82 Expedition to the 



Having crossed the creek, with some difficulty, we halted 

 on the bank to set up our tent and prepare ourselves for a 

 thunder-shower, which was already commencing. After the 

 rain, the sky became clear, and the sun, which was near set- 

 ting, gilded with its radiance the dripping foliage of a clus- 

 ter of oaks and poplars which stood near our tent. The 

 grassy plain, acquiring unwonted verdure from the shower, 

 and sparkling with the reflection from innumerable suspend- 

 ed rain drops, disclosed here and there a conic pile or a 

 solitary fragment of black and porous Amygdaloid. The 

 thinly wooded banks of the creek resounded to the loud notes 

 of the robin, and the more varied and melodious song of 

 the mocking bird; the stern features of Nature seemed to 

 relax into a momentary smile to cheer us on our toilsome 

 journey. 



On the morning of the 29th, our course (S. 35*> E.) brought 

 us at the distance of three miles from our camp to the foot 

 of the cliff, which separates the valley from the high plain. 

 This mural barrier, has an elevation of -about two hundred 

 feet, and is impassable except at particular points, where it 

 is broken by ravines. One of these we were fortunate in find- 

 ing without being compelled to deviate greatly from our 

 course, and climbing its rugged declivity, we emerged upon 

 the broad expanse of the high plain. Turning with a sort of 

 involuntary motion towards the west, we again caught a view 

 of the distant summits of the Andes, appearing on the verge 

 of our horizon. The scene before us was beautifully varied 

 with smooth valleys, high conic hills, and irregular knobs 

 scattered in every direction as far as the eye could compre- 

 hend. Among these singular eminences nothing could be per- 

 ceived like a continuous unbroken range; most of them stand 

 entirely isolated, others in groups and ranges, but all are dis- 

 tinct hills, with unconnected bases. The surface of the coun- 

 try generally, and more especially in the immediate vicinity 

 of these hills, is strewed with fragments of compact or por- 



