MINERAL SPRINGS. 2 '7 



passing through u little portezuelo, entered a p;irt of the valley which the water from the Colina 

 ha- render. -d highly prodiiei ive. On the summit of an isolated and oval knoll at the interoec- 

 tion of the road aii'l stream, there was a tall illuminated croKs, which we supposed might be 

 intended as a signal by the revolutionary party then agitating the country, until foot-travellers 

 infoniied us that it wan commemorative of a foul murder committed th< -re .-orne time previously, 

 crossing thein-elves and whispering a prayer for the deceased as they told the story. 



haikness soon rendered the road doiihtful. We had started under the helief that we had 

 only B6fl to o, and alter having travelled more than that distance, were not a little 



lined to learn that we were at least six miles from the end of our journey. No bribe 

 we offered would tempt the peon to act as our guide, and we moved at a foot-pace towards the 

 northeast, trusting to the sagacity of the horses to keep to the road. Close at hand, on the left, 

 we -killed a chain of hills that rose so abruptly as to conceal more than half the heaven* in 

 that direction ; on our right a high and rank growth of weeds separated us from the rush ing 

 water of the river, and before us a luminous cloud apparently rested against the wall of the 

 Andes a reflection of light, we hoped, from the heated vapor of the baths. Trusting as we 

 were to the instinct of the animals, it was pleasant to see the lights of ranches occasionally; for 

 they were proofs that we had not passed the limits of human companionship in pursuing the 

 undistinguishable road. When we had approached so near to the apparent cloud that a light near 

 it could be perceived, instead of finding the path incline in its direction, the horses turned 

 up a ravine to the left, and our dreams of rest were once more dispelled. There was no other 

 path, and of necessity we continued on, each moment more and more shut in from even the 

 twinkling light of stars, whilst climbing beside a brook that bounded from rock to rock beneath 

 us. Once the horses stopped. The road passed from the west to the east face of the ravine 

 across a narrow bridge, and they were terrified at the noise of the rushing water ; but having 

 gained confidence by soothing, they moved on up a zigzag path yet more precipitous. Evidently, 

 in forming the road, the face of the cliff had been cut into ; for we could touch its vertical wall 

 with the hand, whilst on the other side there yawned a precipice dangerous enough to the sight 

 at noonday, but whose terrors were no little augmented by darkness and the reverberations of 

 falling waters. Greatly were we gratified when a sudden turn in the road brought us in presence 

 of a number of lights so close at hand that our goal was reached in a few more minutes. 



Whether it was that the sound of voices in a strange tongue within the precincts of the little 

 settlement had roused the curiosity of its fair visitors, that they were desirous of tidings from 

 friends at the capital from which they might reasonably suppose we had come, or that we were 

 indebted to accident alone for a glimpse of their pretty faces, it cannot be said ; but we had 

 scarcely secured our horses in front of the room assigned us, before a bevy passed silently along 

 the corridor, their black eyes brimming with curiosity and mirthful mischief. After inspecting 

 us minutely without halting, as only girls can do, one whose appearance bespoke more expe- 

 rience than the rest good-naturedly said "Gringos,"* whereupon the whole party, herself 

 excepted, immediately took to flight. It is bad enough to have one's nationality mistaken at 

 anytime; but at this particular period, when the interference of her Britannic Majesty's Charge 

 d' Affaires in their domestic quarrels had brought on all her subjects the odium of his fault, less 

 than ever did one in Chile desire to be considered an Englishman. The gay-spirited Chilena 

 was therefore promptly prayed to consider us, though from the frozen north, "Americans not 

 Gringos." What charms they might have added to our visit, there was no opportunity to test: 

 we had not the assurance to seek an introduction at their cabins on the same evening, and until 

 the hour of departure next day were too much occupied in rambles about the hills and baths. 



Three narrow quebradas one from N.W., another from S.E., and the intersecting one from 



*The epithet belongs to the subject* of her Majesty Queen Victoria, although occasionally applied to other foreigners. 

 Except in the diminutive Gringito or among intimate acquaintances, like Godo, (by which name patriots reproachfully 

 designate natives of Spain), it is rarely used but offensively. Has it not, like Yankee, originated from the difficulty of pro- 

 nouncing English ? 



38 



