CHILL 



Srmi- 



<. weight in refined metnl ; tnd there are t present open 

 s ^V^* 1 between the towns of CopUpo nd Coquimbo mote than 

 thousand such mines. Near the river Laxa in Huil- 

 quilemu, are hills which afford a beautiful n.-.tivc bn* or 

 per in natural combination with zinc : it receives the 

 name of Laxa copper. The mines of tin and trad are 

 both equally neglected. Only so much of the lead is 

 Wrought, at may be required fur the mehir.gof ilvr and 

 domestic purposes: small quantities of gold and >ilv. r 

 re found in conjunction with it. Tin never appears in 

 a continued vein, but 11 contained in a black stone of va- 

 rious form and dimensions. It is found also in coloured 

 crystal). Iron alto is very abundant, but the mining 

 of it is prohibited in favour of the traders in that metal 

 from Spain. Coquimbo and Copiapo abound in mines of 

 it. Semimefals of all kinds are found either separate, 

 or mineralized with metallic ores. Antimony and quick- 

 silver are the only two in any request ; the first employ- 

 ed in refining the precious metals, the other being a royal 

 monopoly. Virgin mercury is found in the province 

 of Coquimbo, but it commonly appears in the form of 

 Mines. Cinnabar. With respect to mines in general, the permis- 

 sion of government is to be obtained before working any 

 newly discovered vein. An inspector is then appointed, 

 who portions out the mine into three equal shares ; one for 

 the king, another for the proprietor of the land, and a 

 third for the discoverer of the vein. If it prove rich, a vil- 

 lage is quickly formed in the vicinity, by the immensenum- 

 ber of persons that receive employment. An alcade or su- 

 perintcndant of the labourers is then appointed by the 

 Pyrites, governor of the province. Pyrites are very numerous, 

 but we shall notice only one species, which is the aurife- 

 rous, found in Quillota, called the Inca't stone. It is 

 cubical, and distinguished from all others by emitting but 

 Bilumeiu. few sparks with the steel. The bitumens, are asphaltum, 

 petroleum, pit-coal in great abundance, and several kinds 

 of jet. Ambergris is often thrown out by the sea on 

 the coast of Araucania and Chiloe. On the shores, also, 

 are occasionally found pieces of yellow amber. Two 

 small mountains of Copiapo consist almost entirely of a 

 beautiful crystallized sulphur, so pure, that it does not 

 want refining. Salts of these, are the blue, green, white, 

 and mixed vitriol ; sal ammoniac, with an excellent fossil 

 salt, in the form of transparent cubes, crystallized and 

 variously coloured. Several mountains of it occur in the 

 Andes, west of Copiapo and Coquimbo ; and it is used 

 by all the inhabitants in the vicinity. A semi-crystal- 

 li/ed aluminous stone, employed in thfe process of dyeing, 

 and similar to that of Talca, is obtained from the Andes. 

 Stone*. Slones. Of the siliceous kind, there are rubies, sap/ .hires, 

 lapis lazuli, and various sorts of jasper. At Coquimbo 

 was found a beautiful emerald, and a very large topaz in 

 the province of St Jago. Amethysts occur almost at 

 every step in the crevices of rocks ; and near Talca, 

 there is a small hill consisting almost entirely of that 

 (tone. There are coloured crystals resembling most 

 of the precious stones ; and the Andes produce pieces of 

 rock crystal, large enough to form columns six feet in 

 height. These mountains abound also in breccias, por- 

 phyries, and granite. Amonz the calcarious sort, we 

 may notice marbles of all colours, many of them finely 

 striped and variegated. Gypsum, of which there are 

 quarries in a semi-calcined state, slightly tinged with 

 blue, and employed as a plaster for walls. There is a 

 beautiful hexagonal spar found in the gold mines of Quil- 

 lota, perfectly transparent, and striped with golden fila- 

 ments. In the Andes are quarries of alabaster, with a 

 sort of pellucid srlcnitf, used for glass in the churches 

 f St Jago. Of the argillaceous, the most remarkable 



re atbulot and the mcmfaranteeous mica, which supplies SittiiUc*. 

