Geological and Miscellaneous Notice of Tarapaca. 11 



In the southern part of the province, the phenomenon called 

 mirage is often witnessed. Beautiful lakes, sometimes dotted 

 with islands and bordered with bushes, are presented, and so per- 

 fect is the illusion that I have more than once followed for miles 

 these deceptive appearances, in the hope that they might prove 

 real. Sometimes objects appear of enormous dimensions ; and, 

 by such as are familiar to us, a singular sensation is produced, as 

 when meeting a traveller on horseback, who is distinctly seen and 

 almost within speaking distance, yet appearing of gigantic size. 



A sea and land breeze daily occurs, and the air from the moun- 

 tains sweeping over the pampa often produces whirlwinds, which 

 carry up columns of sand from eighty to one hundred feet high. 

 During the night thin strata of air, coming from the mountains, 

 and much colder than the surrounding atmosphere, are often 

 felt, producing a sensation, on the exposed face or hand, not un- 

 like that produced upon coming in contact with a cold rod of 

 iron. Contraction of the muscles, attended with severe pain, is 

 sometimes the consequence resulting from exposure to them, and 

 the Indians, who term them mal-ayres, are careful to avoid them 

 by covering themselves with their ponchos when sleeping in the 

 open air. 



The province of Tarapaca is not rich in remains of the ancient 

 inhabitants ; there are vestiges however of interest in several 

 parts of the plain. On the summit of a very regularly formed 

 conical hill, near Tanna, are two large circles, one within the 

 other, formed of large blocks of stone, which were evidently car- 

 ried there from a distant part of the valley beneath, and if with- 

 out the aid of machinery, at an immense expenditure of labor. 

 Similar circles of stones, like those erected by the ancient Celtae, 

 are not uncommon in Peru and Bolivia. 



At the base of the hill are the remains of a few stone habita- 

 tions, the walls of which have fallen and are nearly buried. 

 Removing the sand from one of them, the floor was found to be 

 composed of cement, smooth and hard. A few earthen vessels, 

 and several flat and hemispherical stones, were discovered ; the 

 latter had probably been used for grinding corn. 



A mile or two from this place is an ancient cemetery, where a 

 large number of bodies have been interred. Unlike those near 

 Arica and many other parts of Peru, these bodies have for the 

 most part crumbled into dust. They are buried in a sitting 



