THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 



367 



"Let us see which rolls furthest." The owner, who was 

 standing by, bet a cigar with his friend on the race. The 

 miner by this means watched the very point amongst the 

 rubbish where the stone lay. In the evening he picked it 

 up and carried it to his master, showing him a rich mass of 

 silver-ore, and saying, " This was the stone on which you 

 won a cigar by its rolling so tar." 



May 23rd. — We descended into the fertile valley of Co- 

 quimbo, and followed it till we reached an Hacienda belong- 

 ing to a relation of Don Jose, where we stayed the next day. 

 I then rode one day's journey further, to see what were 

 declared to be some petrified shells and beans, which latter 

 turned out to be small quartz pebbles. We passed through 

 several small villages; and the valley was beautifully culti- 

 vated, and the whole scenery very grand. We were here 

 near the main Cordillera, and the surrounding hills were 

 lofty. In all parts of northern Chile, fruit trees produce 

 much more abundantly at a considerable height near the 

 Andes than in the lower country. The figs and grapes of 

 this district are famous for their excellence, and are cul- 

 tivated to a great extent. This valley is, perhaps, the most 

 productive one north of Quillota. I believe it contains, 

 including Coquimbo, 25,000 inhabitants. The next day I 

 returned to the Hacienda, and thence, together with Don 

 Jose, to Coquimbo. 



June 2nd. — We set out for the valley of Guasco, following 

 the coast-road, which was considered rather less desert than 

 the other. Our first day's ride was to a solitary house, called 

 Yerba Buena, where there was pasture for our horses. The 

 shower mentioned as having fallen, a fortnight ago, only 

 reached about half-way to Guasco; we had, therefore, in the 

 first part of our journey a most faint tinge of green, which 

 soon faded quite away. Even where brightest, it was scarcely 

 sufficient to remind one of the fresh turf and budding 

 flowers of the spring of other countries. While travelling 

 through these deserts one feels like a prisoner shut up in 

 a gloomy court, who longs to see something green and to 

 smell a moist atmosphere. 



June 3rd. — Yerba Buena to Carizal. During the first part 

 of the day we crossed a mountainous rocky desert, and after- 



