LEA VE JAJUEL 279 



unaccountable reason, believe to be an arm of the sea. During 

 a very dry season, it was proposed to attempt cutting a channel 

 from it for the sake of the water, but the padre, after a con- 

 sultation, declared it was too dangerous, as all Chile would be 

 inundated, if, as generally supposed, the lake was connected 

 with the Pacific. We ascended to a great height, but becoming 

 involved in the snow-drifts failed in reaching this wonderful 

 lake, and had some difficulty in returning. I thought we should 

 have lost our horses ; for there was no means of guessing how 

 deep the drifts were, and the animals, when led, could only 

 move by jumping. The black sky showed that a fresh snow- 

 storm was gathering, and we therefore were not a little glad 

 when we escaped. By the time we reached the base the storm 

 commenced, and it was lucky for us that this did not happen 

 three hours earlier in the day. 



August 26th. — We left Jajuel and again crossed the basin 

 of S. Felipe. The day was truly Chilian : glaringly bright, 

 and the atmosphere quite clear. The thick and uniform 

 covering of newly-fallen snow rendered the view of the volcano 

 of Aconcagua and the main chain quite glorious. We were 

 now on the road to Santiago, the capital of Chile. We crossed 

 the Cerro del Talguen, and slept at a little rancho. The host, 

 talking about the state of Chile as compared to other countries, 

 was very humble : " Some see with two eyes and some with 

 one, but for my part I do not think that Chile sees with 

 any." 



August 2'jth. — 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 

 thousand 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, 



