212 



GOLD MINE OF CaREN. 



apparently he was only ten or fifteen yards above 

 us. One of the men fired at him with a gun loaded 

 with large shot — his legs fell, and he evidently had 

 received the Avhole of the charge in his chest ; yet 

 he instantly bent his course towards the snowy 

 mountains which were opposite to us, and boldly 

 attempted to cross the valley ; but, after flying for 

 many seconds, he could go no further, and he began 

 to tower. He rose perpendicularly to a great 

 height, and then, suddenly dying in the air — so that 

 we really saw his last convulsive struggle — he fell 

 like a stone. 



To my astonishment, he struck the side of the 

 mountain apparently close to us ; and as I looked 

 at him lying on the rock, I could not account for 

 his being so very near us, (apparently thirty or 

 forty yards,) for as he had evidently fallen perpen- 

 dicularly, the distance which separated us was of 

 course the hypothenuse of a right angled triangle, 

 the base of which it had taken him many seconds 

 to fly. 



I sent one of the Chili miners, who were accus- 

 tomed to descend the mountain, to fetch him, and I 

 went into the hut, and remained eight or ten mi- 



