40 



Guanacoes. 

 Bridge at Santiago. 



CHILI. 



Trip to San Felipe. Quillota. 

 Description of the town. 



of a dull purple colour, rather lighter than the red 

 sandstone of the United States. No traces of cel- 

 lular lava were observed, nor of other more recent 

 volcanic productions. No limestone was seen in 

 the regions traversed by our parties ; all the lime 

 used at Santiago is obtained from sea-shells ; nor 

 were any proper sedimentary rocks seen. 



Nothing could be more striking than the com- 

 plete silence that reigned everywhere; not a living 

 thing appeared to their view. 



After spending some time on the top they began 

 their descent; and after two hours' hard travelling 

 they reached the snow line, and passed the night 

 very comfortably in the open air, with their blan- 

 kets and pillions, or saddle-cloths. Fuel for a fire 

 they unexpectedly found in abundance : the al- 

 pinia umbellifera answering admirably for that 

 purpose, from the quantity of resinous matter it 

 contains. Near their camp was the bank of snow 

 before spoken of, from which the city has been 

 supplied for many years. It covers several acres. 

 The snow line here seemed to have remained con- 

 stant, and would have afforded a fine opportunity 

 to have verified the rule of Humboldt, but they 

 had no instruments. The height they had as- 

 cended was supposed to have been about eleven 

 thousand feet, and the Cordilleras opposite them 

 about four thousand feet higher. The view of the 

 mass of the Cordilleras, in its general outline, was 

 not unlike those of Mont Blanc and other moun- 

 tains in Switzerland. 



Mr. Peale went in search of the guanacoes, and 

 succeeded in killing one, nine feet in length and 

 four feet in height. They were found to frequent only 

 the most inaccessible summits, and are said never 

 to leave the vicinity of the snow. They feed upon 

 several small thorny bushes, which impart a flavour 

 to their flesh, and a smell to their excrement that 

 may be distinguished at some distance from their 

 places of resort. They make a peculiar sound 

 when alarmed, like that of the katydid (gryllus). 

 This animal is never hunted for the market, though 

 its flesh is good. The benzoar is oiten found in 

 its stomach, and is highly prized among the natives 

 and Spaniards as a remedy for various complaints. 

 It is also used as a gum. 



All the party suffered greatly from the heat of 

 the sun's rays and the dryness of the atmosphere. 

 Their faces and hands were blistered, and the nose 

 and lips made exceedingly sore, while the reflec- 

 tion of the light from the snow caused a painful 

 sensation to the eyes. 



The next day they reached Santiago, whence 

 they returned to the port, as Valparaiso is usually 

 distinguished in the country. 



Over the Maypocho at Santiago there is a sub- 

 stantial stone bridge, with five arches. For nine 

 months of almost every year, the bed of the stream 

 is nearly dry. At the time of our visit it was 

 about two yards wide, and several inches deep ; 

 but in the winter and spring, during the melting 

 of the snows, it becomes quite a torrent, and from 

 the damage that has been done in former times, 

 they have taken the precaution to wall it in on the 

 side of the city, towards the Cordilleras, for several 

 miles, with stone and hard brick. When swollen 

 it is a quarter of a mile wide, rapid and deep, and 

 would cut off the communication with the sur- 

 rounding country were it not for the bridge. 



Messrs. Couthouy and Dana were desirous of 



making a trip to the copper-mines of San Felipe, 

 to which I readily consented, and gave them all 

 the time possible. Although this was short, yet 

 by their indefatigable industry, it afforded some 

 interesting results. They left Valparaiso on the 

 17th for San Felipe, which is about one hundred 

 miles north of Valparaiso. They were to have 

 taken a barometer with them, in case of ascending 

 some heights, but it was forgotten. 



These gentlemen took a biloche as far as Quillota, 

 a distance of forty miles, and proceeded thence to 

 San Felipe on horses ; for the use of which they 

 were to give thirty dollars each, and one dollar 

 extra for the service of the peon who accompanied 

 them, for seven days. The road to Quillota was 

 found good, although many hills and valleys were 

 met with. 



For the first twenty-five miles the road passed 

 along the sea-shore, with no elevation over two 

 hundred feet ; it was thought equal to the most 

 frequented turnpikes in our own country. At six 

 miles from Valparaiso, the road is cut through a 

 bed of sienite, remarkable for the singular vertical 

 dikes of granite by which it is intersected. 



Ten miles before reaching Quillota, the road 

 passes over a level plain, which extends beyond 

 that place. The hills which bound the valley to 

 the south, are of low elevation, until approaching 

 Quillota. Near Quillota, in the south and south- 

 eastern direction, a lofty ridge rises, adjoining the 

 campagna of Quillota, which is one of the high 

 cones used as sea-marks for the harbour of Val- 

 paraiso. This is lost sight of at the town, in con- 

 sequence of it being shut out by an intervening 

 ridge. The town, or city of Quillota, occupies the 

 centre of the valley, and is twenty miles from the 

 sea. They reached it about one hour before sun- 

 set, when they stopped at Mr. Blanchard's, who 

 keeps a house for the accommodation of foreigners. 



On the 18th they arose at daybreak, at which 

 time the thermometer stood at 36 in the open air, 

 seventy feet above the sea. 



The town of Quillota (according to Mr. Blan- 

 chard) is embraced within a circumference of 

 three leagues. It contains several churches, of 

 simple construction. The " calle largo, " the 

 longest street, is upwards of a league in length. 

 The same authority gives its population at ten 

 thousand inhabitants. The houses are all of one 

 story, and are built of adobes, with thatched roofs. 

 There is an abundance of fine building-stone, but 

 in this laud of earthquakes it is considered safest 

 to use the lightest materials. Almost every house 

 has a vineyard attached to it, the grapes of which 

 were of good quality, and very abundant. At 

 some places, although the vintage was half gathered, 

 yet the crop still on the vines was sucli as would 

 have been considered elsewhere an abundant yield. 

 A portion of the grapes rot upon the vines, as the 

 inhabitants have not the industry or inclination to 

 manufacture them, although by proper attention 

 they would yield a good wine. As it is, they only 

 manufacture some into a hard and acid wine, called 

 masta, or boil the juice down to the favourite 

 drink of the lower classes, called cliicha, which 

 somewhat resembles perry or cider in flavour. 

 The small quantity that is not consumed is dis- 

 tilled into aguardiente, and disposed of at Val- 

 paraiso. Besides grapes, considerable quantities 

 of wheat and Indian corn are cultivated. Apples, 



