ÏO CHILI. 



CHAPTER II. 



Arrival at Valparaiso — Excursions in the Suburbs — Humming-birds- 

 Gold Mines of Quillatas — Conquest by the Spaniards — Dutch 

 Expeditions in Chili — Description of Chili — Boundaries — Topo- 

 graph}^ — Climate — Earthquakes — Volcanoes — Lakes and Rivers — 

 Actual Population — Santiago — Valparaiso — Mercantile Marme— 

 Railroads — Commerce — Principal Articles of Importation and Ex- 

 portation — Remarkable Animals — Llama and Alpaca — Chinchilla 

 — Mole- Armadillo — Condor — Chilian Humming Birds — Chilian 

 Insects — Future of Chili. 



N the 8th of June we were at last in sight of VALPARAISO, 

 after 142 days of navigation. We sighted the light- 

 house at four in the morning. At that hour we had a fine 

 breeze, and were going at the rate of eight miles an hour; but 

 when only two miles from the bay, the wind suddenly abated, 

 and we could go no further. The boats had to be lowered, 

 and after several hours' hard rowing for the sailors, we entered 

 the bay at one o'clock in the afternoon. After the visit of the 

 sanitary inspector, we were allowed to land. I shall never 

 forget the delightful impression which I experienced in land- 

 ing for the first time on American soil. On that day we visited 

 the city and the suburbs. When returning, we met a boy who 

 had two humming-birds alive. We bought them for a few 

 pence. 



We remained only a few days in Valparaiso, but we 

 employed our time well, and we enjoyed it very much. These 

 days passed on land, after our long navigation, seemed to us 

 paradise days. We scarcely could believe that we were on 

 land again. First we visited the churches, which are very 

 fine, and we were quite surprised to see them devoid of seats. 

 The ladies usually kneel on small carpets, carried for that 

 purpose by their maids, the men remaining standing, apart 

 from the ladies. At the conclusion oi the service, the young 

 men group themselves in double file near the porch, so that 

 the ladies have to pass between them, saluting and speaking 

 to one another as they pass by. We visited the Tivoli 

 Gardens, in the village of Polanco, and the Labadie's Garden, 

 in the suburbs of the city. They are kept by French gar- 

 deners. It was there that I saw humming birds \Eustephanus 



