262 CENTRAL CHILE. ‘[onar. XIz 
humble: “ Some see with two eyes and some with one, but for 
my part I do not think that Chile sees with any.” 
August 27th.—After crossing many low hills we descended 
into the small land-locked plain of Guitron. In the basins, such 
as this one, which are elevated from one thousand to two thou- 
sand feet above the sea, two species of acacia, which are stunted 
in their forms, and stand wide apart from each other, grow in 
large numbers. These trees are never found near the sea-coast ; 
and this gives another characteristic feature to the scenery of 
these basins. We crossed a low ridge which separates Guitron 
from the great plain on which Santiago stands. The view was 
here pre-eminently striking: the dead level surface, covered in 
parts by woods of acacia, and with the city in the distance, 
abutting horizontally against the base of the Andes, whose snowy’ 
peaks were bright with the evening sun. At the first glance of 
this view, it was quite evident that the plain represented the 
extent of a former inland sea. As soon as we gained the level 
road we pushed our horses into a gallop, and reached the city 
before it was dark. 
I stayed a week in Santiago and enjoyed myself very much. In 
the morning I rode to various places on the plain, and in the 
evening dined with several of the English merchants, whose hos- 
pitality at this place is well known. A never-failing source of 
pleasure was to ascend the little hillock of rock (St. Lucia) 
which projects in the middle of the city. The scenery certainly 
is most striking, and, as I have said, very peculiar. I am in- 
formed that this same character is common to the cities on the 
great Mexican platform. Of the town I have nothing to say in 
detail: it is not so fine or so large as Buenos Ayres, but is built 
after the same model. I arrived here by a circuit to the north ; 
so I resolved to return to Valparaiso by a rather longer excur- 
sion to the south of the direct road. 
September 5th.—By the middle of the day we arrived at one 
of the susperision bridges made of hide, which crosses the Maypu, 
a large turbulent river a few leagues southward of Santiago. 
These bridges are very poor affairs. The road, following the 
curvature of the suspending ropes, is made of bundles of sticks 
placed close together. It was full of holes, and oscillated rather 
fearfully, even with the weight of a man leading his horse. In 
