"t 



* ' 'v^f, . -:4^ 



^ 



TROCHILUS FORFICATUS. 



CHAPTER XII 



Valparaiso — Excursion to the foot of the Andes — Structure of the land — Ascend 

 the Bell of Quillota— Shattered masses of greenstone — Immense valleys — Mines 

 — State of miners — Santiago — Hot-baths of Cauquenes — Gold-mines — Grind- 

 ing-mills — Perforated stones — Habits of the Puma — El Turco and Tapacolo — 

 Humming-birds. 



CENTRAL CHILE 



July 2yd. — The Beagle anchored late at night in the bay of 

 Valparaiso, the chief seaport of Chile. When morning came, 

 everything appeared delightful. 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 1 600 feet high, and rather steep 



