323 



CHAPTER XII. 



Valparaiso — Excursion to tlie foot of the Andes — Structure of the 

 Land — Ascend the Bell ofQuillota — Shattered Masses of Green- 

 stone— Immense Valleys — Mines— State of Miners — Santiago 

 — Hot Baths of Cauquenes — Gold-mines — Grinding-mills— Per- 

 forated Stones— Habits of the Puma — El Turco and Tapacolo 

 — Humming-birds. 



CEJfTRAL CHILE. 



July 23J. — The Beagle anchored late at night in 

 the bay of Valparaiso, the chief seaport of Chile. 

 When morning came, eveiything appeared delight- 

 ful. After Tierra del Fuego, the climate felt quite 

 delicious — the atmosphere so dry, and the heavens 

 so clear and blue, with the sun shining brightly, 

 that all nature seemed sparkling with life. The 

 view from the anchorage is very pretty. The town 

 is built at the very foot of a range of hills, about 

 1600 feet high, and rather steep. From its posi- 

 tion, it consists of one long, straggling street, which 

 runs parallel to the beach, and wherever a ravine 

 comes down, the houses are piled up on each side 

 of it. The rounded hills, being only partially pro- 

 tected by a very scanty vegetation, are worn into 

 numberless little gulleys, which expose a singularly 

 bright red soil. From this cause, and from the low, 

 whitewashed houses with tile roofs, the view re- 

 minded me of St. Cruz in Teneriffe. In a north- 

 easterly direction there are some fine glimpses of 

 the Andes : but these mountains appear much 

 grander when viewed from the neighbouring hills ; 

 the great distance at which they are situated can 

 then more readily be peixeived. The volcano of 

 Aconcagua is particularly magnificent. This huge 

 and irregularly conical mass has an elevation great- 

 er than that of Chimborazo ; for, from measure- 

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