XII HOT SPRINGS OF CAUQUENES 281 



one side by lofty hills, and on the other by the Cordillera. 

 The next day we turned up the valley of the Rio Cachapual, in 

 which the hot- baths of Cauquenes, long celebrated for their 

 medicinal properties, are situated. The suspension bridges, in the 

 less frequented parts, are generally taken down during the winter 

 when the rivers are low. Such was the case in this valley, and 

 we were therefore obliged to cross the stream on horseback. 

 This is rather disagreeable, for the foaming water, though not 

 deep, rushes so quickly over the bed of large rounded stones, 

 that one's head becomes quite confused, and it is difficult even 

 to perceive whether the horse is moving onward or standing 

 still. In summer, when the snow melts, the torrents are quite 

 impassable ; their strength and fury is then extremely great, as 

 might be plainly seen by the marks which they had left. We 

 reached the baths in the evening, and stayed there five days, 

 being confined the two last by heavy rain. The buildings 

 consist of a square of miserable little hovels, each with a single 

 table and bench. They are situated in a narrow deep valley 

 just without the central Cordillera. It is a quiet, solitary spot, 

 with a good deal of wild beauty. 



The mineral springs of Cauquenes burst forth on a line of 

 dislocation, crossing a mass of stratified rock, the whole of which 

 betrays the action of heat. A considerable quantity of gas is 

 continually escaping from the same orifices with the water. 

 Though the springs are only a few yards apart, they have very 

 different temperatures ; and this appears to be the result of an 

 unequal mixture of cold water : for those with the lowest tem- 

 perature have scarcely any mineral taste. After the great 

 earthquake of 1822 the springs ceased, and the water did not 

 return for nearly a year. They were also much affected by the 

 earthquake of 1835 \ the temperature being suddenly changed 

 from 118° to 92°.^ It seems probable that mineral waters 

 rising deep from the bowels of the earth would always be more 

 deranged by subterranean disturbances than those nearer the 

 surface. The man who had charge of the baths assured me 

 that in summer the water is hotter and more plentiful than in 

 winter. The former circumstance I should have expected, from 

 the less mixture, during the dry season, of cold water ; but the 

 latter statement appears very strange and contradictory. The 



1 Caldcleugh, in Philosoph. Transact, for 1 836. 



