SUlNGLE-TERRACES OF COUUIMBO. 99 



these countries with the door shut, as, owing to 

 his having done so, he had nearly lost his life at 

 Copiapo. Accordingly, he opened the door ; and 

 no sooner had he done this, than he cried out, 

 " Here it comes again !" and the famous shock 

 commenced. The wiiole party escaped. The 

 danger in an earthquake is not from the time lost 

 in opening a door, but from the chance of its be- 

 coming jammed by the movement of the walls. 



It is impossible to be much surprised at the fear 

 which natives and old residents, though some of 

 them known to be men of great command of mind, 

 so generally experience during earthquakes. I 

 think, however, this excess of panic may be partly 

 attributed to a want of habit in governing their fear, 

 as it is not a feeling they are ashamed of. Indeed, 

 the natives do not like to see a person indifferent. 

 I heard of two Englishmen who, sleeping in the 

 open air during a smart shock, knowing that there 

 was no danger, did not rise. The natives cried 

 out indignantly, " Look at those heretics, they will 

 not even get out of their beds !" 



I spent some days in examining the step-formed 

 terraces of shingle, fix'st noticed by Captain B. Hall, 

 and believed by Mr, Lyell to have been fonned 

 by the sea during the gi-adual rising of the land. 

 This certainly is the tnie explanation, for I found 

 numerous shells of existing species on these ter- 

 races. Five narrow, gently sloping, fringe-like 

 terraces rise one behind the other, and where best 

 developed are formed of shingle : they front the 

 bay, and sweep up both sides of the valley. At 

 Guasco, north of Coquimbo, the phenomenon is 

 displayed on a much grander scale, so as to strike 

 with surprise even some of the inhabitants. The 

 terraces are there much broader, and may be called 



