280 



CHARLES DARWIN 



and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the weight of a 

 man leading his horse. In the evening we reached a com- 

 fortable farm-house, where there were several very pretty 

 senoritas. They were much horrified at my having entered 

 one of their churches out of mere curiosity. They asked 

 me, " Why do you not become a Christian — for our religion 

 is certain ? " I assured them I was a sort of Christian ; but 

 they would not hear of it — appealing to my own words, " Do 

 not your padres, your very bishops, marry? " The absurdity 

 of a bishop having a wife particularly struck them: they 

 scarcely knew whether to be most amused or horror-struck 

 at such an enormity. 



6th. — We proceeded due south, and slept at Rancagua. 

 The road passed over the level but narrow plain, bounded on 

 one side by lofty hills, and on the other by the Cordillera. 

 The next day we turned up the valley of the Rio Cachapual, 

 in which the hot-baths of Cauquenes, long celebrated for 

 their medicinal properties, are situated. The suspension 

 bridges, in the less frequented parts, ar • generally taken down 

 during the winter when the rivers are low. Such was the 

 case in this valley, and we were therefore obliged to cross 

 the stream on horseback. This is rather disagreeable, for 

 the foaming water, though not deep, rushes so quickly over 

 the bed of large rounded stones, that one's head becomes 

 quite confused, and it is difficult even to perceive whether 

 the horse is moving onward or standing still. In summer, 

 when the snow melts, the torrents are quite impassable ; their 

 strength and fury are then extremely great, as might be 

 plainly seen by the marks which they had left. We reached 

 the baths in the evening, and stayed there five days, being 

 confined the two last by heavy rain. The buildings consist 

 of a square of miserable little hovels, each with a single table 

 and bench. They are situated in a narrow deep valley just 

 without the central Cordillera. It is a quiet, solitary spot, 

 with a good deal of wild beauty. 



The mineral springs of Cauquenes burst forth on a line of 

 dislocation, crossing a mass of stratified rock, the whole 

 of which betrays the action of heat. A considerable quantity 

 of gas is continually escaping from the same orifices with 

 the water. Though the springs are only a few yards apart, 