 the place of glass, and being less fragile a . '"' .'"' 



is by many , to that aubitu coxcreinuu tVmcre. 



are pumice-sloiie, which forms the substance of several tiuut, 

 mountains ; Inn' .r, which are found 



in the lulls ot Copiapo, and have generally been i 

 dered a . a precious stone, but are nothing more than the 

 <r bones of animals in a state nf ji ',;>. .clion ; and 

 petrified wood, which occurs in every part of the coun- 

 try. The Chilian willow is particularly susceptible of 

 thl . change, and, in order to accomplish it, it is only ne- 

 cessary to place it for a short time under a moist and 

 su';dy soil. Chili contains earths of almost every dc- E.irtfci. 

 scription, the argillaceous, the calcareous, the sandy, and 

 the mineral. Of the argillaceous, Molina has discovered 

 five new species. Of these, the two most remarkable 

 arc the argilla buccarina, which is of a brown colour, 

 spotted with yellow, pleasant to the smell, and even when 

 manufactured into cups, &c. gives an agreeable flavour 

 to the water drunk from them ; and the arytl/rt rovia, 

 which supplies an excellent black, and is employed in 

 dyeing wool. Sanri abounds in the rivers of Chili ; but 

 is never found in such quantity on the plains as to prove 

 injurious to vegetation. 



The most celebrated mineral springs of Chili are those S iJ IlM . a j 

 of Peldehues and Cauquenes, both Spauish settlements. wa t erf . 

 The Peldehues contains both a hot spring and a cold 

 one. The hot spring is clear, inodorous, oily to the 

 touch, and foams like soap, abounding in mineral alkali, 

 and containing a small quantity of fixed air. Its specific 

 gravity exceeds that of common distilled water only by 

 two degrees. The cold spring is iron and vitriolic. The 

 waters of both springs being distant from each other only 

 about eighty feet, are united by means of canals, and 

 form a tepid bath. This junction occasions a deposition 

 of Glauber's salt, and of a yellowish ochre. The springs 

 of the Cauquenes, situated near the source of the river 

 Caciapol, in one of the rallies of the Andes, are ex- 

 tremely numerous both hot and cold, and possess vert- 

 different qualities. Some are acidulated, and contain 

 iron } others are alkalescent, or vitriolic ; and others ga- 

 seous. There are a great many salt springs in the pro- 

 vinces of Copiapo and Coquimbo ; and, in the former 

 province, is the river Salado, which affords an excellent 

 salt, so pure, that it may be used without any prepara- 

 tion. 



Chili is one of those countries where vegetable and VICITA- 

 mineral productions are found in equal abundance, and BLl Po- 

 affords an exception to the general maxim, that mineral DII(:T ONI ' 

 countries are deficient in vegetation. The plants of Chili 

 are, on the contrary, every where profuse, vigorous and 

 luxuriant. 



Its plains, vallics, and mountains, abound with trees 

 of unfading verdure and delightful fragrance. Of 97 

 species already discovered, only 13 shed their leaves. 

 The ;*?//iew, a species of oak, the pine, the cypress, and 

 the red and white cedar, are found in a natural state in 

 the valleys of the Andes. The red cedar is remarkable 

 for its enormous dimensions, particularly in the Archi- 

 pelago of Cluloe, where a bingle tree will sometimes 

 yield 700 boards, each '20 feet long. In other parts of 

 Chili are found the mulberry, the chirimoya, and the ta- 

 marind. Besides these we may notice particularly the 

 tfieigc, or Chilian willow, which yields manna, and whose 

 bark is used by the natives as a preservative against fe- 

 vers ; the molle, of two kinds, the berries of which afford 

 a red wine, well flavoured, but heating ; the Pcrurii:n 

 taper, or cherry, whose thorns arc eight inches in length, 

 and serve as knitting needles j the wild orange, wliicK 



