n6 A Voyage to 



about their private Intereft to divide the fame, an Ambuf- 

 cade oUndmns, conceal'd and arm'd with Arrows, rufh'd in 

 upon them, and found them defencelefs. The Vidors then 

 deftroy'd the Fort, which has never been rebuilt fince ; 

 and they have given over fearching for Gold there. At 

 prefent that Vale is only remarkable for the Fertility of the 

 Soil: There is in it a Village of about 150 Whites, and 

 perhaps 300 Indians and Meftizo's, who trade in Corn, 

 Hemp, and Cordage, which are carry'd to Valparaiso, to 

 rig and lade the Spanijh Ships, which thence tranfport it to 

 Callao, and other Parts of Peru. They make their Cor- 

 dage white, and without Tar, becaufe they have none but 

 what is brought them from Mexico and Guayaquil, which 

 burns the Hemp, and is only good for the Timber of Ships* 

 For the reft, the Plain of guillota is very agreeable in 

 itfelf : I was there at the Carnaval Time, or Shrove-Tide, 

 which, in that Country, falls about the Beginning of Au- 

 tumn. I was charm* d to behold fuch great Plenty of all 

 European choice Fruits, which have been tranfplanted thi- 

 ther, and anfwer to Admiration ; efpecially Peaches, of 

 which Trees there are little Groves, that are never pruned, 

 nor have any other Care taken of them, than to caufe 

 Trenches, drawn from the River of Chili, to water their 

 Roots, to fupply the Want of Rain in the Summer. 

 €em Country. The River of Chili is alfo calFd the River of Aconcagua, 

 becaufe it comes from a Vale of that Name, famous for 

 the prodigious Quantity of Corn carry'd from it yearly. 

 From thence, and from the Country about Santiago, to- 

 wards the Cordillera Ridge of Mountains, comes all that is 

 tranfported from Valparaiso to Callao, Lima, and other 

 Parts of Peru. Unleis a Man be acquainted with the Na- 

 ture of the Soil, which generally yields 60 or 80 for one, 

 he cannot comprehend how fo defart a Country, where na 

 till'd Lands are to be feen, but only in fome Vales at 

 teQ Leagues Diftance from each other, can furnifli fo much 

 Corn, befides what is requifitc for the Maintenance of the 

 Inhabitants. 



During 



