A VISIT TO TUB COUNTRY. 343 



flora of a country. And lower down lies the lake, its mirror-like surface sending back to us a 

 iliip licate nf I In- gigantic hills and crags on the opposite shores. Verily, a most lovely view is 

 commanded l.\- tin- little j>niuint>ry that juts midway across the lake of Aculco; u panorama 

 of natural Mvnrry .lillii-iilt t<> excel, and in all its accessories rarely to be equalled. 



About noon the heat of the sun was intense. A gun-barrel exposed to its direct action 

 became so hot in a few minutes that it could not be held in the hand . and though the- tempera- 

 ture \\as charming in the shade, the dryncss of the air and reflected heat thoroughly burned 

 the skin i>r the tare and hands. Towards 2 o'clock cumuli began heaving up over the mount- 

 ains on the south shore, and a few minutes later the first breathings of the southwest monsoon 

 came across the surface of our picture mirror, soon to increase until the whole lake was broken 

 into wavelets and the silver converted into aziire. This enabled us to take another ramble along 

 the shores, serving to impress the beauties of the locality more strongly on the memory, but 

 without adding material information to that already given. 



Our ride back to the main road was unmarked by incident, except the sight of a large number 

 of condors sweeping in broad circles round the body of a dead horse. The animal had fallen 

 near the base of a conical hill, on which, as I subsequently learned, there had been an Indian 

 fortress in times past; and, in the few hours elapsed since we passed it in the morning, these 

 giants of the feathered race had become apprized of the feast awaiting them. The plain is 

 much narrower here, and within a short distance towards the south the mountains apparently 

 close it entirely. But when we have followed the great highway into the round, bold sweep 

 which the mountains make towards each other from the two sides, within pistol-shot of their 

 steep slopes on the southern line we detect the noise of water bubbling over pebbles, and at the 

 same moment the eye perceives a narrow gorge through the ridge immediately in front. At 

 its centre we find ourselves in a contracted pass, evidently formed, as was the pass through the 

 Blue Kidge at Harper's Ferry, by the bursting of the water through the chain. This aperture, 

 called the Angostura de Payne,* is scarcely one hundred yards broad, or more than six hundred 

 yards long. Beyond that distance it rapidly widens into the plain of Rancagua. On both 

 sides the hills are extremely steep, and in some places precipitous, the greater portion of the 

 road between them being filled by a tortuous mountain stream, rumbling to the northwest, with 

 fine trout and other fish within, and wild fowl in abundance upon its waters. Altogether, it 

 is a remarkable pass attractive to the painter for the landscapes commanded in both valleys, 

 to the geologist from its physical formation and probable origin, and to the military man as a 

 place of defence. 



Excursions to these two places of interest were made during a week's sojourn at the hacienda 

 of an accomplished and hospitable friend, whither I had gone for relaxation, after a long series 

 of observations on the planet Venus. Visits to the ranches of the peons, the vineyards and 

 wheat-fields, the magazine where wines are made and stored, and the flower and fruit gardens, 

 occupied every other hour that the sun permitted us to pass out of doors. These, however, were 

 only portions of the pleasures. Freed from the formal conventionalities of the city and the 

 courtly insincerity too often attendant on its intercourse, nothing is more grateful than the 

 companionship of graceful and intelligent people, such as it had been my good fortune to 

 encounter, and the week passed in the country is fraught with most pleasant memories. Near 

 enough to Santiago to keep up intercourse every day or two, and yet sufficiently far away to 

 have left its formal etiquette, the stranger was admitted to the frankness of friendship, and his 

 comforts and wants consulted with the most delicate and unostentatious kindness. 



Unlike our country, there are few families who reside wholly on their haciendas and devote 

 their lives entirely to agricultural pursuits. Divided, as is Chile, into a comparatively small 

 number of estates, the proprietors are generally wealthy, and can well afford handsome city 

 establishments, making visits to their haciendas more or less frequently, as the season may 



* Pronounced Pi-ny. 



