INTRODUCTION. 



ix 



and for upwards of six thousand miles I 

 can truly declare that I was riding against 

 Time. 



The fatigue of such long journeys, exposed 

 to the burning sun of summer, was very 

 great, and particularly in Chili, because, in 

 visiting mines in the Andes, we were sub- 

 jected to such sudden changes of climate, 

 that we were occasionally overpowered by the 

 sun in the morning, while at night we had to 

 sleep upon one hundred and twenty feet of 

 snow ; for almost the whole time we slept 

 out on the ground, chiefly subsisting upon 

 beef and water. 



The reports which I collected, and the 

 result of the communications which I offici- 

 ally had with the Ministers, Governors, and 

 other individuals concerning the mines, I do 

 not feel inclined to publish ; because as the 

 mines which I visited almost all belong to 



