298 MINERAL SPRINGS. 



N.E. unite at an elevation of 3,020 feet above the ocean, and form, at their junction, a little 

 tongue of inclined and rocky land perhaps two acres in extent. From one side of the tongue 

 flow the waters that supply the baths of Colina. At as many distinct elevations within a 

 hundred yards, there are four springs with different temperatures, and a fifth is found at a dis- 

 tance of three hundred yards farther down the ravine. All of them issue from rocks having the 

 same characteristics as those at Apoquindo, and belonging to the same secondary stratification. 

 Uniting below the tongue of land in a common stream, they form a considerable volume. This 

 alternately flows and tumbles from rock to rock, forming innumerable miniature cascades in 

 the gteep ravine along whose side we had climbed, and finally empties into the Colina river 

 near the base of the hills. Above the inclined platform the rocks rise precipitously some 800 

 or 1,000 feet, and thence more gently slope away to elevations on which, in sheltered places, 

 the snow lies nearly all the year. The view of the heavens is thus cut oif at an angle of 45 in all 

 directions, except over the ravine by which the road ascends; and were it not for the influence 

 of vegetation which has sprung from the soil, formed by disintegration of most of the slopes, 

 the heats of summer would render the spot intolerable. At this season (the last month of 

 spring) the ravines had lost none of their verdure or freshness ; and only the pasturage on 

 the steeper acclivities exhibited the short career to which the annual vegetation of such locali- 

 ties is subject in Chile, its golden hue forming a marked contrast with the evergreens of the glens. 

 The baths are mere excavations in the earth rudely bricked up, walled in with the same 

 materials, and lightly covered with thatch, each bather, as at Apoquindo, supplying his own 

 door. An analysis of the waters by Prof. Domeyko gives for each thousand parts by weight 



Chloride of sodium 0.1469 



Chloride of magnesia 0.0092 



Sulphate of soda 0.0780 



Sulphate of lime 0.0196 



Carbonate of lime 0.0670 



iron and a trace of alumina 0.0070 



Silica . 0.0160 



0.3137 



That of Prof. Smith will be found in Appendix D. 



Being perfectly limpid, without odor or gas whatever, and almost tasteless, every one drinks 

 of the water without hesitation. If drunk in quantity, that of the spring lowest in the ravine, 

 and called from its discoverer " Agua de Grajales," will produce vomiting; but the result of 

 minute examination has not shown any constituent different from those called u bano caliente " 

 and "banofrio" (warm and cold baths), and every other tepid water would have the same effect. 

 The temperatures of the last two named were (November 14th) 89. 5 and 79; that of the air 

 at the same time 62. 5 ; and of evaporation 55. 2. Prof. Domeyko found the springs at the 

 same temperatures in January and September of 1848, and he states that there is little or no 

 variation throughout the year. 



Did not daily experience prove the contrary, the almost total absence of organic substances 

 would throw doubt on the medicinal properties attributed to the waters of Colina, and one would 

 be induced to believe that change of scene, air, and diet, accomplishes more than the mineral con- 

 stituents. Or is it that all their sanitary virtues are wholly due to the yet undeveloped gaseous 

 substances which they hold in solution? They are recommended in most cutaneous diseases, 

 chronic affections and debility of the digestive organs, and rheumatism. 



Five or six rows of dwellings, with corridors in front, each row composed of a like number of 

 quite comfortable apartments, occupy the narrow strip of land. At the intersection of the 

 ravines, and well up on the promontory, there is a neat chapel, where mass is performed every 

 morning ; there being no lack of priests whom impaired health, or the pursuits of pleasure, 

 bring annually to Colina. Though the fashionable season had not yet commenced, nearly all of 

 the rooms were occupied, and quite an air of life reigned about the little colony. Only a scarcity 

 of beaux prevented the younger portion of the senoritas from diversions which at other times 



