344 PORTILLO PASS 



About noon we began the tedious ascent of the Peuquenes 

 ridge, and then for the first time experienced some little 

 difficulty in our respiration. The mules would halt every fifty 

 yards, and after resting for a few seconds the poor willing 

 animals started of their own accord again. The short breathing 

 from the rarefied atmosphere is called by the Chilenos "puna ;" 

 and they have most ridiculous notions concerning its origin. 

 Some say " All the waters here have puna : " others that " where 

 there is snow there is puna ; " — and this no doubt is true. The 

 only sensation I experienced was a slight tightness across the 

 head and chest, like that felt on leaving a warm room and 

 running quickly in frosty weather. There was some imagina- 

 tion even in this ; for upon finding fossil shells on the highest 

 ridge, I entirely forgot the puna in my delight. Certainly the 

 exertion of walking was extremely great, and the respiration 

 became deep and laborious : I am told that in Potosi (about 

 1 3,000 feet above the sea) strangers do not become thoroughly 

 accustomed to the atmosphere for an entire year. The inhabit- 

 ants all recommend onions for the puna ; as this vegetable has 

 sometimes been given in Europe for pectoral complaints, it 

 may possibly be of real service : — for my part I found nothing 

 so good as the fossil shells ! 



When about half-way up we met a large party with seventy 

 loaded mules. It was interesting to hear the wild cries of the 

 muleteers, and to watch the long descending string of the 

 animals ; they appeared so diminutive, there being nothing but 

 the bleak mountains with which they could be compared. 

 When near the summit, the wind, as generally happens, was 

 impetuous and extremely cold. On each side of the ridge we 

 had to pass over broad bands of perpetual snow, which were 

 now soon to be covered by a fresh layer. When we reached 

 the crest and looked backwards, a glorious view was presented. 

 The atmosphere resplendently clear ; the sky an intense blue ; 

 the profound valleys ; the wild broken forms ; the heaps of 

 ruins, piled up during the lapse of ages ; the bright-coloured 

 rocks, contrasted with the quiet mountains of snow ; all these 

 together produced a scene no one could have imagined. 

 Neither plant nor bird, excepting a few condors wheeling 

 around the higher pinnacles, distracted my attention from the 

 jnaniniate rnass, \ felt glad that I was alone ; it was like 



