276 



CHARLES DARWIN 



tected by black and green worsted leggings. The poncho, 

 however, is common to both. The chief pride of the Guaso 

 lies in his spurs, which are absurdly large. I measured one 

 which was six inches in the diameter of the rowel, and the 

 rowel itself contained upwards of thirty points. The stirrups 

 are on the same scale, each consisting of a square, carved 

 block of wood, hollowed out, yet weighing three or four 

 pounds. The Guaso is perhaps more expert with the lazo 

 than the Gaucho; but, from the nature of the country, he 

 does not know the use of the bolas. 



August 18th. — We descended the mountain, and passed 

 some beautiful little spots, with rivulets and fine trees. Hav- 

 ing slept at the same hacienda as before, we rode during the 

 two succeeding days up the valley, and passed through Quil- 

 lota, which is more like a collection of nursery-gardens than 

 a town. The orchards were beautiful, presenting one mass 

 of peach-blossoms. I saw, also, in one or two places the 

 date-palm; it is a most stately tree; and I should think a 

 group of them in their native Asiatic or African deserts must 

 be superb. We passed likewise San Felipe, a pretty strag- 

 gling town like Quillota. The valley in this part expands into 

 one of those great bays or plains, reaching to the foot of the 

 Cordillera, which have been mentioned as forming so curious 

 a part of the scenery of Chile. In the evening we reached 

 the mines of Jajuel, situated in a ravine at the flank of the 

 great chain. I stayed here five days. My host, the superin- 

 tendent of the mine, was a shrewd but rather ignorant Cor- 

 nish miner. He had married a Spanish woman, and did not 

 mean to return home; but his admiration for the mines of 

 Cornwall remained unbounded. Amongst many other ques- 

 tions, he asked me, " Now that George Rex is dead, how 

 many more of the family of Rexes are yet alive ? " This Rex 

 certainly must be a relation of the great author Finis, who 

 wrote all books ! 



These mines are of copper, and the ore is all shipped to 

 Swansea, to be smelted. Hence the mines have an aspect 

 singularly quiet, as compared to those in England: here no 

 smoke, furnaces, or great steam-engines, disturb the solitude 

 of the surrounding mountains. 



The Chilian government, or rather the old Spanish law, 



