CHAPTER VI. 



FIK8T EXPERIENCES IN CHILE. 



>.\NTIAGO. HALT AT CASA-HLANCA. HCENKS IIV THK ROAD. CUEHTA 7.APATA. I- \\nli \MI< VIEW FROM 



I III < I I -PA PRADO ACTION OK TIM I.M\ I l:\MI NT CHOICE OK A LOCAI.ITV FOR Till, nli-l lt\ MU|n ARRIVAL OF 



Mil IS-IKI MINTS rUKI'ARATION OK SITKN ON SANTA LUCIA. WHAT I'KOIM.K TIIOI i;ilT OF fS. TIIKIR IKTEREflT IM 



THK STARRY HRAVKNS SLOW MtotiKK.SS WITH WORK ON THE SECOND OBSERVATORY. HOVELTIRM IW THE STREETS. 



STREET t*CKNl> IN III! MuKMM. NOVELTIES OF CLIMATE. 



There are but two modes of expeditious travelling here on horseback or in a Irirlocho. The 

 vehicle so called is a gig whose springs are of extra strength, its shafts secured with longitu- 

 dinal plates of wrought-iron, and its wheels guarded with tires of nearly double the thickness 

 used in the United States. The postilion's horse assists in drawing the carriage by a strong 

 rord of twisted hide secured to the left shaft. The cord has an iron hook in its extremity, that he 

 may the more readily .fasten it to the ring of his surcingle. A third horse is attached to the 

 right shaft in the same manner whenever a hill is about to be ascended. The traveller has 

 only to make himself as comfortable as possible. Ordinarily he makes an agreement with the 

 birlochero on the day previous to departure, and receives a dollar from the latter as a security for 

 punctual fulfilment of the contract. There is no fixed price. If there be great demand, as at the 

 time of the national festivals, or when families are leaving the capital to pass the summer at the 

 port, forty dollars may be demanded for the journey ; if there be an excess of vehicles at either 

 end, they will gladly hire one for twelve. As the carriage holds two persons comfortably, at the 

 latter rate the price for each is about seven and a half cents per mile. If the birlochero gives 

 satisfaction, it is customary to pay for his supper or breakfast on the road ; but it is no part of the 

 obligcition, and a threat to withhold it often makes the delinquent obedient. Not that he would 

 go without such a meal, for that the owner of the vehicle provides at a fixed rate; but when the 

 traveller foots the bill, the sum allowed is a perquisite, and he has the additional comfort of a 

 more abundant feast. Most natives prefer starting late in the afternoon, and making one third 

 of the journey by seven or eight o'clock, resuming it by three in the morning at latest. This 

 is probably the wisest arrangement ; because the hottest part of the day and dust are avoided, 

 and the horses have reasonable rest. Post-houses have never been established ; and want of 

 confidence in their subordinates prevents proprietors from having relays on the road, so that 

 all twelve of the horses usually employed in the journey are driven through from city to city, 

 and are changed on the road as required. To take care of the loose herd, there are two other 

 persons besides the birlochero, one of whom is a boy often not larger than an ape, yet who will 

 ride as boldly and throw his lass<3 as confidently as a more matured individual. 



With my head protected by an old slouched hat, and my person comfortably wrapped in a 

 cloak, I started on the journey without a companion. In an hour and a half of pretty steady 

 climbing over a zigzag road, with three horses abreast, we reached the summit of the hills 

 immediately back of the city, and some 1,350 feet above it. Here, a cold and driving mist was 

 encountered. To one unacquainted with the road this rendered objects and distances uncertain; 

 and the fog continuing all night, it obstructed the views that moonlight would have made pleasant. 

 From the highest portion of the hills to a cluster of huts on the eastern side some three miles 

 the average descent is only about one hundred feet per mile, though there is a small portion of 

 the road with quite five times that inclination. Then succeeds eight or ten miles of nearly 

 level road across indurated sand destitute of trees ; and afterwards to Casa-blanca, a village 

 thirty miles from Valparaiso the country is rolling and tolerably well wooded. Casa-blanca 



