X 



6 ^ AMERICA. x Chap. II. 



« eftccm, not oncly amongft the Qnlefes, but alfo the Spaniards, for their great skill 

 "inPhyfick. Amongft thefe Herbs the chicfeft is call'd Quinctamali which grows 

 " but half a hands.breadth above the Ground, and fpreads into feveral Stalks 

 « like a Nofcgay ; and on each Stalk is a Saffron.colour'd Flower. This Herb 

 « pull'd up with the Root, and boyl'd, and the Decodion given to any one chat is 

 " bruis'd within, works mod wonderfully, for it draws out the putrifi'd Blood, 

 u though funk never fo deep in the Wound. Moreover the Juice of Qulen is alfo 

 " very healing,if us'd for an Ointment,or pour'd on any Wound. This Hcrb,by the 

 « Spaniards call'd Mbaciga, hath fweet-fmelling Leaves, and a tall Body. In forae 

 "places alfo grows an Herb, not unlike Grafs, which boyl'd in Water, immedi- 

 ately cures the Feaver and Spleen, and cleanfes the Blood. There are likewife 

 " Medicines here, which diffolving the Stone in the Bladder or Kidneys, caufe it to 

 " be urin'd forth. The Plant Luce, which grows out of rented Rocks which are 

 " often overflo w'd by the Sea, makes a fort of well rafted Bread. . 



The WiXdtxn&Atacama, which makes a Boundary betwixt <Peru and Chili, extends 

 "Northward ninety Leagues, isdry and barren in Summer, and in the Winter ex- 

 ceeding cold, and cover'd with Snow. No Provifion is to be found upon it, except 

 a few wild Sheep, call'd Guanacos. About the middle thereof the Brook La Sal 

 rifing in the Eaftern Mountains, flows Weftward through a deep Valley to the 



Southern Ocean. 



The Water of the fore-mentionM Brook put into any Veffel, immediately turns 



Troublcfom 



Itfo SS t o Salt, and all along the Shore lie greater or leffer pieces of Salt ; fo that the Way 

 from Tern to Chili through Atacama is very troublefom : but that which leads thi- 

 ther over the fnowy Mountains Andes, is much worfe, becaufe it is farther about, 

 and threatens the Traveller with Definition, if he obferve not the right Seafon of 

 the Year • for in the Winter there blows fuch a cold Wind on thefe Mount^ins,that 

 a Man,being fuddenly benumm'd, falls down dead on the Ground, and grows ft iff 

 againft all putrefaction. Jofepb de Acofta tells us, that Bodies have been found there 

 as firm and found, as if they had been living, which had fomey<ars before breath'd 

 their laft on thefaid Mountains. 



But Diego Almagro, who firft difcovcr'd Qhili, Anno 1536. went thither with two 

 Companies of Horfe, and five hundred Foot, through the Countreys Charcot, Uveas, 

 Xuxayes, and Qiaquana, and having pafs'd over a craggy Soil and the fnowy Moun- 

 tains^^, he entred imp the firft Chilean Valley Capayapo, having loft no fmall 

 number of Men and Horfes with HardOiip and Cold • the inconvenience there- 

 fore of both the fore-mentWd Ways between Veru and Chili, fore'd Travellers to 

 The vai' cy go a l on g the Shore waflh'd by the Southern Ocean. Copayapo bears that Denoun- 

 ce,.. ^.^ ^^ the TurkoiJesMi hich a Mountain produces there in great abundance. 

 The Valley it felf is the fruitfulleft of all Chili • for in no place the Mai*, grows bet- 

 ter, and in greater abundance than here, the Ears being half a Yard lpng, and the 

 Stalks the length of a Lance • each Grain that is Sow'n, yields at leaft three hun- 

 dred in Harveft. hWSpanijh Fruits grow better here than in Spain. 



Through the midft of Qopayapo runs a River of the fame Denomination, and 

 twenty Leagues in length from the Andes, and at its Mouth hath a convenient Har- 

 bor before the South Sea. 



The South part oiCopayapa borders the Valley Guafco, which is lefs fruitful than 

 the firft, but hatha convenient Haven, into which falls a frefli River, penn'd in by 

 Sluces for the watering of the Cane-Fields. Moreover, there are plenty of Par- 

 tridges ; alfo wild Sheep and grey Squirrel-skins are of a great value. To the 



Southward flow alfo the Rivers Maypo, Qhacha Pool, Loro, and Monk. 



Beyond 



