XII 
LEAVE JAJUEL 
279 
unaccountable reason, believe to be an arm of the sea. During 
a very dry season, it was proposed to attempt cutting a channel 
from it for the sake of the water, but the padre, after a con¬ 
sultation, declared it was too dangerous, as all Chile would be 
inundated, if, as generally supposed, the lake was connected 
with the Pacific. We ascended to a great height, but becoming 
involved in the snow-drifts failed in reaching this wonderful 
lake, and had some difficulty in returning. I thought we should 
have lost our horses ; for there was no means of guessing how 
deep the drifts were, and the animals, when led, could only 
move by jumping. The black sky showed that a fresh snow¬ 
storm was gathering, and we therefore were not a little glad 
when we escaped. By the time we reached the base the storm 
commenced, and it was lucky for us that this did not happen 
three hours earlier in the day. 
August 26th .—We left Jajuel and again crossed the basin 
of S. Felipe. The day was truly Chilian : glaringly bright, 
and the atmosphere quite clear. The thick and uniform 
covering of newly-fallen snow rendered the view of the volcano 
of Aconcagua and the main chain quite glorious. We were 
now on the road to Santiago, the capital of Chile. We crossed 
the Cerro del Talguen, and slept at a little rancho. The host, 
talking about the state of Chile as compared to other countries, 
was very humble : “ Some see with two eyes 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 : 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, 
