THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 



279 



and some with one, but for my part I do not think that Chile 

 sees with any." 



August 27th. — After crossing many low hills we descended 

 into the small land-locked plain of Guitron. In the basins, 

 such as this one, which are elevated from one thousand to 

 two thousand feet above the sea, two species of acacia, which 

 are stunted in their forms, and stand wide apart from each 

 other, grow in large numbers. These trees are never found 

 near the sea-coast; and this gives another characteristic 

 feature to the scenery of these basins. We crossed a low 

 ridge which separates Guitron from the great plain on which 

 Santiago stands. The view was here pre-eminently striking 5 

 the dead level surface, covered in parts by woods of acacia, 

 and with the city in the distance, abutting horizontally 

 against the base of the Andes, whose snowy peaks were 

 bright with the evening sun. At the first glance of this 

 view, it was quite evident that the plain represented the 

 extent of a former inland sea. As soon as we gained the 

 level road we pushed our horses into a gallop, and reached 

 the city before it was dark. 



I stayed a week in Santiago, and enjoyed myself very 

 much. In the morning I rode to various places on the plain, 

 and in the evening dined with several of the English mer- 

 chants, whose hospitality at this place is well known. A 

 never-failing source of pleasure was to aspend the little 

 hillock of rock (St. Lucia) which projects in the middle of 

 the city. The scenery certainly is most striking, and, as I 

 have said, very peculiar. I am informed that this same 

 character is common to the cities on the great Mexican 

 platform. Of the town I have nothing to say in detail: it is 

 not so fine or so large as Buenos Ayres, but is built after the 

 same model. I arrived here by a circuit to the north; so I 

 resolved to return to Valparaiso by a rather longer excur- 

 sion to the south of the direct road. 



September 5th. — By the middle of the day we arrived at 

 one of the suspension bridges, made of hide, which cross the 

 Maypu, a large turbulent river a few leagues southward of 

 Santiago. These bridges are very poor affairs. The road, 

 following the curvature of the suspending ropes, is made of 

 bundles of sticks placed close together. It was full of holes, 



