THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 389 



going in the opposite direction, there being just space sufficient, 

 with skilful driving, to allow of our passing them without 

 pitching down the steep bank into the valley below. After a 

 time we gained our highest point in a hollow between two 

 hill-tops, and halted for a few minutes to rest the horses, al- 

 lowing us to gain a view of the valley of Llaillai behind us, 

 and that of the Aconcagua in front. Into this latter we now 

 began to descend, the road continuing good while it kept on 

 the sides of the hills, but on reaching the bottom of the valley 

 becoming as bad as ever. We then drove along at the foot 

 of hills bristling with Cacti {Cereus Quisco) growing from twelve 

 to eighteen feet high, and armed with spines from two to five 

 or six inches long, their strange candelabra-like forms fre- 

 quently rendered of a vivid crimson hue, in consequence of 

 being thickly covered with the red flowers of a leafless 

 epiphyte, the Loranthus a;phylhis. The road was bounded on 

 either side, in many places for miles at a time, by rows of 

 tall Lombardy poplars, and up the stems of many of these a 

 Bignoniaceous climber, the Eccremocarpus scaher, ascended to 

 a considerable height, its handsome red blossoms here and 

 there producing a bright patch of colour. On we went, bump- 

 ing and plunging, the coach often forming a very acute angle 

 with the road, into the mud of which we appeared in immi- 

 nent danger of being capsized, with the fertile flat plain of 

 the valley on one side of us, stony hills supporting hardly any 

 other vegetation but Cacti on the other, and in front, several 

 jagged black peaks thrown out in striking relief by the snowy 

 chain of the Andes behind them. Now and then we passed 

 a group of mud-hovels, destitute alike of windows and chim- 

 neys ; and at intervals, broken-down waggons, with a number 

 of peons attired in brilliantly striped ponchos, endeavouring 

 to make the oxen drag them out of the mire by dint of savage 



