all the lime ufed in building is made; and 

 large pits are dug in the earth for taking out thofe 

 iliclls, and calcining them. Were thefe ftrata of 

 Ihells found only in low and level places, this 

 pha?nomenon would be more' eafily accounted for 

 by a fippofitlcn no ways improbable, namely, that 

 thefe paits wi-re for'^-erly covered by the fea, agree- 

 able to an obfervation wc made in our ciefcription of 

 Lima. But what renders it furprifng is, that the 

 like quarries of the fame kind of ihtlis, are found 

 on the tops of mountains' in this councry, fit- y toiles 

 above the level of the fea. I did not indeed pcrlonally 

 examine the quarries on the higheft of thole moun- 

 tains; but vc'as affured of their exiftence by perfons 

 who had lime kilns there ; but I faw them myfelf on 

 the fummits of others at the height of twenty toifes 

 above the furface of the fea; and was the more 

 plea fed v;ith the fight, as it appeared to me a con- 

 vincing proof of the univeriality of the deluge. I am 

 not ignorant that fome have attributed this to other 

 cau(es j but an unanfwerable confutation of their fubter- 

 iuge IS, that the various forts of íIkíIs whicii compofe 

 thtfe ftrata both in the plains and mountains, are 

 the very fame v.'ith thofe found in the bay and neigh- 

 bouring places. Among thefe ihells are three Ipe- 



cies 



